Chapter 376: True Atonement
After being locked up for so long, the inmate’s mental state grew progressively worse, and he began to lose all his inhibitions.
It was unclear whether he wanted revenge on Ge Ba, or if it was because Ge Ba was the youngest and best-looking man in their cell.
That night, while Ge Ba was in a weakened state, the prisoner made his move.
Ge Ba, who had never once felt regret or believed he had done anything wrong, was finally forced to see things from the other side and taste the kind of pain his own actions had inflicted.
Thanks to an alert cellmate, the guards arrived swiftly and apprehended the attacker.
But the damage had already been done.
Ge Ba was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Driven mad and unable to escape the psychological trauma, he began trying every means possible to self-harm and kill himself.
When Grandma Ge and Mother Ge heard the news and rushed over, they were nearly driven mad with grief and heartache.
Because the inmate had committed another serious offense while incarcerated, his fixed-term sentence was expected to be commuted to life in prison.
But what good was a harsher punishment for him?
The damage to Ge Ba had been done; his fate was sealed.
Months after what he had done to Su Li, Ge Ba finally tasted regret.
Just as Wu Sheng had said, Ge Ba never felt he was in the wrong. To him, prison was merely the price to be paid, not an act of atonement.
Only now, after all this time in prison, was he truly beginning to atone and pay the price for his actions.
When something like this happens, it makes no difference whether one is a man or a woman.
Ge Ba might never escape the psychological scars for the rest of his life.
Just like Ge Ba, it was only now that the Ge family truly understood the kind of harm his actions could cause.
Last time, Grandma Ge had told Wu Sheng that Su Li was "fine and had recovered anyway." Now, Ge Ba was also physically stable, and he too seemed to be ’fine and recovered.’
But was he really?
Grandma Ge and Mother Ge were going out of their minds.
Mother Ge was consumed by hatred. Once the initial wave passed, she couldn’t stop herself from redirecting her fury toward Su Li, whom she had always secretly resented.
She refused to believe what happened to Ge Ba was a coincidence; she was convinced it had to be Su Li’s revenge.
But Su Li didn’t have that kind of power, to reach into a prison and orchestrate something like this.
’It must be Wu Sheng! It has to be Wu Sheng! It was the Li Family! They’re the ones getting revenge!’
This was Mother Ge’s final conclusion.
Completely consumed by rage and having lost all reason, Mother Ge went looking for Ye Xilan.
In a public place, right in front of a crowd, she grabbed Ye Xilan by the hair and began attacking her without a word.
Not only was Ye Xilan beaten black and blue, but Mother Ge also spat right in her face.
Mother Ge was finally pulled away, leaving Ye Xilan dazed and seething with hatred.
She had never been so humiliated in her life, never suffered such a public disgrace.
She wasn’t afraid of anyone—except Wu Qihua. Without a word, she marched straight to the Ge family’s home to confront them.
The ensuing confrontation revealed why the Ge family was acting so crazed: something had happened to Ge Ba, and they believed the Li Family was behind it.
Ye Xilan was furious. She had been made a scapegoat for no reason.
She could clarify that the Li Family had nothing to do with it and refuse to take the blame, but she couldn’t retaliate.
With Ge Ba in his current state, and both Mother Ge and Grandma Ge driven half-mad with grief, Ye Xilan couldn’t possibly strike back.
But even if she couldn’t retaliate, she couldn’t just swallow her humiliation.
Tracing the root of the problem back to Su Li, Ye Xilan ended up redirecting all her rage onto her.
’That jinx! This is all her fault!’
When Ye Xilan found out that both Wu Sheng and Wu Qihua had attended Little Tang Mo’s birthday, she was filled with resentment and anger.
’I’ve genuinely tried my best with Wu Sheng, I truly want to be his mother, but he completely ignores me and only acknowledges Wu Qihua.’
’He even rejected Bai Xinyue, the wife I so carefully selected for him, insisting on that tramp Su Li instead.’
Wu Sheng was completely oblivious to Ye Xilan’s "good intentions."
’Su Li, Su Li, Su Li! Every damn thing that goes wrong is because of her! If it weren’t for her, none of this would be happening!’
Ye Xilan didn’t dare provoke Wu Qihua, so in the end, with nowhere else to vent her frustration, she picked an easy target and directed all her fury at Su Li.
She was too furious, too resentful; she simply couldn’t let it go.
’She’s the one who caused all this trouble, so why am I the one suffering for it? If I can’t be happy, then neither can she!’
Ye Xilan directly called her nephew, Ye Jian. The boy didn’t have many skills, but he was obedient. Ye Xilan had always treated him well, so he did whatever she told him to do.
"Ye Jian, I need you to find some people to go make a scene. You have to destroy her reputation. I don’t need to teach you what kind of insults to hurl, do I?"
"I’ve had to suffer like this, how can she get away without a scratch! Go to her university and start cursing her out!"
Ye Jian already knew what had happened to Ye Xilan, so he readily agreed.
"Alright, Aunt. I’ll find some people right away."
"Good. And remember, don’t show your face. Don’t let anyone know I put you up to this."
Ye Xilan added the warning. She had seen for herself how protective Wu Sheng was of Su Li and had suffered at his hands more than once.
’I can’t let Wu Sheng find out, and I absolutely cannot let my husband know.’
The last time, rumors had suddenly spread that she disliked her current daughter-in-law and wanted to replace her with Bai Xinyue, which had thrown her life into chaos.
Bai Xinyue was interested in Wu Sheng, but the rumors twisted it to say she was after Li Kai Xuan. She couldn’t explain the truth and was utterly humiliated by her daughter-in-law, leaving her completely disgraced.
Her daughter-in-law had stormed back to her parents’ house in a rage, leaving the family atmosphere tense and unpleasant. In the end, Ye Xilan had to swallow her pride and practically beg to get her to come back.
It even got to the point where Li Xian had to step in and reprimand her.
Wu Sheng had been the one behind that whole fiasco. The memory of it still made Ye Xilan angry, annoyed, and upset. This time, she thought, she absolutely could not let Wu Sheng find out.
"Even if you didn’t tell me, Aunt, I’d know what to do," Ye Jian replied. He started to leave, but turned back after a moment.
"Aunt, the universities are closed for the holidays."
Ye Xilan then remembered. "I was so furious I wasn’t thinking straight. She’s not at the university now, she’s interning at a radio station."
"Then go make a scene at the radio station. Cause so much trouble that she can’t work there anymore."
As Ye Jian was about to leave again, Ye Xilan called out, "Wait... In for a penny, in for a pound. Since we’re already going this far, we might as well make it truly disgusting for her. Find some homeless men to do it."
And that was how the trouble found its way to Su Li.
Ye Xilan had ordered Ye Jian not to let anyone find out they were behind it, but how could something like that be completely concealed?
Wu Sheng soon discovered the entire chain of events and was utterly enraged by what Ye Xilan had done.
As for Ge Ba’s fate, Wu Sheng’s feelings upon learning of it were incredibly complex. He couldn’t say whether he felt satisfied that Ge Ba had gotten his just deserts, or pained that a former friend had suffered such a violation.
When all was said and done, it came down to an old saying: retribution is always swift and certain.
Heaven sees all that people do. It’s not that retribution won’t come, it’s just that its time has not yet arrived.
For Ge Ba, the time had now arrived.
Wu Sheng discovered that Ye Xilan was behind the incident with Su Li. He also found out that Grandma Ge and Mother Ge were stirring, ready to make a move of their own.
But compared to Ye Xilan’s scheme, what Grandma Ge and Mother Ge were planning was utterly malicious. When Wu Sheng’s investigation uncovered it, he was completely enraged.
Before they could act, Wu Sheng made his own arrangements and struck first.