Chapter 486: Paling in Comparison
The process of how these experiences utterly transformed Qin Shanshan into someone so twisted was both incredible and, in a way, inevitable.
With Tang Yuanxiao, Qin Shanshan had desperately wanted him but couldn’t have him, and in the end, her love turned to hate.
If things had gone smoothly after that, and she had been able to live a stable life with Su Dan, perhaps she would have slowly changed and not become so warped.
But the problem was that Su Dan was a hopeless case. Qin Shanshan tried everything to find a way for him, even coming up with a plan to make money through photography and giving him money to buy a camera.
In the end, Su Dan ruined everything.
Su Dan was lazy and had a questionable character. On top of everything else, he had also become a drunkard. His domestic abuse escalated to the point where he kicked her until she miscarried.
For Qin Shanshan, this was undoubtedly rubbing salt in the wound. How could she not change?
January was supposed to be the start of a new year, a time for new beginnings. But for Qin Shanshan, it was destruction.
There was no hope left, only devastating despair.
The frigid winter brought nothing but a bone-deep cold.
In the dead of winter, Qin Shanshan began her postpartum confinement.
Miao Fenghua was supposed to be the one to care for her during this time, but she didn’t want to, doing so only grudgingly.
’If she could still have children, taking care of her would be one thing. But she can’t even get pregnant anymore, so what’s the point of this confinement?’
And so, Qin Shanshan’s confinement began—a difficult time filled with chaos, severe cold, and icy indifference.
It was during this confinement that Qin Shanshan made up her mind to leave Su Family Village and get away from Miao Fenghua.
She was going to the Imperial City.
’It was all Mrs. Tang’s, Tang Yuanxiao’s, and Su Li’s fault that she had ended up like this. If she was going to suffer, they weren’t going to have an easy life either!’
Fueled by this hatred, Qin Shanshan held on and slowly nursed herself back to health.
Meanwhile, Su Li, the object of this simmering hatred, couldn’t even recall the name Qin Shanshan.
After New Year’s Day, Su Li was busy with her final exams. After finishing them, she immediately started an internship before the Lunar New Year.
This time, Su Li’s internship was at a newspaper agency.
An internship at a newspaper was completely different from one at a radio station, and it took Su Li quite some time to adjust after she started.
Of course, she had Yu Zhengqing and Ling Zhen to thank for their help.
Yu Zhengqing had told Su Li before that he would do his best to look out for her during her future internships and introduce her to his contacts.
Yu Zhengqing kept his word, and Ling Zhen also helped by asking everyone to look after her.
Whether it was a newspaper agency or a TV station, they were all part of the same circle. While field reporters were sometimes competitors, most of them actually knew each other well, and many were even friends.
Thanks to their help, Su Li’s internship at the newspaper went very smoothly.
As for Wu Sheng, his life was flourishing.
No matter how many rumors circulated about him, his competence was undeniable. Besides, he was used to being independent and unconventional, so situations that others found unbearably stressful were no problem for him.
He didn’t care what others said, as long as the gossip was only about him.
Of course, if they dragged Su Li into it and said nasty things about her, then they had better watch out.
Wu Sheng was very good at subtly teaching people a lesson.
Within a month, Wu Sheng made sure everyone understood that bad-mouthing his fiancée behind his back would have consequences, leaving them to suffer in silence.
After a month, everyone had learned their lesson. How could Wu Sheng not thrive?
It was an indisputable fact that Wu Sheng had been promoted. His position was adjusted, and he now wielded more power and authority.
In contrast, Li Kai Xuan, whose performance was mediocre compared to Wu Sheng’s, remained stuck in his old position no matter what he did.
Before, he and Wu Sheng had been at the same rank. Although his abilities were still under review, they were at least considered peers.
Now, however, the gap between them had widened completely.
There was a reason Li Kai Xuan had been so desperate to bring Wu Sheng down and ruin his reputation.
Li Kai Xuan was nervous.
How could he not be?
Others might not know, but he was crystal clear about his own and Wu Sheng’s identities.
Although neither Li Xian nor Wu Sheng showed any intention of acknowledging each other as father and son, Li Kai Xuan was still extremely wary.
The bond between a father and his biological son was a force of nature. No matter how well Li Xian treated him, how much effort he poured into grooming him, or how much it seemed he was treated as his one and only biological child, the panic in Li Kai Xuan’s heart would not cease.
This terror became even clearer and more distinct because of Wu Sheng’s excellence, and especially after he himself had married, had a child, and become a father.
There’s an old saying: "You don’t know a parent’s love until you have a child of your own." Now that Li Kai Xuan was a father himself, he understood even more that the feelings for one’s biological child couldn’t simply be wished away.
He believed that Li Xian cared for him and treated him like a biological son, but that couldn’t erase Li Xian’s feelings for Wu Sheng.
Li Kai Xuan... felt insecure.
His sense of security had been shattered in his childhood because of Ye Xilan.
Back then, Ye Xilan had genuinely treated Li Kai Xuan as her own son, and she had continued to do so over the years because she knew full well that her entire future depended on him.
That was why she had always been good to Li Kai Xuan. But cracks had appeared in that kindness during his early childhood.
When Ye Xilan had kidnapped Wu Sheng, it led to Wu Sheng discovering his true parentage and suffering severe physical and psychological trauma.
At the same time, Ye Xilan’s strange behavior also led to Li Kai Xuan—who was three years younger than Wu Sheng and just starting to understand the world—discovering that he was not his parents’ biological child.
From that day on, Li Kai Xuan had been plagued by insecurity.
This insecurity had followed him his entire life.
Since he was a child, he had both admired and envied Wu Sheng. He desperately wanted to win his parents’ approval and affection through his own achievements. He studied hard from a young age; though clearly a prodigy, he worked even harder than most.
He was more outstanding than others, the classic "perfect child next door." His excellence made countless people sigh in admiration and made his parents proud.
But no matter how far he went, there was always a shadow looming over him.
That shadow was cast by Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng didn’t work as hard as he did, yet he was just naturally excellent, just better.
Especially after Wu Sheng started his career, the pressure on Li Kai Xuan grew greater and greater...
He gave it his all, but he still couldn’t catch up to Wu Sheng—the naturally gifted, exceptionally talented Wu Sheng.
’It was too ironic. Everything was just too ironic,’ and Li Kai Xuan was powerless to change it.
The only thing about Wu Sheng that was a problem was that he wouldn’t get married. So, Li Kai Xuan got married early. He married and had a child right after graduation, producing an heir for the Li Family.
Li Xian doted on his grandson, but Li Kai Xuan still couldn’t feel at ease. He remained wary and resentful of Wu Sheng, terrified that one day he would be cast out of the Li Family.
This insecurity only intensified after Wu Sheng not only survived the disaster relief mission but returned a hero, famous and promoted.
That was what led to the scene at the restaurant.
If Wu Sheng couldn’t tolerate people bad-mouthing Su Li behind his back, how could he possibly tolerate the main culprit, Li Kai Xuan?
Wu Sheng calmly dealt with the rumors while his career flourished. Then, at the final moment, he finally made his move against Li Kai Xuan.
Li Kai Xuan was caught completely off guard. He was forced to suffer in silence and was almost castrated on the spot by his wife.
As for the humiliation he felt, it was nothing compared to what he had done to others.