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nChapter Two Hundred and Seventeen: Hard to Say (II)

nEverything changed in the little prince’s eighth summer.

nThat summer, her husband finally became his company’s majority shareholder, and with it, his standing rose dramatically. He could finally provide her with the same lifestyle she used to lead, perhaps even better.

nThe last of her family’s dissenting voices finally disappeared. Or perhaps, she had been completely fooled.

nHer tea parties went from monthly to weekly, and her visiting friends all expressed their envy without exception.

nSoon, they moved into a new mansion with a massive garden and swimming pool, similar to what she had had growing up. It was also home to her personal dance studio and endless dresses.

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nShe left their comparatively impoverished villa under the little prince’s name.

nShe treated it like giving him a small toy.

nHer little prince deserved the world. What was a little villa in comparison?

nHe was worthy of more. She planned to give him better gifts.

nHe could study whatever topic he wanted and live whatever life he wished, no matter good or bad. He was free to select any lifetime partner regardless of family, income, education, fame, or gender.

nFrom the moment he opened his eyes, she had determined not to oppose any of his decisions. Instead, she would respect his right and ability to make his own decisions.

nPrecisely because of her past helplessness, she wouldn’t allow anything to interfere with his life, whether it was family, money, status, or reputation.

nShe itched to pave his entire life’s road.

nAfter a week in the new mansion, she was bored silly. Her husband had just left for the office, and her little prince wouldn’t return for another week from his boarding school. She also hadn’t found an opportunity to invite her friends over yet. Suddenly, she thought of browsing through her husband’s study.

nShe found the study was somewhat messy and brought a duster to help tidy things up. However, she had rarely done this type of work in her life of luxury and wound up upending a flower vase on the desk.

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nThe water spilled over the table and dripped rhythmically onto the floor.

nJust like the dripping of spring thaw.

nSlowly realizing what had happened, she hurriedly moved some important-looking documents away. She felt guilty seeing what she had caused despite her good intentions.

nShe was concerned that the water had seeped into the drawers and asked their housekeeper for the spare keys.

nThe housekeeper offered to clean up everything, but she firmly rejected the offer out of righteousness.

nTake responsibility for your mistakes. This was how she had been raised.

nMany years later, she wondered more than once whether she would have stayed forever in her constructed dream had she accepted the housekeeper’s offer. Would she have grown old, seen the colors of life dampen, and step into her everlasting coffin without finding out?

nWould she be wrapped inside layers and layers of goose down within a brocade box like a fragile crown?

nIf this beautiful dream could have lasted her entire life, perhaps the lie would have become the truth.

nShe was clumsily wiping clean the liquid from the corners of the drawer when she saw a stack of crumpled papers.

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nCurious, she unwrinkled the ball of slightly wet papers, then—

nShe was damned.

nWith the strange evaluation report in hand, she called her husband, overwhelmed by confusion and denial.

nSilence.

nA hopeless silence came from the other end.

nHer husband quickly returned home out of the morning mist. With his head lowered, he sat down on the sofa they’d bought together. Then, he told her everything, too ashamed to look her in the eye.

nThat was the first time she heard of the demonic “gene project”.

nShe finally understood why she had needed to visit the hospital so frequently during her pregnancy. She finally understood why her infertility that had been incurable by doctors across the country had been completely fixed in one surgery.

nHer infertility was because of a gene defect, incurable with modern medicine. Never would she conceive a child with her own genes.

nHer only saving grace was that her reproductive system was fully functioning. It seemed almost fitting for her to become the test case of this demonic project.

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nThrough all the hardships, she had become pregnant in October. But, the baby’s genes came from another couple.

nWhat a preposterous tale.

nIn many children’s fairy tales, on the verge of defeat, the witch would cast her most powerful curse on the beloved princess.

nAfter living for twenty years without any cause for trauma, she finally succumbed to it on this fine morning.

nShe fell into a bottomless abyss.

nHer husband said, “I hope you can understand.”

nBut she couldn’t. She couldn’t understand. Why her? Who was she? She’d given birth to…

nA freak.

nThe princess woke up from the romantic dream she’d been so taken by. Looking back at it, she saw only a colorless unrecognizable wilderness.

nThere was no stalwart castle, no candy cottage, not even any love. There were only lies that played on her deepest desires to drag her out from the security of her private bedroom into an elaborate trap.

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nShe tore away from the beautiful distractions and found herself stranded in a desert.

nThe only refuge, an oasis, proved to be a mirage.

nThe decade-long beautiful dream she’d lived in that mirage revealed its true essence.

nDisgusting.

nTears streaming down her face, she ran home and told her loving parents and doting grandpa in broken words about her tragedy.

nShe completely expected that someone would go after that despicable man on her behalf. She didn’t think the power structure of the renowned Du Family would have changed in eight years.

nThe heavens didn’t spare any pity for the princess.

nTen years ago, her arrogance and selfishness had erased any affection from the rest of her family. Now, no one reached out to her.

nThe Yan Family could no longer be dealt with lightly. The princess’s marriage cost not only her happiness but the entire family’s prosperity.

nWhat was guilt?

nAgainst the raging storm and servants’ attempts to stop her, she leapt over the railings off the roof.

nHer empty eyes stared into the sky as she lay in the cold garden.

nIn the reflections of the shocked eyes around her, she saw her bloody self.

nWhat a farce.

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nThe little prince knew he was different from others at a young age.

nHis special education and frequent visits to that strange research lab all pointed to this.

nHis memory far exceeded others’. He could remember everything from when he was born. As long as he saw something, he would remember it for the rest of his life.

nMemories that he didn’t understand still remained in his mind, just waiting for him to reach the necessary level of critical thinking.

nHe quickly figured out that his father’s “theme park” was actually a research organization, and the “little game” meant that they needed his blood sample.

nThe adults’ lies couldn’t deceive him. Even the most fleeting of ill intent was immediately seen through by him.

nTo the little prince, the world was not as his mother described. However, he never told his mother. He didn’t want to see his mother’s disillusionment. He hoped he could forever stay as his mother’s little prince.

nHis extreme memory and abnormal childhood caused him to mature very early. He could sense that there was some danger zone hidden within their harmonious family.

nBut, he was still a child. He didn’t understand human nature and ethics. His limit was knowing that “those things” were wrong, but he wasn’t sure why. Neither could he determine what really lay in that danger zone.

nIt took all his effort to maintain the crumbling fairy tale.

nHe was too young. Other than staying silent, he didn’t know how to combat the growing darkness in that danger zone.

nNeither did he know how deep that darkness was.

nSo, during the tumultuous changes, he could only respond as a normal child.

nHelplessly dragged along.

nHis mother’s side of the family was allergic to animal fur, so despite his longing for small furry pets, he never mentioned it out loud.

nAt the research institute, there was a small area filled with weeds that no one ever tended to. Before it was entirely reclaimed by wilderness, it was a small creature’s paradise.

nOne day, the little prince came across an injured cockatiel. Its claws looked large, but its white wings were bleeding. It had probably gotten cut on a tree branch. It flopped around, unable to fly, so it could only chirp softly in Yan Jin’s palm.

nHis boarding school’s gardens became the cockatiel’s new home.

nThe little prince was better than any expert zoologist at handling little creatures. After only taking care of the cockatiel for a week, its wing became fully healed shortly before Yan Jin went home for the weekend.

nHowever, the grateful cockatiel sweetly chirped and refused to leave the little prince.

nThe charitable prince didn’t have the heart to force the cockatiel away, so he began to consider how to bring the cockatiel home.

nHis mother was allergic to cat and dog hair, but maybe a pet bird would be okay.

nIf that didn’t work out, he could leave the bird in the greenhouse for a few days before returning it to the wild.

nHe considered the plan carefully from all sides and felt pretty good about it.

nHe asked the cafeteria lady for some millets and packed them away before heading home with the cockatiel.

nLater on, the little prince wondered many times how much better things would have turned out if he hadn’t brought the bird home.

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