At that time, Wang Gang had just received some good news. His daughter had a chance to get into a key middle school in the north of Shangjing.
But the teacher dropped a bombshell on him: A child with congenital disabilities like Azhi would most likely not be admitted.
No matter how excellent her grades were, she was doomed to be sent to a school for the disabled.
"Wang Gang said that he had suffered all his life and didn't want his wife and daughter to go through the same," Lin Yunjin said, his confidence waning with each word. "He was willing to sacrifice his own life in exchange for..."
There was no need to finish the sentence.
Tan Linyuan was no stranger to cases of hiring a hit - man.
But when it actually happened to him, and the culprit was his own uncle, he just felt a deep sense of loss.
Disappointment was inevitable.
But at that moment of realization, he wasn't particularly surprised. Instead, it was like a long - held suspicion finally found its answer.
Lin Yunjin finished his story. He nervously fumbled in his pocket for a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Linyuan, I'm just the messenger. If I didn't do this, the Second Master wouldn't let me off easily. Please spare me..."
He stopped halfway and panicked, quickly correcting himself. "At least spare Aunt Song. She held you when you were a baby and took care of your daily meals and living..."
Tan Linyuan closed his eyes and fell into deeper silence.
He was somewhat relieved that he hadn't brought Nan Yu with him.
If she had heard all this with her own ears, she might have felt suffocated.
He had always known that no one in the Tan family had ever shown him any affection.
But he had never imagined that his own uncle would want him dead.
He didn't even know how to tell Nan Yu that in this farce, he himself was on the verge of losing his sense of right and wrong.
What was real?
It was a mystery without an answer.
Tan Linyuan remained silent for a long time. In this cramped living room, even breathing seemed difficult.
After what seemed an eternity, Tan Linyuan finally spoke. "Uncle Lin, you'll have to come with me to make an identification."
Wang Gang had been ruled to have died in an accident due to fatigue driving. If they wanted to convict Tan Jinxian completely, they needed a witness.
And Lin Yunjin was the most suitable one.
Aunt Song panicked immediately. She rushed over and grabbed Tan Linyuan's sleeve. "Linyuan! If Uncle Lin testifies, he'll be an accomplice. He'll be sentenced!"
Aunt Song sobbed loudly. "He's old. What kind of sin has he committed to suffer like this..."
Tan Linyuan said calmly, "Then what kind of sin have I committed to suffer like this?"
Aunt Song was stunned.
Tan Linyuan's tone remained flat, but his voice was bitter. "It's true that Aunt Song cooked for me when I was a child. But after I was sent to Changuang Temple, did I ever spend a single day in the Tan family?"
That so - called Tan family had never been a place for him to call home.
Aunt Song stood there stiffly. After stammering for a long time, she finally knelt on the ground, her face as pale as a sheet.
Lin Yunjin knew there was no way out. He said weakly, "Linyuan, I'll go with you. We're sorry for what we've done to you..."
But it wasn't just Lin Yunjin and Aunt Song who were sorry to Tan Linyuan.
—
On that day, Tan Linyuan took Lin Yunjin straight to Tan Jinxian's current residence.
The apartment was immediately sealed off, and Tan Jinxian and the others were taken into custody on the spot.
In the waiting room, facing Tan Jinxian's attempts to cajole and threaten him, Tan Linyuan remained unmoved.
Finally, Tan Jinxian roared at him viciously, "You're just an ungrateful dog of the Tan family!"
Tan Linyuan's voice was extremely calm. "You didn't seem to care about loyalty when you tried to kill the dog."
Tan Jinxian clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with a blood - thirsty look.
A few seconds later, he burst into laughter, the sound getting louder and louder. "It's good that the Tan family is falling! Good!"
"Tan Wenli was a biased brute! He only had your father in his eyes. He never cared about my life!"
Tan Jinxian roared, "Why? I should have had half of the Tan family. Your father deserved it! You deserved it!"
Tan Linyuan remained expressionless.
On the way there, Lin Yunjin had already told him the whole story.
Years ago, when Lin Yunjin was young, he worked in the Tan family and overheard some idle gossip.
It was said that when Tan Wenli was chatting with his old friend, he mentioned his two sons. He thought his eldest son, Tan Siqi, was intelligent and outstanding, while his second son, Tan Jinxian, was dull and jealous.
To ensure the better development of the Tan family, Tan Wenli entrusted most of the family affairs to Tan Siqi.
At a drinking party, Tan Wenli's friend got drunk and blurted out the conversation.
Tan Jinxian was humiliated on the spot and harbored a grudge against his father ever since.
He originally wanted to act as if nothing had happened. But when he saw the will that Tan Wenli had made in advance, his name wasn't even on it.
The reason was simple: the part of the family property he had received was already in his name, so there was no need for further division.
The seed of hatred was thus sown.
He refused to accept his father's judgment, so he deliberately arranged for his sister - in - law to meet her childhood sweetheart, Lin Jing'an, who later became the quiet and gentle master.
But he didn't expect that his sister - in - law was already pregnant at that time.
He thought it was a god - sent opportunity. He bribed the hospital to delay the estimated due date, making it seem like it was after the meeting with Lin Jing'an.
As a result, the couple had a rift.
Tan Linyuan already knew what happened next.
His mother died of excessive bleeding during premature labor. He was hated and loathed by his father. He was expelled from the Tan family and sent to Changuang Temple...
It turned out that the story from back then was so sordid.
Before being taken away by the police, Tan Jinxian said faintly, "I also sent someone to run over your elder brother with a car. Did you always think it was because of your bad luck? Fool."
Tan Linyuan's fists clenched tightly. His breathing became rapid, and the veins on his arms bulged.
Tan Jinxian didn't seem to care. He even seemed to take a perverse pleasure in it. "Do you think your mother's death was really an accident? She was such a promiscuous woman, always seducing men. When I went into her room, she refused me to the death. She deserved to die..."
Tan Linyuan's eyes were as black as night. It was as if he was covered in black water. There was a dark mist in his eyes, hiding a killing intent that couldn't be suppressed.
If he could, he wished he could kill Tan Jinxian right away!
He shouldn't have handed him over to the police. He should have killed him with his own hands...
There was a deathly silence in the air.
This was Jiangcheng, and everyone knew this powerful figure, Tan Linyuan.
But no one had ever seen this great figure truly angry and terrifying, looking so hideous.
He was no different from a demon from hell.
Tan Linyuan walked towards Tan Jinxian step by step.
"What are you doing?" Tan Jinxian sensed something was wrong. He panicked and took a step back. "Stay away from me, you bastard!"
Just as his killing intent reached its peak, a voice suddenly flashed through Tan Linyuan's mind—
"Xiaobanli and I are waiting for you to come home. You must come back safely."
I've been waiting for you.
At that moment, his clenched fists gradually relaxed. He regained his breath, and his vision finally cleared.
The crazy thought stopped abruptly.
"Tan Jinxian, you'd better stay in prison until you die," Tan Linyuan said calmly.
"Because I can't guarantee that you won't be tortured even more horribly after you get out."
His voice was as cold as ice, full of coldness and cruelty. "You'd better live every day from now on as if it were your last."