He saw a child who wasn’t very good at studying, forcing himself to learn under intense pressure from his parents, with a huge sense of guilt.
The memory continued—
"Then I’ll trouble you, Professor Yan. You can educate him as you see fit, whether it means beating or scolding, as long as this child can win awards!"
The woman smiled at an obese man. The man also smiled and looked at the girl beside him:
"Don’t worry. Look at her, she’s like a beautiful little bird. Under my care, she will soar very high."
[Stop! Stop it now!]
Tang Rui’s mental barrage appeared, but the effect of the truth-telling glass was too strong.
Wen Xishu saw the scene shifting continuously, saw the obese man’s slap landing on the girl’s face.
"How can you not even solve such a simple problem? Are you an idiot?"
"Do you know, if you’re too stupid, your parents will abandon you. If you want to stay with them, you must win awards!"
"The certificates you win in academics are the contracts of your parents’ love! A child without awards doesn’t deserve their parents’ love!"
"Your parents have done so much for you. Do you know how hard it is for them?"
The obese man’s words pounded on the girl’s spine like heavy hammers.
"I’m sorry... I will definitely, definitely study hard. I will make my parents love me."
No wonder...
Wen Xishu suddenly understood. No wonder this girl was so obsessed with those illusory past memories.
That phrase, "From the moment you were born, we were already on your team, and that will never change," true or false, was something the girl had once longed for intensely.
Wen Xishu seemed to understand what kind of family this girl lived in.
But he still underestimated Tang Rui’s experiences.
"Hello, Xiaorui’s mom. Your child has won seventh place in the math competition. That’s quite an achievement. I’ve spent a lot of time on this. Did you receive the certificate?"
"Thank you, thank you so much. Yes, we received it! You are amazing. My husband and I are so proud!"
"Don’t thank me yet. She really doesn’t want to study at all. She strongly resists it. I can’t teach her anymore. She even slandered me, saying I did things to hurt children. Sigh, she’s making up any lie just to avoid studying. How could I do such things!"
But on the other end of the phone, the woman’s voice became stern:
"This worthless child. Professor Yan, sorry for the trouble you’ve had. Don’t lower yourself to her level. Someone as esteemed as you, as long as she wins awards, we will always be grateful to you! Rest assured, we absolutely trust you, and we will help clear your name!"
The call ended.
When the obese man handed the receiver to the girl, letting her hear the disconnected tone...
The man’s smile was greasy and disgusting.
Crash!
Suddenly, the scene shattered. It turned out that Tang Rui, already in tears, had slammed the truth-telling glass onto the table!
"More! Drink! We won’t stop until we’re drunk!"
Wen Xishu nodded calmly:
"Okay, let’s continue."
He didn’t notice the absence of his usual mocking tone.
Wen Xishu, who had experienced misfortune himself and carried a heavy sense of guilt even through his travels, usually faced others’ misfortune with a mocking attitude.
But this time, he put away that mockery and teasing.
The dice clattered against the dice cup. Under the influence of alcohol, Tang Rui began to get tipsy.
Reopening wounds is naturally resisted at first because of the pain. But once the pain comes, it seems there’s a rush of self-destructive pleasure.
The dice showed a six and a three. Nine points. Wen Xishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Tang Rui didn’t waste words, picked up the glass, and downed it in one gulp, very decisively.
"Ask!"
Wen Xishu said:
"The second thing. Tell me about the second thing that makes you feel as terrible as this."
Another blade-like question.
Tang Rui’s delicate nails pressed down on the table with such force that they made a cracking sound. She was first angry, then resigned:
"I had a dream during my school years, but it was destroyed. I used to... really like singing."
The bar’s singer continued to sing softly, and the sound was lovely.
"I used to... have a voice much better than these bar singers."
Wen Xishu suddenly remembered something Ji Bodah said—
She loved singing, although her voice wasn’t great, Wenren Mirror still invited her to sing in the open park, drawing applause from many tourists.
It seemed that Tang Rui’s voice wasn’t bad to begin with.
"But my parents made sure I’d never be able to sing again."
"I had to study hard, had to pass the civil service exams... to be a good girl." Tang Rui almost gritted her teeth saying this.
The hatred in her eyes hadn’t dissipated to this day.
If anything could compare to the abuse of childhood, it would be a teenager’s shattered dreams.
With mixed emotions, Wen Xishu saw more of Tang Rui’s past.
"Look, Tang! Look at the nonsense your daughter writes in her diary!"
"It’s because of this that her grades are dropping! She used to win certificates in middle school!"
"And now? She’s doing nothing, playing with music! Look at her grades!"
"Learning to sing! What decent person does that? Look at the boy next door, wasting time playing soccer. Does that add points to his college entrance exams?"
"No more singing! If you continue, I’ll send you to Teacher Yan!"
A series of memories hit her.
From a young age, being told to keep a diary to form a good habit, Tang Rui had always obediently complied because she wanted her parents to love her.
She had always tried to do everything to please her parents.
Writing in her diary was no different.
She didn’t know that her parents didn’t ask her to write a diary to improve her writing skills but to know... what she did at school every day.
Whenever her grades dropped recently, her parents would check her diary to find out why.
Wen Xishu laughed silently.
He also kept a diary, but the experience was entirely different from Tang Rui’s.
Yet he suddenly felt an odd similarity with her.
The effect of the truth-telling glass wasn’t over. The greatest pain had yet to emerge.
Although forced by her parents to give up music, the girl in the memories never truly gave in.
She would still secretly sing in her spare time, still hum her favorite songs when she was frustrated.
Until one morning, she woke up as usual, tried to speak, and felt a stabbing pain in her throat.
The ethereal quality was gone, replaced by an unpleasant rasp. Her vocal cords trembled like rusty metal scraping together.
In an instant, tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.
Silence crashed over her like a tide, coating her soul in a layer of salt.
Thud, the sound of tears hitting the dust was deafening, and large tears began to fall from the girl’s eyes.
The man and woman stood opposite the girl, like two black walls, or two silent statues.
"Be good. Mom is doing this for your own good. Don’t worry, that medicine only hurts your throat, not your brain. Just study hard, get into a good college, find a good job, and the neighbors will be so envious of our family!"
"What’s the use of girls learning those things? It’s better to find a good job and marry into a good family."
"Stop crying! Why are you crying over not being able to sing?"
"What do you mean I’m controlling your life? I gave birth to you. Do you know how hard it was to carry you? Do you know who I’m doing all this for?"
"Go study! Or I’ll send you to Teacher Yan!"
The name Teacher Yan seemed to be the deepest fear in the girl’s heart. She had once written about it in her diary.
But one day, that page of the diary was torn out. She didn’t know who tore it out, and she never found it.
Since then, whenever she tried to resist her parents’ arrangements, they would say: If you don’t behave, we’ll send you to Teacher Yan.
It was like a curse, turning teenage Tang Rui more and more into a parrot.
The parrot often longed for Jiangcheng’s youth palace, where many children happily drew, sang, and danced.
But she couldn’t enter. Though it wasn’t far, perhaps the birds there chirped, full of the forest’s spirit.
But she was a parrot.
Parrots can’t make birds’ sounds. Good parrots should mimic. Whatever their keeper says, they say...