Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Veil of Modesty [Additional Content for a 10,000 Starting Coin Reward]

“No! I didn’t!” At the words, Mrs. Yang’s initial dejection instantly turned to panic. “I never wanted to kill Xu Wenrui! I truly never had such a thought! Whether you believe me or not, I’ve been regretting and frightened lately. After all, I’m an elder—how could I possibly wish to poison a child?”

“So you admit to poisoning Xu Wenrui with [HX]?” Yan Xue seized on the flaw in her words.

“I never said that! That’s your accusation!” Mrs. Yang vehemently denied it. “I did give my distant relative five thousand yuan to buy mushrooms, but not all of that money was for mushrooms! What’s wrong with giving a little extra to a relative? And even if I bought mushrooms, why do you assume I bought ‘death caps’? You’re still young, you know—you shouldn’t throw around accusations like that!”

“You can deny it, you can say I’m making baseless accusations, but we’ve already reached out to your relative. The local police are contacting him now, establishing communication. Everything leaves a trace in this world. It’s not so hard to uncover the truth.” Yan Xue ignored Mrs. Yang’s reproach, stating facts calmly.

Of course, a small part of her composure—perhaps ten percent—was bravado. After all, the person who received the five thousand yuan was a distant relative of Mrs. Yang; who knew what type of person he was, how bold or cautious? If he insisted the package he sent Mrs. Yang contained harmless mushrooms rather than the deadly spotted [HX] amanita, with over three months having passed, verifying the truth wouldn’t be so easy. There would surely be complications, and they’d have to rely on the skills of the local police.

Still, Yan Xue betrayed not the slightest uncertainty. She put her faith in the evidence and deductions they already possessed, but more importantly, she needed Mrs. Yang to believe in them as well.

“Actually, that’s not necessarily the case. I think your reasoning may not be entirely objective—there could be other possibilities.” Kong Ge spoke up at this moment, his tone unhurried, seemingly disagreeing with Yan Xue.

At his words, Mrs. Yang’s expression changed at once. She quickly raised her eyes to him, as if hoping his next words would offer her a way out.

“Let’s look at it logically: Mrs. Yang is herself a mother. She has a son of similar age, about to graduate from university. People have human nature, mothers have maternal instincts. I don’t believe she had sufficient motive to do such a thing.” Kong Ge shook his head at Yan Xue.

Mrs. Yang nodded eagerly, almost giving him a double thumbs-up. “Exactly! Why would I do such a thing? I watched Xu Wenrui grow up. Even without blood ties, he’s no different from my own child! How can you say such things to me? It’s an insult to my character!”

“But under the same circumstances, there’s actually someone else whose suspicion is much greater than Mrs. Yang’s.” Kong Ge ignored her, continuing to address Yan Xue, as if he’d forgotten they were in an interrogation room and were supposed to be questioning Mrs. Yang. Instead, he focused intently on discussing the case with Yan Xue. “Compared to Xu Wenrui’s mother, Mrs. Yang is a clear winner—better living conditions, better job, better husband. She only lost on the child. It’s three to one—she’s ahead, no matter how you look at it. Why would a winner risk so much for something like this?”

“If you put it that way…” Yan Xue seemed persuaded, her thoughts following his. “That really does make sense. But the person you’re saying is more suspicious—do you mean Gao Yang?”

At the mention of her son’s name, Mrs. Yang immediately straightened up, her face tense, clearly wanting to defend Gao Yang, but Yan Xue and Kong Ge gave her no chance to interrupt.

“But didn’t you just say, a winner has no reason to risk everything like this? It would ruin their future! Is there any need? Compared to Xu Wenrui, Gao Yang’s family is better off, his parents’ jobs are more respectable. Other than not being accepted to as good a university as Xu Wenrui, he hasn’t lost in any other respect. It’s at least two to one—he wouldn’t need to scheme like that!” Yan Xue voiced her doubts.

“It’s not that simple.” Kong Ge continued, ignoring Mrs. Yang’s frantic nods of agreement. “Mrs. Yang won three to one against Xu Wenrui’s mother, which is enough to show she had no need to poison Xu Wenrui. But Gao Yang is different. He’s not two to one—he’s one to nothing.

His parents may have won three to one, but the loss wasn’t theirs—it was their ‘teammate’ who failed. They’ve already won in the comparison, but the one who lost was not themselves.

Gao Yang, though, lost all by himself—which means it’s a total defeat. No matter how big a house he lives in, or how much money his parents have, he remains a loser in Xu Wenrui’s presence, unable to ever rise above him.”

“Hm… It’s true that Gao Yang’s university admission wasn’t as impressive as Xu Wenrui’s at K University. He did tell us that he grew up in Xu Wenrui’s shadow, always the sidekick, the foil. Because he was never as outstanding, he could never hold his head up before his parents, especially his mother, who constantly scolded him for years. She was always a winner, but his lack of achievement broke her unblemished record, shaming her.” Yan Xue’s eyes widened in realization. “He also said he felt suffocated, as if he could never escape Xu Wenrui’s shadow for the rest of his life!”

“Exactly. It’s like having a malformed wisdom tooth—it aches constantly and makes you miserable. Would you choose to make peace with it, or would you end up resenting it for the pain and want to pull it out once and for all?” Kong Ge asked.

“No! Gao Yang is not that kind of child! My son is the softest-hearted, the kindest person—he would never do that! And he’s not inferior to Xu Wenrui—my son is excellent too!” Mrs. Yang cried out anxiously, raising her voice as if sheer force could make them believe her, trying desperately to catch their attention.

“Oh? Do you really mean that?” Only now did Kong Ge seem to remember there was someone else in the interrogation room. He turned his attention to Mrs. Yang. “Do you truly believe Gao Yang is better than Xu Wenrui? In the past, did you never feel disappointed that he wasn’t as impressive as Xu Wenrui, didn’t get into as good a university, wasn’t as tall or handsome or stylish?”

Mrs. Yang opened her mouth, wanting to deny it, but at a gesture from Kong Ge, the words caught in her throat.

“Mrs. Yang, did you know that Gao Yang told us he’s in great pain, and that pain hasn’t lessened at all since Xu Wenrui died? In fact, he told us he wished he were the one who died, not Xu Wenrui.” Kong Ge said.

Mrs. Yang looked utterly stunned, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

Yan Xue sighed, continuing where Kong Ge left off. “Gao Yang said that maybe only if he died would you stop comparing him endlessly to Xu Wenrui, stop seeing only where he fell short, stop thinking he was worthless. Maybe if he died, you’d remember his good points and think of him as a good son.

But sadly, it was Xu Wenrui who died. Gao Yang told us he can never beat a dead man.”

Yan Xue’s final words were a direct blow to Mrs. Yang’s last psychological defenses. Where before she had only tried to argue for her son and deny everything, she suddenly broke into sobs.

Yan Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Good. Let her cry. Once the psychological barrier collapses, the truth that’s been weighing on her heart will finally burst forth.

“How could this happen! How could this happen! My foolish boy!” Mrs. Yang’s emotions now ran out of control. “Everything I did was for him. I just wanted him to surpass Xu Wenrui. It was all for him!

Everything was done by me—my son had nothing to do with it! Yes, I did give my relative some money to pick ‘death caps’ from the mountains. I did dry them, slice them, and secretly add them to the key ingredients meant for Xu Wenrui’s tea bags! But I never meant to kill him, never wanted him dead! I just wanted to teach that boy a lesson!

He was thriving at K University, his mother always bragged about how well he was doing, how so many professors wanted him to stay for graduate studies and research under them!

Our Gao Yang grew up with him! Even if they weren’t like brothers, how could we be so heartless? As an elder, I even humbled myself to beg him, hoping he’d help Gao Yang get a foot in the door for graduate school at K University, so they’d be on the same level!

But Xu Wenrui refused, saying there was no need for Gao Yang to look for backdoor connections since he wouldn’t get in anyway. I was furious on Gao Yang’s behalf, so angry at Xu Wenrui’s attitude that I wanted to teach him a lesson!

All I wanted was for him to drink the tea, feel unwell, and perform badly in the entrance exam. When we were young in the countryside, people sometimes ate ‘death caps’ by mistake—if you didn’t eat much, you only felt dizzy and nauseous, never died! And these were dried; I heard the poison fades after drying!”

“Did you know that after brewing his medicinal tea, Xu Wenrui would usually eat the leftover herbs from the tea bags to avoid waste?” Yan Xue asked.

Mrs. Yang’s face drained of color, turning ashen and ghostly pale.

Her voice shook. “I… I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t know! If I’d known he would eat the dregs, I never would have done it! This has nothing to do with my son—it was all my idea, he knew nothing!

I only did it for his sake, hoping he’d have a chance to catch up and even surpass Xu Wenrui, so he’d never have to feel inferior again!”

“No, you didn’t do it for Gao Yang. From beginning to end, you did it for your own pride—for your reputation in front of the Xu family!” Kong Ge’s tone grew unusually stern, his demeanor grave. “If you and Xu Wenrui’s mother hadn’t been competing in every aspect of your lives, using your children as pawns in your contest, neither of the boys would have suffered so much.

It wasn’t Xu Wenrui who cast a shadow over Gao Yang’s life—it was you and Xu Wenrui’s mother, with your relentless rivalry, who forced them both to live in each other’s shadow!

Everything you did to Xu Wenrui was ultimately about your competition with his mother. Now, at this point, are you still trying to justify yourself by claiming you did it for your child, pushing the blame onto your son?

Are you truly willing to see Gao Yang carry this burden of guilt for the rest of his life, always believing he wasn’t good enough and that his failure led his mother to commit such a terrible act? Do you want him to live forever bowed under the weight of remorse and inferiority?”

Yan Xue sighed heavily, her tone and mood equally somber. “Gao Yang once said he wished he were the one who had died—I could tell he truly meant it.

Unable to bear Xu Wenrui’s mother’s constant flaunting of her son’s achievements, you stooped to poisoning a familiar young man. After Xu Wenrui’s death, afraid your addition of the spotted [HX] amanita to his tea bags would be exposed, you even risked implicating your own son by sending Gao Yang to K University to collect Xu Wenrui’s belongings.

Whether or not you intended for him to die, even if you claim it was a moment of jealousy that led you to do something so terrible, if you’re still trying to use ‘for the sake of my child’ as an excuse to absolve yourself, still searching for a nonexistent moral justification, then I must say—parents as selfish and frightening as you truly bring their children a fate worse than death.”

Mrs. Yang was struck dumb, eyes wide and staring. As Kong Ge and Yan Xue stripped away her last pretense, she sat in silence for a moment, then finally let out a wail and collapsed in her chair, her eyes rolling back.