The Sweetest Marriage Ch.361

Chapter 361 – The Fate of the Chen Family

In the evening, Chen Li and Wei Chen had a video call, and Chen Li told Wei Chen about moving into Xie Chunsheng’s house.

Wei Chen didn’t oppose it.

At that time, being by Xie Chunsheng’s side was indeed the safest and best choice for Chen Li. When Qiuqiu arrived in a new environment, he was a bit excited. At this point, he either didn’t sleep, playing with his chubby little feet on the bed, or rolled around on the bed.

Probably upon hearing Wei Chen’s voice, Qiuqiu swiftly turned over, walked over to Chen Li’s side, and then lay on Chen Li’s back, happily calling “Da da” towards the phone.

Chen Li lifted Qiuqiu in front of him, and Qiuqiu reached out for the phone. Not hearing a response from his dad, he got anxious.

“Da da, Da da…”

Qiuqiu kept calling. Tears seemed about to well up in his eyes.

Wei Chen quickly responded, “Little Qiuqiu, Dad’s here. Does Qiuqiu miss Dad?”

“Ya!” Qiuqiu loudly replied, grabbing the phone with joy. Then, he tried to lean in to kiss his dad on the phone, but he couldn’t reach. His lips accidentally touched the red button to end the call, and Wei Chen’s image disappeared from the phone in an instant.

Now, Qiuqiu felt aggrieved. Tears welled up in his big eyes. Holding the phone, he looked pitifully at Chen Li, “Da da, Da da,” not sure which dad he was calling for.

Chen Li glanced at the time and didn’t immediately call back. Instead, he lifted Qiuqiu and comforted him in his arms. It was time for bed.

Qiuqiu insisted on seeing his dad, but after Chen Li comforted him for a while, Qiuqiu stopped crying, grabbed Chen Li’s lips, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

After Qiuqiu fell asleep, Chen Li called Wei Chen again through video chat, and Wei Chen answered promptly.

“Is Qiuqiu asleep?” Wei Chen asked softly.

“I just got him to sleep,” Chen Li said, “He’s still asking for you.”

Compared to Chen Li, Qiuqiu was more attached to Wei Chen. These past few days without seeing Wei Chen, during the day, someone playing with him was fine. But at night, he would hold Chen Li’s hand, calling out for his dad.

As Chen Li showed Qiuqiu pictures of Wei Chen, only then did Qiuqiu quiet down. He hugged the phone, calling out happily for his dad, then used his chubby cheek to rub against the phone, often accidentally touching the screen and bringing up different interfaces. Holding the phone up, he looked at Chen Li with a pitiful expression and said, “Dad.”

Chen Li found himself both amused and puzzled by Qiuqiu’s antics, so he started an animated show for Qiuqiu to watch together. This managed to keep Qiuqiu relatively calm for a while, but soon he’d gaze at Chen Li and want to find his big dad again.

Chen Li described these incidents to Wei Chen, who couldn’t help but smile at the thought and wished he could fly back to Chen Li and Qiuqiu right away.

Next, Chen Li excitedly recounted the day’s experiences to Wei Chen, emphasizing Xie Chunsheng’s purchase of a world-famous painting for Chen Yunlan.

Wei Chen listened attentively, thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

When Chen Li finished, Wei Chen asked, “Li Li, are you envious?”

“Huh?” Chen Li was a bit puzzled at first, then realized what Wei Chen meant by envy.

Wei Chen was asking whether Chen Li might envy Xie Chunsheng and Chen Yunlan since Xie Chunsheng had the ability to provide Chen Yunlan with everything he liked.

Chen Li shook his head, beaming brightly. “No, I’m not envious because I already have the best in the world.”

He already had Wei Chen, which was akin to having the whole world. He wouldn’t envy anyone else’s love because he already had the best love in the world.

“Li Li, I’ll come back as soon as possible,” Wei Chen said.

It had only been two days apart, yet he missed Chen Li immensely, longing to embrace him deeply into his arms right at that moment.

“Okay, Qiuqiu and I will be waiting for you at home.”

A simple sentence filled with endless warmth.

The moonlight outside was just right, casting an enchanting spell on the night.

However, this same night held a bone-chilling coldness in the eyes of some.

*

In a certain park in Shanghai.

A bench, simply laid with a few newspapers, had a homeless man lying on it in tattered clothes.

It’s just the beginning of autumn, and the night wind rustles the leaves. The homeless man, dressed in a thin short-sleeved shirt, curls up on the bench, shivering involuntarily.

Next to the bench sits a piece of bread, his dinner, but he hesitates to eat it. He only eats half and saves the other half for breakfast the next day.

Suddenly, a stray cat emerges from the darkness. The cat catches the scent and leaps onto the bench, snatching the remaining piece of bread the homeless man saved for tomorrow.

This was the homeless man’s sustenance for the next day. Unwilling to let the cat take away his food, he immediately gets up to catch it.

The cat swiftly darts into the park’s decorative low trees. The homeless man reaches out, but the cat’s sharp claws scratch his hand deeply, drawing blood.

Wincing in pain, he pulls back his hand, cursing, and lies back on the bench, curled up against the early autumn chill. He disregards the wound on his hand under the dim yellowish light. His face, partly visible, bears a scruffy beard and long, unwashed hair, unkempt and stiff.

Upon closer inspection, this homeless man is none other than Chen Qing!

So, why has Chen Qing fallen to this state?

After the rumors targeting Chen Li were debunked, the reputation of the Chen family’s three was thoroughly ruined. The landlord, upon discovering who he had rented to, immediately kicked the three out of the rented house.

Chen Shihuai, getting older, succumbed to illness due to successive blows. To make matters worse, Chen Yunsheng disappeared after taking the money Chen Shihuai had set aside for medical treatment, leaving without a trace.

Now, it’s only Chen Shihuai and Chen Qing, relying on each other. However, with no money in their pockets and unable to afford rent, Chen Qing wanted to work, but the widespread video interview made it impossible. He was recognized and dismissed within days from any job he took.

One employer, upon knowing the situation, threw two hundred bucks at Chen Qing and heartlessly dismissed him, feeling they couldn’t tolerate his presence.

With the two hundred bucks, Chen Qing went to a clinic for Chen Shihuai’s treatment. However, Chen Shihuai’s illness was severe, and how could a clinic suffice for his care?

Within a few days, Chen Shihuai heard that Chen Yunsheng was hit by a large truck when he was running away with his money overnight without looking at the road ahead. He was crushed under the vehicle, and news of his tragic death spread, leaving no remains to bury.

Despite Chen Yunsheng fleeing with Chen Shihuai’s money, he was still Chen Shihuai’s son. Upon hearing about Chen Yunsheng’s death, Chen Shihuai’s blood vessels ruptured in shock, rendering him beyond saving by the time he reached the hospital.

Losing two loved ones in such a short span took an immense toll on Chen Qing. He spiraled into despair and became a homeless man on the streets.

He ate scraps of leftover food, slept in park bridges and tunnels.

If someone were to point at Chen Qing at that time and say, “This man used to be a young master from a prominent family in Shanghai,” few would believe it.

Chen Qing once considered pulling himself together. However, after the online backlash, he became a pariah. People would ostracize him, and if recognized, the kindest response was to tell him to get lost. Not being pelted with rotten vegetables and eggs was already considered merciful.

He contemplated turning himself in, but the Chen family had already erased his criminal record when they rescued him from prison. Even if the world knew he was once a murderer, as long as he didn’t commit another crime, the police wouldn’t bother him.

But Chen Qing was afraid. He feared that if he ever went back, he wouldn’t face a life sentence but rather the death penalty.

He was ultimately afraid of death.

As the night grew deeper, Chen Qing lay on his arm and gradually fell asleep. The next day, he woke feeling groggy, as if running a slight fever.

He didn’t pay it much mind. He believed he didn’t even deserve to have a minor cold.

He wandered aimlessly through the streets of Shanghai throughout the day, scavenging from trash cans whenever he spotted discarded food and drink.

His days were filled with uncertainty. The wound on his arm from the cat scratch had festered and caused intense pain. Sometimes, the pain was excruciating, leaving him grimacing in agony.

Moreover, the fever seemed to soar higher; he felt like he was submerged in scalding hot water, burning all over. It was as if a weight of thousands of pounds was pounding on his head, causing excruciating pain. Chen Qing was unable to stand; his limbs felt powerless. He hadn’t eaten much throughout the day and ended up vomiting everything. Later on, he even experienced incontinence, emitting a foul odor while lying on a park bench, causing passersby to wrinkle their brows and avoid him.

Chen Qing didn’t understand what was happening to him. His throat felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe. He kept his eyes open, gazing at the sky, but his vision gradually blurred.

Was he going to die? How could this happen to him?

Finally, a kind-hearted passerby couldn’t bear it and called for an ambulance. The ambulance arrived and left, but it was already too late for Chen Qing.

The reason Chen Qing met this tragic fate was the wound on his hand from the cat scratch. As the wound wasn’t treated promptly, it led to an infection of paralytic rabies. This type of rabies doesn’t have an excitatory phase and slowly leads to death amid pain and weakness.

Chen Qing noticed the symptoms but didn’t seek treatment in time. By the time a passerby called for the ambulance, it was already in the late stages.

Chen Qing passed away, and with no family to claim his body, the hospital sent it to the crematorium, turning it into ashes.

A few days later, Chen Shihuai’s body was found.

When Chen Shihuai passed away, Chen Qing, without money or the means to claim the body, casually buried it at a construction site. During construction, Chen Shihuai’s body was unearthed, already in a state of decomposition.

After a police investigation revealed the identities of these two individuals as part of the Chen family, the public couldn’t help but sigh in sorrow. It’s said that those who commit wrongdoings eventually meet their own downfall.

The Chen family’s misdeeds culminated in this final fate, perhaps seen as a form of divine justice.

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