Chapter 723 - 485: Xishan Detention Center Part 2

A mosquito would occasionally perform a low-altitude flyby over the inmates’ faces in the detention center.

The BUZZING sound, mingled with the hot sweat trickling down their skin, composed the symphony of the night.

Humans are, in fact, very simple creatures, very easy to satisfy.

At this very moment, in this environment, the inmates in the detention center craved nothing more than a single wisp of a cool breeze. They needed nothing else.

They wouldn’t ask for anything more.

The schedule was as rigid as one for robots. At nine o’clock sharp, after watching the evening news and a current affairs program, they had to go to bed.

No talking was allowed, and even sitting up was forbidden.

They could only lie down, and whether sleepy or not, they had to endure it until daybreak.

The conditions in the detention center were spartan, a far cry from a proper prison. Even basic hygiene couldn’t be guaranteed. The area holding female inmates was no cleaner than the men’s cells.

The air was filled with an indescribable sour, foul smell.

In the past, on clear nights with no clouds, she could see moonlight through the high window, gently brushing across the head of her bed.

Today was cloudy, making even moonlight a luxury. The entire room was pitch-black—fortunately, Jiangg Ruxue’s eyes had already adjusted to the darkness.

She didn’t feel hot; on the contrary, she was surprisingly calm.

For her, this had been a relatively comfortable day. Thanks to the special treatment she received after her family’s visit and gifts, her meals for the past two days had included extras. Last night, a guard had brought her half a roast duck. While everyone else was gathered in one room watching TV, he had called her into the office to eat it in private.

Having not had meat for so many days, Jiangg Ruxue was so ravenous she could have eaten her own fingers.

’I couldn’t believe it. I used to turn my nose up at the most exquisite delicacies after a few bites, yet here I was, craving food so desperately.’

Tonight’s dinner was a cup of instant noodles with a hard-boiled egg.

Braised beef flavor. It was quite good.

The on-duty office also had air conditioning. Spending half an hour there was an immense pleasure, not to mention being able to stay inside while eating.

The closed-off detention center was a microcosm of society. In this place of extreme material scarcity, the most fundamental aspects of human nature were laid bare. With so much idle time, free from the materialistic mediocrity of the outside world, she had time to contemplate other things.

Jiangg Ruxue had gone from terror when she first arrived to her current state of calm. Her heart had undoubtedly undergone a seismic shift, and she had even begun to self-reflect.

However, her reflections weren’t so lofty or philosophical. They were about the simplest, most fundamental truths in life that are often overlooked.

’I’ve been living with my head in the clouds for too long, completely detached from my true self. No one ever tried to reason with a woman as malicious, headstrong, and stubborn as I was. Worst of all, unlike my daughter Jiangg Ning, I was never well-educated.’

’Ningning studied so much she became an expert, while I studied nothing at all.’

’After all, I got pregnant with the two sisters at nineteen. I exhausted myself scheming to become a wealthy family’s matron. I never spent a single day at a prestigious university; I was immersed in the world of fame and fortune from a young age.’

’But there is no high society in a detention center.’

’No matter who you were on the outside, once you’re in here, you have to endure humiliation. You have to crush most of your sense of self and become just another ordinary inmate. That’s the only way to protect yourself.’

’Otherwise, even if you paid bribes, the guards wouldn’t protect you.’

’Ever since that day I saw Ningning and Yaoyao, after the three of us cried our eyes out, the image of my daughters’ tears has been seared into my mind, replaying over and over.’

’I failed in my middle age. You could say I lost everything I had and fell into a deep abyss. If no one helped me, I would have spent the rest of my life in prison. Going from a chairwoman whose mood everyone had to read to a common inmate—such a dramatic fall from grace dealt a massive blow to my worldview.’

’What is the point of living? Over the years, I’d occasionally felt remorse for my late husband.’

’But while there was regret, there was far more resentment.’

’I resented him for getting entangled with another woman. I resented him for letting our elders pressure our small family. I resented him for dying and leaving me to raise our two daughters alone. I resented him for not even bothering to say a few sweet, placating words to stay home.’

’These thoughts are undoubtedly wrong and absurd, just hysterical emotionalism. If I have to resent someone, it should be myself. I cared about so many false, superficial things that I forgot what I truly wanted.’

’This time, I was set up. The terror didn’t truly hit me until I was inside this detention center. If Ningning and Yaoyao couldn’t get me out, my best-case scenario would be more than twenty years in prison. By the time I was released, I’d be a white-haired old woman. If my luck was bad, I could even die in here.’

’That’s over twenty years in a prison where I’d never see the light of day... The thought alone made me feel it would be better to be dead.’

’But thankfully... my two daughters didn’t give up on me.’

’They’re out there, trying everything they can to get me out.’

’And how did I treat my daughters before all this? They were such good kids, but I forced them so far away from Mingzhu City that they wanted to flee as far as they could, not even daring to come back once a year. The only times they came home were after my repeated, forceful summons.’

’In this vast world, a person is as insignificant as a mayfly. All I have are my two daughters. My parents are gone, and my own sisters are worse than strangers. If Ningning and Yaoyao had been cruel enough to use this opportunity to cut ties with me, I could die in prison and no one would even care... What a terrifying thought.’

’In other words, my family is my only anchor in this world.’

’From now on, even if I have to depend on my daughters to live, just watching them be happy, start their own families, get married, and have babies... I could be a grandmother, welcoming a new life into the family... Isn’t that vibrant life, something to look forward to, more real than anything else in this world?’

’I could have had a good life, so why did I cling so tightly to such empty things? The opinions of others, the luxurious lifestyle I craved... all of it put together wasn’t worth the roast duck from the other day that moved me to tears, nor could it compare to the feeling of seeing my own daughters after they had moved heaven and earth just to visit me.’

Not to mention, Jiangg Ruxue now knew that an excellent opportunity had presented itself—a chance to fulfill her long-cherished wish.

That young man’s appearance was too perfectly timed. Everything could fall into place naturally, just like a beautiful dream. She had always wanted to find a good match for Ningning and Yaoyao, to see them through that stage of their lives.

Because they had reached that age.

’My own thinking is just that traditional,’ she thought. ’It doesn’t matter what a woman achieves on her own; her greatest happiness in life is finding a good man to marry.’

At this thought, Jiangg Ruxue couldn’t help but feel a fervent excitement welling up inside her as she began to imagine countless wonderful possibilities.

’This prospective son-in-law’s family is just too perfect,’ she thought, feeling incredibly satisfied. ’On a small scale, it means they won’t have to worry about anything material after marriage.’

’On a grander scale, this will secure the future for generations to come.’

’Outsiders might not appreciate Jiang Zhengfeng’s position, but having been in the business world for years, his name is legendary to me. Besides, Chen Yuan mentioned last time that his father is already the General Director for the Jiang Group’s entire northern region.’

’That means that sooner or later, Chen Yuan will take over the behemoth that is the Jiang Group and become its new leader.’

’He’ll be a man of real power.’

’I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of just one of them, either Jiangg Ning or Jiangg Yao, marrying him. It would be a true fairytale story, like a sparrow becoming a phoenix.’

’But now, both of my daughters have fallen for him, and he’s actually willing to marry them both! Not only does this settle the matter of marriage for both Ningning and Yaoyao, and with such a perfect match, but I won’t even have to worry about my darling Yaoyao being bullied, because her sister will be right by her side.’

’Everything will be so much easier for them.’

’The two of them won’t have to face difficult in-laws alone.’

’And most importantly, he’s so young! Not even twenty, with limitless, unimaginable potential.’

If she weren’t in this detention center, Jiangg Ruxue would want to arrange the wedding immediately. She wouldn’t want to waste a single moment. Her greatest fear now was that he would suddenly change his mind, worried about her currently ruined reputation.

’If my situation ruins this for my two daughters,’ she thought, ’I’ll never, ever be able to forgive myself.’