Chapter 403: A Family Secret
Dudi looked at Wen Nuan in surprise, then his expression turned to anger. That thoughtless girl, Yueying, had actually told Wen Nuan these things. No wonder Wen Nuan had come to him for confirmation. What else had she said?
"What else did Yueying say?"
"Judging by your expression, it must be true." Wen Nuan was visibly shaken. She grabbed Dudi’s sleeve nervously. "Tell me, is this not true? It’s not true, is it? Why can’t the person I marry live past thirty? It doesn’t make any sense. And what about the butterfly on my shoulder? Dudi, tell me. I need to know. What is going on?"
Dudi gently held her hand. It was a hot day, but her hand was ice cold. Wen Nuan must be worried about Ye Feimo, which was why she was in such a hurry to see him. Dudi looked at her anxious face. She was such a kind woman. It was truly unfair that she had to endure so much pain.
"What else do you know?"
Wen Nuan froze. "Is there anything else I don’t know?"
Dudi sighed, knowing that he couldn’t keep it a secret anymore. He held Wen Nuan’s cold hand and said softly, "I didn’t plan on telling you these things, but since Yueying already did, I might as well be direct. Yes, it’s true. Your last name is Long..."
Dudi told Wen Nuan about the long-standing feud between the Long, Du, and Bai families. He also told her about what had happened more than twenty years ago. Wen Nuan was too young at the time and had no memory of it. Everything Dudi said was unfamiliar, but she believed it wholeheartedly.
For some reason, she just believed it. When Dudi mentioned the curse, her heart skipped a beat. She remembered the bloody butterfly in her dream and felt a burning sensation on her shoulder where the birthmark was. It was as if it was on fire and was very uncomfortable. She stopped herself from thinking about that terrifying scene, and her shoulder felt a little better.
The curse.
Dudi had asked her that day if she believed in fate and curses.
She had said she didn’t believe in fate, but she believed in curses.
Deep down, she must have believed it.
"Did you say the Aegean Sea?" Wen Nuan’s eyes narrowed. The Aegean Sea... Every year in September, right after her birthday, her mother would go to Athens alone. Her father never went with her. She would be gone for a month or two, saying she was visiting a friend. Wen Nuan had heard her mother talk about visiting this friend for many years, and she had always described her friend as being very smart, kind, beautiful, and capable. In Wen Nuan’s memory, her mother’s friend was like a goddess, perfect in every way.
But she had never met her mother’s friend.
Her birthday was approaching, and her mother’s flight to Athens had already been booked. It was the same this year. Such a big thing had happened, and she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate her birthday, but she hadn’t heard her mother say that she wasn’t going to Athens.
Who was she going to see? Who was this friend?
Could she be the Long family’s successor that Dudi had mentioned? Her biological mother?
If so, why had she never come to see her?
If so, why had she never contacted her?
Too many questions were swirling in Wen Nuan’s mind. She was instantly confused, not knowing what to believe and what not to believe. But after she calmed down, none of it seemed to matter anymore.
"Is there a way to break this curse? Is there another way besides leaving him?" Wen Nuan asked Dudi, her heart pounding. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
Dudi shook his head. "I don’t know."
Wen Nuan’s face turned pale, and her fingertips trembled slightly. She gave a half-smile and leaned back in her chair. She didn’t say anything else, as if no topic could interest her anymore.
Dudi tried to tell Wen Nuan as much as he could about the Long family.
"Some people have lived past thirty, and that is..."
"Yes, people from the Du family," Dudi said. He smiled and reached out to hold her hand again. "Wen Nuan, do you know? You were my fiancée when you were still in your mother’s womb. Your mother and my mother have been very good friends since they were kids, so they arranged a marriage for us. When I saw your Auntie Long was pregnant, I was looking forward to having a little sister."
"Fiancée?" Wen Nuan looked at Dudi in surprise. Du Yueying hadn’t said anything about this. Dudi had guessed that she hadn’t, so he decided to tell her everything at once. "Wushuang saw that your butterfly was pretty and had one tattooed, and my parents saw it. That’s how I found out about the butterfly. I didn’t know about it before. I know a lot about the Long family, and I also know about the butterfly curse, but there’s no record of the butterfly birthmark."
He glanced at Wen Nuan and smiled. "Did you know? A Long family daughter would never show her birthmark to others. No matter how hot it is, she would always cover it up. Very few people have ever seen it. So I knew that the Long family’s successor had a butterfly birthmark, but I didn’t know where. When I saw the butterfly on your shoulder, I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t make the connection at all. Besides, a lot of people have tattoos these days."
Wen Nuan gave a light laugh. A birthmark...
Of course, who would have thought?
"Is there really no way to break the curse?" Wen Nuan asked wistfully, her expression sad. She never thought she would encounter something like this. A curse. Why wasn’t the curse that she would die before thirty, but that her husband would?
Dudi didn’t say anything. Wen Nuan’s face looked dejected.
"You’re only thinking about Ye Feimo, but have you thought about yourself?" Dudi asked. She was clearly sad and heartbroken from losing her baby. Although they were both at fault, Wen Nuan’s sadness was definitely no less than Ye Feimo’s. She was able to move on so quickly and only think about whether Ye Feimo would die. She truly loved Ye Feimo. But this side of Wen Nuan was also very lovable.
She could swallow any pain or hardship. She remembered the good things and not the bad. She was very forgiving.
"No matter what, nothing is more important than a person’s life," Wen Nuan said calmly. She looked at the children playing nearby and gave a faint smile. "Look how happy they are. Every person only has one life."
Dudi was silent. Wen Nuan understood what he meant. There was no way to break the curse. So that was it.
She clenched her fist, then let go, her face calm.
"I want to know more about the Long family. Can you tell me?" Wen Nuan asked with a tilted head and a smile. Dudi smiled back. Of course, he could. She was a Long family daughter. She had the right to know everything about the Long family.