Lei Jingxiao cried for a long, long time, as if he wanted to pour out all the grievance, confusion, and immense pain he had endured over the past twenty-plus years in one go.
Only when he had cried himself weary did his emotions gradually settle. He raised his head and looked at Jiang Yunyan.
Jiang Yunyan gently wiped away his tears as well and asked softly, "He... told you, didn't he?"
The emotions Lei Jingxiao had barely calmed were stirred into a raging boil by those words. His eyes, which he had just managed to restrain, filled with tears again. "Auntie, this was all my fault, wasn't it?! If it weren't for me... Mother wouldn't have died... I was the one who killed her!"
Jiang Yunyan merely shook her head gently, stroking Lei Jingxiao's hair as she explained softly, "Don't think that way. Your mother was the kindest, gentlest person in the world. She was the best sister... and she would certainly have been the best mother."
"Though she is no longer here, there is one thing I am absolutely certain of. Even if your mother were given ten thousand more chances to choose, she would still choose without hesitation to let you live! She was willing to trade her life for yours."
As Jiang Yunyan spoke of this, especially as she recalled her older sister, her heart could not remain calm either. She slowly began telling Lei Jingxiao what his mother had been like when she was pregnant.
"When she secretly told me for the first time that she was pregnant, there was no fear in her eyes, only surprise and happiness. She told me that this time, she would definitely protect you properly..."
"Your name was also chosen by her. She admired your father greatly and hoped you