41: Closed news!

Bai Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell the truth.

Although his mother always said his aunt was not a good person, he knew in his heart that his aunt's kindness to him and his brother was far more genuine than his mother's.

"Mom... Mom said that if a family member gives a child meat, it means they want to sell the child," Bai Xiaoyu said timidly. "She told us that she only lets us eat vegetables because she loves us and doesn't want to sell us. Only disobedient children eat meat... She said that to be good children, we can only eat vegetables. If we don't listen, she will sell us."

At this point, he paused, then added in a low voice, "Once, Xiao Xu was craving something and secretly ate a bite of the sweet and spicy pork belly she made for Uncle... She dragged Xiao Xu to the black market and said she was going to sell him."

When Bai Xiaoxu heard his brother recount this experience, his body trembled, clearly indicating that the incident had left a deep impression on him.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Yan Meiyu exclaimed, heartbroken, her eyes filled with shock and anger.

She never imagined that her daughter-in-law could tell such terrifying lies to the children. She could hardly imagine how scared the two children must have been that day when Fang Qing dragged Xiao Xu to the black market!

Even Bai Jixuan and Bai Zhan were stunned, speechless for a long time.

"Your mom... she never let you eat meat?" Bai Jixuan asked in disbelief.

Then how did she spend all the money she took from him, using the excuse of "giving the children a good life"?

Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Xiaoxu nodded silently.

Bai Jixuan felt a roar in his head, blood rushed up, his vision went black, and he was almost overcome by rage.

"Brother!" Bai Zhan, quick-witted, quickly supported the tottering Bai Jixuan, preventing him from falling to the ground.

Bai Wanning also rushed forward and helped Bai Jixuan up with Bai Zhan.

The siblings half-dragged, half-pulled him to the small couch, gently settled his body, and let him sit down to rest.

"Big Brother, too much anger is bad for your health." Although Bai Wanning said this, she knew in her heart that Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Xiaoxu were her brother's darlings, so how could he not be angry?

"Yes, Big Brother," Bai Zhan said sternly, "Blame that woman. I've known for a long time that she wasn't a good person. Look at her, what has she done? To treat her nephews like that."

"It's all my fault," Yan Meiyu said in a low voice, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "I should have paid attention to how she was teaching the children earlier. I always thought no mother would harm her own children, but I didn't expect that for the sake of her good-for-nothing brother, she could be so cruel to her own children."

Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Xiaoxu were both stunned as they watched the adults' reactions.

Bai Xiaoxu tugged at his sleeve, looked timidly at his father, and whispered, "Dad, did we do something wrong?"

"No," Bai Wanning immediately turned, hugged Bai Xiaoxu, and said in a gentle yet firm voice, "It's your mother who did wrong, she lied to you. Doesn't your uncle eat meat? Did your mother say he was a bad person?"

"No, Mom said Uncle is very good."

"See?" Bai Wanning said patiently to them, gently patting Bai Xiaoyu's head, "Your mother lied because she wanted to eat all the meat herself. In fact, people who are unwilling to share delicious food are the truly bad people."

"Then isn't Mom good?" Bai Xiaoxu asked nervously, his eyes full of unease.

Bai Wanning smiled and gently comforted him, "I don't know whether your mother is good or bad. Only you and your brother can judge that. The only thing I can tell you is that you are our family's little darlings, and you should never go hungry because of someone else's lies."

Bai Wanning's words made the two children's eyes redden. This was the first time they had been called "little darlings."

Their mother always told them that they had ruined her life, and they had to work hard in the fields to compensate for her sacrifice.

She had never said such warm and soft words to them.

Bai Jixuan looked at his two sons' bewildered faces, and a pang of pain shot through his heart. He had never imagined that the children had never heard a single phrase like, "You are a darling."

As a father, he had always believed that as long as he worked hard to earn money, he could give his children a better life.

He didn't expect that Fang Qing, who had taken so much money from him and his mother, would be so cold and cruel to the two children.

He sighed heavily, stood up, and pulled Bai Xiaoyu into his embrace.

He looked at his two sons and earnestly echoed Bai Wanning's words: "Auntie is right, you are Daddy's darlings. Even if Mom isn't good to you, so what? Daddy is still here."

Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Xiaoxu's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down their faces, unstoppable.

It turned out that Daddy truly loved them. It seemed that Mom... was the big liar.

After comforting the two children, the family sat back at the dinner table and finally ate their meal in peace.

After dinner, the family gathered in the living room to watch TV.

The news was playing on the television, and the rain outside continued to fall incessantly, showing no signs of stopping. Watching the heavy rain, a faint unease rose in Bai Jixuan's heart.

News about Y City was being broadcast on TV.

According to the reporter, something seemed to have happened in Y City; a tour group that went hiking in the mountains had completely disappeared!

Family members searched everywhere but could not find any trace of them.

Outside, thunder rumbled, lightning streaked across the sky, and sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining unpleasantly on Bai Wanning's face through the window.

As she took her vitamins, she browsed the news. Something big had clearly happened in Y City, but the news was heavily suppressed. If Y City wasn't a small area with a sparse population, such an incident would be impossible to keep under wraps.

It had to be said that the official suppression methods were indeed clever. If she hadn't personally experienced those hellish years, she probably wouldn't have noticed the clues behind it.

Even though she was thousands of miles away, Bai Wanning felt as if she could already smell blood and the scent of decaying corpses.

Because she knew that those missing tourists – most likely – were already dead!

She knew the truth of everything, but she still couldn't help but feel panicked, as if she was back in that world where zombies roamed and mutated beasts lurked – and now, every word broadcast on TV seemed to be slowly reawakening the nightmare in her mind, turning it into reality.