novelraw Chapter 398
Chapter 398
Qin Jing didn’t feel touched by Wen Bo’s so-called confession—far from it. His entire body broke out in goosebumps.
How could he not? Just moments ago, this man had been holding hands with his sister, yet now he was professing his love for him. Even knowing this was his “online soulmate,” it didn’t make the situation any less revolting.
Gritting his teeth, Qin Jing’s fists audibly tightened, the knuckles cracking under the strain.
Wen Bo, undeterred, turned to Qin Xiaoyu. “I’m sorry, Xiaoyu, but… you didn’t really care whether I liked you or not, right? You just wanted to be my girlfriend. So I let myself… love someone else.”
Qin Xiaoyu let out a laugh—cold, incredulous, and furious. “You really think you’re the victim here, don’t you? Should I thank you for giving me the ‘opportunity’ to be with you? Let me tell you something: if I’d known you were gay from the start, I would never have looked at you twice!”
Feelings might grow over time, sure, but Wen Bo wasn’t even on the same page—he wasn’t even in the same book! Preferences like his weren’t something you could just "work on."
Wen Bo looked thoroughly humiliated, especially as both Qin siblings glared at him with contempt. Unable to hold back, he tried to defend himself. “I was wrong to deceive you both, but you two… you kept talking about how much you loved him, how you wanted to bring him to the family banquet, and now look at you—”
His weak argument had the opposite effect. Qin Jing and Qin Xiaoyu both burst out laughing, though it was a bitter, enraged laugh.
Some team members approached to try calming Wen Bo down, whispering for him to stop talking before things got worse. They didn’t dare offend Qin Xiaoyu.
Meanwhile, Wen’s mother, hearing her son’s words, lost what little composure she had left.
She jumped up, grabbed Wen Bo, and stared at him with wide, furious eyes. “What are you saying? What nonsense are you spouting? How could you possibly like—”
“Enough! I like men! Do you understand? I like men!” Wen Bo finally snapped, screaming at his mother.
The declaration was met with a resounding slap across his face, sending him sprawling to the floor.
“You’re sick! You need help! You’re just like your father—both of you are sick, both of you are perverts!” Wen’s mother’s entire body trembled with rage, her eyes wild and unfocused. “But it’s okay. Mommy will take you to get treated. You’ll be fine soon. You’ll be normal again.”
She reached out to help him up, her movements erratic and almost desperate.
The surrounding crowd gasped in shock. So Wen Bo’s father was also…? And yet he had married Wen’s mother and had a child with her? It all began to make sense—her extreme homophobia, her unrelenting bitterness.
Some even began to feel a shred of pity for the woman.
Wen Bo, however, pushed her away in anger. “You destroyed my father, and now you want to destroy me too? My father may have wronged you, but he did everything he could to make it right! He gave you everything and left with nothing. He’s been gone for years, but you still won’t let him go. And now you won’t let me go either?!”
Wen’s mother’s expression turned to one of utter despair as she stared at her son.
The onlookers murmured, some feeling that Wen Bo’s words were out of line. After all, wasn’t his mother the real victim in this situation? She might seem overbearing now, but who wouldn’t be after experiencing such betrayal?
[It turns out that Wen Bo’s father didn’t even realize his own orientation when he married. Back then, information about such topics was scarce, and he simply followed societal norms—getting married and having children. Though he was uncomfortable with intimacy, he assumed it was just a personal quirk. He worked hard, provided for the family, and cared for his wife and child. But when he met another man later in life, he finally understood his true self. He didn’t want to hurt Wen’s mother any further, so he came clean, asked for her forgiveness, and promised to leave everything behind to start anew.]
Qin Chao and Qin Rong, who had initially felt sorry for Wen’s mother, now found the situation far more complex.
[Wen’s mother, however, couldn’t accept this. Both families were from highly traditional, scholarly backgrounds that viewed homosexuality as a disgrace to their ancestors. She had loved Wen’s father deeply, flaunting his gentle care to her social circle as proof of her “perfect” life—a loving husband, a good son, an ideal family. The reality shattered her. Refusing to let him go, she revealed his secret to both families.]
Qin Chao and Qin Rong remembered Qin Xiaoyu once mentioning that Wen Bo’s father had “left.”
[The elders, obsessed with preserving the family’s reputation, conspired to have Wen’s father sent to a psychiatric hospital, one notorious for its brutal treatment of so-called “deviants.” It nearly drove him insane. He was only rescued when the man he loved found him and helped him escape abroad. Since then, he’s had no contact with the family.]
Qin Chao and Qin Rong were stunned, unable to imagine the horror of being forcibly confined and tortured for something beyond one’s control.
[Having witnessed all this, Wen Bo grew up traumatized. After his father’s departure, his mother became obsessive, cursing homosexuality daily and monitoring Wen Bo closely, terrified he might “stray.” Out of fear, Wen Bo tried to suppress his true self, even dating women to prove his “normalcy.” Ironically, it was this very suppression that led to his double life, where he deceived both Qin Xiaoyu and Qin Jing while grappling with his identity.]
Qin Chao and Qin Rong could only sigh. The dysfunction of one family had rippled outward, hurting so many.
The rest of the crowd, unaware of the full backstory, fixated instead on the scandal at hand. To them, the shocking revelation was that their team captain had not only cheated but had also come out.
Wen’s mother, still trying to “save” her son, pleaded with him.
But Wen Bo finally broke. “If you hadn’t pushed me so hard, I could’ve been honest about who I am! It’s not like it was in Dad’s time anymore—I could’ve been myself! I could’ve chosen to date men openly. But you made me scared, anxious. You made me deny myself. That’s why I ended up deceiving them and forcing myself into this mess. This is all your fault!”