Chapter 641 - 643: A Son is a Father’s Treasure
How could Bai Ruozhu explain to her mother why she’s unhappy? Is she supposed to say that she’s unhappy because she isn’t the original Bai Ruozhu anymore?
No, she should have kept this a secret in the first place, and she should have never told Jiang Yichun.
Thinking of this, she felt uncomfortable again. She had trusted him so much, shared her greatest secret with him, only to be met with his suspicion and distrust.
"Mother, I’m still a bit dazed, you don’t need to worry." Finally, Bai Ruozhu managed to squeeze out a smile and said to Lin Ping’er, whose face was filled with worry.
"Ah, it’s truly the twist of fate. If it were me, I’d be shocked too. But in the end, this is good news. Little Dengdeng can be with his real father now, who would dare bully him in the future?" Lin Ping’er spoke and then managed to smile again.
Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong had privately worried about Little Dengdeng’s future more than once. A child without a father was bound to be pitiful, no matter how much the family loved him, it could never compensate for the lack of fatherly love.
Now that his father has returned, it would be the greatest joy for Dengdeng.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at Dengdeng, who was still sleeping on the bed, and had to admit that her mother was right.
Soon, Lin Ping’er helped Bai Ruozhu tie up her hair and was about to hand her a hairpin when Bai Ruozhu stopped her. She picked out another and put it in her hair.
Lin Ping’er didn’t think too much of it, picked up Dengdeng, and said, "Come on, let’s show the child to Chang Sheng."
Out of spite, Bai Ruozhu placed the hairpin she wore regularly at the bottom of the drawer. It was a gift from Jiang Yichun. She used to wear it every day. Now, she didn’t even want to glance at it.
Dengdeng had fallen asleep after his morning breastfeed and had been sleeping for nearly half an hour. When Lin Ping’er picked him up, he opened his eyes quickly. He mewled for Lin Ping’er to hold him upright. As she did and entered the main hall, Little Dengdeng’s big eyes spotted Jiang Yichun. He immediately reached out to Jiang Yichun and started babbling.
"Mother, let me hold him." Jiang Yichun quickly went over to take Dengdeng.
The moment Dengdeng was held by his father, he broke into laughter. The room filled with the child’s innocent laughter, reminding everyone of Guizhi’s words earlier.
"I was wondering why Dengdeng likes En Gong so much. It turns out En Gong is Chang Sheng, Dengdeng’s real father!"
Jiang Yichun had just finished explaining to Bai Yihong and his sons what had happened in the main hall recently. Everyone was somewhat moved. Bai Zepei even demanded why he didn’t mention this in the letter to his sister, which made her upset.
Chang Sheng was momentarily at a loss for words, creating a somewhat stiff atmosphere in the room. But the arrival of Dengdeng and his cheerful laughter broke the awkward silence, causing everyone to cheer up again.
After all, Dengdeng has found his real father, and look how happy he is.
A sour feeling rose in Bai Ruozhu’s heart, so she went and sat down next to her second brother. Bai Zepei noticed that his sister’s mood was off. He patted her shoulder gently, whispering, "If you’re upset, kick him out. I’m on your side."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him, "I wonder who used to secretly favor outsiders."
Bai Zepei was left speechless by her retort. After a while, he said, "If I knew he was Chang Sheng, I would never have helped him. I did suspect, but when I wanted to verify his looks, he refused and even said that you recognized him. I thought..."
"You thought I would surely recognize him, right?" Bai Ruozhu laughed bitterly, she wasn’t the original Bai Ruozhu. What could she remember?
That’s why there were so many misunderstandings.
"If anything, blame Chang Sheng. When he was injured before, he was mute in our house. When we met again, his throat was healed, and his voice had changed." Bai Zehao also couldn’t help but chime in.
Bai Ruozhu pouted, muttering, "It’s all his fault!"
Jiang Yichun had keen hearing. He hadn’t spoken because he knew Bai Ruozhu was angry with him and wasn’t sure how to approach her now. He could only hold Dengdeng, keeping his ears open to their conversation. When he heard that, he immediately said, "It’s all my fault. I’ve inconvenienced everyone."
While he said ’everyone’, his eyes were glued to Bai Ruozhu. His expression was like a child who had done something wrong, pleading miserably for forgiveness from an adult. The initially silent Fang Guizhi could barely hold back her laughter. This benevolent official, who used to be quite intimidating, had now reverted to being Chang Sheng and was surprisingly amusing!
Bai Ruozhu gave him a glare, completely unaffected by his pitiful appearance.
Jiang Yichun coughed awkwardly, unsure of what to say at the moment.
Just then, Little Dengdeng reached out to touch his chin and blew raspberries at him. Dengdeng’s little antics were hilariously adorable, immediately lightening up the mood in the room and lifting the awkward atmosphere.
Jiang Yichun held Dengdeng, grinning from ear to ear. He thought to himself, as a father, he hadn’t pampered his son in vain; even at this young age, Dengdeng knew to help his father. Holding his son gave him a unique sense of peace and tranquility. No wonder he had always adored Dengdeng, couldn’t bear to see him cry. He thought it was because ’love begets love’, but now he realized, it was his own blood, the child that his beloved woman had borne for him. How could he not love him?
Seeing his father smiling at him seemed to be a great encouragement for Little Dengdeng. He blew raspberries even more energetically, eventually covering Jiang Yichun’s face with saliva and bubbles. Jiang Yichun didn’t mind it at all, on the contrary, he broke into big laughter.
Seeing this, Little Dengdeng became even more joyful. He stretched out his little short arms to hug his father’s neck and planted a sloppy kiss on his father’s face, spreading his saliva even further.
Everyone found this hilariously cute and broke into laughter.
Bai Ruozhu suddenly remembered that she and Jiang Yichun had shared a kiss like this too. Her face heated up involuntarily, but she still felt uncomfortable.
It’s not that she was being sensitive. How could she ignore what Jiang Yichun had questioned her about? He was suspicious of her, even blaming her.
Perhaps she was overthinking. She thought that Jiang Yichun had fallen under the influence of ’Forgetful Insect’ and had developed feelings for her, hence he couldn’t help but approach her. It was clearly because his sentiments for her predecessor unconsciously influenced him. Then what are his feelings for her?
Most women wouldn’t want to be someone else’s substitute, right? Especially given Bai Ruozhu’s current situation, she would be exceptionally sensitive to the term ’substitute’.
Lin Ping’er sent Bai Yihong and the others a look. The message was clear: don’t be the third wheel. Give these two a chance to talk things out.
"I’ll head to the kitchen and arrange the dishes. Later, we’ll have a feast. Let’s enjoy a good meal together as a family." Lin Ping’er announced with a smile.
Upon hearing the term ’family’, Jiang Yichun smiled gratefully at Lin Ping’er. It had been a long time since he had experienced the warmth of a family. The last he remembered was over a year ago, in the small courtyard of Bai family’s second residence. That was also his most treasured memory in this life.