Bai Yihong also got up and said, "I haven’t finished my business in the backyard. You’re one of us, Chang Sheng, so I won’t entertain you further."
Jiang Yichun hurriedly said, "Father, you go about your business, don’t be polite with me."
Seeing that Chang Sheng’s attitude towards him was still the same as before, Bai Yihong felt very happy, a smile on his face as he departed.
Fang Guizhi had already left with Lin Ping’er. Bai Zehao excused himself with an excuse of checking the accounts at the shop. Alone among them, Bai Zepei remained unmoved. Seeing him not coming out, Lin Ping’er winked at him from the door, but he completely ignored her.
Barely looking at Jiang Yichun, Bai Zepei said coldly, "You disappeared for half a year, and in your absence, our younger sister was dishonored, pregnant, and nearly lost her life from a head injury. I asked her if she regretted anything. She said it was too late to have regrets now. But now we have our parents and brothers who love her, and then there will be a lovely baby. With striving for a better day, there was nothing to regret."
Bai Ruozhu looked at her elder brother surprisingly. It was the question he suddenly asked when she just transmigrated. She didn’t expect that, even after such a long time, he could still remember what she said.
"Once, she wanted to go to Xuantian Mountain to save you, and I also asked if she would regret this decision in the future? She said she doesn’t know if she will regret it, but what she does know is once she makes a decision, she will strive not to regret it. Maybe, she might make a wasteful trip, but if she does nothing, she can’t get past herself."
Bai Zepei got up and walked step by step towards Jiang Yichun, staring at him, saying, "Now, our little sister has Dengdeng with her, has us, and her life is getting better and better. I don’t think she has regretted anything, so I don’t want anyone or anything to make her regret in the future. If you can’t make her happy, just leave early, don’t disturb the peaceful days of my family."
Jiang Yichun was startled by Bai Zepei’s words. He looked at Bai Ruozhu, his eyes full of emotion and guilt. Only he knew that the Bai Ruozhu mentioned by his second brother was the person deep in his heart that he deeply loved.
"Second Brother, I won’t let Ruozhu be sad in the future." Jiang Yichun shifted his gaze away from Bai Ruozhu and looked at Bai Zepei with a serious expression.
Bai Zepei stared into his eyes, seemingly trying to find a hint of insincerity. Finally, he snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Bai Ruozhu watched her second brother’s fading figure, feeling a bitter ache in her heart. He remembered everything and had been worrying about her, truly caring for her.
She also stood up, planning to go outside. She didn’t want to deal with Jiang Yichun right now.
Jiang Yichun, holding Dengdeng, quickly blocked her path, calling out pitifully, "Ruozhu."
Bai Ruozhu just had a headache as she recalled the memories, the times she spent with Chang Sheng in their previous lives. Chang Sheng, suffering from amnesia, would sometimes act like a child, pitifully calling out "Ruozhu". The memory of that tone, ensnared her predecessor’s heart.
As she thought about her relationship with her predecessor, Bai Ruozhu felt her heart pounding. She dodged Jiang Yichun, saying, "I am going to cook, you are in the way."
Jiang Yichun moved aside but still remained in front of her, refusing to let her go.
"My asking that question was not to doubt you, but because I’m somewhat conflicted. I owe the Bai family..." He choked on his words, paused, then said, "I’m afraid of letting the Bai family down."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him fiercely, "You think I’m here to harm people, that everyone here is not my family, right? If anyone has brought trouble to this family, it’s you, Chang Sheng, not me!"
After her cold words, she stepped on his foot, intending to walk past him, but didn’t expect him to grab hold of Dengdeng in one arm and use the other to block her, drawing her into his embrace.
"Let go of me!" Bai Ruozhu angrily pushed him, but to no avail–she was not as strong as him. Even that stomp she had given him was because he purposely let her do so. Moreover, with him holding Dengdeng in his other arm, she didn’t dare to use more force for fear of hurting her son.
Trapped within this familiar embrace, Bai Ruozhu’s heart suddenly filled with bitterness. She had once thought of marrying a man she loved, who would also love Dengdeng. But she never thought about being with Chang Sheng, her former self’s love. Perhaps it was her own kind of mental purity; she may have had a child, yet she had never been in love in her past life. So, in this life, shouldn’t she be with a man who would love only her?
Even though her former self was her, it wasn’t. If Chang Sheng, who loved her former self, were to love her now, wouldn’t she just be a substitute?
"Let me go, give my son back to me!" Bai Ruozhu started crying all of a sudden. She felt like she had hit a dead-end, and it was unbearable.
Jiang Yichun was startled. In his heart, the image of Bai Ruozhu – or rather the current Bai Ruozhu – was of someone strong and independent. Seeing her cry suddenly, he was flustered and didn’t know what to do.
"Don’t cry, I really know that I was wrong." He quickly let go of her and handed her Dengdeng.
Holding onto Dengdeng, Bai Ruozhu cried even harder. She didn’t get a good sleep last night, and was now struggling to face this unexpected situation.
Dengdeng, not understanding why his mother was crying, stared at her with his big eyes in bewilderment. Then, his little mouth pouted and his eyes filled with tears. He began wailing loudly, clinging to his mother’s neck.
Listening to her son crying made Bai Ruozhu feel even more wronged, and she started to sob harder. The sight of mother and son crying together made Jiang Yichun extremely anxious.
He completely lost his usual aloof demeanor, and paced anxiously around the two of them, repeatedly apologizing in a gentle tone, "Stop crying, stop crying. I apologize, it’s all my fault, please don’t cry."
He seemed to be at his wits’ end and utterly befuddled, only able to plead with them to stop crying, apologetically repeating his mistakes, but the mother and son pair paid him no attention. Their crying had even attracted the attention of those outside.
Lin Ping’er peered anxiously out from the kitchen, but Fang Guizhi quickly stopped her, whispering, "Madam, don’t go. We all find this sudden. Let Ruozhu cry for a bit. Imagine how embarrassed she would be if you were there."
Considering this, Lin Ping’er chuckled and said, "Guizhi, you’re right, I’m just being overly worried."
With that, they cheerfully resumed their cooking, as though a son-in-law had just arrived and they were preparing a grand meal. Lin Ping’er was so excited that she added several more dishes.
After a while, when Bai Ruozhu had finished crying, she wiped her eyes and carefuly rubbed her son Dengdeng’s little head. Dengdeng buried his little face into her neck, smearing his tears and snot all over her. Then, he lifted his head and gave her a big wet kiss on her cheek.
This unexpected gesture from her son both tickled Bai Ruozhu and brought tears to her eyes. Was her son already aware enough to express his comfort for her? But why did that involve him rubbing his snot and his tears all over her, not to mention leaving a line of drool on her face when he kissed her? Wasn’t this a rather peculiar way of expressing empathy?
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Dear readers, there will only be four updates today. Without making excuses, from now on, I, Mouka, will alternate between four and five updates a day. When I can, I will try to update more. I must make it clear though, that I never said I can guarantee five updates every day. Unfortunately, I can’t! Hehe, sometimes it’s important to think through the plot carefully, and other times my physical condition may not allow me to write. It is easy to compromise on the quality of the writing if I force myself. Please be understanding.