Chapter 419 - My Dad

Chapter 419: My Dad
Translator: 
Atlas Studios 
 Editor: 
Atlas Studios

That day when both of them were at Lima’s house, Xiang Wan had asked Bai Muchuan about it.
He did admit that he had chosen to transfer to Jin City to investigate a cold case.
However, this time, when Xiang Wan first heard about the case mentioned in the recording, she did not probe further.
She seemed to not want to find out too much.
This was because if Bai Muchuan did not want to tell her on his own initiative, he might have some secrets he was not ready to share as yet.


Xiang Wan respected the idea that it was all right for a couple to have their own secrets and space.
If not for the fact that the secret had everything to do with the case, Xiang Wan knew very well that she would never have asked him about that.
Bai Muchuan looked at her for a long time.
In the melodious music playing in the cafe, he was brooding with an air of melancholy.
As he contemplated this question, the time it took for him to do so seemed so long that Xiang Wan’s heart started to beat rapidly…
With unease.
She felt that maybe Bai Muchuan might ignore her…
Yet the next moment, she heard his voice.
The female tour guide mentioned in the recording is my mom.

Xiang Wan paused for a while, but there was not much change in her expression.
She had thought about it actually.


Thus, it did not surprise her!
She tightened the grip of his hand and looked at his grim face.

If it’s not convenient, you can choose not to say anything.

Bai Muchuan held her hand and leaned against the comfortable settee.

Can I smoke?
His tone was somewhat indifferent.
Xiang Wan did not expect that.
Go ahead!

She looked around her.
There’s no one else here.

They were sitting on a settee, and they had chosen an area of the cafe that offered more privacy.
At this hour, there were few customers in the cafe.
Bai Muchuan took out his cigarette while Xiang Wan lit the cigarette for him personally.


He just looked at Xiang Wan without a word.
The look in his eyes, although obscured by the smoke, still revealed a trace of fatigue and grief.
Ever since they became a couple, Bai Muchuan hardly smoked in front of her.
A man who did not want his girlfriend to take in second-hand smoke was a good one.
However, at this moment, this cigarette could be the very key needed for him to open up to Xiang Wan.
She knew very well that he really needed that.
Basically, men were not good in confiding their problems with another.
The pain, wounds, and discomfort they were feeling remained buried at the bottom of their heart, and they would lick their wounds themselves.
That also applied to Bai Muchuan.
Xiang Wan waited quietly.


Finally, when she heard his attractive, husky voice, coupled with the music playing in the cafe, an indescribable feeling of sorrow rushed through her.

That year, I was eight. I lived with my mom in Jin City.

Eh?!

In Jin City?

That was quite unexpected.
Xiang Wan had never thought that Bai Muchuan lived in Jin City when he was young.
However, the next moment, she was actually glad.
Fate was truly wonderful.
Her heart was fluttering in delight to know that they spent their childhood in the same city.
That seemed to have become a support for her feelings for him.



Back then, I don’t have a father,
said Bai Muchuan,
I’ve never had one since I was born.

He was never someone who couldn’t speak well.
Maybe it was really hard for him to talk about himself since he used short sentences.
Xiang Wan snuggled up to him gently, like a puppy showing its love and warmth to its beloved owner.

What does it matter? I’ve always felt that, although the lives of parents and their children intersect with each other, life should, in fact, be independent. It’s just that—

The influence of parents on their children’s childhood was enormous.
To the extent that it was irreversible.
Xiang Wan consoled him as she held his hand which had formed into a fist.
Bai Muchuan turned to her for a glance and smiled. He snuffed out the cigarette elegantly and pulled her back to his arms.

I know. Back then, I was happy even though I don’t have a dad. On the contrary, having no mom is the worst that could happen to me.


Mm.
Xiang Wan wanted to say her condolences but felt that it was not suitable.

Everything’s over. In your next life, you can still be her kid again.


She did not die.
Bai Muchuan suddenly blurted.
That sudden sentence scared Xiang Wan out of her wits.

What did you say? How… How is this possible?

Bai Muchuan smiled coldly.
Back then, Cheng Weiji was the head of the Jin City police.

Cheng Weiji?

Cheng Zheng’s dad.

Well, he was certainly a police officer of many years!
Xiang Wan’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
She seemed to have caught something, yet there was still a layer of fog before the truth.

It is said that… he’s my real father.

Bai Muchuan used the words
It is said that
.
He said with a smile.
However, his unconcerned tone did not make Xiang Wan feel better. She was still in shock—
Does that mean Bai Muchuan and Cheng Zheng are actually brothers?
To be exact, half-brothers? She thought in her head.

But you’re living with the Bai Family and not the Cheng Family?


It’s a long story!
Bai Muchuan glanced at her.
I’ll tell you about it slowly once we’re married, all right?

Uh! 
Xiang Wan blushed slightly.
I want to hear it now! How can you use that to bargain with me?

As Bai Muchuan leaned against the settee, he looked up at the ceiling.
There was no emotion on his cold, handsome face.

All right, it’s just a story.

He was laughing.
As though he was simply reciting a story that happened to someone else.
Suddenly, Xiang Wan felt sympathy for this man.

It’s alright. If you really don’t feel like talking about it, then don’t. I was just joking…

Bai Muchuan smiled when he saw her flustered expression and squeezed her hand as an assurance.

After mom left, I lived in the Cheng Family for a while. Cheng Zheng and I were brothers for a few years… Consequently, I was sent to that Youth Training School as they claimed that I was wild, unyielding, and bullied my stepmother and elder brother… After that, the Bai Family’s son got abducted, and for the sake of Mr. Cheng Weiji’s career advancement, they sent me to the Bai Family.


…
For a moment, Xiang Wan found herself at a loss of words.
Bai Muchuan turned to stroke her face.
Cheng Weiji and Bai Zhenhua are really good buddies.

That really made sense.
He was an illegitimate child in a family who didn’t know what to do with him.
Another family lost their child and needed consolation.
Xiang Wan’s eyes started to redden as she looked at him.
Bai Muchuan, on the other hand, was smiling as he gazed at her seriously.

Can you understand?

Yup, she got it!
Xiang Wan closed her eyes. She thought about the young Bai Muchuan, and how he faced the sudden changes in his life. Like a piece of merchandise, he moved from one family to another. There was no love or concern. Since he was young, they made him experience a fate that he had no control over, trying his best to survive while being embroiled in the adult world where he witnessed various kinds of greed, selfishness, and darkness, which could twist his mind beyond recognition…
He was only a child!
Just how did Cheng Weiji’s legal wife bully him?
There was also Cheng Zheng. Why did Bai Muchuan like to mock or make sarcastic remarks in his face?
Previously, she thought Bai Muchuan had behaved that way because he was a tsundere. Never did she know that these two men had such a connection!

Bai Muchuan, you’re really awesome! I’m so proud of you!

Some people, after experiencing a torturous ordeal, ended up offering their souls to the devil.
However, Bai Muchuan never did that.
He grew up under such hardship, and he even became such a righteous detective.
Not only that, but he was also a famous author, admired and revered by millions of people.

Your soul deserves to be loved and respected.

Xiang Wan was so moved that she used artistic and literary words to express her feelings.
That sentence, however, amused Bai Muchuan.
He ran his fingers through her hair.
How about my body? Does it not deserve to be loved?