This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
That day when both of them were at Limaâs 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 Wanâs heart started to beat rapidlyâŚ
She felt that maybe Bai Muchuan might ignore herâŚ
Yet the next moment, she heard his voice. âThe female tour guide mentioned in the recording is my mom.â
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.
âIf itâs not convenient, you can choose not to say anything.â
Bai Muchuan held her hand and leaned against the comfortable settee.
âCan I smoke?â His tone was somewhat indifferent.
Xiang Wan did not expect that. âGo ahead!â
She looked around her. âThereâs no one else here.â
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.
âThat year, I was eight. I lived with my mom in Jin City.â
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.
âBack then, I donât have a father,â said Bai Muchuan, âIâve never had one since I was born.â
He was never someone who couldnât 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.
âWhat does it matter? Iâve always felt that, although the lives of parents and their children intersect with each other, life should, in fact, be independent. Itâs just thatââ
The influence of parents on their childrenâs 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.
âI know. Back then, I was happy even though I donât have a dad. On the contrary, having no mom is the worst that could happen to me.â
âMm.â Xiang Wan wanted to say her condolences but felt that it was not suitable.
âEverythingâs over. In your next life, you can still be her kid again.â
âShe did not die.â Bai Muchuan suddenly blurted.
That sudden sentence scared Xiang Wan out of her wits.
âWhat did you say? How⌠How is this possible?â
Bai Muchuan smiled coldly. âBack then, Cheng Weiji was the head of the Jin City police.â
Well, he was certainly a police officer of many years!
Xiang Wanâs eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
She seemed to have caught something, yet there was still a layer of fog before the truth.
âIt is said that⌠heâs my real father.â
Bai Muchuan used the words âIt is said thatâ.
However, his unconcerned tone did not make Xiang Wan feel better. She was still in shockâ
Does that mean Bai Muchuan and Cheng Zheng are actually brothers?
To be exact, half-brothers? She thought in her head.
âBut youâre living with the Bai Family and not the Cheng Family?â
âItâs a long story!â Bai Muchuan glanced at her. âIâll tell you about it slowly once weâre married, all right?â
Uh! Xiang Wan blushed slightly. âI want to hear it now! How can you use that to bargain with me?â
As Bai Muchuan leaned against the settee, he looked up at the ceiling.
There was no emotion on his cold, handsome face.
âAll right, itâs just a story.â
As though he was simply reciting a story that happened to someone else.
Suddenly, Xiang Wan felt sympathy for this man.
âItâs alright. If you really donât feel like talking about it, then donât. I was just jokingâŚâ
Bai Muchuan smiled when he saw her flustered expression and squeezed her hand as an assurance.
âAfter 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 Familyâs son got abducted, and for the sake of Mr. Cheng Weijiâs career advancement, they sent me to the Bai Family.â
ââŚâ For a moment, Xiang Wan found herself at a loss of words.
Bai Muchuan turned to stroke her face. âCheng Weiji and Bai Zhenhua are really good buddies.â
He was an illegitimate child in a family who didnât know what to do with him.
Another family lost their child and needed consolation.
Xiang Wanâs eyes started to redden as she looked at him.
Bai Muchuan, on the other hand, was smiling as he gazed at her seriously.
âCan you understand?â
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 recognitionâŚ
Just how did Cheng Weijiâs 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!
âBai Muchuan, youâre really awesome! Iâm so proud of you!â
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.
âYour soul deserves to be loved and respected.â
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. âHow about my body? Does it not deserve to be loved?â
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