Chapter 64

For Yan Shuo, discovering a human's past is as easy as thinking about it.

He looked at Xie Xubai's seemingly nonchalant smile, his jawline slightly tense, and the muscles on the side of his neck bulging outwards, revealing the turmoil in his heart.

Yan Shuo suddenly asked, "Who is that person to you?"

Xie Xubai was taken aback.

During their previous meetings, Yan Shuo was always very reserved and reluctant to talk much, and he almost never asked about anything.

He knew this wasn't due to a cold-hearted personality, but rather because the man had eyes that seemed to know everything, as if he could see through all the laws and causes of the world.

That is indeed the case.

Several times, Xie Xubai would suddenly bring up something without any context, and the man would be able to respond without hesitation, explaining the details to him in a completely flat tone.

Because he has been in a high position for a long time, he knows everything and is clear about everything, so he doesn't take any unexpected events seriously and is not moved by any external things, which is why he appears calm and indifferent.

The little tentacles couldn't stand His arrogant attitude.

But for Xie Xubai, who needs to carefully consider and think things through before acting and is easily worried from time to time, that is the kind of confidence he longs for.

Therefore, Xie Xubai was quite surprised that Yan Shuo would ask such a question. Firstly, Yan Shuo probably already knew the answer, and secondly, the other party's style of doing things was always swift and decisive, which was not at all related to asking a question that he already knew the answer to.

When Yan Shuo saw that Xie Xubai paused for more than two seconds, he knew that the young man must be frantically weighing the pros and cons in his mind again.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with it at first, but perhaps the swaying little flower was too noticeable and made him feel irritable.

After waiting for Xie Xubai to speak for three seconds without doing so, Yan Shuo said expressionlessly, "What are you afraid of me for?"

Xie Xubai was slightly startled. A chill rose from the soles of his feet, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped out from his back.

He suddenly realized that exhausting his mental energy had a greater impact on his thinking than he had imagined, and he hadn't even realized that he had been thinking for too long.

But Yan Shuo's question wasn't a question or an expression of displeasure. The next second, he raised his hand and placed it on Xie Xubai's wrist, letting him touch the small flower underneath.

The petals were thin and soft, and even Yan Shuo, who could control his power with great precision, dared not touch them easily.

In the past, when he would introspect, he would sit at the edge of the flower field, resting his chin on his hand and gazing quietly. This would take anywhere from an hour to an entire night.

Now his gaze shifted downwards, revealing a detached and otherworldly coldness, yet also a certain forcefulness and radicalism. Without a word, he pried open Xie Xubai's fingers, forcing the other to grasp the delicate flower branch.

Xie Xubai had no idea what Yan Shuo wanted to do. The sudden action broke his normal understanding. It was not within his expectations or his thinking, causing his eyebrows to twitch, his heart to pound, and him to reflexively struggle wildly.

When Xie Xubai saw his fingers being pulled uncontrollably by Yan Shuo, almost snapping Xiaohua in two, he was so shocked that he blurted out, "Careful! Don't!"

Yan Shuo stopped, without damaging the flowers in the slightest. His deep eyes met the young man's trembling pupils, and he grabbed the other man's other hand, pressing it against his chest.

Xie Xubai tried to pull his hand away, but the intense vibration struck his palm directly, accompanied by a burning heat that seemed to melt them together, making him involuntarily curl his fingers.

In the realm of consciousness, all emotions are amplified and presented in a more vivid form.

For the first time without prior observation, Xie Xubai suddenly sensed the unease in Yan Shuo's heart.

Yan Shuo: "I'm more afraid of these flowers being damaged than you are."

Yan Shuo: "You can be afraid of me anywhere, but not here, because you have the opportunity and ability to damage these flowers at any time."

After saying that, he released Xie Xubai's hand, lowered his eyes and looked at the young man for a while, then glanced to his side.

The wind and sand gathered, tearing a huge black crack in the air outside the flower field. The crack expanded outwards, gradually becoming a relatively regular rectangle, like the curtain slowly being drawn back before a movie begins.

Xie Xubai quickly withdrew his hand, and when he placed his other hand on it, he could still feel the lingering heat.

Upon hearing Yan Shuo's words, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and soon he was drawn to the scene appearing in the crack.

Xie Xubai suddenly froze on the spot.

As if separated by the long river of time, across the cracks of time, he saw that frail and thin figure from his memory again in that distant, yellowed picture.

Although Xie Xubai had always thought that Ms. Xie was a stunning beauty, in reality, she was not that outstanding in appearance; she was so ordinary that she would be invisible in a crowd.

Her shoulder-length hair was sparse, her skin was dry and flaky, and fine wrinkles lined the corners of her eyes, silently recording the passage of time.

Those eyes, filled with the vicissitudes of life, suddenly curved into a gentle, bright smile when they looked at the small bed.

Xie Xubai stared intently, and Yan Shuo also paid close attention.

Although the woman is not stunningly beautiful, she exudes a calm and serene aura.

For Yan Shuo, this kind of temperament was not uncommon; what was rare was that it came from a common woman rather than a self-cultivating calligrapher or a high-ranking monk.

Just when he thought the woman would show her gentle side like Xie Xubai, smiling and teasing the baby in the crib, or picking up the child and patting and coaxing him, the beautiful and warm scene was suddenly shattered.

The woman's smile vanished instantly when she caught sight of the yellow liquid gushing from under the toddler's bottom, and she let out a roar like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Thank you! Xu! Bai! You wet the bed again! I just changed your pants!"

Yan Shuo: "..."

Xie Xubai: "..."

The former had a subtle expression and subconsciously looked at the young man's expression, and sure enough, he caught a glimpse of a shy blush on the other's face.

Even the most mentally strong person will break down if someone suddenly stumbles upon their embarrassing childhood moments, and Xie Xubai was no exception.

However, no matter how embarrassed he was to watch what was about to happen, his eyes remained fixed on the woman in the picture, filled with longing and focus, unwilling to miss a single detail.

Xie Yuchun appeared angry, and in fact, she was very angry.

But her anger was all bark and no bite. She pulled the child back, who knew he had caused trouble and was trying to run away, and then kneaded his soft, white face with both hands until it turned red before letting out a satisfied snort.

Young Xie Xubai cupped his face, his eyes brimming with tears: "Mother, mother, sob..."

Ms. Xie tapped his forehead with her finger. "Playing the victim, huh? Don't think I didn't see you secretly hiding the empty drink bottle in the closet."

"I'm sorry, I didn't finish it," the child sobbed, his words slurred. "I left half for you."

Ms. Xie was still staring at him seriously when she heard this and burst out laughing: "Okay, at least you have a conscience, I forgive you! Come on, let's go take a bath."

She picked up the sobbing child with one hand, avoiding the yellow urine stain with some disgust, only to find the child's legs flailing helplessly in the air. Without hesitation, she hugged the child's legs, letting the urine stain her clean cuffs and collar.

This is a small house of only 20 square meters. The walls are old and cracked, the plaster is peeling off and it is about to collapse. There is no floor, only a bluish-gray lime floor.

The three-square-meter toilet also serves as a bathroom, with no door and separated by a transparently washed curtain.

The thin curtain cast indistinct shadows of the two figures, one large and one small. The adult brought the child the only small stool and squatted down himself.

Soon the sound of rushing water could be heard, along with their indistinct conversation.

The woman asked, "Where does your sweet milk come from?"

The child apologized again: "Grandma Li, I waited for you at the door. She said you would come back after I finished drinking it. It was so sweet that I didn't want to finish it and wanted my mom to try it too."

The woman pinched his little cheeks, laughing heartily: "Oh my, I knew our Ah Bai was the best little darling. But next time, let's not put it in the closet, okay? There are mice in there. All our darling's good intentions have gone to them. Hmm, and they even got my two shirts dirty."

The child was clearly taken aback by these words, and after a short while, another suppressed sob came: "I'm sorry!"

The woman kissed the child's forehead and said with a smile, "Silly Bai Bai, why are you crying? Since Mommy is saying this with a smile, I'm not blaming you. Besides, Mommy is so happy that Bai Bai is thinking of Mommy. My heart is melting with our darling."

"But, oh dear, my clothes are dirty and I didn't get any drink."

"It's no big deal. We can wash the dirty clothes again. If it's a mistake you made accidentally, just be more careful next time. As the saying goes, how can you learn to get up if you don't fall down?"

The woman smiled and lowered her eyes, touching her forehead to her child's: "As for the sweet milk my darling saved for me, who says I didn't get to drink it? My darling's love for me is the sweetest milk in the world, and I drank it with great joy in my heart."

The child, tears welling in his eyes, looked at her with innocent confusion and asked, "Really?"

"Really," the woman said with a smile, "I love my Ah Bai the most."

The woman spoke the next sentence without hesitation, her smiling eyes filled with indescribable gentleness, and her light and casual tone became steady, blurring the silhouette of time.

The child managed to stop crying, though he was still sobbing softly. A moment later, the woman mischievously reached out and tickled his armpit, instantly turning the child from tears to laughter.

"Children should smile more, or they'll grow up with premature gray hair and become ugly little old men."

"Ha, ha, Mom, I won't...!"

Xie Xubai stared blankly at the scene in the crack, his eyes turning completely red without him realizing it, and his teeth biting his lower lip until it turned white.

Yan Shuo suddenly heard him speak in a hoarse voice: "Do you know? After my dad went missing, many people pursued my mom openly and secretly, holding flowers and diamond rings, dressed in a glamorous manner, looking like they could provide my mom with a good life."

“But my mother refused. She said that we can support ourselves with our own hands and don’t need to depend on others,” Xie Xubai said. “She also said that she is carefree and has limited energy, and her heart can only hold one child like me.”

“When I was little, I was very insecure and afraid that she would abandon me, so I often disobeyed her and secretly climbed over the wall to go to her workplace to find her. She was so angry that she beat me up badly because there were human traffickers in that area.”

“The next day she went to work, and I hid in the closet in fear, hugging myself and crying. But less than two hours later I heard a knock on the door. I ran to open the door and saw that she had returned, carrying a box of sweet milk.”

"It turns out she actually quit her job. Later, she inquired around and found a job that offered childcare services."

“I often wonder why, despite spending half my life in poverty and loneliness, I don’t feel bitter at all and still enjoy laughing so much.”

Xie Xubai's eyes were red, but he couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips: "Later I found out that she had poured all her love into me, building a strong wall that allowed my life to unfold gently."

Author's Note:

I just realized it's Qixi Festival! I'll be doing a giveaway for you all. Happy Qixi Festival!