Upon hearing Xu Xiusen's words, the deputy's expression clearly froze. Indeed, having been assertive her entire life, she never bothered to explain herself, even to superiors of higher rank, as long as she hadn't done anything wrong.
Just now, she explained so much in one breath, but it was actually just a cover-up.
Since Xu Xiusen had already seen through her, the deputy felt there was no need for her to continue hiding anything. "Back then... the child didn't die, but I sent her to be raised elsewhere. When she was five years old, I missed her so much that I brought her to live with me."
Xu Xiusen's reaction was unexpectedly calm and composed. He remained silent for a long time, so long that the vice president thought he might have fallen asleep, before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth, "Why did you do this? If you hadn't taken the child away, Huiwen wouldn't have jumped off the building!"
His happy home was destroyed by the vice president's actions. That's his understanding. If the child hadn't been taken away by her, Huiwen wouldn't have thought he had thrown the child off the building, and she wouldn't have chosen to jump out of guilt.
Once the words were out of his mouth, he seemed unable to hide his grief and indignation any longer. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. If it weren't for the fact that the person standing at the door was Huiwen's mother, who had always doted on Huiwen, he would have rushed up and given her a good beating.
The deputy sighed deeply. "Xiu Sen, you know Hui Wen's mental state better than I do, especially after she became pregnant. For the sake of the child's health, she insisted on not taking any medication. The doctor told me that she couldn't give the baby her breast milk, otherwise the child might be infected through mother-to-child transmission. I was scared, so while Hui Wen was asleep, I secretly took the baby away. I wanted to talk to her properly when she woke up, but..."
"And then!" Xu Xiusen continued, his tone laced with malice and hatred, "You didn't expect that when Huiwen woke up and didn't see her child, she thought she had been confused in her hospital room and had thrown the child off the building. The guilt she felt, combined with her love for the child, drove her to think of nothing and jump off the building!"
The deputy neither confirmed nor denied Xu Xiusen's speculation; his lack of response was tantamount to tacit agreement.
As Xu Xiusen lifted his foot to walk forward, he staggered slightly, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant, and his soul had long since vanished.
It would be more accurate to say that he is a walking corpse than a human being.
As he brushed past the deputy... he paused, his voice low and hoarse, and said, "When it's convenient, please give me a picture of the child."
The deputy nodded slightly. "Okay, I understand. I'll have the child come to B City to see you when I have the chance. You and your daughter have been separated for over twenty years; it's time for you to get together."
Xu Xiusen politely replied "thank you," then walked quickly forward until he went out the door and downstairs, without looking back even once.
He didn't want to turn back, not because he felt no attachment or reluctance towards the home that had once made him feel like the happiest man in the world, but because... the only thing that came to mind was a chilling coldness piercing his heart.
After Xu Xiusen went downstairs, he immediately reached into his pocket. At that moment, he desperately needed to smoke one, or even more, cigarettes to numb his nerves with nicotine.
One thing is strange: even though he heard from the deputy... that his daughter with Huiwen was still alive, the girl who was on the phone with the deputy..., he felt no affection for her whatsoever.
.
Perhaps because he heard the girl's disrespect towards Huiwen, he disliked the child at all. On the contrary, he liked Xu Moran very much, a genuine liking from the bottom of his heart, a liking that he himself couldn't explain.
He searched his pants and clothes pockets thoroughly but still couldn't find a single cigarette. Then he remembered that he had quit smoking since Huiwen became pregnant.
Everyone says that quitting smoking is just as hard as quitting drugs, but he quit with ease. It wasn't because he had a strong will, but because just thinking about Huiwen and the children filled him with strength.
He remembered there was a small shop at the entrance of this old residential area. It was a small shop, not a chain 20-hour convenience store, but a small shop run by a husband and wife. However, it was open 24 hours a day. He walked towards the shop, desperately needing to buy a pack of cigarettes to soothe his emotions.
The shop was indeed still open. The owner was very honest in his business dealings; seeing that the cigarettes he bought were expensive, he even gave him a lighter as a gift.
Whether it was because he hadn't smoked for too long or because his tense emotions made him unsure of how to use a lighter, he couldn't light his cigarette no matter how many times he tried.
The shop owner asked him, "Sir, do you need my help?"
Xu Xiusen didn't stand on ceremony and handed the cigarette and lighter to the shop owner, saying, "Could you please light this for me?"
The shop owner took the cigarette and quickly handed the lit cigarette to Xu Xiusen.
Xu Xiusen thanked him, quickly put the lit cigarette to his mouth, and took a deep drag. The taste... He thought he would be excited and find the taste wonderful when he smoked a cigarette again after more than 20 years.
Unexpectedly, he choked on the smoke and felt nothing except for coughing.
The shop owner looked at his face and said, "Sir, you look very familiar."
Xu Xiusen stopped coughing, but tears were already streaming from the corners of his eyes from the coughing. "I used to live here."
The shop owner suddenly realized, "No wonder! You look so familiar. I remember now, you used to often buy some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from us after get off work. Time flies! It's been over twenty years already, hasn't it?"
Xu Xiusen sighed, "Who says it isn't? Time really flies. Thank you for lighting my cigarette, I'll be going now."
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