Chapter 890 Goodbye, Xiao Chong
"Don't worry, Dai Yidan doesn't know how her mother died."
Although it didn't happen to him personally, Baek Song-cheol's voice still couldn't be truly calm when he said those words.
Zhang Zhisheng's sobbing came through the phone. The middle-aged man on the other end had already lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Bai Songzhe's throat moved as he continued, "I don't know if Xiaofei told you that Dai Yidan saw what her mother looked like before she left, as well as her younger brother Zheng Yifeng, her maternal grandparents... She has no regrets."
Zhang Zhisheng lowered his head, sobbing uncontrollably, "Brother Qing... Brother Qing... I'm a sinner, I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to Xia, I'm sorry to Dandan, I'm sorry to Xiaofei..."
"I wish... I wish I could live my life all over again. If I could, I would definitely make different choices..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Songzhe took a deep breath and then sighed, his eyes uncontrollably welling up with tears. He didn't know what to say.
He actually came to say goodbye to Zhang Zhisheng. They used to be best brothers, and they would smile from the bottom of their hearts when they met. But if they met again in the future, he would only recall some painful memories from the other person.
So no matter how wonderful the past was... we still have to cut ties now, look forward from now on, and never look back.
However, Bai Songzhe is still willing to comfort him one last time.
“Xiao Chong, didn’t my daughter say that you can start over now? You can still choose what kind of person you want to be next?”
“You can still be a good dad. Xiaofei is waiting for you to come home. Maybe when you come out, there will already be a big, fat grandson waiting for grandpa.”
Zhang Zhisheng looked at the people outside with tears streaming down his face, then put the phone aside, rested his face on his arm, and cried very sadly. Bai Songzhe could not hear his crying, but the figure inside the glass window seemed to shrink in his eyes. It was just a pity that his hand could no longer rest on the other person's head.
Zhang Zhisheng was helped away by his arms. Bai Songzhe sat in his seat for a moment, then got up and left, silently saying to himself:
Goodbye, Xiao Chong. May we both embark on the right path in life from now on.
...
The emergence of a news report allowed Bai Songzhe to clear his name of the injustice that had haunted him for 17 years.
The Lu family cared even more than Bai Xi, and immediately rushed to buy traffic to boost the news's popularity, trying their best to clear Bai Songzhe's name.
Online opinions instantly turned overwhelmingly in favor of Bai Qingxia and her father, and netizens who supported Xia Yiwanmian were finally able to hold their heads high.
At Baixi Headquarters, Bai Songzhe stood up from his seat, buttoned up his suit jacket, left his office, and headed for the elevator.
The employees he encountered along the way all looked at him, stopped on the spot, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Hello, Mr. Bai."
"Hello, Mr. Bai."
Bai Songzhe looked around at the people who had stopped in front of him, a faint smile on his face, and nodded to them.
As the driver arrived at the underground parking lot, he got into the Maybach and instructed, "Go back to Xingfuli Community to pick someone up."
"Okay, Mr. Bai."
The car stopped at the entrance of the residential area, and Zhang Ru, wearing a black dress, walked over, opened the car door, and got in.
Bai Songzhe looked Zhang Ru up and down and said with a smile, "You're wearing makeup?"
"Uh..." Zhang Ru lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, raised her hand to smooth the ends of her long hair, and explained, "It's the first time I'm meeting Sister Ran, so let's be a little more formal."
She turned to look at Bai Songzhe, her gentle eyes filled with caution. Actually, she really wanted to ask Bai Songzhe if she looked good with her makeup, but Bai Songzhe's answer of "looks good" was so long ago that it was his "crazy ramblings" before he recovered. After he recovered, she never asked him, and Bai Songzhe never said it either.
Bai Songzhe: "That's true. I've been telling you about her all along, but I've never taken you to meet her. From now on, we'll go together for these kinds of things."
“Yes!” Zhang Ru nodded immediately.
"Xia and the others won't arrive until after ten o'clock. Let's go first. Lao Wang, drive."
"Okay, Mr. Bai."
...
As they went up the stairs, Bai Songzhe took Zhang Ru's hand. Zhang Ru instinctively tried to pull away because she felt this place was inappropriate.
Bai Songzhe simply smiled and said, "It's nothing."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ru's expression softened somewhat. She lifted her skirt and followed, her movements as bashful as a teenage girl.
The two stood in front of Luo Ran's grave. Bai Songzhe knelt down to place the flowers, then stood up again.
“Ranran, Xiao Chong turned himself in…” He finished speaking, lowered his head, and said with emotion, “It’s just a bit late, so you didn’t see it.”
“Our daughter is getting engaged soon, that’s wonderful. She’s endured so many hard times, she deserves this happiness, and you must be so proud of her, right?”
After Bai Songzhe finished speaking, he was about to introduce Zhang Ru to Luo Ran when he turned his head and found that Zhang Ru's eyes were already red. He was slightly taken aback, raised his hand and gently patted Zhang Ru's back: "This is Zhang Ru. She took good care of me for a long time after Xiaxia started school."
Bai Songzhe introduced Zhang Ru to his wife with great fanfare, showering her with praise, which made Zhang Ru both laugh and cry.
"Xiaoru suddenly became sentimental today. I wonder if it's because this is the first time I've brought her to meet you," Bai Songzhe joked between the two women.
"Say hello."
Zhang Ru sniffed, and after saying "Hello, Sister Ran," she suddenly stopped talking.
A white butterfly flew over from behind the tombstone, fluttering its wings and landing on Baek Song-cheol's black suit shoulder. The butterfly's wings opened and closed slowly, its movements graceful, much like a ballerina dancing on his shoulder.
Zhang Ru: "Old Bai..."
Bai Songzhe turned his head and looked, then laughed. The butterfly stayed on his shoulder for a moment, then flapped its wings and flew into the air, this time landing on Zhang Ru's shoulder.
This made Zhang Ru freeze in place, holding her breath but her expression one of delight.
"Is this Sister Ran?" she asked softly, mouthing the question as she looked at Bai Songzhe.
Baek Song-cheol sighed, "Is it her...? It should be...it must be her."
He hadn't shed a single tear just moments before, but now the tears suddenly started flowing uncontrollably.
When the two returned home, Lu Yuanqiu and the others called. He and Bai Qingxia, along with Ruan Yueru and Li Guizhi, also set off.
Bai Songzhe sat heavily on the sofa in the living room, while Zhang Ru went to boil water. Bai Songzhe looked up at Zhang Ru's busy back and thought about the bits and pieces of these days. He suddenly felt very conflicted.
He knew Zhang Ru wasn't the kind of woman who craved material possessions. From the urban village to now, her attitude had remained consistent; she simply wanted a warm home that could accommodate her and her daughter. All Bai Songzhe could do was give her a proper status, but…
"Xiaoru," Bai Songzhe suddenly spoke.
"Huh?" Zhang Ru turned around, holding the kettle.
Bai Songzhe stared at her for a moment, then smiled and shook his head slightly: "It's okay, it's okay, you're busy."
"There's no hot water at home. Lao Bai, sit there and wait a bit, have a cup of hot water before you go back to the company," Zhang Ru said quickly.
(End of this chapter)
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