Chapter 25: Life is Like a Flower 5

  Xia Zhi North didn't know how he ended up at the police station, he needed evidence, an official confirmation. The police confirmed to Xia Zhi North that Guan Xue was dead, but they couldn't confirm the death of the yellow-skinned girl who died in the explosion last week, there were no complete remains and it was unknown whether those charred limbs belonged to one person or not, so far no one had come to claim them, someone on the street testified that she seemed to be the daughter of the old landlord of house number thirty-one.

  The police asked Xia Zhi Bei if he wanted to do a paternity test. Xia Zhi Bei had never heard himself make such a firm decision: "Yes!"

  Xia Zhi Bei fainted in the police station after saying that word "want". When he woke up, he found himself lying on a hospital bed with an IV drip. He pulled out the needle and didn't want any IV drip. What he needed to do most now was paternity testing. But before he could even leave the ward, his legs went soft and he fell to the ground.

  The nurse heard the sound and found someone to help him back onto the hospital bed, reinserted his IV drip and told him that if he couldn't even take care of himself, what could he do outside?

  Xia Zhi's tears finally flowed out from the bottom of his heart. His beloved daughter was gone, his loving wife was gone, he had lost everything!

  His world has collapsed!

  What's the point of him being alive?

  The phone rang, but Xia Zhi Bei acted as if he hadn't heard it. What was the point of him even having a phone? He had nothing!

  The phone continued to ring nonstop, and Xia Zhi Bei finally turned his head, it was Ling Wei Yi! He looked like he had seen the last glimmer of light, and excitedly grabbed the phone: "Wei Yi! You have to tell me, Guan Xue is with you, Guan Xue isn't dead! Qian Er is also with you, they're not dead, they're still alive... They must be like last time, making me angry and running to your place, right? It has to be that way! Right? They're now by your side! Why aren't you speaking? Speak quickly!"

  Ling Wei was stunned, had Xia Zhi North gone mad? How could he say that Guan Xue and Qian Er were dead? Guan Si Pei saw Ling Wei holding the phone with her mouth agape but saying nothing. He hastily took over the phone: "Xia Zhi North! I'm Guan Si Pei, our Wei is suffocating, feels like she's had enough of life, wants to say a couple of words to Guan Xue. But no matter what, can't get through to Guan Xue's phone, so I was wondering..."

  "Are you Gatsby?" Xia Zhi Bei interrupted Gatsby's words.

  "Isn't Xiaoxue with you guys?"

  "Nope. We want to tell Xiaoxue..."

  "Yes, how could she be with you? She's dead, I saw her picture at the police station, it was her! She's dead, Xian'er is also dead..."

  Guansu looked at Ling Weiyin with a wooden expression: "Xiazhi North! What nonsense are you talking about? Are you drunk?"

  "Hmm. Must be that I've had too much to drink, got drunk. When I wake up, Guan Xue and Qian Er will come back to me." Xia Zhi Bei hung up the phone.

  "Vicky! Don't be afraid. It must be Xia ZhiBei who got drunk, I'll fly over tomorrow..."

  "Hmm, he must have had too much to drink." Ling Wei said with her mouth, but tears kept falling down, and finally she buried herself in Guan's arms and burst into loud sobs. Crying and shouting: "Do you think I'm a fool?... Waaahhh... Who gets drunk and says such things?... Waaahhh..."

  Guan Shuai also wanted to cry, but he couldn't cry. He had to comfort Ling Wei: "I'll fly tomorrow, don't worry, I won't see Guan Xue not coming back, ah, stop crying."

  "Let's go together!"

  "Have you gone?" Guan Sipei looked at Ling Wei's big belly. It was already seven months, and they didn't get this child easily, having waited over a decade for it.

  "It's gone!"

  "Are you leaving? With your attitude, even if you board a plane, you won't be able to enter the city. Besides, it's not easy for us to have this child, is it? There are two of them."

  Ling Wei Yi wanted to say something, but the door was kicked open by Ling Shui Yao. Ling Wei Yi's tears were scared back into her stomach: "Yao..."

  "I'm going too!" Ling Shuiyue's eyes were glowing red, he was about to go crazy. This is the result of them making him wait, this is the result of them making him wait!

  Ling Weiyang wanted to hit again, but Guan Shipei stopped him: "Alright! This time we'll go together."

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  Ling Shuiyue and Guan Sibai's trip to the United States was gloomy and depressing. After arriving in the US, Xia Zhibei was no longer in town, and they couldn't get through to his cell phone. With no other choice, they went to the police station, but since they weren't direct relatives of Guan Xue, they were directly rejected by the police. Guan Sibai held back Ling Shuiyue who wanted to fight and cause trouble, saying he would ask a friend for help and they would see each other tomorrow.

  The next day, Guan Shuai found a friend at the police station and saw Guan Xue's information. However, the policeman said that he only had this information, and there was a man who came to do a paternity test, but he didn't know the result. He only knew that the charred remains were taken away by someone.

  Guansu pleaded with the police again, insisting on taking a look at the record of the person who had claimed the body. After waiting for nearly five hours, when almost all the police officers were off duty, they finally saw the record, and the person who had claimed the body was Xia Zhibei.

  Guan Sipai called Ling Weiyin and told him the situation, and also sent him a secretly taken photo of Guan Xue's death and recordings. Ling Weiyin cried and shouted that he wanted to come over. Guan Sipai said that he must go to Guan Xue's grave to pay his respects before returning home, and asked Ling Weiyin to stay at home. He also had to take care of the little ancestor in front of him, he was not afraid if he caused trouble at home, but what would happen if he caused trouble here?

  Ling Wei Yi heard Guan Su Pei mention Ling Shui Yao, and she didn't insist on anything anymore. She could imagine how Guan Su Pei would be now, he must be heartbroken to death. She also thought it was pointless, when a person is dead, nothing matters, and it's the same wherever you worship, so tomorrow she'll go burn incense for Guan Xue.

  Ling Shuiyue wandered around the streets and alleys of Baltimore, carrying a wine bottle like a lonely ghost or wild demon, asking everyone he met "Have you seen Xian'er?"

  Guan Shuping followed him silently, saying nothing, and accompanied him for a whole night.

  The next day, the two of them inquired about Guan Xue's burial site and arrived at the cemetery at dusk.

  Ling Shuiyue followed behind Guan Sipai, staring blankly at the tombstone like a fool. Suddenly, he laughed. Guan Sipai covered Ling Shuiyue's mouth: "Please! This is where your Snow Auntie sleeps, can you be quieter?"

  Ling Shuiyue pushed away Guan Sipai's hand, pointing to the new grave beside Guan Xue: "Where is Xian'er? Why can't I see Xian'er's tombstone?"

  Either he didn't understand it as a child, or he just didn't want to admit that Xia Zhibei could let his daughter be buried here? Guan Sipai could only say: "Didn't I tell you long ago? Xian'er is still alive, and although Xia Zhibei took away the body, neither of us saw the paternity test."

  It's also unclear whether Ling Shuiyue really believed Guan Sipeng's words, or if he chose to believe them. At least after hearing those words, he was no longer so sad.

  Guansu took a photo and then had Ling Shuiyue take a photo of himself and Guanxue's tombstone together before leaving.

  After that, Ling Wei Yi lost contact with Xia Zhi Bei, and her twin daughters were born. She and Guan Si Pei named the two babies, one Xiang Er and the other Qian Er. They believed they would raise them as well as Ming Xin and Xia Qian Jing.

  Ling Shuiyue returned. He didn't say anything, except for studying, he only studied. He believed that Xia Qianying was not dead because he couldn't feel it. Her blood flowed in his body. If she died, he would definitely have felt it. He wanted to apply to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, any major is fine as long as he can go.

  Ling Wei and Guan Shu said nothing, they believed that he had grown up and would live as beautifully as his appearance.

  From then on, Ling Shuiyue set foot on the road to find Xia Qianying.

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  Ling Shuiyue's intuition was correct, the dead yellow-skinned girl was not Xia Wenxiang. Xia Zhibei took her away because the police had confirmed the girl's identity, she was an orphan, a Chinese. Xia Zhibei buried the girl next to Guan Xue's tomb.

  A year later. Xia Zhi Bei found Xia Qian Ning in Chicago. He was surprised, Xia Qian Ning was very friendly to him and didn't reject him like before.

  Before meeting his daughter, Xia Zhi Bei was afraid that she wouldn't recognize him, after all he wasn't there when she needed him the most.

  When Guan Xue passed away, he held a wedding with another woman. This alone is enough to make Xia Zhi Bei lose face in front of Xia Qian Ying.

  The daughter was very friendly and close, so friendly that he was at a loss for words. She was also very obedient, he said Guan Xue liked places with mountains in front and sea behind, wanted to move Guan Xue's tomb to Shuicheng, Xia Xianning agreed without hesitation.

  Xia Zhi's tears fell down in streams, a middle-aged man, so unrefined to cry in front of his daughter, yet he felt very happy.

  Xia Zhi North didn't know. Guan Xue's death had a huge impact on Xia Qian Ning, and she listened to Xia Zhi North so obediently not because she liked him that much, but because she remembered what Guan Xue said before her death, and also saw how much Guan Xue loved this man when she was alive.

  She regretted not treating Guan Xue well in the past - her mother, and even if she didn't like this father, she wouldn't treat him the same way as her mother.

  Mom passed away because of her own reasons. She was never able to let go of the deepest wound and the latest regret buried in her heart, so she could only express her love for mom in this way - trying hard to love what mom loved.

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  The school is closed for seven days. In the evening, Xue collects her belongings and prepares to return home, back to the house in Shuicheng. Last year, she and her father took her mother's ashes back to Shuicheng and buried them on a hillside facing the sea, which was her mother's lifelong wish.

  In three days, it will be the anniversary of Mother's death. This year, she will accompany Father to pay respects in front of Mother's grave. Thinking that from now on, she won't be alone when paying respects at her mother's grave, a faint smile appeared on Muo Xi's face.

  After more than a dozen hours of flying, Musi Xue arrived at the gate of her own home.

  The gate was open, and the courtyard inside was bustling! Musi Xue stood at the gate, looking at the coming and going strangers, feeling very surprised in her heart: this family usually only had father, Lin Mama, Ali, four miscellaneous servants, Wang Guanjia, two security guards, and herself. When did more than a dozen servants appear... It looked like they were preparing for a party. Could it be that Father knew she was coming back and specially prepared something? That shouldn't be, she hadn't told anyone about her early return this time, wanting to give Father and Lin Mama a surprise, so she didn't call home to notify anyone.

  "Excuse me, who are you looking for?" A stranger walked over and asked Musi Xue.

  "Who are you? Who allowed you to be here?" Mu Si Xue retorted.

  "I...I work here." The waiter stuttered a bit.

  Muzi Xue looked at the waiter with suspicion: "Newcomer?"

  "Uh-huh." The waiter nodded.

  "When did you arrive?"

  "It started yesterday." The waiter's voice was getting lower and lower.

  "What's going on?"

  The woman's face, as pale as snow, showed a fierce and intimidating aura, stuttering: "Prepare for the three-year wedding anniversary celebration party."