Chapter 158
Chapter 158
"Hey!" Zhihao gritted his teeth.
"Zhihao." Zhichen called.
"B-brother…" Zhihao then turned to look at Bob but the latter whistled innocently, avoiding eye contact.
"You!"
"Zhihao-gege!" Daiyu frowned.
"B-But –
He turned to face Ye Shun and Yi Jie, his last hope, but the two looked back at him innocently, as if they knew nothing.
"Huhuhuhu!" He was abandoned!
Left with no escape, Zhihao sighed and told everyone the truth.
---
At first, Ying Yue was angry. She thought that Zhihao was trying to lie his way out of the conversation. But seeing as the others joined in and even added to Zhihao's narration of the story, she couldn't help but think that they were telling the truth.
"Wait. So I'm a reincarnator too?" Daiyu asked, wide eyed.
The others nodded.
"How come I don't remember?" She pouted.
"Like I said, you traded your memories for a skill and you gave that skill to Jin."
Zhichen, Daiyu, and Ying Yue were left speechless. They had so many questions.
"What happened to me afterwards?" Zhichen asked.
"I don't know. Ying Yue, Bob, and I died on the same day." Zhihao answered.
Zhichen paused, digesting his words.
"Man. I dodged a huge bullet." He said as he held his head. Thinking about Alice, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
The others laughed, agreeing with him.
Ying Yue, on the other hand, felt a heavy sadness enveloping her heart.
Zhihao… he must have suffered so much alone. She bit her lip.
"WAIT. SO I LIKED SHUN-GEGE?!" Daiyu suddenly stood up, the truth sinking in.
"Yes." Yi Jie nodded.
Daiyu paused and cringed as she turned to face Ye Shun.
"Hey! I saw that!" Ye Shun complained and everyone laughed.
"Jin-gege is much better than you!" She stuck her tongue out and everyone laughed again.
"Daiyu…" Yi Jie called and Daiyu turned to face her.
"I'm sorry…" She said as she lowered her head.
The room fell into silence before Daiyu giggled.
"I don't know what you're sorry about. To you, it might seem like it happened in the past. But for me, it never existed." She smiled.
"To be honest, I don't really feel anything right now. Perhaps a bit shocked to hear the story? But that's it.
For me, whatever lifetime that was, it had already ended. The people who we are right now, the people we've become, that's all that matters.
I guess as the youngest person in the group, you guys might think I'm naïve. But everyone makes mistakes… some of which we can never undo, and some will scar us for a lifetime. But… I've seen all of us grow together. The fact that we chose to stay and live through another day, isn't that amazing?
I guess we could say that life is both a punishment and a prize. A punishment in that we will continue to live with the guilt of hurting others… and a prize in that we can look forward to better tomorrows together.
And so, whatever it was that you've done to me before, I leave that up to you. Because when I chose to forget the past, I gave myself the chance to be happy. And seeing as you're now married to the man you love… how you're about to become the mother of a baby boy… you gave yourself that chance too." She smiled.
"In this lifetime, you are my sister. In this lifetime, you are Yang Yi Jie."
Yi Jie got up and the two hugged tightly.
"Careful. The baby…" Ye Shun protested but Zhihao held him back.
"Don't ruin the mood you doting father!"
---
After having dinner together, everyone went home.
Inside the car, as Zhihao drove, Ying Yue gently held his hand.
"Hun…" She called.
"Mmm?" Zhihao asked as he kissed the back of her hand.
"… Were you lonely without me?"
Zhihao chuckled.
"Not so much. I followed after you that same day."
Ying Yue lowered her head upon his words.
"I won't go anywhere this time." She said as she tightened her grip on his hand.
"I know. I won't let you leave me again either."
She smiled and kissed his cheek softly.
"Zhihao."
"Mmm?"
"Thank you for coming to find me."
He smiled.
"Bob came to find you too. Will you kiss him too?"
"You!" Ying Yue slapped his arm and Zhihao giggled.
"If I really fall in love with Bob, what would you do?" Ying Yue threatened.
"What are you talking about? Bob will most likely fall in love with me!"
Ying Yue laughed and pinched his ear.
---
After that day, the Zhengs officially submitted a report to the government about the anomalies happening within Cui Technologies. As such, a full-blown audit was conducted and the banks started freezing their assets.
As expected, Qiaoling tried to hide the money trail leading to the gunman. But bank data was hard to tamper with so Zhichen wasn't very worried about her.
Still, Zhihao took this incident as an inspiration and began developing a bank security software. Since he planned to slack off for the rest of his life as he plays with Jin in the future, he thought that this project could serve as his contribution to the Zheng Corporation.
"You really think this software of yours will be a success?" Bob asked, doubting Zhihao's confidence.
"Not really. If it fails, that's fine. Xiao Yue will raise me!!!"
Ying Yue could not help but laugh at his shamelessness.
---
Aside from that, the Wangs officially filed the murder case against Qiaoling. As such, the cold case of Wang Fengge and Luo Mei were brought up again.
Since Chang Tian was their only witness, they transferred him under General Shen's custody to ensure his safety. With the military's interference, even Qiaoling was not brave enough to make an attempt against his life.
---
Finally, Shuren's men raided the base of the perpetrators and they managed to apprehend the underground syndicate behind the shooting incident. While none of them ratted out their connection with Qiaoling, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.
More importantly, during their post-apprehension investigation of the syndicate, Shuren came across a name which he seemed to have long forgotten.
Yu Yanlin.
It turns out that that man was still alive.
Anger flashed across his eyes as unpleasant memories were unearthed deep inside him. Still, he could only grit his teeth for now since they were fighting a different enemy. After this was all over, he would have to deal with that man once and for all.
---
While all this was going on, Yi Jie gave birth quietly inside the Wang Mansion. Since they didn't want to attract Qiaoling's attention, they hired a midwife and Yi Jie gave birth at home.
Baby Haoran came out healthy and a warm family waited for him outside his mother's womb. Everyone came over to celebrate his birth and life once again blessed the Wang Mansion.
Wang Jing smiled as he carried the baby in his arms.
"Haoran… you were born during hard times… But grandpa is happy. Because after this, I can rest assured that you will grow up and live a happy life safely."
Yi Jie smiled as he watched the old man talking to her newborn child. If you told Xia Xiulan that Wang Jing would support her marriage with Ye Shun, that Wang Jing would personally protect her from Qiaoling, that Wang Jing would be most excited about her pregnancy… Xiulan would call you crazy.
But look at things now… look at how happy she is now.
She sobbed and wiped away her tears.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?!" Wang Jing panicked.
Yi Jie laughed and shook her head.
"Grandpa…"
"What is it?" He asked, still worried.
"Thank you for saving me back then."
Wang Jing paused before shaking his head.
"That day, I chose to save myself from guilt. And that day, you chose to save yourself from the past. You only have yourself to thank for your happiness right now. Grandpa is only a supporter. You are the author." He smiled.
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THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY: Hey guys! I'm putting this here cause it's important and I don't want you to miss it. I hope that I managed to convey my feelings to you through this chapter.
You don't have to forgive those who hurt you. And they don't have to forgive you if you hurt them either. Forgiveness is a blessing, not a right. But that doesn't mean that we should let guilt and shame stunt us forever. Like Xiulan, she lived with the shadow of her past. But she managed to change into Yi Jie. She carried that guilt and still bloomed beautifully. Because people change. Even the people you hate the most may get their own redemption arc. That's what's beautiful about life. Nothing will stay the same. The pain you feel with not last forever. And then there's Daiyu. She didn't wait for others to ask for forgiveness. She gave herself the closure she needed and moved on. The earth will not wait for you, and you don't have to wait for it either. Cry. Grieve. Then move on. Get going and live fabulously.