Chapter 108: Heart-to-Heart Talk

Walking home, Su Bai felt a pang of melancholy. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure crouched in a corner, crying.

“Liu Ruotong? What’s wrong? Why are you sitting here crying by yourself?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Liu Ruotong abruptly lifted her head, quickly wiping away her tears.

Flustered, she said, “Brother Su Bai, I’m fine! I really am!”

Su Bai looked puzzled. “If you’re fine, why are you crying? Why aren’t you going home? Where’s your mother?”

Something seemed to strike Liu Ruotong, and her emotions surged again. “Don’t mention my mother. I hate her!”

Su Bai’s face grew stern. “How can you say that about your mother? What exactly happened?”

Through Liu Ruotong’s tearful sobs, Su Bai gradually understood: the conflict arose because Liu Ruotong wanted to study music, which clashed with Ji Jingxian’s wishes, leading to this painful situation.

Su Bai couldn’t help but feel amused. To harbor such hatred toward her mother over music lessons? That seemed a bit excessive.

“Ruotong, maybe you’ve misunderstood your mother. She only acts this way for your own good.”

“You’re in high school now, at a crucial stage of your studies. If music distracts you from your academics, the cost might be too high.”

“Your mother just wants you to focus on your studies, not to lose energy over other things.”

“If you truly want to learn music, you can always wait until you enter university, when you’ll have more free time.”

Liu Ruotong raised her swollen, reddened eyes and stared blankly at Su Bai. She didn’t know if her mother’s words were true. She didn’t know whether, in the future, she might fall hopelessly in love with the man before her. But deep down, she knew her own place.

She understood that what Su Bai said was right—her mother meant well. But she couldn’t accept that her mother would maliciously slander Su Bai just to sever her thoughts of him.

Though Su Bai was here now, gently urging her to reconcile with her mother, Liu Ruotong’s heart still ached deeply.

She thought, *You may never know that the biggest point of contention between my mother and me is you.*

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she didn’t want to appear as someone who cried easily in front of her idol.

“Brother Su Bai, can you walk with me for a bit?”

Su Bai nodded warmly, thinking that perhaps a stroll would help ease the knot in Liu Ruotong’s heart.

“Brother Su Bai, before you became famous, what was your dream?”

Dream? Su Bai fell silent. Once upon a time, his greatest hope was simply for Yang Mengke’s happiness.

“Probably just wishing for Mengke to recover soon.”

“Recover soon?” Liu Ruotong asked in confusion, “Was Sister Yang Mengke sick before?”

Su Bai gave a self-deprecating smile. “You could say that.”

“And now? What’s your dream now?”

Without hesitation, Su Bai replied, “I hope Yang Mengke stays safe and happy, forever carefree.”

That seemed to have always been Su Bai’s greatest wish, his lifelong dream.

Hearing that Su Bai’s dream had always revolved around Yang Mengke stirred a pang of envy in Liu Ruotong. Once, she too had a brother who devoted himself entirely to her. But now her brother was gone, while Yang Mengke’s brother shone so brightly.

“Have you never thought about becoming a great singer? Or a famous star?” she asked.

“Never dreamed of your songs being remembered through the ages? Or your wealth skyrocketing?”

“Isn’t that the ultimate dream for all celebrities?”

“Why is your dream so different from theirs?”

Su Bai smiled and asked, “If I told you I never really wanted to be a singer, or a star at all, would you believe me?”

“I ended up here by chance and circumstance. Now that I’m here, I can’t back out.”

“Besides, I still have many missions to fulfill.”

“When those missions are done, maybe I’ll quit the music world.”

“Retire quietly, live an ordinary life—wouldn’t that be better?”

“To rest at sunset, rise with the dawn, pick chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, and gaze serenely at the southern mountains—that’s the life I truly desire.”

If Su Bai had any past dreams, they were once mixed with fame and fortune. But ever since Yang Mengke’s accident, he had thought deeply.

Back then, he believed that if Mengke recovered, living a simple life with her would be enough.

At least, there’d be no disputes or schemes.

Even now, Su Bai longed for that kind of life.

But the thirst for vengeance remained, leaving his heart unsettled.

Liu Ruotong looked at Su Bai as if seeing him anew, surprised by his words.

“I believe you when you say you never wanted to be a singer—you were always delivering takeout before this!”

“Brother Su Bai, if everything went back to how it was, would you still deliver takeout?”

Su Bai shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.

He wasn’t sure. It all depended on the system. No matter what it asked of him, he would do it to save Mengke.

Unconsciously, the two had already circled the neighborhood once.

“Thank you, Brother Su Bai. I have to go home now.”

“Talking with you has lifted my spirits a lot. When I get home, I’ll have a proper talk with my mother.”

With that, she headed home.

Back at home, Ji Jingxian, waiting for Liu Ruotong, had collapsed weakly onto the floor, her eyes vacant and empty.

At first, she knew Liu Ruotong was crying outside.

But to dispel her daughter’s thoughts, Ji Jingxian had endured her own sorrow, refusing to go out, hoping her absence would make Liu Ruotong realize her mistake.

Yet she waited outside the door for a long time. Liu Ruotong still hadn’t returned and was still crying.

Finally, unable to bear leaving her alone, she was about to open the door and let her in when she heard Liu Ruotong say, “Don’t mention my mother. I hate her!”

Ji Jingxian instantly collapsed to the floor, as if her soul had been torn away.

She kept questioning herself: Had she truly done wrong?

To push Liu Ruotong to the point of utter despair, to make her say she hated her mother—how desperate must her daughter’s heart have been?

Ji Jingxian sensed she had dealt a cruel blow to the fragile wound that was just beginning to heal.

When that wound would ever mend, she dared not imagine.

Honestly, Ji Jingxian regretted it.

The moment she heard, “I hate her,” regret flooded her.

By the time she came to herself, Liu Ruotong had already left with Su Bai.

When she opened the door, wanting to call her back, the words caught in her throat.

She simply stood there, watching their fading figures, her gaze unfocused, lost in thought.

When she heard movement outside again, Ji Jingxian quickly straightened herself on the sofa.

Hearing her daughter’s long-missed laughter and her farewell to Su Bai from outside, Ji Jingxian questioned herself once more: Perhaps, she really had been wrong.

After all, her daughter’s happiness was what mattered most.