Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Although he did still have the chance to hug her in the future. He was going to hug his granddaughter every day from then on, just to let everybody know that he—Chu Jiang-had such an adorable granddaughter.

Song Wan’s mention of the word ‘Daddy’ made Xia Ruoxin’s face darken, and her lips pressed together in displeasure. This didn’t seem like an appropriate word to use on Chu Lui. Gao Yi simply raised his eyebrows. If Chu Lui was Rainy’s daddy, then where did they place him —the Gao Yi daddy that Rainy called out to?

Rainy opened her discerning pair of eyes. Her apple-like face grew excessively silent. She stopped smiling and simply hugged her doll in her arms.

Song Wan thought that the child was simply afraid; however, she had even begun to feel a little estranged as well. It was only then that she placed Rainy on the floor. Then, she squatted next to her and pointed towards Chu Lui who stood by the door. “Rainy, go call Daddy, okay? That’s Rainy’s daddy.”

She gently coaxed the child. A strong sense of anticipation flashed across Chu Lui’s emotional eyes. He really wanted to hear her call him ‘daddy’, the first time his daughter was going to call him ‘daddy’.

After a long time, Rainy turned back to look at Song Wan. Her child-like voice sounded clear as day. “He’s not my daddy. Rainy hates him.” Although her voice was small, her words shocked everybody in the house. Chu Lui’s face immediately paled. His daughter despised him. She said that she hated him.

He instantly took a step back, leaning his body against the door. His chest vigorously rose and fell as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

“Rainy, how could you hate him? He’s your father!” Song Wan paused for a moment. She did not expect to say such harsh words to a child. Furthermore, when she saw Ah Lui, she completely changed.

She was no longer like a three-year-old child.

Rainy moved her small legs and walked towards Gao Yi’s side. She reached out her two small hands. “Daddy, carry.” Her voice was extremely pleasant to hear; however, it made the entire Chu family feel bitterly disappointed.

She was calling another man daddy while hating on her actual father.

Gao Yi picked up Rainy, a complex look in his eyes. This child seemingly knew more than he thought she did.

“Rainy is still a child. You cannot hate people like this; do you understand?” His hand gently caressed Rainy’s face. He was a little happy to see Rainy like this. However, she was still such a young child and had yet to understand the grievances amongst adults. She shouldn’t hate another person so easily.

“He is a bad man.” Rainy buried her face into Gao Yi’s shoulder, gently combing the hair on her doll as she spoke. “He bullied Mommy with some bad people, bullied Rainy, and even made Rainy hurt. He left Rainy to die. He’s bad. He’s not Rainy’s daddy.”

Gao Yi’s hands that were on Rainy’s face froze for a moment. Then, he hugged Rainy’s small body into his embrace. She remembered all those things; she actually remembered them. He gripped Xia Ruoxin’s hands tightly only to see her eyes red with tears.

“Rainy...” Xia Ruoxin called her daughter’s name. Rainy lifted her head from Gao Yi’s arms before falling into Xia Ruoxin’s embrace. The child’s clear voice, although tender, was filled with resolution. “Rainy has Mommy and Daddy. I don’t want to have another daddy. When Rainy grows up, I will protect Mommy.”

As she spoke, she looked warily at Chu Lui. The moment she saw Chu Jiang and Song Wan, her long eyelashes fluttered for a moment before she buried her face into Xia Ruoxin’s embrace. She was fine as long as she had Mommy.

That Grandpa and Granny treated her very well, and she really liked them. However, she didn’t need to have grandparents; all she needed was Mommy. All along, it was just her and Mommy living together. That’s why she didn’t need anybody else.

Chu Lui’s hands suddenly started to feel cold —cold to an extent where there was no longer any warmth to it. Song Wan looked at Rainy who was in Xia Ruoxin’s arms, not knowing what to say to her. Did the feud amongst adults end up hurting the child as well?

They were just getting what they had deserved. Was there even anybody for them to blame?

“Mommy, Rainy wants to go home.” Rainy clutched Xia Ruoxin’s neck and buried her face into her mother’s chest. She didn’t like that daddy; that’s why she wanted to go home. She didn’t want to see him because Mommy would cry whenever she sees him, which made her cry as well.

“Alright, let’s go home.” Xia Ruoxin carried her daughter and smiled apologetically at Song Wan. “Sorry, Aunty Chu, we’ll be heading home now.” She tightened her arms around her daughter, nodded her head at Song Wan and Chu Jiang, and then took her leave. The moment they crossed paths with Chu Lui at the door, their steps slowed for only a moment; and Chu Lui didn’t call out to them. He simply watched them walk off as his dark eyes filled with loneliness. The hands at the sides of his body clenched into fists.

Xia Ruoxin, no, no. He wasn’t going to let her leave. She and his daughter... they were both his. He accidentally let them go once, but now, weren’t the heavens giving him a second chance?

He turned back to look at their distancing figures, and the darkness in his black pupils thickened.

“Ah Lui, what is going on? Why would Rainy say those things?” Song Wan tugged at her son’s hand. Clearly, that child was so well-behaved before; and she couldn’t bring herself to believe that Xia Ruoxin would teach her child all that. What did she mean ‘left her to die?

“Mom, do you remember a few months ago, there was that girl that had leukemia? Do you still remember how I chose to not save her because of Li Manni’s child?” Chu Lui slightly curled his lips. “Do you still remember how you persuaded me?”

“How can you value other people’s children more than your own?”

Yes, they did exactly that. It was just that, in the end, they realized that that child wasn’t even theirs. No, that child didn’t even exist.

“Are you telling me that that child is Rainy?” Song Wan stepped back in disbelief. She could not believe it; she refused to believe it. That child back then was Rainy? How could that be possible? If it really was, then how could they have chosen not to save their granddaughter, leaving her three-year-old young life to die while she had that kind of disease?

“Yes, Mom. Rainy was that child.” Chu Lui laughed bitterly. If he had saved Rainy back then-right now, Gao Yi probably wouldn’t even have existed in his life. There probably wouldn’t have been such a sad moment in his life as well.