……
From a young age, Bai Jin’s impressions had always consisted only of her mother.
She remembered her mother’s gentle face and soft voice. Whenever her thoughts turned to her father, her mind went blank, filled only with the sense that he was bad.
When her mother was around, he played the role of a good father, his eyes full of kindness. But when her mother was absent, his gaze turned utterly cold, as if he were a completely different person.
In time, Bai Jin came to despise her father.
She hated how he made her mother upset, and she loathed his two-faced nature—his hypocrisy made her sick.
The year Bai Jin turned seven, her mother went on a business trip for a week.
During that week, her father paid her no attention at all. He spent every day at the company, leaving the house with only the nanny present, and he didn’t return until nightfall.
One such night, the sound of shattering glass woke the seven-year-old Bai Jin.
When she got up, she saw her father in the living room, drowning himself in alcohol.
No lights were on, leaving the room dim. The windows stood open, the wind making the curtains billow. Under the faint moonlight, she could make out her father sitting on the floor, surrounded by shattered bottles at his feet.
The air reeked of a mix of booze and cigarette smoke, the downstairs living room filthy and foul-smelling.
Bai Jin went downstairs and stood at the foot of the stairs, one hand on the railing, watching him silently. Her pupils unmoving, her expression blank.
Zhou Zhifan leaned against the back of the sofa, his hair a mess. When he dimly spotted Bai Jin, his face twisted into something savage.
“What are you staring at? You’re just like that woman—always looking down on me as some lowly nobody, giving me that contemptuous glare.”
His head lolled back. “I’ve sworn a blood oath never to touch gambling or drugs again, but she still watches me every second of every day…”
“What right does she have? Just because she helped me out early on, do I have to spend the rest of my life kowtowing to her?”
His hoarse mutterings grew slurred and indistinct.
Bai Jin couldn’t make sense of his ramblings; she simply watched him in silence.
“Tch!”
After a long, dazed moment, Zhou Zhifan looked up to find Bai Jin’s gaze still fixed on him. Rage flared up in an instant, and he grabbed the empty bottle in his hand, hurling it at her.
“Get lost! Stop staring!”
The bottle exploded at her feet, splashing the remnants of liquor everywhere. Tiny shards sliced into her calf the moment it shattered.
Two cuts appeared on her tender skin, blood trickling down moments later.
Her face remained impassive, registering only a faint sting. She let the blood drip as her eyes stayed locked on him.
It wasn’t until the nanny arrived the next morning to make breakfast that she discovered Bai Jin’s injured leg in horror and bandaged it up.
That same morning, Zhou Zhifan rushed over in a panic, coaxing Bai Jin and apologizing profusely, blaming it on his drunken loss of control the night before.
Compared to last night, he seemed like a different person again.
But the image of his rage, his ferocity, had already burned itself into Bai Jin’s mind.
Her father was always like this with her mother, too.
Whenever he did something wrong, he’d start apologizing profusely. Wrong, apologize; wrong again, apologize again—a endless cycle he seemed to relish.
Her mother forgave him time and again, over and over. But Bai Jin would not.
Bai Jin would never forgive him, nor would she forgive him on her mother’s behalf.
When Bai You returned from her tasks and saw the injury on Bai Jin’s leg, she flew into a massive argument with Zhou Zhifan.
Bai Jin just watched them fight.
Afterward, she saw her mother hiding in her room, grieving in secret, while her father chain-smoked on the sofa.
Bai Jin’s hatred for her father swelled even more. She went to the kitchen, poured a cup of scalding boiling water, and carried it to the living room.
Then she dumped the boiling water over Zhou Zhifan.
……
Bai Jin had always been quiet and reticent, not one for words, but her mother patiently guided her, teaching her the names of things, how to speak, what to do.
When receiving help from others, say thank you. When hurting someone, say sorry.
These lessons had been etched into her mind from the moment she could talk.
Etched alongside them was another: bad people who did bad things would face punishment.
Bai Jin had once asked Bai You who should punish a bad person when they did wrong.
Her mother had replied that it could be someone else, or the bad person could reap what they sowed. Many things in the world weren’t set in stone, hard to explain— she’d understand when she grew up.
Bai Jin remembered only the words “someone else.”
So when she felt Zhou Zhifan had done wrong, she believed she could punish him.
The instant the boiling water splashed onto Zhou Zhifan, he let out a agonized yell and leaped up from the sofa.
“Are you trying to kill me?!”
Kill?…
Bai Jin merely looked at him coolly. “Shouldn’t you die?”
For making her mother sad… shouldn’t he?
Zhou Zhifan froze, the pain momentarily forgotten. He could scarcely believe those words had come from a child.
Bai You hurried in at the sound and pulled Bai Jin away, putting an end to the fiasco.
Even she hadn’t anticipated this.
She took Bai Jin outside, crouched down, and asked her.
“Baby, you didn’t mean to knock it over, right?”
“No,” Bai Jin shook her head, telling the truth. “I think he did something wrong and deserves punishment.”
“He deserves punishment, not forgiveness.”
Bai You stared at her, momentarily stunned.
Fearing her mother would blame her, Bai Jin added, “Mommy, I’ve been good. I didn’t touch the knife.”
Just before, she’d had that very thought, but Bai You had stopped her in time. Bai Jin had promised not to touch sharp things on her own anymore.
Bai You fell silent for a moment, then composed herself and gently hugged her. “Mommy isn’t mad at you.”
“You’re still little, Jinjin. You don’t have the ability to fully discern right from wrong yet. You shouldn’t act on impulse like that… If something like this happens again, tell Mommy first, okay?”
“Okay,” Bai Jin agreed.
“But Baby, you were right about one thing,” Bai You murmured, almost to herself, her voice softening. “Bad people who do wrong shouldn’t be forgiven.”
The air grew quiet for a beat. Bai Jin pulled back from her mother’s embrace and looked into her eyes.
“I don’t like Daddy.”
Hearing those words seemed to awaken something in Bai You.
All this time, she’d thought children needed a complete family.
A mother and a father—that made it complete.
Yet over these two years, Zhou Zhifan’s moods had been wildly unstable. His volatile nature was ingrained, his deep-seated beliefs unchangeable.
Bai You hadn’t wanted Bai Jin to endure a childhood scarred by her parents’ divorce, like she had, so she’d endured and put off divorcing.
But now, Bai You realized something.
—A father who only brought negative emotions might as well not exist.
“Okay.”
Bai You nodded, gazing at Bai Jin with a faint smile. “Since Baby doesn’t like it here…”
“Then Mommy will take you away.”
……
In the days that followed, Bai You took Bai Jin to Jinning, to the Lu Family.
The sky was clear that day, bathed in warm sunlight.
Cicadas chirped wildly among the green leaves, a gentle breeze carrying the heat around them.
Two little girls played in the garden while, in the shade of a nearby tree, two women sat across a round table laden with tea, watching their children bond as they chatted about recent events.
Bai You shared her plans with Qin Dian.
At the news, Qin Dian paused with her teacup midway to her lips and looked up at her.
“Have you decided?”
“Yes. To be honest, these past two years haven’t been happy for me, and Jinjin doesn’t seem happy either.” Bai You lowered her gaze. “Divorce feels like the best choice right now.”
Seeing that she’d made up her mind, Qin Dian breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I support you.”
“But for Huanzhou, I need at least half back,” Bai You said. “That’s half my life’s work. It’s also the foundation for Jinjin’s future… so she can pursue whatever she wants later on.”
Qin Dian eyed her. “Then let me help you take it all back.”
Bai You shook her head with a smile. “No need. I can handle it.”
“Things have come this far—it’s time to settle it. Since it’s my entanglement with him, I’ll be the one to resolve it.”
“For now, just look after Jinjin for me. I don’t know what’ll happen in the coming days, and I don’t want her caught up in it.”
Qin Dian glanced at the two figures in the garden and nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her. They’re about the same age; it’ll be nice for her to have a playmate.”
Bai You nodded. “I’m counting on you.”
The afternoon slipped by quickly. When it was time, Qin Dian called them back.
“Huanhuan.”
Nine-year-old Lu Huan heard her name and ran back from the garden, nuzzling affectionately against Qin Dian. “What is it, Mommy?”
Qin Dian ruffled her hair. “Auntie Bai is taking her little sister home. Let’s say goodbye, okay?”
“Okay~” Lu Huan chirped.
Bai Jin trailed behind, silent as ever, and left with Bai You.
On the way back to the hotel with Bai Jin, Bai You turned to her. “Baby, how did you get along with that big sister today?”
Thinking of the girl from earlier, Bai Jin shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Hm?” Bai You looked puzzled. “Why don’t you know?”
Bai Jin replied, “I only know she kept talking to me, but I didn’t know how to respond.”
“Didn’t know how to respond?”
“Because I don’t know if she likes me or not. She has lots of friends, and they all like her.” Bai Jin thought for a moment before adding, holding out her hand for Bai You to see. “But she gave me this.”
On her wrist was a string of lustrous green jade beads—clear and vibrant, clearly of fine quality.
“They’re beautiful. Did she give them to you?”
“Yeah.”
“That means she likes you,” Bai You said with a smile. “So try being nice to her. Take it slow, and she’ll come to like you.”
“If I’m nice to her, will she really like me?” Her eyes lit up as she turned to Bai You.
“Yes,” Bai You said gently, smoothing her hair. “It might just take a little time.”
Bai Jin nodded in agreement.
……
In the days after that, Bai You began her dealings with Zhou Zhifan.
Zhou Zhifan refused to agree to the divorce. His emotions ran high, especially at the thought of her taking a share of the company’s assets. Bai You thus turned to legal channels and explored every other avenue available to her.
During this time, Bai Jin was frequently sent to stay with the Lu Family. Though preoccupied with her own pressing matters, Bai You made a point of visiting her whenever she could spare the time.
But the process did not go smoothly—
That day, in the company’s office, Zhou Zhifan seized Bai You by the throat.
“How dare you betray me first in this marriage?! And now you think you can take our daughter and leave? Fat chance!”
