Flash Marriage: He is a Wife-pampering Addict

Chapter 1376: 1375 will not leave

Bai Yiyi’s eyes flickered.

When Wen Ran said she hoped that even if she and Gu Kai couldn’t become lovers, they could still be friends, a strange pang of emotion surged in Bai Yiyi’s heart.

“Ranran, I promised your brother to move back to the old villa,” she said.

Her voice was low, tinged unmistakably with the contradictions in her heart.

If it weren’t for Tongtong, she would never have agreed to Gu Kai’s request to move back there.

There was a fleeting hint of surprise in Wen Ran’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle smile. She spoke lightly, “Yiyi, it’s good that you’re moving back. Tongtong can visit Momo and the others every day to play.”

“Mm.”

Just as Bai Yiyi finished speaking, her phone suddenly rang.

The call was from an unknown number.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she pressed the answer button and softly said, “Hello?”

“Miss Bai, this is Lu Zhiyan. Please come to the police station to pick up your mother.” Officer Lu’s voice came through the line, and Bai Yiyi’s expression shifted slightly. There was a trace of emotion in her voice as she replied, “Alright, I’ll be there shortly.”

After ending the call, Bai Yiyi stood up and said to Wen Ran, “Ranran, Officer Lu just called me. I can’t take Tongtong with me. Let her play here; I’ll come back to pick her up shortly.”

“Mommy, don’t go.”

Upon hearing Bai Yiyi say she was leaving, Tongtong slid off the couch and ran to her. She wrapped her small hands tightly around Bai Yiyi’s arm.

Bai Yiyi was momentarily stunned by Tongtong’s reaction.

Tongtong tilted her small face upward, looking at her pitifully. That expression made Bai Yiyi feel as though a giant invisible hand had gripped her heart, rendering her breathless from the pain.

Instinctively, she pressed her lips together tightly. Looking into Tongtong’s eyes, filled with reluctance and fear, she took a deep breath and softly explained, “Tongtong, Mommy is just going to pick up Grandma and will be back soon.”

“Mommy’s not coming back.”

Tongtong’s small lips pouted, her face full of grievance.

Last time, her mom had sent her to her aunt’s house and left, not returning for a very long time.

She thought of her mom every day and called her and sent her voice messages constantly. After waiting so long, her mommy finally came back, and her dad told her not to let her mom leave again.

“Yiyi, while you were gone, Tongtong thought of you every day and said she wanted to find you. She’s probably scared you’ll leave and not return again,” Wen Ran said, feeling heartbroken for Tongtong’s precociousness and even more for her fear.

A trace of guilt flashed across Bai Yiyi’s eyes. She knelt down, lifted her hand to caress Tongtong’s delicate little face, and looked directly into her eyes. With great tenderness, she said, “Tongtong, Mommy promises to come back after picking up Grandma. Stay here at your aunt’s house and play with your younger siblings, alright?”

“Tongtong, your mommy won’t lie to you. She’ll be back soon. Trust Aunty,” Wen Ran added, vouching for Bai Yiyi.

Tongtong looked up at Wen Ran, then at Bai Yiyi, deeply pondering for a moment before reluctantly nodding her head.

“Mommy, Tongtong will wait for you,” she murmured softly.

Bai Yiyi’s brows softened into a warm smile. She bent down and kissed Tongtong’s forehead before standing up.

“Yiyi, if you don’t want me to come with you, let Qing Feng drive you to the station,” Wen Ran suggested.

“I want to drive myself.” Bai Yiyi had sold her car at a low price before leaving previously.

Now she had no car, but she still didn’t want Qing Feng to drive her. There were things she wanted to talk about with her mother, alone.

Wen Ran seemed to sense what was on Bai Yiyi’s mind and gave her a gentle smile. “Alright, then go pick a car in the garage. Qing Feng will give you the keys.”

**

At the station

Bai Yiyi said goodbye to Lu Zhiyan and brought Bai Yuqin to the car. Opening the door for her, she said stiffly, “Get in.”

Bai Yuqin’s gaze toward Bai Yiyi was filled with guilt and complexity. From Bai Yiyi’s expression and tone, she could tell her daughter still blamed her.

She had no right to ask for forgiveness, so she remained silent.

A few minutes later, Bai Yiyi parked the car by the roadside and looked at Bai Yuqin sitting in the backseat through the rearview mirror. Her tone was somewhat cold as she said, “I’ve decided to stay in G City and move back into the old villa.”

“Yiyi, you’ve finally come around and decided not to leave?” Bai Yuqin asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Bai Yiyi. Earlier, when she first saw her daughter again, she’d wondered if she’d had a change of heart.

But she’d dared not voice her thoughts for fear her daughter would ignore her.

Once in the car, with Bai Yiyi refusing to speak, Bai Yuqin also hadn’t dared to say anything.

Bai Yiyi’s heart ached slightly at Bai Yuqin’s excitement and cautious demeanor. She ought to hate her mother, and yet she couldn’t muster any hatred.

Even though Bai Yuqin had once helped Fu Jingyi hurt Wen Ran and Gu Kai, she was still her mother—unlike Fu Jingyi.

Bai Yiyi had grown up under her mother’s care. Regardless of how many mistakes her mother had made, she could never truly abandon her.

That day, when she left, she had known deep down…

“I won’t leave. The ones who made mistakes were you and Fu Jingyi. I can’t take away Tongtong’s happiness because of that. My decision to move back is to keep Tongtong close to Ranran’s house and to constantly remind myself that I am the daughter of you and Fu Jingyi. What I owe Wen Ran and Gu Kai, I can never repay in this lifetime.”

What she owed them could never truly be repaid, no matter what she did.

Bai Yuqin’s face turned pale, a trace of self-reproach flashing across her features. “Yiyi, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I’ve already explained everything to Ah Kai. I told him the events of the past had nothing to do with you. Even if he’s still angry now, he can’t possibly stay angry with you forever.”

“He can’t stay angry forever?” Bai Yiyi’s laugh was full of self-mockery and sadness. Turning her head, she said coldly, her eyes locking on Bai Yuqin, “Mom, you should’ve known from the start that truth can’t be hidden forever. What you’ve done can’t stay a secret for life. You should never have allowed me any contact with Gu Kai from the beginning.”

Her voice lowered as she spoke, the sarcasm in her tone giving way to deep sorrow.

She had never realized that loving someone could be so painful.

Now she knew. Loving someone didn’t necessarily bring happiness. If she had known this day would come, she would have never allowed herself the slightest bit of affection.

Bai Yuqin called out in a pained voice, “Yiyi, Officer Lu said it was Gu Kai who called him, saying he wouldn’t pursue the events of the past. I thought that meant he no longer blamed you. I went to talk to him and even told him I was willing to go to jail, to take responsibility for everything I’d done if only he would be with you…”

“Enough.”

Bai Yiyi suddenly interrupted Bai Yuqin’s words.

The sharp rise in her voice and the anger in it startled Bai Yuqin, making her body tremble.

The look in her eyes was filled with overwhelming remorse and guilt.

Seeing Bai Yiyi in such pain and consumed by so much anger, Bai Yuqin suddenly regretted orchestrating opportunities for her to get closer to Gu Kai back then. She had trusted Li En too much, never imagining that one day Li En’s love would turn to hate, dragging her daughter into a storm.

Pressing her lips together, she called out softly, “Yiyi!”