CHAPTER 794: CHAPTER 778: IF I COULD CHOOSE

"Since that’s the case, why did you have someone bring me back? There’s absolutely no need for us to meet. You don’t want to see me; you wish I didn’t exist. Honestly, I don’t want to see you either.

I understand that my existence is a humiliation for you, proving that there’s some kind of connection between you and Ye Hua, a tie that cannot be severed.

If given the choice, I wouldn’t want you as my parents either. It seems we agree on that. Now, what do you want to do? What use am I, as your so-called daughter?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao said with a hint of ridicule.

No more waves in her heart.

Wei Guo saw Jiang Xiaoxiao’s expression and felt a sharp pain in his heart; this child had been hurt to the extreme by him and Ye Hua, otherwise she wouldn’t display such expressions and eyes.

That cold gaze and distant expression showed the child was internally resisting him.

Wei Guo stood up and sat in front of Jiang Xiaoxiao.

Jiang Xiaoxiao awkwardly moved away.

She was not familiar with Wei Guo.

She didn’t feel any warmth from being related by blood, or that so-called connection derived from shared kinship.

Sorry, that’s only found in novels; she truly did not feel it.

What she felt was the same as with a stranger: unfamiliar and distant.

"Xiao Xiao, at first. Knowing Ye Hua had my child and secretly gave birth, I was furious. Truly furious. You might know something about Ye Hua; this woman is extremely selfish, cold, and ruthless.

Back then, it was she who drugged me; otherwise, I would never have had any connection with her. I’ve long seen through her; seeing her makes me sick, how would I have...?

Of course, I never thought she’d be daring enough to give birth to my child."

Wei Guo’s words made Jiang Xiaoxiao feel suddenly relieved.

"After hearing you, I understand why Ye Hua swapped babies in the hospital. I always thought I was mistakenly swapped in the hospital. I never understood Ye Hua, as if she knew Fang Xiaohui’s identity from the beginning. She wasn’t particularly kind to Fang Xiaohui, though slightly better to her than me, but not by much.

Evidently, this biological mother surely knew the inside story. I never knew where the mistake lay, because I can’t imagine any biological mother being so cruel to swap her child with another, preferring to take someone else’s child home instead of her own.

Now everything is clear; clearly, I wasn’t what she wanted. I am merely a mistake. You wish to erase this mistake, and so does she."

Even in Jiang Xiaoxiao’s laughter, there was bitterness. Knowing the truth, this truth is truly difficult to accept.

Knowing oneself to be the least welcome arrival in the world among everyone, that feeling is truly a mix of emotions.

She knows a mother’s feelings; every time she sees Tang Yuan, her heart is flooded, eyes overflowing with love.

She wishes to treasure this child in the palm of her hand.

That feeling makes it hard for her to imagine a mother willing to abandon her own child.

Now she finally understands.

Because she’s unwanted, she shouldn’t have existed in the world.

She is just a mistake.

Wei Guo’s large hand gripped Jiang Xiaoxiao’s hand, so unexpectedly intimate that Jiang Xiaoxiao felt disgust.

This is her father, yet they are not familiar.

This physical contact inherently made her feel resistance.

Jiang Xiaoxiao forcefully broke free.

"Since you don’t want to acknowledge my existence, isn’t the current situation good? What did you bring me here for?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn’t want to immerse herself in illusions.

From the past life, all those heartfelt kinships were unveiled, revealing deceit and heartbreak; in this life, she won’t believe.

Wei Guo felt pain in his heart; what had this child gone through to be so disheartened?

She never even expected to gain familial affection from him.

This expression, this attitude seemed to show him his past self.

Those 20 years in prison where he coldly rejected everything, excluded everything.

With an observer’s perspective, he viewed everyone’s attitudes towards him, warily guarding against potential harm others might cause him.

This child is only thirty-three, a prime age, yet she resembles an elderly person who has seen it all.

Those eyes that see through worldly matters made him feel sorrow.

She is his daughter, after all.

The daughter he wants to love and care for wholeheartedly, yet she suffered through the world’s most cruel and painful experiences.

At the moment of this truth unveiling, how much pain must this child’s heart bear.

"Xiao Xiao, I admit I initially didn’t want to accept your existence. I secretly visited you, gazed at you from a distance. Seeing you, that moment, I couldn’t control the emotion erupting deep within me that I didn’t understand.

Seeing someone so like myself, carrying my bloodline, continuing everything I had, I suddenly understood the significance of having a child.

That moment I mocked myself, attributing the mistake to Ye Hua; but if not for me, how could this mistake happen? Everyone has fault, only you are blameless.

You are innocent; like you said, if you could choose, you definitely wouldn’t have chosen me and Ye Hua as your parents."

For the first time, Wei Guo wept bitterly, holding Jiang Xiaoxiao’s hand like a child, unable to stop crying.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was at a loss.

She was already accustomed to facing familial bonds, crafting the hardest shell to shield against all potential harms from supposedly parental affections.

Thus, Wei Guo’s words were merely what she expected.

She only felt a faint throbbing pain but was no longer deeply wounded.

Because, deep down, she had never believed in anyone, never trusted that anyone in the world truly loved her, protected her, cherished her beyond those inside her high walls.

They were the ones who truly loved her, whom she loved most.

Facing Wei Guo’s childlike crying.

Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly felt anxious; the Wei Guo she had known, towering and profit-centered, suddenly softened.

All her hardened defenses seemed lost amidst such a storm.

She didn’t know what to do.

Comfort?

Joking?

Does Wei Guo need it?

She just stood there coldly, observing from the sidelines.

And indeed, Jiang Xiaoxiao did just that.

She told herself to never easily lower the high wall; within it were those she needed to protect. Removing the wall might lead to greater harm affecting not only her but everyone she wished to protect.

For Wei Guo, it was unworthy.

Watching from the side, the big man could not bear it anymore and silently approached, handing Wei Guo a towel and taking out a medicine bottle from his pocket to give Wei Guo a pill.

Jiang Xiaoxiao silently watched from the side, not speaking or inquiring.

Wei Guo finally sat quietly on the sofa.