Chapter 212: Not My Daughter
Wang Gege stared at Bai Ruoxi for several seconds before slowly turning her head toward Xie Rong.
Her expression was filled with pure confusion. "What in the drama is this?"
She leaned closer to Xie Rong, lowering her voice as though she needed to make sure she had not misunderstood what she had just heard. "Does she mean... she is Shen Taotao’s mother?"
Xie Rong’s expression remained stiff as he glanced at Bai Ruoxi before looking back at Wang Gege.
"Judging from what she just said... this husband believes that is exactly what she means."
Wang Gege blinked. Then she looked back at Bai Ruoxi.
"But how?" Her brows slowly furrowed as she pointed at Bai Ruoxi’s face.
"She has my mother’s face, she knows the memory that even I didn’t understand, and now she’s saying she’s Shen Taotao’s mother?"
"No..." Bai Ruoxi immediately spoke up after hearing their whispered conversation.
She looked at Wang Gege with a serious expression, making sure there was no room for misunderstanding.
"I am saying... I am your mother."
Wang Gege froze.
She slowly lowered her hand, staring at Bai Ruoxi as though her words had somehow made the entire situation even more confusing.
"My... mother?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded gently, her gaze never leaving Wang Gege. "Yes. I am your mother."
"You mean... Shen Taotao’s mother?" Wang Gege repeated, although only she and Xie Rong understood the true meaning behind the question.
Bai Ruoxi’s expression became slightly confused. "You are... Shen Taotao..."
"I mean..." Wang Gege struggled to explain, her brows knitting together. "I know I am Shen Taotao at this moment, but I am... not..."
Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Xie Rong again, silently hoping he understood what she was trying to say.
How could she possibly explain that the person standing before them was claiming to be the mother of the body she had transmigrated into, while at the same time looking exactly like the mother she had known in her previous life?
Before Wang Gege could find a way to explain herself, Master Xie, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, finally spoke.
"This one does not understand..." His gaze shifted between Bai Ruoxi and Wang Gege, his confusion becoming more apparent.
"You are Taotao’s mother... how?" He frowned slightly. "Isn’t An’an your daughter?"
Master Xie’s words made the room fall silent.
Bai Ruoxi looked at him for a moment before lowering her gaze, as though she already knew exactly why he was confused.
"As I said, An’an is not my daughter."
Master Xie frowned deeply, "But eighteen years ago, you were the one who brought her to this residence. You told me she was your daughter."
"I never said that." Bai Ruoxi’s answer came so calmly that Master Xie was left speechless.
His expression changed as he tried to recall what had happened all those years ago. "You... never said she was your daughter?"
Bai Ruoxi shook her head, "No. You assumed she was."
Master Xie’s face stiffened. "Then why did you bring her here?"
Bai Ruoxi did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned toward Wang Gege, her expression softening.
"Because at that time, I had no other choice."
Master Xie repeated her words, his brows drawing together. "No other choice?"
Bai Ruoxi looked at each of them in turn, her expression hesitant and complicated, as though she were struggling to decide how much she should reveal.
"It is hard to explain..." she said slowly. "But I brought her to you because you knew who she was to you, didn’t you?"
Master Xie stared at her.
Bai Ruoxi continued, "That is why you accepted her willingly when I brought her here."
Master Xie’s expression changed slightly as he tried to recall that day from eighteen years ago.
"You mean..." His voice became uncertain. "You knew I would accept her because of who she was?"
"She is your daughter..."
Bai Ruoxi finally dropped the bomb, sending the entire room into silence.
Wang Gege’s eyes widened, while Xie Rong’s expression stiffened beside her. Even Master Xie, however, did not look surprised by the revelation.
"She is..." Master Xie paused before slowly nodding. "I know."
His gaze shifted toward Bai Ruoxi, his expression becoming complicated. "But she is yours too..."
Bai Ruoxi immediately shook her head.
"No." Her voice was quiet but firm. "An’an is not my daughter."
Master Xie’s expression finally changed.
His brows furrowed deeply as he stared at Bai Ruoxi, clearly unable to make sense of her words.
"What manner of words are these?"
His voice carried a trace of anger now.
"You say she is my daughter, yet you turn around and say she is not yours? If she is not your daughter, then whose daughter is she?"
Bai Ruoxi remained silent.
Master Xie took a step forward, his confusion quickly turning into frustration.
"Bai Ruoxi, eighteen years ago, you brought that child to this residence yourself. You told this one nothing, yet you expected this one to accept her without question. This one did so because you said she was my daughter."
His gaze hardened.
"And now, after eighteen years, you return and tell this one that she is not your daughter?"
He clenched his hand inside his sleeve, his confusion giving way to anger.
"Bai Ruoxi, both of us know what happened that night! That is why this one knew An’an was our daughter!"
Bai Ruoxi’s expression became complicated.
"You are right. We both know what happened that night."
Master Xie stared at her, his anger still lingering.
"Then how can you say An’an is not your daughter?"
Bai Ruoxi lowered her gaze before finally speaking.
"Because the woman you were with that night... was not me."
Master Xie’s expression froze. "What?"
Bai Ruoxi took a slow breath. "My younger sister was the one who entered your room that night."
The room fell completely silent.
Master Xie stared at her in disbelief. "Your... sister?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded.
"You had been drinking that night and were barely conscious. She knew that, yet she still took advantage of you."
Master Xie’s face darkened. "She pretended to be you?"
"Yes." Bai Ruoxi’s voice carried a faint bitterness.
"She knew you would believe she was me, especially in your drunken state. By the time you realized anything was wrong, she had already left."
Master Xie clenched his fists beneath his sleeves. "And An’an..."
"She is her daughter," Bai Ruoxi said quietly. "Not mine."
Master Xie stood there in silence, as though the ground beneath him had suddenly shifted.
For eighteen years, he had believed An’an was the daughter he had with Bai Ruoxi.
For eighteen years, he had protected her because he believed she was the child of the woman he had loved.
Yet the truth was that the woman he had been with that night had never been Bai Ruoxi at all.
"I was never around you for that long," Bai Ruoxi said quietly. "And the one who always replied to your letters... was her."
Master Xie’s expression stiffened.
He stared at Bai Ruoxi as memories from eighteen years ago slowly resurfaced in his mind. The letters, the occasional replies, the words he had always believed came from Bai Ruoxi herself...
Wang Gege, who had been standing there in confusion, finally tugged lightly at Xie Rong’s sleeve.
"We should leave... This has nothing to do with us."
But before Xie Rong could respond, Bai Ruoxi spoke.
"No..." Her gaze fell on Wang Gege, her expression becoming complicated.
"Every little detail is related to you." She paused before continuing softly, "So please, stay and listen..."