Chapter 214: A Miracle
Wang Gege’s confusion only grew deeper after hearing Bai Ruoxi’s words.
She stared at the woman in front of her, trying to connect everything she had just heard, yet the more she tried, the less sense it made.
"If we were both pulled into that world..." Wang Gege finally asked, her voice uncertain, "then... you were also my mother there?"
Bai Ruoxi looked at her for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "Yes... and no."
Wang Gege frowned. "How can it be both?"
Bai Ruoxi lowered her gaze, her expression carrying a trace of sadness. "I was with you for barely a year after we arrived there. After that, I was pulled back here."
Wang Gege’s lips parted slightly. "Only a year? Pulled back?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded. "Do you remember the last time you asked me why I named you Wang Gege?"
Wang Gege’s eyes widened. It was one of the few memories she had of her mother that had always remained especially clear. She had been curious about her unusual name and had asked why her mother had chosen it instead of giving her a more ordinary name.
Bai Ruoxi continued softly, "I told you the reason back then, didn’t I?"
Wang Gege slowly nodded.
"Actually..." Bai Ruoxi’s gaze dropped guiltily for a moment before she continued, "I lied."
She took a quiet breath, "That name was not chosen randomly. I gave you the name Wang Gege because it was connected to who you truly were."
Wang Gege’s brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Bai Ruoxi remained silent for a moment before finally answering.
"Taotao, the moment we were pulled out of that world, something had to be done to balance it. The original owner of your body was named Wang Gege."
Wang Gege froze.
Bai Ruoxi continued, her voice becoming quieter. "She was the one who was pulled here to occupy the empty body you left behind."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened. "So... the Wang Gege in that world..."
Bai Ruoxi nodded slowly. "Was the original owner of the body you were swapping into."
Wang Gege’s breathing became unsteady. "Then... What happened to her?"
Bai Ruoxi looked at her with a complicated expression. "She was pulled into this world before."
Wang Gege froze. "Into... this world?"
"Yes." Bai Ruoxi nodded. "When you and I were pulled away during the ritual, your soul did not simply disappear from your body. Something else happened. The two worlds were connected, and when the balance was disrupted, another soul was pulled across to fill the place you had left behind."
Her voice softened. "The soul that came here was the original Wang Gege."
Wang Gege stared at her, barely breathing. "She entered Shen Taotao’s body..."
Bai Ruoxi nodded. "And she lived as Shen Taotao for eighteen years."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened further. "Eighteen years..."
"Yes." Bai Ruoxi’s expression darkened. "For eighteen years, the person living in that body was Wang Gege who originally belonged to the other world."
Her mind went completely blank.
Then another thought struck her, "Then the person who lived as me in the modern world... currently?"
Bai Ruoxi looked directly at her. "Yes. She has returned to her original body, and the same thing happened to you."
Wang Gege held her head, overwhelmed by everything she had just learned.
"Wait... how?" She could barely process one answer before another question appeared. Everything was becoming too complicated, as though the life she thought she understood had suddenly been turned upside down.
Bai Ruoxi took a slow breath. "For the year I was there with you, the one who had swapped places with me was the original mother of Wang Gege."
Wang Gege slowly lowered her hands.
Bai Ruoxi continued, "And as you probably know, she caused trouble here and there after taking my place. When the Taoist eventually discovered that something was wrong, he told my parents that the person occupying my body did not truly belong in that world."
She paused, her expression becoming more complicated.
"My parents were terrified when they learned the truth. They believed that if the two souls had been swapped, then performing the ritual to bring me back might also drag you back with me..."
Bai Ruoxi bit her lip, unable to hide the anger slowly seeping into her voice.
"So when the Shen family came and demanded you back, I mean... the Wang Gege who was occupying your body at that time, they agreed willingly."
Her fingers slowly curled into her sleeves.
"And that was how you..." She stopped herself for a moment before correcting her words. "How Shen Taotao returned to the Shen family."
Wang Gege’s jaw dropped. She tried desperately to connect everything Bai Ruoxi had told her, but the more pieces she put together, the more impossible everything seemed.
Bai Ruoxi watched her silently for a moment before continuing.
"After that, I tried many times to pull you back."
Her voice carried a faint tremble.
"I tried every method I could think of. I searched for the Taoist again, performed rituals, and even tried to recreate what had happened that day, but none of them worked."
She lowered her gaze, a trace of helplessness appearing in her eyes.
"Every attempt ended the same way. Nothing happened. I couldn’t reach you, and I couldn’t even tell whether you were still living there."
Wang Gege’s fingers slowly tightened. "For eighteen years?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded. "For eighteen years."
She took a slow breath before looking back at her. "I almost thought I would never see you again."
There was a brief silence.
"Until a year ago..." Bai Ruoxi’s expression changed. For the first time since she began telling the story, there was something different in her eyes. Not sadness, not anger, but something close to disbelief. "Something happened."
Wang Gege stared at her.
Bai Ruoxi’s lips parted slightly. "Something I had been waiting for all those years..." She paused, her voice becoming almost a whisper. "Suddenly... happened."
Wang Gege’s heart began to beat faster. "What happened?"
Bai Ruoxi looked at her for a long moment. "A miracle."