Chapter Eighty: Promise

On the other end of the line, Sheng Yang finally managed to rein in his endless chatter. It seemed he had just noticed Sheng Yao’s prolonged silence, and he coughed awkwardly before asking, “So, how’s Dragon City? I heard it’s full of ancient buildings, with mountains and rivers, and the scenery is beautiful.”

“Yes, there are plenty of places to visit, and it’s all very convenient,” Sheng Yao replied absentmindedly, roused from his thoughts. But then, a wry smile flickered across his face.

After he and Bai Xiao were “discharged,” they had barely spent a few days sightseeing in Dragon City before the matter of the baby consumed all their attention. Bai Xiao wanted to adopt the child, hoping to fill the void left by their lost baby, while he himself remained full of caution and worry about it. As it turned out, his worries were justified, and his vigilance was not misplaced. But what should he do now...

Sheng Yao’s mind drifted back to that stormy night.

He felt little remorse over killing Zheng Yichao. In retrospect, what troubled him most was the sense that he hadn’t been himself at the time, as if he’d acted purely on instinct, without thought, contrary to his usual careful nature. He was never one to meddle in others’ affairs. Perhaps he’d been influenced by Boss Le, or perhaps it was because...

“…Sounds great. Are you traveling alone? There are lots of day trips now, right? You don’t have to join a tour group. Check online, maybe find some people to hang out with—it’s good to meet new folks,” Sheng Yang suggested.

The conversation rang familiar in Sheng Yao’s ears.

He drifted for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

Such exchanges had once been common between them, but that was twenty or thirty years ago.

After Bai Xiao’s death, he’d been lost in grief. At first, his family and friends offered constant comfort. Later, the subject became a tacitly avoided taboo—no one mentioned “Bai Xiao,” instead skirting around it, trying in various ways to pull him out of his narrow, sorrowful world. Eventually… they stopped altogether. He grew accustomed to a life at a standstill, and others grew used to his unmoving state.

Today, after so many years, he was finally hearing such words again, but his feelings were entirely different now.

He glanced down at the wedding ring on his finger—a new one, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

“…It’s good to make new friends. A lot of people travel and play after retirement, or enroll in senior colleges, meet new people, learn new things. My wife said she wants to go to the senior college and learn how to make pastries and bread. She’ll make some for you to try. All the teachers there are renowned pastry chefs, and their creations are said to be delicious. She doesn’t want to travel anymore and plans to stay home. Lately, she’s started growing flowers and raising fish, and yesterday she mentioned wanting a dog. She’s always watching the neighbors walk their dogs—those dogs are so funny. She used to pester our son to get married, but she doesn’t anymore. If she’s not going to travel, the two of us brothers can keep each other company. One of my colleagues retired two years ago, bought an RV, and now he’s driving all over the country,” Sheng Yang said enthusiastically.

Bathed in sunlight, Sheng Yao felt warmth fill his heart.

Maybe he could tell Sheng Yang about Bai Xiao.

They could travel together. With an RV, they wouldn’t need hotel IDs.

If he only told Sheng Yang and his family, maybe the “secret” could be kept, and there’d be no disastrous consequences.

No… Even if the secret got out, would anyone believe it? Who would believe in resurrection? If the police found out Bai Xiao had no legal identity, that would be troublesome, but only that—no one would believe she’d come back from the dead. Maybe he could find a way to get her new identification. It should be possible…

A surge of joy welled up in Sheng Yao’s chest.

He spoke into his phone, “Then I’ll wait for your retirement. When the time comes… there’s something I want to tell you.”

Sheng Yang paused, then broke into hearty laughter. “Sounds good. I’ll be retiring in just a few months. Don’t get so caught up in your travels that you forget to come back! I’ll be throwing a big party for my sixtieth birthday, too. Haha…”

“Alright,” Sheng Yao agreed.

When the call ended, he put away his phone.

He collected himself and went back down the stairs, hugging the outer wall as he searched. Soon, he spotted the baby, surrounded by a crowd of staff fawning over him.

His life had entered a new chapter, promising to be richer and more colorful. But before that…

The baby turned his head, looking around, but not because he sensed Sheng Yao’s presence. Sheng Yao followed the baby’s gaze, his eyes piercing the wall to see the bustle on the other side.

The director had given special instructions, clearly not a trivial matter—especially since the transfer would be covered by Dragon City News. According to the gossip among the busy staff, they’d even bring two camera crews. Such a production must have been prompted by someone’s advance notice. People speculated: was it their director who’d contacted the TV station, or was it Kang’an International on the other side?

“Probably Kang’an. Old Li doesn’t have that kind of pull.”

“You never know. Didn’t Old Li get the station to shoot a segment for Director Lin and the others?”

“Liver transplants are newsworthy, though.”

“And the baby isn’t?”

“You’re forgetting someone,” another voice chimed in. “Boss Zhou from Wangyangxian—did you forget? He’s the one with real connections at the station, ironclad. You see Wangyangxian’s ads every day—who knows how much he’s spent?”

A young nurse, busy tidying up medical equipment, paused and glanced over at the medical administration staff helping decorate the room.

Those people were hanging large photos and profiles of the hospital directors and deputy directors on the wall, all the while chatting away:

“You think Wangyangxian would spend money on this? Boss Zhou would rather avoid the spotlight, why would he get involved?”

“What do you know? Boss Zhou is the one who wants to adopt the baby.”

“No way! I thought he was arrested?”

“Arrested? They just brought him in to assist with the investigation. I heard they didn’t have any evidence. The whole thing’s weird—the body was found, but the state it was in… no one knows what happened. They even called Wu Min from Longda Forensics, and I hear they’re bringing in some big shots from the medical college too.”

“That serious?”

Sheng Yao heard every word. He didn’t know whether the baby possessed abilities like his, but even if not, the baby could still learn these things. The nurse who went to check on the baby would tell him all about it.

As she changed the baby’s diaper, the nurse muttered resentfully, “...It’s just not fair. Some people are above the law. He still gets to adopt you after all this. If he takes you home…” She trailed off, looking into the baby’s clear black eyes. Her nose stung, and her eyes reddened. “You poor thing… you haven’t even had a few good days… how could this happen…”

She was deeply distressed, probably imagining the consequences if the baby were taken in by his possible biological father, the murderer of his birth mother.

Sheng Yao’s thoughts, of course, were entirely different. His heart gave a jolt as he looked into the baby’s dark eyes, a sense of foreboding creeping over him. And yet…

His fingers pressed against the hospital’s outer wall, leaving faint marks in the concrete.

In his mind, Bai Xiao’s face flickered again—obscured by the rain, glimpsed through the glass doors of the monster clinic, familiar yet indistinct in the night…

He sighed softly, relaxed his hand, and his body drifted down like a feather.

If he were truly nineteen again, he would have been ecstatic at this newfound strength and power. But now, though his body was young and powerful, the feeling was gone.

He walked slowly back to the apartment he’d rented in Dragon City.

When he opened the door, he saw Bai Xiao sitting on the living room sofa.

She turned in surprise at the sound of his arrival. “Back so soon?” she asked, rising to her feet. “What’s wrong?” Her gaze was deep, anxious, her steps hesitating as she approached.

“That baby… he might already be starting to turn into a monster.” Sheng Yao shut the door, choosing his words carefully. “He nearly killed Nurse Fang, and he may already have killed his own mother… Next…”

Bai Xiao grew grave, her eyes lowering as if to conceal her shock and fear, or perhaps lost in thought.

“Shengsheng, that baby…” Sheng Yao opened his mouth. He wanted to say “Zheng Yichao,” but the image of Bai Xiao from that stormy night overlapped with the Bai Xiao before him, making the words catch in his throat.

Bai Xiao suddenly looked up, meeting his gaze. “You think he’s a monster? Then what about me? Am I a monster too?!”

Her words struck Sheng Yao like a knife to the heart.

He staggered. “No, Shengsheng, how could I—”

“We both came from there… Is that how you see me too?!” Bai Xiao’s voice rose.

Sheng Yao stared at her, at a loss, wanting to reach out but his hand froze in the air.

Her face grew blurred before his eyes, as if shrouded in rain, as if separated by glass, backlit and veiled in the night, and he could no longer see the contours of the woman he loved so dearly.

Bai Xiao’s expression changed. She bit her lip. “Sheng Yao, he’s just a newborn—he doesn’t understand anything yet. No one’s taught him what’s right or wrong. His mother abandoned him—no, not just abandoned. You know when he appeared at the clinic… the state he was in…” Bai Xiao’s voice trembled, tears brimming in her eyes as she struggled to contain her emotions. She turned away, covering her mouth.

A pang shot through Sheng Yao. His frozen body finally moved, stepping forward to embrace Bai Xiao’s shoulders. “Shengsheng…”

“He’s just a child…” Bai Xiao turned back, gazing up at Sheng Yao with tearful hope in her eyes. “If we adopt him, we can teach him, teach him to be a good person. You can control him. You can do it. Only you can. Only we can adopt him.”

Her voice was pleading, her gaze desperate, clinging to that sliver of hope.

Sheng Yao tightened his hold, pulling her close.

“He’s just a child, Sheng Yao! We can teach him, raise him right! That poor child… he was almost killed by his own mother. He survived against all odds… Can you really bear to—” Her words broke off in sobs. “He’s not a monster… He’s our child… our baby… He was in my belly, once… When he was in my belly… crushed… I couldn’t protect him, I failed…” Bai Xiao wept quietly.

Sheng Yao closed his eyes in anguish.

The first time he’d seen the baby, the child was freshly born, bloody and stuffed in a toilet. If his guess was right, the baby’s mother had already had an abortion once before, and it was then the baby entered the monster clinic. What Bai Xiao saw back then must have been even more shocking.

Thirty-five years ago, their own child… must have looked much the same…

Tears seeped from the corners of Sheng Yao’s eyes.

Holding the slender, warm figure in his arms, he spoke with difficulty. “Alright… I promise you…”

At his answer, Bai Xiao’s tears flowed even harder. She buried her face in his chest, murmuring, “Thank you. Thank you…”

As she spoke, dark blue-black patterns appeared in her tear-filled eyes, spreading across half her face.

A faint smile curved Bai Xiao’s lips. Her tears wet Sheng Yao’s shirt.

He breathed out, forced a laugh, and steadied her by the shoulders.

When Bai Xiao lifted her face again, her skin was once more fair and flawless, with no sign of the strange markings.

Sheng Yao dabbed away her tears. “Crying like this… we haven’t even adopted him yet. Don’t spoil him rotten when we do.”

“I won’t. I know you can’t coddle a child.” Bai Xiao smiled, the joy lighting her eyes.

“Yes, that’s… probably for the best…” Sheng Yao nudged her toward the sink to wash her face, muttering half to himself, “If we could have a child, Sheng Yang would be relieved, too. Though a retirement trip might not be possible after all. Or maybe… the baby is special…”

Bai Xiao looked at him in surprise. “Sheng Yang?”

“He called me today. I want… to tell him about us,” Sheng Yao said solemnly, then managed a bitter smile. “Both our parents are gone now, and he’s my only close relative left. When our parents died, they told us to look after each other.” He sighed at the memory of old losses.

Bai Xiao lowered her head to wash her face. When she finished and dried off, she said, “I think… maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Hm?” Sheng Yao was surprised.

He’d introduced Bai Xiao to Sheng Yang at the very start of their relationship—back when Sheng Yang was still single and often played third wheel. Later, after Sheng Yang found love, the four of them often double-dated. For poor students and young professionals, a family meal for four beat any Valentine’s Day deal. At their wedding, Sheng Yang and his then-girlfriend had been best man and maid of honor.

He’d assumed Bai Xiao wouldn’t object to seeing Sheng Yang…

“Are you going to tell him everything? Is that wise?” Bai Xiao asked. “About the monster clinic, about the doctor… Even Boss Le didn’t tell you everything, did he?”

“Maybe Boss Le himself didn’t know…”

“And he would never reveal the doctor’s secrets. All the patients must have this tacit understanding. Those patients, and that girl with the cats you mentioned…” Bai Xiao reminded him. “It’s probably what the doctor wants, too.”

Sheng Yao fell silent.

“Besides, what happens if you do? The monster clinic won’t appear before them. I came back… but so many others… my parents, your parents, Sheng Yang’s parents… There are so many people with regrets like ours. We are already so lucky. So very, very lucky… But the others…” Bai Xiao sighed. “Sheng Yao, darling, let’s just live quietly, just us, you, me, and that child—a family of three… Isn’t that enough? I’m a little scared… what you did that day, and what you’re doing now… Thank goodness Liu Yu and Zheng Yichao didn’t hurt you. And that cat meant no harm. Otherwise…”

She shivered, as if reliving a fright. She hugged Sheng Yao’s waist, seeking comfort.

He couldn’t speak.

He stroked her long hair.

“Let’s just live this way, alright? We’ll find a place where no one knows us, and live quietly… just us…” Bai Xiao murmured.

“…Alright,” Sheng Yao replied, resting his chin on the top of her head.