Chapter 670: Love Grows Over Time
“Dad…” Han Luofan begged him.” I don’t want to acknowledge that person as my mother. My mother is Cai Jie, not Yuan Ting! ”
“…Okay.”
At this moment, Han Bing could clearly feel Han Luofan’s pain. His current pain was the same as when he found out about Han Luofan’s existence many years ago.
Worried that the father and son would fight, Cai Jie specially ran upstairs secretly to peek at the situation. Seeing the father and son hugging each other, she was stunned for a moment before she was relieved. This was good, this was like a family.
Han Bing did not go to work again.
This was the first time he took leave because of Han Luofan.
Han Luofan did not stay in his room the entire time. He went downstairs and played a few rounds of chess with Han Bing. Cai Jie poured water for them and let the father and son play. After dinner, Han Bing received a call from Chu Jian and had no choice but to go to the police station.
After he left, Han Luofan stood up and walked to the kitchen, taking the initiative to help Cai Jie share some of the housework.
Cai Jie looked at the man beside her in a daze.
In her impression, Han Luofan still liked to follow her around when he was young. Later on, the child grew up and his heart became wild and not clingy anymore. After so many years, Cai Jie was used to being alone in the day.
Han Luofan knew that Cai Jie was sizing him up. His actions as he washed the dishes were a little stiff.
Cai Jie had many things to say, but she did not know where to start.
In the end, it was Han Luofan who spoke first, breaking the awkward silence. He said, “Am I really… her child?”
Cai Jie nodded softly. After answering, she turned her head to look at Han Luofan and observed his expression. Seeing that Han Luofan did not have a particularly shocked reaction, Cai Jie was relieved. Han Luofan washed the last bowl clean and suddenly lowered his head to say, “I’ve caused trouble for you all these years.”
The word ‘you’ carried alienation and sorrow.
Cai Jie suddenly became helpless.
“Xiao Fan, don’t say that…”
Han Luofan interrupted her. “Ever since I was young, I’ve been very mischievous and caused you a lot of trouble. I’ve never thought that between us…” Han Luofan’s voice fell silent. Just as Cai Jie and Han Luofan were about to say that they would cut off their mother-son relations.h.i.+p, they heard Han Luofan say,” Since you’ve decided to be someone’s mother, you have to be one for the rest of your life. Running away halfway is irresponsible. ”
He tilted his head and looked at Cai Jie, his eyes slightly red. He said, “Mom, I only acknowledge you as my mother.”
The man choked and called her Mom, causing Cai Jie to wipe her tears.
Seeing Cai Jie wipe her tears hurriedly, Han Luofan felt upset too.
He didn’t bother to wash his hands clean. He leaned over and hugged Cai. He remembered his mother’s arms, always warm. He didn’t smell of perfume, but there was the faint smell of lavender detergent.
“Okay, it’s time to let go. Mom has to clean up the bowl.” Cai felt embarra.s.sed too. She wasn’t used to this touching scene.
Han Luofan let go of her and said, “I’ll wash it.”
He walked to the sink to wash the dishes.
Han Luofan was quite tall. The sink was built according to Cai Jie’s height. As Han Luofan stood there, he had to bend down and hook his head. Seeing that her son was quite proficient in was.h.i.+ng the dishes, Cai Jie took a moist towel to wipe the kitchen counter. As she wiped, she said, “Xiao Fan, you’re so good at housework. Your wife will be lucky in the future.”
Han Luofan snorted and said, “No wife, I’ll be single for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Han Luofan added, “Who knows how far we can go.”
“Sigh, you youngsters should be more loving, like your father…” Halfway through, Cai Jie realized that this topic was not suitable to talk about. When Han Luofan heard this half of the sentence, he suddenly asked Cai Jie, “Mom, when you and my father got married…”
After hesitating for a moment, Han Luofan asked, “Do you have feelings for each other?”
Cai Jie thought about it and told Han Luofan the truth.
“Your father and I have been married for more than thirty years. Actually, in the first fourteen years, we weren’t even husband and wife. At that time, I was just a nanny who took care of you and him.”
Han Luofan was an adult, so he naturally understood what Cai Jie meant.
In other words, they had been married for more than thirty years. In the first fourteen years of their marriage, they had actually never slept together! The way Han Bing and Cai Jie interacted with each other had refreshed Han Luofan’s worldview. He was shocked and did not care if his status was different. He asked in surprise, “For fourteen years, the two of you laid on the same bed and actually did not do it!”
Cai Jie blushed.
She was a simple and virtuous woman. She was embarra.s.sed to talk about such a private topic.
However, seeing that her son was already so old, Cai Jie still told Han Luofan about those things. She said, “When we got married, Brother Bing said that he might not fall in love with me for the rest of his life. He married me only because you needed a mother, and the Provincial Party Secretary needed a wife.”
“In addition, at that time, my love life wasn’t smooth either. I met… a jerk.” Those unhappy things back then could be said to be normal now that they were mentioned. Cai Jie continued, “Our marriage was like a collaboration. Although I fell in love with your father first, I still remember what he said.”
“I thought this was the end of our lives.”
Han Luofan asked, “Then what caused your relations.h.i.+p to change?”
Cai Jie said, “Do you still remember? When you were 13 years old, your father brought me to attend Old Master Shen Guanshan’s birthday banquet. On the way, our car braked and hit the gravel truck. I didn’t think too much at that time and thought that a person like Brother Bing couldn’t die, so I risked everything to save him.”
“When I woke up in the hospital, Brother Bing’s att.i.tude towards me slowly changed.”
All these years, what happened between Han Bing and Cai Jie seemed to be very simple, but after being together for so many years, how could it be summarized in a few words? Han Bing was not really hard-hearted. He also had a heart. He saw how good Cai Jie was. After spending more than ten years with her silently, even if Han Bing’s heart was ice, it would melt.
He would inevitably fall in love.
Love grew with time. These words were right, at least on them.
Upon hearing this, Han Luofan smiled and said, “It’s quite romantic too. In those romance novels, you guys are the standard male and female leads.”
Cai Jie only smiled, feeling embarra.s.sed.
Han Luofan thought of something and frowned slightly. He said, “Then Dad is now… full of thoughts about getting justice for that woman. Aren’t you angry?”
“Do you want to hear the truth?”
Han Luofan wiped his hands, glanced at Cai Jie, and nodded.
Cai Jie said, “As a wife and a woman, of course I’ll be jealous.” She added, “But I also understand that Ji Yue’s matter is Brother Bing’s nightmare. After knowing that there’s something else behind Ji Yue’s disappearance, if he doesn’t seek justice for Ji Yue, he won’t be able to let it go for the rest of his life.”