Everything was different now.

Although Cui Yiru’s death exceeded Xu Zhongyi’s expectations, this victory was the culmination of his years in hiding – yet it was a victory that cut to the bone, one that was merely superficial. Deep inside, countless problems still awaited Xu Zhongyi’s resolution.

Xu Changle was easier to handle.

He had never truly trusted Zhang Jiadong, though he might have been briefly deceived. But his excellent memory of childhood events proved crucial – once he was old enough to think things through, the moment Zhang Jiadong went to verify Tina’s DNA was when Xu Changle completely lost faith in him.

Xu Changle had guessed the truth but dared not tell anyone.

He knew he was being watched by many people; he could sense their surveillance.

And who could he tell?

Certainly not Tina, who was barely in her teens!

And not Cui Yiru.

At that time, Xu Changle wasn’t even sure if Cui Yiru was involved. Suspecting one’s mother was unfilial, but he couldn’t help it – Cui Yiru’s affair with Zhang Jiadong was an irrefutable fact. Zhang Jiadong’s account on the cruise ship and Cui Yiru’s reaction had at least resolved one of Xu Changle’s concerns – at minimum, Cui Yiru never intended to harm Xu Zhongyi.

But Cui Yiru was dead now.

Such a resolute suicide by gunshot.

Xu Changle’s feelings toward Cui Yiru were complicated. On one hand, he knew she loved him dearly; on the other, he resented her for that one misstep that led to their family’s disintegration over the years.

Death extinguishes all, and with Cui Yiru’s passing, the resentment naturally dissipates, leaving only memories of her goodness.

This was Xu Changle’s most natural emotional response, difficult to control with logic.

He felt guilty too.

If he hadn’t been so urgent to resolve everything, secretly bringing his mother Cui Yiru and sister Tina onto the ship, if they had settled these grudges privately instead of exposing everything publicly, Cui Yiru wouldn’t have died – why had he been so desperate to destroy Zhang Jiadong?

He had used Tina’s true parentage to break Zhang Jiadong’s psychological defenses.

But he had also destroyed his mother Cui Yiru’s will to live.

That night, his words had effectively been a public execution of his mother Cui Yiru.

Xu Changle had found his birth father after 19 years of separation but forever lost his birth mother. At 25 years old, Xu Changle still couldn’t accept this. When alone with Xu Zhongyi, he couldn’t control his emotions and broke down sobbing:

“I didn’t mean to… Perhaps subconsciously I did it on purpose, thinking she deserved punishment for making you suffer all these years… But this punishment exceeded what I expected!”

Xu Zhongyi patted his son’s back.

“Changle, this isn’t your fault. I never hated your mother. She never meant to harm me. Life is long, and people inevitably make mistakes. She was just lost when she first arrived in America.”

Xu Zhongyi remembered how, days before the robbery, Cui Yiru had mentioned not liking San Francisco much and asked about moving elsewhere.

Thinking back now, Cui Yiru might have wanted to end things with Zhang Jiadong then, but when he refused, she thought of leaving San Francisco. Unfortunately, Xu Zhongyi was already familiar with San Francisco and most confident about obtaining legal status there. When Cui Yiru suddenly suggested moving, he hadn’t taken it seriously.

If they had left then, perhaps none of this would have happened.

If Cui Yiru hadn’t had that moment of confused passion…

But life doesn’t offer “what ifs” – when you can’t turn back time, you can only look forward.

While his son Xu Changle would still cry in front of him, his daughter Tina wouldn’t communicate with him at all. What could Xu Zhongyi do but shoulder everything alone? The murder investigation complicated Cui Yiru’s funeral arrangements.

Xu Zhongyi was anxious to return to Shangdu.

Xu Changle could compose himself to see his grandmother.

But what about Tina?

Xu Changle wiped his tears, “I’ll talk to Tina.”

Tina refused to talk.

She wouldn’t eat or drink, keeping herself locked in her room. As long as she didn’t leave, she wouldn’t have to face the outside world. For her, without any warning, both parents had died before her eyes – everything felt like a dream.

She covered herself with blankets, forcing herself to sleep, hoping that perhaps when she woke up, this nightmare would end.

Xu Changle had anticipated this – Tina had considered Zhang Jiadong her real father for years. Even after learning he wasn’t her biological father but her stepfather, her feelings for Zhang Jiadong couldn’t possibly change overnight.

Comparing Zhang Jiadong and Xu Zhongyi, she was completely unfamiliar with Xu Zhongyi.

Even knowing Zhang Jiadong’s misdeeds, could over a decade of companionship and emotion be erased instantly?

To Tina, Zhang Jiadong was still her father.

On that chaotic night, everyone said Zhang Jiadong had done bad things, and then her mother shot and killed her father… The shock was too great for the young girl, and she shut herself off, refusing to accept the truth.

After knocking repeatedly with no response, Xu Changle had to use his keycard to open the door.

“Tina.”

Xu Changle sat on the bed’s edge and pulled back the covers.

Tina’s eyes had swollen nearly shut – apparently crying too much for too long really could dry up one’s tears.

Even now, though she remained heartbroken and grieving, no tears would come from her eyes.

This was something Tina had never imagined possible before.

How could she have experienced anything like this?

In the past, even a small scratch would make Zhang Jiadong extremely worried.

Zhang Jiadong had sent her to the best local schools, made donations to ensure she received preferential treatment and smoothed her path to Columbia University.

Her clothes were always the latest fashion.

Whenever she ate at home, almost every dish was her favorite.

Any small sadness in life was treated as a major event for Tina. This wasn’t just her being spoiled – Zhang Jiadong had given her that sense of security.

In one night, Tina’s life had shattered.

She hadn’t even processed the news that Zhang Jiadong wasn’t her biological father when an even greater catastrophe completely devastated her!

She had lost her mother.

And her father too.

As for that expressionless man, she didn’t know him at all – he wasn’t her father!

When Xu Changle pulled back her covers, Tina struggled to open her swollen eyes:

“Why did he have to appear? If he hadn’t shown up, Mommy would still be alive, and Daddy too…”

Xu Changle was at his wit’s end.

After some thought, he tried a different approach with Tina:

“Tina, do you know why I always tried not to upset Mom? Even when you were being difficult, I’d stop you. Mom was constantly plagued by insomnia. All these years, she must have had doubts about what happened back then, but things had already become what they were, and she was powerless to change them. She could only turn a blind eye and continue living in self-deception. But all that psychological burden manifested in her physical health. No matter how expensive the wellness products she used or how good the private doctors she consulted, they could only treat her symptoms, not cure the root cause.”

Tina gritted her teeth in silence.

Mental pressure and death were two different things – she wouldn’t be convinced so easily.