Chapter 102: This Happened Many Years Ago
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo finished placing the flowers, but she still could not bear to leave. She stood far away and looked at the tombstone.
Her mom had passed away just a few years after giving birth to her. Back then, she had been too little, so her memory of her mom was not really clear. Many times it was even fuzzy and blurry, but that did not stop her from having deep feelings for her mom.
Especially after her mom died, Xi Ji brought her here every year to visit the grave. At least four times a year, rain or shine. After a long time, it had already become a habit.
And counting all the other times they came to this villa, every time they came, they would also go take a look at the grave. The photo on the tombstone had already been clearly burned into her heart.
Xi Mo stood in the same place and looked for a long time. Ruan Yesheng finished her work, then turned around and saw her.
Ruan Yesheng knew Xi Mo would be outside paying respects, but now that she saw her standing all alone, she felt a bit sad. As a daughter, if she wanted to honor her mom, she still had to stand far away behind the fence.
She walked a few steps forward without thinking. At first, she wanted to let Xi Mo come inside. But then she remembered what Xi Mo told her before, so she had to stop again and let out a silent sigh.
But her movement caught Xi Ji’s attention.
Xi Ji followed Ruan Yesheng’s line of sight and also saw Xi Mo standing outside the fence.
"Is that Xiao Ruan standing outside?" Xi Ji asked Ruan Yesheng.
Ruan Yesheng got a scare and quickly said, "Yes, Dad."
Xi Ji nodded and walked toward the fence. Ruan Yesheng quickly followed behind him.
Xi Mo saw that Xi Ji was walking toward her, and she suddenly panicked. She could not decide whether to go or stay, so she had no choice but to brace herself and wait for Xi Ji.
"Xiao Ruan." Xi Ji walked up to the fence and looked down at the white chrysanthemums on the ground. His tone was actually quite gentle.
Xi Mo quickly lowered her head and explained, "Uncle Xi, I am sorry. Yesterday on the plane, I heard Xi Mo say today is her mom’s death anniversary, so I thought to come and pay respects. But I was afraid it was too forward, so I quietly left some flowers outside. I didn’t get your permission and wandered outside your villa. That was rude of me. Please forgive me, Uncle Xi."
"It’s okay," Xi Ji said. "Xiao Ruan, you are too polite. Since you came, how can you stand outside? Come in quickly. I will have someone open the gate for you."
He took out his phone and gave a short order on the call. Then he said, "The gate will open soon. Xiao Ruan, you go first."
Ruan Yesheng was a little nervous at first. Now that she saw Xi Ji invite Xi Mo, she immediately relaxed and said to Xi Mo, "I'll go get you."
"Okay." Xi Mo looked at her and then thanked Xi Ji, "Thank you, Uncle Xi."
Carefully picking up the white chrysanthemums on the ground, Xi Mo walked toward the villa gate.
Ruan Yesheng ran a little. When Xi Mo appeared at the gate, Ruan Yesheng was already there, panting slightly.
Her face showed surprise and joy. Seeing no one else around, she came close to Xi Mo and softly said, "I didn't expect Uncle Xi to let you in. Now you can stay close to your mom longer. That's really good."
Xi Mo looked at her and said, "I also didn't expect it. But now I think I see it. My dad must have a good impression of you, or he wouldn't invite you by himself."
Ruan Yesheng’s eyes lit up immediately. "Really?"
Xi Mo nodded.
Ruan Yesheng naturally linked her arm with Xi Mo’s. Xi Mo looked at the hand holding her arm but said nothing. They walked into the villa together.
The two of them came to the tombstone. Xi Mo first greeted Xi Ji, "Uncle Xi, sorry to bother you."
"You are not bothering me," Xi Ji said. "You are Xi Mo’s good friend. Jian Yuan would be very happy to know you came to see her."
Xi Mo looked at the tombstone.
Besides the photo, it also had her mom Jian Yuan’s birth and death dates carved on it.
Ruan Yesheng gave her another bunch of white chrysanthemums. Xi Mo put these flowers with the ones she brought. She carefully arranged them on the flower stand in front of the tombstone.
She stood at her mom's grave, not knowing what to say.
Jian Yan was so young when she died. She couldn't bring herself to call her mom "Auntie" when looking at her mom's photo. But given her current situation, she couldn't call her "Mom" either.
So she could only bow silently, thinking to herself: Mom, I'm here to see you.
Jian Yuan’s photo showed her delicate features. It seemed like she was looking at her gently.
The cold autumn wind blew the flowers and trees in the backyard. It also moved the soft petals of the white chrysanthemums.
The visit ended in a quiet and solemn atmosphere. After so many years, time had washed away the sadness of death. Xi Mo and her dad had already accepted the truth.
There was no need to cry in front of the tombstone. There was no need to feel sorrowful or broken. Everything was calm, like Jian Yuan was still with them.
Ruan Yesheng knew nothing about Xi Mo’s mom, Jian Yuan. If Xi Mo had not told her before, she would not even know Jian Yuan’s name.
She had stayed one night in the villa and had seen some of Jian Yuan’s old things, but she still knew very little.
Not just that, Ruan Yesheng looked at Xi Mo and suddenly realized she did not really know Xi Mo that well either.
Even though she had spent her college years with Xi Mo, had watched all her works, had followed her shining footsteps, and could catch her tiny expressions in every media report, she still did not know her well enough.
The two of them stayed in a room on the second floor. Ruan Yesheng asked Xi Mo, “Can I ask about your mom? Yesterday I was too scared to talk to your dad because I was afraid he'd bring her up and I wouldn’t know anything.”
“Yes,” Xi Mo said. She was holding a framed photo of her mom and looked at it as she spoke. “But I don’t know much. When she passed away, I was still very young. And my dad usually doesn’t talk to me much. I’ve only heard a little bit about her from him.”
“You must at least know what her job was?” Ruan Yesheng said.
“She was a businesswoman, just like my dad.” Xi Mo’s gaze landed on an antique vase. “But her work was different from his. My dad invests in a lot of things. My mom focused on just one—antique auctions.”
“Antique auctions?” Ruan Yesheng suddenly understood. “No wonder there are so many antiques in this villa. They were all your mom’s favorites, right?”
Xi Mo nodded. “She had a lot of connections in the auction world. I actually don’t understand it very well myself. I don’t even know where her auction venues were. Only the people in her circle who knew the trade would know that stuff.”
Xi Mo had attended a few auctions before, but they were all charity auctions. In the entertainment circle, charity auctions were everywhere. Most of them were either to show goodwill or for hype. The auction items were all kinds of things—jewelry, clothes, and so on—usually provided by celebrities.
But she knew the kind of auction her mom hosted was completely different.
Those were very private.
Sometimes, no one even knew where the items being auctioned came from. Their backgrounds were messy and complicated, tied to all kinds of people from different walks of life.
Regular people would not dare to get involved in that kind of auction. Only people with a sharp eye and real skill in the antique world could handle it.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
“I don’t really get it either,” Ruan Yesheng said after thinking for a moment. “But Tinghuan probably does. She’s been to a bunch of antique auctions before—the kind you mentioned, the ones that won’t let just anyone in.”
“Yan Tinghuan deals with antiques too?” Xi Mo looked a bit surprised.
“She doesn’t deal with antiques,” Ruan Yesheng said. “But she knows a lot of people in that business. When she goes to auctions, it’s not to bid—she says she’s looking for something. She’s never said what exactly, but it’s been years and she still hasn’t found it.”
“Oh, right.” Ruan Yesheng added, “If you want to know more about the auctions your mom used to host, but don’t want to ask your dad, I could ask Tinghuan for you. She knows a lot of people in that circle. If I tell her your mom's name, maybe someone she knows will remember.”
Xi Mo lowered her lashes. After a while, she said, “Forget it, don’t ask. That was a long time ago.”
“Okay, I won’t ask.” Ruan Yesheng saw her mood had dropped, and her voice turned softer.
“Do you have something else you want to ask me?” Xi Mo put Jian Yuan’s photo back on the table.
“No,” Ruan Yesheng said quickly.
“You want to know how my mom died, don’t you?” Xi Mo’s gaze turned deep.
Ruan Yesheng’s lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.
Today was Jian Yuan’s death anniversary. Asking about it now might make Xi Mo very upset.
She did want to know, but she had not meant to really ask.
Yet Xi Mo slowly began to speak. “My mom died in a car crash. Her car collided with another one. The other driver was speeding. It was a bad crash. She was taken to the hospital and they tried to save her for a whole day, but they couldn’t.”
Ruan Yesheng’s expression grew heavy.
“I didn’t get to see her before she passed,” Xi Mo said softly, looking at Jian Yuan’s photo. “I was only five. I didn’t understand anything. Uncle Ding said the family didn’t let me see her before she died. They were afraid it would scare me. Back then, I didn’t even know what death really meant. Slowly, I came to understand… Mom was never coming back.”
Ruan Yesheng placed a hand on Xi Mo’s back and gently patted it.
Xi Mo turned her head and looked at Ruan Yesheng. "My mom died, but the driver who hit her survived. He was saved and didn’t even go to jail. It’s so unfair."
"Why?" Ruan Yesheng asked in surprise. "He didn’t go to jail?"
"The evidence was strong. The driver was still in the car and sent to the hospital," Xi Mo said coldly. "But the driver kept saying it wasn’t him who hit her. Later, he went crazy. Finally, an evaluation showed he was really insane, so he was sent to a sanatorium."
Ruan Yesheng found it more and more strange. If the evidence was really enough, with Xi Ji’s character and ability, this case shouldn’t have ended like this. With Xi Ji’s connections, it would’ve been easy to make the driver pay the price and get punished at that time.
Xi Ji loved his wife Jian Yuan so much. How could he accept that the driver was only sent to a sanatorium?
"Did your dad not take any action at that time?" Ruan Yesheng asked.
"Dad was the one who sent that driver to the sanatorium," Xi Mo sighed. "Every year, my dad pays the sanatorium a large amount so they can take good care of the driver and make sure he stays alive and well. Uncle Ding told me this. When I was little, I did not understand and felt my dad did not get justice for my mom. I even hated him a bit. But Uncle Ding said my dad was making the right choice. He was doing it all for my mom's sake."
"That is very strange," Ruan Yesheng said. "I feel something is wrong. Uncle Xi does not seem like the kind of person who would do that. Maybe there was another reason and he had no choice."
"When I grew up, I thought the same as you because it does not fit my dad’s style," Xi Mo said. "Do you remember in my sophomore year, one time I did not go to rehearsal and did not ask for leave? Teacher Wang looked for me for a long time and could not find me, then got very angry?"
"I remember, I remember," Ruan Yesheng nodded. "You were Teacher Wang’s most promising student. That was the first time we saw her get so angry because of you. We were all too scared to say anything."
"That day, I sneaked off to the sanatorium and even lost my phone," Xi Mo said.
