Chapter 1 When Wupeng Left

When Wupeng left, Bai Ma Shan was at home on the phone with an immigration agent.

Bai Xun’s IELTS score had consistently failed to meet the required standard. In order to get his son abroad sooner, he had no choice but to settle for less, abandoning the countries and schools he had initially favored, and asking the agent to help him select countries and schools that didn't require language scores. These options were certainly inferior to those with requirements, but he couldn't afford to be so picky now.

Bai Ma Shan paid a significant sum to expedite the process. The agent, having received the money and wanting to retain this valuable client, promised to help Bai Xun get abroad as quickly as possible, but there was still a queue, and it wouldn’t happen immediately.

After hanging up the phone, Bai Ma Shan stood by the window with a gloomy expression. It was already getting dark outside, and he hadn't turned on the lights in the room. The apartment had an excellent view, with no buildings blocking the vista. From the window, he could see a large urban park planned by the municipality in the distance.

Unlike the brightly lit residential areas, the park at night was like a bottomless black hole in the multicolored city, dark and quiet, like the sea at night. Every time he looked at it, it reminded him of those uncertain nights at sea.

He never expected Zhao Di to return alive.

He had thought that as long as he nailed down the evidence of Jia Wenjun's crime, the matter would be over once Jia Wenjun was imprisoned. But despite all his calculations, he had overlooked something.

According to his original plan, his carefully laid plans would have allowed him to retreat unscathed, but Zhao Di's return had disrupted everything.

The lock clicked softly. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a figure entered.

The instant the light turned on, Bai Ma Shan turned his head and saw his son, Bai Xun, with a backpack, changing his shoes at the door.

"Where have you been?" Bai Ma Shan stared at him, his tone cold.

"Just out for a walk."

Bai Ma Shan strode over, grabbed his son's backpack, and threw it on the ground. "Didn't I tell you not to go out during this time? To stay home and study English?"

Bai Xun staggered from the pull, steadied himself against the wall, and picked up his backpack without a word, his expression dark and unreadable.

Bai Ma Shan could tell that his son was also holding back. He hadn't allowed him to go to school or go out during this period, and Bai Xun had also been stifled. He didn't continue to scold him, pacing back and forth in the room. "Forget it, you don't need to take the test anymore. I've changed the requirements with the agent. You can go there and study at a language school. Just stay home and wait for now."

Bai Xun took his backpack and went into his room without looking back.

His son's complete disregard for his words infuriated Bai Ma Shan. He clenched his fists, wanting to smash something but afraid the neighbors would hear. He turned and walked to the fish tank, reaching in and grabbing a few small goldfish swimming toward him, squeezing them until their bellies burst.

Looking at the corpses of the goldfish in his hand, their internal organs exposed, Bai Ma Shan washed his hands directly in the fish tank. The smell of blood stimulated the other creatures in the tank, and the other fish immediately devoured the remains of their own kind.

Watching the fish being eaten little by little, Bai Ma Shan finally took out his phone and dialed a number.

Half an hour later, an email arrived in his inbox.

Bai Ma Shan glanced at his son's room, took his phone, and went into his own room, not to emerge again.

The next morning, Bai Ma Shan made breakfast and tiptoed to his son's door, seeing him still asleep in bed.

He didn't wake him. He ate his breakfast alone, and when he left, he locked the front door from the outside.

Bai Ma Shan went to the neurology department of the hospital where Zhao Di was staying and found Zhao Di's ward without difficulty.

A man was sitting on a chair outside the ward. Bai Ma Shan had observed that the man usually didn't leave, except to use the restroom when the doctor was there, until another man came to relieve him.

Although neither man was wearing a police uniform, Bai Ma Shan knew they must be police officers.

Even with guards, Bai Ma Shan still wanted to go in and see. Since learning of Zhao Di's return, he had been unable to eat or sleep. Even knowing that she had become a vegetable, he was still uneasy. He had to see with his own eyes what Zhao Di's condition was and whether she could recognize him.

Bai Ma Shan knew that at this time, there was nothing safer than entering openly, so he had to wait for the opportunity.

The floor was divided into east and west wings of wards. He walked in the opposite direction, finding a position where he could vaguely see the situation on this side.

By the afternoon, he had identified Zhao Di's attending physician and the two plainclothes officers. He also learned that Zhao Di's husband came to see her after work.

So the next evening, Bai Ma Shan followed Zhao Di's husband, Lin Yang, into the ward to visit this fellow passenger who had returned from the brink of death.

The moment he entered the ward, no matter how calm Bai Ma Shan appeared, he was nervous inside.

He was actually afraid that even though Zhao Di couldn't do anything and couldn't remember anything, she might suddenly be stimulated upon seeing him and remember what had happened before.

Even knowing that this was impossible, he was still worried. Perhaps that was the guilty conscience of a wrongdoer.

At this moment, Zhao Di was lying on the hospital bed with her eyes open, expressionless. She no longer had the arrogant and domineering manner she once had. Thick bandages were wrapped around her head, and several machines were running beside her. She had an IV drip in each arm.

Bai Ma Shan slowly walked up to her, bent down to face Zhao Di, and gently called out, "Zhao Di? Do you remember me?"

When Zhao Di's originally vacant eyes saw Bai Ma Shan's face getting closer and closer, her eyeballs suddenly moved, and her mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Lin Yang was surprised beside him. "She's been listless with everyone else, but she's reacting to you?"

Bai Ma Shan's heart sank at these words, but he pretended to be calm and said, "This shows there's still hope for recovery."

Lin Yang sighed as he sat down. "Come on, the doctor said there's almost no chance of her recovering. I don't know what to do now."

"Is there nothing the hospital can do?"

Lin Yang glanced at Zhao Di on the bed. "It's not that I don't want to treat her, it's that I don't have the ability to."

Bai Ma Shan knew what kind of person Lin Yang was. Even if he had the money, he wouldn't spend it on Zhao Di. This was also something that reassured him. Even if Zhao Di had the possibility of recovery, she wouldn't get better without treatment, and she wouldn't pose a threat to him.

Having confirmed this, Bai Ma Shan finally felt a little relieved.