Chapter 102:
Before Bai Junliang was executed, Jiang Feng took Jiang Yao to see him one last time. Dressed in a prison uniform, Bai Junliang sat across from them, separated by a glass partition. His face was unshaven, but he still carried an air of calm. He sat there elegantly, as if he were in his own garden, not in prison.
The two men stared at each other. There was no anger or tension in the air, just an eerie sense of peace. The truth was clear: the Bai family was now in Jiang Feng's hands, and Bai Junliang had lost.
Bai Junliang spoke first. "You know, when I first met you, I considered raising you as my own son. But you were too smart." He sighed, his voice tinged with regret. "When I saw you, I was reminded of my brother. He was like you—wherever he went, everyone admired him. They used to say he was the finest gentleman in the capital."
As Bai Junliang spoke, it seemed he wasn't truly looking at Jiang Feng, but through him, seeing memories of the past. His eyes held a mixture of resentment, regret, and even guilt.
"All these years, I've been haunted by dreams of your father," Bai Junliang confessed. "I dream about him asking me why I killed him. I can never sleep peacefully. I dream of him seeking revenge, asking why I never looked for you, even after knowing the child had been switched."
Jiang Feng's eyes narrowed. "When did you realize the child had been switched?"
Bai Junliang paused, thinking back. "The day it happened. The woman made too much noise. How could I not know? I thought it was safer to leave things as they were."
Jiang Feng wasn’t convinced. "If you knew from the beginning, why not kill her too? You’ve already killed one person, so why show mercy to her?"
Bai Junliang remained silent for a moment, then his gaze shifted to Jiang Yao, standing just outside the partition. "Yes, I felt pity," he admitted quietly. "After I killed your father, I found a piece of candy in his hand. It was the same candy I loved as a child."
His voice cracked, and his eyes reddened with emotion. "We were at odds back then, fighting all the time. That day, I saw him sharpening a knife and thought he was planning to kill me. So I acted first. But when I saw that candy, I knew I had made a mistake."
Jiang Feng scoffed, "So, you killed him out of fear, thinking you could take his place and win over my mother. But after seeing the candy, you felt remorse. That’s why you spared me, and instead used Bai Lengguang as a hostage. You didn’t come looking for me because you felt guilty, and Jiang Yao didn’t come looking for me because she couldn’t find me."
Bai Junliang exhaled slowly, as if the weight of the years was finally leaving him. "Yes, that's right. I told myself I would never harm you. But when you appeared at Beijing University, I was shocked. I thought about claiming you as my son and then killing you when the time was right."
The two men exchanged a final, silent look.
Jiang Feng leaned back, his tone calm and detached. "I have nothing more to say to you. I think my mother would like to speak with you now."
Without waiting for a response, Jiang Feng got up and left the room, bringing Jiang Yao in to speak with Bai Junliang. The two spoke for twenty minutes.
When Jiang Yao emerged, her eyes were red and swollen, as if the weight of the world had finally caught up to her. She looked like a woman who had lost everything. Over the years, Bai Junliang had been kind to her, but the ghost of Bai Junsheng had always stood between them, an unspoken barrier they could never cross.
She walked up to Jiang Feng, her voice trembling. "Son, I'm sorry."
Jiang Feng smiled gently. "It's okay, Mom. Dad wouldn’t blame you."
Not long after, Bai Junliang was executed. On the day of his death, Jiang Yao locked herself in her room, grieving silently. She remained there for a month, and Jiang Feng made sure food and water were left at her door, but he never forced her to come out. When she finally did, she had lost a significant amount of weight. Jiang Feng didn’t say much, but he hired a nutritionist to help her recover.
Life slowly returned to normal, with a quiet peace settling over their home. But one day, as they sat at the dinner table, Jiang Feng looked at his mother and said something unexpected.
"Mom, I want to go to space."
Jiang Yao blinked, confused. "What? Where do you want to go, son?"
"Heaven," Jiang Feng replied with a bright smile, pointing upwards. "I've graduated, and I’m training to be an astronaut. My teacher already approved my first mission."
His time in this world was complete, but before he left, he wanted to fulfill his childhood dream—to be an astronaut, a pioneer who ventured into the stars.
Jiang Yao stared at him in awe, as if seeing a whole new side of her son. She smiled, though her heart was heavy, and nodded. "I believe in you, my son."