The moment these words were uttered, the expressions of both The Destined Man and everyone else subtly shifted.
Because the real trouble lay ahead: the problem between the two younger generations primarily hinged on their blood relation. If they weren't blood relatives, then all issues would naturally resolve themselves with ease.
However, The Destined Man's situation was far more severe. The fact that he should have perished in the flood, yet was still alive, had even taken a new name, and was living a new life, was profoundly shocking. If her own son hadn't happened to talk about his "foster daughter," Qin Rourou would never in her life have imagined that the man she had yearned for and missed day and night was still alive and well in this world.
Such a drastic emotional blow would be unacceptable to anyone. Therefore, she wanted an explanation that could persuade her, that could make sense of it all. At this moment, she tried hard to maintain her composure, but upon closer inspection, one could see her shoulders trembling.
The Destined Man pursed his lips. In truth, ever since he learned from The Master that the woman before him was his former wife, his heart had become uncontrollably tense. It was very clear that he had never divorced back then. To put it bluntly, he had committed bigamy.
Moreover, he had a son with her. Having raised a child himself, he understood the hardships involved even more clearly. He, a strong and robust man, had been exhausted by it all, let alone a woman utterly without power or means like her. Even if he had suffered from amnesia back then, it still couldn't negate the fact that he owed her. Thus, he was inherently at a disadvantage.
"I'm sorry!" Regardless of the reasons, this apology was due.
"So you do know you wronged me!" Qin Rourou's tears, which she had been holding back, finally broke free and streamed down her face upon hearing his voice. This wasn't her being overly emotional. If he had offered a grand, self-serving explanation, she would have been furious. She would undoubtedly have made a scene, for she had invested half her life into their relationship; how could she tolerate his sophistry?
But he chose to offer a sincere apology! This apology meant he acknowledged all that had passed, admitting that he had wronged her. It was precisely this apology that made her willing to give him a chance to explain.
[Here it comes, here comes the main event!]
[Quick, let me see how twisted this whole thing is!]
"Actually, it's not that I didn't want to find my way back; it's that I couldn't remember anything before I woke up."
The Destined Man knew there was no escaping this, so he recounted his experiences over the years in painstaking detail. It turned out that he had met his current wife because she had pulled him from the river. Later, when he regained consciousness, he learned that his wife had gone to the river intending to end her own life. The reason was that she had been swindled out of all her belongings by a scumbag and was pregnant with his child.
In that era, unwed pregnancy would bring constant gossip and scorn wherever one went, and being penniless to boot, she had, for a time, harbored thoughts of suicide. Yet, who would have thought it would be such a coincidence that she didn't succeed in her suicide attempt and, instead, saved a life?
The Destined Man couldn't help but sigh with emotion whenever he thought about it. Now, nearly twenty years later, bringing it up again still evoked the same feeling.
"I couldn't remember anything at the time, and I had nowhere to go, and Qiaoqiao's mother wasn't doing much better than me."
"Perhaps it was shared suffering, or perhaps it was my desire to repay her life-saving kindness, but in the end, I married her."
At that time, information across different regions wasn't interconnected as it is now. Although he didn't have any identifying documents on him, he later managed to get his ID card reissued through connections, and the two successfully registered their marriage. At that time, he was young and strong. He quickly stabilized their newly established family by doing manual labor day and night, working desperately, and their lives steadily improved.
This deep sense of security also helped his wife forget her past of being deceived by a scumbag. And his relationship with his wife grew closer through their daily interactions. Eventually, they fully opened their hearts to each other, and both made a decision to truly consummate their marriage after the child was born.
However, fate had other plans. His wife suffered a massive hemorrhage during childbirth and ultimately could not be saved. Before her death, she instructed him to take good care of their daughter and to remarry if he found someone suitable.
The Destined Man fulfilled the first instruction, but as for remarrying? He lost all desire for it. First, he was afraid that a new wife might not treat his daughter well. Though she wasn't his biological child, he loved her even more than his own. Second, he always felt that he had bad luck and had caused his wife's death, and he didn't want to harm anyone else. So, even as his business grew, he never remarried.
It wasn't until a car accident seven years ago that he recovered some of his missing memories. For his past self, he felt an inexplicable obsession. The Destined Man felt as if something was waiting for him to make amends, and so, he began a frantic search.
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