Chapter 187: It Was So Sweet

After Raelle was done with her nightly routine, she got under the blanket with her eyes focused on Shui Xian. Well, this had been going on for a while now. Shui Xian could tell that she wanted to question him but she wasn't doing so. She usually didn't hold herself back like this so it was kind of amusing to see her struggling on her own.

The reason why he was trying to pretend like he couldn't see the questions in her eyes was simple. He knew once she asked those questions, it'd be like breaking the boundaries she had built for herself. And he really wished to see whether she'd be able to knock down those boundaries.

By the time Shui Xian came to lie down on his side of the bed and turned off the lights, she still hadn't opened her mouth to question anything. However, just as he pulled her towards himself and embraced her from behind, she finally parted her lips.

"I have something to ask you."

Shui Xian's lips tilted upward, "Took you long enough." He rubbed his chin on her head and went on, "Tell me, what do you want to know?"

"What's wrong with Tai Leng?" She took a momentary pause, "I mean you looked quite displeased?"

Shui Xian felt like heaving a sigh of relief. His wife was finally interested in knowing about him. Well, interested in learning about the things related to him but it wasn't much different. 

"Tai Leng is where our ancestral home is," he told her. "It's where the Shui family has been residing for generations. In fact, the Shui family business is also in Tai Leng."

"Why did you not want Bà to go there?"

"Do you want me to tell you in detail or just the basics?"

Raelle thought about it seriously, "Since I'm Mrs. Shui Xian, I should know the details. It wouldn't look good if the daughter-in-law of the house knows nothing about the family affairs. I'm a detailed person. I'd like to know about the whole situation."

Shui Xian was pleased to hear that. He also knew she didn't do anything half-heartedly. And since she took this relationship with him seriously, she took everything related to him seriously as well.

"Alright then. Let me tell you why I didn't want Bà to go there..."

And then he really told her the circumstances of his family and relatives in detail. Tai Leng was his hometown. It wasn't just the place where he grew up, it was also the place where most of his memories were. Good or bad, all his memories were associated with that place and with the people in that place.

Shui Xian's grandfather was from the main family and was also the eldest son of the family. So naturally, he later inherited the family head's position. However, since he wasn't as adept at business as his second brother, he decided to give up the family business to him. 

But this situation changed when it came to Shui Koshing who was not only a great businessman, but he was also a capable head of the family. It was a pity that Shui Xian never took interest in either the business or the Shui family. 

"You didn't want to inherit anything?" asked Raelle.

"I wanted to stay away from the schemes. I grew up seeing my father dealing with our relatives whether from the main family or the branch family. It was a mess. He used to be so busy that he barely had time for mom. I didn't like that. I didn't want to become like him."

"It was because he worked so hard that you grew up in a safe environment," she couldn't help saying. "If it wasn't for him, you'd never be able to pursue your dream or be so carefree."

Shui Xian looked at her in the darkness of the night, "Sadly, I understood it quite late. It was a little too late by the time I realized that the reason I was able to grow up in a happy home was that he was fighting with the world to keep us safe." Shui Xian felt bitter inside as he recalled it. "Bà used to take me with him to his office and taught me everything he knew. I just never took interest and that lack of interest cost something huge to my father."

It did cost Shui Koshing a lot. Because of Shui Xian's carelessness, someone managed to sell the confidential documents to the company. Because of that Shui family business reached the verge of bankruptcy. Shui Koshing was condemned by the family members who had been waiting in line like hyenas. Waiting for that one single mistake that they could use to topple Shui Koshing's authority and sadly, because of his own son, they did found a mistake.

And it was a grave mistake at that too.

Shui Koshing had always been business-minded and that's why he had actually made a lot of successful personal investments. He used the profits from those investments to save the Shui family business from bankruptcy but it didn't change much.

Shui Xian's divorce and how he gave his personal shares of the business to his wife in alimony led to another round of discussions. 

Shui Xian's arm around her waist tightened subconsciously, "It was when everyone started pointing fingers at me that Bà decided to leave Tai Leng and leave everything behind. I never understood my father's love for me. Even when people called him a careless and incompetent leader, he didn't say a word but when the same people just raised their fingers at his son, he lashed out." It had been a long time since he hadn't recalled any of this and now that he did, he was reminded of how he hurt his father. 

"He is a good father," said Raelle.

"Yes, I know," agreed Shui Xian. "When we first came to this city, we were all alone. Just him and me. He had only lost his power but he was still the same Shui Koshing that people revered and felt scared of. It didn't take him long to pat my shoulder and say, 'Son, how about I open a studio for you? Here, no one will criticize your choices.'" He suddenly chuckled as he recalled how he cried like a baby back then. That was the first time he realized he couldn't forgive himself.

He was his father's criminal. His father left the place he fell in love with his wife, the place where he spent his childhood, his youth... He left the place he was most familiar with to come to this unfamiliar city just to make his son feel comfortable. He honestly didn't know how was he gonna repay it. 

But that's when he had come to a decision that he'd return his father's glory back to him. He'd make people see that Shui Koshing never needed the name of the Shui family to succeed in life. He was capable on his own.

"That's when I started taking my father's teachings seriously and see... Today, Shui Conglomerate is at the top. It isn't because I'm a good businessman, it's because my father is a great businessman." He ran a hand through her hair, "Three years ago when everything settled, he stopped getting involved in the management of the company. And now, he just acts like an old man."

"He isn't that old though," said Raelle.

"I know, he isn't. But have you seen what he does every day? The only time he goes out of the house is when he wants to take a walk around society. He doesn't have that many friends here as well. It's only now that Yanjun's grandparents also moved here from Tai Leng. Otherwise, they'd also only get to see Bà only once or twice in a year."

Raelle was silent for a minute as she processed everything he said. After sorting out all the information she gathered, she asked, "So, the reason why you don't Bà to go back there is that you don't want him to remember the bad memories?"

"Not really," replied Shui Xian. "Bà has more good memories of that place than bad ones." 

"Then?"

"After Bà left the Shui family business, and even gave up his shares, the company was managed by the sons of my Second Granduncle. However, in the last couple of years, the business is not doing so well. And now that they know Bà has his own Shui Conglomerate, they want to take a bite of this huge pie. I'm just afraid that they'll keep bothering him."

"Bà is a clear-headed person. He won't fall for those tricks. There is a reason why he was chosen as the family head of a huge clan and still managed to keep himself and his family safe."

"You have quite some faith in my Bà," Shui Xian pointed out.

"He isn't yours alone any longer," retorted Raelle stunning Shui Xian. 

It took him a moment to come out of his daze. He smiled gently and kissed her head saying, "Yes, how can he be mine alone? You have more right on him. I'm just his old son who has lost his value after he found his new daughter."

"You sound bitter." Raelle turned her head slightly to look at his face.

"So, why don't you offer me some sugar?" He wiggled his brows and while she blinked her eyes at her, he leaned over to kiss her lips. "Ah! It was so sweet!"