CH 7

“Xinrui, Open the door, it’s me, Zhang Rui.”

Doctor Bai got up to let him in, turning to Wang Bin’s father as she did, “Apologizing is impossible. I believe in the justice of this world, or at the very least the power of public opinion. Since you want to badly to distort the facts and use your power against me, then I can only ask everyone else to support me and Xiao Ying.”

Outside the door, Zhang Rui stood out of breath, “Huh~ I’m tired. I think I broke something Xinrui!” He looked in, asking, “I’m not too late, am I? I rushed over as soon as I got your call.”

Smiling, Doctor Bai reassured him, “Don’t worry, you’re just in time. And now that everyone is here we can really get started!” She looked behind Zhang Rui to the two burly men standing in the hall, “Who are these two?”

Zhang Rui blinked innocently, and the happenings after that seemed to fly by in a blur.

Zhang Rui and his colleagues quickly set up their recording equipment as reporters, and Deputy County Magistrate Wang could only remain calm as he faced the cameras and light. But Zhang Rui didn’t like him, and when he held a grudge, it showed. The stalemate of the two’s argument lasted until evening. Finally, Mr. Wang could no longer hold out and simply took a few hundred yuan bills from his wallet, claiming them as the medical expenses for Xiao Ying, and dragged his wife and son to leave.

Doctor Bai didn’t disappoint Mo Jingxuan either; she was recording everything that was said throughout the conversations that Zhang Rui had with the father, keeping a clear record of what had happened. Once the family of three left, she went on to elaborate on Xiao Ying’s life, even while keeping in mind to respect his privacy and shield him from being caught on camera.

The whole incident went smoothly, and at Xiao Ying’s request, Doctor Bai sent Xiao Ying home while they waited for the results the next day when the news was published.

In the old house—————

Xiao Ying sat on the old wooden bed as he asked, “Are you human?”

The room was quiet for enough time that Xiao Ying slowly started to think that maybe he imagined the whole thing up.

Mo Jingxuan couldn’t decide how to answer, but after his internal debate, he looked at the child softly, “I used to be.”

“Then what are you now? A ghost?”

“No, now I am your shadow, you….Are you not afraid of me?” Mo Jingxuan had been ready to explain away any fears for Xiao Ying, and now that he did not need to, he was unsure of how to continue.

Xiao Ying shook his head, “No.”

“Look at the ground then, at your shadow,” Mo Jingxuan swung his arms under the orange light in the room, making various figures for the boy’s amusement.

The child stared at the moving shadow with a face of doubt, “Why can’t I see you in the day?”

“Well….You can see it in the day, it’s just that you are usually indoors in areas with lots of bright lights everywhere. Within such closed spaces it’s hard for me to appear, afterall, the shadow can be chased away with just a little bit of a glow, let alone a room completely lit up.” Mo Jingxuan continued, “It’s a pity that you are not the only one who can hear, it is very inconvenient to hold out conversations.”

Understanding the logic, Xiao Ying carried on with his questions, “My shadow has always followed me….so, have you always been by my side? Why haven’t you talked to me before?”

“No, I just came to you recently, replacing your old shadow. And…today was the first day that I could speak or move of my own violation. Before this, I was copying you constantly. Except for my thoughts, I had replaced your shadow in the truest sense of the word.”

Xiao Ying could not hold back his excitement from those words, “Since you are my shadow, will you stay with me forever? Always by my side? Never leaving me alone?”

Mo Jingxuan looked at Xiao Ying carefully, his face twisting into his appearance as a man in his mind, “Whether I’m your shadow or not, I will always be with you. Until the day that you send me away yourself.”

“Give me your hand.”

He stretched his hand out doubtfully, unsure of what Xiao Ying was wanting.

“Tell me one more time. Will you never leave me?” Xiao Ying asked with a pitiful look on his face; he was far too used to abandonment to believe in Mo Jingxuan immediately.

Mo Jingxuan placated him, “Yes, I will never leave you.” I will use this life to make up for the nightmare that was your last life. “By the way, baby, I have something to remind you about. The doctor who helped us today might ask if you want to go live with her, I want you to tell her no is she asks.”

“Why can’t I live with her? Isn’t she a good person?”

Arranging his words delicately, Mo Jingxuan responded slowly, “Your future is not with her…Trust me, okay?” You should bloom in the prosperous and advanced capital, not in this small rural town. Your future is supposed to be above everyone else, and in this life, I will not disturb your path. In the end, you will definitely become a business tycoon who will be able to hold up the sky! Richer than your wildest dreams! You will have a happy life…accompanied by a lovely wife and many children…

“I trust you,” Although he had only known him for a short time, Xiao Ying had an inexplicable attachment to Mo Jingxuan. He felt that anything he said was right. “What is your name?”

“Mo Jingxuan, you can call me Mo Jingxuan,” I am just a shadow in this life; you will not go crazy for me or fall in love again. I will just stay with you, watch you live without me dragging you down.

“Jingxuan! Jingxuan! Jingxuan! Jingxuan!….”

“What’s wrong, baby? What happened?! Are you alright?” The child started crying suddenly, and Mo Jingxuan panicked.

Xiao Ying touched his cheek curiously, “Huh? Why was I crying? Don’t worry Jingxuan, I’m fine.” He went on to point to his heart, “I just felt a little weird here, that’s all.”

He wrapped the child into a hug as if to shield him from the pain he could not touch, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…..” I didn’t expect that I would have such a heavy influence on you; even in this life, I cannot let you live in peace. I shouldn’t…. I shouldn’t have told you my name. “Baby, call me Uncle Xuan from now on!”

Xiao Ying snuggled deeper into the hug and refused firmly, “I like your name. The words Mo Jingxuan sound very good, they are irreplaceable!”

Sighing, Mo Jingxuan did not insist. He understood Xiao Ying well, and once he decided something, that belief would never waver, “Then—call me Xuan at least. My nickname is more special,” at least this way, it would be different.

“Yes! Xuan!”

He patted the boy’s back, “Okay, it’s late and the baby should go to bed. Don’t worry about an alarm, from now on I will get you up every morning.”

“Alright, but you should sleep too,” in the bed, the boy turned over, half asleep, unwilling to turn off the light and watch the shadow disappear.

That night, Xiao Ying slept more soundly than ever before.

As for the deputy county magistrate Wang and the teachers—

Zhang Rui went back to his company to talk about the incident. It was a hot topic, especially since it involved local officials, so the editor of the Nancheng Morning Post decided to report the whole story on the front page the next day.

With the media’s involvement and the internet’s dissemination, people’s attention was drawn quickly, and the matter was resolved without too much fanfare. The Wang family was officially dismissed from their position, and the two teachers involved were considered a disgrace to the school as they were let go. Ideological guidance was made to ensure that such discrimination and exclusion would not occur again at the school. The one regret after everything had been handled was that Xiao Ying did not end up getting the corresponding compensation…

A week later, at the school gate—————

“Xiao Ying!” Doctor Bai was waving to him from the gate, dressed in casual clothes with a bright smile.

He walked up to the gate, greeting the woman who had come to pick him up from school, “Aunt Bai!”

Doctor Bai squatted down to match his height, holding his hand in hers as her face turned slightly more severe, “Xiao Ying, do you remember when Auntie said that she had something she wanted to ask you the other day? I want to talk about it with you today, okay?”

Xiao Ying nodded, “I remember!”

“Then—Auntie hopes that Xiao Ying will think very hard about it.” Even as she spoke, the woman’s expression did not seem to be confident at what she was suggesting, “Auntie….Auntie hopes that Xiao Ying will come to live with me. Would you like that?”

Shaking his head, Xiao Ying could not help but be in awe of Mo Jingxuan; it was exactly as he had said.

“Don’t rush to refuse, Auntie wants you to take your time to consider it. Also, you don’t have to worry, even if you live with Auntie, Auntie will not force you to call me mother. Auntie is still Auntie!”

“No!” The child was anxious to explain, “It’s not that….”

“My son will live with me.” The sudden thick voice interrupted the two’s conversation, drawing their attention to look up at the speaker.

As expected of father and son, Mo Jingxuan stared at the middle-aged man in a daze; their outlines were so similar….He didn’t respond as his hand was tugged by Xiao Ying, not expressing any opinions. Xiao Ying was taken back to the imperial capital by his father when he was five years old in his previous life, and just like back then, the man appeared in front of him.

Doctor Bai wondered aloud, “Are you,” letting go of Xiao Ying’s hand to point at him, “this boy’s biological father? Are you trying to make a joke? He has been living alone for half a year and not a hair of you could be seen, and now you suddenly want to take him home with you? Do you expect me to believe that?” She stopped to cover Xiao Ying’s ears and lowered the volume of her voice, “Besides, I asked Xiao Ying beforehand he said that his father is dead.”

When he heard the last words the doctor said, the man finally gained an expression, frowning instead, “I am his father, and I am most certainly alive. I have been looking for his mother all of these years.” He lowered his head to hide the sadness in his eyes, “It was only recently that I found any news about her. I didn’t even know she had passed away and gave me a son until yesterday.” The tall, serious man walked closer to Xiao Ying and locked eyes with him, “Although you are still young, you have the right to know everything about me and your mother so long as it is what you want.”