Epilogue
The time difference between Saudi Arabia and Belgium is slight.
When they arrived in Belgium, Baobao was just getting ready to eat lunch.
Outside the living room, she was sitting there.
She was wearing a tailored cashmere dress, a tiny hair clip, and had clear, pure eyes, porcelain-white skin, and soft black hair curling just below her ears. She looked exactly like a beautiful cloth doll. When Nan Bei quietly walked over, she was sitting upright and proper, her head lowered as she flipped through a picture book. After a while, her eyes finally left the book and she looked solemnly at the clock.
Nan Bei followed her gaze.
She could guess that in Baobao's little head, she must be thinking about lunchtime.
For some reason, the child had inherited someone's good genes and was especially sensitive to time. Before doing anything, she had to check the time, arranging her little life in an orderly fashion.
Watching Baobao like this, Nan Bei could not help finding it amusing.
Cheng Muyang had already walked over ahead of her. Nan Bei did not have time to stop him before he was standing in front of Baobao, gently lowering himself into a crouch.
Baobao was a little afraid, but she did not move away.
She looked at Cheng Muyang's face, slowly taking in each of his features. When she finally reached his eyes, she seemed to understand something, and her eyes curved into a smile.
“Little Daddy.”
Cheng Muyang gave a quiet “Mm,” smiling as well. Even the curve of his lips was exactly like Baobao's.
Baobao smiled softly. “Is Little Daddy's illness better?”
A little timidly, she reached out her hand, trying to touch Cheng Muyang's forehead. Whenever Mommy was sick, she would touch Mommy's forehead like this, gently and slowly, and then Mommy's illness would soon get better.
Cheng Muyang took her little hand and placed it against his own forehead.
“It's better.”
His voice was unexpectedly gentle.
Baobao gave a little “Mm” too.
Watching the two of them, Nan Bei's heart melted completely.
After a while, Baobao finally remembered something, and her eyes suddenly reddened. Perhaps because she was not familiar with Cheng Muyang, she still did not dare ask him directly. Cheng Muyang noticed that something was wrong with her and asked gently, “What's wrong, Baobao?”
“Little Daddy's illness is better.”
“Mm.”
“Then, can you give Mommy back to Baobao?”
Cheng Muyang was speechless, unable to keep from laughing.
Nan Bei's heart ached at the sound of it. She quietly walked over, wrapped her arms around Baobao's little body from behind, and rubbed her face against her as she said, “Mommy's back.”
This time, Baobao was truly stunned. After standing frozen for a full three or four seconds, she suddenly burst into tears with a loud wail. All the composure and good behavior she had shown just moments ago disappeared. She plunged into Nan Bei's arms and refused to come out again.
If her politeness toward Cheng Muyang just now had been the courtesy she showed a guest, then seeing Nan Bei now, seeing the mother who had accompanied her day and night from the time she was little, Baobao was truly seeing the person dearest to her. From loud sobs to quiet sniffles, she kept her face buried against Nan Bei's chest.
Cheng Muyang wanted to reach out and hold Baobao, but Nan Bei hurriedly shushed him, silently mouthing, Don't move her now.
“Don't cry anymore, baby. Daddy is coming back.” Nan Bei gently coaxed her. “Did you forget what Daddy said? Daddy said that if Baobao cries for more than five minutes, she can't take her afternoon nap with Mommy.”
What kind of strange disciplinary method was that?
Cheng Muyang raised an eyebrow when he heard it.
Unexpectedly, Baobao was very obedient. At the thought of Nan Huai, she really did stop crying, though her nose was still thick with tears as she whispered, “Baobao misses Mommy.”
Nan Bei gave a quiet “Mm.” “Mommy misses Baobao too.”
Baobao lifted her head and looked at Nan Bei, reaching out a little hand to touch her face.
“Baobao is very obedient. I think about Mommy for seven hours every day.”
Nan Bei laughed at that.
Baobao frowned and hurriedly told her, “It's true.”
“Mm, it's true.”
As Nan Bei coaxed Baobao back and forth like this, Cheng Muyang remained half-crouched, watching Nan Bei and the child in her arms. He did not say anything more.
He had once imagined that this child would look very much like Nan Bei, but he had never expected her to look this much like her. Apart from the color of her eyes, which was the same as his, all her other features were exactly like Nan Bei's.
There was absolutely no way to put this feeling into words.
He finally understood, too, why Nan Huai loved Baobao so dearly.
After Nan Bei became the nuclear scientist's double, Bodongha was the one who found him first. Along with handing the nuclear scientist over to him, he also put Nan Huai on a connected call with him. Nan Huai was someone he had met once when they were young, yet he had never imagined that after so many years, Nan Bei's disappearance once again would bring him to speak with him over the phone.
“Tell me your plans in Saudi Arabia.” Nan Huai's voice held no emotion.
Cheng Muyang did not think much of it. In just a few words, he told Nan Huai everything he had arranged.
“I think the difficulty with this matter lies in your identity.” Unexpectedly, Nan Huai had seen this point as well. “I can help you leave Saudi Arabia safely as a VIP. An old friend of mine is currently the largest individual investor in the United States. He holds stakes in all the major corporations, so he is also very eager to make relations between the two countries more strained.”
“And then personally repair the relationship? Win even greater favor with the American people?”
At last, a trace of pleasure entered Nan Huai's voice. “That's right.”
Cheng Muyang naturally knew whom he was talking about.
The same person who had invited Bodongha and Nan Bei. The richest man in Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, it was a mutually beneficial partnership, and Cheng Muyang had no reason to refuse. After readily agreeing, he quickly came to an understanding with Nan Huai on the method, time, and location of the operation. To his surprise, they hit it off immediately. He discovered that he and Nan Huai had many things in common, such as having clear objectives and being extremely demanding when it came to execution.
“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Huai told him that day, before hanging up, “it's fortunate that it's you. If it were someone else, I would definitely have him die silently in Saudi Arabia.”
Cheng Muyang smiled. “Why should it be an exception just because it's me?”
“Because Beibei risks herself for you every time.”
Nan Huai's unspoken meaning was perfectly clear. Nan Bei was willing to risk even her life for Cheng Muyang, so he could only compromise.
Only after wiping Baobao's eyes and hands with a warm towel did Nan Bei ask her, “Where's Daddy?”
Cheng Muyang still found the word extremely strange when he heard it. He shook his head with a smile, pretending he had not heard.
“Daddy?” Baobao thought for a moment, then softly told Nan Bei, “Daddy said Little Daddy is coming over as a guest today. He said he doesn't like Little Daddy, so he's not at home today.”
Nan Bei was caught between laughter and tears and nodded. “Did Daddy say anything else to Baobao before he left?”
Baobao continued thinking for a while before saying softly, “Nothing else.”
Nan Bei thought that her big brother really was angry. But it did not matter. He would never truly be angry with her.
While Cheng Muyang accompanied Baobao at lunch, she had already become very close to him. This was the power of blood ties, a power that no distance or passage of time could ever dilute.
Nan Bei watched as Cheng Muyang dried his hands, personally peeled a shrimp for Baobao, then broke it into pieces and placed them into her mouth one by one. Baobao simply watched him obediently, waiting until his hand reached her lips before opening her mouth slightly and eating.
He smiled, and Baobao's eyes curved into a smile as well.
And both of them were the sort of people who did not talk while eating.
Just watching them like this, Nan Bei felt that being able to keep Baobao safe in the Philippines and give birth to her back then must have been the greatest blessing Buddha had ever bestowed upon her.
After lunch, Baobao only clung to Nan Bei for a little while before obediently climbing into bed and falling asleep.
Only then did Cheng Muyang finally move closer to her. He gently wrapped his arms around her from behind and lowered his voice. “Did I do well?”
“Very well,” she answered softly. “Very, very well.”
“Is there a reward?”
She laughed. “What reward do you want?”
“I don't know yet. I'll stay for now, and we'll talk about it later.”
“Cheng Muyang,” Nan Bei said, caught between laughter and tears, “don't you think you're especially insatiable?”
Cheng Muyang smiled and shook his head. “I wouldn't call it insatiable. In fact, there isn't much I'm greedy for. Having just you is enough.”
“Could you try putting Baobao before me?”
“I really like Baobao,” Cheng Muyang said quietly, “but I'm afraid I won't be able to take her with me, so I have to prepare myself mentally in advance, so I won't be too disappointed.”
“Why?”
Cheng Muyang looked at her and said two words.
“Nan Huai.”
“She won't,” she said, not quite believing him. “My brother isn't that heartless.”
“He isn't heartless. He just loves you all too much.” Instead, Cheng Muyang explained Nan Huai's position for him. “You, I will definitely take with me. As for the rest, we'll leave it to fate. I think since Baobao was fated to call him Daddy, he'll always treat her differently.”
Belgium was where she and Cheng Muyang had first met.
She had many memories of him, and they were always connected to winter.
And now, it happened to be winter here. In the depths of night, the temperature only hovered around zero degrees Celsius at its lowest. Although there was rain and snow, most of it was sticky drizzle and light snow that melted as soon as it touched the ground.
On the day they were preparing to leave, Nan Bei tried to contact Nan Huai, but she could never get through.
This was the first time her big brother had ever been like this. Holding the phone, she thought for a while and roughly guessed that he truly could not bear to part with her and Baobao. In fact, for most of all those years, she and Nan Huai had been apart. But those were only separations in physical space. In their hearts, they had always depended on each other for survival, sharing hardship and standing together through adversity.
And now, it was no longer simply a matter of her and her brother sharing hardship together. She had Cheng Muyang, and she had Baobao too.
Nan Bei brought over a little down jacket and put it on Baobao, who was standing on her small bed, then put a thick down hat on her as well. Such a tiny face was buried in the hat and collar, with only a pair of eyes fixed on Nan Bei. When Nan Bei picked up the gloves, Baobao finally could not hold back and softly asked her, “Mommy, are we going to find Daddy?”
Nan Bei was a little surprised. She smiled and asked her, “Why do we need to find Daddy? Baobao misses Daddy?”
Baobao thought for a while and said, “Daddy is angry.”
Nan Bei was already feeling uneasy, and Baobao's childish voice made her nose sting with emotion. She thought of so many things from her own childhood, those days and nights when they had never left each other's side. She even felt that she was being cruel. Not only was she going to Moscow herself, she was also taking away the Baobao her big brother loved most.
“Mommy?” Baobao looked at her in confusion. “We're not going anymore?”
She did not know how to explain it, but she was afraid that Baobao would look forward to seeing Nan Huai, only to become truly disappointed and hurt once they left here and arrived in Moscow. So no matter what, she still had to tell her the truth as gently as possible.
“Baobao will go with Mommy. From now on, you'll live with Little Daddy, okay?”
Baobao did not understand. “Will Daddy go too?”
“Daddy will come see Baobao often, and Mommy will often take Baobao to see Daddy too.”
Baobao was even more confused, and even a little anxious. She took hold of two of Nan Bei's fingers and asked her in a wounded voice, “Mommy doesn't want Daddy anymore?”
Nan Bei shook her head. She was truly about to cry from what Baobao had said. “Mommy isn't saying she doesn't want Daddy. It's just that Mommy has to be with Little Daddy, and Daddy will also have a... Little Mommy in the future.”
What a tangled web of relationships. It was the first time Nan Bei realized that there was simply no way to explain it clearly.
Especially when Baobao was still so young.
Baobao gave an “Oh.”
After a while, she sat down on the little bed and took off her white down hat with both hands. As though she had made a very difficult decision, she started crying before she could even say anything, tears dropping one after another.
Nan Bei was startled. She touched her face and was about to pull her into her arms, but Baobao hugged her own hat and, for the first time, did not let her hold her.
“Mommy wants Little Daddy,” she said between sobs, sounding aggrieved. “Baobao wants Daddy.”
Her expression was truly wounded, yet she was very firm.
Nan Bei did not know what to say. She could only try to coax her. “Baobao, did you forget? Little Daddy loves Baobao very much too. Baobao called him Daddy before too.”
Baobao pressed her lips together, her eyes full of tears. “Baobao wants Daddy.”
No matter what Nan Bei said, she would not say anything else.
Nan Bei was astonished by her stubbornness. Really, the one who should have been with Baobao day in and day out was her, her mother. Although Nan Huai's relationship with Baobao was incredibly close, he had spent very little time by her side...
Baobao repeated it through her tears many times. Huddled in the corner of the bed, she eventually fell asleep, both hands still clutching the hat tightly, as though she thought that as long as she did not put the hat back on, she would not have to leave this place.
Nan Bei did not dare force her, and she too could not stop her tears.
In the end, it was Cheng Muyang who came in. He had Baobao lie down on the bed and covered her with a small cotton quilt. When he saw that Baobao was clutching the little down hat tightly, he did not take it from her. Instead, he led Nan Bei out of Baobao's room.
“Beibei, don't force her. Let Baobao stay for now,” he said. “Perhaps she really has chosen your brother. If Baobao regrets it, we can bring her to Moscow soon enough.”
Nan Bei knew he was right, but she could not bear to part with Baobao either.
The two of them stood by the floor-to-ceiling window for a long time. In the end, Cheng Muyang finally persuaded her to give Baobao a chance to choose. Nan Bei truly could not bear to leave Baobao, but thinking that she was only leaving her with her brother temporarily gave her some peace of mind. Just as Cheng Muyang had said, as long as they wanted to see her, they could do so anytime, anywhere.
The two of them left Belgium. Instead of flying directly to Moscow, they went to Beijing and transferred to a train from Beijing to Moscow.
They were in an especially private carriage.
Apart from the people Cheng Muyang had arranged, there were no other passengers.
Sunlight came in through the glass and fell onto the floor. The train was traveling westward across the Siberian continent, with thousands of miles between stations. There were only vast stretches of forest and grassland, scenery utterly unlike anything that could be seen in Wanding.
Nan Bei was softly coaxing Baobao and had no mind to look out the window.
“My brother took Baobao back to Yunnan.” Nan Bei hung up Nan Huai's call and looked at Cheng Muyang somewhat nervously.
She had thought Cheng Muyang was planning to surprise her, which was why he had suddenly changed their itinerary.
Perhaps Baobao would suddenly appear on this train. Instead, there was nothing at all. Even more astonishing than joyful, the news was that Nan Huai had actually taken Baobao away from Belgium and returned to Yunnan.
Cheng Muyang was not surprised. He gave a quiet “Mm.” “He told me that he was going to take Baobao away for three years.”
His hand moved down Nan Bei's back, sliding to her leg, gently stroking it.
“You're willing to let her go?” Nan Bei could not shake the feeling that there was something strange about this.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then why did you agree to him?”
“He's your brother.”
“But Baobao is your daughter.”
“You're his younger sister,” Cheng Muyang said. “I took his sister away from him, and Baobao likes him more than she likes me, even more than she likes you, her mother.”
He was stating a fact, yet Nan Bei remained puzzled. What exactly were these two men playing at?
She cautiously asked him, “My brother agreed to help you just because he wanted to take Baobao away?”
“Not the main reason. Just an additional condition.”
“What was the main reason?”
Cheng Muyang smiled. His voice lowered, but instead of answering her question, he said, “Beibei, didn't you notice that the scenery along this route is very beautiful?”
Nan Bei glanced out the window and heard him continue, “This railway from Beijing to Moscow has thousands of miles between stations, with nothing but vast stretches of forest and grassland. It's perfect for quietly reading, or doing some of the things you like to do.”
“It really is beautiful,” she replied casually.
“Most importantly, the entire journey happens to be six days and six nights.”
She finally understood what he meant.
So this man really did remember what he had promised her in Saudi Arabia.
Cheng Muyang smiled without saying anything. He picked up the intercom and instructed someone to bring dinner.
Soon, a Moscow girl came in carrying strong liquor and delicious food.
Nan Bei only glanced at her casually when the girl set down the tray, but she was somewhat stunned.
It was Katyusha, her roommate when she had studied in Belgium, that Moscow girl she had not seen in many years.
Katyusha only grinned at her, then quickly said something respectfully to Cheng Muyang in Russian before leaving the room.
Nan Bei was even more puzzled and turned back to look at Cheng Muyang.
It seemed she really needed a very reasonable explanation. Had Belgium, and her meeting Cheng Muyang there, all been deliberately arranged by him?
“She works for you?”
“No.” Cheng Muyang put an arm around her waist and gently smoothed her long hair. “She works for the Security Service.”
Nan Bei dodged his hand, but she could not escape the sudden look in his eyes, as though he were looking at something he had waited far too long for.
A look like that made it very easy for her to give in.
“I'll ask you about this later.” Her voice unconsciously lowered. “Tell me, what was the main reason my brother agreed to help you?”
Cheng Muyang quietly looked at her. After a while, he suddenly smiled.
“I told him a story. A story about something I experienced when I was fourteen.”
As he spoke, his kisses had already fallen upon her body.
“When I was fourteen, I went to Ruili Wanding and saw you. You were very young then. When you smiled, the corners of your eyes lifted slightly. You were incredibly beautiful.”
She looked at him in astonishment. Cheng Muyang smiled.
“Surprised? From the first time I saw you, there was nothing else in here.” He pointed to his temple. “Nothing else could exist.”
They still had a long time ahead of them, and he was in no hurry.
It was such a long story. He needed to tell it to her slowly.
How he, Cheng Muyang, had owed her a life.
And how, insatiably, he had wanted a lifetime with her.
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