Rebirth: I Am Not the Movie Queen This Time-Chapter 79 Departure from the World

Wan Chu’er was very puzzled. This object looked like it had been around for a while, but she hadn’t seen it in her past life.

Bai Zhixi picked up the jade pendant and slowly caressed it as she began to speak slowly:

"Xiao Bai calls me Aunt Bai, so I assume you know about my relationship with his family. Your mother will now tell you about the inside story, otherwise, when I’m gone, I’m afraid this tale might never be told."

Bai Zhixi originally did not plan to talk about this matter, as it was indeed not very honorable.

But she was really worried about her daughter, fearing that without anything to hold onto, her daughter might do something foolish on a whim.

After much consideration, she thought of this jade pendant and decided to give her daughter a task, to make her think twice before doing anything rash.

Wan Chu’er sat quietly by her side, listening to Bai Zhixi reminisce and tell the story:

"Before the liberation, your maternal great-grandfather was a big landlord in the countryside, and your grandmother was his only child, treasured dearly. He even sent her to the city to study and later managed to marry her off to the Bai Family in Wutong City.

Your grandmother gave birth to Xiao Bai’s father when she was twenty and then never had any more children, until the year 1959 when she was twenty-four years old.

That winter, she went back to the countryside to visit her parents. On the way, she saved a person. That person was injured, a leg was also broken, lying unconscious in the snow. Fortunately, it was cold, which had frozen over his wounds, otherwise he would have probably bled to death.

Your grandmother was always kind-hearted, and having seen him, she couldn’t leave him to die. It was also not far from your great-grandfather’s home, so she went back and called people to carry the man home.

At that difficult time, the other families didn’t have extra food to support a stranger, especially an injured one with unknown identity.

In the end, the man stayed at your great-grandfather’s place to heal his wounds, with your grandmother taking care of him for over a month."

"Over a month?" Wan Chu’er couldn’t help but interject: "Grandmother stayed at her parents’ home for such a long time, how come her in-laws didn’t come to fetch her?"

Bai Zhixi smiled and said: "Back then, it was not easy to return to one’s parental home. If a woman returned to her parents’ house, she would usually stay for a few months."

Wan Chu’er nodded and gave Bai Zhixi some water to drink.

"The man had good physical fortitude and more or less recovered after a month. Though your grandmother was his lifesaver, he took advantage of a time when your great-grandfather was out, forced himself upon her, left this jade pendant behind, and just disappeared."

At this point, a hint of contempt flashed across the corner of Bai Zhixi’s mouth.

"Your grandmother didn’t dare to stay at her parents’ home any longer, so she hurried back to the city, and not long after that she had me."

Wan Chu’er was extremely shocked, she had not expected such a melodramatic event to happen close to her own life.

Bai Zhixi seemed to recall some unpleasant memories; she fell silent for a while, and Wan Chu’er didn’t rush her, silently digesting what she had just heard.

So, the man who left the jade pendant was actually her own grandfather? Her own grandfather turned out to be an aggressor, and a mean ingrate at that!

At the same time, in an old mansion in Beijing, an old man sneezed and cursed: "Which wretched kid is cursing me!"

"When I was sixteen, Xiao Bai’s grandfather finally discovered that I was... a... a mongrel." Bai Zhixi struggled to utter the word ’mongrel.’

Wan Chu’er immediately held her hand, trying to give her strength, saying: "Mother, you’re not."

Bai Zhixi shook her head ambivalently and continued to speak:

The Bai Family is a prominent household in Wutong County; if word got out, the Bai Family couldn’t afford to lose face. So there were people from the family who suggested sending me far away... but in the end, your grandmother left with nothing, taking me away from the Bai Family.

This Jade Pendant was given to me by your grandmother when she passed away, telling me to return it if there was ever a chance.

It looks like this task will have to be passed on to you, to help Mom fulfill your grandmother’s last wish, okay?

Wan Chu’er reached out and took the Tiger Roar Jade Pendant, examining it carefully. The tiger head pattern was intricately carved, lifelike; it felt ice-cold yet smooth to the touch. Turning it over, a single character was etched on the back: Roar.

If this Jade Pendant belonged to him, it would imply that his background was extraordinary. With the ’Roar’ character on it, perhaps some clues could be found.

If it was simply something he obtained from elsewhere and casually handed to your grandmother, then this task would be exceedingly difficult.

Wan Chu’er didn’t understand why her grandmother, having been cast out of her husband’s family by that person, would keep this Jade Pendant. It would have been better to sell it for money instead of seeking him out.

She voiced her doubts, but Bai Zhixi said she was tired and needed to rest.

At this moment, nothing was more important than Bai Zhixi’s rest, so Wan Chu’er quickly helped Bai Zhixi lie down and only left the room after she closed her eyes.

Bai Zhixi clearly didn’t want to answer her question. Wan Chu’er played with the Tiger Roar Jade Pendant, guessing that ’returning it’ was probably just a pretext. Her grandmother probably wanted her mother to find her biological father to gain some protection.

Now that Bai Zhixi had given the pendant to her, it was likely she harbored the same hope, wanting her to find her kin and have an added connection in this world.

It seemed that Bai Zhixi had not a single nostalgic thought for the Bai Family; she might even harbor some resentment towards them.

Judging by Bai Zhixi’s expression, she too had no fond impressions of her biological father; otherwise, she would have mentioned him before.

Wan Chu’er decided that if the opportunity arose, she would find the man who had repaid kindness with enmity and fling the Jade Pendant in his face, then on behalf of her grandmother and her mother, scold him thoroughly.

Such an ungrateful wretch!

Two days later, Bai Zhixi left the world with a smile, calmly departing from her beloved daughter.

An Lian aged greatly overnight, growing a lot of white hair.

With Xiao Bai and An Lian’s company and arrangements, Wan Chu’er grievously and quietly cremated Bai Zhixi, then buried her ashes together with her grandmother’s in the countryside.

Her father Wan Shiguo was a martyred hero, buried in Wutong County’s Martyrs’ Cemetery. Bai Zhixi’s ashes couldn’t be placed there.

After Bai Zhixi’s departure, Wan Chu’er felt suddenly as if her soul was hollowed out, as if something had been excavated from within.

Refusing Xiao Bai and An Lian’s kindness, Wan Chu’er stayed alone in the small courtyard, slowly acclimating to life without Bai Zhixi.

She would wake up before five every morning and then couldn’t get back to sleep.

The summer days dawn early, and Wan Chu’er would get up to wash her face with cold water, then head out to run through the streets and alleys.

When Bai Zhixi was leaving, she had said to her: "If you miss Mom, go for a run. Mom will be there with you in the wind."

At just past five o’clock, Wutong County was not fully awake yet. The streets were often deserted, except for the lone figure of Wan Chu’er running.

After running for over an hour and as the streets began to fill with people, Wan Chu’er would turn towards Phoenix Mountain, running to its base, then charge up to find a secluded large rock to stretch out and lie on.

After a run, most of the gloom in her heart would dissipate, leaving only the need to catch her breath.