amaotonovel Chapter 1326 You really don't understand me at all.
Chapter 1326 You really don't understand me at all.
The little one's gaze first fell on his mother, Eva. Seeing her pale and fragile appearance, his little face immediately tightened, filled with worry.
His gaze then shifted to the tall, unfamiliar man standing in the center of the room, a man who exuded an air of subtly oppressive power...
In those eyes, there was curiosity, inquiry, and a hint of excitement, but more than anything, there was an instinctive, cautious wariness and a barely perceptible...
Fear. He recognized the man. From the court painter's portrait, from his mother's sometimes gentle, sometimes sorrowful narration, and from the snippets of conversation between his uncle and grandfather during this earth-shattering arrest.
He knew this was his father, Xiao Ce. A powerful, wise, distant, and legendary name.
Xiao Ce's gaze froze the moment Xiao Yuanwang appeared...
All the coldness, scrutiny, and anger seemed to be temporarily breached by a more primal and turbulent torrent of emotions at this moment.
In his most furious and disappointed moments, the most unbearable doubts flashed through his mind: Did Eva's elaborate betrayal and deception, even using the child as bait, mean...?
This child might not even be his own flesh and blood? This thought gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, almost suffocating him. After all, he simply couldn't understand why Eva would do such a thing... why would she do it...
He once genuinely wondered if Eva had cheated on him, mainly because Xiao Ce had had relationships with many women.
However, neither of them had children. And he knew that Eva had always been a very materialistic woman...
Therefore, he has always had doubts.
But at this moment, all those doubts seem to have been answered.
At this moment, as this living, breathing little figure stood before him, those familiar eyebrows and eyes, those facial features strikingly similar to his own childhood portrait, especially those dark, jade-like eyes that almost perfectly captured his very essence...
All doubts melted away instantly, like ice and snow under the sun.
The resonance of their bloodlines was so strong, there was no doubt about it. This was his son!
He is a descendant of Xiao Ce!
A surge of paternal love, a mixture of immense relief, indescribable bitterness, and an unexpected outpouring that he himself had never anticipated, struck his heart.
This is Xiao Ce's child...
Xiao Yuanwang felt his father's burning and complicated gaze, and his small body subconsciously straightened up a little, as if trying to make himself appear less timid.
He hesitated for a moment, his little hands clenched into tiny fists at his sides, and finally mustered his courage to take a step forward, not towards his mother, but slowly towards Xiao Ce.
Each step was slow and steady, displaying a restraint beyond his years...
He stopped about two steps away from Xiao Ce, raised his head, and stared intently at the man who stood as tall as a mountain with his large eyes that resembled his father's.
The air was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.
Xiao Yuanwang's little face was extremely serious, as if he was confirming something. He suddenly reached out his little hand, not to take Xiao Ce's hand, but with a cautious probing and an unquestionable sense of verification, and gently touched the back of Xiao Ce's hand hanging by his side.
The touch was warm and real.
Then, his little hand slowly moved upwards, with the delicate curiosity unique to a child, gently stroking Xiao Ce's hard wrist lines, feeling the power contained beneath the skin. Finally, those small, slightly cool fingers, hesitant yet determined, touched Xiao Ce's angular jaw. The fingertips brushed against the slightly rough stubble, bringing a subtle tickle.
This gesture doesn't seem like the affection a child would show to their father after a long separation...
It's more like confirming...
He was confirming the man's "reality," confirming the warmth of his flesh and blood, confirming that he... was the person in the portrait and the story.
And he was trying to confirm whether all of this was a dream!
As the father and son stared at each other silently, a strange and heavy tension filled the air, Eva, who had been silent on the soft couch, seemed to have her last psychological defenses completely shattered by her son's silent action.
She suddenly slid off the soft couch and knelt down on the thick carpet with a "plop"!
"Your Majesty!"
Eva's voice was filled with heart-wrenching sobs, and tears streamed down her face like a burst dam, instantly blurring her pale features. She no longer tried to explain, no longer tried to hide anything, but simply slammed her forehead heavily onto the carpet, her body trembling violently from extreme pain and remorse.
"It's my fault! It's all my fault! I was bewitched... I was afraid... afraid that Father and the others would harm Yuanwang... afraid of losing everything... I took advantage of your trust, I took advantage of everything between us... I..."
She wept uncontrollably, her words broken and fragmented, reduced to the most humble confession and plea: "I dare not ask for your forgiveness... I know I am unworthy... but please, for your sake, for the sake of those who have been watching from afar... please, for the sake of him being your flesh and blood... please... do not take your anger out on him... he is innocent... he is your son!"
Eva's tearful words shattered the eerie atmosphere...
Xiao Yuanwang was so frightened by his mother's sudden action that his face turned pale. He abruptly withdrew his hand from his father's and looked at his mother, who was kneeling on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably, with a panicked and helpless expression. His small body trembled slightly, and his eyes, which resembled Xiao Ce's, were filled with fear and confusion.
Xiao Ce's gaze shifted from his son's terrified face to Eva, who was kneeling on the ground, humble as dust.
The turmoil in his eyes was once again covered by a thick layer of ice as Eva cried out in despair...
The relief, the bitterness, and even the surge of paternal love that had welled up in that instant were all suppressed once again.
Instead, there was a deeper, colder disappointment, and the embers of something utterly desecrated...
He didn't doubt his mother's love for the child, but he knew very well that Eva didn't understand him at all...
He didn't speak immediately, but stood quietly, looking down at her.
That look no longer held the flames of anger, but it was more despairing than any anger could inspire, as if looking at a completely worthless, unfamiliar object.
The only sounds in the room were Eva's suppressed, intermittent sobs and Xiao Yuanwang's tense, almost suffocating breathing.
After what felt like an eternity, Xiao Ce finally made a move.
He didn't help Eva up, or even glance at her again. Instead, he slowly bent down, his movements carrying an unprecedented, almost deliberate awkwardness, and reached out his hand to Xiao Yuanwang, who was standing there dumbfounded, his face pale.
"Look into the distance!"
Xiao Ce's voice wasn't loud. He then beckoned to Xiao Yuanwang and said calmly, "Come here."
Xiao Yuanwang's body trembled violently, and his large eyes, which resembled his father's, were filled with struggle.
He looked at his mother, who was kneeling on the ground and crying her heart out, and then at the unfamiliar father in front of him who exuded a powerful aura and had cold eyes.
For the first time, the little child felt so deeply the world's divisions and the pain of making choices.
Ultimately, the innate reverence for his father etched into his very bones and a suppressed longing overcame his worries about his mother.
He bit his lower lip, forcing back his tears, and took small, hesitant steps toward Xiao Ce's outstretched hand.
When the child's slightly cool little hand finally timidly placed itself into Xiao Ce's large and warm palm, Xiao Ce's fingers slightly closed, completely enveloping the small, trembling hand.
A warm current and a heavy sense of responsibility, along with the palpitations of blood ties, once again assaulted his defenses, but this time, he forcibly suppressed them deep within his heart.
He took his son's hand, and his gaze finally returned to Eva.
That look in his eyes was as cold as the Siberian permafrost, devoid of any warmth or expectation.
He then said, "You really don't understand me at all... I would never hurt my child, no matter who I hurt... What do you take me for? I'm not like you..."
After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Eva looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment...