On the pitch-black suspension bridge, Bai Xiao stood between two men, her brows furrowed with guilt. In her mind, past scenes replayed in a chaotic mess. No matter which side she chose, it would be a struggle for her. But the feelings between the three of them… for any of them… it was an endless torment. Now that Liu Hao had retired from the army, the time had come for a decision to be made.
Gao Ze couldn’t bear to see Bai Xiao upset. He turned his back to her, not wanting her to see the twisted expression of pain on his face.
On the other hand, Liu Hao was raging with anger, shouting at her, “Is this how you’re treating me? This is so ridiculous! I don’t understand what you’re thinking at all! Bai Xiao! What you’re doing is wrong, so wrong! The laughable thing is… I can’t even hate you. I let you be so arrogant in my world…” As he spoke, Liu Hao collapsed to the ground, a bitter smile forming on his lips as tears streamed down his face. Liu Hao tasted them—they were salty and bitter. This was the first time in his life he had been defeated so thoroughly. His anger, clashing against the calm of the other two, seemed so childish.
Bai Xiao silently shed tears, suppressing the urge to defend herself. She was afraid. Afraid that if she spoke, Gao Ze would turn around and give her a hug. And this hard-won balance would break inside their hearts, leaving behind indelible scars.
Liu Hao’s emotions spiralled out of control, his face filled with exhaustion. “Just say it! Do you love me or him? Debating who’s better or worse is so draining and pointless. I just want an answer. I don’t want to be played like a fool anymore!”
Bai Xiao couldn’t answer… though she selfishly wanted to say… can’t we just stay together forever, like when we were kids? But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She could only stare at the stone pillars beneath the bridge by the creek, their secret happy place in the past.
But now…
“Don’t make things harder for her! Haozi, out of the three of us, you have the most complete family. If you’re willing to treat her well…”
“No!” “No…”
Liu Hao glanced at the haggard-looking Bai Xiao. He felt a pang of guilt, wanting to back out. Heaven knows he never wanted to make things difficult for her.
“Let’s leave family factors out of this. I don’t want any unfair advantage… Besides, if we count that, your dad was an air force officer who died in the line of duty. Doesn’t that mean genetically, I’ll always lose to you, the martyr’s son!”
Gao Ze replied coldly, “Can you stop being so childish? This is a completely different matter!”
“Yes, I’m that childish, not as mature and steady as you. If it weren’t for you discovering that the counsellor was spying on Xiaobai back then, who she would’ve ended up with is still up in the air!” As Liu Hao finished speaking, the three of them fell into silence once again.
In the end, it was Bai Xiao who broke the silence. “When I was nine, my mom sent me to the ‘Starlight Orphanage.’ I was terrified, and the first thing I saw… was your dumb grin and Ze Ge’s gentle eyes. So when you ask me to choose, how could I? From a young age, I’ve never been the one who got to choose; it was fate that tied the three of us together, in a cycle of no escape…”
The three of them drifted back to their memories of the Starlight Orphanage.
Liu Hao was definitely an exception in the orphanage, as he wasn’t a child abandoned by his parents. Shortly after Liu Hao was born, his parents went to the mainland to do business, leaving him in the care of his grandparents. Liu Hao’s grandfather was also the landlord of the Starlight Orphanage. When Liu Hao was six, his grandfather sent him to the orphanage during the day to live and play with the children there, and he would bring him home at night to sleep. This made Liu Hao the most optimistic and beloved child in the orphanage, surrounded by everyone’s affection.
In contrast, Gao Ze had been sent to the orphanage shortly after he was born, not even getting the chance to see his mother with his own eyes. Gao Ze’s father was an air force officer who died in a plane crash during a training exercise, and his mother, shocked by the news, went into difficult labor. Not long after Gao Ze was born, his mother passed away in the hospital. Both of his parents had fled to Taiwan from the mainland, leaving him with no relatives here.
All his life, Gao Ze’s world had been one of black and white… until he was nine, when he encountered a rare touch of red in his life. He could never forget the sight of Bai Xiao pouting with her rosy lips, her clear black-and-white eyes gleaming with a rebellious spirit. Her smart yet defiant nature, refusing to accept fate, ignited a flicker of hope for the future in Gao Ze’s heart.
But Gao Ze wasn’t the only one who noticed the girl. The ever-curious and bold Liu Hao was just as intrigued by everything about Bai Xiao. However, at that time, Liu Hao was only six, and Bai Xiao treated him more like a little brother. What she really wanted was to grow up quickly and leave this godforsaken place. She wanted her mother never to find her again, to regret her decision for the rest of her life. She wanted her mother to taste the bitterness of abandonment!
