Touya Yaoyao

"From the moment you decided to erase her memories, shouldn't you have understood that her past, her family, and all her memories had already disappeared at that moment?"

When Bai Taoshi said this, he was clearly smiling, but Zhao Hede and Bai Juncheng could clearly see sadness, as well as inexplicable sorrow and anger in his eyes.

Seemingly having finally found the right occasion to vent the pent-up frustration in his heart, Bai Taoshi looked at Zhao Hede and Bai Juncheng and couldn't help but question them:

"Do you know what she said to me when I went to her full of anticipation and excitement, telling her that I had come to find her, that I had grown up, that I was no longer the little boy I used to be, and that I could even protect her?"

At this point, Shiro Touya's voice suddenly choked, like a helpless child, his eyes inexplicably reddening, as if a great sorrow had suddenly spread from his heart, making his words sound so dry and bitter:

She asked me, "Who are you?"

At this point, seemingly feeling ashamed of himself, Shiratoshi subconsciously turned his head away. Even now, many years after that incident, he still felt sad and sorrowful whenever he thought about it.

The little girl who held his hand tightly when she was nine, the little girl he had thought about for years, the little girl he thought he would be very brave when he saw her again and tell her that he could protect her, actually... didn't recognize him anymore.

She forgot him, so completely and utterly, as if he had never existed in her life.

He stared blankly at the person in front of him. He could still vaguely recognize her appearance from back then, but she seemed so unfamiliar.

Her indifference, her ruthlessness, her coldness extinguished all of Shiratoshi's passion, leaving him chilled, empty, and unable to warm up again.

It was only then that he belatedly realized how cruel it was that his mother had so casually mentioned erasing the child's memory.

Guilt, anger, sadness, and desolation—for the first time, many complex emotions arose in Bai Taoshi's heart. Looking at Yu Yaoyao, he clearly recognized for the first time the cruelty and ruthlessness of power.

Perhaps to make amends, or perhaps hoping to return to the beginning, Bai Taoshi deliberately tried to get close to Yu Yaoyao, even trying to please her.

Yu Yaoyao was hard to get close to; she was very guarded. Her brother didn't like him getting close to her either. Helpless, he could only try to be nice to her under various pretexts to make up for it, but it didn't seem to work.

In the end, when Shiratoshi, who was almost at his wit's end, discovered that his so-called brother had Ye Qihua's contact information and was friends with him, God knows how happy he was.

Like a sliver of light shining through a closed room, he approached her as her brother's friend and younger brother. Although she was still wary, at least her attitude had improved a lot.

At least she had gotten used to his approach (too lazy to bother arguing with him to chase him away, since it would be pointless anyway).

At least she accepted his advances (I don't know where she got Ye Yuntao's phone number, but if she didn't do what he said, she would directly tattle on him and get Ye Yuntao to scold her, so she had no choice but to give in).

At least later they gradually got along well (they couldn't be driven away, they couldn't be avoided, ignoring them didn't work, so they simply lay down).

At least he was the only man by her side, a privilege not even her nominal brother enjoyed. (He was clinging to her for fourteen out of twenty-four hours a day; Yu Yaoyao was truly exasperated.)

However, whenever he recalls the past, he always feels regret, wondering if they would have gotten along better if Yu Yaoyao hadn't lost her memory!

But that's just wishful thinking. After all, some things, once done, cannot be undone, even if you regret them, and you can't expect the other person to forgive you.

Was it Yu Yaoyao's fault?! It shouldn't be. Was it Bai Taoshi's fault? It shouldn't be either. Was it Zhao Hede's fault? It's definitely not.

Yu Yaoyao simply didn't want a stranger's child to lose their life there. Bai Taoshi was just a child who had been rescued and had no rights. As for Zhao Hede, she just wanted to protect her child.

So, at this moment, when Zhao Hede asked that question, all the anger and resentment that had been building up for so many years finally erupted.

Zhao Hede looked at Bai Taoshi, at his appearance of pretending to be calm when he was clearly sad. She opened her mouth, but found that any words seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

What can she say in her defense?! There's no way to defend herself. She gave the order, she had people do the work, and she has to bear the consequences.

But, my child, I can't let you be in danger because of her. I'd rather never open this door than risk losing you.

So, she lowered her eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then raised her head to speak gently yet firmly to Shirato Shirai, whose eyes were still red and whose face was still stubborn:

"Touya, let's leave it at that. Don't worry, we'll make it up to her, we..."

"compensate?!"

As if he had heard a joke, Shirotoya subconsciously repeated the sentence, then revealed a mocking smile, scoffing:

"Your compensation is to make a child who has lost their memory recognize other people's parents as their parents?! To make other people's brothers and sisters as your own brothers and sisters?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hede couldn't help but frown, while Bai Juncheng looked at Bai Taoshi with disapproval and shouted:

"Touya, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Shiro Momoya, perhaps recalling something unpleasant, couldn't help but complain angrily:

"That's true. Without them, Yaoyao and I would have been together long ago. You have no idea what Yaoyao wants! You're just..."

Before Bai Taoshi could finish speaking, Zhao Hede reached out to Bai Juncheng behind her. Bai Juncheng, confused, handed her a folder, which Zhao Hede then slammed down in front of Bai Taoshi, coldly saying:

"What she wanted was never love, son. What she wanted is completely different from what you want."

Bai Taoyi looked at Zhao Hede with suspicion, who seemed confident of victory, and subconsciously opened the folder in front of him.

The folder contained several design drawings, some miscellaneous documents, and contracts for land development and use.

This contract was written by Yu Yaoyao, so Zhao Hede truly knew what Yu Yaoyao wanted. Bai Taoshi looked at the words inside, but didn't think he had misjudged Yu Yaoyao; instead, he questioned her:

"This little bit of land is simply not enough for her to build the film studio she envisions."

Zhao Hede naturally knew this as well, so she looked at Bai Taoshi and said expressionlessly:

"So, I gave her all the unused land around here, and I'll pay for the construction costs. I won't take a single penny of the profits she makes. Is this compensation enough for her to forgive me?"