The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Xu Nian stood there blankly, her mind completely blank and buzzing.

The person before me was thinner than I remembered, with a few strands of white hair at his temples. Time had added a touch of vicissitude to his eyes and brows, yet he still stood tall, was full of energy, and exuded a powerful aura.

Although there were slight changes in appearance, he remembered it so clearly that he would never mistake it for Zhang Feng, the police officer he had just paid his respects to at the cemetery who had already sacrificed his life.

A wave of shock washed over her, and Xu Nian stiffly turned her head to look at Xu Xi beside her.

At this moment, the girl was already bent over, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard that her whole body was shaking, and tears were almost streaming down her face.

"Uncle Zhang... Uncle Zhang..." Xu Nian was so shocked that her tongue went numb, and she could only speak haltingly and stammeringly, "You... you're not dead?"

Zhang Feng walked forward with a helpless expression, kicked Xu Nian's thigh hard, and laughed and cursed, "You little brat, who told you I was dead?"

A clear and real pain shot through my leg, incredibly real.

At this moment, Xu Nian was completely certain that this was indeed the living, breathing Officer Zhang.

"But, but..." Xu Nian stammered, "After I got out, I went to the police station to look for you. The officers there all said that you sacrificed yourself in the operation to capture Ye Long back then."

Zhang Feng sighed, smiled helplessly, and a touch of sadness appeared in his eyes.

"A few years after you went to prison, I was diagnosed with a serious lung disease, my health deteriorated, and I retired early."

That same year, my son graduated from police academy, took over my job, and joined the police force.

"When he first took office, he felt the same way I did: that your case was full of suspicious points and too many loopholes, so he followed my old path and continued the investigation."

"That brat was born with a rebellious streak and always went against me, but when it comes to investigating cases, he's much better than this old man like me. Before long, he had gathered enough key evidence to overturn the case."

At this point, Zhang Feng's voice choked slightly, his eyes reddened, and his eyes became increasingly moist.

"However, on the day of the arrest, someone leaked the news in advance, allowing that guy surnamed Ye to make preparations beforehand, which led to that kid dying at his hands."

After hearing the whole story, Xu Nian suddenly understood.

It turns out that the "comrade Xiao Zhang" that the old policeman mentioned back then was not Zhang Feng, but his son, the boy that Zhang Feng used to often mention when drinking with him, saying that he was immature.

The moment Xu Nian learned the truth, she felt no relief, only endless heaviness and guilt.

Zhang Feng was unharmed, but his biological son, the young and sincere policeman he had never met, died at the prime of his life while trying to clear his name and exonerate him.

"Uncle Zhang, I'm sorry," Xu Nian said softly, her head lowered, her face full of self-reproach.

If he hadn't taken money from Ye Long and gone to jail to take the blame, Zhang Feng's son wouldn't have died in that arrest operation.

But Zhang Feng waved his hand and smiled calmly: "Ye Long is a meticulous and cunning man. He even bribed the deputy director at the time to be his inside man, which is why the news leaked before the arrest and caused that kid to get into trouble."

"Even if it weren't you back then, Ye Long would have found someone else to take the blame, and the end result would have been the same."

He raised his hand and took out his phone. The lock screen showed a photo of a spirited young man with handsome features, wearing a police uniform, and with clear and open eyes.

"The moment we, the people's police, put on our police uniforms, we are already prepared to dedicate ourselves to our ideals."

"Sacrificing for an ideal is a happy thing."

Xu Nian nodded silently, stood up straight, and bowed deeply to Zhang Feng in front of her and to the photo of the boy on her phone screen.

"Alright, kid, get up." Zhang Feng stepped forward and gently helped him up. "Although I lost my son, I now have a pair of obedient children. I have both a son and a daughter, which is perfect."

Xu Nian paused, then looked at Xu Xi, who was smiling gently to the side.

It seems that during his time in prison, Xu Xi has already recognized Zhang Feng as her father.

But how come he has both a son and a daughter? Wasn't Zhang Feng's son already killed in action?

After a long while, Xu Nian suddenly realized what was going on.

His emotions surged, his eyes welled up, and he reached out to grasp Zhang Feng's hand tightly, solemnly calling out, "Dad."

"Hey, that's more like it!" Zhang Feng laughed loudly, patting his shoulder forcefully. "You wouldn't acknowledge me when I was alive and well, you only agreed after I was buried under a tombstone, right?"

Xu Nian recalled how he had spent over two hours in the cemetery, crying and reminiscing in front of the tombstones. He instantly felt so embarrassed that he wanted to disappear. He could only scratch his head and give a dry laugh.

Still filled with doubt, he couldn't help but ask, "But Dad, why haven't I heard anything from you since I got out?"

Zhang Feng sighed and said, "Didn't I get lung disease that year? The doctor said I was incurable and could only live one day at a time."

"Thanks to my daughter, she sent me to a big hospital abroad for treatment. I was treated there for several years, and she really cured me. She just came back a couple of days ago."

Xu Nian's lips twitched slightly, and she turned to look resentfully at Xu Xi, who was trying not to laugh, beside her: "Why do you never tell me about Dad's affairs?"

Xu Xi blinked her clear, innocent eyes and answered without hesitation, "Brother, you've never asked me that before."

Xu Nian was instantly on the verge of tears and almost collapsed to the ground.

He suddenly recalled all the absurd things that had happened since his release from prison: first, he mistakenly thought that Zhou Xiaoman had passed away and had erected a tombstone for her early on; now, he had erected a tomb for the living Zhang Feng and was earnestly paying homage to him.

As it turned out, both of them were alive and well, but he alone kept dying in social situations, so embarrassed that he wished he could find a tombstone on the spot and bury himself in it, thus passing away completely.

Zhang Feng laughed for a long time before his laughter subsided and he stopped teasing him. He put his arm around Xu Nian's shoulder and pulled out two bottles of his treasured wine from his pocket: "Alright, let's not talk about sad things today. Let's have a good drink, you two, and you're not allowed to be a deserter."

Without a second thought, Xu Nian readily agreed: "Okay, I'll do whatever Dad says."

But as soon as they finished speaking, a chilling killing intent suddenly swept over them from behind.

The next second, a slender, fair hand tightly gripped Xu Nian's ear.

Xu Nian instantly winced in pain, her whole body tensing up.

"Brother, do you want to drink?" Xu Xi smiled and stared at Xu Nian, revealing a kind smile.

Immediately afterward, she snatched the bottle from Zhang Feng's hand, frowned, and said angrily, "Dad, how many times has the doctor told you? You have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. You need to eat less, exercise more, and absolutely no alcohol, and you can't..."

At this moment, Zhang Feng instantly lost all his aura, like a child who had done something wrong, shrinking his neck, not daring to say a word in rebuttal, and obediently bowing his head to accept the scolding.

He quietly turned his head, leaned closer to Xu Nian, and muttered helplessly, "Sigh, I used to be controlled by my wife, now I'm controlled by my daughter. I guess I can't escape this fate for the rest of my life."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.