Stars In His Eyes
Chapter 1071: Value

Chapter 1071: Chapter 1071: Value

"If Dad knew about this, he’d help me find them no matter what, even if it meant losing everything, right?" He Zhilan felt a tinge of heartache hearing He Father say this. "Dad, this is exactly why I couldn’t let you know after I grew up. I know you would blame yourself, feel guilty, and do everything within your power to help me, even if it meant being laughed at, even if people called you a fool or a lunatic. You’d still help me search for my biological parents."

But beyond fearing that He Father would act this way, when He Zhilan first went to the capital, she was more afraid that He Teng would misunderstand her. He might think she was some ungrateful woman intent on finding her birth parents to sever ties with the He Family and break free from the marriage.

As a child, she hadn’t understood things, trusted no one, and even resented the He Family. So, it was impossible for her to tell He Father that she’d been abducted and ended up with the He Family.

After her rebirth, she had come to her senses. But at that time, the He Family was dirt poor, struggling to support both her and He Dongxue’s education while scraping together money to search for He Da. How could she dare let the kind-hearted He Father know about her situation?

She was afraid her father would blame himself, feel guilty, and completely disregard everything just to help her find the home that even she no longer remembered the location of.

What’s more, at that time, He Teng still harbored misunderstandings about her.

"Zhilan, Dad doesn’t know how to persuade you. I also know that you probably hate your birth parents. But you don’t understand—when I saw your grandmother kneeling in front of me, thanking me for all these years of raising and caring for you, it broke my heart. They love you. They care about you. They miss you. In the past, they weren’t good to you because they didn’t know you were their daughter."

He Father’s voice trembled slightly, "If they had known you were their daughter, they would have doted on you even more than I have. Your birth mother endured so much suffering because of you. And your grandmother... she had insomnia for over ten years because of you. They miss you. You are their only daughter. Dad knows they’ve done many things to hurt you. It’s natural for you to hold grudges, but you’ve hated them, resented them—enough. Now that you’ve finally reunited, let things be. Your grandmother is getting old. Don’t agitate her. Don’t make her feel sad."

"Dad, don’t try to convince me. What’s done is done. A mistake is a mistake. Hurt is hurt. The past, all those scars—they won’t just go away because they want to reconcile, or because they now know I’m Gu Zhilan and want to make up for it. Dad, with them, it’s not something I can ’hate enough’ and then let go of. Dad, you don’t know—they didn’t just hurt me. They hurt the child I never even got a chance to bring into this world. Dad, you don’t understand—when the doctor told me the baby couldn’t be saved, I could feel the child leaving my body. That pain—it was worse than death. In that moment, I wished I could have gone with the baby and my grandfather. That way, I wouldn’t have to face them, wouldn’t have to endure this cruel reality."

"Child?" He Father was taken aback, confused.

"Dad, did they not dare to tell you? Early this year, my birth mother personally pushed me to the ground and took away my baby! Dad, if it weren’t for them, I’d be getting ready to have my baby now. I’d already be a mother! If it weren’t for them, Dad, you’d be about to have a grandchild!" He Zhilan’s emotions surged wildly. In the end, she was practically shouting into the phone, "Dad, after everything that’s happened, do you think I can just ’hate enough’ and let it go? They want to make amends? How? Can they give me back the child I lost? They can’t. What’s lost is lost, just like the wounds that have already been inflicted—they don’t go away. They stay."