Chapter 252: 180 Mother and Child’s First eting, a Bit Awkward (2 More) _2
“Dad, I’m a little scared. Maybe we can co another day.”
“What are you scared of? She doesn’t bite.”
“But…”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Jiang Yanting pulled his hand and noticed his little hand was warm and sweaty. “Are you this nervous?”
“Who… who is nervous!” Jiangjiang’s tongue tripped, unable to hide his sentints; it was practically written on his face, “I, I…”
“Your palm is sweaty, your tongue is tripping. Are you really not nervous?”
“I just need to pee!” Jiangjiang snorted coldly.
Actually, Jiang Yanting had co here without any reassurance, unsure of Shen Zhixian’s reaction. After hearing that, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Right, you’re not nervous at all… Let’s go, upstairs!”
By this ti, those who should be at school or work were gone, the staircase was empty. Each step they took, the echo of flapping was especially distinct. Jiangjiang clutched the small cake in his hand; the plastic bag rustled, and he swallowed tension-filled saliva.
“Dad, I’m afraid?”
“Don’t worry, she really likes you.”
Jiangjiang wanted to see her yet also didn’t want to, he had so many questions to ask her, but once they reached the apartnt door, father and son exchanged glances.
Jiangjiang poked Jiang Yanting’s thigh and signaled with his eyes:
Ring the doorbell!
Jiang Yanting took a deep breath, bent down to adjust Jiangjiang’s clothes, then straightened up and pressed the doorbell.
“Ding-dong—”
Both wore tense expressions, holding their breath, but there was no movent inside.
Pressed it again, still no response.
“Is there really no mom? Are you just trying to cheer up?”
“No.”
“Dad, did you get the wrong place?”
“No.”
“Then is she not at ho?”
“…”
Jiang Yanting pulled out his phone to call her, but the ringtone ca from inside the door. Father and son exchanged glances, and Jiangjiang’s little face instantly fell. His hand slipped from Jiang Yanting’s, his mouth pursed as if he was about to cry.
But the phone still vibrated with the ringtone, no one answered, no one hung up, and knocking brought no response.
“She might have gone out, left her phone behind…” Jiang Yanting said, trying to console him.
“Let’s go ho.” Jiangjiang bit his lip, as excited as he had been earlier, was now as disappointed.
Jiang Yanting didn’t know what exactly was going on either, seeing him look so dejected, unable to explain or comfort him, “Do you really want to go ho?”
Jiangjiang stood there, not speaking, not moving.
…
On this end,
Shen Zhixian laid things out with Jiang Yanting, overwheld, she cald herself inside for a while. Jiang Yanting said he would co back again, she didn’t take it to heart, and prepared to go out to buy so dicine and grocery shop.
Her body couldn’t be neglected carelessly.
Just as she left, reached the pharmacy at the entrance of the neighborhood, got the dicine, she realized she hadn’t brought her phone or any money, and had to return.
Got almost to her building and then realized she didn’t carry her keys.
She was entirely muddled, even failing to notice Jiang Yanting’s car parked in front of the apartnt building.
Rembering there were so ads in the building corridor for services like lock-picking, she turned to go upstairs, observing the surroundings of the corridor.
While at this mont, at the third-floor apartnt door, the Jiang family father and son exchanged glances. Jiangjiang held his breath, hearing footsteps growing nearer, utterly unaware of who was coming, just irrationally nervous.
He raised his hand, clutching Jiang Yanting’s.
Unaware of anyone upstairs, Shen Zhixian paused as she examined the flyers along the way. Just as she was about to turn the corner on the third floor, she heard a familiar voice:
“Xianxian—”
She looked up and saw two people in front of her apartnt, one big, one small, resembling each other. They were both giving her the sa cold-faced look.
Jiangjiang stared at her, clutching Jiang Yanting’s hand, all sweaty. He had thought that if she opened the door, she would greet him with a bright smile and then say “hi,” but reality was always full of surprises.
Jiang Yanting also hadn’t expected Shen Zhixian to return at this mont. She was still dressed casually and looked at the two of them, equally surprised.
“I told you not to go out, why did you leave?”
Shen Zhixian stared intently at Jiangjiang. This was…
Jiang Yanting’s son?
She couldn’t articulate the complexity of her emotions. She hadn’t expected Jiang Yanting to bring the child; she was very reluctant to et this child, but seeing him stirred a peculiar feeling inside her.
But this child…
His eyes were swollen like two walnuts, and his face was swollen too. He had a bruise on his face from fighting with soone. Overall…
He looked a bit ugly at the mont!
Was this child… abused?
“I went out to buy so things.” Shen Zhixian gathered her thoughts and looked at Jiang Yanting suspiciously. What was he doing bringing the child here?
“You didn’t bring your phone?”
“I didn’t even bring my keys.” Shen Zhixian walked to the apartnt door; three of them, staring at each other, eting for the first ti without tears or crying, strangely awkward.
“Don’t you have a spare key?” Jiang Yanting frowned, puzzled by her carelessness.
“It’s at the Xie Family’s. But I saw a small ad on the wall; let’s call a locksmith.”
Jiang Yanting nodded. He went to find the advertisent and make a call, while Shen Zhixian and Jiangjiang looked at each other again, unsure how to start the conversation.
“What is your na?” Shen Zhixian finally broke the silence.
“Jiang Wenyan.”
Jiangjiang, notorious as a little tyrant in the Jiang family, difficult to deal with, now appeared shy, his voice much softer.
“You must be four years old, right?” Shen Zhixian had checked on him; according to the official records, he should be four this year, though he was quite tall.
“Five.”
Shen Zhixian frowned. “What?”
“After the new year, I’ll be five.”
“You’re five years old!” Shen Zhixian felt confused. “Aren’t you four?”
“Grandma said I was born abroad. When we returned, we missed the registration period, so soone pulled so strings, but they got my age wrong and never corrected it.” Jiangjiang furrowed his brow, sowhat skeptical whether the woman in front of him was his real mother.
Shen Zhixian leaned forward, staring at him, trying to discern sothing, but his little face, swollen from crying, resembled a pig’s head, his eyes deford…
Jiangjiang, embarrassed by her scrutiny, mimicked Jiang Yanting and turned his head away, showing a bit of pride, which made Shen Zhixian laugh out loud.
“Are you really five?”
“Yeah,” Jiangjiang confird.
“And your… your mom?”
Jiangjiang really wanted to say, “Dad said that you are my mom.”
But since she didn’t indicate it, he didn’t dare take the initiative and haughtily said, “Dad said I popped out from a crack in the rocks…”
Shen Zhixian’s fingers trembled, itching to touch his face, but she held back, staring intently at him, her eyes inadvertently reddening, thinking, five years old…
Five years old!
Jiangjiang stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do, until Jiang Yanting finished his call and ca over, then he hurriedly ran to him and hugged his leg.
It was too nerve-wracking, too overwhelming!
It was almost suffocating.
Shen Zhixian squatted where she was, biting her lip as she watched Jiang Yanting, her eyes rimd with red, her expression complex, seemingly doubting sothing, yet afraid to ask, lest she was overthinking.
Jiang Yanting patted Jiangjiang’s head, “Didn’t you say you were bringing a cake for your mom? Why not give it when you see her?”
Mom?
A simple word, but it exploded like thunder in her mind; she squatted there, her body trembling, staring fixedly at Jiangjiang, her mind going blank…
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