The first watch of the night had arrived.
-------------
"Baohe, you... you an Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin aren’t your real parents?" Stunned for a good while, Gangshun stamred out the question.
Lin Baohe nodded: "Mhm."
"That’s impossible..." Gangshun scratched his head, his face full of confusion, "Didn’t you have suspicions before and secretly check? The midwife said you are their biological son, how could it suddenly beco that you are not their child? Baohe, where did you hear this from?"
"Baojuan told , I went to ask them, and they admitted it..." Lin Baohe then recounted the truth about his birth in detail.
"That’s shaless!" Fat Auntie, furious, slapped Gangshun’s thigh with such force that he winced in pain and glared at her, "Where are you venting your anger?"
"Huh?" Fat Auntie looked at him blankly, "What’s wrong?"
Gangshun bit his teeth in irritation: "You slapped my leg, what’s wrong?"
"Ah?" Fat Auntie tried to recall for a mont and then suddenly realized, "Oh, I did. I was wondering why I didn’t feel any pain."
Gangshun: "..."
Seeing the look on her father’s face as if he was about to explode, Xiaoqiong quickly followed up on Fat Auntie’s comnt: "When I was little, every ti I encountered them, they always treated better than Chuxia, I thought they were just thankful for protecting Chuxia, but it turns out it was like this."
"Actually, if you think about it, it’s not surprising. Which parents would treat their children in such a way? They... " Gangshun waved his hand with a sigh, "Forget it, let’s not talk about them. Baohe, what do you plan to do? When you and Yulan go to Chuxia, are you coming back or not?"
"This is the place where I grew up, of course, I’ll co back. When I was young, the village uncles and aunties helped a lot, I rember that. And Baojuan, I can’t neglect her..."
"Dad..." Chuxia interrupted him, "I will take good care of my younger aunt. I’ve said it before, this lifeti I intend to treat her like my own mother, I’m not just saying it."
Zhao Yulan teased her daughter with a smile: "So Baojuan is as important as a mother in Xia’s heart?"
"Could that be?" Chuxia rolled her eyes, "Mom, you’re just looking for excuses."
"You’re the one who said you’d treat Baojuan like your own mother."
"I ant I’ll genuinely care for my younger aunt as much as I do for mom, I will do everything I can to help her. But to treat her the sa as mom, I’d have to bring her to live with , and with my own mother already, I can’t hog soone else’s. Xiaoxiang and Dajiang would never stand for it," Chuxia changed the subject, "However, this doesn’t an I’ll help with whatever she asks. For example, I won’t get involved with Grandpa and Grandma’s matters. Of course, my younger aunt wouldn’t ask anything for them either, I’m just making a comparison so mom doesn’t find any fault with later."
"This child..." Zhao Yulan affectionately stroked her daughter’s head and looked at Fat Auntie, "With her clever mouth, how can I be at ease with her at her husband’s family’s house?"
"If you want to stay with your daughter, just go. No one will laugh at you. Why make up so many excuses?" Fat Auntie picked up her chopsticks and urged everyone, "Let’s eat and talk, don’t let the dishes get cold."
Throughout the entire conversation, Jing Zhe kept silent, leading Xiaoqiong to look at him curiously, "Teacher, what’s your opinion?"
"None."
"None?" Xiaoqiong looked puzzled, "How can you have none? You’re Chuxia’s brother, and her family is facing such a big issue, don’t you have any thoughts?"
"I’ll do what I can to help, but in this case, I believe Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin have their own ideas. However..." Jing Zhe looked seriously at Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, "Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin, don’t forget, the Jing Family is also your relative."
"Thank you, Xiao Zhe, we’ve really troubled you too much." Zhao Yulan was embarrassed, "In this lifeti, we won’t be able to repay your kindness."
"Auntie, don’t say that. Being able to help is also fate, and helping you makes very happy. If you keep being so polite, it will truly hurt my feelings," Jing Zhe added while sighing, "Uncle and Auntie, don’t worry, I really think of Chuxia as my sister. You shouldn’t feel burdened."
"We know, we definitely know," Zhao Yulan hastily explained, and after thinking for a mont, she finally gave up trying, "Never mind, I won’t explain anymore, it gets muddier the more I talk."
Jing Zhe nodded, "Yes, words of gratitude really do get muddled the more you say them. You just need to accept it openly, all this thanking can be uncomfortable, right?"
"Okay, I won’t thank you anymore," Zhao Yulan said with a helpless smile. "You kid, we’re fortunate to have t you."
"Auntie, you just said you wouldn’t thank anymore, so why do you say that?"
Chuxia glared at him, "Brother, will you ever stop? Picking on my mom because she’s a honest person?"
"Alright, alright, I’m wrong..." Jing Zhe said as he raised his glass and downed it, "I’m punishing myself with a drink, alright?"
Chuxia pursed her lips disdainfully, "If you’re craving a drink, just say so. Why make excuses for yourself?"
Fat Auntie had been observing everyone, and now she shook her head with a laugh, "If you walk out like this without saying anything, others might really mistake you for family. Xia He and Xiao Zhe do look a bit alike."
Chuxia’s eyes widened imdiately, "Fat Auntie, please don’t scare like that. I just found out my dad’s identity, and I’m quite sensitive about it right now. You say I look like Big Brother Jing, and I suddenly get the feeling that my dad is a mber of the Jing Family, which is way too... unreliable."
Hearing her say this, everyone shifted their gaze between her face and Jing Zhe’s, and after a mont, Luo Xiaoqiong nodded, saying, "They do look alike, really. Mom ntioned it, and after a closer look, their noses and mouths are quite similar."
"Um, yes, there is a bit of a resemblance," Fat Auntie said as she scrutinized them both.
This ruckus made Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan also start to check if their daughter and Jing Zhe looked alike. Sure enough, after examining them closely, the couple felt that there might be so truth to what everyone was saying...
Seeing her parents join in, Chuxia was instantly frustrated, "Dad, Mom, you’re not going to join the hype too, are you?"
"No, no..." Even though she said no, Zhao Yulan turned to Jing Zhe to ask, "Xiao Zhe, have you ever heard your dad or mom ntion any missing relatives?"
Jing Zhe also felt at a loss and said, "Auntie, as far as I know, there are no missing relatives in our family. But, it’s been over thirty years, and it’s normal that I wouldn’t know. How about this? When I go back, I’ll make sure to ask my dad and mom if we have any missing elders."
"Alright, help us ask. Or you could also ask them if they know any missing people with the surna Lin..." Zhao Yulan said as she unfolded the small cloth bag she had been keeping behind her, "Take a look at these items. These were originally with Baohe’s birth parents."
"This?" Jing Zhe examined the pair of silver chopsticks, "I feel like I’ve seen this sowhere before, let think... let think... Oh, that’s right, I rember now. Uncle Fang has a pair just like these, said to be used for testing poison, and they’re exactly like this one..." He said as he scrutinized the chopsticks, repeatedly emphasizing that they were identical to the ones he’d seen.
"What does Uncle Fang do?" Chuxia asked on behalf of Lin Baohe, her father being too excited to utter a word.
"He’s one of my dad’s best friends. We get together a few tis every year, but I’ve never heard of him having any missing relatives. How about this? When I get back, I’ll go ask him right away and subtly probe. What do uncles and aunties think?"
"Okay! Okay! Okay..." Lin Baohe nodded vigorously, unable to find any other way to express his excitent.
Luo Gangshun looked at the couple and asked, "By the way, do Uncle Zhao and Auntie Zhao know about this?"
"They don’t," Zhao Yulan shook her head. "We ca straight here from Baojuan’s family and then you left, so we didn’t have the chance to tell them. Mainly, we wanted to be sure before telling everyone, otherwise, we would have spoken up on the road. Oh!" She sighed heavily, "Even if they haven’t treated us well, we don’t really want this to be true."
Fat Auntie reached out and patted Zhao Yulan, comforting her, "It’s a good thing, this is good..." she hurriedly explained to Lin Baohe, "I’m not saying that Chuxia’s biological grandparents being gone is a good thing, I an..."
Lin Baohe interrupted her, "I know, you don’t have to explain, I understand all of it. After all these years of acquaintance, how could I not know your personality? I won’t misunderstand you."
Because Jing Zhe ntioned Uncle Fang, the situation took a turn, and everyone was a little anxious to know the outco. After finishing their al, they dispersed to rest, so they could depart early the next day.
Knowing that Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan were worried, Jing Zhe got up at five in the morning. He had spoken to Chuxia the night before, so not long after he got up, Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong also arrived.
Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan hadn’t slept all night, and they ca out as soon as Jing Zhe was up. Unable to dissuade them, they let him be. Seeing his daughter and Luo Xiaoqiong arrive sleepy-eyed, he felt both distressed and uncomfortable.
As the car disappeared at the end of the village, Lin Baohe, Zhao Yulan, Luo Gangshun, and Fat Auntie sighed and returned to the house, sitting together in a long silence...
The chopsticks, bracelet, and gold ingot were entrusted to Chuxia to take with her for the quest to find her relatives and for safety. Now, all they needed to do was to wait quietly for the result, whether it would bring hope or disappointnt...
At ten in the morning, the car drove into City A. Seeing Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong sleeping soundly in the backseat, Jing Zhe couldn’t help but laugh. The two had insisted on staying up to chat with him and ended up like this...(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welco to vote for it at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers