At the villa.
Sigh.
There were sounds of sighing.
Yuxiu was whimpering and tried to cover her painful expression with her hand. Her weeping turned into sobbing. She closed her eyes tightly and bit onto her fist, trying to stop her crying.
Zong Qifeng was a man; he was focused and could hold back his upset. He helped Yuxiu up. “Let’s go. It’s not good for your health.”
She raised her head and tried to hold back her tears. “I want to stay here—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she realized her own impulsiveness. Zong Jinghao would never let her stay here.
Zong Qifeng knew what she was thinking. “We can come here often to visit the two children.
Yuxiu could not help but worry. “How could he be like that? How could he not know what he had done?”
Zong Jinghao’s reaction had shown them that he really had not known that the two children were his.
She had seen that Zong Jinghao was feeling worse than the rest of them just now.
“Tell me, how could I not worry?” Yuxiu sighed. “He’s a clear-minded person. How could he have made such a mistake?”
Zong Qifeng patted her shoulder. “I think he will clear his mind by himself. Listen to me, let’s go back first. If you want to see the two children tomorrow, we’ll come back here.”
Zong Qifeng continued to convince Yuxiu to go home together. “While Jinghao isn’t here, we can bring them to our house for a stayover. We should feel happy now that we have a pair of cute grandchildren. Why are you crying? It’s bad for your health.”
Yuxiu knew that he was happy too. She wiped her eyes and said, “I just feel sad for the two children. Lin Xinyan also had a difficult life as a single mother and raising two children…”
“It’ll be better from now on.” Zong Qifeng sighed. “You’re worrying too much. Listen to me, let’s go home first.”
Zong Qifeng supported her. Yuxiu knew that she would not be able to stay here overnight. Zong Qifeng was right. She could come or bring the children to her house while Zong Jinghao was not around.
Mr. Feng ran in front of them to open the door.
Aunt Yu sat on the couch and looked at Zhuang Zijin. “You should not have kept this secret. You should have been honest. No matter how unhappy you were about it, you should not have hidden this matter for the sake of the children.” Aunt Yu complained.
Zhuang Zijin lowered her eyes. If she had known about it, she would not have kept it a secret.
She wanted the children to have a father.
However, Lin Xinyan had told her that it was a local that night. It had been many years since the incident and no one mentioned it after that time. She had never thought that it would have been Zong Jinghao.
However, she never explained it to Aunt Yu. That was her daughter’s privacy.
It was not appropriate for her to tell her.
Let it stay as a misunderstanding.
Aunt Yu saw that Zhuang Zijin did not feel comfortable with the topic, and so she stopped.
On the outside, the wind was gentle and the moonlight was dim.
Lin Xichen quietly sat in the car and looked out the window. Once in a while, he pulled his sister’s shirt and comforted her, “We’ll see mommy soon.”
Zong Jinghao watched Lin Xichen’s actions through the rearview mirror. He swallowed and his throat felt tight.
No matter how smart the boy was, he was only five. He was sensible and he knew how to take care of his sister. He was so sensible that it made his heart break.
He still remembered that the boy had endangered himself to take revenge for Lin Xinyan. Until now, the wound on his head had not fully recovered.
This boy—
There were no words that he could find to describe the feeling he had right now.
He was mature and he was a stable man. Yet now, he could not compose himself.
Soon, the car reached LEO. The front door was shut and there were no lights on in the shop. Lin Xinyan was not in the store. He looked down at the time. It had been two hours since Lin Xinyan said that she was coming here. If she was not at the shop, where was she?
He took out his phone and dialed Lin Xinyan’s number. “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please call again later.”
He frowned and recalled Lin Xinyan’s actions. She was acting differently than her usual self.
She had left the crowd to cry alone in a corner today.
What had happened?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he got.
He looked for Guan Jing’s number but stopped, then changed to Shen Peichuan’s number. It seemed like his inability to contact Lin Xinyan and Shen Xiuqing’s sudden appearance was connected.
Shen Peichuan was investigating Shen Xiuqing’s case. It would be more convenient for him to investigate whether there was a connection between Shen Xiuqing’s appearance and him not being able to contact Lin Xinyan.
Soon, the call went through. “Where are you?”
Shen Peichuan was stunned for a second. He could hear Zong Jinghao’s anxiety through the call, and it was a surprise to him.
He felt unused to it.
He looked back at the medical examiner who was performing an autopsy, then told Zong Jinghao, “I’m at the morgue checking Shen Xiuqing’s cause of death.”
Zong Jinghao ended the call. He was about to leave before he remembered the children in the backseat.
He could not bring them to these dirty places.
“Where’s my mommy?” Lin Xichen blinked. The front door was closed and there were no signs of mommy.
Zong Jinghao did not know how to explain it to him. “Let me send you two home first, then I’ll look for your mommy, okay?”
Lin Xichen frowned, and it looked similar to the frown Zong Jinghao just had. He asked again, “Where’s my mommy?”
She was an adult; she would not have lost her way. Has she gotten into trouble?
When he thought about it, Lin Xichen held his breath. “Is my mommy missing? You can’t find her?”
This boy was too observant. He could not find anything from him.
Zong Jinghao looked at him with determined eyes. “I’ll find her.”
Lin Xichen clenched his small hands into fists as his eyes reddened. “Maybe you don’t love my mommy but please find her safe and sound, she’s the one who had given birth to us. I know you don’t want to acknowledge me and my sister, but your blood is flowing in us. Please take that into consideration and find her safely.”
Zong Jinghao looked away and his hand held onto his forehead. It covered his expression and his voice was rough as he said, “Why do you think that I don’t love your mommy and I don’t want to acknowledge you?”
“If you loved mommy, you would not have divorced her.” Lin Xichen lowered his head and looked at his toes. “My mommy never had any men around her, but you didn’t believe that we are your children when you saw the report just now. You hurt us, and you hurt mommy.”
Lin Xichen finished, and the car fell into a silence.
Their soft breathing sounds could be heard clearly in the small space.
After a while, Zong Jinghao finally found his voice.
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to acknowledge you. As for the divorce—” His voice broke.
He had no explanations for them. It was true that he was the one who suggested it.
He had no excuses.
“I understand.” Lin Xichen sounded like he was an adult as he said, “Men like new things. That’s normal. I had wanted to find a more handsome and richer man for mommy, but I haven’t found him yet. I’ll try harder.”
Zong Jinghao was speechless.
This was his son?
What a good son.
He turned around to look at Lin Xichen. “I’m your daddy.”
“Biologically.”
Zong Jinghao was speechless again.
“You’re divorced with my mommy. My mommy has the right to look for someone else.”
This boy.
He tried to keep a neutral look. “Did your mommy not tell you? We never went through the divorce. We’re still legally husband and wife.”
What?
Lin Xichen widened his eyes. Their divorce had not gone through?
Then how did they divorce in the first place?
“Don’t you adults take anything seriously?” Lin Xichen was frustrated. If they were still legally married, how could he look for a better man for mommy?
“Xichen, where’s mommy?” Lin Ruixi pulled on Lin Xichen’s shirt as her eyes dropped. “I’m tired, I want mommy to accompany me to sleep.”
Lin Xichen held his sister in his arms. “Sleep first. I’ll accompany you to sleep.”
“I’ll send the two of you back first.” Zong Jinghao started the car again and drove back.
Soon, they were at the villa. Lin Ruixi had fallen asleep in Lin Xichen’s arms on the way back.
Zong Jinghao opened the door to the backseat and carried Lin Ruixi in his arms. This was not the first time he had carried her, but it felt different.
His heart was thumping fast and his fingers were trembling. This was his daughter, and it was his blood that was flowing in his veins.
Lin Xinyan had given birth to her.
Her small body was soft and his heart softened as he carried her.
Lin Xichen did not want Zong Jinghao to carry her, but he could not carry her himself, so he could only let him be.
He followed Zong Jinghao closely, as if afraid that he would take his sister away.
“Put her in my room.” Lin Xichen said.
Zong Jinghao looked behind him at Lin Xichen. The small boy was looking up at him with fear in his eyes.
As he was about to go out and look for Lin Xinyan, he had not planned to let her sleep upstairs as it would be inconvenient.
He entered Lin Xichen’s room and gently placed Lin Ruixi on the bed. Then he tucked her in.
Zong Jinghao looked at her face. Perhaps it was because the car had been stuffy, her cheeks were red. She had long and thick eyelashes and it fluttered like butterfly wings.
She was pouting as she slept.
He caressed her face. Her skin was smooth and he was about to lean down to kiss her forehead before he was pushed away by Lin Xichen. “My sister.”
It was like Lin Xichen was warning him that Lin Ruixi was his, and Zong Jinghao could not kiss her.
“She’s my daughter.”
“You’ve never raised her.”
Zong Jinghao lost again.
He thought about Lin Xinyan and he instructed the boy, “Take care of your sister.”
“I will.”
Zong Jinghao wanted to reach out and pat his head, but he did not. He looked at them another time before he turned and left the room.
No one had dinner, so Aunt Yu had prepared some food. When she saw Zong Jinghao walking out, she said, “Come and eat.”
“They’re in the room. Please take care of them.” Zong Jinghao instructed. He had no mood for food now.
“Alright.” Aunt Yu answered, “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of them.”
Zong Jinghao glanced at the closed door and walked out of the villa.
As he walked, he called Guan Jing. Soon, the call went through.
“Find a few bodyguards that you can trust and send them to the villa.”
Lin Xinyan’s sudden disappearance made him believe that this was not a simple matter. The two children were in the villa and he could not feel reassured unless there was someone to make sure of their safety here.
“Okay. When?”
“Tonight.”
How quick. Guan Jing’s mouth twitched. This was too quick.
“Why? Is it too difficult for you?” Zong Jinghao’s tone was cold.
“I’ll get them in an hour.” Guan Jing pulled himself together.
Zong Jinghao ended the call and drove towards B City’s police station.
