The kept the call alive but none of them utter a word. It was as if they were trying to express their pains through silence.
Lin Xinyan was the first to give in as she hung the call up without saying anything. She grabbed the phone tightly in front of her chest, trying to suppress herself from breaking down. However, she failed.
Her miserable sobs woke the two children up. The daughter rubbed her eyes and extended her hands to wipe the tears off Lin Xinyan’s face. “Mommy, why are you crying?”
The mother looked at her daughter and forced a smile. “I’m not crying. There’s sands in my eyes.”
The little girl blinked as she wondered where did the sand came from since they were in the car. Even if there were sands, the wasn’t any wind that would blow them into her mother’s eyes.
“I’ll blow them out for mommy.” Zong Yanxi leaned forward and blew into Lin Xinyan’s eyes.
As for the son, he was acting like an adult. Even though he could guess what her mother was going through, he didn’t try to comfort her. Instead, he looked out the window and sighed.
It was already late night when the three finally arrived at C City. After paying the driver, Lin Xinyan and her children checked in at a hotel. Lucky for them, room service was still available, so she quickly ordered some food for themselves. She wasn’t feeling hungry, but she still forced herself to eat since she had a baby growing inside of her.
Finished eating, she showered the kids before going to bed. Her children fell asleep in her arms right away as they were tired from the trip, but Lin Xinyan was completely awake.
Through the thin curtain, she could see the myriad twinkling lights from the outside. Just like how everyone else would feel when they first step foot in a new city, she too, was uncertain of how her future would be like. Missing him, she knew it would be a sleepless night for her.
In another city, a person was experiencing the same thing as Lin Xinyan. The master bedroom of a certain mansion was dimly lit by a single lamp. A man was standing in front of the window, staring out the window aimlessly as if he were the only person left in the world.
n a sudden, another source of light appeared inside the room. It was him checking on the phone. The screen was showing the message Lin Xinyan sent earlier and his eyes were glued to a single sentence. Even just minutes after I’ve decided to leave, you can’t stop appearing in my head. I love you, Jinghao, I love you so so much…
The light reflected the tears in his eyes as he sobbed, “I miss you too…”
That night, two broken hearts were experiencing the same devastating feeling…
As soon as the sun rose, Lin Xinyan got up and cleaned herself up before she went to the reception to ask about JK Group.
The receptionist was a woman in black jacket with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. When she heard that Lin Xinyan was asking about JK group, she couldn’t help but question, “Who are you?”
Everyone in C City knew about JK Group. It was one of the largest groups that had been actively involved in charity works.
“I’m not local. One of my relatives is working there but I’m not quite sure which direction I should go.” Lin Xinyan smiled.
The receptionist sized the woman in front of her. She was still wearing the same dress from last night, but with a jacket this time. It was a weird combination that reflected her miserable state. Her hair was tied into a ponytail as well. There wasn’t any makeup on her face, which only made her look more innocent.
From her appearance, in addition to the two kids she brought along last night, the receptionist assumed that she must be in a difficult situation and was here to seek shelter from that relative of hers.
“You just have to tell the taxi driver that you’re heading to JK Group and they’ll take you there right away. Are the kids who came with you yesterday yours?” The receptionist couldn’t help but ask since Lin Xinyan looked too young to have kids around that age.
“Yes. They’re my babies.”
“They’re beautiful.” The other woman smiled.
Lin Xinyan thanked her with a smile. “Can you send three servings of breakfast to my room?”
“Of course.”
Finished ordering the breakfast, Lin Xinyan hurried back to the room as she was worried that her children would be afraid if they woke up to find their mother gone.
Back to the room, the mother was relieved to find her babies still sleeping soundly. She then gently patted her son and daughter to wake them up. “It’s time to wake up.”
It was almost seven in the morning and they would need at least an hour, or maybe two, to get ready.
Zong Yanchen frowned as if he did not get enough sleep but the little adult rubbed his eyes and sat up anyway.
His sister was a different story. She pulled her blanket over her head and mumbled, “No one’s home.”
Her cute voice was mixed with a slight hoarse as she still wasn’t fully awake.
Lin Xinyan giggled as she patted her daughter’s head. “Then, who am I talking to?”
With her eyes closed, Zong Yanxi thought for a second before replying, “No one is talking to mommy.”
“Really? Then, who just replied me?”
“Not me.”
Lin Xinyan stared at her daughter speechlessly and sighed. “Fine. Well, Mommy ordered some amazing food just now. I thought it might not be enough for the three of us. Looks like your brother and I get to eat your share.”
Zong Yanxi threw her eyes wide open upon the mention of food. “What? Food? I want some too. Daddy will be sad if I lose weight.”
Lin Xinyan shivered a little when her daughter mentioned Zong Jinghao, but she quickly hid her emotion to herself.
Zong Yanchen had just finished washing up and was standing outside the bathroom studying his sister. He finally let out a deep sigh.
“What’s with the sigh again?” The mother turned to ask as that was the third time she heard her son sigh since last night.
“My dear sister worries me.” The little man explained and sat down on the chair. He wasn’t speaking the truth. In fact, he was worried about his parents. He initially thought that their family of four could finally live together happily. Yet, things didn’t go the way he thought it would.
Even though he had no idea what went wrong, he knew why his mother brought them this far into another city.
Judging from how his mother cried in the car the day before, he knew running away was definitely her last choice. Since he’d been living most of his live with Lin Xinyan, it wouldn’t be hard to live with only her again in the future. But he would still miss his father who had slowly become a part of his life. Zong Yanchen couldn’t help but wonder if time would make things better for all of them.
Zong Yanxi pouted as her sleepiness went away. Lin Xinyan was about to take her into the bathroom to clean her up when she shook her head. “I can wash myself. Mommy should rest.”
The mother was pleased to see her daughter, who used to be clingy, grew as time passed.
Their breakfast arrived shortly after Lin Xinyan dressed her daughter up. Sunlight was shining in through the window. Everything seemed lovely.
The hotel breakfast was plated elegantly and looked appetizing. The daughter couldn’t wait and began to eat first. As they ate, Lin Xinyan looked at her children and said, “Mommy has something to tell you guys.”
“What’s that?” Zong Yanchen asked.
