Shao Yun didn’t reveal his age directly. Instead, he looked at the boy and asked, “How old do you think I am?”
While speaking, he straightened his collar and adjusted his facial expression, trying to make himself look younger.
Lin Xichen blinked and deliberately said, “Thirty years old?”
Hahaha!
Pleased by Lin Xichen’s reply, Shao Yun let out a hearty laugh.
Next to Lin Xinyan, Lin Ruixi’s expression changed upon hearing her brother’s words. She then shot her brother an amused look. Does he not feel a prick of conscience for telling lies like this?
Thirty years old?
More like sixty, I’d say.
“You witty kid. Thirty is a little too young. Say forty next time. Like people often say, men in their forties blossom like flowers.”
Lin Xichen rolled his eyes at him inwardly. How could there be such a shameless person? Flowers? More like tofu dregs.
After that, Shao Yun did not continue to joke with Lin Xichen. Instead, he looked at Lin Xinyan with a very serious expression and said, “I’m Shao Yun.”
Then, he took out his wallet from his pocket and showed her his identification card. “This is my ID card, my driver’s license…”
Lin Xinyan didn’t take it and merely took a glance. It did have the words ‘Shao Yun’ written on it, so she apologized for her skeptical attitude earlier, “I’m so sorry. I have two kids with me, so I was being more careful. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Shao Yun hurriedly waved his hand. “It’s okay. No worries. Let’s go upstairs first. This isn’t the place to talk.”
Nodding in agreement, Lin Xinyan followed him into the elevator with her kids.
After Shao Yun pressed the button for his floor, he looked down at Lin Xichen. “How should I call you?”
“My name is Zong Yanchen.” Zong Yanchen pointed at his sister. “This is my younger sister. She’s Zong Yanxi.”
Their last name is Zong?
I remember that this is the last name of Wen Xian’s husband.
“I see.” He glanced at Lin Xinyan before adding, “You’re from B City, aren’t you?”
Although it was a question, his tone was affirmative.
“Yes,” replied Lin Xinyan.
Hearing that, the nonchalant side of him was replaced by the serious one all of a sudden. At this moment, the elevator stopped and he walked out first. “This is the office area. Come this way.”
Lin Xinyan led the children out of the elevator.
After taking them to his office, Shao Yun asked her directly, “Am I right to assume that you came to me because you need my help?”
Opening an exquisite metal box on the table, he took out a cigar and put it between his lips before lighting it.
“Um, I’m sorry. There’s something I want to ask you, but the smell of tobacco makes me sick, so can we talk first?” Lin Xinyan frowned slightly. Because of her pregnancy, she was very sensitive to the smell of tobacco.
Shao Yun looked at her and then at the cigar that was about to be lit. In the end, he took the cigar from his lips and put it out before placing it back into the box. He gestured to Lin Xinyan to have a seat. “Let’s sit down and talk.”
Nodding, Lin Xinyan patted her son on the shoulder and whispered, “Bring your sister to play at the door. Don’t stray too far.”
Upon receiving her instruction, Zong Yanchen took his sister’s hand understandingly and walked out of the office.
As Shao Yun watched the children leave, he made a guess about Lin Xinyan’s identity.
Before Lin Xinyan could speak, he said, “Wen Xian’s daughter should be the only one who knows my identity. After she gave birth to Ziyi’s child, I originally wanted to help Wen Xian raise her child, but she said she wanted the child to live a normal life, so she didn’t bring her to me.”
The look on his face became less impetuous and more serious. As the urge to smoke rose in him, he reached out to get a cigar but retracted his hand upon thinking of Lin Xinyan’s aversion. “I’m waiting here in hopes that one day she will come. If she doesn’t show up, everything here will be donated after I die.”
His purpose here was to wait for someone whom he wasn’t sure would show up. After more than twenty years of waiting, that person finally appeared in such an unexpected manner.
As he looked at Lin Xinyan’s face, his eyes welled up with tears. “You look more like your father.”
Perhaps because he was reminded of certain long-lost friends and past events, he got rather emotional. Feeling restless, he stood up as though he felt uncomfortable in every posture.
Lin Xinyan took out the pendant from her bag, opened it, and then put it on the table. “I came to you to find out more about them.”
She wanted to know what happened to Wen Xian and her father.
Noticing the object on the table, Shao Yun took a glance at it. After realizing what it was, he bent over and picked it up. A smile appeared on his face while he carefully examined the photo. “Ziyi looks as handsome as always.”
The emotions in his eyes were that of admiration and grief.
He looked up at Lin Xinyan. “You only need to know that this man is your father and that he is a good person. As for the past, it was too long ago, and I’ve forgotten about it.”
After that, he put down the pendant. It was obvious that he didn’t want to reveal any other information to Lin Xinyan when he deliberately changed the subject, “Have you just arrived in C City?”
His only responsibility was to take care of Zhuang Ziyi’s only descendant.
It was also Wen Xian’s wish for him not to mention the terrible past. She had told him, “I want our child to live a normal life. I’ve arranged everything for her, so don’t try to find out her whereabouts. If everything goes smoothly, she may never show up. But if something goes wrong, all she needs to know about her father is that he’s a good person.”
Wen Xian had thought that, as Zhuang Zijin’s daughter, Lin Xinyan would successfully marry into the Zong family when she grew up. Based on her understanding of the Zong family, her daughter would lead a good life after getting married. If everything went smoothly, she would not come here to find Shao Yun.
This was what Wen Xian said to him at the time, which was also the reason he stayed here and never went to B City to find out Lin Xinyan’s whereabouts.
Noticing that he didn’t want to say it, Lin Xinyan was a little disappointed. She reached out and picked up the pendant to put it in her bag before standing up. “Sorry for taking up your time today.”
Shao Yun hurriedly smiled and said, “No, you’re not. I assume that you came here because you’ve encountered some difficulties, right? Just tell me.”
Given that Lin Xinyan had just arrived in this city, she was not very familiar with it. She had chosen to come here out of many considerations. On the one hand, she wanted to find out about Wen Xian. On the other hand, she didn’t want to be too far away from Zong Jinghao. Besides, she still had one other important thing to do.
Perhaps it was fate that the Wen family caused the Cheng family’s downfall while she had obtained the ancestral knowledge of the Cheng family. Hence, she didn’t want to be idle in C City.
“I want to live in this city. Those kids are my children. They will be old enough to go to primary school soon. If possible, I’d like to ask you to find a good school for me in this city. I’ve just arrived here, so I’ll have to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Leave everything to me.” Shao Yun quickly waved his hand, then asked out of concern, “Since you’re here with your kids, where is their father?”
He asked the question tactfully. Although Wen Xian did not directly tell him how she made the arrangement, he could somehow guess it after learning her children’s last names.
Lin Xinyan didn’t want to let him know about this matter. To be precise, she didn’t want to mention it to anyone.
Shao Yun was someone who was good at reading the air. Seeing that Lin Xinyan didn’t want to talk about it, he took the initiative and said, “It’s almost noon. Let’s have lunch first, and then I will arrange the accommodation for you.”
Lin Xinyan agreed to it and asked, “How should I address you?”
She found it rude to call him by his name directly as he seemed a lot older than she was, but she also didn’t dare to address him rashly.
“I’m your father’s best friend, so you can call me Uncle Er.” Shao Yun returned to his casual self.
Having said that, he explained the reason why he wanted her to call him by that name, “My original name was Er Hu. But I changed it to Shao Yun.”
After that incident, he changed his name and lived here in seclusion.
