"Young man... you really like to joke! I thought that you were serious for a second!" Uncle Qiu said in between his laughter. He almost got a heart attack when he learned the news.
However, his smile faltered when he saw that Yao Ying didn"t smile at all and his expression was serious, making Uncle Qiu realize that the young man wasn"t joking around at all! He straightened up his back and started to get serious as well. "Are you being serious right now?"
Yao Ying nodded his head. "I will never make a joke about something as important as this."
Uncle Qiu looked at him, feeling suspicious. "How do you know that? I just met you a few days ago. Don"t tell me that you have known me all along because I know that"s not true!" He started to feel agitated because of their behavior.
Yao Ying shook his head. "I"m not going to lie to you. We just knew this matter yesterday and we were shocked as well --- we still are."
"We?" Uncle Qiu furrowed his eyebrows and then his expression slightly changed. He asked in a low voice, "Does Xiao Fang know about this?"
Yao Ying hesitantly nodded his head and quickly added, "She just knew about it last night too..." He was afraid that if Yao Ying didn"t make it clear, the man would blame Xiao Fang for keeping him in the dark about this.
When their conversation happened, Yao Ling didn"t say a word. She kept looking down while once in a while, looking at her father longingly. She decided to ask something at this point, "Do... do you want Xiao Fang to come here too, Uncle Qiu?"
She knew that Uncle Qiu seemed to be wary of them, after all, they were telling him such a piece of shocking news. Maybe with the appearance of a close person to him like Xiao Fang, he would be able to trust them more and willing to listen with an open mind.
Uncle Qiu didn"t seem to resistant with Yao Ling"s suggestion, thus, the couple knew that he agreed with Yao Ling suggestion. After Uncle Qiu gave them the permission, Yao Ling quickly told Xiao Yu to call Xiao Fang back and said that it was urgent --- her G.o.dfather was here. Xiao Yu nodded and promised to bring Xiao Fang along with her as soon as possible.
When Xiao Yu was gone, the atmosphere became awkward. They didn"t have anything to talk about with each other. Uncle Qiu was thinking all of the possibilities that could happen if he wasn"t the real Uncle Qiu... what about his son? The one that he had left behind in the capital. He had a great relations.h.i.+p with him, but he was a strict father and the result was they weren"t that close to each other. But still... he was his son and he loved him dearly. Was he really not his son?!
Then, who was he exactly?
His gaze turned to the couple. They didn"t seem to have any ill intention towards him --- besides, he had nothing. He had already given almost all his wealth to his son, so just he could stay here peacefully. He also had left behind his position as an official and became Bao Bei"s caretaker. Thus, it can be said they wouldn"t get any benefits by lying to him ah~!
Then, was it really the truth?
Yao Ying and Yao Ling let the man think to his heart content. They decided not to say anything until Xiao Fang was here. They thought it would be better if Xiao Fang was the one who broke the news. He wouldn"t believe them anyway, judging from his previous reactions.
When Xiao Fang finally came, she could feel the tense atmosphere from a miles away. She had guessed what happened more or less because Xiao Yu had told her a few things on their way here. However, she still needed to ask carefully and pretending that she knew nothing, "G.o.dfather, what are you doing here?"
Uncle Qiu tried to ease the atmosphere by slightly joked, "Your friends said a funny thing to me and it"s so unbelievable! They told me that you knew about this too, so I want to confirm it to you! I know that they must have been joking and pull a prank on me." However, he blatantly said that he didn"t believe the couple"s words.
Well... logically, who would ah~? Thus, the couple didn"t really blame his bluntness.
Xiao Fang sighed. "Is it about your real ident.i.ty?"
Uncle Qiu gaped at Xiao Fang and asked, "So... it"s really true?"
Xiao Fang nodded.
Xiao Fang was mischievous but she was an honest little girl, so he knew that she wouldn"t lie to him. Besides, she was quite close to his son and was there any use lying to him about this matter?
The answer was no.
Uncle Qiu suddenly felt afraid... was it worth it to know about his past? He was no coward, but he didn"t know why he was dreading to know the truth.
The trio could see the turmoil inside his mind. Yao Ling couldn"t help but ask, "Don"t you want to remember about your beloved woman?"
"Beloved woman?" Uncle Qiu asked in surprise. His current ident.i.ty"s wife had died for a long time and he never had the urge to find a new wife --- somehow, he even disdained the thought of having a new wife. However, she said that he had a beloved woman?
Yao Ling nodded, trying to entice him to choose to remember.
"I... I have one...?" He couldn"t help but ask. Even the memory about his current deceased wife had been blurry all along... then who was his beloved woman? Once again he felt a pain in his head, but not as intense as before --- it was only a mild throbbing, but still... it made him feel uncomfortable.
"What"s her name?" He decided to ask.
Yao Ling hesitantly answered, "Su Wan... her name is Su Wan."
"Su Wan... Su Wan..." He chanted her names a few times. The previously mild throbbing turned harsh and he clutched his head once more. There were a few overlapping memories inside his mind, but he couldn"t make out the picture.
However, there was a soft melodious voice that pierced through his heart... a woman"s voice. "Rong Qiu... I love you..."
It was the last thing that he remembered before he fainted. Yao Ling could hear the last mumbling word that Uncle Qiu had said because she was the closest to him, "Su Wan..."
The way he said her name was unlike how he chanted it before. The previous one... he was trying to gauge his own memories, on the other hand, on the last one... there was a trace of longing and love.
"Does he remember something?" Yao Ling asked softly to herself.
No once could answer her --- except, her father. Yao Ying let him sleep in their Luo Han bed and asked Yao Ling, "Should we wake him up with your silver needles?"
Yao Ling shook her head. "No... there must have been too much brain activity inside his head that made him fainted. Let him sleep for a little while! Forcing him to wake up now would only do harm to his body."
Xiao Fang sighed. "He must have been surprised and in distress at the same time. These kinds of reactions are understandable. Let me take care of him!"
Yao Ling shook her head, "No... Let me..." She felt like that this was the thing that she should do as a daughter.
Xiao Fang sighed and nodded her head. "Okay... Let me accompany you then... After he wakes up and his mind has become calmer, we can tell him that you can help him remember."
Yao Ling nodded her head. She carefully took care of Uncle Qiu and could only wait for him to wake up...