Chapter 343: Reunion (38)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Mei Yangyang waved at An Xiaoning before turning to Long Tianze and answering, “That’s right, I was referring to my Sis. She’s not my childhood friend though.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly strode forward while Long Tianze followed closely behind, holding his children’s hands.
An Xiaoning was sporting a bob that ended at her neck, along with a slanted fringe. She was dressed in a full-leather outfit, and her hair was tucked behind one of her ears, on which there was a sparkly white diamond earstud.
She was holding the hand of a little boy dressed in a black leather coat.
The boy resembled Jin Qingyan very much.
Long Tianze suddenly became teary-eyed at the sight of the boy.
“Since you’re still alive, why didn’t you come back to look for Qingyan?” asked Long Tianze.
Maintaining her composure, An Xiaoning answered, “Help me collect my luggage. I’ll tell you the answer while we’re on our way back in the car.”
“Alright.” Long Tianze let go of his children and proceeded to collect the luggage.
“Sis!” Mei Yangyang cried before hugging her tightly. “You’re not leaving again this time, right?”
“Of course. Didn’t I already ask you to arrange the enrolment at the kindergarten?” An Xiaoning said smilingly before letting go of her to squat down. “I’ve never seen your children in real life before. Wenlun looks like Tianze while Xiaoxi resembles you. What a handsome little boy and a pretty little girl.”
The two children greeted her smilingly in unison, “h.e.l.lo, G.o.dma.”
An Xiaoning’s lips curled into a smile. “h.e.l.lo, this is your G.o.dbrother, Youqing.”
An Youqing stepped forward to give Long Wenlun a hug, then Long Xiaoxi, before greeting them warmly with a grin, “h.e.l.lo.”
Donning an adorable pair of rabbit ears on her head, Long Xiaoxi walked towards An Youqing and praised him, “Brother Youqing, you’re so das.h.i.+ng.”
“You’re very pretty too, you look just like a little princess.”
Long Xiaoxi blushed red with shyness; happiness was written all over her face.
On the journey back, Long Tianze was still in disbelief of everything that happened. “So you actually knew about everything. Why didn’t you come back to look for Qingyan?” he asked.
After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning answered, “I came back five years ago with Yangyang to look for him.”
“Why didn’t you go ahead then?” Long Tianze asked in astonishment.
“Isn’t it all because of that Gu Xiaoning? Sis thinks she’s irreplaceable. Even a clone is not supposed to replace her. Do you get it?” Mei Yangyang interjected.
Long Tianze was at a loss for words. “Great, Qingyan would be elated now that you’re back.”
“I think you misunderstood. I came back this time with the intentions of settling down for good, not to look for him. My relations.h.i.+p with him has ended five years ago. I don’t plan to reconcile with him again in the future,” An Xiaoning corrected him bluntly.
An Youqing was unfazed despite hearing his mother’s words and instead remained seated in the backseat, all prim and proper. An Xiaoning had told him all about his father long ago, but clearly, he did not quite miss his father. Well, it was understandable – he had never seen or lived with Jin Qingyan before, after all.
Although he had a missing father figure in his life, An Xiaoning showered him with all her love, which was already enough.
“What is the name of your son?” Long Tianze asked.
“An Youqing. His name was inspired by a line from an ancient Chinese novel, ‘Summoning Spirits’.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means to dedicate one’s life to being a kind and upright person.”
“Why isn’t his last name ‘Jin’?” Long Tianze asked.
“Why must his last name be ‘Jin’ when he’s my child? Long Tianze, you’d better not tell Jin Qingyan about this,” An Xiaoning warned.
“Of course I have a burning urge to tell him. It’s understandable if I were still kept in the dark, but now that I’m aware of the truth, it’d be too unloyal of me to continue hiding it from him.”
“Just don’t tell him yet. We’ll eventually be meeting each other tomorrow.”
“Exactly,” Mei Yangyang added.
“No wonder Mei Yangyang goes on an annual trip abroad every year. I was just thinking, who has such a strong charm? She even told me that it was a childhood friend and I actually believed her,” said Long Tianze.
“What else do you need to rant about? Keep going,” An Xiaoning asked.
“Of course there’s more! I’m banished to the guest room tonight,” Long Tianze lamented, clucking his tongue in disdain.
An Xiaoning understood what he meant immediately and said, “It’s right that you’re sleeping in the guest room tonight. It’s your wedding tomorrow. I have a lot of secrets to tell Yangyang, you can’t hear them.”
“…”
“Sis, have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Let’s find a restaurant and have dinner before heading back home then. How does that sound?”
“Alright, sure,” An Xiaoning agreed. An Xiaoning looked out of the window and gazed at the pa.s.sing scenery outside. She discovered that the city had undergone rapid development, and her surroundings appeared rather unfamiliar to her, though she had only been away for a few years.
Having arrived at a hotel, they alighted from the car one after another.
An Xiaoning alighted while wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask. She held An Youqing by his hand and proceeded to enter the hotel together with Long Tianze’s family of four.
During dinner, Long Tianze had a lot of questions on his mind that he did not have the courage to ask in the end. He thus planned to ask Mei Yangyang about it when the opportunity strikes.
The meal lasted for a total of forty minutes, after which they proceeded to drive back to Wei Ni Estate.
Unexpectedly, Long Tianze caught sight of Jin Qingyan’s white Bentley in the rear view mirror of his car just as he entered the estate.
He felt a sudden urge to rush towards Jin Qingyan and tell him all about it.
Long Tianze parked his car by the doorstep, facing the white Bentley, which was parked opposite.
A silence filled the air in the car. Long Tianze then asked, “Shall we alight?”
“No, drive in,” said An Xiaoning after taking a glimpse outside the window.
Noticing that the bodyguard was already opening the gate, Long Tianze had no choice but to drive in.
As soon as the gate closed, An Xiaoning turned behind to look at Jin Qingyan, whom she had not seen in five years. I believe you have been well since we parted, Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning thought in her head.
“You two will be Daddy and Mommy’s flower boy and girl at our wedding tomorrow. So, you must go to bed early tonight.” Mei Yangyang stroked Long Xiaoxi’s head and said, “Go to bed with Brother, quick.”
“Mommy, where is Brother Youqing going to sleep?” asked Long Xiaoxi.
“He’ll be having a room to himself.”
“Mommy, I want to sleep with Brother Youqing.”
Mei Yangyang was shocked speechless. “Huh?”
“I said I want to sleep on the same bed as Brother Youqing.”
As soon as Long Xiaoxi finished speaking, Long Tianze quickly interjected, “That’s not allowed. You’re a girl and he’s a boy. You two can’t share the same bed.”
“But I’m allowed to sleep together with Brother. Why can’t I sleep together with Brother Youqing?”
Thinking that it was not too big of a deal, Mei Yangyang conceded, “They’re just children, it doesn’t matter. Go ahead.”
“Thank you, Mommy.” Long Xiaoxi skipped away merrily towards An Youqing’s bedroom.
“Wait for me!” Long Wenlun hurriedly chased behind.
“Why did you… forget it. But, why do I feel like this child’s name means something different from Xiaoning’s definition?” Long Tianze said as he inched closer towards Mei Yangyang.
“What do you think it means then?”