Hearing this, Xiu Mei"s body froze on the door. In her state of shock, she can neither move ahead nor could retrace her steps back.
As Lu Xion and Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s were sitting on the couch with their back facing her, due to which they could not make out her presence in the room and unknowingly continued talking about her.
"Do you think I don"t want to tell her that this old man is her grandfather? I never wanted to hide this fact. My only intention was to keep the truth under wraps until I get my daughter back, and we both will disclose this news to Mei that she is my granddaughter. Seven years back when she finally woke up after 2 months, I was the happiest person thinking about the happy family union. But that day never came" Zeng s.h.i.+hong complained to a hoa.r.s.e voice.
"I know Grandpa. But… But…" Lu Xion took a deep breath before reminding grandpa about the bitter truth of life. "I"m sorry for what I"m going to say next, but it"s necessary to remind you….Grandpa, I"m talking about DEATH. It is inevitable, no matter how rich or powerful a man is, he cannot escape from it forever. Have you ever thought how will she handle herself if she comes to know about this truth after your death? She will be shattered and Heartbroken…. Will she ever be able to come out of the shock that you never told her about your ident.i.ty? Grandpa, by hiding the truth you are not only hurting yourself but s.n.a.t.c.hing her rights too"
"Mr. Zeng is my grandfather?" Oh, my! I have a caring grandfather! I"m not lonely in this world but have a loving grandfather. I"m not an orphan… I was never an orphan… Mr. Zeng"s daughter is my mother. How does she look like? Like me? Or do I resemble my father?" Lost in her own world, she smiled silly thinking about many possibilities. But the more she heard their conversation the more her heart pained.
"Shut up! Just shut up! I know I"m wrong. But I would rather hide this truth from her forever than to see her in a dejected state. I don"t care how long it takes but I"m not telling her anything until we find out about my daughter" Zeng s.h.i.+hong was firm on his original decision. He was afraid Xiu Mei will leave him alone if she comes to know that her mother was ill-treated by her own grandfather. "Xion, find out how she ended up with Kong Zhi and in Country B. Is Zeng Ruo in country B? Why Little Mei doesn"t know anything about her parents? Dig more information about these Kong"s and If it requires, use power, money, and links to get the information"
"Mother? Why Mr. Zeng doesn"t know about my mother"s whereabouts? Why is he not saying anything about my father? Where are they? Why n.o.body came to Country B looking after me? Why they hide this truth? He and X were aware of this for seven years, yet they didn"t told me anything. Seven years dammit… seven long years! Did they played me like a puppet? Another betrayal?" Tears rolled down from her eyes uncontrollably. She understood why Mr. Zeng cared for her so much, why he arranged for best medical care, why he looks at her gently. It was not out of kindness but because she is his granddaughter.
Xiu Mei was fighting with her own dual thoughts as she failed to understand what emotion should be felt at this time. If she should be happy that she has someone in the name of a family, her very own blood relation or she should cry that n.o.body bothered to disclose the truth in these last seven years. What type of anguish is this? Why life is unfair to her?
One of the biggest happiness and another betrayal both came simultaneously, s.n.a.t.c.hing her rights to laugh at the happiness and cry at the betrayal.
She was rooted at the threshold of the door for don"t how long, staring at the two men on the couch talking about her. One was a crying old man who cared for her in the most difficult time of her life and another is "Xion", a man with a nameless relations.h.i.+p with her, who turned Alice into Xiu Mei by becoming her mentor for life. What an irony of life it is, she can neither love them nor can she hate them.
Xiu Mei let go of the door frame, to which she was holding tightly to stop her body from falling down and wiped her tears. Like a lifeless robot, she stood at the entrance for a minute to make sure her treacherous legs can take her inside the room. Holding her breath she stepped inside the room with heavy steps.
With every step, her body felt heavier and heavier, unable to bear the burden anymore. She wanted to cry, accuse them of betrayal, threw a tantrum, ask about questions lingering in her mind, but NO…. No, she won"t ask them anything. She won"t confront them for anything. They have lost their right to see her emotions.
Xiu Mei was trying to control the tremors of her body as she walked over to the other side of the couch and picked the tablet with shaking hands, without making an eye contact with the two men.
"Mei?" Lu Xion saw her picking the tablet. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at her emotionless face and understood she has heard their conversation. But for an unknown reason, he was more thankful rather being panicked at the situation. At least she now knows the truth, rest he will manage. Though it will be difficult in the beginning but he was sure that the situation can be handled.
Zeng s.h.i.+hong lifted his head up from Lu Xion"s shoulder and noticed that he is looking somewhere else. Following his gaze, Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s heart shook, when he saw Xiu Mei was standing across him. But the fear inside his heart surged further when he saw her withered face that has lost its brightness. She left a moment ago with a beautiful smile but returned with a broken and dejected look. Most of all, her dimpled smile is missing.
"M-My child…." Feeling anxious Zeng s.h.i.+hong tried to say something, his lips quivered in fear.
"I came to take my Tab… Please continue" With no signs of emotions she picked the tablet and walked towards the exit but halted in her steps. "I want to exercise my contract of separating ROBOMIND-TECH with Phoenix Enterprises….. ASAP" said Xiu Mei before walking out of the room.
"C-Child?" Zeng s.h.i.+hong kept on staring at her departing figure until he was left with nothing but her mere fragrance in the room. He tried to leap up from his seat to chase after her but his old body cannot match up to her speed and he falls down at the door, crying for his granddaughter. He wished she had reacted something, questions, angry at him or anything she wants, but this void of emotions was a merciless punishment.
His fear was right, his granddaughter left him alone. His dream will never be fulfilled to hear her calling him grandfather. He will die alone…. His granddaughter is holding him responsible for everything… Today the most powerful man was defeated by his own granddaughter.
Lu Xion sprinted to Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s side, holding his arm he supported him to the couch. He couldn"t felt anything as a sudden dizzy spell took over his mind, slowly losing its consciousness into a deep slumber.