"So, that"s the reason why mom left the house." Xiu Mei concluded after listening to Mr. Zeng"s story about her mother Zeng Ruo. She was currently sitting on the bed facing Zeng s.h.i.+hong, as he narrated the story of his daughter.
At first, he was reluctant to tell her everything, afraid she will leave him again. But he gave up in front of her continuous persistence. Instead of living his remaining life in fear and guilt, it"s better to disclose everything once and for all.
Holding his heart as he revealed everything about his daughter, he was surprised that Xiu Mei listened to him silently and didn"t show any outrageous reaction. He expected her to cry, shout, blame him or walk out again, but here she was sitting in front of him, holding his hand, pa.s.sing her warmth to him.
"Have you never tried to find her?" Xiu Mei wanted to know more about Zeng Ruo"s and Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s relation. If he can love his granddaughter so much, whose existence he was not even aware of, then why had he failed to love his own daughter? How can a parent be like this?
"Never tried? He rummaged almost every nearby country where Aunty Rou might have gone to. In fact, our special team is still looking for her in various countries, but all in vain" Lu Xion pa.s.sed the gla.s.s of water along with some tablets to Zeng s.h.i.+hong. Though they were expert in getting information about any person, finding about Zeng Ruo"s whereabouts is something they have failed every time.
Xiu Mei nodded her head and get off Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s bed before pulling the blanket over him. "Rest for a while, I"ll come back later" While she was tucking the old man he stopped her holding her hand, "Don"t go child. We can talk more. How about I ask the doctor to s.h.i.+ft us in a single room, there"s plenty of s.p.a.ce to accommodate two beds"
Her lips pulled into a smile as she walked to the gla.s.s wall between the two rooms and pulled the blinds, "You see that? That"s my room. I"m leaving the blinds pulled so that you can see me whenever you want. Okay?" With a light kiss on his forehead, she switched off the lights, adjusted the temperature of the room and walked out, followed by Lu Xion.
"You are not convinced by this story?" Lu Xion stated the moment he entered her room and watched her as she poured a gla.s.s of water. Mr. Zeng might have failed to notice but he saw how her eyes flickered. She was clearly not buying any of this but pretended for Mr. Zeng"s sake.
"No" She blatantly replied before coming back to her bed and leisurely took a sip of water as if enjoying an expensive wine.
"Why?"
Xiu Mei chuckled when he saw Lu Xion"s questionable gaze. "You are definitely something X. Do you think you can fool me the same way you have fooled Mr. Zeng?"
"What do you mean?" He retorted back.
"Oh, C"mon! Spill the beans what else information you have that Mr. Zeng is unaware of? Why were you so sure that I might be his granddaughter unless you were aware that….."
"That aunty Ruo was pregnant when she ran away from home. Right?" Lu Xion chuckled when she sent him a scathing glare and locked her eyes on his face to not let any expression be missed.
"Exactly! This was the very reason why mom ran away, instead of what Mr. Zeng"s thinks that she left him because he never loved her. She was afraid that Mr. Zeng will be enraged when he will come to know about her pregnancy. After all, she cannot hide it much longer" She bitterly said and threw another bomb on him, crossing her arms, "And it leads me to another conclusion that my mother was unmarried when she conceived me. This means I"m born out of wedlock… Probably that"s why dumped somewhere in the garbage"
"Mei? Stop sprouting such an audacious and disgusting thing. I guess you need some rest too. No! Hold on! I think your brain needs some rest" Lu Xion shouted. He was taken aback by her sudden conclusion about her birth and smacked her head before pulling the stool to sit near her. "Aunty Ruo can never abandon her child, no matter what. It"s true you are born out of Wedlock but Aunty Ruo took the risk of running away from tiger"s den to save her unborn child from her father"s wrath and not to abandon you"
"How do you know all this?" Xiu Mei absentmindedly said while pinching the s.p.a.ce between her brows.
"My father and Aunty Ruo were best friends. Before leaving the house, she called my father to tell him about her pregnancy but unfortunately, he was out of the country at that time, and call went on voice mail. When my father heard the voice recording a week later, everything was too late; your mother was gone by the time dad could take any action." He took a deep breath before continuing.
"At that time, underworld was in complete chaos as someone was trying to intrude in our territory, killing innocent people. Mr. Zeng went on his destruction mode, mutilating everyone that dared to come in his way. While fighting alongside with Mr. Zeng, m-my father died…."
Lu Xion did not speak for a long time. There was no one else in the room except two of them, the silence was deafening. When she realised this topic was going on a sensitive direction she stopped Lu Xion, "It"s okay X. No need to talk about your father. I can understand some things can never be discussed" She gently covered the back of his hand with her palm
"Hey! Relax! I"m fine" With a small smile he turn over his hand to clasp her palm tightly, as if a.s.suring her. "When I took over the control of underworld, I stumbled upon the voice mail recording of Aunty Ruo and discovered the truth almost 15 years later. By that time, Mr. Zeng had already started the search of his daughter. But looking at his deteriorating health condition I chose to keep this news away from him"