---- Present Day ---- All the memories of the past were still intact in Liu Anna"s heart as fresh as yesterday. Her life had been very easy and comfortable all these years, but the pain of leaving behind her daughter never left her heart. When they had moved to Europe, in the early days, she would worry about her daughter every day, praying to G.o.d for her well being.
When Zhao Qiang saw her so distressed, he tried everything he could to comfort her. From taking her out to telling jokes to her he had tried everything. But nothing worked on Liu Anna until she got pregnant with her second child, Zhao Li Ming.
Even though Zhao Qiang did everything in his power to make Liu Anna happy, he also always secretly made sure that Song Jia never lacked anything financially. However his hands got tied when it concerned her emotionally so even when he knew everything going on in the mansion he could do nothing. In the past, he had often pulled strings in the dark to make sure that Song Chen"s business grew prosperous enough to give Song Jia a comfortable life. Due to Liu Anna"s love for her daughter and his grat.i.tude towards her, he always had a soft corner for the girl, which led him to help Song Chen"s business indirectly, without letting anyone know. When Songs grew rich enough to hire maids and servants, Zhao Qiang was the one who had sent Nanny Ling and Lin Dong to work in the Song Mansion and take care of Song Jia.
It was only today, when Liu Anna saw her daughter smiling happily, she felt a weight had been lifted off of her heart. Her purpose for coming back to the country was fulfilled. She smiled seeing her daughter and silently blessed her with all the happiness in the world.
"Shall we leave?" asked Wu Zhang after both of them were done eating, to which Song Jia nodded her head.
"Let me go and bid goodbye to your mother first." Song Jia said wiping the corner of her lips with a napkin.
She then got up from her seat and walked in the direction of Mo Biyu who smiled gently after seeing her.
"Leaving already?"
"Yes aunty, We have an early morning tomorrow so it"s better if we leave now." Song Jia answered politely. For some reason, she felt that Mo Biyu"s att.i.tude towards her had become quite warm all of a sudden. Her smile for her suddenly seemed heartfelt and her gaze seemed more loving. She couldn"t really tell if it was just her thoughts or if it was true but it felt nice.
"Thank you for inviting me, the auction was organized really well." Song Jia gave her a small bow.
"I told you earlier as well, you are like family to us. Come over to the old mansion if some time if you are free. Those sons of mine, they never come but you must."
Song Jia giggled softly when she heard that. Soon Wu Zhang came over as well. After bidding goodbye to Mo Biyu, they turned around to leave.
When they came out of the hall, Wu Zhang"s car had not yet pulled over so they decided to wait. After waiting for a good fifteen minutes, the car finally arrived. Li Jing hurriedly stepped out and opened the door. Wu Zhang glared at him before settling inside with Song Jia.
"What took you so long?" Wu Zhang was a man who didn"t like to wait.
"I—" Li Jing looked a little troubled as he looked at Song Jia. He was not sure if he should speak in front of her or not.
Wu Zhang understood him well enough to know it was something that could not be spoken in front of her so he just ignored the topic after glaring at Li Jing for one last time. Even though he was driving, Li Jing could feel the glare at his back. He slightly shuddered.
Wu Zhang s.h.i.+fted his attention to Song Jia and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. And Song Jia in response laid her head on his arm. It was only now that she realized how tired she was when her eyelids started feeling heavy. She tried keeping them open but after some time she could not.
Wu Zhang noticed her struggle and gently pulled her closer so that her head rested on his chest. "Don"t hold back and sleep. We have some time before we reach home."
Song Jia nodded and closed her eyes. Very soon she was fast asleep, surprising Wu Zhang. How could someone drift to sleep so quickly? Wu Zhang looked at her sleeping face that looked equally beautiful and appealing as it looked when she was awake. However, there was something missing on her face every time she was awake and that was the peaceful and carefree look. She looked as innocent as a child when she slept with no care in the world whereas there would always be lines of tension sitting on her forehead when she was awake.
Her loving face beckoned him to get closer to her and kiss her senseless. But seeing her fast asleep he controlled himself and instead gently pressed his lips against her forehead before he pulled back.