Chapter 1174: The Story of Ling and Heng (437)
“Madam Feng.” Feng Ling watched her. “Boss Li is on his way here. I suppose the two of you are old acquaintances.”
When Madam Feng heard Feng Ling mentioned the so-called ‘Boss Li,’ her mind was distracted by other matters and it took her a long moment to process. Finally, she scanned the feminine sportswear Feng Ling was wearing and recalled the way the two used to be close. This was not the XI Base but a department store. Feng Ling had come here to shop, and Li Nanheng was actually making his way over to look for her.
And so, the two of them…
As she recalled the somewhat absurd marriage ceremony with that cenotaph, Qin Qiu’s eyes brightened even further. She watched Feng Ling with a wide smile: “All right, it’s been a long time since I last saw Nanheng. Let’s all go for a cup of coffee. Auntie will treat you, all right?”
Madam Feng’s tone was far too gentle; it seemed to carry a few hints of cautiousness as well, as though she was subconsciously fearful of being rejected by Feng Ling, and fearful of scaring her away.
Feng Ling really did not know how to respond to such a situation. However, since Li Nanheng was coming, she felt more at ease. Upon seeing Madam Feng’s gaze, in the end, she still nodded: “All right.”
Qin Qiu immediately beamed: “Then let’s go across the street. There’s a cafe across the street. It’s quiet and has a good atmosphere.”
“En.” Feng Ling nodded lightly.
Looking at her gentle, quiet, and obedient appearance, Qin Qiu felt that her tears were about to escape. However, she was truly worried she would scare this child away. She could only force it away. However, her gaze remained fixed on her face.
If this girl was truly her daughter… if it was really her…
Then G.o.d was truly too kind to her!
But if she wasn’t…
If this was only a physical resemblance and a coincidence…
After all, the ocean was so wide, it was nearly impossible for a grown adult to survive falling in, much less an infant. How could there be such a miracle?
After paying the bill, Madam Cen approached with two shopping bags in her hands. She approached Madam Feng’s side and whispered a question. Madam Feng nodded her head and then shook it. It seemed like she had some difficulty suppressing her feelings next to her close sister, but she eventually restrained herself. She asked softly: “She really resembles my younger self, doesn’t she?”
Madam Cen took another glance at Feng Ling before answering softly: “She does. I’m not surprised you’re this agitated. In the past, whenever you met a child that resembled you, you would become emotional for quite some time. Right now, you’ve met a young lady who so closely resembles you, ah… but no matter how much she resembles you, she can’t be your child. It’s been more than twenty years. It’s time you let this go.”
Qin Qiu’s gaze abruptly fixed onto Feng Ling again: “Child, how old are you right now?”
Although she had asked the same question years ago, at this moment, she seemed to want to confirm something.
As Feng Ling faced the woman who could possibly be her mother, she was stumped as to whether she should confess the truth or share the fake birthday she usually filled her forms with.
“I am… past twenty,” she answered.
“You’re past twenty? Then… how old are you?” Qin Qiu’s gaze trembled as she watched her, as though there was a thin needle placed against the edge of a cliff. Perhaps a gentle gush of wind would cause it to fall away, but perhaps it wouldn’t. Her gaze and her tone was cautious to the point where even Madam Cen, who was by her side, felt her heart ache for her. Madam Cen could not bear to speak up.
How old?
How old was she exactly, right now?
Feng Ling was stumped for a moment. Before she could answer, Madam Cen’s phone rang. Madam Feng abruptly returned to herself and felt that she had crossed a line earlier. With the way she had clung onto this young lady to ask all sorts of strange questions, anyone would have been equally dumbstruck.
When Madam Cen turned around to answer her phone, Madam Feng smiled at her: “I’m just really fond of you. I might have asked too much, please don’t take it to heart.”
“I won’t.” Feng Ling watched her cautious gaze and eventually could not bear to see her that way: “I’m just unsure of how to answer your question. I’m also not sure when my birthday is.”
The emotions Madam Feng had suppressed earlier, and the composure she had just regained was instantly destabilized.
She resisted the urge to continue asking and watched her: “You…”
Feng Ling looked at her sincerely: “Madam Feng, prior to entering the XI Base, I lived in an orphanage. When they admitted me into the base, the birthday date they wrote down was a false one they came up with. I’m not aware of my actual birthday date.”
Qin Qiu’s hand trembled. She stared at Feng Ling for a long moment.
Finally, Madam Cen returned to her side to say: “My son is coming to pick me up. You still have something to say to this young lady, don’t you? I’ll head off first, then. Here are your clothes. I owed you one for previously covering my car repair fees anyway.”
After speaking, Madam Cen saw that Madam Feng was still dazed. She shook her head and stuffed the shopping bags into her hands. She then turned to Feng Ling: “Young lady, don’t be frightened by her. She’s always been like this, but I’ve never seen her this emotional. I can tell that she is really fond of you. If you’re able to, accompany her to chat for a bit longer.”
Feng Ling did not speak and only nodded to Madam Cen.
Finally, after Madam Cen left, Qin Qiu gripped the shopping backs in her hands tightly and abruptly took a deep breath in. She then smiled: “What are we standing for? Let’s go to the cafe?”
“All right.”
Qin Qiu forced herself to avert her gaze from Feng Ling’s face. She turned to head toward the elevator with somewhat unsteady feet.
Something was nudging against her mind incessantly.
Feng Ling was a girl.
She was an orphan, she did not have parents.
She didn’t know when her birthday date was…
She resembled her and Old Feng so much…
And this child’s gentle demeanor resembled her own mother in her youth far too much.
If the shopping bag she was holding wasn’t made of plastic, and if it wasn’t coincidentally separating her nails from her skin, she would already have drawn blood with the way she had curled her hands into fists.
The two left the department store. As they crossed the bridge to head across the street, Madam Feng appeared distracted by her own thoughts. On her way up the stairs, she abruptly stumbled and nearly fell. Thankfully, Feng Ling’s eyes were sharp. She reached out and quickly supported her: “Be careful!”
When Feng Ling took the initiative to support her, Qin Qiu abruptly turned her head to stare at her.
As Madam Feng’s hopeful gaze abruptly landed on her, Feng Ling was stumped for a moment.
She was used to freedom and did not wish to reconnect with her family. Regardless of whether there were any relations.h.i.+p between the Feng family and her, she did not have any plans of looking for her own parents.
However, was she being too selfish by making this choice?
What if her family had been looking for her all this while? What if she had not been abandoned?