Han Qing came late, and to be exact, twenty minutes later than their promised time. The moment he came into the room, the first thing he said was, “Sorry for being late.”
Han Muzi arched her eyebrow. She knew her brother well, so she knew he valued punctuality a lot. If he said he would come after ten minutes, then he wouldn’t go over that time, even if for a minute. Now that he was twenty minutes late, she knew something must have tripped him up on the way.
“Did you get stuck in the traffic, Uncle Qing?” Little Bean suddenly asked.
Han Qing looked at the boy and said calmly, “It was something else. Oh, you guys are here too.” He looked at Ye Moxuan and Little Sprout, who was in his arms. The man and the boy flanked Han Muzi, as if they were worried she would run away. At this, Han Qing heaved a sigh of relief. He thought his sister would be a single mother to Little Bean back then, but as time passed, she now had her second child. Well, that’s not bad, really.
“Han Qing.”
As he dwelled in his thoughts, a gentle, trembling voice called out to him.
Han Qing looked at the direction where the voice came from, then he saw an elegantly dressed, gentle-looking woman standing there, looking at him with almost unbridled excitement. He thought she looked strange, but when he related it to the girl in his memories, the woman started looking familiar now. Han Qing’s gaze started turning gentler. “It’s you. Are your parents still fine?”
Xu Yanwan didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling right now as she met her childhood friend. The woman had a lot to tell him, but she could say nothing. On her journey to see Han Qing, the woman had also gone through a lot of trials and tribulations, so after he asked her about her parents, she teared up. Even though she had tried her best to control her emotions, the prolonged period of loneliness and fatigue took a toll on her. Now that she had seen the one she wanted to see the most, the woman almost broke down. The atmosphere started becoming weird, then Xu Yanwan quickly turned around to wipe her tears. It took her some time to turn back. Her eyes were puffy from crying, misty still. The woman smiled and said gently, “Sorry, it has been a while since I met an old friend, so I teared up a bit. You won’t mind, will you?” She looked at Han Muzi and her family while asking this question. Her eyes were not just on Han Qing.
Han Muzi shook her head with a smile. Han Qing kept quiet for a moment, then he took a piece of tissue before going up to her. “Wipe your tears.” Xu Yanwan apologized, then she took it.
Little Bean felt annoyed seeing this. Even though he knew that aside from breaking down and tearing up, the woman did nothing else, Little Bean still felt irritated. The reason? His uncle handed her a tissue paper. But he remained silent, and turning around, the boy met his mother’s gaze.
Han Muzi flicked his forehead and whispered, “Don’t take this the wrong way. Aunt Yan will be your aunt, and that will never change.”
Little Bean snorted even though his mother saw right through him. “I wasn’t minding that.”
“Really?” Han Muzi poked on his forehead. “You’re my child, so do you think you can hide your thoughts from me?”
Han Muzi knew what he was thinking the moment he insisted on following her. After living together with Yan for so long, his wish was to have her be his aunt. When he found out that a woman who used to be engaged to his uncle was here, he was the most nervous person out of all of them. Little Bean snorted and said nothing, though he didn’t deny what his mother had said.
Then, everyone sat down, and Xu Yanwan calmed down. She started talking to them, but Han Qing noticed that she didn’t answer him when he asked her about her parents, so he thought something must have happened. He shouldn’t be asking if she didn’t want to tell him, but the man thought something must have happened to cause her to come to him. “What happened to your parents, Yanwan?”
The moment her parents were mentioned, Xu Yanwan quieted down. After a while, she slowly answered, “They’ve passed on.” What?! Everyone around the table were shocked, including Han Qing, and especially Han Muzi. However, she thought that was plausible. If it weren’t for Mr. and Mrs. Xu’s death, Xu Yanwan wouldn’t have come out alone.
Han Qing took a minute to process the truth, but then his expression darkened. “What happened after you and your family emigrated back then?”
Xu Yanwan looked at him and bit her lip, then she smiled bitterly. “Our family lived a decent life after the emigration. My father would end up wanting to invest in a project, but the capital needed was too much, so we partnered up with someone, and then…” She paused for a moment, then she said, “And then something happened. Something was wrong with the project, and our family was in a huge pile of debt. Even though we filed for bankruptcy for the company, we didn’t manage to pay it back.”
Han Qing paused for a moment, then he pursed his lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?” With how friendly their families were, the Han Group wouldn’t just stand by if the Xu Family had asked for help.
Xu Yanwan explained calmly, “It wasn’t a small sum. On the contrary, it was astronomical. Putting it simply, the whole thing was a trap. Our family was done for, so we couldn’t drag any other family into this. My father was a headstrong man, so even if it hadn’t been a trap, he wouldn’t have asked anyone for help.”
Han Qing thought about the late Mr. Xu. Every time he saw him, the middle-aged man would have this stern look on his face. Everyone thought he was hard to get along with, but Han Qing knew he was a good man. Even though the man was strict, he had his own brand of justice, nor would he show any preference for any child. Even Xu Yanwan was brought up well under the family rules. If he had asked for help, Han Qing wouldn’t have refused him. However, he knew nothing about this crisis that had happened, so he thought Mr. and Mrs. Xu must have forbidden anyone from talking about it. That should be why Xu Yanwan only came for him after her parents had passed. Han Qing didn’t know what he should feel about this.
“You don’t have to think too much about this. My father had always been that way. Even at his last moments, he told me he would never beg anyone for help his whole life. He said he wanted to take on this himself, and that only if he could get over this without help would he stand tall and proud. But it’s sad that he will never have that chance anymore.”
Pitter, patter. Xu Yanwan’s tears fell again, so she wiped it with the tissue. Even though she was crying, the woman was also smiling. “You don’t have to feel guilty about it, Han Qing. My family’s gone now, but I will work hard from now on.” Han Qing said nothing, though he nodded approvingly.
“I wanted to come back and see you a long time ago, but our family’s problems struck us way too early. It had been years since bad luck befell our family.” Xu Yanwan only had the chance to come back after her parents’ demise and after she had settled her family problems.
