In the hospital ward.
Dressed in a striped hospital gown, Chu Ling stared blankly at the gorgeously dressed lady before her, letting herself be pulled into her arms, murmuring to herself.
"Mom? You are... my mom?"
"Mm! I'm Mom, child, I am your mother...."
Feeling the warmth of Xu Shuyun's embrace, Chu Ling's vision blurred, and tears burst from her eyes in an instant.
Ever since she'd learned that her biological parents were in fact someone else......
Chu Ling had imagined her family's faces countless times. Within her limited class understanding, since her parents were from a wealthy family, they must surely be as glamorous as the stars on TV.
Wearing designer clothes, sporting exquisite makeup, driving BMWs so expensive she couldn't even comprehend it....
But when she truly saw her birth mother with her own eyes, she realized how narrow her horizons were; the woman before her was even more dignified and noble, younger and more beautiful, than she had imagined....
Her long, soft, glossy black hair was coiled at the back of her head, casually pinned with a few hairpins, revealing a fair, slender neck; her bearing exuded elegance and composure, solemn yet gracious.
Compared to Xu Shuyun, her own messy, fluffy hair and stick-thin, dark and skinny body were worlds apart from the other woman's nobility....
When mother and daughter stood together, their images seemed completely mismatched.
For a moment, a sense of inferiority flooded Chu Ling's heart.
She didn't really dare look this perfectly poised mother in the eye, feeling that in front of her she was nothing but a pitiful ugly duckling.
Yet Chu Ling craved this feeling of having a mother so much that she had no thought whatsoever of pulling away from Xu Shuyun's side.....
For a time, mother and daughter held each other, both of them streaming with tears. (╥╯^╰╥)
No one knew how long passed.......
Seeing that enough time had been left for sentimentality, Lin Xuan clenched his right hand and deliberately coughed twice into it, breaking the reunion mood in the ward.
"Ahem... uh, Auntie......"
"I've more or less understood the whole story! But can you be sure Chu Ling is your biological daughter?"
"I suggest you still do a paternity test first! That way you can avoid any mix-ups and be absolutely sure!"
"Have the dean arrange it right away, the test result will come out soon...."
"........"
After venting her emotions for a bit, Xu Shuyun finally calmed somewhat; she nodded and agreed to Lin Xuan's suggestion.
Although she was already nearly one hundred percent certain..... that Chu Ling was indeed her biological daughter!
But even if it was just to convince the other members of the family, that paternity test report was still very necessary.....
Very soon.
Under the personal direction of the senior director, the medical staff quickly collected blood samples from Xu Shuyun and her daughter, expedited the testing at top speed, and produced the final paternity report.
When she saw the conclusion at the end stating [Positive Biological Match]......
Even though she had been mentally prepared, Xu Shuyun's eyes still turned red in an instant.
As expected, this really was her biological daughter.....
Teary-eyed, she turned and pulled the dazed Chu Ling into a hug, whispering softly in her ear.
"Child, come home with Mom!"
"You've suffered these years; Mom will make it up to you. From now on... I will never let anyone bully you again."
"......."
Hearing this, Chu Ling started and instinctively wanted to nod in agreement.
After all, this was the family affection she had dreamed of; now that it was within reach, how could her heart not be moved?
Only.....
Thinking of the inner voice she had overheard not long ago, Chu Ling subconsciously hesitated, her gaze drifting toward Lin Xuan as her heart tangled itself into knots. (ー`′ー)
"If I return to the Tang family, will it really end up like the future Cousin foresaw? With such a miserable outcome....."
"But I want so much to have a family! And this... Mom, she doesn't look like a bad person at all!"
"I can feel... she truly wants to make it up to me and feels for me from the bottom of her heart......"
"......."
For the moment, Chu Ling was caught between two choices, not knowing what to do?!
If she hadn't met Xu Shuyun today, and only learned that returning to the Tang family would lead to such a terrible end ┌(.Д.)┐.
Then for the sake of her own little life, Chu Ling might well have kept her distance from the Tang family.
But after personally experiencing the warmth that Xu Shuyun brought, Chu Ling could be said to have fallen in an instant; she couldn't bear to leave this warmth that only a mother could bring.....
This tenderness was something she had dreamed of possessing......
She truly couldn't bear to push it away.....
Noticing her daughter's oddness, Xu Shuyun followed her gaze and at last fixed her eyes on this incompetent nephew, Lin Xuan.
Remembering the unpleasantness between the two sides back then, her brows knit slightly on instinct.
To be honest....
Ever since this nephew did something worse than what a beast would do to her daughter, she had completely lost all good feeling toward him, leaving only disgust.
If not for this incident, perhaps she would never have had any interaction with him again.....
But no matter what, her nephew had done great service in helping Chu Ling escape that hellish village.
Otherwise, never mind reuniting with her—her daughter's final fate would probably have been.......
Xu Shuyun's heart trembled; the very thought terrified her.
When she looked at Lin Xuan again, a faint gratitude surfaced in her gaze; she no longer loathed him as much......
.......
"Lin Xuan , I... about my daughter! Thank you!"
"I truly don't know how to repay you to express the gratitude in my heart...."
"If it weren't for you, my daughter... alas, I might never have seen her in this lifetime, right?"
"......."
Hearing this.
Lin Xuan wore an expression of righteous integrity, waved his hand, and said solemnly:
"Auntie, no need to thank me! As the saying goes, draw your blade to help when you see injustice! I just did a trivial little thing in passing!"
"Even if it hadn't been Sister Chu Ling this time, if it were anyone else, I'd have done the same."
"I just didn't expect the person I saved by chance would be my own cousin; no wonder, when I first saw her, I felt an inexplicable familiarity...."
"Perhaps this is what the elders say... that there is a destiny in the unseen!"
"......."
Faced with her nephew's sincere, earnest gaze, Xu Shuyun couldn't help being moved.
She was shocked to discover just how much Lin Xuan had changed compared to three years ago.
This change wasn't only in his looks, but in that steady air about him, the confidence from inside out; he was simply a completely different person from back then.....
Could this be what the proverb means.....
"If you don't see someone for three days, you must look at them with new eyes"?
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a poor young man"?
At this thought, a slight smile tugged at Xu Shuyun's lips; she felt gratified.
Back then she had gotten along well with her sister-in-law and had naturally hoped from the bottom of her heart that her son would one day find the right path.....
......
In the ward.
Xu Shuyun opened her handbag, ready to take out a check and give Lin Xuan sufficient monetary compensation.
She had heard that after marrying into the Su family as a "good luck charm," Lin Xuan had been living a very difficult life, had no family status at all, and had completely become Su Qingge's puppet.....
At first, she had been half skeptical, thinking the story was a bit exaggerated.
But after glancing at the cold-faced girl in the wheelchair, Xu Shuyun felt the rumors weren't false.
She had also seen this woman at some business banquets; her methods were formidable. With her ordinary nephew, how could he possibly match her?! He could only be completely dominated.....
She was ninety-five percent sure of this conclusion!!!
Therefore, she felt what Lin Xuan needed most now was money, and she wasn't short of it—so compensating him with money was clearly the most suitable way......
.......
[Auntie has really kept herself in good shape! For this age, with that face and figure, she's practically the perfect goddess for every lecherous perv ~~~]
[Pity she ends up with her family ruined and her life lost in the end.....]
[But what is she digging around for with her hand?]
[Don't tell me she's planning to use money to humiliate my dignity! It can't be that dog-blood and tacky, right?]
[No way, right? No way?!]
.......
The hand Xu Shuyun had just put on the check trembled; she jerked her head up and looked around, pupils filled with confusion and shock.
Who?
Who is talking???
[Huh? What's going on?]
[Why did my aunt suddenly look up and stare around with a terrified gaze? Did her brain short-circuit???]
Auntie?
That form of address, and this familiar voice... could it be?!
Xu Shuyun widened her eyes, staring at Lin Xuan in fright—only to see him looking at her with a strange gaze.....
.......
[WTF ( ‵o′)凸? What's the situation? Why suddenly look at me with that lecherous gaze? Gave me a scare!]
[Could it be I'm too handsome and Auntie's taken a fancy to me?]
[Alas, blame my damn charm?!]
[Sorry! Auntie, don't lust after my body, you don't stand a chance! Because my heart already belongs to someone!]
[As a War God of Pure Love, I firmly reject all lecherous scumbag behavior and only wish for one person's heart, to grow old together and never part.]
[For the sake of my Qingge, I will resolutely uphold the virtues of a good man and strive to become a model three-good young man of the new era!]
??????????
What on earth is this brat thinking about all day long?!
I'm older than your mother—what are you thinking?!
Black lines filled Xu Shuyun's forehead.
At the same time, her pupils flickered with intense incredulity.
Because she realized something miraculous—the voice she was hearing... seemed to be Lin Xuan's inner voice?!!!