"My child!"
Mrs. Meyer called out to him again, but seeing that her son didn't look back, she had to turn her gaze to Xu Yanxia, who was still standing there.
"My sweet girl, Xiaxia,"
Tears streamed down her face as she grasped her daughter's arm. "You're a girl too, can you understand your mother? I really had my own difficulties..."
"No,"
Xu Yanxia shook her head, pulling her arm away. With red eyes, she replied, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"All these years, you could be a mother to someone else, keep a child with no blood relation by your side, and raise him so well. Why couldn't you come back to see your own children?"
"Do you know how long we waited for you?"
Her tears fell down her cheeks like a broken string of pearls. "Did you hate us? Or were you afraid we would drag you down?"
"No, it's not like that. I'm sorry, my child,"
The strange woman in front of her tried to reach out and pull her again.
But Xu Yanxia continued to shake her head in refusal. With a face full of helplessness and tears, she looked at her fiancé, Lu Jingming, and said, "I want to leave this place."
Lu Jingming paused for a moment, then immediately nodded in agreement. He turned to his parents and Wen Jiajun beside them to explain, "Mom, Dad, Jiajun, I'll leave this to you."
With that, he took Xu Yanxia's hand and led her out of the banquet hall.
They got into the car, left the club, and headed all the way towards the downtown area.
The night coastline rapidly retreated outside the car window, and Xu Yanxia's tears continued to fall endlessly.
Since it was inevitable to drink a little at the engagement party today, a driver from the club was currently driving.
Sitting beside her, Lu Jingming took all this in, his heart heavy. He could only hold her hand in his and say gently, "If you're feeling awful, you can talk to me about it."
"I'm really not that magnanimous,"
his fiancée said through her tears. "I can't understand why she could keep someone else's child by her side, but couldn't spare a single glance for us?"
"You don't know how pitiful my brother was when he was little! He was bullied by those mean kids all day long, called an orphan with no mom or dad! When he got beaten up outside, he didn't dare tell our grandparents when he went home. He only dared to cry secretly in front of me..."
"The last time she came back, she only asked my aunt to bring me outside to see her, and didn't even ask my brother to go... Because I was only two at the time, and my brother was already four. She was afraid my brother would make a fuss and not let her leave..."
"All these years, we never moved. We were always waiting for her..."
"When my dad passed away, my grandparents had to raise us while worrying that she might be living poorly or in danger outside, and even asked my aunt to travel a long way to look for her..."
"Yes, she could go and remarry, she could have a new life. But, but since she hasn't contacted us for so many years, why did she suddenly show up now?"
...
"She even deliberately sent her stepson to go on the show, using a collaboration as a cover to add me on WeChat. That day in Jincheng, Feng Yiheng even went out of his way to greet my brother..."
She let out a tearful sneer and said, "They knew everything. Even this dress was ordered for me by her!"
"After disappearing for twenty years, can a dress worth millions make up for it?"
"Did she think that what we needed these past twenty years was money..."
That was right.
Lu Jingming, who had been listening silently, also felt a heaviness in his heart.
As someone who grew up in an intact family with a loving atmosphere, he couldn't imagine what kind of environment his poor little fiancée and her brother had grown up in.
But it was absolutely undeniable that, for a child, the time when their biological mother was absent truly couldn't be compensated with any amount of money.
...
Yet he knew that any comfort right now would be pale and empty.
He could only hold her in his arms, sighing as he apologized to her, "It's my fault for not doing a good enough job. If I had investigated more carefully, perhaps I could have found out about Feng Yiheng's background."
—Or rather, he shouldn't have invited Feng Yiheng to come that day in Xijing...
"It's not your fault,"
she said despite her tears. "She arranged this herself."
"Even if you didn't invite him, they would have found an opportunity to show up."
"Did she think this would be a pleasant surprise?"
"We were all doing fine. My brother and I, and our grandparents, we were almost healed..."
As her voice fell, Lu Jingming's heart sank once more.
Yes, they were almost healed.
Even without their parents, the two children had worked hard to grow up and become adults, and were both about to start their own families.
After experiencing the pain of losing their son, the two elderly people had finally endured countless hardships to raise their two grandchildren.
The wounds in their hearts were almost fully healed.
This lady's sudden appearance, bringing along her highly successful stepson, had indeed ripped open their old scars and rubbed salt in the wound.
...
But as an outsider, he had no right to judge anything.
He could only hold her tightly and ask gently, "Shall we go to the Zhongjiang Villa? I'll stay there with you."
To his surprise, she shook her head and said, "I want to go back to my little apartment."
Yes, just like she had told Ye Shu and Xiaozhen today, she never liked houses that were too big; she liked small places that could wrap tightly around her.
"Alright."
Lu Jingming nodded unconditionally and told the driver, "Please go to Heyue Gardens."
"Understood."
The driver readily agreed and immediately adjusted the route, driving towards Heyue Gardens, where her small two-bedroom apartment was located.
...
Fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at the residential complex's parking lot.
The two of them got out of the car together, took the elevator up to the twenty-second floor, unlocked the door with the passcode, and entered.
—Ever since her grandparents came to Rong City, Xu Yanxia had mostly been staying with them in the large flat at Dongpan Gardens. Aside from occasionally coming back to grab some things or water the plants, she hadn't lived here for a long time.
The apartment was still very clean, but because it hadn't been aired out for a few days, it felt a bit stuffy.
Lu Jingming took the initiative to open the windows and the balcony door,
while Xu Yanxia went straight into the bathroom.
Her makeup was ruined from crying all the way here, and she didn't want to wear this ridiculous dress anymore.
After a while, when she finished washing up and came out in her loungewear, the night had grown even deeper.
Lu Jingming had made a few phone calls and was still waiting for her in the living room.
The apartment had been aired out. In November, the nights in Rong City already carried a chilly crispness.
He closed the balcony door, walked over to her side, and asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Xu Yanxia shook her head, only saying, "I feel a bit dizzy and want to lie down for a while. If you're hungry, you can go eat."
"I'm not hungry either."
Lu Jingming said gently, "If you're not feeling well, go to sleep first. I just asked Uncle Li to bring my things over. I'll stay and keep you company tonight."
He then specifically added, "Don't worry, I won't try anything."
Xu Yanxia was amused into a slight smile, then nodded with a soft hum. She went to the master bedroom first and lay down on her bed.
Uncle Li also quickly brought Lu Jingming's things over.
In the room, Xu Yanxia could faintly hear the sound of him going into the bathroom to take a shower.
A little while later, she heard him gently open her bedroom door after his shower to check if she was alright.
He pulled the covers up around her and even reached out to softly touch her forehead.
Then, he turned to quietly slip back out of the room.
Xu Yanxia opened her eyes and said to him, "Don't go. Just sleep here."
