TNSFC – Chapter 79

Kunna suddenly felt her presence had become superfluous. In the vast space, it seemed there was no place for her.

She tactfully decided not to stay any longer and said she had something to do and needed to leave.

“Bye.”

Que Yining waved at her and even winked at her before she left.

“You two seem to have gotten quite familiar.”

Gu Shanxue asked, seemingly casually. Seeing Que Yining wink at Kunna, she thought to herself that she shouldn’t have let Kunna come along today.

“Because of you, of course. Your friends are my friends. Kunna told me a lot about you, and I feel like I understand you better now. I’m very happy.”

Que Yining continued to be direct, her words without any hint of subtlety, her emotions openly expressed.

“Besides that incident, what else did she say?”

Gu Shanxue, caught off guard by the directness, didn’t quite know how to react and changed the subject to Que Yining and Kunna’s conversation. She was also a little curious about what Kunna had said.

Que Yining saw her increasingly flushed earlobes and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Gu Shanxue really couldn’t handle being teased. Her ears would turn red at the slightest provocation, but her efforts to maintain a nonchalant appearance were both amusing and adorable.

“She said a lot. She said you’re very popular, that many people pursue you, but you haven’t taken a liking to anyone.”

Que Yining tilted her chin up, looking at Gu Shanxue, the happy light in her eyes like a golden filling hidden within a soft, glutinous rice ball, flowing into one’s heart.

She opened her arms towards Gu Shanxue, making a gesture asking for a hug.

“I want to go to bed. Can you carry me again?”

Que Yining was still thinking about the princess carry she hadn’t seen when she was asleep.

“Okay.”

Although she felt a little shy, Gu Shanxue didn’t refuse. She bent down and picked up Que Yining.

Que Yining’s legs couldn’t move. Gu Shanxue carefully lowered her upper body first, then gently placed her legs down.

In that moment of leaning down, they were extremely close, their eyes met, and they could feel each other’s breath.

Both their heartbeats gradually quickened, and in that instant, their movements seemed to slow down.

The sudden sound of the door opening made Gu Shanxue immediately pull away. She tucked Que Yining in and stood by the bed.

“Ningning, Mom brought you dinner. Oh, Xiao Gu is here too. Would you like to eat with us?”

You Lanqing walked in, carrying a thermal container in one hand and holding Xiaoxiao’s hand with the other. She greeted Gu Shanxue when she saw her.

“Hello, Auntie. No, thank you. It’s fine if Ningning eats.”

Gu Shanxue politely greeted You Lanqing, her gaze lingering for a moment on the little girl whose hand she was holding.

You Lanqing smiled and said, “Alright. Xiaoxiao, go to your Youngest Aunt. She really wanted to see you today.”

“Youngest Aunt, Xiaoxiao is here to see you! Are you feeling a little better today?”

Xiaoxiao, still in her school uniform, obediently sat down beside Que Yining.

“Yes, seeing Xiaoxiao makes me feel even better,” Que Yining patted the little girl’s head. Thinking of the photos she had seen on her phone, her feelings were complicated. She looked up at You Lanqing, “Mom, didn’t Xiaoxiao finish school a while ago? Why is she only here now?”

You Lanqing: “I picked her up and she did her homework at my place first. When she knew I was making dinner for you, she insisted on helping. See? That heart-shaped fried egg in your lunchbox, Xiaoxiao made it.”

“Xiaoxiao is so capable.”

Que Yining praised her, took a bite of the fried egg, and gave Xiaoxiao a thumbs-up.

Xiaoxiao smiled sweetly, a little shyly, and glanced at Gu Shanxue across from her, giving her a shy smile as well.

She remembered, this was the person her Youngest Aunt liked.

“Good evening, Youngest Aunt Gu.”

She greeted her softly. Gu Shanxue also smiled kindly at her and said good evening.

“Xiaoxiao, you should call her Auntie. Why do you also call her Youngest Aunt?”

You Lanqing asked, somewhat curious.

Gu Shanxue didn’t know either and also looked at Xiaoxiao.

“Because she’s Youngest Aunt’s good friend, so she’s also a Youngest Aunt.”

Xiaoxiao tried to convince her grandmother with her own logic. She couldn’t very well say it was because Youngest Aunt Gu was the person her Youngest Aunt liked, and they would definitely be family in the future, so she should also be called Youngest Aunt.

You Lanqing had a sudden realization and then said, “Then wouldn’t you have to call all of your Youngest Aunt’s good friends ‘Youngest Aunt’?”

Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, “No, only Youngest Aunt Gu can be called that.”

You Lanqing: “Why is that?”

“It just can’t be, Grandma, don’t ask anymore.”

Xiaoxiao buried her head beside Que Yining’s hand, making You Lanqing laugh.

“Alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore. This child really likes you. It’s quite rare; she has a rather reserved personality and isn’t usually like this.”

You Lanqing directed the latter half of her sentence to Gu Shanxue. Gu Shanxue nodded, feeling somewhat apprehensive. Meeting Que Yining’s mother’s gaze, she didn’t know why, but she always felt a little guilty.

“Then, Auntie, I’ll go to work first. Ningning, I’ll come see you later.”

Que Yining nodded, “Okay.”

“You’re coming again tonight? Xiao Gu, you’re so thoughtful.”

You Lanqing said with a smile. Que Yining and Gu Shanxue exchanged a glance, and Que Yining inwardly laughed seeing Gu Shanxue’s unconscious nervousness.

She clearly doesn’t even respond to my feelings, so why does she look so guilty? It’s obvious there’s something going on; she clearly likes me.

She spoke up to help Gu Shanxue out, saying, “Isn’t that right? Shanxue is very good to me. Shanxue, you can go. Bye-bye.”

Gu Shanxue left, and Que Yining contentedly ate her meal on the small table on her bed.

You Lanqing opened her mouth as if to ask something, but in the end, she didn’t ask anything.

After Que Yining finished her meal, her gaze fell on Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao was sitting on the sofa, wearing headphones and listening to English, quietly not disturbing anyone. She looked well-behaved and lovely. Que Yining felt that it was Que Linyang and Hou Manni’s blessing to have raised such an adorable daughter.

However, she thought, if Que Linyang and Hou Manni hadn’t mishandled their problems, affecting the child, Xiaoxiao wouldn’t have developed autistic tendencies.

Que Yining suppressed her complicated thoughts and chatted casually with You Lanqing, first talking about various everyday matters, and then asking about Que Hanyi’s recent situation.

“Your dad, I don’t know what’s gotten into him these days, he’s always running to the company. He’s not young anymore, but he still insists on taking on work. He previously said he’d hand it over to your brother, but then he suddenly said he wasn’t at ease, worried your brother couldn’t handle it. Your brother is over forty, not some young lad in his twenties. He worries too much.”

You Lanqing grumbled, and Que Yining understood.

Que Hanyi must have discovered something amiss and was now trying to rectify it or find evidence. He probably hadn’t directly investigated Que Linyang and hadn’t told his wife anything.

Que Yining looked at You Lanqing, who was completely unaware of the undercurrents, and felt a bit complicated.

She steered the conversation towards Que Linyang, trying to find out the information she wanted.

She had actually asked Lin Zhen to use his connections to investigate Que Linyang’s background, but it was very difficult. After all, it was something from over thirty years ago, and she had no clues to go on. Finding anything was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack, almost impossible.

“You’re asking again how your brother came to our family? Didn’t you ask a long time ago?”

Que Yining replied coquettishly, “I forgot. Mom, just tell me, tell me in detail. I want to understand Big Brother better.”

“Alright, okay. The day I met your brother, it was winter…”

You Lanqing said, reminiscing. When people get old, they tend to forget many things, but strangely, they remember certain past events very clearly, as if counting family treasures, as if it were yesterday.

When You Lanqing met Que Linyang, it was winter. At that time, Que Linyang was just a half-grown child, wandering the streets, without enough food or warm clothes, and he fainted in front of You Lanqing’s car.

That was over twenty years ago. At that time, Que Hanyi’s restaurant was already quite successful, with several branches opened in Lu Su City, and business was very good. Que Hanyi was in his forties, and Madam Que was in her thirties. Both of them longed for a child, but they had tried every method – praying to gods and Buddhas, getting injections, taking medicine – nothing worked.

They were disheartened and thought that adopting a child would be good too. Que Linyang appeared before them just like that. You Lanqing felt compassion and brought the child home.

“In the beginning, some people advised me, saying if I was going to adopt a child, why adopt one who was already quite grown and could remember things. I didn’t think it mattered. Your brother was really pitiful back then, so thin and small. I don’t regret bringing him home. Watching him grow up, get married, and have children is also very good. Look how cute Xiaoxiao is.”

You Lanqing smiled. Seeing Xiaoxiao sitting there, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes softened even more.

Que Yining grew more silent amidst her smile. It wasn’t just anger, but a more complex sense of sorrow. Hearing You Lanqing say this, she even began to suspect whether Que Linyang had deliberately fainted in front of the Que family’s car back then, having calculated that they were wealthy.

People’s hearts are hard to fathom. With Que Linyang having done so many bad things, she found it really difficult to think of him as a good person.

Perhaps he was inherently selfish, or maybe he never considered himself a part of the Que family, which is why he so meticulously planned all of this.

Que Yining couldn’t help but sigh softly. Thinking about how the truth, when revealed, would shatter this kind-faced mother’s perception of happiness, she felt a little reluctant.

“What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly sigh?”

You Lanqing heard the soft sigh and asked with concern.

“I just…”

Que Yining hesitated. She didn’t plan to say it now; it was better to wait.

“Hmm?”

You Lanqing listened intently, somewhat puzzled.

“I mean to say, if you and Dad have any problems, you must remember to tell me. I’m capable of helping you solve them now.”

“I know, our Ningning is especially wonderful.”

You Lanqing smiled, but seeing Que Yining lying in the hospital bed, she felt a little sad.

“Our daughter has grown up. I still remember when you were so small. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so big and can do things on your own,” You Lanqing gently stroked Que Yining’s hair, her eyes soft. “But you must remember, you will always be Mom and Dad’s precious darling, our eternal princess. If anything makes you unhappy, remember to tell Mom.”

The intimate and loving words made Que Yining think of the past, and her eyes grew slightly moist.

That big, bright house, the lush branches outside, the swaying toys, her mother’s embrace.

—My Ningning, Mom’s eternal little princess.

Unfortunately, with a big fire, everything was gone.

“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying?”

You Lanqing quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe Que Yining’s tears, her voice tense.

Que Yining shook her head and smiled at You Lanqing.

She just missed home a little, but she could never go back.

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