Night fell heavily, with torrential rain pouring down like countless beads of large rain pearls, reminiscent of the tears shed by Xie Fengjun after losing her child for so many years.
After the incident, she stored all the photos of her son in her phone, looking at them day and night, afraid of forgetting him. A few years ago, Xie Fengjun even went to study painting, hired a professional teacher, and tried to paint what Chengyi might look like when he grew up. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get it right, and in the end, she burned them all, leaving no trace.
Until just now, when Xie Fengjun saw that young man holding an umbrella.
He was holding an umbrella with one hand and resting his arm around a friend’s shoulder with the other, looking down and smiling lightly while talking to the friend, with dimples barely visible through the rain.
At that moment, Xie Fengjun seemed to know what Chengyi should look like.
No.
Perhaps she no longer needed to paint him.
There was no need for probing, no need for more indirect investigations, and no need for further so-called concrete evidence.
Even though the torrential rain was pouring and the night was dark, just that one glance was enough for the mother to instantly recognize her beloved child, her heart that had been taken away for nineteen years.
“Yan Yan…”
“My Yan Xun…”
“Mommy is here… Mommy is here…”
Xie Fengjun touched Yan Xun’s face, sobbing uncontrollably.
The woman’s hands were wet, cold, and trembling. But in her overwhelming excitement, she still restrained herself, only touching his skin lightly with her fingertips, as if to confirm that this person was real and not a hallucination.
Or perhaps she wanted to reach through the lost time and touch the child she had once lost.
However, in contrast, Yan Xun, after his initial shock, didn’t know how to react to his mother’s uncontrollable emotions. He stood in the rain, holding the umbrella, silent and still, appearing almost childlike in his helplessness.
Having just experienced a painful severing of kinship, Yan Xun seemed to have briefly suffered, but in reality, he had buried the wound deep inside, choosing not to think about it.
So when Chu Tingyun later asked him if he wanted to find his biological parents, Yan Xun said he didn’t want to. He was too tired, too hurt. The gaping wound was still unhealed, and he had no energy or courage to reintegrate into another completely unfamiliar and unknown family.
This home was already good, warm, safe, and full of love.
So Yan Xun just wanted to stay by Chu Tingyun’s side and slowly wait for his wounds to heal. Perhaps someday in the distant future, he might want to search for his biological parents, but that should be a long time away.
He never expected that suddenly a woman would burst out, claiming to be his mother.
…Mother?
Whether it was a mistake or not, at this moment Yan Xun couldn’t think about the deep meaning behind that word. He felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen, unable to speak.
So in the end, Yan Xun just stiffly tilted the umbrella towards her.
“I’m Mommy… Yan Xun…”
Xie Fengjun completely ignored the umbrella. She was already choked up and unable to speak, but her child just stood there, watching her with a look of complete strangeness and bewilderment.
He didn’t recognize her.
Or perhaps he had forgotten her.
No! That’s impossible!
Her Chengyi was so smart; he learned poetry and could recite it after just one lesson; how could he forget his mother?
Xie Fengjun thought that it must be because her appearance had changed, that she had aged, her hair was wet and messy from the rain, and that she was crying too ugly…
“Look… look at me…”
“Look at Mommy…”
Xie Fengjun quickly wiped the water from her face and fussily arranged her soaked hair, trying to control her expression to smile at Yan Xun.
“Mommy also has little dimples; you see, we are the same…”
Even though it was a forced smile, their dimples were indeed very similar, a resemblance that made one think of a blood relationship at first glance.
At that moment, not only Yan Xun but even Chu Tingyun, sitting in the car, was stunned.
Before either of them could react, Professor Ye ran over. He grabbed his wife’s arm, trying to calm her down.
“Fengjun, Fengjun, please calm down, calm down, okay?”
Professor Ye, who had rushed over without an umbrella, was soaked through and looked quite disheveled, losing his usual composure and calm.
But Xie Fengjun clearly couldn’t calm down. She didn’t know that her husband had already met Yan Xun and even had a meal with him just earlier. She thought that a miracle had finally happened—that she had accidentally found her lost child on the way to pick up her husband.
So Xie Fengjun held onto her husband’s hand, excitedly urging him to look at Yan Xun.
“Cunshan… Cunshan, quickly look, this is… this is our Yan Yan…”
“…”
Yan Xun paused for a moment, then realized that this woman who claimed to be his mother was actually Professor Ye’s wife.
“Professor Ye…?”
The man noticed Yan Xun’s gaze and tried to control his emotions, then spoke awkwardly.
“I’m very sorry, Assistant Xiao Yan. She’s a bit agitated. Mainly because you… you look too much like… the child we lost before.”
[It’s just my wife has dimples when she smiles.]
[You two… look a bit alike.]
Yan Xun suddenly recalled what Professor Ye had said at the dinner table earlier; no wonder he had felt something odd about the way he said it.
So it was like this…
Yan Xun wasn’t unfamiliar with such things.
Because when he was in the orphanage, there were parents who had lost children who came to find him. They held him, cried, and laughed, expressing endless longing and joy.
At first, little Yan Xun would be genuinely happy, thinking that his parents had finally come to take him home.
But in the end, the results of the paternity tests never matched.
So those parents came full of hope and left full of sorrow, and Yan Xun was left in the orphanage. It was only after a year that he finally entered the next phase of being adopted.
So at this moment, Yan Xun couldn’t look at Professor Ye and his wife’s eyes, which were like looking at a lifeline, nor could he respond warmly to their expectations and hopes.
“…It’s okay, Professor Ye.”
What Yan Xun could do was to hold the umbrella over them in this heavy rain and then lower their expectations to avoid more sadness if they found out they had been mistaken.
“But I… might not be the person you’re looking for.”
After all, just a pair of similar dimples didn’t prove anything.
“Impossible, Yan Yan, you must be!”
Xie Fengjun shook off her husband’s hand. From the familiar tone of Professor Ye with Yan Xun, she had immediately realized that they had known each other for a long time but had kept it from her.
But at this moment, she had no time to be angry with her husband, only holding Yan Xun’s hand tightly and firmly telling him.
“…You are Mommy’s child.”
“…”
At this time, Chu Tingyun, who had been observing for a while, finally understood why Professor Ye had suddenly agreed to discuss the cooperation and insisted on meeting today.
Even the series of unusually warm behaviors towards Yan Xun at the dinner table made sense now.
However, Gu Shanqing had left early and did not see this dramatic scene. He was still happily sending Chu Tingyun messages about the cooperation.
But Chu Tingyun had no time to reply. Seeing that Yan Xun was almost soaked through, he couldn’t help but interrupt:
“The rain is too heavy. Why don’t we move to another place to talk?”
At this point, Xie Fengjun, who had been focused only on her child, noticed Chu Tingyun for the first time. Since she didn’t recognize him, she instinctively looked at her husband for confirmation.
“…This is Xiao Yan’s boss.”
Professor Ye explained softly to his wife.
The child’s boss?!
Xie Fengjun quickly composed herself and nodded apologetically to Chu Tingyun.
“I’m really sorry, I was… out of control just now.”
After saying this, she seemed to have noticed something.
Having been facing Yan Xun all this time, she finally saw that he had been holding the umbrella tilted and had gotten wet.
The mother was immediately heartbroken.
“The rain is indeed too heavy. Yan Yan, don’t catch a cold. Let’s… let’s quickly move to another place to talk.”
Saying this, she adjusted the umbrella that Yan Xun was holding.
Splash…
As a result, Professor Ye, who had been squeezed into the rain, was now thoroughly soaked.
Yan Xun noticed this scene but could only express surprise and apology with his eyes since Xie Fengjun was holding the umbrella.
Professor Ye quickly wiped his face, trying to regain some semblance of dignity.
“It’s okay, it’s fine…”
Xie Fengjun was too agitated to drive, and Professor Ye seemed calm but was also trembling.
Seeing how reluctant the Ye couple was to part with Yan Xun, Chu Tingyun called for their car to be brought around and decided to drive this vehicle himself.
In the end, Chu Tingyun drove, Professor Ye was sent to the passenger seat, and Xie Fengjun, holding her found child, sat warmly in the back.
Yan Xun offered them two clean towels.
Chu Tingyun took off his coat and gave it to the lady who claimed to be Yan Xun’s mother. Although there was no concrete proof, there were indeed many similarities between them.
Mother…
Chu Tingyun glanced at her in the rearview mirror, not knowing what to think.
Soon, he looked away and started the car.
Xie Fengjun hadn’t expected that the other person would give her his coat. While feeling that this leader was not only good-looking but also kind, she worried whether she was causing too much trouble for him, fearing it might affect his impression of Yan Xun.
She had hesitated about accepting earlier, but Yan Xun had already taken it and put it on her.
“Don’t catch a cold.”
Xie Fengjun immediately stopped being troubled by her earlier thoughts.
She was just a bit puzzled by the way Chu Tingyun was driving, feeling that their interaction earlier didn’t quite seem like that of a boss and subordinate. But she didn’t think too much about it; after all, all her attention was now on her rediscovered child.
Inside the car, the air conditioning cut off all the noise and cold from outside.
Chu Tingyun sent a voice message to Assistant Fang, asking him to book two hotel suites nearby, get some cold medicine and three sets of clothes delivered, including one set for Yan Xun.
Assistant Fang, who was on 24-hour standby, quickly responded, “Got it.”
At this point, Xie Fengjun had calmed down somewhat, no longer as uncontrollable as before, but she was still very excited, continually talking to Yan Xun about his childhood.
She mentioned his favorite toys, his favorite dishes, the little cat at his grandmother’s house that he always thought about, the poem he recited the best, his neatest handwriting, and even the family portrait he once drew…
During this, Professor Ye, who was sitting in the passenger seat, also had red eyes, but he knew his wife was angry with him, so he didn’t say anything.
However, Yan Xun didn’t remember any of these things, so he couldn’t respond to her. In fact, Yan Xun wanted to tell her not to have such high hopes, but seeing her teary eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Although Xie Fengjun was very disappointed by his lack of response, she didn’t show it and instead comforted him:
“It’s okay if you don’t remember. It’s fine…”
“You were so young then, and so many years have passed. It’s normal to forget…”
“It’s not your fault, it’s my fault… If only your father and I had found you earlier…”
Despite Xie Fengjun’s repeated reassurances, it was clear that the fact that the child didn’t remember her hurt her deeply, and she choked up several times.
Yan Xun then said:
“I might have experienced some accident when I was little, and I don’t remember anything before I was five or six years old. It’s not because of time passing.”
“Is that so?”
Xie Fengjun hadn’t considered this reason before, but clearly, this explanation made her feel much better. She was then filled with sympathy, as memory loss is rare and usually indicates either brain damage or severe psychological trauma.
No matter which one it was, Xie Fengjun, as a mother, was heartbroken.
“And now? Are you okay now?”
“I’m fine now.”
Yan Xun shook his head, not mentioning the car accident from before.
About twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the hotel. Thanks to Assistant Fang’s generous payment, the clothes and medicine had already been placed at the front desk.
After checking in, they went upstairs.
When Professor Ye and his wife went inside to change clothes, Chu Tingyun finally had the chance to talk to Yan Xun.
Yan Xun’s back was only slightly wet, so he just changed his top.
Chu Tingyun had given his coat to Xie Fengjun earlier, so now he was just wearing a white shirt, had removed his tie, and undone one of his collar buttons. His black cufflinks were rolled up loosely to his elbows.
The man stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall next to Yan Xun, exuding a lazy and casual vibe.
While such family recognition events would usually be full of excitement, Chu Tingyun didn’t seem to be overly intrigued or emotional. He didn’t offer excessive care or ask many questions, maintaining his usual demeanor.
This actually made Yan Xun feel more relaxed.
Chu Tingyun quietly kept him company for a while before casually asking, “What do you think about this?”
“Well… Let’s schedule a paternity test with Professor Ye and his wife as soon as possible to avoid them worrying about it.”
As Yan Xun spoke, he was preparing cold medicine. Compared to the overly emotional parents, he remained calm throughout.
Chu Tingyun didn’t believe that Yan Xun was as calm as he appeared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have struggled so much with the cold medicine packaging earlier.
“If the results match?”
“…”
Yan Xun paused, evidently not having considered this question, or perhaps he was avoiding it.
Because Yan Xun was dealing with so much at the moment, he knew his marriage had serious problems and risks, discovered issues related to his adoptive parents and past accidents, and recently severed ties with the family that raised him…
Now, he might have to integrate into a new family.
If he did find his biological parents, Yan Xun would be happy, but he was also somewhat confused and fearful.
In just two months, he had gone from a high school student to a 25-year-old adult, experiencing friend separations, marital upheaval, family estrangement, an unstarted revenge plot, and finally, the recognition of parents who had been missing for over a decade.
So Yan Xun finally answered Chu Tingyun:
“Let’s just… take it as it comes.”
After all, if the results did match, he couldn’t be heartless and refuse to recognize them. Seeing Xie Fengjun crying so much in the rain earlier, and Professor Ye choking up several times, Yan Xun was indeed touched.
But he simply couldn’t provide a firm and clear answer right now, so he just turned to Chu Tingyun with a smile and said,
“Let’s hope both they and I have better luck.”
Hoping they have better luck, even if the results don’t match, and can quickly find their real child.
Hoping he himself has better luck, and regardless of the result, Yan Xun didn’t want another painful and torturous experience.
“Mm.”
Chu Tingyun responded softly.
But if one thought about it, Yan Xun’s luck had always been quite poor.
Kidnapped in childhood, the so-called love from his adoptive parents was always priced. As he grew up and started a new life with his own career, he was framed, and his career was abruptly cut short. Even love didn’t go smoothly, instead…
Chu Tingyun didn’t continue to dwell on it, suddenly asking Yan Xun:
“How about I get you a good luck charm, maybe find a master and have it blessed, or have someone come to check the Feng Shui at home?”
Chu Tingyun had never believed in such things before, even looked down on them, but he had some contacts who did, so finding someone wouldn’t be hard.
So Chu Tingyun, somewhat eager, asked his little husband:
“What do you think?”
Yan Xun: “…”
He initially thought it was a joke, but seeing Chu Tingyun’s serious expression, he realized that Chu Tingyun was indeed serious about getting him a master for a blessing.
Yan Xun couldn’t help but laugh, clearing away the earlier confusion and darkness in his eyes.
“I appreciate the thought.”
He patted Chu Tingyun’s shoulder and, with a hint of amusement, advised,
“But President Chu, we’re in a socialist new era now. Superstition isn’t encouraged.”
Chu Tingyun: “…”
Of course, he didn’t believe in such things!
At this moment, Professor Ye and his wife, who had finished changing clothes, also came out. The first thing Xie Fengjun did was look for Yan Xun, and she only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him standing at the water bar.
However…
She noticed how close Yan Xun was standing to Chu Tingyun and suddenly wondered if their relationship seemed a bit too… close?
Because at that moment, they were standing very close together, with Yan Xun’s hand resting on Chu Tingyun’s shoulder. The latter didn’t seem to mind at all, behaving naturally as if it were something they were accustomed to.
Professor Ye didn’t think much of it and explained to his wife:
“This Mr. Chu is very nice, a good leader, and he values supporting Yan Xun a lot.”
After a moment of calm and composure, Professor Ye refrained from calling Yan Xun again, fearing it might irritate him.
Whether it was Chu Tingyun’s special effort to bring Yan Xun or his earlier act of giving his coat to Xie Fengjun, Professor Ye was very grateful and had a high regard for him.
“I see.”
Xie Fengjun nodded, giving Chu Tingyun a good leader label in her mind.
On the other side, the good leader and the little assistant turned around.
They heard the sound of the door opening behind them. It was clear that Professor Ye had already explained things to his wife, and the atmosphere between them had improved a lot.
“Have a drink.”
Yan Xun handed them the prepared cold medicine.
“Thank you.”
The parents took the cups of medicine, hesitating to drink for a moment.
They sat on the sofa. Professor Ye and his wife sat together, while Yan Xun and Chu Tingyun sat across from them.
After the emotional outburst subsided, Xie Fengjun became a bit cautious. She had briefly mentioned how she lost him and many other things on the way, but Yan Xun didn’t remember.
Since that was the case, she wouldn’t bring it up again.
After careful consideration, Xie Fengjun began to ask about Yan Xun’s life after he was adopted.
“Yan Yan, where have you been all these years?”
She had already adjusted her emotions, but the question came out with a sob.
“How have you been?”
Although Yan Xun had anticipated this question, he found it hard to answer. He organized his thoughts and spoke briefly,
“Well, my adoptive parents are locals from Nancheng, and I have an older brother who is in poor health. They were very good to me, supported me through school, and raised me… Later, my adoptive father unfortunately passed away, and now it’s just the three of us.”
“My adoptive mother and brother live in Nancheng, and I stayed in the capital.”
Yan Xun didn’t mention the severed ties or the issues with his adoptive parents. He quickly changed the subject,
“If Professor Ye and you would like, I can arrange the paternity test as soon as possible.”
Chu Tingyun also added.
“I can help with that. If we use a professional institution and expedite the process, we can get results in as little as 24 hours.”
Clearly, the attitudes of the two sides were quite distinct, one being emotional and the other rational.
Chu Tingyun’s suggestion brought Professor Ye and his wife back to their senses from their emotional state.
Professor Ye took a deep breath, maintaining a calm tone as he agreed.
“Alright… alright, let’s go with Yan Xun’s schedule. We’re flexible, so just let us know when it’s convenient.”
“Tomorrow then.”
Yan Xun didn’t like to wait, especially for something as agonizing as this.
The others were surprised by his decisiveness.
Ye Cunshan was taken aback but agreed, “…Alright then.”
Xie Fengjun, however, didn’t really care about the paternity test; she had an intuition, almost an irrational certainty, that this was her child.
“Yan Yan…”
She couldn’t help but reach for Yan Xun’s hand again, wanting to say something, but was stopped by her husband.
“It’s getting late, Fengjun.”
Ye Cunshan noticed that Yan Xun didn’t seem interested in continuing the conversation, as he had been very brief about his adoptive parents and then quickly shifted to the topic of the paternity test.
It was clear that Yan Xun wasn’t yet convinced he was their child, so he was holding back and subtly rejecting the situation.
Ye Cunshan held his wife’s wrist and gently reminded her:
“It’s almost midnight. Let them rest. Besides, we’ve already troubled Mr. Chu quite a bit.”
The sudden situation had already affected Yan Xun’s normal work and life.
Xie Fengjun quickly understood her husband’s intention, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.
“Sorry for keeping you so late. You should go rest. We… we’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
The last sentence was directed at Yan Xun with a cautious tone, as if making a request and setting an appointment.
“Okay.”
Yan Xun nodded at her, then thought for a moment and asked,
“What would you like for breakfast tomorrow? I usually get up early and can bring you breakfast.”
“I… I’m fine with anything.”
Xie Fengjun’s eyes brightened immediately, but she worried that this reply might make it hard for Yan Xun to choose, so she quickly added, “You’re just like me.”
Yan Xun then looked at Professor Ye.
The latter quickly said, “Me too!”
Yan Xun nodded, “Alright then.”
With the conversation concluded, Yan Xun and Chu Tingyun prepared to return to their adjacent suite to rest.
Just as they had taken a few steps, Ye Cunshan suddenly called out to him.
“Hold on, Assistant Yan.”
“Hmm?”
Yan Xun turned around and noticed that Ye Cunshan’s expression was particularly conflicted.
“Do you… do you and Mr. Chu live together?”
“Yes.”
Yan Xun didn’t find anything unusual about it.
But Professor Ye felt something was off.
While two men sharing a room wasn’t an issue in itself, especially with a suite having more than one bed, he had heard that Yan Xun’s spouse was a man.
That seemed… a bit inappropriate.
So Ye Cunshan struggled for a while, hesitating to speak, but finally very tactfully suggested to Yan Xun:
“Well, since you’re not going home tonight, maybe you should give your family a call so they don’t worry?”
Family? Him?
Yan Xun thought he was referring to his adoptive mother and brother, but he soon realized that Ye Cunshan was looking at Chu Tingyun.
Yan Xun: “!”
He had forgotten about his assistant status earlier.
“Uh, Professor Ye, it’s like this, I and…”
Before Yan Xun could finish explaining, Chu Tingyun casually took out his phone, opened the photo gallery, and enlarged the scanned electronic copy of their marriage certificate.
Then he smilingly handed it to Professor Ye.
JAJAJAJAJA Chu Tingyun es un descarado, ya no sé si enojarme o reírme de él