434: Not what it looks like

Not what it looks like

"This...you really saw Yueqin?" An Guoting anxiously asked Xinyi. As soon as he heard the news, he rushed to the hospital at once.

With a grim countenance, Xinyi said, "Yes, Uncle An. It was Mrs. An."

He stared at her in a daze. "Yueqin…S-She is really alive…"

Caihong still couldn't believe it. "Mom?"

Xinyi nodded. Even though it was good news for the An family, Xinyi couldn't help but feel resentful. "I understand your feelings. But I cannot forget that she attacked Zhiyuan and Siying. When I confronted her, she even refused to acknowledge you and Uncle."

An Guoting widened his eyes. "Impossible! How can this be…"

"It's the truth. I asked her many times, but she had only one thing to say and that was she doesn't know any of you."

"No! There must be some misunderstanding! Y-Yueqin will never do this. She might not acknowledge me for once. But Caihong...she is her dearest daughter. She will never refuse her!"

Caihong was in a stupor. She couldn't believe that the woman who bumped into her that night was her mother.

It was really Mom…?

Caihong had no memories of her mother. She felt she wouldn't hold much attachment for her. But somewhere in her heart, she longed for her love. An Meiying could never take that place. 

Now that she knew it was her real mother indeed, she felt complicated emotions surging in her chest. She thought about what Xinyi just said.

Refuse to acknowledge?

Why do I feel that wasn't the case?

She remembered the intense look the woman gave her. It felt as if she recognized her or felt that she looked familiar.

Was it because she realized I was her daughter? Or she simply thought it was surprising for me to resemble her?

But another grave matter was that she was involved in all these accidents. They couldn't even celebrate this news.

An Guoting was confused as well, but no matter what, he was firm on one matter.

"Yueqin would never hurt anybody like this. Never! I don't know how and why she was present at all times. But I trust her. She would never kill innocent people."

Xinyi said, "I want to believe her too, Uncle. But what will you say about her escape? When I asked her to cooperate, she pushed me away and ran away. If she is not guilty, why would she do this?"

An Guoting didn't have an answer to that. "I don't know! Sorry, Xinyi. I understand your circumstances. But these allegations against Yueqin...I won't tolerate them."

Caihong quickly held his shoulder. "Dad, calm down. It's a difficult time for all of us."

It was Yunru, who spoke after a long time, "Considering Mrs. An's past, it's... really not impossible."

Caihong frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yunru looked at An Guoting. "Uncle, you do know that before she met you, she belonged to the Underworld."

An Guoting stiffened.

Caihong was stunned. "What?"

"Yes. I did a background check on her. Honestly, Uncle did a very good job hiding her Underworld past. Yueqin isn't even her real name. Her name is Shufen."

An Guoting gritted his teeth. "You…"

Xinyi gasped, "Is that true?"

"Yes. I don't know the details of her accident. But all these sneak attacks...only someone from the Underworld is capable of this. If she is somehow back in the Underworld, then it is not impossible-"

"Enough!" An Guoting glared at him. "Please don't bring that past right now. Whatever it was, Yueqin left that world after we met. We even changed her identity so that nobody would haunt her from that life. She hated that world. She wanted to be a normal person living a normal life. She would never go back to that life that hurt her the most…"

He shook as his voice choked. "Yueqin...you all are unfairly blaming my wife! She-she would never do these things…"

A tear slipped down his cheek. He wiped it off and stood straight. "If you are stubborn enough to prove her wrong, then I won't back off either! I will find her, and I will ask her myself! Yueqin will tell the truth, and I will end these accusations against her once and for all!"

His chest heaved with a gush of adrenaline rushing. He turned and walked away angrily.

"Dad!" Caihong called him out but to no avail.

She pressed her brows. She didn't know what to do anymore. On one side, there were her parents and on the other side, there were her friends.

"I…"

Xinyi smiled. "It's okay, Caihong. I understand. I don't blame him, and I won't blame you either. We are both right from our perspectives. What we all want is just the truth."

She pursed her lips. "Yes…"

---

Two days later, things still remained quite the same. In his room, Han Huizhong dialed a number. It was picked up after a ring.

"Did you get to know anything about An Yueqin?"

He heard the other person's voice.

"Can you find out about it?"

He heard another response. 

"I see. I will wait."

Han Huizhong hung up. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

The door opened and Siying's head popped in. "Grandpa."

"If you are here to cry, then I am really tired."

Siying pouted and stomped towards him, taking quick little steps. "I am not a crybaby!"

Han Huizhong raised his brow and looked at him in amusement. "Really? Who was bawling his eyes out yesterday in his mother's arms?"

His face flushed in embarrassment. "I-I wasn't crying! I am a strong boy like Dada!"

"Hoooo~ Whatever. Where are your bickering Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are not at home," he pursed his lips in disappointment. "I told them to take me with them to meet Dada, but they refused me! They are mean!"

"I know right? They are such a pain in the ass."

Siying asked, "Grandpa, will you catch the bad woman who hit Dada?"

Han Huizhong squinted his gaze.

"That bad woman... isn't really bad at all."

"But she hurt Dada! Hurting others is bad."

"Well... sometimes, what it looks like isn't always the reality, Siying."1

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