Lu Lin put down his coffee. "You can leave now. Someone will pay you."
Lin Manfeng couldn't wait to leave. He still wanted to talk to that young man; he couldn't even look him in the eye—it gave him the chills... Lin Manfeng nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, please enjoy your drink. I'm leaving now!"
Lin Manfeng bent over and silently turned around.
Just as I lifted my foot, I heard a calm, unhurried voice again, "Remember, don't contact him again."
Lin Manfeng nodded rapidly, "Understood, understood!"
After waiting for a while, they finally left. When they got close to the coffee shop entrance, they practically ran out.
He was both happy and regretful. Why had his wife not kept more photos of Yan Qiushuang?! Each photo was worth 100,000 yuan! 100,000 yuan! What a huge loss!
Lu Lin didn't leave.
He gently rubbed the cool one-yuan coin with his index finger.
The voices of the elderly staff members of the welfare home are still in my mind.
" Yan Heqing's mother was named Yan Xia... oh no! Qiu, what shuang, right, Yan Qiushuang! I heard she was a super beauty, no wonder she could give birth to two such beautiful children. It's such a pity, they were all burned to the ground, not even a single photo was left..."
5 years old.
18 years old.
13 years.
Lu Lin gripped the coin tightly.
-
After school, Yan Heqing ran back to his residence.
He closed the door, gazed silently at the round tin box for a moment, and then slowly opened it.
Warm light fell, and inside the small box was a kraft paper envelope.
Yan Heqing took out the envelope; it wasn't heavy, and its shape resembled... a photograph.
My breath caught in my throat for a second.
The round box was placed on the ground. Yan Heqing picked up the envelope. In the quiet room, only the sound of his increasingly loud heartbeat could be heard. He gently pried open the envelope with his index finger and slowly pulled out the stack of things.
As the lights came on, a small, delicate-faced girl sat on a small stool under a pomegranate tree, her eyes crinkling as she smiled happily at the camera.
The time displayed in the lower right corner indicates that the photo was taken on June 1, 198X.
Yan Heqing removed the photo from the top. The second photo showed a girl who had grown taller. It was a junior high school graduation photo, and she was taller than most of the boys. She was arranged to stand in the last row on the side, with a gentle smile. The camera caught several male classmates secretly watching her.
When he moved it again, Yan Heqing almost dropped the photo.
In the last picture, the woman is wearing a light purple cheongsam, with gladiolus covering the mountains behind her.
In this photo, Yan Heqing almost perfectly replicates the woman's facial features, especially her eyes, with light brown pupils and long, slightly upturned corners, exuding gentleness and tranquility.
This is --
Mother.
Yan Heqing lowered his head, his cheek lightly pressed against the cool photograph.
It's been 13 years.
Finally, I know what my mother looks like again.
It turned out that her cheongsam was light purple.
Chapter 64
That night, Yan Heqing had another dream.
A colorful dream.
On a hot afternoon, my mother, dressed in a light purple cheongsam, tiptoed and picked two pomegranates hanging from a green tree.
Bright red and heavy, almost as big as his head, Yan Qiushuang placed it in his arms, smiling brightly, "This one is for Qingqing." She said, "Hold on tight, Mom will peel it for you and scoop it into your bowl later."
He hugged her tightly.
The other one was given to Yan Mingsong. Yan Mingsong looked at his, then at his own, puffed out his cheeks, and said, "Brother's is bigger than mine, I want mine to be the same size as brother's!"
Yan Qiushuang chuckled and gently stroked Yan Mingsong's head, "Your brother always finishes his food, and you finished this time too. Next time, Mom will pick one bigger than a soccer ball for you."
Yan Mingsong cheered and immediately looked up at the tree to find a pomegranate the size of a football.
The next day at noon, Yan Heqing had no classes in the afternoon. He walked out of the teaching building and dialed Lin Manfeng's number.
The journey from the Beijing University Metro Station's Line 1 terminus to the international airport takes an hour and a half. He went to the mall early in the morning to buy some souvenirs and gifts for his aunt and cousin whom he had never met.
He didn't believe everything Lin Manfeng said.
If my aunt were truly as close to my mother as sisters, she wouldn't have waited 13 years to contact him. When the family had that accident, the neighborhood committee contacted relatives back home immediately, made several phone calls, and finally shook their heads, sending him and Yan Mingsong to the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Home.
None of their relatives were willing to adopt them.
Yan Heqing could understand; he and Yan Mingsong were two separate people, two mouths to feed, and no one had an obligation to adopt them.
When his parents were buried, not a single relative came to see them off on their final journey.
The relationship is purely verbal.
Qin Shuqi had kept her mother's photo, and Lin Manfeng had sent her the photo. It was a miracle he had never dared to dream of, and he was truly grateful to them.
He would never forget the favor he owed them.
After a few beeps, Lin Manfeng answered the phone. An announcement could be heard in the background. Yan Heqing politely asked, "Have you arrived at the airport?"
He spoke as he walked towards the school gate.
"We've arrived! We're queuing to board." Lin Manfeng said with a smile.
"Aren't you taking the flight tonight?" Yan Heqing stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, it's ahead of schedule!"
Lin Manfeng almost forgot that he had said that.
Since he rarely comes to the capital, he planned to spend the day sightseeing and then go back in the evening. However, the young man had booked his plane ticket yesterday, and it was due at 1:30 pm today.
His boss probably wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
The young man added a word of advice, "My boss's identity is more unfathomable than you think. Take the money, do your job, understand?"
Lin Manfeng understood perfectly well that when the young man came to his door, the person who led him was someone he rarely saw.
He readily agreed.
He understands this basic social etiquette.
He was absolutely tight-lipped and wouldn't utter a single word!
Even with Yan Heqing's excellent grades and his connections with such influential figures, if he can continue to visit relatives, it will be of great help to his son!
But there was nothing he could do. His wife and Yan Qiushuang's relationship was nothing like that; they were just ordinary relatives who didn't visit each other often. Those photos were taken when Qin Shuqi visited the Yan Family and asked for a few because they were beautifully taken.