I woke up to find I have a child - Chapter 81
Han Feixu looked at Ye Mingxin expressionlessly, staring for about three seconds before she averted her gaze, nonchalantly saying, “Being stubborn are we*? It’s fine, I’ve already remembered, and I’ll remember even more in the future.” (*T/N: Technically the phrase she used is ??????? = “dead duck mouth’s hard” and is a saying that someone is being stubborn and refusing to admit to something)
Ye Mingxin looked at her searchingly, “What did you remember? Which incident?”
Han Feixu scoffed and glanced sideways, “You know very well which one it is.”
Ye Mingxin: “……”
Here we go again with this mess! She genuinely doesn’t know!
When Han Feixu said she remembered something, Ye Mingxin subconsciously thought she was referring to events from the past ten years, the last ten years of memories Han Feixu had lost. It didn’t even cross her mind to think about something from more than sixteen years ago. The memory Han Feixu remembered was a memory lost after traumatic stress, which is usually a permanent loss, and those memories don’t resurface unless triggered.
Seeing Han Feixu’s angry demeanor, Ye Mingxin truly couldn’t recall what she might have hidden from her that would make her so upset.
Even Han Feixu herself didn’t know what she was angry about, let alone Ye Mingxin. She was just acting and had gotten in too deep that she couldn’t step out of the role she had taken on = =
Upon arriving at the Ye Family’s old residence, everyone greeted them on the first floor. Han Feixu and Ye Mingxin entered and first greeted Ye Mingxin’s grandparents. The grandfather was a thin and authoritative old man who usually squinted his eyes, and appeared quite kind when his eyes were squinted into happy crescents. But once he opened his eyes, his sharp gaze was like a radioactive bean, strong enough to frighten anyone into standing upright.
Han Feixu politely said, “Hello, Grandpa and Grandma.”
The grandfather nodded, indicating he heard her, while the grandmother looked up in confusion, staring at her for a long while, unable to recall who she was.
Knowing that Ye Mingxin’s grandmother was having another episode again, Han Feixu merely smiled calmly.
The grandmother blinked before laughing, “Xu-Xu–!”
Han Feixu was dumbfounded for a moment before realizing that the other party was calling her by a nickname. She quickly responded back with a greeting while Ye Mingxin nudged her forward. Han Feixu followed her suggestion and squatted next to the grandmother’s wheelchair as she continued with a smile, “Grandma, how have you been doing recently?”
“Good, g-good…” The moment of clarity was brief, and soon the grandmother forgot who Han Feixu was again. She hunched her back, reaching under the blanket on her legs, and after fumbling for a while, she triumphantly produced a jade Ruyi*. (*T/N: A Ruyi is a ceremonial scepter)
Han Feixu, with her keen eye and knowledge of such items, immediately recognized that the item was made from top-quality jade. Moreover, it was a large piece of jade crafted into an item no longer produced in modern times. Most Ruyi were made in ancient times, so if this was an antique… the intricate patterns on it definitely indicated it was used for official purposes, and it might even have been a royal item!
In an instant, Han Feixu’s eyes lit up. Ye Mingxin, standing beside her, noticed her expression and subtly nudged her, prompting Han Feixu to regain her composure.
Ye Mingxin’s grandfather sat nearby, watching them with amusement.
Ye Mingin’s grandmother started to place it into Han Feixu’s hands, as if intending to give the Ruyi to Han Feixu. When Han Feixu was about to accept it, the other party suddenly pulled it back and skillfully used it to scratch her back.
Han Feixu: “…..”
Although a Ruyi is shaped like a back scratcher, it isn’t meant to be used literally for that purpose!
After scratching to her contentment, Ye Mingxin’s grandmother smiled again and then pushed the jade Ruyi into Han Feixu’s hands.
Dinner was ready a long time ago, but because Han Feixu and Ye Mingxin were late, the meal was delayed by an hour and a half. Yan Yuerong called everyone to the dining room, and Ye Junyuan wheeled Ye Mingxin’s grandmother in while second uncle Ye Junqian came to escort the grandfather.
Seeing Han Feixu still bewilderedly holding the jade Ruyi, Yan Yuerong smiled, “To grandmother now, these antiques are just like toys that Yiyi likes; besides for playing, they have no other use for her.”
Han Feixu’s eyes widened, “Then I’ll sneak the Ruyi back. Grandma seems to like it.”
“Keep it, keep it,” Yan Yuerong said nonchalantly, “There are plenty in the storeroom. Whenever Grandma gives one away, Grandpa replenishes her with two more. Don’t think Grandma is confused; she gives you this because she’s tired of it and wants grandpa to give her two new ones.”
Then Yan Yuerong walked away, and Han Feixu placed the Ruyi aside before following her to the table and to her seat. She looked at Ye Mingxin’s grandparents sitting at the head of the table and watched as the grandmother patted the blanket on her legs and pouted her lips, while the grandfather glanced at her once before turning away and speaking in a gruff yet indulgent tone, “I know, I know, you can choose some new ones yourself tonight.”
Before the grandfather finished speaking, the grandmother’s eyes lit up, and Han Feixu, infected by her joy, couldn’t help but smile at the scene. She picked up a napkin and carefully laid it on her lap as Ye Mingxin sat to her left. On her right, she noticed someone approaching and looked up to see it was Ye MingAn. (*T/N: Reminder that Ye MingAn is Ye Mingxin’s cousin, the one who got her engagement party ruined.)
Seeing Han Feixu looking at him, Ye MingAn immediately lowered her head timidly, shrinking into his seat, silent and acting as if everyone should treat him like air.
Han Feixu was very puzzled.
Although it was unintentional, if one were to really dig into it, the engagement party last time was ruined by her and MingDe. Even if one doesn’t hold a grudge against the culprit, why was MingAn acting like a mouse seeing a cat?
The last time Ye MingAn saw her, her reaction was the same, as if she owed Han Feixu eight hundred million yuan and was afraid of being asked to pay it back.
After a moment of silence, Han Feixu turned her head back, focusing on the family dinner again.
Today, she didn’t see Ye MingYong, nor Ye Mingxin’s brother, Ye MingDe. She heard he went to Africa to secure investments for his company again, and no one knew what he was up to or which country he was in right now. The family’s expectations for him had dropped to the lowest, and they just hoped he could stay alive and visit once a year during the Lunar New Year.
Before coming, Han Feixu prepared herself to be cursed out by the shrewish second aunt and had even several different comebacks planned to ensure she wasn’t bullied again. However, today the second aunt was deflated like a punctured ball, and it seemed like someone had beaten her to the punch, probably having warned her not to act out during the family dinner today.
So overall, the entire dinner was quiet and enjoyable.
After dinner, everyone sat in the dining room chatting. The men talked about business matters, but compared to the boisterous Ye Family men, the women and children were much quieter.
The second aunt and Ye MingAn sat together like two wronged parties, and occasionally, the second aunt would roll her eyes. She would sometimes look in the direction of Ye Mingxin and Han Feixu, but made her actions unclear enough that no one was quite sure at who she was rolling her eyes exactly.
Ye Mingxin peeled some longan*and placed them on Han Feixu’s plate. She ate one herself, then peeled another for Han Feixu. Han Feixu’s gaze wandered over everyone, finally landing on her daughter. She gently kicked Ye Mingxin with her foot, “Go and see what Yiyi is doing.” (*T/N: ?? = “dragon’s eye” = a white-fleshed fruit much like lychee.)
Ye Mingxin looked over, “Isn’t she playing with Pinlan? Why should I go there? Pinlan is somewhat afraid of me. If I go, he’ll feel uncomfortable.” (*T/N: Reminder that Pinlan is the bastard son of Ye Mingxin’s male cousin, Ye MingYong)
Hearing this, Han Feixu looked at her disdainfully, “You should reevaluate your social skills, look, even the children are afraid of you.”
Ye Pinlan’s fear of Ye Mingxin stemmed from an incident at a family banquet a few years ago, when Ye MingYong’s frivolous and disrespectful attitude infuriated Ye Mingxin. Usually, Ye Mingxin wouldn’t meddle in matters of the second uncle’s family, but Ye MingYong went too far with his derogatory remarks about Ye Mingxin and Han Feixu and caused Ye Mingxin to explode with fury.
He opened his mouth and Ye Mingxin raised her hand and responded to his remarks with a harsh slap, so hard that Ye MingYong’s ears were ringing. Ye MingYong had thought of retaliating, but stopped when he noticed Ye Mingxin’s brother MingDe was also there. MingDe didn’t intervene, but that was only because Ye MingYong didn’t actually fight back. If he had, MingDe would surely have beaten him up.
In short, with one slap and a string of harsh words, Ye Mingxin scared everyone deeply that day, including the second aunt, who didn’t even dare to argue for fear of becoming the next target.
Ye Pinlan was also there and watched as she reprimanded his father like an owner scolding a dog. She left a deep impression that made him dare not talk to her even now.
Ye Mingxin didn’t really care about this, thinking it normal for children to be afraid of her. She thought that once he grew up and understood better, he wouldn’t be afraid of her anymore.
Han Feixu disagreed with her perspective, “Even if he grows up and becomes more sensible, he will still be afraid of you. You should change his impression of you now.”
She nodded towards where the children were, “Pinlan is like a big brother to Yiyi, and is the only ‘sibling’ she knows. They have such a good relationship now but when Pinlan grows up, he will come to our house often. What if he doesn’t come visit because he is too scared of you, then what will you do?”
Ye Mingxin silently looked at her, and after a while, she dropped the longan she was holding, took out a wet wipe, and cleaned her hands, “Alright, I’ll go over there now.”
Han Feixu immediately smiled, “Good, go be a good baby, and Mama will reward you when we get home.”
Ye Mingxin stretched out her cleaned hand and flicked Han Feixu’s forehead, “You’re the one who said it, so no going back on your word.”
Ye Mingxin walked away smiling, and Han Feixu mentally replied that she wouldn’t go back on her word. Just like rewarding Yiyi, she was going to give Ye Mingxin a red flower stamp on the back of her hand if she did well!
After sending Ye Mingxin away, Han Feixu sat on the chair and waited for a few seconds before walking over to Yan Yuerong.
Yan Yuerong was sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at her phone. Han Feixu asked, “Mom, why don’t you go and talk to them?”
Yan Yuerong looked up, “Look around this room, who can I talk to?”
The grandmother was entertaining herself, the grandfather was watching her do so, and Ye Junyuan and Ye Junqian, the two brothers, were busy boasting to one another. In their conversation, it seemed like the Kangxuan Group was about to dominate the world and venture into the stars.
Meanwhile, Ye Mingxin’s conversations with her mother were always perfunctory and she wouldn’t engage actively. There was no need to mention the second aunt and Ye MingAn, for even if they were willing to talk to Yan Yuerong, she wouldn’t want to interact with them. And on the other side, Yiyi and Ye Pinlan were playing happily.
Looking around, there really wasn’t anyone Yan Yuerong could talk to.
Han Feixu turned her head back, smiling, “You can talk to me.”
Yan Yuerong stared at her for two seconds, then smiled warmly, “Feixu.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you short on money?”
Han Feixu: “……”
Yan Yuerong sat up straight, her eyes kind and compassionate as she patted Han Feixu’s hand, “If you’re short on money, just tell Mom. Don’t be so roundabout. How much do you need? I’ll have someone transfer some over to you.”
As she said this, she was about to get up to fetch her purse, “If it’s not much, I can give you a card I have. It contains some money, I don’t remember how much, but there should be a few million. You can use it first, and for the rest, I’ll…”
Han Feixu, with a forehead full of lines, pulled Yan Yuerong back, “No, no, no, I’m not short on money. Please sit back down.”
Yan Yuerong looked at her blankly, “If you’re not short on money, then why are you talking to me?”
When Ye Mingxin and Ye MingDe were young, they would only call for their mother when they needed money. Thus, this had become a habit for Yan Yuerong. Han Feixu fell silent for a moment before saying, “Mom, I just wanted to ask you about something.”
Yan Yuerong asked curiously, “What is it?”
“It’s just…” Han Feixu glanced back, watching Ye Mingxin leaning against the sofa as she instructed Yiyi on how to play chess. The pair were playing well until Ye Mingxin saw her daughter was losing badly and decided to help her with a move.
Seeing she wasn’t looking their way, Han Feixu turned back and whispered, “Ye Mingxin was kidnapped when she was young, you know about it, right?”
Yan Yuerong couldn’t help but laugh, “Child, how could I not know about that?” She paused, looking into Han Feixu’s eyes, “Did Mingxin tell you?”
“Yes, but she didn’t say much. I didn’t want to remind her of painful memories, so I didn’t dare ask more,” Han Feixu put on a regretful expression, “Can you tell me about it?”
Yan Yuerong looked at her understandingly, “That incident is something our whole family dares not mention. Even now, thinking back to those days still pains my heart. For two whole days, we didn’t know where Mingxin was. At that time, I thought, if anything happened to Mingxin, I wouldn’t be able to live either…”
Even second uncle’s family, despite their less-than-good morals, were anxious and worried when Ye Mingxin was kidnapped, let alone Ye Mingxin’s actual family. They are family, after all, and no one wanted anything bad to happen to Ye Mingxin. At that time, Ye Mingxin’s father, Ye Junyuan, was frantic and couldn’t care less about anyone else, so it was second aunt who kept comforting Yan Yuerong, constantly consoling her. When they heard the kidnappers demanded a huge ransom, she didn’t hesitate to offer ten million from her own family’s coffers without saying a word. Because of this incident, no matter what trouble second uncle’s family caused or what immoral things they did, Yan Yuerong always remained indifferent and refused to sever ties or break off relations with them.
Han Feixu pursed her lips, then asked, “How exactly did she end up being kidnapped in Kunshan?” (*T/N: Kunshan is a city in Jiangsu province, near Shanghai. Note that this location was mentioned in chapter 77 when talking about where Han Feixu used to live.)
Yan Yuerong sighed, “You know, Mingxin was quite rebellious at that time. Her classmates said they wanted to go to Kunshan to play, and she sneaked off without telling the family. I regret it so much now. I shouldn’t have given her so much money, nor should I have withdrawn her bodyguards. Although everyone says it’s not my fault, I always feel…”
Han Feixu wasn’t paying attention to what Yan Yuerong said afterward. She held her breath, trying hard to suppress the shock in her heart.
Ye Mingxin had never told her that the place she was kidnapped was in Kunshan. When she talked about the incident that day, she always used terms like “that place” to vaguely refer to it and hide that they had met before in Kunshan.
Throughout this entire day, Han Feixu had been wondering how she managed to give the bracelet to Ye Mingxin. Previously, Ye Mingxin had said the bracelet was a gift from someone else, and Han Feixu had even tested her about it. She hadn’t noticed anything at the time, but now, she remembers it all.
Ye Mingxin had been wearing that bracelet since her debut, so obviously, Han Feixu must have given it to her before her debut.
But didn’t she meet Ye Mingxin for the first time when she was sixteen?
If she had met Ye Mingxin before, why didn’t she remember it before?
A ten year old child is old enough to remember things, but she didn’t remember Chloe, the jade bracelet, or Ye Mingxin.
On the drive over, she had realized that Ye Mingxin was still being evasive with her. Han Feixu didn’t expect her to reveal everything, but since she had already remembered some details, she was sure she could find out and remember more with a little more investigation.
Han Feixu had gotten her hands on that jade bracelet when she was ten, so it must have been given away when she was ten or shortly after. Ye Mingxin had only come to Beijing at eighteen, and Han Feixu was fourteen then. She definitely would’ve remembered if she had met Ye Mingxin ten, and given away something as important as her grandmother’s jade bracelet. Therefore, she came to the conclusion that she must have given the bracelet away in Kunshan when she was ten.
Perhaps, it was on the day she met Chloe, because that was the only day she couldn’t seem to remember anything.
All these were Han Feixu’s speculations. She wanted to confirm them, so she approached Yan Yuerong, and sure enough, her guess was correct: Ye Mingxin had been kidnapped in Kunshan, and they had met during her kidnapping.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind.
Dark clouds drifted across the black sky, and a large moon disappeared and reappeared behind them. Though the moonlight was brighter than usual, it felt as if beasts were lurking around her. The lush forest by day had turned into a scene from a horror movie at night, filled with the chirping of insects. A hand tightly covered her mouth. She was terrified and her tears were flowing like a broken faucet down her face. She was scared to death, and her foot ached unbearably. As the pain became intolerable, she began to struggle, but the more she struggled, the tighter the person gripped her.
The arms around her weren’t much thicker than hers. Trapped in their embrace, she couldn’t move. The person’s voice trembled as they pleaded in her ear, “Don’t move, please… don’t make a sound…”
Han Feixu suddenly lowered her head, covering her eyes, breathing more rapidly than usual. Yan Yuerong noticed something was off and gently touched her arm, “Feixu, what’s wrong?”
For nearly two seconds, Han Feixu didn’t move, and Yan Yuerong grew frightened. Then Han Feixu looked up, her face appearing no different than before.
She smiled, “I’m fine, Mom. I need to go to the restroom.”
“O-Oh… go ahead.”
Yan Yuerong looked at her with a confused face, but Han Feixu ignored her and stood up to head towards the restroom on the first floor.
Just as she turned around, Ye Mingxin looked up. Suddenly, Yiyi called out to her, “Mommy, can I move like this?”
Yiyi had to repeat her sentence before Ye Mingxin responded. Ye Mingxin lowered her head, barely glancing at the gameboard, “Yes, you can move like that.”
They were playing checkers now, a game with little technical content and so it required little brainpower from Ye Mingxin. She quickly looked up again, gazing at the door that Han Feixu had just closed behind her. After a while, she lowered her eyes again, seemingly deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Han Feixu was sitting on the toilet, silently recalling the fleeting scene that had just flashed in her mind.
The scene was clear in her head, almost instantly Han Feixu remembered – it was at a place called Lotus Mountain, a place near her grandmother’s house. There was nothing interesting on the mountain, and it wasn’t tall, it could barely be called a mountain as it was only a few hundred meters high. The locals would only go there for the occasional spring outings, and so it was usually deserted most of the time.
Her grandmother had taken her there twice, but the path up was rough, and there was only an old, dilapidated temple on the mountain top. There were no monks in the temples, just two Arhat statues sitting guard. The first time she went, the temple scared her to tears, and so her grandmother never took her there again.
Han Feixu tried hard to recall more details, but the flash of memory was like a sudden reward that came out of nowhere; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember more.
After several minutes, Han Feixu gave up, feeling her head would explode if she continued.
Lowering her head, her gaze fell on her shoes.
There was a white scar on the sole of her right foot. She had never paid attention to it before, but now she understood where she got it – it was a wound from the mountain.
Han Feixu didn’t understand why she would have been on that mountain. Had she also been kidnapped?
And the person holding her was Ye Mingxin. Even though the voice was immature and panicked, she could tell it was Ye Mingxin. Ye Mingxin had said she escaped from the kidnappers’ watch and had hid in the bushes, and dared not move for fear of being found again.
Han Feixu closed her eyes, envisioning the scene of hiding in the bushes.
Not knowing how long she had been in the restroom, Han Feixu stood up. She pressed the flush button and then realized it was one of those silent toilets, the kind where the flushing sound was very quiet, almost inaudible from outside.
Silently, she walked to the sink. Thankfully, the faucet wasn’t silent. She had to make some noise if she was going to pretend to go to the bathroom. It wouldn’t feel right to pretend and not make a single sound = =
She stepped out of the restroom, and spotted Ye Mingxin standing nearby. Hearing the door, Ye Mingxin looked over.
“Let’s go home.”
A moment later, Han Feixu gently nodded.
Yiyi was enjoying herself, and the grandparents liked her company and wanted to spend more time with her. So when they left, they didn’t take Yiyi with them. As they exited the old residence, Wei Xun walked over to open the car’s rear door for them. Ye Mingxin waved him off and told him, “I’ll drive back, you can go home.”
Wei Xun paused dumbfoundedly, then nodded in agreement.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Han Feixu quietly watched Ye Mingxin, wondering what Ye Mingxin was trying to do.
The awkward silence returned, but this time the atmosphere was different. Han Feixu didn’t dare make small talk anymore and then, after driving for a little while, Han Feixu realized they weren’t driving on the roads that should’ve led them back home.
She turned her head, “Where are we going?”
“To find a quiet place.”
There were no quiet places in Beijing city, it was noisy everywhere, unless they went to the suburbs.
Han Feixu had a feeling that Ye Mingxin had figured out everything. She was frustrated; why did it seem like Ye Mingxin could keep secrets from her until the end of time, but if she tried to do the same, to keep a secret from Ye Mingxin, she would be discovered within two days at most.
The roads seemed endless at night, with only the streetlights on either side escorting them through the darkness. Such a scene could be somewhat frightening, but sitting next to Ye Mingxin, Han Feixu didn’t feel scared at all. She liked this wonderful sense of security.
Finally, Ye Mingxin slowed down and parked the car at a junction on a hilltop. Han Feixu looked around and didn’t think the place was particularly quiet.
Yes, she had to admit that there were not many people around, but across from them was the famous Wangfujing Street*, with its glaring neon lights and bustling nightlife. (*T/N: Wangfujing is a shopping street, home to 280 shops and one of the more famous downtown shopping areas of Beijing)
After pulling up on the handbrake, Ye Mingxin turned off the car and cut off even the last bit of engine noise. The air felt completely still and quiet around them.
Han Feixu kept her gaze steady, determined not to be the first to break the silence. Ye Mingxin looked at her side profile and said gently, “Let me guess, what you remembered must be related to Chloe.”