manynovel Chapter 241 I Was Counter-Taken by the Male Lead (29)
Chapter 241 I Was Counter-Taken by the Male Lead (29)
The antique-style teahouse is located in the bustling city center. Outside the shop is a bustling metropolis with traffic and towering buildings, while inside is a tranquil paradise with melodious music and the aroma of tea.
In a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, the room was completely silent. Although the tea on the table was clear and bright, it had become completely cold because no one had bothered to drink it.
Qin Nuan stared intently at Jiang Rou opposite her, her eyes filled with tenderness. The sharp-tongued woman at the negotiating table was now clasped tightly together, her mouth opening and closing, but she didn't utter a single word for a long time.
Jiang Rou, sitting opposite her, kept her head down, silent and motionless, seemingly shocked by the bombshell.
She grew up with her grandmother and didn't even have the concept of parents. Her life revolved around her grandmother, and now suddenly someone has appeared claiming to be her older sister.
She wanted to refute it, but the other person's excited expression and uncontrollable joy told her that this might be true.
That's why she couldn't understand it, her face was full of blankness, and she didn't know what to say.
Jiang Rou's hand was still tightly held by Xie Nan. Sensing her confusion and helplessness, he released her hand, carefully put his arm around her shoulder, and gently comforted her:
"It's okay, Arou, I'm here."
Hearing his voice, Jiang Rou's eyes regained some light. She really didn't know how to face him, and she nervously clutched Xie Nan's clothes, her posture full of longing.
Xie Nan patted her head reassuringly, then turned to Qin Nuan in front of him and said:
“Arou’s only family member since she was little was Grandma Jiang. You say you are her sister, but what evidence do you have? Even if you have evidence to prove it, why did Arou get lost? Why did you only come looking for her now? And what makes you think Arou will go back?”
Xie Nan asked one question after another. He naturally knew about Qin Nuan's feelings for Jiang Rou because of his previous experience, but Jiang Rou didn't know that, and these were all things that needed to be clarified.
He knew how much Jiang Rou loved Grandma Jiang, and it was hard for her to accept that such a relative had suddenly appeared. Rather than saying she found it hard to accept Qin Nuan as her older sister, it was more accurate to say that she found it hard to accept that Qin Nuan was not Grandma Jiang's biological granddaughter.
That was her grandmother, her only family.
Xie Nan bombarded her with questions, and Jiang Rou froze. She didn't show any outward change, but Xie Nan sensed it. He had always known that his A Rou was a soft-hearted person.
Hearing these words, Qin Nuan's long-suppressed emotions burst forth, and she burst into tears, pushing the paternity test report in front of the two of them, which showed that they were relatives.
Qin Nuan looked at Jiang Rou, who wasn't looking at her, and said, word by word:
"Your full name is Qin Yin, which was given to you by your father. Jiao Jiao is your nickname, which your mother asked me to give you. Your arrival made the whole family very happy. You love to laugh and you smile at everyone you see. Your father even said that the whole family is impatient, but we have such a good-natured person like you."
As she spoke, Qin Nuan's expression drifted into memories. Tears still streamed down her face, but she was smiling. However, as if she had just remembered something, her expression turned painful.
“But when you were just three months old, something suddenly happened to your father’s company. Your father, who was always cheerful and always smiling, was full of sorrow. That day, when your father left home, he smiled and told me that he would bring me a small cake when he came back that night. But I waited for a long time, and my father did not appear until late at night. When I woke up the next day, I saw my mother crying until she fainted. My father was dead. He jumped from the top floor and died on the spot.”
As she spoke, Qin Nuan seemed unable to bear recalling the scene, and closed her eyes. The excruciating pain made her support herself on the table to barely straighten her back.
"Mom couldn't take the blow and fell seriously ill. She cried all day long and became so thin in less than half a month that she couldn't even hold you when you were little. Fortunately, you were very obedient and would smile at us when Mom and I were sad. Mom also started to cheer up until that day..."
As she spoke, Qin Nuan looked at Jiang Rou with her red and swollen eyes: "Until I woke up that morning and you were gone. I couldn't find you no matter how hard I looked. I reported it to the police, but there was no news for a long time. They only caught the nanny who stole you. My health, which had just started to improve, quickly deteriorated again. A month later, my mother also passed away."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou raised her head, her face already streaked with tears. Looking at the grief-stricken Qin Nuan, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, perhaps due to the connection between family members. She knew this was the original owner's emotion.
Jiang Rou gripped Xie Nan's clothes tightly, her fingers turning white from the force. She looked at Qin Nuan and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "And what about you?"
And what about you? How are you doing? Qin Nuan was only an eight-year-old girl back then. She lost her father, mother, and sister in just a few months. How did she cope?
Qin Nuan felt a little happy when she heard Jiang Rou's words. Seeing her tears, she felt very sorry for her and could no longer control herself. She walked around the table to Jiang Rou and took a handkerchief to wipe the tears from Jiang Rou's face.
Her eyes were gentle, and she smiled: "I'm fine, and I've been looking for you. I've never forgotten you. Jiaojiao, I'm sorry I'm late."
He tentatively reached out to Jiang Rou, and seeing that she did not refuse, he pulled her into his arms and gently stroked her head, tears streaming down his face, as if he wanted to tell her all the longing he had felt over the years.
Jiang Rou neither rejected her actions nor denied the way she addressed her, but she remained silent. Like Qin Nuan, tears streamed down her face.
Having calmed herself down, Qin Nuan had already pushed Xie Nan aside and sat down next to Jiang Rou. She held Jiang Rou's hand tightly, staring at her quiet profile with a somewhat cautious expression.
"I want to go back to Grandma's with you, is that okay, Rou Rou?"
Her way of addressing her had changed, and Qin Nuan believed that this was a new beginning for her and her sister.
Jiang Rou thought for a moment, then slowly nodded and softly hummed in agreement. Qin Nuan smiled at this.
Based on what she had investigated and what Jiang Rou had just told her, Qin Nuan considered Grandma Jiang a great benefactor simply because Grandma Jiang had found Jiang Rou and raised her. She really wanted to thank her in person.
Jiang Rou hesitated for a moment, then bit her lower lip—a subconscious action she took when nervous.
"Is that man good to you?"
Qin Nuan just mentioned that she is already married.
After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Rou mustered up her courage and asked.
Qin Nuan was taken aback by her question. Seeing that Jiang Rou took the initiative to care about her, she felt a little happy. Even someone else couldn't affect her mood.
Qin Nuan lied without changing her expression: "Yes, he treats me very well."
She said that aloud, but secretly sneered in her heart. How could it not be good? It's all thanks to this good-for-nothing, otherwise her plan wouldn't have been able to proceed so quickly. Isn't this good for her?
She didn't intend to tell Jiang Rou about these grudges; she could handle those herself. Her sister just needed to be a clean and happy little princess.
Looking at Qin Nuan's gentle gaze, Xie Nan really couldn't reconcile the person in front of him with the ruthless woman in his memory who not only brought down the Meng family but also sent her husband to prison.
When the topic of sending someone to prison came up, Xie Nan's eyes paused slightly. He remembered that Meng Heng had attempted murder, so was Qin Nuan in danger?
If Qin Nuan were still in her previous identity, he certainly wouldn't have kindly reminded her, but now she is his Arou's older sister, and if something happens to her, Arou will definitely be very sad.
"Looks like I need to remind her," Xie Nan thought expressionlessly.