Chapter 478 A Misunderstanding
As for what on earth had happened back then—something that had caused such a big change and making many people in the Qin family feel somewhat concerned until recent days—Qin Sheng was certainly unaware of it. Qin Ran knew some ins and outs, while elders like Qin Changan, Qin Changxing, and Zhao Anzhi definitely knew more than anyone else did.
It was because of the fact that Qin Ran knew some details that she didn’t plan to tell Qin Sheng too much. After all, Qin Sheng had just returned to the Qin Family and what he knew was already shocking enough. Qin Ran was afraid that Qin Sheng would be unable to accept it once he knew more details. That was the reason why such a misunderstanding was taking place that day.
Qin Ran knew what the truth was, after she heard her auntie’s familiar voice. She really didn’t expect that she would have a cousin whose existence wasn’t even known to her. It made her somewhat happy as well as confused.
Qin Ran came to her senses and said excitedly, “Auntie, when did you come back? Why didn’t you inform me beforehand?”
Zhao Anzhi smiled lightly and said, “I originally wanted to inform you in advance. However, I didn’t wish to bother you after hearing that you had been busy in Shanghai recently. I’m going to wait until I meet you again in Shanghai. However, I never thought that I would get to see Sheng’er first today.”
Qin Ran, who was as confused as Qin Sheng, asked eagerly, “Auntie, what on earth is going on here? I’m a little confused. Why are you in Xi’an?”
Zhao Anzhi smiled again and explained, “I just went back to Beijing yesterday. After visiting your father, I brought Yaya to Xi’an to pay our respects to the Old Master. I didn’t know that Old Master had pa.s.sed away until I got such a piece of news from your father some time ago. I am a daughter-in-law of the Qin Family and Yaya is a granddaughter of Qin Family in any case. It was only proper for us to pay our respects to him. However, I didn’t expect that I would b.u.mp into Sheng’er here. Nor did I think of the fact that you hadn’t told Sheng’er what had happened back then, which was why Sheng’er suspected us. As for Yaya, who is my daughter as well as your cousin, only your father knows of her existence. We first did it to protect her. But now that Sheng’er is back, it’s time for her to be integrated into this big family.”
Qin Ran was excited after confirming that she had a cousin. She said somewhat incoherently, “Auntie, is this true? I do have a junior sister. This is really too delightful.” She, who used to be alone in the Qin family as she handled everything on her own, had had been constantly unwilling to stay and be a part of the Qin family. But, she couldn’t be happier at the moment since her brother was back and she had a junior sister.
Zhao Anzhi looked at her aggrieved daughter next to her with amus.e.m.e.nt, “Yaya is even happier than you guys when she learned she had a brother and a sister.”
“Auntie, I will go to Xi’an to see you and meet my junior sister right away,” said Qin Ran without hesitation.
Zhao Anzhi hurriedly said, “How come you, a grown-up, is acting like a child? We’ll be back in Beijing in a few minutes. We can meet you there if you’re available.”
“Okay, Auntie, I will listen to you. I’ll be waiting for you in Beijing.” Qin Ran flashed a childish smile and then added, “Auntie, give the phone back to Qin Sheng. I’ll explain things to him.”
The middle-aged woman who claimed to be Qin Sheng’s aunt had been chatting with his sister for quite a long time. And Qin Sheng had managed to overhear their conversation. However stupid he was, he could figure out the true ident.i.ties of the mother and daughter pair in front of him. They were indeed his aunt and his cousin whom he didn’t know.
Qin Sheng took over the phone. He nodded silently as his sister explained everything to him over the call, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
After hanging up the phone, Qin Sheng took a deep breath and faced Zhao Anzhi in a new manner. He bowed to her respectfully and politely, “Auntie, Sheng’er didn’t know about those things in the past. And no one had ever told me about them. So I was a bit presumptuous just now, I hope you will forgive me, Auntie.”
Zhao Anzhi held Qin Sheng in a hurry, “Sheng’er, what are you doing? I know everything. You don’t need to be so polite. We’re a family.”
Although Zhao Anzhi had a deep-rooted hate for Qin Changxing, she was all love and affection when it came to Qin Changan’s family members, not to mention her heartfelt admiration for Qin Changan. Without Qin Changan’s perseverance and resurgence, the Qin family would have vanished in history long before, and they wouldn’t be who they currently were. Secondly, since she and Qin Changxing didn’t have any children in the past, she was particularly fond of Qin Changan’s children, especially the eccentric Qin Sheng, whom Zhao Anzhi had always brought back to live with her family, while being treated as her biological son. That was one of the reasons why she couldn’t wait to return from abroad with Yaya after Qin Changan told her that Qin Sheng had been found and had also returned to the Qin family.
The misunderstanding was finally resolved. And the family members naturally shed tears of joy because of the meeting, Zhao Anzhi, who was not as calm as she had been earlier, held Qin Sheng’s shoulders and cried as she said, “Sheng’er, let me take a good look at you. You’ve grown from a child to a handsome young man after more than twenty years. I can’t even recognize you.”
Everybody could understand Zhao Anzhi’s feelings. Firstly, she knew why the Old Master had taken away Qin Sheng with him; secondly, she hadn’t seen Qin Sheng for more than twenty years. Even the Zhu and the Qin families had the idea that finding Qin Sheng in this life was a hopeless wish, let alone her. She surely was quite happy that Qin Sheng had returned, since he represented the Qin Family’s future.
Although it was the first time for Qin Sheng to meet his auntie, he could feel this middle-aged woman’s feelings for him. After all, he had already experienced this feeling earlier when he had met his grandmother and his Small Aunt. Although he had long forgotten the scenes where he had spent time with them as a child, this kind of feeling radiating from deep inside still made Qin Sheng feel somewhat touched.
“Auntie,” Qin Sheng once again called her heartily.
After all, Zhao Anzhi was in a calm state of mind. And it didn’t take long for her to become normal. She calmly wiped away her tears and then pulled her daughter, Yaya, to stand in front of Qin Sheng, “Yaya, here. Your brother will definitely recognize you this time.”
Yaya, who was probably a little disgruntled by the fact that Qin Sheng hadn’t recognized her just then, reluctantly said, “Brother.”
Qin Sheng did not know whether he should laugh or cry as he thought, “This beauty is quite childish.” He had to comfort her, “Yaya, I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t know you. It’s that I really didn’t know I had a sister. If I knew, I would surely have been happy to see a beautiful and lovely sister such as you!”
Hearing Qin Sheng’s words, Yaya finally had a bit of a smile on her face as she said dubiously, “Really?”
Qin Sheng smiled and teased her, “Yes. I never lie. Especially when talking to such a beautiful sister.”
Yaya happily hugged Qin Sheng again right away. “Brother! I finally have a brother.”
Yaya’s words reminded Qin Sheng of the scene when he had seen his senior sister back then. At that time, he had muttered in secret that he finally had a senior sister and that he would never be lonely and miserable in the future. Thinking of how his senior sister doted on him so much later, he could relate to Yaya’s feelings. So he hugged Yaya affectionately as he said, “Yes. I also have a sister. Being your brother, I will protect you in the future.”
Kinship was something that wouldn’t be diluted by time and distance. Although this was the first time Qin Sheng had met Yaya, Qin Sheng could immediately get used to his new role after making sure that Yaya was his junior sister.
After this happy encounter, they had endless words to say to each other. As Zhao Anzhi asked Qin Sheng about his situation over the years, Qin Sheng also asked about their situation. Qin Sheng was even more touched after learning that they returned from abroad this time after knowing that he had returned to the Qin Family. Zhao Anzhi had been living in Canada, and they had not made many trips back to their homeland.
Chang Baji and Hao Lei both had taken the initiative to leave sensibly. It was somewhat inappropriate for them to be present while Qin Sheng was reunited with his family members. Anyway, they had gotten used to Qin Sheng’s life. After all, the Qin Family where Qin Sheng had come from was really awesome.
After chatting about those trivial matters, Qin Sheng was ready to pay his respects to his grandfather. He seemed to be in a good mood. After all, he suddenly had an aunt who loved him and a beautiful and lovely sister. The Qin Family would be livelier.
Zhao Anzhi and Yaya, who had already paid their respects to the Old Master, stood on the side and watched. Qin Sheng knelt down, lit incense sticks, poured a gla.s.s of wine, and kowtowed. Then he sighed and said, “Grandfather, I used to think all the time that I was an orphan abandoned by my father and my mother and that I was the most miserable child in the world. I don’t think that’s the case anymore. On the contrary, I feel that I’m much more blessed than most people. That is because I have parents and a senior sister. And now I have an aunt, an uncle and a beautiful junior sister. Grandpa, I don’t know why you took me away from Beijing back then. But I’m sure you had your own reasons. I’m convinced of this because I feel that in all the world you were the only one who would never harm me. Grandpa, don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”
Qin Sheng had originally wanted to have a good chat with his grandfather. However, it seemed that there was no chance for him to do so at the moment. After all, his auntie and junior sister were still there and he couldn’t keep them waiting. Moreover, Qin Sheng was somewhat shy to say some words to his grandpa while in front of others.
After paying his respects to his grandfather, Qin Sheng left with his auntie and Yaya. Zhao Anzhi wanted to go to the place where he had been living with his grandfather. So, Qin Sheng drove them to the old house in her Q7, while Chang Baji and Hao Lei drove behind them.
Compared with the appearance it had when Qin Sheng paid a visit before the Spring Festival, the old house seemed to have been cleaned up; even the weeds in the courtyard were gone. Every corner of the old house had been tidied up and also the wooden fence had been renovated. Only the three old rooms remained untouched. Qin Sheng didn’t know who had cleaned up the place; his best guess was that it had been the villagers doing.
Yaya was a little surprised. “Brother, did you and Grandfather use to live here?”
Yaya grew up in Canada with a naturally good environment. She, who had never seen this kind of house, was shocked upon learning that her grandfather and brother had lived in such a modest place.
Qin Sheng nodded faintly. “It was actually pretty good in the past. It’s just that this house has been vacant for a few years and it looks a bit old and tattered.”
Zhao Anzhi sighed. “I do understand why the Old Master would live here. It’s just that you suffered.”
“Auntie, I don’t feel bitter at all,” said Qin Sheng, shaking his head straightaway.
Zhao Anzhi could imagine what kind of life Qin Sheng had led with the Old master during his childhood. While he had lived in Beijing, he had been favored by many family members. And both the members of the Qin Family and the Zhu Family loved Qin Sheng dearly, fearing wronging him in the slightest. However, after following the Old Master to Xi’an, he led a vastly different life. Zhao Anzhi wondered how Qin Sheng had gotten used to it.
“You’re a silly boy,” Zhao Anzhi said helplessly.
Qin Sheng thought of his uncle who had become a monk at Mount Wutai and asked with great concern, “Auntie, how is Uncle doing?”
At the mention of Qin Changxing, Zhao Anzhi was a bit disappointed. She said very impatiently, “Let’s not talk about him today.”
Zhao Anzhi’s words made Qin Sheng feel somewhat puzzled; he was already curious to know why his uncle had become a monk. He wondered about what had pushed his uncle to decide becoming a monk. After all, his uncle had a wife as well as a child.
Qin Sheng sighed. It seemed that he would have to discover those past events of the Qin Family in a slow manner.