Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

The woman carried Rainy. She looked at Song Wan before nodding her head as she pinched the cheek of the child in her arms and said something into the child’s ear.

Song Wan felt sad as she picked up her lunch box. She sighed as she walked out of the hospital. The autumn breeze blew against her body, and she felt cold all of a sudden.

When Xia Ruoxin emerged from the restroom, Shen Wei was still reprimanding Rainy.

“Who asked you to sit over there?”

Shen Wei narrowed her eyes. In an instant, her formidable disposition nearly killed everything around her. Although she was not a man, her aura was still quite strong.

Rainy knew she had made a mistake. She pouted and looked up at Shen Wei as she tugged at the latter’s sleeve. “Auntie Wei, I’m sorry. I climbed higher so I can see you, too.”

Shen Wei pinched hard on Rainy’s cheeks. This imp had almost scared her to death. If she was lost or abducted, her mother would cry herself blind.

“There, you can have her.” Shen Wei shoved Rainy back into Xia Ruoxin’s arms. “This kid of yours is a handful.”

Xia Ruoxin took her daughter and adjusted her little sun hat on her head. “Do you know why you are wrong?” she asked her daughter. “If you don’t, I will beat your buttocks.”

“Yes, I know I’m wrong. Mommy, you said an obedient child knows when she is wrong and will change.” That’s why she admitted her mistake and apologized.

“Is there anything else? If not, I’m leaving.” Shen Wei glanced at her watch. She had been out for a long time and wished to go home. She offered her cheek. “Kiss.”

Rainy obediently placed a kiss on Shen Wei’s cheek. Shen Wei rested her hand on her cheek. Suddenly, the light in her eyes dimmed. “If my child was still alive, he may be as old as Rainy. He will also kiss me and call me ‘Mommy’.”

Xia Ruoxin patted Shen Wei’s shoulder offering her silent consolation.

Shen Wei retrieved her sunglasses from her bag and wore it on her face. It hid the majority of her face as she made a beeline for the exit. Her silhouette grew thinner and thinner as though it almost vanished into the autumn breeze.

“Hungry?” Xia Ruoxin hugged her daughter tighter and wondered what she was going to feed her.

“Mommy, I’m not hungry.” Rainy caressed her bulging stomach. “A granny fed me some soup. Now, I’m full.”

Xia Ruoxin stopped. She placed her daughter on the ground and patted her tummy.

“You’re really full?”

“Yes.” Rainy nodded her head vigorously. “I’ve eaten. The soup was delicious.”

Xia Ruoxin wondered if that person had fed her daughter some poison. However, on second thought, she felt she might have overthought a bit. Perhaps, that person was being kind when she saw Rainy alone so she fed her daughter the leftover soup. No one would be that bored to carry a box of poison with them to feed children. Nevertheless, she still broke out in cold sweat from the fright.

She prepared herself mentally for the talk she would be having with Rainy at home. In the future, Rainy shouldn’t eat anything from a stranger.

Rainy carried Dolly as she tapped her feet against the ground a few times. She knew she was in trouble so she kept quiet obediently while she waited for her mother to reprimand her.

“Come, let’s go and have some French fries.” Xia Ruoxin carried her daughter and went for fries. Rainy thought it tasted nice. Perhaps, every child loved fries.

“Thank you, Mommy.” At the mention of French fries, Rainy’s eyes lit up.

When Song Wan returned home, she recounted her encounter with the little girl to Chu Jiang in excitement.

“You don’t know. That child looked so pretty, and her eyes were this big!” She gestured with her hand, but it seemed exaggerated.

“Are you sure that was a child?” Chu Jiang put his newspaper down obviously shocked by her choice of example.

“What can it be if not a child?” Song Wan was full of joy. It would be great if her future grandson or granddaughter was as good-looking as that little girl.

“A cow.” Chu Jiang put his newspaper down. He linked the tip of his thumb to the tip of his index finger and put it at his eye. With such huge eyes on a small face, it must be a cow.

Song Wan grabbed the set of a newspaper from the table and threw it at Chu Jiang’s face.

Chu Jiang calmed himself followed by a sigh. He said the wrong thing so he was hit.

“Did they make things difficult for you today?” He waited for Song Wan to finished venting her frustration before he asked. By now, she had regained her usual composure.

“It’s alright.” As soon as she thought of that family in the hospital, she started to feel upset all over again. If it wasn’t for the sake of her grandchild, she wouldn’t have bothered to put up with the Li family members. The way they had treated her was tormenting.

“They still want Ah Lui to help their company?”

“What else can they possibly ask for?” she sighed and replied, “That’s all they can say every day. Aren’t they tired of repeating?”

“Let Ah Lui handle it on his own regarding the matters of the company. You don’t want to be involved.” Chu Jiang placed each page of the newspaper on the table and soothed them evenly. Although crumpled, it was good enough; and he could still make out the words.

Song Wan rolled her eyes at him. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Oh, sometimes you can be.” Chu Jiang was stunned the moment he finished. Gradually, he lifted his head and looked peeked at his wife bit by bit. However, he saw that Song Wan was looking at him as though she was deciding if she should laugh. She, too, was stunned. She sighed.

“Oh...”

It was their fate.

Chu Lui returned just in time to see his father sitting on the sofa hugging the blanket.

“Did you fight with Mom?” He came to the sofa and made some space to sit down.

Chu Jiang made his temporary bed. He didn’t feel embarrassed because this wasn’t the first time. He pulled the blanket over his body as he lay down. He cast a side glance at his son and said, “You better resolve the matter with the Li family yourself. Lately, your mother has been in a foul mood because of you, too.”

“I know.” With his hands on his kneecaps, Chu Lui sat there. A cold indifferent smile appeared on his thin lips.

Chu Jiang saw it but didn’t say a thing.

Business for the Lis’ company was dismal. In the end, it took less than two weeks for the company to become an empty shell existing only in name. The Li family had intended to use Chu Lui’s name to get a loan from the bank, but no matter what, the bank refused. Chu Lui remained oblivious, and so the loan from the bank was rejected.

The company lasted for about one month. First, the bank seized the Lis’ assets. That was not all. They had put their home and their bank deposits as collateral, too. The Li family went bankrupt. They didn’t even have a place to stay. The whole family moved to their son-in-law’s two-storied villa.

“Chu Lui, stop.”