During her time in the orphanage, Ning Xin had once yearned to meet her parents. This desire lasted from around six or seven years old until she was thirteen or fourteen. During her early years, she was too young to understand that everyone had parents, and she often felt that the orphanage was better than the outside world because the other children didn’t have such a large family like theirs.
However, as she grew older and understood more about her abandonment, her feelings towards her parents changed from anticipation to indifference, and eventually, she stopped thinking about them altogether.
There were people who wanted to adopt Ning Xin. Truth be told, with her healthy limbs, normal intelligence, and decent appearance, she was quite sought after among potential adopters. She had also struggled with the decision of whether to choose kind adoptive parents and go with them to become their child.
The prospective adopters were financially stable and could provide her with a normal life, even support her through college. But ultimately, she chose to stay.
The taste of being abandoned was too bitter, and she wanted to never experience it again, as long as she didn’t rely on anyone else.
Ning Xin had resigned herself to a lonely life until she met Nie Ran, which made her start to yearn for family and marriage.
But now, the director actually told her that her parents had been found?
That she had been lost all those years ago?
After hanging up the phone, she went to the orphanage with the company of the other three.
Wan Yue sat in the front row chatting with the driver, while Nie Ran and Lang Xiao sat on either side of her, both silent.
Ning Xin looked out the window at the swiftly passing scenery, her mood as chaotic as a bird’s nest on a utility pole.
What did her parents look like? What kind of work did they do? Were they young or old?
What should she say when they meet? Should she be enthusiastic or indifferent?
Would they invite her home?
All these questions could only be answered at the asylum, and she was already beginning to feel fearful.
If they weren’t as she imagined, or even completely different, like if they were sick and couldn’t afford treatment, so they came to find her, what would she do?
Ning Xin couldn’t help but check the time on her phone, only three minutes had passed since she got on the car.
Three minutes, but it felt like thirty years had passed.
Nie Ran had been watching her all along, and seeing her distress, he held her hand, fingers interlocking.
“Don’t be afraid, we’re here for you.”
She immediately felt a lot lighter, and gratefully glanced at him.
Nie Ran suddenly smirked, “I’m quite curious to see them.”
“You want to see them?”
“They’re my future father-in-law and mother-in-law.”
Ning Xin’s cheeks flushed slightly as she shook off his hand. “Nonsense.”
Nie Ran wasn’t angry. He grabbed her hand again and rubbed it in his palm. “If the meeting goes smoothly, how about setting a wedding date? I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
A wedding date?
In Ning Xin’s mind, she pictured the two of them dressed in formal attire, having their wedding at a hotel. Everywhere would be adorned with white or pink flowers, and she liked tulips, so they would use tulips exclusively. Guests filled both sides of the T-shaped platform, the host charismatic, and the atmosphere lively.
Nie Ran in a suit with a tie, holding the wedding ring. And she, wearing a snow-white wedding gown, slowly walking towards him under the guidance of the flower girl…
No, according to Nie Ran’s preferences, the wedding should be in a Chinese style, right?
Under the radiance of countless red candles, she would be sitting quietly in a splendid and delicate qipao on a grand chair.
Nie Ran would hold a golden scale gently lifting her red veil…
Stop! Stop!
Ning Xin took a deep breath, shelving her boundless imagination, and scolded, “Stop thinking about beautiful things.”
“It’s still possible.”
Nie Ran looked at her intently. “But you have to swear, no matter what happens in the future, you won’t change your mind, you’ll always be mine.”
Swear?
Ning Xin glanced awkwardly at the driver. “Are you on the wrong medication? There are still other people here.”
“Are you feeling guilty?”
“You’re the one feeling guilty.”
She thought for a moment, hooked her pinky with his, and shook it back and forth.
“We both promise not to change our minds. The one who changes first will be struck by lightning, hanging themselves, and suffering for a hundred years, no changing allowed.”
A hundred years is too short, Nie Ran held her hand tightly in his palm, as if wanting to grow into conjoined twins with her.
Lang Xiao looked at the two of them in confusion, pouting and holding her own left hand with her right.
They arrived at the orphanage, the taxi driver and Wan Yue chatting quite amicably, refusing to take any money no matter what.
Ning Xin had no choice but to bask in his kindness once again, taking a ride in the overbearing car, heading towards her long-lost “home.”
The gate of the orphanage was tightly closed, an old man in the guard room watching TV.
Ning Xin knocked on the window, before she could say anything, the person inside recognized her.
“Hey, isn’t this Xinxin? You’re back?”
The word “back” made Ning Xin feel especially warm, her nose tingling slightly.
The day she left the orphanage, she secretly vowed never to come back unless she made something of herself, but in the end, she broke that promise.
The old man opened the gate and let them in.
The orphanage hadn’t changed at all, it was exactly the same as when she left. It’s just that after a few years of rain washing, the exterior walls looked a bit more dilapidated.
She walked towards the director’s office confidently, encountering many familiar faces along the way, all greeting her as if she had never left.
The office door was closed, she knocked twice, and the voice of Director Jiang came from inside.
“Come in.”
Ning Xin pushed the door open and the interior was just as she remembered.
The elderly Director Jiang sat behind an old-fashioned desk, the pile of documents almost blocking her face.
Ning Xin greeted her, and Director Jiang slowly raised her head, adjusting her reading glasses and smiling.
“You’re back. And who are these people?”
She quickly introduced, “My friends.”
Director Jiang joked, “All friends? No boyfriend?”
Ning Xin felt embarrassed to answer, so she tacitly acknowledged it.
Director Jiang didn’t press further, setting aside her work and standing up.
Ning Xin looked around and asked, “Director, um… where are they?”
She still didn’t know how to address them, to call them parents would be a stretch since they were strangers.
To call them strangers would disregard their blood ties.
Director Jiang replied, “They’re next door playing with the children. Since you went missing, they haven’t had any children of their own. It’s just been the two of them at home, very lonely.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Xin was stunned, feeling an indescribable emotion in her heart.
By this time, Director Jiang had already walked to the door and had someone call them over.
In the years of anticipating her parents’ appearance, Ning Xin had imagined various meeting scenarios. In every scenario, she was very happy.
But when the two of them actually appeared in front of her, it was far from what she had imagined.
She just looked at them, calmly watching as her gaze scanned their faces, noticing similarities between them and herself, sighing inwardly—so these were her parents?
It was the opposite, they were very emotional. The woman cried silently, and the man’s eyes were also filled with tears.
They both looked to be in their fifties or sixties, with greying hair and deep wrinkles.
But they were elegantly dressed, their fingernails neatly trimmed, indicating they were involved in respectable occupations.
The man held his wife’s hand and took a step forward.
“What… what’s your name?” he asked.
Ning Xin opened her mouth, but her throat muscles stiffened, unable to produce sound.
At this moment, Nie Ran came up behind her, his right hand grasping her shoulder, and he answered for her, “Ning Xin.”
“That’s a very refined and elegant name, quite similar to what we had in mind back then.”
The director knew there were many things both parties needed to say, so she led them to a reception room and let them sit down to talk.
The couple sat across from Ning Xin, looking at her with uncontrollable joy.
“So alike, so much like her! She must be our daughter!”
Ning Xin’s eyes shimmered, and Nie Ran said, “You mentioned she got lost accidentally back then. Could you please tell us the specific circumstances?”
“Of course.”
The husband recounted the events of that year.
It turned out that neither of them were locals; they stayed here for work after graduating.
When their daughter was born, they hadn’t yet bought a house. The rented apartment was too small to take care of the child, so they decided to temporarily send her to their hometown for their parents to look after, until they arranged a place to live and could bring her back.
Their daughter got lost on the way back to their hometown. That year, the train was particularly crowded, and the two of them were carrying her, along with numerous bags.
During the journey, the wife’s still unhealed tear wound started bleeding, and she called out to him from the train’s restroom.
He couldn’t hear clearly, so he went over to check. He immediately returned, but in just that minute, they couldn’t find their daughter anymore.
At that time, there was no DNA database, and their daughter had just been born, so she wasn’t registered yet.
They didn’t even have a photo of her; the only thing that could prove she had existed was the birth certificate issued by the hospital.
They searched every carriage, reported to the police at the next station, tried every possible method, but they couldn’t find their daughter.
During these years apart, they persisted in searching while working, but unfortunately, due to the lack of information, they had no results.
It wasn’t until recent years with advancements in technology that Ning Xin had a medical examination before leaving the orphanage and her DNA was stored in the database.
This year, due to health reasons, the husband stayed in the hospital for a while, and his DNA was also stored. After comparing with the database, they finally discovered that their daughter had been living in the same city’s orphanage all along.
“Over these years, many people advised us to have another child, saying it’s a waste of time to keep looking. But we couldn’t bear it. What if one day you came back, and we had started a new life with another child? How much would you suffer?”
The husband stopped, choked with emotion.
The wife wiped away her tears and looked at her guiltily.
“Xinxin, can we call you Xinxin too? Would you forgive us for being so careless? Would you be willing to come back with us and give us a chance to be parents?”
Ning Xin was deeply conflicted and couldn’t answer.
The wife blinked her eyes, tears rolling down in large drops.
“Please, give us a chance to make up for these years we owe you. You don’t know how much we’ve missed you. We’ve even prepared a house for you. In the future, you can live there when you get married and have children. Since we’ll be retired, we’ll be dedicated to taking care of your children. I want to cook for you, buy you new clothes. I want to prepare a decent dowry for you and see you marry into a good family. Xinxin, come back, Mom and Dad have been waiting for you for a lifetime.”
The husband also said, “Yes, come back soon, with you, it’ll be a complete family.”
Ning Xin had been holding back for a long time, but now she couldn’t help but cover her face and cry aloud.
The couple quickly moved closer, patting her shoulder to comfort her.
Nie Ran was squeezed to the side, sitting with Lang Xiao and Wan Yue, watching this deeply moving scene in front of him, with a sense of foreboding in his heart.
The group chatted in the reception room all afternoon, mainly the couple talking while Ning Xin briefly mentioned her own situation.
Of course, she omitted the part about her time in the purgatory, only mentioning her business failure and current unemployment.
The husband’s surname was Zhang, and the wife’s surname was Liu. They named their daughter Zhang Wenwen.
But they expressed their respect for Ning Xin, saying that even if she decided to come back later, she could continue using this name and didn’t need to change it to their surname.
They were both employees of a state-owned enterprise, with considerable experience, both being middle-level managers.
In the early years, when property prices had not yet skyrocketed, they seized the opportunity to purchase several properties, making their lives worry-free in this city.
Upon hearing that Ning Xin hadn’t bought a house yet and was still renting, they warmly invited her to move into their house.
If she didn’t want to live with them, she could have a separate apartment.
Ning Xin was taken aback by their kindness and quickly declined.
However, they were very insistent, saying they would do anything to take her back. Otherwise, they would simply follow her and live in her rented apartment.
Unable to refuse, Ning Xin reluctantly promised to move the next day and went back to pack her things.
Only then did they reluctantly agree, driving them back to their rental apartment themselves.
Back at home, the four of them looked at each other.
Nie Ran asked, “Are you really going to move?”
Wan Yue said, “Of course, your biological parents have come to find you. It’s such a good thing, why hesitate?”
Lang Xiao was very nervous. “Director, what should we do?”
Ning Xin’s mind was in chaos, unable to answer, she waved her hand and walked into the bedroom, flopping onto the bed.
The three of them in the living room were talking about something, but she couldn’t focus. She looked up at the window, feeling as if everything was so unreal.
After a while, Nie Ran walked in and sat on the edge of the bed.
“I respect your decision,” he said.
She murmured, “But I don’t know what decision to make.”
“Are you worried that there’s something fishy going on?”
“And if there isn’t?”
She sat up, feeling the bedsheets. “What is this place exactly? A dream or the real world? Why do I encounter so many familiar people? Could it be… that I’m also going crazy?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you were crazy?” Nie Ran pinched her cheek. “Then we’re a perfect match.”
“Get lost,” Ning Xin scolded, lying back down on the bed, her parents’ words echoing in her ears.
With you, it’s a complete family.
How enticing those words were. She didn’t dare to imagine such a beautiful day even in her dreams.
Even if it’s really a dream, it’s a sweet dream, isn’t it?
The next morning, Ning Xin walked out of her room and announced her decision.
“I’ll move there, and you guys can move with me. If they don’t live up to their promises, we can always move back,” Ning Xin announced.
Lang Xiao fully agreed, grabbing her arm. “Director, wherever you are, I’ll be there.”
Nie Ran’s response was expected, and he immediately began to pack.
The three of them stood at the doorway with their luggage, but Ning Xin felt like something was missing.
“We… is it only us three?” she asked.
Lang Xiao blinked in confusion. “Yeah, Director, you, me, and him. It’s always been just us.”
Ning Xin looked at Nie Ran, who furrowed his brow but didn’t say anything.
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was her father, saying he had arrived downstairs and was ready to pick them up.
Her father drove them to the house prepared for Ning Xin. It was a large, over 200-square-meter flat, located in a prime location in the city centre, surrounded by malls, schools, and hospitals.
Having lived in this city for many years, Ning Xin was aware of the property prices. Just the rent alone for this place would likely cost tens of thousands of yuan per month.
The flat was beautifully decorated in a simple and exquisite style, with all the furniture and appliances provided.
After touring the place, her father asked if they could have lunch together.
She agreed, and her father went to pick up her mother to go grocery shopping, promising to come back later.
With only three people left in the spacious flat, Lang Xiao happily rolled around on the sofa.
“Director, this sofa is so big and comfortable!” he exclaimed.
Nie Ran teased, “You’re thrilled over just a sofa? How unambitious.”
Lang Xiao pouted and turned her attention to the large TV in front of her, searching for the remote control.
Ning Xin wandered around and finally stopped by the floor-to-ceiling window in the bedroom, overlooking the bustling city below.
Nie Ran walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
Her brows furrowed lightly. “I feel like… everything is just too perfect.”
The ideal scenario she had hoped for was now presented before her, flawless and impeccable.
Nie Ran kissed her ear. “Isn’t that wonderful? You deserve this kind of good fortune.”
“But…” she began.
Suddenly, he turned her around to face him and looked into her eyes.
“You’ve considered everything, haven’t you? Shouldn’t you focus a bit of your energy on me? When do you plan to introduce me to them?”
When he heard them discussing marriage and having children, he almost blurted out—she’s mine.
If she married and had children with someone else, he would surely go mad.
Ning Xin pushed him away and placed her hand against her forehead.
“There’s no need to rush this,” she said.
“No need? Then what is worth rushing?”
Wherever she went, Nie Ran followed, insisting that she look at him.
Feeling overwhelmed, Ning Xin sat down on the edge of the bed, turning her back to him.
After a moment of thought, he crawled over from the other side of the bed and lay in front of her, blinking innocently.
“Director, would you ever abandon me?”
It had been a long time since she had heard that tone of voice. Ning Xin was surprised.
“You…”
Nie Ran took her hand and placed it against his cheek.
“If you ever abandoned me, I would be very, very sad.”
Realizing that he was being cute, she shook her head in disbelief and lightly patted his face.
“Stop it, you know you wouldn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He sat up cross-legged.
“Because… you’ve experienced so much, even managed a country. How could you be troubled by such a small matter?”
He earnestly wagged his finger.
“Anything related to you is not a small matter.”
Ning Xin shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
“I’m the type of person who can only focus on one thing at a time. Before, it was building a career, and now it’s…”
He smiled faintly, leaning in close to her ear.
“Marrying you.”
Ning Xin chuckled softly. “But you don’t even have a home.”
“After marrying you, I will.”
They bantered back and forth, their conversation weaving a clearer path through her previously confused thoughts.
Why worry? If everything was real, she would enjoy this belated warmth. If it was an illusion, she could continue to explore and work towards discovering the other’s weaknesses.
Either way, Nie Ran was by her side.
As noon approached, the two of them walked out of the bedroom.
The TV in the living room was still on, the remote lying on the couch.
Ning Xin walked over and turned off the TV.
Ning Xin found it odd. How did the TV turn on by itself?
Nie Ran looked at the faint indentation in the middle of the couch, feeling like something was missing from his memory.
Their phone rang, it was her dad.
“Xinxin, your mom and I are buying drinks. How many people are we having for lunch?”
“Altogether?” She glanced at Nie Ran and said, “Four people, you two and two others here.”
“Alright, we’ll be back soon.”
After hanging up the phone, she sat on the couch.
The genuine leather sofa was soft and resilient, with excellent texture.
She couldn’t help but touch it, and suddenly a sentence echoed in her ears.
“This couch is so soft and comfortable.”
Who said that?
Her mind went blank, unable to recall.
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