Plunder-Chapter 181: What Exactly Does 1208 Mean?
Was it happiness, or was it luck?
The biological mother she had desperately searched for had come to her side long ago.
Qiao En wept with joy.
Although she didn’t know before that Auntie Jiang was her biological mother, in her heart, she had already seen Auntie Jiang as her mother.
"Have you investigated thoroughly? Are you sure of the news?"
Zhou Jin’an was always careful and meticulous in his work; he wouldn’t announce something without being a hundred percent sure.
"I know it’s hard for you to accept all at once, but it’s true, she really is your mother."
Zhou Jin’an repeated.
It was a gift from heaven, a serendipitous encounter that let her find her belonging.
"That’s wonderful, truly wonderful!"
Qiao En raised her tear-streaked face, and Zhou Jin’an reached out to wipe away her tears, "Smile a bit, come on, I’ll go in with you."
Qiao En nodded vigorously.
The gate to Auntie Jiang’s courtyard was wide open, and hand in hand, Qiao En and Zhou Jin’an entered.
In the living room, Auntie Jiang was leaning in a recliner with an old palace drama playing on the TV. She watched sporadically, cuddling a large orange cat in her arms.
The room was dimly lit, but what was visible exuded exceptional warmth.
This was the feeling of home.
Qiao En stood at the entrance, watching.
Suddenly, Auntie Jiang noticed Qiao En and Zhou Jin’an standing at the door and immediately got up to open it.
"Yayun, what brings you here? Why didn’t you knock?"
When Auntie Jiang opened the door, she saw Qiao En’s red-rimmed eyes and the trails of tears on her face.
At once, her heart ached terribly.
"What’s the matter? Did he bully you?"
She spoke, protectively pulling Qiao En to her side, like a mother hen with her chick.
Qiao En’s tears suddenly overflowed.
Since the age of ten, she knew she was not her mother’s biological child. For a ten-year-old, this news was as shocking as the end of the world.
She tried desperately to behave and pretended to know nothing. However, only she knew that a seed of longing had been planted in her young heart.
"Did you, by any chance, have a pair of twin daughters twenty-five years ago?"
Qiao En asked, her lips trembling.
Auntie Jiang was taken aback, but soon, she denied it.
"No, I have only one daughter and one son."
"Really? Are you sure you don’t?"
Qiao En asked again.
But Auntie Jiang numbly shook her head, "No, really, I don’t."
Suddenly, Qiao En broke down sobbing.
All the repressed grievances in her heart surged back to life.
She had finally found her biological mother, yet she refused to acknowledge having given birth to her.
"You did have them."
Zhou Jin’an spoke up.
"Twenty-five years ago, you and your boyfriend at the time went to Rong City, where you gave birth to a pair of twin daughters. Later, you abandoned them and returned to Rong City. You also changed your name; your name used to be Jiang Caiyun."
It was simply the harsh reality.
"No, I didn’t. What are you talking about? I have never left Gu Yuan in my life, nor do I know what Rong City is. It’s late, I’m tired, I’m going to sleep, you should leave now."
Auntie Jiang immediately distanced herself from Qiao En.
She looked very nervous, and as she walked towards the bedroom, her steps were particularly unsteady.
She left Qiao En and Zhou Jin’an behind and went straight to the bedroom, even locking the door behind her.
"Auntie Jiang, your daughter is standing right in front of you. She’s been searching for you for a long time. Do you really not want to acknowledge her?"
Zhou Jin’an punctured through this thin veil of pretense.
He thought that by doing so, Auntie Jiang would no longer evade.
However, the bedroom door remained tightly shut.
Inside, Auntie Jiang paled with shock, then she covered her mouth, barely holding back sobs.
She kept shaking her head as if she were struggling to contain her agony.
But the pain was uncontrollable, spreading wantonly.
"Mom, can you open the door, please? I’m your daughter."
Qiao En cried as she knocked on the door, but Auntie Jiang just wouldn’t open it.
"If you open the door, can we talk?"
Auntie Jiang still acted as if she heard nothing.
"Don’t push her; what happened was too sudden. Give her some time to process it," Zhou Jin’an stopped Qiao En.
She leaned on his shoulder, unable to control her tears.
"Let’s go, we will come back tomorrow," Zhou Jin’an suggested leaving.
Qiao En was eager to recognize Auntie Jiang, but being a rational person, she knew haste makes waste.
"You rest up; I will come over again tomorrow morning."
After Qiao En spoke, she left with Zhou Jin’an.
However, when she woke up the next day, Auntie Jiang had disappeared.
The courtyard door was ajar, the main door wasn’t locked, and everything inside the house remained untouched.
Only she was no longer there.
Qiao En searched every place Auntie Jiang frequented, but there was no trace of her.
"Don’t worry, now that we know she’s your mother, I’ll make sure we find her," Zhou Jin’an immediately commanded others to look for her.
Qiao En sat anxiously on Auntie Jiang’s sofa, waiting, but by nightfall, Auntie Jiang was still unaccounted for.
Later, when Qiao En returned to the courtyard, she found a letter Auntie Jiang had written to her in the mailbox at the entrance.
"Yayun, by the time you read this letter, I will have already left Gu Yuan. I’m sorry, forgive my abrupt departure. I really don’t want to recall what happened twenty-five years ago. When I lost you, it wasn’t because I wanted to abandon you, but because there were compelling reasons. I hope you can forgive me and live well, and don’t look for me."
But what were those compelling reasons?
She wouldn’t say anything, she just chose to flee.
Qiao En held the letter, crying alone for a long time.
She had finally found her birth mother, but barely had she done so before her mother disappeared from her life again.
"Don’t worry too much, we will definitely find her," Zhou Jin’an consoled.
Qiao En nodded, "We must find her."
That day, they left Gu Yuan.
The police department sent word that An Jinrong specifically asked to see Zhou Jin’an.
So, upon returning to Rong City, Zhou Jin’an went to see him.
After not seeing him for over half a month, An Jinrong had lost a lot of weight.
He leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized Zhou Jin’an, his lips curling with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Still haven’t figured out the answer to the riddle?" he taunted, referring to the string of numbers.
"Spit it out, what exactly do you want to do?" Zhou Jin’an glanced at his watch, "I only have ten minutes for visitation."
"After all this time, haven’t you guessed it yet?" An Jinrong’s condition might not have looked good, but there was a different kind of malicious glee shining in his hawk-like eyes.
Zhou Jin’an, lacking the patience to waste time with An Jinrong, stood up, "If you don’t want to say, then forget it, I’m not curious."
He was just about to leave when An Jinrong’s voice came from behind him.
"Let me give you a hint then. That year, you were three years old."
In just a flash, the chill in Zhou Jin’an’s eyes shot out like knives.
