Chapter 1173: The Story of Ling and Heng (436)
Furthermore, Feng Ling was also not mentally prepared to face the truth behind her own birth.
Qin Qiu’s gaze clung onto Feng Ling stubbornly. Regardless of how slow Feng Ling was when it came to emotions, she still understood the agitation in Qin Qiu’s eyes.
Feng Ling averted her gaze and pretended she did not see anything. She then turned to head out.
“Wait!” When Qin Qiu saw her leaving, her voice was agitated and sharp in a way it had never been in the past ten years. She directly tossed the coat aside into the employee’s arms and rushed over. Right before Feng Ling could step out, she directly caught her arm.
“Child, wait, don’t leave yet.” Qin Qiu held onto her. Despite being ill and having caught a cold, despite how weak her body was in this moment, her body seemed to be thrumming with energy. She even managed to pull Feng Ling back with too much force, causing Feng Ling to halt in her steps despite her years of training. She held onto both of Feng Ling’s arms and stood right before her. She took in the sight of her face, and her now shoulder-length hair. She then lowered her head to process the silhouette that could only belong to a woman.
Madam Feng suddenly scanned her from head to toe. Feng Ling stood in her position and watched the somewhat agitated woman. From the beginning, she had never considered looking deeply into her own birth, or even recogniZing anyone as her family. Yet, in this moment, her heart felt strangely as though it had been gripped painfully.
Even though she could expressionlessly push this person aside and excuse herself, even though she could avoid any conversation with her, when she saw the woman’s expression and felt the painful grip against her arms, she could only swallow back the words she was about to say.
“Child…” The more Qin Qiu took her in, the redder her eyes became. Her voice shook: “You’re Feng Ling, aren’t you… the Feng Ling from XI Base… the Feng Ling that I met years ago… that was you, wasn’t it?”
Only a few years had passed since then, and the youth had matured this much. She was just as delicately beautiful as she remembered, but had clearly grown taller. She was no longer an inexperienced teenager, but a tall and beautiful young lady.
A short-haired, beautiful young lady with a cool temperament.
Feng Ling’s arm throbbed with pain from her grip, yet she could barely feel it. She met Madam Feng’s emotional gaze and composed herself before answering: “Yes.”
Qin Qiu’s tears were about to escape.
Back then, her mother and her had unintentionally heard from Feng Mingzhu that Feng Ling was a girl… she had dressed as a boy to remain in the XI Base…
Back then, upon receiving the news, her heart had trembled. Her mind had lingered on the child named Feng Ling. The reticent and somewhat cold boy who was actually a girl.
However, she had recalled this young lady’s age was one year apart from her child. Besides, the world was such a big place. How could there be such a coincidence?
Afterward, she never had an opportunity to see Feng Ling again. Although her heart lingered on her and held onto her suspicions, she could not confirm anything.
But today, she actually met her!
And in this short moment, despite her doubts about Feng Ling’s age, Qin Qiu keenly saw the silhouette of her own younger self in this child. She also saw the image of her husband’s younger self. The sense of familiarity and resemblance she felt from Feng Ling’s every action and expression was one that only a family member could notice!
It would have been another matter if this child only resembled her. However, she even resembled her husband. Even Feng Mingzhu did not resemble her own father as much as this child did. The resemblance was truly far too uncanny!
Qin Qiu saw that, despite being held for such a long moment, Feng Ling was both unmoving and silent. She wondered if she had frightened the girl and rushed to restrain her own emotions. She took her hands away, but immediately seemed unwilling to part with her. She then rushed to hold Feng Ling’s hand, holding it tightly with agitation: “Feng Ling, don’t… don’t be frightened by Auntie… I’m just… just…”
“Xiao Qiu, what’s wrong?” Madam Cen stepped out from the fitting room to see that Qin Qiu was clinging onto a young lady’s hand tightly. She approached with a surprised expression. When she caught a proper look at Feng Ling’s face, she immediately turned to Qin Qiu in confusion.
Madam Cen and Madam Feng had been friends for years. Madam Cen herself had also known Qin Qiu in her youth.
In the past, Qin Qiu would always become agitated whenever she met someone who resembled her in even the slightest. This was no longer surprising. However, this was truly the first time she found a girl who resembled her this much.
“You guys chat. I’ll go pay for the coat you liked earlier,” Madam Cen spoke and quietly excused herself. She headed back in to settle the bill.
Qin Qiu nodded her head but did not take her eyes away from Feng Ling’s face. Her hands also clung onto Feng Ling’s tightly: “Don’t stand here quietly, ah, you… will you… say something to Auntie, say something, won’t you?”
Feng Ling paused for a long moment. She wanted to tug her hand out, but the grip was too tight. As she watched the woman’s gaze, she also could not bear to do so. After struggling for a while, she finally said: “Madam Feng, you seem somewhat agitated. Do you want to rest for a while?”
She was truly very agitated. Her grip was tight to the point where a thin layer of sweat was covering Feng Ling’s palms.
Hearing this, Qin Qiu seemed to become more aware. She rushed to let go and lowered her head to see that the back of Feng Ling’s hands had reddened from her grip. She immediately felt apologetic. She tried her best to suppress her emotions as she took a step back. She then smiled to say: “Don’t be frightened. It’s just been too many years since Auntie last saw you. After all, we know each other. After seeing you for the first time in so many years, it’s unavoidable that I’m a little agitated.”
Feng Ling did not speak again.
“Oh, that’s right, have you eaten yet?”
“I ate.”
Qin Qiu curled her hands into fists. She stared at Feng Ling without blinking: “Then, can Auntie treat you to a cup of coffee?”
Feng Ling was about to respond when her phone rang. She nodded politely to Madam Feng. Qin Qiu rushed to say: “It’s all right, it’s all right, answer it. I won’t disturb you. We can continue chatting after your call.”
Feng Ling lifted her phone to see that it was a call from Li Nanheng. The helpless emotions from her earlier interaction with Madam Feng strangely eased. She answered the call: “Boss.”
“Where are you?”
“I came out to help Mrs. Mo buy clothes.”
“Location.”
Was he coming over?
Wasn’t he busy speaking to Mr. Mo in the hospital?
But considering that Mrs. Mo was in Mr. Mo’s hospital room, Li Nanheng was likely stuffed from being force fed dog food. It was likely he could not stand staying any longer.
Feng Ling answered: “I’m at the department store closest to the hospital. My location is made visible on my phone. You can search for my address.”
“All right, I’m on my way.”
After hanging up, Feng Ling turned back to see that Madam Feng was still standing there. For some reason, she seemed to have watched her as she answered the call, and her eyes were shining with hope.