It was almost dusk when Lai Xi sent Ah Man back. Jian Ning was pregnant and a little sleepy from the long journey, so she was taking a nap in the room.
In the past few years since leaving Beijing, the Tian family had not lived in the house she and Ding Youtian shared. When Wu Yanxu was still around, they had added a few more rooms. The house was spotless, and Tian and her family would clean it every now and then.
Only Jian Ning, Tian Shi, and Qiao Feng were in the other courtyard. The rest of the people were taken to the restaurant by Lao Liu and Tian Xiaoyu for dinner. Jian Ning thought that Ah Man was still awake. She vaguely heard Qiao Feng say, "My master has gone to bed. Come back later."
Jian Ning glanced out the window and asked loudly, "Who's here? Is it Man'er?"
There were the sounds of footsteps in the corridor, followed by Qiao Feng gently pushing the door open and entering. "Yes, Miss A Man just returned home and came to see Master."
"Why don't you come in?" Jian Ning hurriedly stood up. "Man'er?" she shouted. By the time she had put on her shoes and pulled up her heels, Ah Man hadn't come in yet. "Why is this child still standing outside?"
She stood up and walked towards the door. Qiao Fengxu supported her and said with a smile, "Miss A'man has grown up and learned the rules. She is not like a child now. She is waiting outside."
"There's no need for this girl to say all this in front of me." Jian Ning stepped out of the door and saw Ah Man standing quietly by the pillar, holding a silk handkerchief in her hand with a slight smile on her lips.
Seeing Jian Ning coming out, Ah Man smiled again and bowed to her sideways. Then he walked forward, took Jian Ning's right arm, and whispered softly, "Would you like to sit with me?"
Jian Ning glanced at Qiao Feng, then back at Ah Man, "Are you Man'er?"
Ah Man still had a faint smile on his face, "It's me, Huo Ah Man."
Jian Ning originally thought that Ah Man would cry out "Mom" and throw herself into her arms when she saw her, but the quiet Ah Man in front of her was not the one she was familiar with. She couldn't help but reach out and pinch Ah Man's face, "Are you really Man'er? Why are you so distant from me and don't even call me Mom anymore?"
Could it be that Ah Man has a grudge against her because of Huo Jincheng's death? It doesn't seem like it. Jian Ning was just wondering when she saw Tian Shi coming out of the newly built house. She smiled at her and said, "Miss Ah Man has grown up and knows how to be shy. How can she still call you mother like when she was a child? If she does, it wouldn't be now. Are you afraid that you haven't heard her call your mother yet?"
After talking to Jian Ning that afternoon, Tian seemed to have regained some energy. "I listened to you. I've already eaten the medicinal food that Qiao Feng prepared. I feel much better now. Let's rest here tonight. It won't be too late to return to your mansion tomorrow."
Jane Ning nodded. This was what she had originally planned.
"Let's go to your place." Jian Ning saw that Ah Man seemed like a different person, but she was still worried. It seemed that Ah Man was not shy because she didn't care about her calling her mother anymore, as Tian said.
Arriving at Ah Man's room, Jian Ning pulled her in front of him and said in a soft voice, "Man'er, tell me the truth. Have you grown up and are embarrassed to call me mother, or are you alienating me because of your father's matter?"
Ah Man smiled and shook her head, then she put her hand on Jian Ning's belly, met Jian Ning's gaze, pursed her lips and smiled, then glanced sideways at the dim night sky outside the window.
Her voice was soft, a bit ethereal and disembodied, but every word was clear. "Far, far away in the sky, there's a huge circle. Inside that circle are many, many people, wearing all kinds of clothes. There are old men and women, uncles and aunts, and many children."
Jane Ning didn't dare interrupt her and listened to her story carefully.
"Most people in the circle keep walking around in circles, never taking a break. Then, somewhere higher and farther away, something will light up, like a rainbow bridge after rain. When it falls straight down into the circle, a ladder will appear. Then, everyone in the circle will run for their lives. Some will run away, while others will return to the circle and continue walking around in circles."
"A very small number of people don't have to walk. They just sit in the circle and wait. When the rainbow bridge appears, they don't have to run, but some of them will be sucked away by the rainbow bridge."
Ah Man said this, turned his gaze away and took his hand away from Jian Ning's belly, then looked at her again and said, "My father doesn't need to run. One day he will be sucked away by the Rainbow Bridge, but not now. It will take many days. I also walked in that circle for a long time before, but I run fast. I ran into my mother's belly in an instant."
Jian Ning's scalp tingled slightly when she heard this. "Man'er, you're not telling me about the story you heard?"
Ah Man shook his head fiercely, "I didn't, I only said what I saw."
"When did you see it?" Jane Ning asked her.
"When I was about to...die." Ah Man paused and told her.
Jian Ning frowned slightly. Tian thought that Dajun had comforted Ah Man, but it seemed that was not entirely true.
She stroked Ah Man's hair and said, "Man'er, in my heart you are just like my own daughter, just like Shu'er, Jiajia, and Yaoyao. If you don't want to call me mother anymore, then call me aunt."
Ah Man didn't say anything good or bad, she just smiled quietly. When Jian Ning stood up to see her downstairs, she stopped in front of the moon-shaped gate of the courtyard, turned sideways and smiled, bowing to Jian Ning, not calling her mother or aunt. When Jian Ning walked a few steps and looked back, she was still standing there, watching Jian Ning leave.
Jian Ning felt a little uncomfortable in her heart, and her hands involuntarily stroked her lower abdomen. She thought that if what Ah Man said before was not an illusion, combined with Ding Youtian’s previous dream, Huo Jincheng would most likely be reincarnated as her and Ding Youtian’s child?
No, no, although she really hoped that Huo Jincheng and the dead soldiers could be reincarnated as humans, she would rather forget about reincarnating as her child. This feeling was really terrible.
She couldn't think about it. In short, she only believed that the child in her belly was the flesh and blood she had longed for. As for other things, she didn't want to think about them anymore. The relationship between mother and child was only this life. No matter the past life, let alone the afterlife, she would cherish her children as if they were her own eyes.
She turned around the corridor and saw Dabao leading the shop assistants from Laoliu's store and carrying lunch boxes.
"Mom, Dad and Sixth Uncle asked me to bring you some food. Please eat it while it's hot. There's also food for Aunt and Sister Qiaofeng." Dabao and the waiter put the food boxes in the flower hall. When he turned around to call Tian and Qiaofeng, Jian Ning stopped him.
"Bao'er, has Man'er changed her personality since her father left?"
Dabao's eyes darkened, and he glanced at the fur ball following him. He lowered his head and said calmly, "My son has fallen behind in his studies and hasn't been paying attention. Now that mother has asked, I will pay attention."
Seeing Dabao like this, Jian Ning already knew the answer.
Childhood sweethearts are indeed unreliable. It seems that Dabao and A'man have no chance.
Alas, she sighed.
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