The room fell silent. Feng Congqian was speechless, staring at Bai Wenying.
'Bai Wenyin': "..."
'Bai Wenyin': "!!!"
She hurriedly backed away, looking anxiously at Nan Yuanman: "Yuanman, I... I'm actually not..."
She wanted to tell Nan Yuanman that she wasn't actually 'Bai Wenyin', but merely a spirit born from her old clothes, and therefore unworthy to be her mother.
But when she looked into Nan Yuanman's clear, innocent eyes, which also held a hint of expectation, she couldn't say a word.
It would be extremely cruel to tell Nan Yuanman her true identity now.
However, one lie requires countless lies to maintain, and she couldn't bear to continue deceiving Nan Yuanman.
Most importantly, if we don't tell Nan Yuanman soon, she's going to force her to marry someone!!
How could she dare to lay a hand on her master's former partner!
So 'Bai Wenying' looked away, lowered her head, and dared not continue to look at Nan Yuanman. She added in a low voice what she hadn't finished saying: "Actually, I am not your mother, nor am I the real 'Bai Wenying'."
When Bai Wenying said those words, she was prepared for Nan Yuanman to burst into tears, but she didn't expect that Nan Yuanman would just nod calmly and say, "I know."
“What…” Bai Wenying, no, Jiu Yiling, looked up at her blankly.
How could Nan Yuanman know? Why would she know? She was so good at hiding it.
Even when he regained his memories while being controlled, he didn't reveal much to her.
When did she...?
Nan Yuanman felt her eyes burning and her nose stinging. She forced herself to smile at Jiu Yiling and said, "I knew you weren't my real mother from the moment Grandpa stopped you from getting close to me."
If it were the real Bai Wenying, then Grandpa wouldn't have stopped her from getting close to her.
After all, no one knew better than him how much Nan Yuanman missed her mother.
She was simply clinging to the warmth brought by the spirit of the old clothes, wanting to deceive herself and allow herself to have a complete family for a short time.
Nan Yuanman smiled, but then her smile faded. She pouted, her eyes reddened, and she looked like she was about to cry.
She misses her mother.
Seeing her eyes redden, the old spirit panicked instantly. She quickly floated to her side and knelt down, helplessly comforting and coaxing her, "Don't cry, don't cry. It's my fault. I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn't have the memory at the time and thought I was Bai Wenying..."
The spirit of the old clothes looked distressed, because she was born from Bai Wenying's old clothes, and her obsession was Bai Wenying's obsession. When she had no memories, she truly believed that she was Bai Wenying, and that's why...
Nan Yuanman forced himself to hold back, stubbornly saying, "I didn't want to cry, I just got sand in my eyes."
Old Clothes Spirit nodded repeatedly, agreeing with her words: "Okay, okay, you didn't want to cry."
Nan Yuanman pursed her lips and asked her, "Are you telling me now because you're leaving too?"
Old Clothes Spirit gently shook her head: "I won't leave."
“I am a spirit born from your mother’s old clothes. Your mother’s obsession is my obsession. She… truly wanted to do a hundred little things with you.”
When she gained sentience, she vaguely "saw" the scene of Bai Wenying becoming pregnant with Nan Yuanman.
She knew how much Bai Wenying was looking forward to Nan Yuanman's birth.
Even though the child's arrival was an accident, she was still very happy because it meant that, apart from the Jiang family, there was one more relative in the world who was connected to her by blood.
It is a family that will never kick her out of the house, will always trust her, and will never betray her.
Bai Wenying often talked to her unborn child, mostly about how she would raise her after the baby was born, how she would braid her hair when it grew long, take her to the amusement park, and learn how to make delicious and nutritious meals for her, etc.
But she didn't have time to do any of these things.
Old Clothes Spirit said earnestly, "Your mother really loves you."
"My existence is to help her resolve her obsession, not to replace her. I'm sorry for hurting you. It's a happy ending."
Nan Yuanman stared blankly at her, and as she listened to what she said, her nose tingled even more, and she felt incredibly guilty.
She was definitely not a good child.
Such a good mother, how could she want someone else to replace her for her own selfish desires?
Nan Yuanman looked at Feng Congqian somewhat helplessly. Feng Congqian withdrew his observational gaze from the old clothes spirit and, upon receiving Nan Yuanman's gaze, stepped forward and hugged her in his arms.
Nan Yuanman wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her head tightly in his chest, and remained silent.
Feng Congqian gently patted Nan Yuanman's back and calmly looked at Jiu Yiling: "I roughly know what happened. Madam, you can rest in the side bed for now. I'll take Yuanman to wash up and go to bed."
After saying this, he nodded slightly and led Nan Yuanman into the master bedroom.
Old Clothes Spirit watched them leave, then sat on the sofa with some unease, not moving an inch.
Master bedroom.
Feng Congqian sat on the sofa with Nan Yuanman in his arms. Nan Yuanman was like a little sloth, clinging tightly to his clothes.
As Feng Congqian gently patted her back, he felt a warm, damp sensation on her neck. He paused slightly, and his clear voice carried a hint of laughter: "I've never seen what a little crybaby looks like before. Let me see."
As he spoke, he reached out to try and turn Nan Yuanman's head around, but Nan Yuanman used all her strength to prevent him from doing so. Her voice was muffled and choked with sobs: "I didn't cry."
Feng Congqian gave a perfunctory "uh-huh" and said, "Let me see if you've been crying or not."
Nan Yuanman pursed her lips, loosened her grip, and let Feng Congqian lift her head, but she kept her head down and never raised it.
Seeing her red eyes, Feng Congqian sighed heavily in his heart. He wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips. As if he could see through Nan Yuanman's thoughts, he said in a steady voice, "Yuanman is not a bad child."
"Yuanman just misses her mother so much that she wants to grab the old clothing spirit and let her continue being her mother for a while longer."
"It's only natural for a child to miss their mother. There's no need to feel guilty about this. I believe that if your mother knew about this, she wouldn't blame you."
Nan Yuanman grabbed his collar, looking at him pitifully with teary eyes: "Really?"
Feng Congqian nodded seriously: "Really."
Nan Yuanman felt a little better, but was still a little frustrated: "I'm sorry, Dad, the surprise I prepared for you is gone."
Feng Congqian was somewhat embarrassed: "It's nothing." For him, this wasn't a surprise, it was a shock...
His relationship with Bai Wenying didn't start well...
Nan Yuanman is a child who knows how to comfort herself and doesn't get worked up. She quickly adjusted her mindset and went to take a bath and go to sleep without a care in the world.
The next day, she happily played games with Jiu Yiling and even wanted to give her a name.
"Since you were born from your mother's clothes, let's call you Bai Yi!"
Feng Congqian: "?"
Could this name have been chosen any more carelessly?
Before he could even complain, Qi Chuhan made a video call.
Nan Yuanman answered happily: "Sister Qi!"
“Yuanman, do you know this person?” Qi Chuhan waved to her and then pointed the camera at Jiang Hengzhi on the hospital bed: “He said he is your second uncle.”
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