Chapter 73: Is this old guy trying to recognize his relatives?
Before Su Nian could react, Chen Ran had already stepped into the tailor shop. He moved with such familiarity, as if he were back home, that he placed his car keys on the counter. "Su Hong, I brought my daughter back to you."
These words struck the small shop like a thunderbolt. Su Hong's tape measure fell to the pile of fabric with a clatter, and her knuckles turned pale from gripping the edge of the table.
The mother and daughter seemed to be under a spell of immobilization, even their breathing was frozen.
Chen Ran looked at Su Hong's stiff back, his Adam's apple rolling slightly. More than twenty years had passed, and she was still so easily frightened.
He was frightened by his mother's words and ran away in a panic.
He deliberately slowed down his pace and caught a glimpse of Su Nian's dazed expression from the corner of his eye - this child probably never knew the existence of a father.
A complex emotion surged in my chest, self-blame and guilt mixed with indescribable tension.
Su Hong's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them in panic. Her lips moved as if they had cramps, but she couldn't utter a single word.
What is she afraid of? Chen Ran frowned slightly. Then his eyes fell on Su Nian. This child's eyebrows and eyes looked very much like Su Hong when she was young, especially the slightly furrowed brows, and even the stubborn expression was exactly the same.
"Sister Hong, dinner is ready." Afen's voice broke the frozen air.
Su Hong suddenly came back to her senses and hurriedly picked up the tape measure, her fingertips trembling.
She greeted Chen Ran in an almost distorted tone, "Ma... excuse me, please sit down quickly. I just made some tea."
As she spoke, her eyes avoided Chen Ran's gaze and fell on the pot of green ivy on the windowsill, as if the leaves contained some life-saving answers.
Su Hong turned her head and looked at Su Nian, who was still standing at the door in a daze, with a barely perceptible tension in her voice, "Niannian, why are you standing there like an idiot? Come in, this is your...Uncle Chen." After saying that, she quickly turned her face away and pretended to tidy up the scraps of cloth on the table.
"Uncle Chen?" Su Nian repeated hesitantly, the address leaving her even more bewildered. The chairman of the Chen Group was actually the "Uncle Chen" her mother was referring to?
Chen Ran sat down on the rattan chair by the window and poured a cup of tea in a familiar manner. While drinking, he pointed at Su Nian and said to Su Hong with a smile: "Your daughter is very capable in the company."
Su Hong lowered her head and tugged at the hem of her clothes, as if trying to use the texture of the fabric to hide her complicated feelings. She replied in a very soft voice, "Nian Nian just joined the company and still needs to learn more."
Su Hong quietly glanced up at Chen Ran again, then explained to her daughter, "Uncle Chen was an acquaintance of Mom's when she was young."
When she said the word "acquaintance", her voice was almost inaudible, and her fingers unconsciously scratched the wood grain on the corner of the table.
An acquaintance? Chen Ran chuckled to himself. The person he had loved so much that he'd planned to elope despite his family's objections was now just an "acquaintance."
He tightened his fingers around the teacup, the warm tea sliding down his throat but unable to suppress the bitter feeling rising in his heart.
Su Nian suddenly realized that her mother and Mr. Chen had such a connection.
Chen Ran stroked the edge of the teacup with his fingertips. Seeing Su Nian's expression of sudden realization, he quickly adjusted his expression - now is not the time to bring up the past, at least he found them, right?
Su Nian recalled the day when she was sent to the hospital because of a stomachache, and asked tentatively, "Uncle Chen, was it you who took me to the hospital that day?"
Chen Ran nodded and smiled, "It's me. I happened to be here that day."
No wonder the Buddha's foot ornament in the car looked familiar. Su Nian felt relieved - it turned out that the domineering president was not giving warmth for no reason, but was doing it for his mother's sake.
Everything makes sense now!
She picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle Chen, it was all thanks to you that day."
"Why should I thank my uncle?" Chen Ran waved his hand, his eyes sweeping over the dazzling array of fabrics in the store, his eyes filled with nostalgia. "Your mother's craftsmanship is getting better and better. I still have the suit she made for me back then."
Su Hong raised her head abruptly, as if burned by these words. She rolled her eyes without much momentum, and her voice was filled with panicked anger: "It's been so many years since the almanac, and you're still bringing it up! By the way, we're having dinner. If you haven't, why don't you join us?"
Without waiting for his answer, Su Hong turned and walked towards the kitchen, her steps so fast as if she was running away.
Watching her turn and flee towards the kitchen, Chen Ran said with a smile, "Okay, then I won't be polite."
After saying this, he breathed a sigh of relief—at least, he wasn't kicked out by her.
Afen silently set the table, her eyes darting between the three of them.
In the kitchen, Su Hong leaned against the stove and took a deep breath. The cool tiles pressed against her palms, but they couldn't suppress the heat in her heart.
This old man! He actually showed up here with his daughter. How mean! Is he trying to recognize her?
Now he was sitting in front of his daughter, and the secret was like a thorn stuck in his throat, which he could neither spit out nor swallow.
Back then, I left without saying goodbye to save his future, even keeping my pregnancy a secret. After all these years, wouldn't it be better if we didn't bother each other?
The evening rush hour outside the window gradually faded away, and the street lights came on one after another.
When Su Hong came out of the kitchen carrying the dishes, she was already forcing a natural smile onto her face.
However, her hand shook when she was picking up the food, and the ribs fell onto the embroidered tablecloth with a "pop". The oil stain spread out like a dark pattern, and she hurriedly took a tissue to wipe it.
In her ears was the sound of Chen Ran and Su Nian talking about work. The similar eyebrows and the same gentle tone made her heart ache - this was a secret she had kept hidden for more than 20 years, and it was the peace she had tried her best to protect, and it must not be broken!
Chen Ran looked at Su Nian's serious profile. The child's tone of voice and the habit of biting his lips when thinking were very similar to his own.
The gap of more than 20 years was suddenly filled, and an unfamiliar warmth spread in his heart. He was even a little dazed - if they had not separated back then, would they be able to sit together and have a meal as a family of three like this?
Su Nian looked at Chen Ran who was chatting and laughing in front of her, and suddenly felt that this seemingly distant workplace relationship actually hid such a warm connection, which made her feel a lot more at ease.
She didn't notice that her mother Su Hong's movements in picking up food were getting slower and slower. Whenever her eyes fell on her and Chen Ran, there was always a complex and indescribable emotion in her, like the waves hidden in the deep sea, surging but not daring to show out.
She also didn't notice that Chen Ran's gaze on her was so gentle that it seemed like it was filled with starlight.
After dinner, Chen Ran didn’t stay long.
He still has this self-awareness that some things cannot be rushed and must be done step by step.
He firmly believed that one day he would be able to enter the lives of the mother and daughter and firmly regain the missing family affection.
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