Chapter 80: Then call me mom

　　When I heard Qin Xinmei say I was her missing child, and then she said she had proof, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning, my mind a tangle of emotions. I stood blankly beside the white Porsche, staring at Qin Xinmei, a complex mix of emotions washing over me. When I finally came to my senses, I realized I'd been pushed into the Porsche by Qin Xinmei. The familiar fragrance of lotus flowers wafted from Qin Xinmei's body, filling my nostrils. I saw her face, serene and calm, as if nothing could bring her down. She gently fastened my seatbelt with a gentle gaze.

　　I didn't know what to say. I just stared blankly at Qin Xinmei's familiar, fair, and perfect face so close to me. Suddenly, I felt that Qin Xinmei was a little strange. This feeling suddenly made me feel very disgusted, and at the same time, there was a trace of heartache.

　　I don't know why I feel disgusted. Looking at Qin Xinmei, I feel as if an extremely sharp claw has pierced my chest, squeezing my heart hard, and my heart feels stuffy and panicky.

　　"What are you thinking about?" Qin Xinmei looked at me sitting in the passenger seat with a cold face, and slowly drove the car out of the villa towards the company.

　　I sat in the passenger seat in silence, turned my head to the window, and did not respond to Qin Xinmei.

　　Seeing me like this, Qin Xinmei frowned. Her delicate hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, veins bulging from the pale skin on the back of her hands. She looked away from me and quietly drove the white Porsche back to the office. I sat in the car in silence. I didn't know if it was because of all the emotions, but I suddenly felt a little depressed, so I rolled down the window halfway.

　　In fact, the air conditioner was on in the car, but it still made people feel depressed and irritable.

　　However, after opening the window, I felt a warmer, moist breeze fill my nostrils. I noticed that the buildings and trees outside had grown dim, and I looked up at the sky. The once clear, azure sky had been filled with dark, murky clouds. It looked like it was going to rain.

　　Seeing this, I got annoyed and closed the car window.

　　Qin Xinmei noticed me opening and closing the window. She frowned and glanced at me, her red lips parted, but she hesitated to speak. Then she suddenly stepped on the accelerator, and the Porsche sped towards the company like a cheetah on the hunt. Seeing Qin Xinmei suddenly speed up, I felt a sense of lightness in my body and mind, and my heart suddenly relaxed. I guessed that Qin Xinmei was using this method to let me vent my emotions.

　　Half an hour later, we arrived at the company. Along the way, Qin Xinmei and I were silent. It seemed that she would not speak unless I saw any evidence.

　　Qin Xinmei pulled me into the elevator, gently caressing the back of my hand with her delicate hand, and asked softly, "Are you feeling better now?"

　　I was indeed much calmer in my heart. I felt that how to face Qin Xinmei was an extremely difficult question. I said bitterly, "I don't know."

　　Qin Xinmei didn't say anything. As soon as the elevator door opened, she grabbed my wrist tightly and pulled me into the office. With every step she took, her delicate hand gripped my wrist more and more tightly.

　　I looked at Qin Xinmei's delicate hand that was gripping my wrist tighter and tighter. A vein was visible under the fair skin on the back of her hand, as if she was suppressing something.

　　Qin Xinmei pulled me into the office and stood there silently without saying a word. She seemed to be frozen in time. She slowly turned her head and looked at me quietly. Her delicate body began to tremble slightly.

　　I didn't say anything either. Qin Xinmei was a head shorter than me. When we looked at each other, I suddenly saw a pair of clear pupils filled with anxiety right next to me.

　　Qin Xinmei didn't immediately produce what I thought was evidence, and I remained silent, not asking. Perhaps, Qin Xinmei and I were waiting, waiting for that moment, hoping it wouldn't come. If I saw the evidence, and the truth surfaced, our relationship would be forever changed, a mother-son relationship. Everything I'd done to Qin Xinmei before had left its mark, and from now on, we would be mother and son. But what had happened had already happened, and no matter how much time passed, the fragments of the past lingered in my memory, they couldn't be erased. But I couldn't bear to lose a certain kind of feeling just like that.

　　We were strangers at first, but gradually became familiar with each other. Suddenly one day, we became mother and son, which led to conflicts between Qin Xinmei and me.

　　Qin Xinmei suddenly let go of my hand and said softly, "Chen Qing, can you make me a cup of coffee?"

　　I was stunned. Qin Xinmei's tone was questioning, unlike the calm and unhurried tone she had used before. At this moment, I felt that my relationship with Qin Xinmei had become indescribably delicate, as if there was an invisible barrier between us.

　　I filled two cups of coffee and came over. I saw Qin Xinmei sitting on the sofa, her long hair half tied in the middle, her fair forehead covered by her hair, looking gentle and elegant.

　　Qin Xinmei glanced at me, then looked away and said softly, "Chen Qing, before we look at the evidence, do you have anything to say?"

　　I put the coffee on the coffee table, sat quietly beside Qin Xinmei, shook my head and said, "What is coming will eventually come. Let's see."

　　Qin Xinmei just picked up the steaming coffee and put it to her red lips, then paused and put it down again, standing up to get the evidence.

　　I quickly grabbed Qin Xinmei's hand and said bitterly, "Where do you put it? I'll go."

　　Qin Xinmei came down and whispered, "It's in the safe, in the files on the second floor. The password is 158..."

　　"I know the password." Without waiting for Qin Xinmei to finish, I strode towards the safe.

　　Previously, Qin Xinmei saw the photo of Sister Inina Ellie on my phone and was furious. She asked me to write a guarantee letter that I would not have her photo in the future. Then when Qin Xinmei put the guarantee letter in the safe, I memorized the password.

　　Qin Xinmei picked up the coffee, took a sip, and put it on the coffee table. She looked quietly at the coffee in the cup, her cold face calm.

　　I found a paternity test report in the safe. The moment I took out the report and held it in my hand, the light document bag felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I untied the small rope of the button with trembling hands. Every time I untied a circle of the rope, my breathing became more rapid.

　　Suddenly, a faint fragrance of lotus flowers filled my nostrils, and Qin Xinmei's voice echoed behind me: "Chen Qing, when I first saw you at Liuyang Lake, I couldn't believe such a coincidence could happen. Perhaps it was God's blessing, or perhaps I never gave up looking for you. Every day, I silently prayed for something to happen, until one day, you appeared."

　　I took the one-page appraisal report and read it carefully five or six times. There was no reason to falsify it, and there was no need to falsify it given Qin Xinmei's identity.

　　Qin Xinmei whispered in my ear, and I heard it clearly.

　　I put the report on the bookshelf, feeling a sense of suffocation in my heart, as if I had no strength at all. I turned to look at Qin Xinmei. This woman was my mother. I thought of everything I had done to Qin Xinmei before, and I wanted to speak but didn't know where to start.

　　"Then how did you first determine that I was your son?" Suddenly, I remembered a question, how did Qin Xinmei determine that I was her son before, and I couldn't help but ask this question.

　　Qin Xinmei slowly raised her jade hand, her fingers pinching the crystal-clear, warm, fish-shaped jade pendant from my neck. She shook it gently and said softly, "When I first saw you, I felt a sense of familiarity. First, it's because we're connected by blood. As a mother, I can tell at a glance, no matter how many years I haven't seen my child. Second, it's this fish-shaped jade pendant on you. It makes me even more certain that you are the son I lost all those years ago."

　　Qin Xinmei then continued, "Later, I took your hair for a paternity test. When the results came out, I was overjoyed. That night, I lay in bed, repeatedly questioning how I should tell you. I was also afraid that if I did, you wouldn't recognize me as your mother."

　　I remained silent and looked at Qin Xinmei quietly, remembering that when I showed her the jade pendant on the small bluestone path beside Liuyang Lake, she knew I was her son.

　　Qin Xinmei suddenly revealed a meaningful smile: "Don't you think about it, if you weren't my son, why would I ask you to be my secretary? You don't think I think you're handsome, do you?"

　　I was speechless, my heart was so depressed and blocked, and suddenly I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

　　Yes, if I was not Qin Xinmei's son, why would she give me a large sum of money for no reason, force me to live in her villa, and later said that she would give Xinzi Group to me.

　　The important thing is that Qin Xinmei asked me to be her godson. From the very beginning, when we first met at Liuyang Lake, she schemed against me step by step, which led to the subsequent events.

　　But then I remembered two very important questions, so I gritted my teeth and asked, "Why didn't you acknowledge me when we first met, even though you knew I was your son? And why did you abandon me in the first place?"

　　Qin Xinmei knew I would ask this, and seemed to sort out all the answers I wanted to know and tell me bit by bit.

　　Half an hour later, I sat on the sofa and listened slowly to Qin Xinmei's story. She talked about what happened to the Chen family and the reason for my disappearance. I was furious. Everything was caused by the old man in the Chen family. I wanted to tear the old man in the Chen family to pieces.

　　The reason why Qin Xinmei refused to recognize me made me smile bitterly. She was afraid that I would blame her and feel disappointed in her as a mother, so she kept it in her heart and didn't dare to tell me.

　　In fact, at Liuyang Lake at that time, even if Qin Xinmei said that I was her son, I would not believe it. After all, when I returned to Xia Guoanhai City, the beautiful CEO I met for the first time turned out to be my mother. There was no such coincidence in the world, but this coincidence did happen.

　　I thought to myself, this is not Qin Xinmei's fault. I talked to her in a Western restaurant at the time and talked about returning to China to find her parents. I didn't want to recognize them, and I didn't have any feelings for them. I just wanted to ask them why they abandoned their son and resolve the doubts that had been in my mind for many years. If I didn't find out the reason clearly, it would be like a thorn in my heart, making life unhappy.

　　So what I said made Qin Xinmei even more scared.

　　The mother did nothing wrong, but her own son said to her, "We have no mother-son relationship at all." How cruel this is! It is equivalent to making Qin Xinmei fall into hell and suffer for the rest of her life.

　　I was still listening to Qin Xinmei saying that she would trick me back home to cultivate feelings first, and then it would be much easier to recognize each other. But now, her cleverness has backfired.

　　Qin Xinmei let out a breath, sat on the sofa, and said with a tone of reproach: "Chen Qing, I didn't recognize you so quickly at the beginning. Actually, you are also wrong. You said that you have no feelings for your parents, which frightened me. Ask yourself, don't you have any fault at all?"

　　I smiled bitterly and said, "Let me take it easy."

　　Qin Xinmei said softly, "Then calm down for a moment. Once you've considered it, decide whether or not you want to acknowledge me as your mother. If you don't want to, I won't force you. I'll let you go and return to your adoptive parents."

　　"I'll go out for a walk first." I didn't know how to answer Qin Xinmei, so I stood up from the sofa, walked out of the office, and got into the elevator.

　　The elevator slowly descended, and my mind was in chaos again. I thought of Chen Siting, my biological sister, but I did that kind of thing to her.

　　Moreover, it was not the fault of Qin Xinmei, my biological mother, that she lost me. Qin Xinmei had been searching for me everywhere all along. She even went to Country M to look for me, but she was very young at the time and was unfamiliar with the place. She had no idea where I was and could not find me.

　　Qin Xinmei, this woman is very important to me, but do I still have the nerve to call her mother?

　　I slowly walked out of the company, looking at the familiar environment around me, and walked slowly on the street. I didn't feel any hatred towards Qin Xinmei. Instead, guilt was deeply piercing my heart like a knife.

　　I don't know how long or how far I walked. The road was deserted. When I came to my senses, I found that gusts of cold air had come like migratory birds, filling my neck and ears with chill, and drops of rain from the sky thousands of miles above were hitting my skin.

　　A middle-aged man rushed past me, drenched by the rain. He turned and shouted, "Young man, it's pouring rain! Go home quickly."

　　"It's okay, uncle, you don't have to worry about me." I was soaked by the rain and felt much more comfortable. I turned around and looked at the middle-aged man, but found a lonely and familiar figure following not far behind me, letting the rain hit his body.

　　It’s Qin Xinmei.

　　My heart tightened when I saw Qin Xinmei's long, wet hair scattered on her shoulders. She looked extremely frail, so I hurried over.

　　"Qin Xinmei, why did you follow me out?" I pulled Qin Xinmei's soft and cold hand, looked around, trying to find a place to shelter from the rain, but there were only buildings in the distance covered by the mist.

　　Qin Xinmei slapped me with her delicate hand, then gritted her teeth and said, "You're my son. I saw you dazed and drenched in the rain, and I wanted to vent my anger. How could I not come with you? What should I do if anything happens to you?"

　　"Then at least take an umbrella." I pulled Qin Xinmei towards the company. The rainstorm was accompanied by cold air, and even I felt the chill, let alone Qin Xinmei's delicate body, which was even more unbearable. Qin Xinmei was furious: "Where should I get an umbrella? I followed you for ten minutes, and who knew it would suddenly rain."

　　I smiled bitterly, said nothing, and pulled Qin Xinmei towards the company.

　　Qin Xinmei suddenly stood up, her cold, delicate hand shaking mine off. Standing in the heavy rain, she said coldly, "Chen Qing, are you calm enough? Have you made up your mind? Do you want to acknowledge me as your mother? What are you worried about? Give me the answer now."

　　I was silent for a moment, looking at Qin Xinmei's persistent expression. If I didn't admit it, she would probably threaten me by getting wet in the rain.

　　Qin Xinmei looked at me quietly with a firm and sharp look, waiting for my answer.

　　I stared at Qin Xinmei blankly. Yes, what was I worried about?

　　Suddenly, I remembered the promise I made to Qin Xinmei to hold her hand for the rest of her life, and my heart ached again. That was when I didn't know she was my mother, and the feelings for her were just love between a man and a woman, so I said I would hold her hand for a lifetime. But now she has become my mother. No one would accept this if it happened to her.

　　I looked at Qin Xinmei's fair cheeks as the rain slid across her clear eyes, revealing an extremely accommodating look. My heart suddenly relaxed, and the haze receded like a tide.

　　"I admit it, let's go home." I took my dear Xinmei's hand again and ran towards the company.

　　Qin Xinmei suddenly stopped again and said with a smile: "Why don't you call me mom so I can hear you?"

　　"Are you annoying?" I simply wrapped Qin Xinmei's soft body in my arms and ran down the path. I felt a soft hand on my ear and couldn't help but whisper, "Mom, is this okay?" Qin Xinmei was holding me and running in the heavy rain. Suddenly, she pinched my ear with her hand and smiled slightly, "I can't hear you. Scream louder."

　　"Mom." I'm still not used to calling Qin Xinmei "Mom," and it's a bit awkward. I smiled bitterly and said, "Can you please not imitate the plots in TV dramas?"

　　"You little bastard, now you know how to use honorifics." Qin Xinmei gently touched my cheek, her delicate body radiating coldness as she pressed tightly against my chest. She said softly, "Don't worry, there's plenty of time. I won't force you. It's not too late to yell when you gradually get used to it. But I'm really cold now, you need to run faster."