Perhaps she didn't even notice it, but she found the teacup and tea leaves all at once. Her movements were so natural, it was as if she had put those things in herself.
Xi Wanlai held the ceramic tea cup in his hand and frowned deeply.
Is it a coincidence or...?
Too many coincidences would arouse suspicion. He remembered that he was also allergic to almonds and had RH-negative blood. On that rainy night with fever, she held his hand and shouted: Come later, come later...
Pei Xiaozheng and Zhong Lan were talking to each other outside the house, with friendly smiles and a harmonious picture.
He stood in the kitchen, watching them intently.
Later, after Xi Wanlai's repeated persuasion, Zhong Lan finally believed that Pei Xiao was not her daughter. The wrinkles on Zhong Lan's face were bunched up uncomfortably, and there seemed to be light in the corners of her eyes.
She murmured: "I know Keke will never forgive me. Even if she comes back, she won't recognize me..."
Pei Xiao felt sad. She didn't know what the feeling of empathy was, maybe it was just sympathy.
She held Zhong Lan's hand and said: "Auntie, if you don't mind, I will come to see you often. You can treat me as half a daughter."
Zhong Lan held hers with his rough palm, and just sighed: "It would be great if you were really my daughter... But Keke wouldn't say that. She might want to get rid of me, but I am holding her back."
Xi Wanlai asked about the writing on the wall outside, and Zhong Lancai said:
She was originally a good gambler and owed a lot of debts, and it was her daughter who worked and studied to pay off the debts for her. Later, her daughter disappeared, and she, a middle-aged woman with no ability to make a living, almost had to sit and wait to die, and this debt became a problem.
It snowballed and got bigger and bigger, and eventually it snowballed to the point where she couldn't bear the burden anymore.
Xi Wanlai has obviously helped her solve this kind of trouble many times and seems to be very familiar with it.
He said: "Auntie, I can help you solve it this time, but it's not the answer if you keep doing this. If there is a job similar to cleaning, would you be willing to do it?"
Xi Wanlai was more thoughtful. Only by helping her find a job to support herself could the problem be fundamentally solved.
Zhong Lan was stunned: "But I'm so old, will anyone want me?"
"Don't worry, I'll let the company make arrangements."
Pei Xiao also wanted to do his best to help: "Auntie, can I see your daughter's photo? Maybe you can post it online and let netizens help you find it."
Xi Wanlai didn't tell her that Shen was missing abroad. It was useless to issue a missing person notice in China, otherwise he would have done so long ago.
Zhong Lan got up and went to the house to look for the photo. The photo was a bit old when she got it, and the corners were worn and curled. It was obvious that the woman often held the photo to miss her daughter.
Zhong Lan said: "This is a photo of Keke when she was in college. Later, she was kicked out of school, and I beat her...and she disappeared. The photo was only from that time, and even I don't know what she has become now."
"
Zhong Lan wanted to cry again as he spoke. Pei Xiao took the photo, but his pupils shrank sharply.
Xi Wanlai observed her expression carefully: "What, do you know her?"
"It's not...I..." Pei Xiao clutched the old photo tightly.
Isn’t the girl with a ponytail and a white shirt in the photo the girl in the photo that Xi Xiangdong hid in the photo frame?
She was in a mess, and it wasn't until she and Xi Wanlai left that she asked in a low voice: "Who is that aunt's daughter...? How did you know her?"