Novel Bin Chapter 616 - The Secret About the Past (234)
Chapter 616: The Secret About the Past (234)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jin Yiheng picked up the cutlery and began eating.
The disturbing silence invoked an urge to speak within the two of them, who unfortunately did not have anything to say.
An Xiaoning had no idea what Jin Qingyan had on his mind. They both remained silent while she sipped on her coffee slowly.
There were sounds of ongoing conversations coming from the other tables, footsteps walking about, as well as all sorts of miscellaneous noises in the background, a stark contrast to the dead silence on their table.
Deep down, An Xiaoning actually wanted to explain things to him thoroughly. However, no amount of explaining could clear the misunderstanding since it was a knotty situation.
Since they had already gotten the divorce, he probably would not wish to hear about the matter anymore. Thus, she decided not to bring it up again.
Once the steaks were served, An Xiaoning began eating slowly. She stretched her leg beneath the table and coincidentally touched his by accident, causing her to look up and make eye contact with him for a second.
She retracted her leg and continued having her meal with a straight face.
Throughout the meal, neither of them broke their silence.
When it was time to leave, An Xiaoning stared at her son longingly, reluctant to part with him. “Be good and listen to Daddy. I’m sure you’ll grow taller when we meet again next time.”
Jin Yiheng wrapped his arms around her thigh and whined, “Mommy, I don’t want to be away from you.”
An Xiaoning felt her heart wrench in agony while she remained standing and caressed her son’s face. At last, she looked at Jin Qingyan and said, “Give me ten minutes. Let’s talk privately.”
“About what? The rights to Yiheng’s custody? I don’t see the need for a discussion,” he said coldly.
“No, it’s not about that. Just give me ten minutes,” said An Xiaoning, staring at him.
At this moment, Jin Qingyan’s heart softened. He instructed Jin Yiheng to get inside the car while he stood outside, facing An Xiaoning, leaving an appropriate distance between them.
“Although it’s stated on the divorce agreement that I’m not allowed to see our son at all, I’m still his biological mother at the end of the day. No amount of paternal love from you can undermine my position in his heart. Can you allow me to see him twice a month?” An Xiaoning requested.
“Do you even have time to see him twice a month?” Jin Qingyan asked sarcastically, mocking the fact that she would not be allowed to leave the Autumn Palace twice a month.
“My mother has already been rescued. I’ll be tendering my resignation from the Autumn Palace within the next few days. Besides, I’ve already bought a house in Sanqiao Estate. I’ll definitely have ample time,” she answered, sounding a little weary.
“Is that so?” he asked with a look of surprise, which vanished within a split second.
An Xiaoning walked closer toward him and stopped when she was one step away.
She looked up and said gently, “Although I think that there’s no need to mention some things again since I don’t have evidence to prove my innocence, I still hope for you to stop misunderstanding me. I’m still going to say what I have to, even if it doesn’t change your mind or the way you think.”
He stared at her quietly and allowed her to continue speaking.
“Tuoba Gucheng is my half-brother, and we’re related by blood. I will never fall for him. You should be well aware of how skilled I am in combat defense. In fact, you might not necessarily beat me in a physical fight. Tuoba Gucheng is no match for me. There’s no need for me to make such a huge sacrifice for the sake of finding out the truth about my mother.”
An Xiaoning took a deep breath and continued, “I know you must’ve been mad when you first found out, but a few months have passed since then and I don’t know if you’ve really completely cooled off. I don’t find it a shame to have divorced you, but rather, I find it a pity that our relationship was ruined by a sheer and absurd misunderstanding. If you say that you only believe what you see, Qingyan, you must’ve forgotten how I chose to trust you even when I caught you naked in bed with Chi Rui’er, who drugged and stripped your clothes off of you. To love is easy, but it’s difficult to live with each other. I won’t bring this matter up again in the future. Apart from the fact that we’re both Yiheng’s parents, we’ll truly have nothing to do with each other from now on. I’ll take it that you’ve agreed to let me meet Yiheng twice a month.”
After having said her piece, An Xiaoning turned around to leave straight away.
Jin Qingyan watched as she left, feeling as if he had been hit in the face.
He stood rooted to the ground in bewilderment, overwhelmed with misery.
Upon returning home with his son, Jin Qingyan called for Fan Shixin to enter his bedroom.
“Do you think I’ve really misunderstood her?”
“Young Sir, why would you say that all of a sudden?” Fan Shixin asked, noticing how awful and depressed he looked.
Jin Qingyan repeated what An Xiaoning had said to him earlier. Fan Shixin then said, “Young Sir, I think you really overreacted this time and let your anger get the better of you. How could Ms. An possibly fall in love with Tuoba Gucheng when she knows that he’s her half-brother? Besides, he was already engaged at the time. Ms. An is not that silly.”
“Get straight to the point.”
“Since Ms. An doesn’t love Tuoba Gucheng, there’s no way she would’ve slept with him. Think about it. Like what Ms. An said, he’s no match for her when it comes to martial arts, and thus, he couldn’t have violated her against her will. If she doesn’t love him, why would she allow him to get intimate with her? If you think that she turned a blind eye for the sake of her mother’s matter, then I beg to differ. I doubt she would compromise her morals because she’s such an upright person. I think you should read those messages Ms. An had sent you previously to explain herself. Young Sir, there’s something I’d like to say but I’m not sure if I should.”
“What is it?”
“Back then, Ms. An refused to believe that you had died in the tsunami even though everyone else around her thought so. Young Sir, I’ve also given it some thought during the past three months. How could you be so sure that the child Ms. An was carrying did not belong to you, simply because you heard what Tuoba Gucheng said? Did you make sure to take contraceptive measures every single time? ”
Jin Qingyan looked at him abruptly and answered, “No, I didn’t.”
After pursing his lips, Fan Shixin said, “Young Sir, do consider carefully whether you’d like to believe yourself, Ms. An, or Tuoba Gucheng.”
Fan Shixin then excused himself, leaving Jin Qingyan alone in the room.
His mind was filled with images and thoughts about her.
Jin Qingyan lay down in bed, and the scene of his very first encounter with An Xiaoning popped up in his head.
It was a night of thundery showers and she was standing right at his doorstep, completely drenched from head to toe.
She was carrying her heavy luggage in hand.
Back then, he was twenty-five years old while she was twenty-two.
In the blink of an eye, he was already thirty-three years old while she was thirty.
“I don’t find it a shame to have divorced you, but rather, I find it a pity that our relationship was ruined by a sheer and absurd misunderstanding...”
Jin Qingyan’s eyelids began to twitch and his heart began to ricochet vigorously as he recalled what she said earlier on.
He felt a strange sense of panic, and a voice within him was questioning him continuously, asking him if he was regretting his choices. He would have said confidently that he did not regret his decision at the time that he signed the agreement. However, he had now begun to waver.
He was unsure if he would really not have any regrets.
He was overwhelmed with perplexity.
For the rest of the night, Jin Qingyan began to ponder over the matter again and again. He continued to stay up until midnight, for he had trouble falling asleep. At last, he had no choice but to rely on the sleeping pills again.