—
After five years, Jin Qingyue managed to regain her svelte figure.
She managed to return to her prenatal self after shedding the unwanted flab from her chubby and overweight body.
Her phone began to ring right after she dropped Jin Bao’er off at school.
“Jin Qingyue,” a familiar voice said over the phone. Jin Qingyue’s hands began to tremble upon realizing that it was Shi Shaochuan who called.
“You’re released?”
“That’s right, I’m out of prison. All thanks to you, I was in there for five years. Now I finally get to be free.”
“Then turn over a new leaf and become a good person.” Not wishing to speak to him any further, Jin Qingyue ended the call and switched off her mobile phone.
Sitting in her car, she felt a sudden sense of threat and impending danger.
It seemed her peaceful and comfortable life was about to be disrupted.
She decided to buy a medium-sized mansion in an estate where security was tight and hired a bunch of bodyguards and servants to live with her.
She did not remarry because she had yet to meet a man whom she could trust completely.
For the past few years, she had been feeling rather lonely and empty emotionally, though she had been leading a comfortable life.
She would frequent nightclubs at night, in hopes of meeting an ideal man.
However, she had never met a suitable man.
Upon arriving home, she switched her phone on again and gave her brother a call.
“Brother, Shi Shaochuan is released from prison.”
“So what if he is? Are you afraid of him?”
“I’m not afraid, I’m just a little worried.”
“Bring more bodyguards with you whenever you go out. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t give him the chance to slip in,” Jin Qingyan instructed.
“Alright, shall we have lunch together this afternoon?”
“Sure, come to Wei Ni Estate in the afternoon then.”
“Okay.”
After ending the call, Jin Qingyue sat on the couch and began to realize how lonely it was to be single.
She wanted to find a good man to settle down with.
Yet, she did not know where to find one.
Jin Qingyue began racking her brains as she leaned back against the couch, overwhelmed with sorrow.
She sunk into a trance for the entire afternoon and a million thoughts flooded her mind.
When afternoon arrived, she proceeded to pick her child up from school and headed towards Wei Ni Estate.
She parked the car in the courtyard and caught sight of three children playing merrily at a distance away. She then turned to her daughter, who was seated in the passenger seat, and asked, “Would you like to go play with them?”
“No, they’ll dirty my new clothes.”
Jin Qingyue then unbuckled her daughter’s seatbelt and said, “Get down from the car and go inside with Mommy then.”
The pair of mother and daughter alighted from the car and entered the living room slowly.
Upon sight of Jin Qingyue, An Xiaoning failed to recognize her immediately. Jin Qingyue had become much more mature since the last time they met.
“Sis-in-law.”
“You’re here, I heard from your brother that you’d be here for lunch today,” An Xiaoning greeted in response.
Jin Qingyue expressed assent and asked, “Sis-in-law, who’s that child playing with Long Tianze’s children outside?”
“He’s my son.”
Noticing that she sounded rather convincing, Jin Qingyue asked in puzzlement, “When did you have a child? I’ve never seen you pregnant before. Don’t tell me… he’s adopted?”
“The An Xiaoning you saw previously wasn’t me. The one standing before you right now is the real deal.”
“Wait a minute… what do you mean the one previously wasn’t you and that you’re the real deal? You’re making me confused.”
“That An Xiaoning you saw previously was a clone. I’m the real An Xiaoning.”
Jin Qingyue could not believe her ears. “I’ve only heard of animal cloning. Since when was it possible to clone humans too?” she asked apprehensively.
“Just because you don’t know about it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Is this the daughter you had with Shi Shaochuan?” An Xiaoning said calmly.
“Yes.”
“She’s an exact copy of her father. She looks nothing like you at all.”
“Indeed so. She still resembled me a little when she was just born. She looks less and less like me the older she gets. Well, I can’t alter her genetic makeup. No wonder my brother kept saying you were suffering from amnesia everytime I asked you to read my fortune. Could you help read my fortune again?” Jin Qingyue requested.
“But you don’t believe in fortune-telling.”
“I didn’t in the past, but I do now after witnessing it for myself,” said Jin Qingyue, sounding a little ashamed.
An Xiaoning sat down opposite her and said, “I forgot your birth characters. Tell me again.”
“I was born on the 24th of August XXXX at 10:24 PM. You know the home address.”
“What would you like to know about your fortune?” An Xiaoning asked.
“I’d like to know about my marriage prospects. Will I meet a good man in this life? Will I still get married again in the future?”
“Yes.”
Jin Qingyue was elated to hear her answer. “Really?” she asked.
“Yes, really.”
Jin Qingyue felt as if she had seen the light at the end of a tunnel and a glimmer of hope for a blissful life. “When am I going to meet him?” she asked eagerly.
“Next month.”
“April?”
“Yes. Treasure the opportunity.”
“Thank you, Sis-in-law. I absolutely believe you. Great, I thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life.”
“You won’t be.”
“Come have lunch! Xiaoning, go call the kids outside,” Jin Qingyan called.
“Oh, okay.”
At the dining table, Jin Qingyue kept staring at An Youqing and her brother and could not help but find it incredibly amazing.
“Bao’er, this is your cousin, Youqing. Come, greet him.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why not? Hurry,” Jin Qingyue urged her.
“I’m eating. I don’t have the time to say hello,” Jin Bao’er refuted with a frown on her forehead.
Jin Qingyue let out a wry smile and said, “I’ve been raising her by myself since she was a baby and have spoiled her rotten. She’s very impolite.”
An Xiaoning decided to give her an out and said, “Children are all like that. But, you ought to take her in hand. Children’s personalities are usually set when they’re young.”
“Yes, I got it.”
After comparing her daughter to other children, Jin Qingyue began to realize that she did not teach her daughter too well. Perhaps it was because she had forgotten to discipline her daughter while in the midst of showering her with love and tender care.
After lunch, Jin Qingyue forced Jin Bao’er to play with the three other children in a bid to make her become friends with them so as to change her bratty attitude.
Jin Bao’er had no choice but to drag her feet towards the swing at the playground unwillingly.
“Come play with us. Your name is Bao’er, right?” Long Xiaoxi welcomed her warmly.
“Yes. How old are you?” Jin Bao’er asked as she walked towards them.
“Three years old.”
“I’m five and a half. You ought to call me ‘Sister’.”
“Sure, Sister Bao’er,” an unbothered Long Xiaoxi agreed.
Staring at Long Xiaoxi, who was sitting on the swing, Jin Bao’er said distastefully, “I’ve stopped getting on swings a long time ago. They’re meant for kids like you.”
“But you’re not that much older than I am, Sister Bao’er.”
“I’m a lot older than you are. Why did you have lunch at my Uncle’s house instead of your own home?” Jin Bao’er corrected her.
“Because my parents aren’t home and I live just opposite. My brother and I will go home once they’re back. Besides, your Uncle is my Godpa and your Auntie is my Godma. That makes us their godchildren. Isn’t it normal to eat with them frequently?” Long Xiaoxi answered.
Pouting her lips in disdain, Jin Bao’er hissed, “I don’t have an Auntie.”
“My Godma is your Auntie. Didn’t your mother make you address her as your Auntie during lunch?” Long Xiaoxi said in her baby voice.
“You’re so ignorant. They’re not married yet so she’s not my Auntie.”
