Three Lives and Three Worlds [11]

Very soon, the familiar and expensive black car appeared in front of her. The man in the driver’s seat was impeccably dressed in a suit, his hair neatly combed back, revealing his sharply handsome face with a slightly pursed mouth and cold, dignified eyes that exuded a natural nobility.

He glanced at the woman without saying a word, but his gaze seemed to indicate that she should get in the car. It had been six months since she had seen her husband, and he had come to pick her up in person.

In the midst of the crowd, under the admiring or envious gazes of passersby, An Meijun felt an indescribable sense of joy. Her smile on her face became even more radiant and shy. In the cold wind, she lowered her head slightly, as if she couldn’t withstand the chilly breeze, like a delicate willow. She subconsciously walked to the passenger side of the car, wanting to open the door, but she struggled to pull it open.

Her smile froze for a moment as she looked down.

There was already a pink and tender little doll sitting in the passenger seat, nestled in a specially designed child safety seat, and fastened with a seatbelt. When she looked over, the little doll tilted its head and blinked, pretending to be well-behaved, but didn’t call her “mom,” as if looking at a stranger.

This stubborn child, didn’t even think about giving up the seat for her.

An Meijun could only awkwardly stop her actions and go to the back seat to find a place. As a result, the large rear seat was filled with shopping bags from the supermarket, filled with toys and snacks, leaving her with only one spot.

They actually made her sit next to the shopping bags. With all her carefully chosen outfit and perfect makeup, she was completely overshadowed by these items covered in supermarket logos.

An Meijun’s face became even more rigid. She tightly held her designer handbag and asked, “Yunqiu, we’re just going back to the old house for the New Year. Why did you buy so much stuff?” Couldn’t these things be bought anytime?

Yin Yunqiu, holding the steering wheel, replied succinctly, “The child likes it.” So, he bought them. As a father, shouldn’t he try to satisfy his child’s needs within his means?

As an accomplice, Yin Minglu giggled a few times, looking at his father with a cute and innocent expression.

Seeing the smile on his young son’s face again, Yin Yunqiu’s previously straight lips curved slightly.

Wasn’t he spoiling the child too much? An Meijun couldn’t find words to say, but she soon asked, “Then why not put them in the trunk? Must they be with me?” Did it have to sit together with her?

She had it all planned out, if Yunqiu came to pick her up, she would sit in the front passenger seat and take a beautiful selfie with him as the protagonist, subtly letting Yin Yunqiu’s face into the frame, and then post it on her social media.

She wanted her circle of friends to know that Yunqiu had come to pick her up, and they were on the path to reconciliation.

Since her breakup with Yin Yunqiu and the cancellation of the wedding, An Meijun’s life hadn’t been as glamorous as before. She had thought that her close friends, the sisters in her circle, would still support her, but they had kicked her out of the “rich and beautiful” group. They had been cold and sarcastic, piling on insults and not even bothering to invite her when they went shopping for clothes. Some even said, “Why are you acting so high and mighty? Wake up, you’re no longer the future Mrs. Yin, you’re just a fallen phoenix, not worthy of shouting at us. My boyfriend is still a wealthy one in the circle.” With that, she proudly linked arms with her boyfriend and walked away.

The rest of the people didn’t mock her, but they seemed to be waiting to see if she could turn things around, successfully reconcile with Yin Yunqiu, or get involved with another rich young man. So they maintained a watchful attitude and didn’t lend a helping hand. Some seemed to have ulterior motives, enthusiastically introducing her to potential suitors or encouraging her to go on blind dates, with those potential suitors being wealthy individuals or diamond sons from just outside the capital. Because of Yin’s background as Yin Gongzi¹Young Master, she still had a high value in their eyes, and many young men were interested in her. They seemed to want to find out what kind of woman had been in a relationship with the famous Young Master Yin, someone who had gone as far as getting engaged.

So, driven by curiosity, these people often sent flowers and gifts to An Meijun, occasionally inviting her to dine in five-star hotels. They were all wealthy and had the means, but none of them could match the tall, handsome, successful, and clean Yin Yunqiu. Besides, these people had questionable personal lives and were often involved in complicated relationships with various men and women. She occasionally accepted their invitations and went out to dinner with them, but that didn’t mean she intended to engage in romantic relationships with them. In her heart, she only loved Yunqiu, and these ordinary men couldn’t move her. After all, once you’ve been in a relationship with the top-tier rich young man, how could you still be interested in these playboys?

An Meijun showed disdain on her face, but she was secretly pleased that her charm had not diminished.

For some vain and mysterious reason, even after learning that Yin Yunqiu was coming to pick her and the child up for the New Year, she had not severed ties with these young men. They were still on her contact list, occasionally sending her ambiguous late-night greetings.

An Meijun wouldn’t let Yunqiu know about these things privately. She planned to delete all of these people once she completely reconciled with Yunqiu. For now, these people would often sweet-talk her to make her happy, so she left them alone. After all, Yunqiu never cared about these things and didn’t like to inquire about his lover’s private life. He wouldn’t find out.

So, An Meijun felt justified in maintaining these dual interactions. She knew that in her circle of sisters, winning back Yunqiu’s heart was her capital. Those young men were at most just a talking point. Therefore, she planned to use this opportunity during the New Year to completely change Yunqiu’s mind and achieve her great transformation.

She wanted to post a photo on her social media as a way to proclaim her sovereignty. But she hadn’t expected that she couldn’t sit in the front seat, and the back seat was filled with shopping bags from the supermarket. If she took a picture, she would inevitably have to include those bulky, unsightly bags in it. She wouldn’t know whether the response would be admiration, envy, or mockery.

She wanted Yunqiu to move the bags to the trunk, but when she learned that the rear compartment was also filled with toys and New Year’s goods for family visits, she had to reluctantly give up and put her phone down.

But it was okay without the photos; the result was what mattered.

On the way, An Meijun racked her brains to talk to the father and son. She wanted to ask how the baby had been recently, whether he missed his mom, and other questions, attempting to awaken the child’s deep attachment to maternal love.

Tears were a woman’s best weapon. Once those pearl-like tears rolled down her cheeks, even if this woman had committed heinous crimes, most people couldn’t bear to blame her again. Most would choose to forgive.

Just as An Meijun was about to shed a tear, the glistening teardrops swirled in her beautiful eyes. However, Yin Minglu, the child, suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it straight at her, startling her. He forcefully pressed the trigger, and something seemed to spray out of the gun’s muzzle. An Meijun’s pupils constricted, and she was about to scream, but she was hit in the face by a pile of paper.

An Meijun: “…”

In a daze as she picked up the paper on her body. It turned out that what had sprayed out was a stack of realistic counterfeit bills, and the faces on them even had comical expressions, as if mocking her for being overly alarmed.

An Meijun suppressed her anger and was about to scold the child for playing such tricks on his mother.

But the child seemed completely indifferent to her unpleasant expression. He continued to play with a toy money gun, puffing out his red little mouth and making playful “biubiubiu~” sounds as if it were just a harmless joke. With a light press of his little hand, more fake bills flew through the air.

The chubby child seemed to be having a lot of fun, and his sweet voice asked, “Daddy, do you think my gun looks good? Do I look powerful when I’m shooting?”

Seeing his mischief, Yin Yunqiu also smiled and didn’t mind the fake bills on his suit. He praised, “It looks good, very powerful.” It was just a casual comment, as what did being so small and cute have to do with being “powerful”?

However, the little guy couldn’t resist compliments. As soon as he received praise, he smiled with crescent-shaped eyes, and he continued to shoot with the toy gun, but soon ran out of “bullets.” The child shook the money gun while pouting unhappily. It seemed like he hadn’t had enough fun yet. So, he turned to his father, who always spoiled him, and said, “Daddy, I’m out of ‘bullets.'”

Upon hearing this, An Meijun felt a sense of relief, finally able to release the breath that had been stuck in her throat. She crumpled up the bills that had fallen on her skirt, thinking to herself with determination, “You little rascal, let’s see how you can misbehave now.”

Just as the child was contemplating whether to quietly pick up the sprayed fake bills, Yin Yunqiu glanced at him and used his eyes to stop the child’s actions.

He said, “Baby, don’t fidget. When we get home, Daddy will pick them up for you.” It wasn’t a big deal. If these counterfeit bills ran out, they could replace them with real ones. Although spraying real money might give the impression of showing off wealth, Yin Minglu would only play with them at home, so there was no danger involved.

Even so, the fact that he would personally pick up the “money” for his child surprised An Meijun. Seeing the father and son enjoying themselves, smiling at each other, An Meijun, sitting in the back seat, felt her eyes darkening, her heart filled with ants, as if she had been completely excluded after being away for half a year.

An Meijun let go of the idea of scolding Yin Minglu, but she couldn’t stand the child’s carefree expression. She forced a smile that seemed to be filled with goodwill and advised, “Yunqiu, you can’t spoil the child like this. What if he becomes spoiled? At such a young age, he’s already mischievous, aiming a toy gun at his parents. Such pranks are not good. If we don’t discipline him, he might bully other children when he goes to kindergarten in the future.”

“It won’t happen; the baby is very well-behaved.” Despite his young age, he was both intelligent and polite. When he smiled, he was very cute, like a naturally radiant little sun. Almost everyone who met this child’s relatives and friends would be attracted to him, unable to help but praise how handsome he was and how much he resembled his father. They would say that he would definitely have a bright future when he grew up.

Although Yin Yunqiu didn’t understand the connection between looking good and having a bright future, he liked it when people said that his child looked like him. A child who was so likable would never bully others, right?

As for An Meijun’s comment that the child had aimed the gun at her, implying that he had played a prank and disrespected her, Yin Yunqiu furrowed his brows. He didn’t like hearing such words and replied, “The child is just playing with you because he likes you. If you don’t like it, don’t scold him.”

During the past half-year of taking care of Minglu, he had grown even more attached to him with each passing day. Sometimes, when the child was alone at home, if he didn’t answer the phone for over a minute, Yin Yunqiu would worry if something had happened to the child. He would wonder if the child had choked while swimming, fallen down the stairs, or been bitten by the housekeeper’s cat. To put his mind at ease, he often brought Minglu to the office after work.

He believed that he understood the child’s pure heart better than An Meijun, who was careless and absent-minded. Furthermore, Minglu had aimed the gun at him as well, making playful sounds, laughing, and shooting money everywhere. What did that signify? The child played with her because he felt close to her. If he didn’t like her, he would just ignore her, and he wouldn’t have had such extraneous thoughts.

An Meijun was left dumbfounded by her husband’s conclusion. Not only did he not scold the child, he even turned the situation around, suggesting that she didn’t appreciate the child’s goodwill.

Moreover, she thought that Yin Minglu, this little rascal, didn’t look like he liked her at all. After not seeing her for half a year, he seemed to have completely forgotten about his mother. Just look at his face, with that look of gloating and satisfaction, as if he had his father by his side to back him up. This exasperated An Meijun, and she gnashed her teeth, thinking, “He really isn’t my flesh and blood. I can’t tame him. Little brat, you can misbehave for now, but once I reconcile with your father, you’ll be at my mercy.”

With these thoughts in mind, An Meijun’s anger subsided.

The group drove and soon arrived at the Yin family’s old mansion, where they met Mr. Yin²Yin’s Patriarch; Minglu’s grandfather.

Mr. Yin appeared to be in his early sixties, but he still had a robust physique. He was dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, exuding an air of old-fashioned gentility. He held a jade-green birdcage containing a parrot that was constantly flapping its wings and chirping.

Upon their arrival, Mr. Yin paid no attention to them and continued to play with his bird. Even when the child at his feet stared at the bird in awe with his big, dark eyes and could identify the parrot’s breed, his adorable demeanor didn’t manage to capture Mr. Yin’s heart.

He maintained his polite yet distant attitude. After all, he had lived more than half a century, and he was accustomed to flattery. He had his own temper, and he detested women like An Meijun, who had children out of wedlock and lacked self-respect. Especially when they had strong ulterior motives and seemed to be trying to climb a social ladder. Such women could share in wealth but should never share in life and death. If he were to marry, it would be someone with good character, capable of running a household gracefully and standing by his side through thick and thin, like his late wife.

Unfortunately, for some reason, the marriage matters of his three children had all encountered problems, causing him constant headaches. Consequently, he didn’t have a good impression of An Meijun and her son. This year had been relatively calm; in the previous years, he had even refused to meet anyone during the New Year. When he saw An Meijun holding her child, he had the servants escort her out.

However, despite being stubborn and stubborn-mouthed like this, he had the deepest feelings for the original host.

After the truth about the previous life was revealed, the elderly Mr. Yin had indeed suffered a heart attack and ended up in the ICU at the hospital. It was almost too late to save him, which was one of the reasons why the Yin family allowed Yin Minglu to live on the streets without caring. However, once Mr. Yin regained consciousness, he, with an oxygen mask on his trembling lips, uttered one sentence: “I want to see Minglu, the child is innocent.”

When he learned that the child had died in a car accident, Mr. Yin suddenly closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Yin Minglu blinked his round, watery eyes. At his father’s signal, he took a few steps forward in his festive red attire, respectfully bowed, and then shyly held a cup of tea, uttering a few stammering auspicious words, “It’s the New Year, I wish Grandpa good fortune like the eastern sea, a long and healthy life, and may everything go smoothly, living a hundred years.”

His blessings were also spoken on behalf of the original host, especially the last one, wishing a long life, which was absolutely sincere.

The child before him was dressed in his favorite bright red attire, with a fair and chubby appearance, resembling a little celestial being from a New Year’s painting. His little face lit up as he held a cup of tea, his gaze pure and adorable. However, his voice was slightly hoarse, filled with a touch of affectionate emotion.

Seeing that the child’s unreliable mother seemed to be teaching him well, the old man sighed inwardly. He politely accepted the tea that had been prepared in advance, and couldn’t help but give a smile.

The child’s face immediately lit up with a smile. Upon closer inspection, he looked even more like the chubby child in the New Year’s painting holding a fat fish.

Mr. Yin snorted, “Hmph.” Despite his likable appearance, trying to please him was futile. After all, why did he have such a mother?

Nevertheless, he took out a red envelope from the table, which had already been prepared, and handed it to the child. He said, somewhat reservedly, “It’s not much, just three hundred thousand. Use it as you like.” He didn’t show favoritism; he had prepared for each of the younger generation. Although he didn’t like An Meijun and her son, the red envelope for Yin Minglu was still quite generous. Furthermore, this red envelope would be given every year, with an additional ten thousand for each year as the child grew up, until he got married and established his own career.

“Thank you, Grandpa~” Yin Minglu said obediently, hugging the old man with his two small arms. He didn’t mind the old man’s stiff body and nuzzled his little face against him affectionately.

Seeing the red envelope in the child’s hand and hearing the amount, An Meijun, who had been standing quietly on the side, was wide-eyed, her heart pounding uncontrollably. She thought to herself, “The Yin family is indeed generous. It’s just a toddler, and he’s given three hundred thousand in one go. With so many relatives in the Yin family, how much money will they accumulate? At the very least, it should be two or three million. I have to figure out a way to get this money. It should belong to my daughter. Why should Yin Minglu have it?”

“Are you tired from the journey? The New Year’s Eve dinner is still a while away. Are you hungry? Would you like to have something to eat to fill your stomach?” the old man asked uncomfortably. Since the child had shown goodwill, the old man couldn’t maintain his cold demeanor.

An Meijun had a gracious smile on her face, elegant as if she were a noblewoman. Before she could politely decline, the child in front of her eagerly expressed his agreement, nodding his little head vigorously. An Meijun felt somewhat embarrassed. This was her first year successfully entering the Yin family, and she had hoped to make a good impression on the old man. However, Yin Minglu behaved like a hungry little wolf, lacking manners. If it were her daughter, even if she wanted to eat, she would certainly respond politely and gracefully, like a refined young lady.

What she didn’t know was that it was precisely this kind of innocence and candor that endeared him to the elders.

At that moment, a young man slowly descended the stairs, looking slender and wearing a black turtleneck sweater. He had a fair and handsome appearance, resembling a refined and elegant young nobleman, stunningly captivating. He smiled and said, “Grandpa, has Second Uncle brought younger brother³Not Minglu’s brother, he used that title because Minglu’s younger than him back?”

—

Author’s Note: Thank you to the angels who voted for my story or provided nourishment with comments~

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!

 

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• 1
  Young Master
• 2
  Yin’s Patriarch; Minglu’s grandfather
• 3
  Not Minglu’s brother, he used that title because Minglu’s younger than him