It was nearly seven o'clock when they emerged from the mall, having eaten and drunk their fill.
After getting into the car, Qin Tian first dropped off Xia Nuannuan and Liao Juan at their homes, then drove his second cousin and cousin back to the countryside.
Along the way, his second cousin Tang Heng was still full of energy.
"Little brother, you have the most experience. How do you think I did today? Did I leave a good impression?" Tang Heng asked, leaning forward in his seat with a chuckle.
"Probably... maybe?" Qin Tian replied with a somewhat strained smile.
"No way! You were just fawning over her the whole time. Girls don't like guys like that," Tang Wen said while playing with the tablet in her hands.
Upon hearing this, Qin Tian glanced at her with surprise in the rearview mirror. This girl actually knew quite a bit! The term "simp" hadn't appeared yet, but the phenomenon had certainly existed for a long time.
"You useless mosquito, just play with your tablet and stop talking," Tang Heng reprimanded her irritably.
"I'm just expressing my opinion. Really, I think your chances are slim, Brother Heng," Tang Wen shrugged.
"What do you know? Didn't she give me her QQ number?" Tang Heng retorted unconvincingly.
"That doesn't mean anything. Brother Tian and Sister Nuannuan were sitting right there. If you asked for her contact information, would she not give it to you?" Tang Wen glanced at him, her expression placid.
Tang Heng fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand. "Just stop talking, I can't be bothered with you. Little brother, little brother, should I send her a message later?"
"Hmm... what were you planning to send?" Qin Tian asked curiously.
"Haven't thought of it yet. Just chat casually!"
"Then chat casually, just don't send goodnight and good morning messages like clockwork every night," Qin Tian advised.
"What do you mean?" Tang Heng asked blankly.
"How to put it!" Qin Tian organized his thoughts and said with a smile, "What Wenzi said actually has some logic. It's okay to be nice to others, but being too attentive can be counterproductive. You can't rush these things; you need to slowly build the relationship."
Tang Heng nodded thoughtfully.
"Brother Tian, you're the really impressive one. No wonder you managed to win over a rich and beautiful girl like Nuannuan sister," Tang Wen offered a flattering compliment with a smile.
"You're really becoming Nuannuan's loyal little follower now!" Qin Tian teased with amusement.
"Of course!" Tang Wen raised her chin slightly, her eyes sparkling with joy. "Brother Tian, can you take me to Yucheng tomorrow to see Sister Nuannuan? We'll be staying in the hometown for a few more days!"
"Sure!"
"Oh oh... that's great."
...
...
For the next few days, Qin Tian stayed in the countryside with his mother, allowing her to reconnect with her relatives. During the day, Qin Tian would drive his second cousin and cousin to the city to hang out with Xia Nuannuan. To his second cousin's disappointment, Xia Nuannuan politely declined several of Liao Juan's invitations to hang out, using excuses such as needing to attend a relative's wedding or celebration. With such excuses, Qin Tian and the others couldn't do much. Of course, it was also possible that they genuinely had other commitments, as there were quite a few weddings and celebrations around the Spring Festival.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year that Qin Tian and his mother returned to their home in Yucheng. As they approached the house from a distance, Qin Tian spotted a black Audi A6 parked at the entrance, bearing a Beijing license plate.
"Mom, why is there a Beijing-plated Audi parked at our house?" Qin Tian asked, his expression surprised.
"Where?" Tang Xiuxia, sitting in the back, leaned forward to look. Upon seeing the Audi and its license plate nearby, she froze for a moment, her face subtly changing.
"What's wrong?" Qin Tian asked with concern, noticing his mother's expression change in the rearview mirror.
"It's nothing. It might just be stopping here for a moment. Let's go take a look!" Tang Xiuxia shook her head, her tone seeming to reassure herself.
"Okay!" Qin Tian replied, a bad feeling dawning in his heart. He drove the car to a stop near his home, unbuckled his seatbelt, and prepared to get out.
At that moment, the driver's side door of the black Audi suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out. Upon seeing this man, Tang Xiuxia's body trembled, and her face instantly lost all color. The hand that had been reaching for the door handle instinctively retracted.
His mother's reaction, coupled with a vague sense of blood connection, led Qin Tian to a guess about the man's identity. However, upon further thought, it made no sense at all. Before his rebirth, he was already in his early thirties, and this man had never appeared. Why would he suddenly show up now?
Qin Tian didn't ask his mother anything. With a calm expression, he opened the car door and got out. When the middle-aged man saw him, his rugged and handsome face showed obvious excitement.
"Qin Tian?"
"Who are you, and why are you parked at my house?" Qin Tian asked directly, his tone impolite.
"I..." The man's eyes shifted, and he said with a guilty expression, "I am your father. Where is your mother?"
"Father? Stop talking nonsense here. I don't have a father. Move your car and get out!" Qin Tian frowned and yelled.
"Xiao Tian!" His mother's slightly hoarse voice came from behind.
Qin Tian turned to look at his mother. "He... is indeed your father." Tang Xiuxia said, her eyes moist and reddened, without looking at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man gazed at Tang Xiuxia devotedly, his eyes filled with affection and guilt. Upon hearing this, Qin Tian fell silent, then suddenly burst into somewhat hysterical laughter.
Tang Xiuxia and the middle-aged man looked at him with concern, unsure of what to say.
"Hahaha... Mom, he never showed up from the time you were pregnant with me. Now you suddenly want me to acknowledge him as my so-called father? Don't joke!"
"Xiao Tian, don't be like this. Many things happened back then... Can we go inside and talk?" Tang Xiuxia pleaded, her gaze beseeching.
Qin Tian lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I have nothing to talk to him about. If you want to talk, you can. I'm going to find my classmates." With that, Qin Tian opened the car door and got back in.
"Xiao Tian!!" Tang Xiuxia cried out anxiously.
Qin Tian glanced at his mother with slightly red eyes, started the car, made a quick U-turn, and sped away.
After watching the car disappear from sight, Tang Xiuxia looked at the middle-aged man with a complex expression.
"Don't blame him. I haven't told him about what happened back then. He..."
"It's alright, I understand."
"Come inside for a cup of tea!"
"Okay!" Tang Xiuxia stepped forward, took out her keys, opened the door, and led the man to sit on the sofa inside before making two cups of hot tea.
"You still let him keep the surname Qin. Thank you!" Qin Hongwen said after taking a sip of tea, breaking the silence.
Tang Xiuxia didn't respond directly, instead asking, "How did you find this place?"
"I saw the news about the top scorer in the college entrance examination. My sister saw it half a year ago and wasn't sure if it was you, so she saved it for me. She was worried this news might affect my work at the research institute, so she only showed it to me when I went home for the New Year," Qin Hongwen explained.
Tang Xiuxia was stunned for a moment, then nodded in realization.
"All these years, I've actually been looking for you. I never heard my mother marry him, and she quickly married someone of suitable status," Qin Hongwen said slowly.
Tang Xiuxia looked up at him with a bewildered expression.
"My mom... passed away a few years ago. Liver cancer. The doctors said it was closely related to overwork!" Qin Hongwen delivered another shocking piece of news.
Tang Xiuxia's eyes widened slightly, and she picked up her teacup with a complicated expression, taking a sip to calm herself. She clearly remembered how her mother, who had raised two children alone just like her, would lash out at her with harsh and sarcastic words. She also knew that her mother had done all this for her son's sake, hoping she would consciously leave Qin Hongwen so that he could be with the local woman from Kyoto. Hearing of her mother's death now, Tang Xiuxia's emotions were incredibly complex.