Three figures turned, only to see Qin Si Ye’s tall silhouette approaching.
He bent down, affectionately picking up his daughter, and kissed her tender cheek.
“Daddy.” Chen Chen and Shuo Shuo quickly rushed to greet him.
“Yes.” Qin Si Ye looked at them with eyes full of adoration.
As he slowly stood up, Yin Xi asked, “Why are you here?”
“I was just passing by. Thought I’d come take a look,” Qin Si Ye replied in a gentle voice.
At this moment, Yan Yan suddenly hugged his neck tightly, pressing close to his face, and looked at Yin Xi, asking, “Mommy, take a good look, do Daddy and I look alike?”
Qin Si Ye was perplexed. He gently pried her little hands away and said, “Yan Yan, why would you suddenly ask that?”
The other three couldn’t help but laugh. Chen Chen recounted their recent conversation to him.
After listening, Qin Si Ye looked at Yan Yan and said, “You are my daughter, of course you look like me. If anyone ever dares to say you don’t look like me, you tell me immediately.”
“Okay. Yes.” Yan Yan nodded with full confidence.
Qin Si Ye gently put her down, adjusted his suit, and solemnly bowed three times to the two elderly figures on the tombstone before walking out with Yin Xi and the children.
When they reached the roadside, Yan Yan tugged his hand and said, “Daddy, Mommy said Grandma is also here. Can we go and see her together?”
Qin Si Ye stopped in his tracks, glanced at Yin Xi, and replied, “Okay.”
The family of five walked in another direction and stopped before a tall tombstone. Yin Xi and the three children stared intently at the photograph.
After a while, Yin Xi couldn’t help but look back at Qin Si Ye.
She had always thought he resembled his father, Qin Xiu Zhi. But after seeing his mother’s photograph, she realized he looked even more like her.
“Daddy, Grandma was so young and beautiful! Earlier I thought I looked like Grandma, but now I feel like I look like Grandma too,” Yan Yan tugged Qin Si Ye’s hand and asked.
“Yes,” Qin Si Ye looked down at her. “Grandma is Mommy’s mother, and Grandma is Daddy’s mother. Because you look like both Mommy and Daddy, you see them and feel they resemble you. Next time, don’t doubt if you look like Daddy.”
“Okay.” Yan Yan nodded happily.
Turning, she was the first to bow three times to her grandmother. “Grandma, I’m Yan Yan, your granddaughter. If you were still here, would you be happy to see a little girl who looks a lot like you?”
Chen Chen and Shuo Shuo also stepped forward, bowed, and said in unison, “Grandma, and us too. We also look a lot like you. We are all Daddy’s children.”
At this moment, Yan Yan’s voice suddenly became choked with emotion. “Grandma, if only you were still alive. Then we would have a grandma to call. Do you know? Every time we went to the Qin family’s old house, the woman next to Grandpa always tried to please us. But my brothers and I knew her intentions weren’t genuine, so we never paid attention to her or called her anything. Grandma, if you were here, you would surely love us sincerely, just like Great Grandma and Auntie, wouldn’t you?”
Chen Chen and Shuo Shuo also said, “Yes, Grandma. How we wish you could hear all three of us call you Grandma in unison.”
Hearing this, Yin Xi felt a prickle in her nose, her tears almost falling. She realized how deeply her children felt. Though they didn’t say much when visiting the Qin family, their hearts were clear, understanding everything.
She glanced sideways at the man beside her, only to see him turn his head away. Yin Xi knew he must be feeling a great deal of sadness at this moment, so she squeezed his hand.
“I’m okay,” Qin Si Ye turned back, his eyes slightly red. He took her hand and walked to the tombstone, bowing three times deeply.