The Sweetest Marriage (2)

Ch. 250: Strikingly Similar

This was an old black-and-white photograph from over twenty years ago, making the person in the picture appear somewhat blurry. However, even so, Cookie immediately found this photo very familiar. As he saw the photo, Chen Li's face instinctively flashed through Cookie's mind.

The resemblance was just too uncanny!

Why did his uncle look so much like Chen Li?

"Yeah, every year before we come here, someone sends a bouquet of flowers for Ranran," Mr. Qu placed the flowers he was holding on the tombstone, answering Cookie's question. "I think the person sending these flowers must have been very important in Ranran's life."

"Look at Ranran's photo, he's smiling," Mr. Qu sighed and continued, "Ranran had autism from a young age, very wary of everyone, and only slightly relaxed in front of family. In my memory, Ranran rarely smiled, but in this photo, not only is he smiling, but his eyes show no signs of vigilance; he's completely at ease."

"Yeah," Cookie earnestly stared at the photo of Ranran for a while. Indeed, if not for Grandpa's explanation, he wouldn't have recognized that the person in the photo had autism.

However, Cookie realized a connection: his uncle had autism, Chen Li also had autism, and they looked so much alike. Was it possible that Chen Li was his uncle's child, left behind? And the person who made his uncle so relaxed in the photo was the one who rescued and took care of him after he went missing.

Cookie speculated internally, but he didn't voice this out. After all, Grandpa was getting older and had already suffered the pain of losing loved ones twice. Until things were completely certain, Cookie didn't want to give Grandpa any false hope.

What if...? What if these were all coincidences? Could Grandpa bear such a huge contrast if it turned out to be so?

Moreover, there were too many unanswered questions. If Chen Li was his uncle's child, why was he in the Chen family? How did he end up marrying Wei Chen?

Until these questions had definite answers, Cookie wouldn't tell Grandpa about the possibility of Chen Li being his uncle's child.

"Xiao Qi, come up and say hello to your uncle, let him get to know you," Mr. Qu's expression was composed, but his gaze remained fixed on the photo on the tombstone, filled with nostalgia and reluctance.

The elderly man devoted his entire life to the nation. In his forties, after the country stabilized, he got married and had a son and a daughter. However, in the end, he experienced the sorrow of losing both of his children, one after the other, which was an immense blow to the old man.

When he learned about the passing of Qu Ran, the old man couldn't openly express his grief. During that time, he was steering the country, always on the move around the world, and he had to present the best image to the world.

Throughout his life, he sacrificed his personal life for the greater good, leaving his own family fragmented. However, he held no grievances.

Yet, standing before his son's tombstone, tears still welled up in the old man's eyes.

Cookie stood at the tombstone and said, "Uncle, I am Sheng Qi, your nephew. I've come to visit you." Unconsciously, Cookie felt a tinge in his nose, for the uncle he had never met in his memory and, even more, for his Grandpa.

He understood why Grandpa chose to retire and settle in Shanghai; it was because his son was buried here. Here, Grandpa could be with his son in a different way, even though in Shanghai, he was alone and felt deeply lonely.

Because of this, neither Cookie nor the Sheng family ever persuaded Grandpa to return to Beijing, but they would frequently visit Shanghai to keep him company.