"How's my little one doing?" Fengmian asked, who Zhan thinks is still half-asleep.
"I'm doing good, Dad. Can I talk to Mommy?" Zhan looks over at Zhoucheng, who's just standing at the bar counter, watching him.
"Zhan..." Yizuan's voice comes through, sounds like she just woke up. "You've been there five days. How have you been doing?"
"I'm doing alright, Mom..." he answered, pausing to collect himself. "I know this isn't the best time to bring it up, but I really need to ask you something important..."
"What are you talking about, darling?" Ziyuan leaned back against the headboard, glancing at her husband as he walked into the bathroom.
"W-who-who is Lan Wangji, Mom?" Zhan finally blurted out, his heart racing with each beat.
Ziyuan furrowed her brows but quickly replied, "Quiren's father..."
I should have guessed. Zhan thought.
"What made you ask about Lan Wangji, Zhan? Have you met Ziyi's fiancé? Are you together with her? Did you see the life-like portrait of the old man at the Lan's building reception?" Ziyuan bombarded him with questions.
He didn't answer his mother's questions and went on, "H-have you had the chance of... of meeting him while you were married to Quiren?"
"Nope. He passed away a few years before I met Quiren. Did you call me in the wee hour just to ask about Lan Wangji?"
"Mom, this is really important." His voice carried a hint of desperation. "You still haven't explained why you dislike old houses, Mom?"
Ziyuan raised an eyebrow and yawned. "Nothing except that they give me a creep..."
"Why's that? Have you really seen that many old houses?"
"Well, there's Uncle Wuxian's house, Zhan. I don't like that house you inherited. Even though Shiying's Villa is larger and fancier, it still gives me that same eerie feeling. I have no idea why," Yizuan explained. "Darling, what's going on? Is this related to Ziyi's upcoming wedding to Quiren's son? Did she ask you to check out the Lan family? That is so unlike her..."
Zhan inhaled deeply, caught between satisfaction and disappointment. Ziyuan had said something that cleared up a lot of the questions swirling in his head.
"Just plain curiosity, Mom," he replied. He felt like there was something he wanted to figure out, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was hoping Ziyuan would help him with questions he didn't even realize he had. "Ziyi and I haven't seen each other since we parted at the airport, and I really don't know how to reach out to her. I still don't have her local number here."
"Try Lan's Corporation, Zhan. Quiren's has a penthouse in the building." She shared the address with Zhan, so was the home address of the couple Haikuan and Yifei "Haikuan is Quiren's nephew... that's all I can share. Except for the Gusu Island address, which I believe is where Quiren's son took your cousin."
"Gusu Island, Mom?"
"Yes. Your dad's here and he wants to talk to you." Ziyuan handed the phone to her husband.
"Hi, Dad."
"Son, a letter came in yesterday from a distant cousin of my mom and your grandpa Wuzian. She was a very distant cousin and around the same age as your grandpa Wuxian..."
Zhan felt his heart racing with a wave of anxiety. He really hoped that the thoughts swirling in his head weren't what his dad was about to say.
"You haven't met her yet, Zhan," Fengmian went on. "We weren't that close either because. But I think I've only met her like four times in my life. She lives in Shanghai because her husband is from there..."
"W-who is she, Dad?" His eyes searched the chair, his legs couldn't handle what his father might say.
"Aunt Wen Qing, son," Fengmian replied. Zhan shut his eyes tightly and gripped the phone like a lifeline. "She's Ziyi's great-grandma. Your Uncle Lujin is her grandson from his only son. Strange, but she didn't ask for Ziyi. And I wonder why she wants to see you instead."
Oh, God... oh, God!
"I-It-thought Ziyi's great grandmother died a long time ago, Dad? T-that she died giving birth to Uncle Lujin's father...."
"Sean Zhan!" Fengmian shouted from the other line. "Where did you get that knowledge? Maybe she is very old, she's in her late 90s but she's still alive, son. I think you might be talking about her husband, Wangyin, who passed away. Uncle Wangyin died five years ago in a car crash along with Lujin's dad. We couldn't make it to his funeral since we had just moved to the US at that time..." Zhan was at a loss for words. His throat felt parched, and he could feel tears welling up.
"The letter says that Aunt Wen Qing wants to see you, son," Fengmian said again. "I find it weird she didn't mention Ziyi. You should go see her, Zhan. Just grab a piece of paper, and I'll give you her address."
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