She said, "What happened to that little boy in the end? Our charity foundation, because of your photo, plans to donate to the children injured in the explosion to ensure they receive all the necessary follow-up treatment."
Although Ni Jingxi left, she asked Lin Qinglang to continue to keep an eye on the child's situation.
Yesterday, Lin Qinglang sent her a WeChat message saying that the little boy's second surgery was very successful and he was out of danger for the time being. Moreover, people all over the world are paying attention to him because of this photo.
"Thank you." Ni Jingxi thanked Zhong Lan on behalf of the children.
Children are so vulnerable that their grief in the face of immense suffering always touches the hearts of countless people.
Moreover, the chaos in this world is nothing more than the desires of adults, and yet when it comes to bearing the consequences, these innocent children are often implicated.
Seeing her slightly serious expression, Zhong Lan sighed, "It's just a small contribution."
However, Zhong Lan then said with a smile, "But they all envy me."
Huo Zhenzhong glanced at her, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Don't laugh, I'm not bragging, everyone really does praise her. They say Jingxi is very capable, look at how much her photos have caused a sensation around the world," Zhong Lan said.
Although she has her own things to do, overall, she has spent most of her life taking care of her family.
Huo Shenyan is definitely not one of those rich kids whose parents are too busy to see them. Zhong Lan attended every parent-teacher meeting or parent-teacher day since he was a child.
Sometimes she would even drag Huo Zhenzhong along to participate; no matter how busy she was, she could not neglect her children—that was her principle.
Therefore, she wasn't that focused on her career. She did run an art gallery before, just to pass the time.
The other women around her were similar to her; it wasn't that they lacked ambition, but rather that they valued spending time with their families more. Therefore, those like Ni Jingxi, who excelled in their careers, were extremely rare in their circle.
When the photos first came out, I guess someone was jealous of Ni Jingxi's high profile, so they deliberately said something to Zhong Lan, such as having a child is the most important thing after being married for so long, and that she is so focused on her career that she has no time to take care of her family.
But Zhong Lan is the kind of person who's very protective of her own.
Although she herself was eager to have a grandchild and wanted to see her and Huo Shenyan's child born soon, she couldn't accept what others said.
In the end, she calmly deflected the request.
When she told Huo Zhenzhong about it later, she raised her eyebrows slightly and concluded: "They are just jealous that I have such a capable daughter-in-law."
Now, when Huo Zhenzhong hears her bring it up again, he just finds it funny.
Ni Jingxi was surprised that neither Zhong Lan nor Huo Zhenzhong mentioned her departure over the past year. It was as if they accepted it calmly, saying, "We understand your departure, and we will treat you the same way we did when you came back."
She turned to look at Huo Shenyan, feeling an indescribable surge of emotion.
Ni Jingxi knew that Huo Shenyan must be protecting her behind the scenes. In front of his elders, he always took everything upon himself. Even when the relationship was at its most tense, Ni Jingxi never heard Zhong Lan utter a single sarcastic remark towards her.
She knew that he was there for her.
Before leaving, Zhong Lan told them to come home more often, especially Ni Jingxi, who looked much thinner.
When they reached the door, Ni Jingxi suddenly turned to look at Zhong Lan and asked in a low voice, "Mom, can I hug you?"
Zhong Lan was taken aback.
A blush then rose to her cheeks. Even though she was a seasoned person, the sudden remark still made her a little embarrassed.
But when Ni Jingxi leaned in and hugged her, Zhong Lan really smelled wonderful.
It smells wonderful and is very peaceful.
It tastes just like mom's cooking.
Ni Jingxi said softly, "Thank you."
She had a lot to say, including apologies and other things, but in the end, after thinking it over, she just said thank you.
On the contrary, Zhong Lan felt somewhat at a loss.
She only gave birth to one son, and besides, Huo Shenyan is the kind of person who would only care for Zhong Lan silently; such a proactive hug is extremely rare between the mother and son.
Now, Ni Jingxi's hug made her realize what it feels like to have a daughter.
So cute and soft.
As Huo Shenyan got into the car, he saw Zhong Lan standing outside the passenger seat, talking to Ni Jingxi through the window, looking reluctant to part. Finally, he said helplessly, "Mom, is there anything you want to tell me?"
He's still my own son, after all.
To his surprise, Zhong Lan glanced at him through the window and asked in confusion, "What did you say?"
Well……
He was the one who talked too much.
As the two drove back, Ni Jingxi was texting with her head down. When they stopped at a traffic light, Huo Shenyan turned to look at her engrossed expression and said, "Stars..."
Unexpectedly, Ni Jingxi just opened a voice message. It was from Zhong Lan asking when she was free and wanting to go shopping with her.
By the time Ni Jingxi finished listening to the over forty-second voice message, the traffic light had already changed, and the car restarted.
She turned to look at Huo Shenyan and asked, "What's wrong? What do you want to ask me?"
"It's nothing," Huo Shenyan said calmly.
However, I've made up my mind that I should go home less often in the future.
When Huo Shenyan arrived home, he parked his car in the garage and got out to walk back when his phone suddenly rang.
Ni Jingxi was originally standing on the steps at the door waiting for him.
Then she saw Huo Shenyan's expression change from shock to joy, and finally even the hand holding the phone seemed to be trembling.
A moment later, he slowly walked over, put his hands on Ni Jingxi's shoulders, and said in a low voice, "Jingxi, we need to go to the airport now."
Ni Jingxi raised her face, her large, dark eyes staring straight at him.
Finally, Huo Shenyan spoke up: "I have news about Dad."
Author's Note: Ahhhhh, Daddy!
*
Chapter 62
Ni Jingxi opened her suitcase to pack a few clothes, while Huo Shenyan had someone prepare them so they could fly over as soon as possible. After he finished making the call and returned to his room, he found Ni Jingxi wasn't there. He went to the walk-in closet next door and found her sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Star.” Huo Shenyan walked over, squatted down beside her, and looked at her.
Ni Jingxi's expression at this moment was neither good nor bad; she just looked particularly bewildered, as if the news had come too suddenly and she was caught off guard.
After Huo Shenyan squatted down beside her, her eyelids twitched, and she looked up at him, a glimmer of life returning to her dark eyes.
She licked her lips before speaking, "Be careful what you say, I..."
She genuinely didn't know what to say at this moment. This year marks the eighth year, or more precisely, seven years and three months.
It took so long that she almost gave up.
Now, suddenly this news has arrived—good news, right? She should be so excited she'd scream, stomp her feet, and want to vent her emotions—but instead, she feels weak in the knees, as if she's walking on clouds.
Her legs were really weak when she was packing the clothes, and she finally managed to sit down by holding onto the cabinet next to her.
She sat cross-legged on the ground, thinking for a long time, but she couldn't figure it out; it was truly complicated.
Seeing her like this, Huo Shenyan reached out and pulled her hand away from her lap. Her palm was quite cold, and even her fingertips were chilly.
Actually, he somewhat understood what Ni Jingxi meant. When he received the call earlier and Lao Sun excitedly told him that there was news, Huo Shenyan's first reaction was bewilderment.
I'm a little skeptical, is there really any news?
There have been some blunders before, where there was supposed to be some information, but when we went there, we found out it wasn't true at all.
The feeling of raising people's expectations to their absolute peak and then crashing down on them is even more despairing than having no news at all.
Anyway, it's really uncomfortable.
Perhaps it's because I've been waiting for so long that I'm suddenly caught in such complicated emotions.
When Huo Shenyan held her hand, Ni Jingxi's icy hand seemed to gradually warm up, and slowly her body began to tremble until she reached out and hugged his neck, burying her cheek in Huo Shenyan's neck.
"Be careful what you say, I'm really happy."
Ni Jingxi remained in this emotional state until Huo Shenyan pulled her into the car. She leaned against the car window and quietly gazed at the scenery outside.
At this time, Shanghai's night view is at its most dazzling.
The sunlight passing by on the roadside shone through the open car window and reflected in her eyes.
dad.
When she murmured those two words in her heart, it was with a warm and tender feeling.
If her father were alive, she wouldn't be an orphan.
She knew that Huo Shenyan could give her all his love, love that surpassed everything. But she was still sad, after all, who at her age had experienced the fate of having neither parents nor relatives by their side?
She longed to have even just one, a relative she could reach out and touch.
There should always be someone in this world who shares her bloodline, watching over her.
Now, she has finally waited for it.
When they arrived at the airport, Ni Jingxi clutched her passport. Standing in the brightly lit hall, she suddenly remembered, "Where are we going?"
The Middle East? She thought she wouldn't be going back there anytime soon, but she'd only been back for a few days...
Huo Shenyan glanced at it: "Vietnam."
Ni Jingxi was stunned. She seemed not to understand and looked up at him.
After meeting her eyes, Huo Shenyan nodded slightly: "It's to Vietnam."
Ni Jingxi was a little confused again. After all, Vietnam and the Middle East are too far apart. How could her father have gone to Vietnam from the Middle East?
Why hasn't he returned to Shanghai or gone home all these years?
With so many questions in her mind, Ni Jingxi ended up asking none of them.
Perhaps when I meet Ni Pingsen, everything will become clear.
They bought the tickets at the last minute. Private jets require advance booking of routes, which is not as fast as taking an airline flight. Luckily, there were still seats available in first class.
After boarding the plane, Ni Jingxi couldn't help but look out the window again.