Su Yun froze. She quickly glanced at Qin Na’s face and saw that her eyes were indeed red.
After emptying the basin of water, Xiao Shi came back and asked Xiao Cheng, "What else did your mom say?"
Xiao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "She told me she isn’t doing well right now. She said she’s always missed my dad and me, and that she hopes our family can get back together."
Qin Na couldn’t bear to listen anymore, and tears started to well up in her eyes.
Su Yun, however, squeezed her hand. She turned to Xiao Cheng and asked, "Xiao Cheng, let me ask you, do you like Mama Qin Na?"
"I do."
"Then do you want your dad to be with her, or get back together with your real mom?"
Xiao Cheng froze, frowning in thought. Just as Qin Na’s eyes were red with tears, the little boy suddenly spoke up. "Mama Qin Na, are you going to leave me someday?"
Qin Na said, "How could I ever leave you? Unless... unless your dad leaves me."
"My dad really likes you, he’d never leave you! Besides... if I really went with my real mom, I wouldn’t get to eat the food Uncle and Auntie make anymore, and I couldn’t play with Sister Xiao Shi!" Xiao Cheng was actually a bit sad, too. He bit the corner of his mouth and whispered, "And... I’m scared my real mom will abandon me again..."
Xiao Cheng had always been mature and sensible for his age. After his mother abandoned him, Sun Jianhua’s business had run into trouble around the same time. The boy had gone through a period with not enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear.
It was that period that made him become more and more withdrawn.
Xiao Cheng’s words finally lifted Qin Na’s spirits, and she stopped crying. Su Yun, standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief, though she still couldn’t completely relax.
Because the choice ultimately rested with Sun Jianhua.
No one knew what Sun Jianhua discussed with the woman outside, but eventually, she left, and he returned.
This was a private matter between the couple, so Su Yun had little choice but to take Xiao Shi back to their room. Xiao Cheng, tired from playing, had already fallen asleep on the bed.
But Qin Na, sitting by the bed, still had red eyes.
Sun Jianhua said apologetically, "Xiao Na, I’m sorry. I’ve made you so worried."
When she’d heard that Xiao Cheng was missing earlier, Qin Na had nearly fainted.
Qin Na had always been a very good-natured person, and over the past few years together, she had come to genuinely care for the boy. Sun Jianhua saw it all.
Qin Na pressed her lips together. "What about her?" she asked.
"It was getting late, so I sent her to a guesthouse."
"Oh."
The silence was oppressive, the atmosphere stifling. Sun Jianhua reached out and took Qin Na’s hand. "Xiao Na, don’t worry. It’s over between her and me. There’s no chance of us getting back together. If she wants to see the child, I can agree to let her visit at a set time each month, but that’s it. Nothing more."
"But... from the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to be doing too well," Qin Na said, choosing her words carefully.
Even though she looked young and pretty, she seemed haggard. Her life must have been difficult.
Sun Jianhua said, "Yeah, she told me about it just now. The man she was with made a bit of money, then took a liking to a younger woman and abandoned her. She was too embarrassed to go back to her parents, so she found another man. But not long after, he died of an illness. His family thought she was bad luck and kicked her out."
Qin Na frowned. "She still looks so young. Why doesn’t she get a decent job?"
"If she were capable of enduring hardship, she never would have abandoned Xiao Cheng and me in the first place..."