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This is Xiang Mingqiu's second visit to Duan's house, and it's a little different from last time, this time it was Duan Yan's initiative to invite him.

Apart from the aunt who was in charge of housework, there were only Duan Yan and Xiang Mingqiu in the huge villa. The space was too spacious, and it inevitably lacked a bit of family warmth.

Duan Yan directly led Xiang Mingqiu to the second floor, and the first room on the right was Duan Chenglin's study.

He waved his hand, pointed around the room, and told Xiang Mingqiu: "This is the place where my dad used to stay most often at home. All the things in the study room were left by him during his lifetime. You can browse them casually. If you want to know more about him, he is your father anyway."

This reasoning is correct, but for some reason, Xiang Mingqiu always felt weird when Duan Yan said this.

"To be precise, he is only my father in the biological sense, and it is my mother who really gave birth to me and raised me." Xiang Mingqiu calmly analyzed the relationship between himself and Duan Chenglin, and gave a positioning for it, " In fact, he and I can only be regarded as strangers who have reunited for many years, and the degree of intimacy is not even comparable to the neighbor who lives next door to me."

"Maybe." Duan Yan didn't seem to intend to refute his point of view, "But he made the will himself, and you also have a share in the Duan family's inheritance. Since you're here, you might as well take a look around."

Xiang Mingqiu walked to a bookcase on the right, casually took a few books from the shelf, and roughly flipped through a few pages.

They are all academic books related to business or finance. Each of them looks very old, and many pages in it have been folded. They should have been read several times.

Although Duan Chenglin had a flirtatious nature during his lifetime, he had one thing to say, he was indeed conscientious in his work and career, otherwise he would never have achieved the results he has achieved today.

On the other side of the bookshelf is the item display area. There are many photo frames on the shelf, including family portraits, personal photos of Duan Chenglin, and some photos of the kennel.

Xiang Mingqiu went over those photo frames, reached into the shelf, took a thick photo album, sat down on the mahogany desk next to him, and flipped through it jokingly.

Inside are some of Duan Yan's daily photos, recording many of his growth moments.

Every frame gave Xiang Mingqiu a new understanding of Duan Yan: "Huo Huo Huo, so you used to look like this! Hahaha..."

"I brought you here to let you get to know your dad better, not to let you see my old photos." Duan Yan glanced at the photo album in his hand, not knowing which photo Xiang Mingqiu was talking about, so he also Come and see.

"But I'm more interested in you." Xiang Mingqiu smiled at him, "I said before, I'm just a stranger with blood relationship with him, besides, he's gone, and you are the only relative I have now. .”

Hearing what he said, Duan Yan felt a little depressed while being happy.

He tried his best to erase the sadness in his eyes, making himself look the same as usual.

"Look at this." Xiang Mingqiu pointed to the photo of Duan Yan taking a bath when he was a child, "The little butt is so tender and tender, I want to take a bite out of it."

"Are you a pervert?" Duan Yan looked at him.

There is still a date in the lower right corner of the photo. It was taken when he was just born. At that time, the confinement wife was bathing him in the living room. Maybe there was too much shower gel, which made the surrounding floor full of bubbles. Duan Chenglin was sitting next to him. Watching the fun on the little bench, I slapped a few bubbles on Duan Yan's buttocks, and then laughed out loud.

Judging from the background of the photo, the decoration structure and furniture of the house are full of retro charm, Xiang Mingqiu said curiously: "Your house used to be quite different from what it is now."

Duan Yan told him: "I was born in Kunming, I was only a few weeks old when this photo was taken, and I'm still staying there."

After Duan Yan finished saying this, he thought for a while, and then said to Xiang Mingqiu: "I have something to do in a few days, so you can take care of the kennel alone."

He didn't say the reason, and Xiang Mingqiu didn't ask, just agreed to him.

After a few days of hospitalization, Xia Lerong's body recovered fairly well. After a comprehensive examination, there was no major problem, and the doctor issued a discharge notice.

Xia Lerong originally wanted to ask Duan Yan to come and pick her up, and planned to have a meal with her son after returning home and wash off the dust, but no one answered Duan Yan's phone call.

In the end, Duan Yan called the driver to pick her up, and explained to Xia Lerong in a text message, saying that he took the dog from the kennel to compete in other places.

Xia Lerong didn't pay much attention at first, but she believed her son when he told him.

After staying in the hospital for a few days, the whole body was filled with the smell of disinfectant, which was really unbearable.

The first thing Xia Lerong got home was going straight to the bathroom. After taking a shower, she soaked in the bathtub again to wash off the residual alcohol smell on her body.

After Duan Chenglin left, all decisions and management of the company fell on Xia Lerong alone.

During the few days she was hospitalized, she had accumulated a backlog of work and e-mails, and it would be Monday soon, when there would be a very important shareholding change proposal, which had to be rushed.

Xia Lerong's biggest wish at the moment is still to hope that Duan Yan can come to the company to help out sooner. If his son's own ability allows, it doesn't hurt to hand over the company's full management to him.

But every time he brought up this matter with Duan Yan, Xia Lerong felt that he was avoiding this topic intentionally or unintentionally, and felt quite helpless.

Don't think about anything else, you still have to deal with the matter at hand.

The equity change this time is mainly a modification of the capital contribution negotiated internally by several other investors. It has nothing to do with Xia Lerong. To be prudent, she still found out the previous share agreement and capital verification report and reviewed it. again.

As usual, she walked to the bed, moved the bedside table next to it, and entered a round of passwords to the safe embedded in the wall.

After the cabinet door popped open, Xia Lerong stretched her hand inside, and when she was about to pick up the share agreement on the front, she stopped suddenly.

Over the years, Xia Lerong has always had the habit of preventing someone from flipping through the contents without her knowing. Every time she opened the cabinet, she would leave a small spot in the same place that only she could detect. mark.

But this time, in the place that had been marked, the angle of things was different from before.

Xia Lerong checked it carefully, and found that nothing in the safe was lost, and it didn't look like it was done by a thief.

In the past few days when she was hospitalized, Duan Yan once helped her go home to get her clothes and identity documents. He is the only person in the locker.

The moment Xia Lerong came to this conclusion, Xia Lerong's heart sank. She eagerly pulled out the report that was pressed at the bottom, and flipped through it again and again.

Suddenly, she recalled Duan Yan asking him some details about her birth earlier.

What seemed to be mentioned casually at that time actually concealed such a thought.

Xia Lerong dropped the identification report in her hand, and looked around for the phone with a panicked expression.

After unlocking the screen, I immediately dialed Duan Yan's phone number, but the phone turned off.

She didn't care about that much, so she took out a suit of clothes from the closet and changed into it, and drove to the kennel overnight.

The lights in the house were on, Xia Lerong searched the whole building, but he never saw Duan Yan.

When she went down to the first floor, the door of the house opened from the outside.

Xiang Mingqiu, who just came back from walking the dog outside, bumped into Xia Lerong. He was startled for a while, but soon recovered, and said hello to Xia Lerong: "Aunt Xia, good evening."

Due to her own allergies, Xia Lerong never dared to get too close to the dog. She was probably in a hurry at the time. Without thinking about it, she ran towards Xiang Mingqiu and asked, "Where's Duan Yan?"

It was the first time Xiang Mingqiu saw Xia Lerong's anxious expression.

"I don't know." He answered the truth without any concealment. At the beginning, Duan Yan only said that he had something to do, and he didn't reveal anything other than that.

Xia Lerong obviously didn't think so, she asked sharply: "Duan Yan said he was going to participate in a dog show in other places, where did he go?"

Being asked this question, Xiang Mingqiu was also confused: "What kind of dog show are you participating in? We have taken over the kennel for so long, and we have never registered for any competition."

"Don't lie to me, he stays here almost every day now, don't you know his whereabouts?" Xia Lerong said anxiously, even though the man in front of her was a head taller than her, she didn't hesitate, directly Grabbing Xiang Mingqiu's collar, shaking him vigorously, he asked loudly, "How could you not know? He clearly told me to go to a dog show in other places, why did you lie to me?!"

Xiang Mingqiu noticed that something was obviously wrong with Xia Lerong's mood. He has always been on the line in terms of emotional intelligence. Combined with Duan Yan's abnormal behavior a few days ago, Xiang Mingqiu probably guessed that there might be some problems in some aspects between the mother and son. , and it's not the kind of conflict and quarrel between family members. It may involve some more complicated factors that he can't imagine.

Anxiety alone can't solve anything, Xiang Mingqiu looked at Xia Lerong who had vented his anger on him, what he had to do right now was to appease the other person's emotions and let her calm down.

"Aunt Xia, Duan Yan is indeed a little different from usual these few days, don't get excited, we can clarify some things, maybe I can help you."

Having said that, Xia Lerong immediately stopped talking.

Xiang Mingqiu could feel her trembling slightly through the hands that were still tugging on his skirt.

"You are allergic to dog hair. It's not convenient to stay here for a long time. Why don't we talk in another place?"

Whether it was Xiang Mingqiu or Xia Lerong, neither of them thought that there would be such a day when they would be alone together.

Not far from the village, this cafe is open 24 hours a day, making it a good place for customers to pass the time at night.

The two of them didn't seem to be in the mood to drink, so they asked the waiter for two regular cups of coffee.

"Duan Yan, did he tell you anything before?" Xia Lerong kept stirring the coffee in the cup with a small spoon, and she could see that she was quite disturbed.

"No." Xiang Mingqiu shook his head, and told Xia Lerong exactly what Duan Yan had said to him before.

"On the night when you were admitted to the hospital in an accident, after he came back from the hospital, he looked a little depressed, and suddenly told me that he didn't want the inheritance left by his father. I asked him a few words, and he was very irritable. Just go."

"and after?"

Xiang Mingqiu had no scruples, and directly told about Duan Yan taking him home. When Xia Lerong heard the discussion between the two about the photo, his face turned pale.

At that moment, Xia Lerong was basically sure that Duan Yan already knew about it.

Before she knew it, her eye sockets were moist and red.

Seeing this, Xiang Mingqiu quickly handed her a tissue: "Aunt Xia, can you tell me what happened?"

Xia Lerong silently took the tissue and quickly wiped it around the corners of her eyes, but said nothing.

"If you don't want me to know, then you don't need to say more. I think you must have your own difficulties."

Xia Lerong picked up the coffee in front of her, raised her neck, and drank it all in one gulp.

She pursed her lips, remained silent for a long time, looked up at Xiang Mingqiu who was sitting across from her, and asked, "Your mother's name is Xiang Lan, right?"

It was obvious that they had been discussing Duan Yan's matter all the time, but the conversation suddenly changed, and when it came to his mother, Xiang Mingqiu was a little confused.

He nodded: "Yes."

"There is one thing, I don't know if you know it. When Lao Duan built the kennel, his original intention was for your mother."

Xiang Mingqiu suddenly remembered the photo taken by his mother holding the puppy, and said, "This is the first time I've heard of this, but is it related to Duan Yan?"

Xia Lerong continued down on her own: "The first dog in the kennel was given to her by Lao Duan. Later, your mother separated from him. I don't know the specific reason. She left the dog behind when she left. Later, the old section set up the Changqing kennel, probably in order to continue and inherit the blood of the witnesses of that relationship.

"Didn't you just ask what this has to do with Duan Yan? It's somewhat indirect, after all, she appeared as a third party in my marriage with Lao Duan."

Xia Lerong and Duan Chenglin were 23 years old when they got married. At that time, she had just graduated from university not long ago.

The Xia family and the Duan family can be said to be well-matched families married.

When he was young, Duan Chenglin was talented and handsome. Just by going there, he easily captured the infatuated love of many girls, including Xia Lerong.

She didn't have any dissatisfaction with this marriage appointed by her family. For a long time after marriage, Xia Lerong's love for Duan Chenglin was almost dead set.

At the age of 27, Xia Lerong was pregnant for the first time. In order to find a comfortable environment to raise her baby, she moved from Xiangshan to Kunming.

Duan Chenglin couldn't go with him because of his busy business affairs. During that time apart, the husband and wife mostly kept in touch by phone or video.

There is only more than one month left before the due date, and any pale words can hardly describe the excitement of being a first-time mother. Every morning when she opens her eyes, Xia Lerong is looking forward to her child's arrival in the world as soon as possible.

No matter whether it is a boy or a girl, her requirements are not high. She only wants the child to be healthy and safe, and to be happy in the future life, which is enough.

The days are counting down day by day.

The afternoon of that day was no different from usual. Xia Lerong routinely ended her nap at 02:30 and was going downstairs to listen to prenatal education music.

A strange call suddenly came from the mobile phone placed beside the bed, and the opposite was the voice of a strange woman, who claimed to be Duan Chenglin's lover, because Duan Chenglin played with his feelings, and out of revenge, the other party did everything possible to get Xia Lerong's phone number , and revealed Duan Chenglin's various derailed objects and deeds to her over the years.

Xia Lerong's unwavering love and trust in her husband made her never believe anyone's rumors and slanders against Duan Chenglin.

Before the other party could speak, she hung up angrily and put that person's number on the mobile phone blacklist.

That night, another strange number sent her a message. The other party did not reveal her identity, but simply asked her to check her email online.

An anonymous email was sent to Xia Lerong's mailbox. There was no text content, and there was only a compressed package lying in it.

Xia Lerong hesitated for a long time, but finally, driven by curiosity, downloaded the compressed package to the computer.

It was full of photos and videos, and Duan Chenglin was in every frame.

Judging from the time of the photos and those videos, Duan Chenglin had already had an affair with others without telling his wife when he got married.

Xia Lerong didn't know how she browsed through the contents of that folder in detail. She watched her beloved husband and all kinds of sexy and beautiful women go in and out of hotels, clubs, and mess with them on yachts, making a show. What a married person should not do.

The moment she closed the folder, Xia Lerong's emotions almost collapsed. She sat in front of the computer desk and pulled her hair vigorously, unable to figure out how all this happened.

She kept calling Duan Chenglin's cell phone number. She wanted to ask him a lot of things, but no matter how many times she called, the phone on the other side was still turned off.

Xia Lerong stumbled out of the room and ran downstairs. At that moment, she eagerly wanted to rush to the airport, fly back to Xiangshan, run to Duan Chenglin, and ask him to question him thoroughly.

Her vision became blurred due to tears, and the psychological blow made her walk unsteadily, and when she walked halfway, her foot stepped on the air.

Xia Lerong instinctively reached out to grab the handrail of the stairs next to her, but she was a step too late, and fell down the stairs, rolling down to the first floor.

The confinement sister-in-law who heard the movement immediately ran out of the room to check the situation. When she came to the first floor, Xia Lerong had lost consciousness, lying on the floor with cold hands and feet, and her lower body was covered in glaring red blood. .

Although Xia Lerong was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment, she fell on the stairs, causing the little life in her stomach to leave her completely before it came to this world.

At that time, Duan Chenglin was still abroad, using the stall of a business trip to hang out with other women, completely unaware of what happened to his wife.

Due to innate physical reasons, Xia Lerong and Duan Chenglin have been married for several years and have not been able to conceive a child. They finally tried all kinds of methods, and finally saw hope at the age of 27, but they did not expect that in the end, God still failed. Let her get what she wants.

What's more cruel is that Xia Lerong learned from the doctor that after experiencing this miscarriage, if she wants to conceive another child in the future, the chances are extremely slim.

For Xia Lerong, the betrayal of her lover and the miscarriage of her child are almost equivalent to losing the whole world.

The double severe blow made her think softly several times.

However, suicide also requires courage. After all, she failed to overcome the fear of death.

At that time, Xia Lerong thought about divorcing Duan Chenglin, but she had ten thousand unwillingness in her heart.

She couldn't figure out why she had to suffer this kind of pain, and the person who made her suffer was now out there, having a good time and having a good time.

She didn't understand why the world was so unfair to her, all kinds of unwillingness, from the initial grief, gradually turned into anger.

In the end, Xia Lerong finally realized that in this world, the only person she could really rely on was herself after all.

Since God refused to give her a child, she would find a child for herself.

She did not hesitate to spend a lot of money and manpower, looking for newborn abandoned babies in orphanages all over the country. After many twists and turns, news came from an orphanage in Guiyang.

Someone secretly dumped a newborn baby boy at the entrance of an orphanage in the middle of the night. When someone found out, the baby boy's umbilical cord was still intact.

The baby boy has healthy limbs and no congenital diseases. The person who abandoned him only wrapped him in a thin blanket. Other than that, he didn't leave any clues to be found. Judging from this, The other party probably didn't want to raise the baby boy, but intentionally abandoned the baby boy for it.

It is quite a coincidence that the baby boy's birth date coincides with the expected date of Xia Lerong's miscarriage.

Xia Lerong used money to create a series of "regular" birth documents, making the baby boy his own, and named him Duan Yan.

There are three fires in the word Yan, and she hopes that this child's life will burn like the three fires, glowing and glowing, full of endless vitality.

Xiang Mingqiu sat quietly opposite, listening to Xia Lerong's slow and calm tone, explaining the unknown events of the past one by one.

He once made some guesses and assumptions about Duan Yan's abnormal behavior, but after learning the reasons for everything, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

He raised his eyes and looked straight at Xia Lerong in front of him, not knowing what to say for a moment.

It was already 02:30 in the morning, and he and Xia Lerong were the only two customers left in the store.

The melodious and brisk jazz music is playing in the store, which seems out of tune with the current atmosphere.

After buffering for a while, Xiang Mingqiu asked: "Does Duan Yan's father know about this?"

"At first, I didn't know that Duan Yan was adopted by me. Only my mother knew about it. Later, when the old Duan came home, he inadvertently overheard my mother and I talking on the phone. That's when he found out the truth. Later, he secretly went for a forensic examination, and the moment he saw the report result, he had to accept this fact."

Xia Lerong said calmly: "He threw the report in front of me angrily, pointed at my nose and asked me loudly why I did this. Shameless, he also revealed all the things he had cheated on me all these years. He knew he was ashamed of me. Later, we discussed and reached a consensus. I can ignore his betrayal, but he must accept it. This non-natural child.

"Up to now, I am not afraid to let you know this. Duan Yan is not my own son, but it is not something disgraceful. I have been keeping this secret for many years. At first, I was really worried that if outsiders knew about it, I would be pointed out. , After experiencing so many things, I gradually understood a lot. The reason why I am still guarding this secret is only for my son alone. If I can, I really hope to take it to the grave and become a forever Known secrets."

Xiang Mingqiu remained silent for a long time.

His first impression of Duan Chenglin came from his mother, Xiang Lan.

After Xiang Lan died of illness, Xiang Mingqiu found a wooden square box while sorting out his mother's belongings.

There were letters in the box, and out of curiosity, he dug out all the letters and read them.

Only to find out that these are all love letters received before, and all the love letters come from the same signature - Duan Chenglin.

From these letters, Xiang Mingqiu learned that the man named Duan Chenglin once had a very short and unusual relationship with his mother.

Later, Xiang Lan accidentally learned the fact that Duan Chenglin was married, because she didn't want to be a third party who destroyed other people's families, so she finally chose to leave Duan Chenglin's side.

Xiang Lan walked quite quickly. She packed all the valuable gifts that Duan Chenglin had given her and returned them all.

The only thing left is the stack of letters with strong emotions buried in ink and paper, and a poorly crafted wooden storage box made by Duan Chenglin himself.

He had never met Duan Chenglin, but from these love letters, he could read the man's deep love for his mother.

But he really wanted to know what kind of person it was that could make his mother think about him for many years, but regret it for many years.

Such a first impression is so one-sided and vulnerable.

Looking at Xia Lerong in front of him, Xiang Mingqiu couldn't help feeling pity for her.

This woman once loved her husband so deeply, but entrusted it to the wrong person.

Her love has long since died, and in her best years, she died completely together with the child in her womb who could not breathe the air of the world.