Chapter 224: Mother's News
Zhao Dong didn't catch what his parents said after that. He only caught that one sentence. That single sentence caused the beliefs he had held for more than twenty years to collapse in an instant.
My own parents… aren't my biological parents?
He stood at the doorway like a wooden doll, feeling as if the world around him was completely unreal.
Zhao Dong's hands trembled. The same hands that had held countless guns were now shaking uncontrollably.
Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Zhang Cuimei started to walk out.
When she saw Zhao Dong at the door, Zhang Cuimei froze. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes, and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Dong, when did you get back?"
Zhao Dong looked at his mother, at Zhang Cuimei's face. This is the mother who was once so familiar… why does she seem like a stranger now?
Enduring the agony in his heart, his eyes red and bloodshot, Zhao Dong said hoarsely, "Mom… I heard everything you and Dad just said."
CRASH! The glass in Zhang Cuimei's hand fell to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces as tears streamed down her face.
"Dong, you…"
"Mom… tell me. Please, tell me what's going on."
Zhao Dong's voice was shaking, and his eyes were bloodshot. He, too, was on the brink of collapse.
Zhang Cuimei threw her arms around Zhao Dong, her tears soaking his chest as she sobbed, "Dong, we… we didn't mean to hide this from you. We… we had no other choice! But no matter what, you are our son. We raised you! We are your parents!"
Zhang Cuimei was a mess of tears, clinging tightly to Zhao Dong.
Inside the room, Zhao Kangyou sat on the edge of the bed with tears streaming down his face. He wiped them away and said hoarsely, "Cuimei, Dong has grown up. It's not fair to him to keep hiding things. Let's just tell him everything."
Zhang Cuimei looked at Zhao Dong, her own eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away and pulled him into the room.
Zhao Dong sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and spoke, his voice hollow and his spirit shattered, "Dad, Mom… what on earth is going on?"
Zhang Cuimei looked at Zhao Kangyou, her voice choked with sobs. "Honey, you tell him… or should I?"
"You tell Dong. I… I can't bring myself to say it." Even Zhao Kangyou, a man who always stood so tall and proud, had red-rimmed eyes.
Zhang Cuimei held Zhao Dong's hand, her eyes filled with a mixture of reluctance, love, and sorrow. She stroked Zhao Dong's face and finally, choking back her tears, began to speak.
"Dong, you… you are not our biological son."
It was as if thunder crashed inside Zhao Dong's head. The hand holding his cigarette froze in mid-air.
Zhang Cuimei's hoarse voice continued, "Dong, you must have sensed it to some degree. You don't look like us, and… our ages don't quite add up. You've asked us about it out of curiosity before, but we always managed to hide the truth."
Zhao Dong was silent, his hands trembling faintly. Zhang Cuimei was right. He didn't resemble either her or Zhao Kangyou, and their ages didn't match up either. Zhang Cuimei and Zhao Kangyou were both over fifty, while he was only twenty-five or twenty-six. By that calculation, Zhang Cuimei would have been in her thirties when she gave birth to him. How many normal families wait until their thirties to have their first child?
Zhao Dong crushed his cigarette out and grabbed his hair, his face contorted in pain. "Dad, Mom… what exactly happened?"
Zhang Cuimei sighed, regaining a measure of composure. At last, she began to explain softly, "Dong, when you were very little, still in swaddling clothes, a woman brought you to our home."
Zhao Dong's heart lurched. "A woman… was she my biological mother?"
A nostalgic look appeared on Zhang Cuimei's face. "Yes. She was an incredibly beautiful woman. I can say without exaggeration that your father and I have never seen anyone so elegant and beautiful in our entire lives. She was more stunning than the movie stars on TV, even prettier than that Miss Lin who visited us the other day."
Zhao Dong was speechless. An image formed in his mind: a stunningly beautiful woman holding a baby, arriving outside their small courtyard.
His voice shaking with anguish, Zhao Dong asked, "But my biological mother… why would she abandon me? Why?"
A melancholic expression crossed Zhang Cuimei's face. "Dong, don't blame your biological mother. She loved you very much; she was willing to give up everything for you."
Zhao Dong flew into a rage. "She loved me? If she loved me, why did she abandon me? Why?!"
Zhang Cuimei flinched, her voice thick with tears. "Dong, that morning, your mother rushed into our courtyard holding you. She was injured. Her clothes were stained red with blood! If we're not mistaken, she was being hunted… She must have had nowhere else to turn."
Zhao Dong's breath caught in his throat, and his heart clenched painfully. My mother… was being hunted?
Zhang Cuimei said through her tears, "Despite her injuries, your mother handed you to us, begging us to take you in. She found our home by pure chance. At the time, I couldn't have children for health reasons, so after talking it over with your dad, we decided to keep you.
"After giving you to us, she left with two men in black. They seemed to be her subordinates and were very respectful toward her. Moreover, those two men carried themselves like high-ranking leaders, so we felt your mother had to be someone extraordinary. Before she left, she made your dad and me promise not to tell you about this when you grew up, that we should act as if she had never been here at all... Dong, when your mother left, her expression was resolute. It's very possible she was walking into a dead end."
Zhao Dong's eyes were completely red. He shot to his feet, his entire body trembling. "How could this be… how… My mother, she…"
Wiping her tears, Zhang Cuimei said, "Dong… if you really want to find news about your mother, you should head south. You could try asking around in the Provincial City. Your mother mentioned the Provincial City when she was talking to those two men…"
Zhao Dong clenched his fists and tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling to force his tears back.
The wrinkles on Zhao Kangyou's face deepened into a tight knot, his expression also one of pain. Though he wasn't their biological son, they had raised him with their own hands, pouring countless years of love and effort into him. They truly thought of Zhao Dong as their own flesh and blood. Seeing him in such pain broke their hearts.
Just then, Zhang Cuimei seemed to remember something. She exclaimed, "That's right, Dong! Your mother left something with us when she left. It might be a clue!"
With that, Zhang Cuimei opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out an object wrapped in layer upon layer of cotton cloth.
Zhang Cuimei handed the object to him, dabbing at her tears. "Dong, this is what your mother left... She said to give it to you when you got married. Since you know the truth now, I'll give it to you. Maybe there are some clues inside."
With trembling hands, Zhao Dong took the bundle and slowly unwrapped the cotton cloth. When the cloth was completely unwrapped, he saw what was inside. Zhao Dong's pupils contracted violently, and his heart gave a ferocious tremor.