Chapter 215: How Could It Be Such a Coincidence?
The house didn’t look very large, but it was clear they had put a lot of care into it. Everything inside was arranged with exquisite neatness.
There was a small pond with koi fish swimming inside.
An osmanthus tree was planted in the corner. When the wind blew, the sweet fragrance of its blossoms filled the air.
Xie Huaizheng then belatedly realized that, in the blink of an eye, it seemed to be autumn.
Time really flew by.
The woman said to Xie Huaizheng, "I saw you when you were a child. You were quite cute. I haven’t seen you in so many years, and now you’ve grown into such a handsome young man."
Xie Huaizheng opened his mouth, but he didn’t know how to address this woman.
His mother hadn’t told him, only that he was to visit Old Sir Shu.
"You should call me Aunt Luo." Luo Yijun beamed at Xie Huaizheng.
Upon hearing this, a few images seemed to surface in Xie Huaizheng’s mind.
Back then, he did seem to remember calling someone Aunt Luo.
Xie Huaizheng called out, "Aunt Luo."
Luo Yijun’s smile grew even wider.
"By the way, Little Xue went to Beijing to visit your parents and grandfather, but you weren’t there. I suppose you two didn’t get to meet, did you?"
Luo Yijun’s familiar manner left Xie Huaizheng a little dazed.
’Who is Little Xue?’
Before he could answer, Luo Yijun suddenly called out, "Old Sir, come and see who’s here to visit you!"
"Who is it?" Old Sir Shu’s trembling voice drifted out from inside the house.
Immediately after, an old man walked out. He had a wiry frame, salt-and-pepper hair, and a face weathered by time, but his eyes were still sharp and full of spirit.
Xie Huaizheng called out, "Grandpa Shu, I’m Xie Huaizheng. My grandfather asked me to come visit you."
"Little Xie! You’re here!" Old Sir Shu said to him at once. "Come, come, have a seat and a cup of tea."
Xie Huaizheng placed the gift to the side. Seeing this, Old Sir Shu frowned. "It’s enough that you came. Why be so formal?"
"It’s just a small token," Xie Huaizheng said with a smile, sitting down in front of Old Sir Shu.
"Your timing is quite unlucky, Little Xie. Little Xue just went to Beijing for a visit. I even had her pay a visit to your family. Why did you turn around and come to Jiang City?"
’Little Xue.’ That name again. Xie Huaizheng frowned.
He seemed to recall the vague outline of a little girl in his memory, but he really couldn’t place her now.
’Could she be someone I know?’
But he had been very young back then, so it was understandable he couldn’t quite remember who she was.
"I heard from your grandfather that you even married Little Xue. I was thinking, how could that be possible? She’s been in Jiang City this whole time. Did you run into a scammer? Is that why you came here, to see Little Xue?"
When Xie Huaizheng heard Old Sir Shu’s words, the exhaustion he had been feeling vanished completely.
He looked at Old Sir Shu, mulling over his words and connecting them with what the others had said. He couldn’t help but ask, "Grandpa Shu, are you saying that I have a marriage agreement with your family’s Little Xue?"
"That’s right. This was something your grandfather and I agreed upon when we were young. It’s just that the other children had large age gaps or had already found people they liked, so we let it go. But you and Little Xue are close in age, and neither of you was in a relationship. Your grandfather even wrote a letter back then suggesting you two could try dating."
As Old Sir Shu spoke, his eyes twinkled as he smilingly sized up Xie Huaizheng.
"I must say, you seem like a fine young man. It’s a shame you didn’t get to see Little Xue this time."
At this point, Xie Huaizheng was too stunned to say a word.
He thought about how insistent Huang Jiqin had been, her serious expression as she told him to find Old Sir Shu. ’Could it be because my mother already knew?’
He and Su Zhaozhao had both mistaken each other for someone else.
Su Zhaozhao wasn’t his childhood fiancée, and he wasn’t her childhood fiancé...
After leaving the Shu family’s home, Xie Huaizheng smoked three cigarettes.
He had been trying to quit recently because Su Zhaozhao didn’t like the smell of smoke.
Whenever he smoked, she would pull away and not let him kiss her.
So, he had no choice but to quit.
But right now, he desperately needed the nicotine to calm his nerves.
Xie Huaizheng felt the hand holding the cigarette tremble uncontrollably.
After a long while, he calmed himself down and called Huang Jiqin.
The moment the call connected, Xie Huaizheng blurted out, "Mom, you knew all along, didn’t you? That I got the wrong person?"
"Yes, Huai Zheng. But I really didn’t know how to tell you. I could only let you go and find out for yourself." Hearing his words, Huang Jiqin knew that Xie Huaizheng must have learned the truth.
All this time, she had been holding it in, and the feeling of something being stuck in her throat, unable to be swallowed or spat out, was truly agonizing.
Now that Xie Huaizheng also knew, Huang Jiqin realized it was time for him to make a decision.
"Why did you let me find this out?"
"To make you come to a decision, of course. What’s the deal with that Zhaozhao? Shouldn’t you ask her? Could it be that she knew your identity and tricked you into marriage? How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Although I do think that girl is very nice, but..."
As Huang Jiqin said this, she couldn’t help but frown.
’She is very nice, but what if she’s just putting on a good act?’
"In any case, I’ve told you about the situation. Whether you ask her or do something else, it’s up to you. But on our end, we need to give the Shu family an explanation."
"Shu Xue also came to our house. She seems like an obedient and lovely girl, no worse than Zhaozhao. Huai Zheng, if..."
Huang Jiqin was about to say more, but unexpectedly, Xie Huaizheng hung up the phone.
Listening to the dial tone, Huang Jiqin frowned. ’This child, his temper is still so bad.’
However, when she thought about how loving Xie Huaizheng and Su Zhaozhao were together, she could actually understand how he felt.
But whether to continue with this mistake or to end it was ultimately in Xie Huaizheng’s hands.
But seeing Xie Huaizheng’s current state, Huang Jiqin knew he most likely needed some time alone to quiet his thoughts.
He needed to think this problem through carefully.
Huang Jiqin couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
’How did it turn out like this? What an uncanny coincidence.’
Xie Huaizheng hung up the phone. He looked around in a daze, his mind filled with the image of Su Zhaozhao’s bright, radiant smile.
’She’s so beautiful, so cute. And she calls me ’husband’ so sweetly.’
’Even when I tease her until she cries, she just curls up pitifully in my arms...’
’But how could a wife like that not be his?’
Xie Huaizheng’s thin lips pressed together into a tight line.
He was utterly lost.
’But to hell with it. Real or fake, Su Zhaozhao is mine.’
’We’re married. That’s a fact. I can’t just destroy this marriage because of some so-called childhood engagement, can I?’
But, he didn’t know what Su Zhaozhao would think.