Watching her mother, whose face seemed to have aged years in a single moment, Jiang Yining felt a dull ache spread through her chest.
She could only nod firmly. “Okay, Mom, Dad, Auntie… you should all get some rest too.”
She stepped out of the room, turning back several times as she left.
…
Back in the quiet of her own room, Jiang Yining leaned against the cold wooden door and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the carpet.
She let out a long breath, as if she had been holding it in all this time. Reaching up, she wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and murmured to herself,
“That was close…”
She had come dangerously close to tearing open the wounds in her mother’s heart, wounds that had only just begun to heal.
…
In another part of the city, inside a brightly lit villa district, the atmosphere was entirely different.
The living room of Xiao Xiao’s home was warm and lively. A soft play mat covered the floor, scattered with colorful toys.
Three-year-old Lu Xinyao giggled as she pushed a toy car back and forth.
Nearby, three-and-a-half-year-old Zhou Huaijin quietly stacked building blocks, carefully constructing a little castle.
Shen Nian’an sat at the edge of the mat, watching the children with a gentle expression. Beside her, Xiao Xiao held a plush doll, playing along with her daughter. The slight curve of her belly revealed the quiet presence of a new life growing within her.
At that moment, An Kexia walked in.
She looked distracted, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. After giving a brief nod toward the men chatting in the tea room, Xie Shiyan, Zhou Yanze, and Lu Jingshen, she went straight to the play mat and sat down beside Xiao Xiao.
She seemed like she wanted to speak, but hesitated. Her fingers twisted unconsciously at the hem of her clothes.
“Kexia, what’s wrong? You look completely out of it,” Shen Nian’an was the first to notice. She set aside the storybook in her hands and looked at her with concern.
Xiao Xiao also paused, turning to study her face. “Yeah, what happened? You don’t look well.”
An Kexia pressed her lips together and cast a quick glance toward the tea room.
Lowering her voice, she spoke carefully, as if revealing something she wasn’t sure she should say.
“Today… my car got rear-ended.”
“What?” Xiao Xiao and Shen Nian’an exclaimed at the same time, their expressions changing instantly.
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt?” they asked, immediately looking her over.
“I’m fine, really, I’m not hurt,” An Kexia said quickly, waving her hands. “It’s just that the back of the car got dented.”
Hearing that she was unharmed, both women let out a sigh of relief.
“As long as you’re okay. Cars can be repaired, you really scared me,” Xiao Xiao said, pressing a hand to her chest.
For a brief moment, the tension in the room eased.
But the unease on An Kexia’s face didn’t fade. If anything, it deepened.
She hesitated again and again, as if struggling with herself. Finally, as though making up her mind, she spoke, her voice carrying disbelief and a trace of hidden fear.
“But the girl who hit my car… she looked exactly like the Ningning you always talk about. Exactly like the one in the photos. And her name… I heard her brother call her Ningning.”
…
It was as if a silent bolt of lightning had struck the room.
The air seemed to freeze.
The color drained from Xiao Xiao’s face, and the plush doll slipped from her hand, falling onto the mat with a dull sound.
Shen Nian’an’s gentle smile froze in place. Her pupils widened, shock flooding in, followed instantly by a surge of grief.
Even the children sensed the sudden shift. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the adults with puzzled eyes.
Only the faint whirring of the toy car continued on the mat.
…
“That… that’s impossible,” Xiao Xiao finally said, her voice dry and strained.
She shook her head hard, as if trying to throw the thought away, but her eyes quickly filled with tears.
“They must just look alike. And the name… it’s just a coincidence.”
Her words sounded like they were meant for An Kexia, but in truth, she was trying to convince herself.
Shen Nian’an drew in a sharp breath, but it turned into an uncontrollable sob.
She covered her mouth as tears spilled out, slipping through her fingers.
“Yes… you must have been mistaken, Kexia,” she said brokenly. “Ningning… she’s been gone for so long… we saw it with our own eyes…”
Her voice dissolved completely into sobs.
…
The memories from eight years ago came rushing back without mercy.
The cold hospital corridors.
The heavy voice delivering the verdict.
The figure being wheeled out beneath a white sheet.
Every detail had been carved into their bones.
And now, those memories were being torn open again, raw and bleeding.
…
“Mommy, don’t cry… don’t cry…”
Zhou Huaijin set aside his blocks and crawled over, reaching up with his small hands to clumsily wipe away his mother’s tears, his little face filled with worry.
Shen Nian’an pulled him tightly into her arms, burying her face against his small shoulder.
Her muffled sobs echoed softly in the living room, filled with a deep, desolate sorrow.
Xiao Xiao’s eyes were red as well. She reached out and grasped Shen Nian’an’s cold, trembling hand, holding it tightly, offering silent support.
The two children, affected by the heavy atmosphere, quieted down and leaned close to their mothers.
…
Watching the scene unfold, An Kexia felt a surge of regret and self-reproach.
She should never have said anything.
She knew better than anyone what the name “Ningning” meant to them.
Seeing Shen Nian’an break down and Xiao Xiao struggle to hold herself together, she lowered her head, her heart heavy with guilt.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have brought it up,” she said softly. “I must have been mistaken. The resemblance was just too strong, it confused me for a moment.”
But even as she tried to explain it away, her voice sounded hollow, unable to convince even herself.