Chapter 196 - Where is Zi Han?

When DX woke up in the middle of the night to get some drink, he had trouble falling back to sleep.

As he sat alone in the living room, he convinced himself that even though it was hard to see her cry, he must do it for their future.

With that in mind, early next morning, DX woke Kai Xin up despite the latter complaining about him being an annoying old man with a bad habit.

Ignoring her insult, he gave her a light slap on the butt before pushing her towards the bathroom, "Get ready. We are going out."

She yawned, "Where are we going?"

"You will know later..."

He then checked on Jane who was still asleep. He tried to wake her up but she was dead to the world.

Rummaging around on her desk, when he found her name card, he gave the CEO of her hospital a call and applied leave for her.

Once he was done, on behalf of Kai Xin, he left a note for her.

"I'm ready..."

From within Jane's room, he heard Kai Xin's lazy voice as she called out for him.

When he went out to the living room, she was sprawled on the couch with her head buried under a pillow.

"Are you really that sleepy?"

"Erm..." groaned Kai Xin.

Without any warning, he picked her up princess-style.

When she gazed at him, he said, "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we are there."

Since she was too lazy to protest or argue, she merely nodded sleepily, "Do whatever you want..."

When she woke up, they were halfway towards the mysterious destination.

"Ahhh~" Kai Xin moaned as she stretched out. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "Where are we going?"

When he did not reply, Kai Xin growled at him in frustration and turned to look out the window.

However, she felt that the surroundings seemed familiar. She could have sworn that she saw the house with the red tiles before.

"DX, stop playing...Tell me where we are going or I swear to God, I am going to call the cops."

He smirked at her threat, "Calm down."

"Why are you being so mysterious?"

He placed his hand behind her head and gently stroked it, "We will talk later, alright?"

Kai Xin sighed and gave up on trying to make him talk. About 15 minutes later, she sat up straight as she stared at the houses outside.

She had definitely seen them before.

When she finally recognized the route, she snapped her head towards him and asked excitedly, "DX, are we going to Zi Han Orphanage?"

"En."

"Why?" asked Kai Xin with a brow raised. He could have just told her the truth.

"To talk."

"About?"

"Us," replied DX before pulling to a stop in front of the orphanage.

The two of them looked out of the car window and saw a couple of the younger kids playing at the front yard.

"The older kids are probably at school by now... Look, there's Caleb!" Kai Xin pointed out the little boy who was sitting on the tire swing to DX.

She got down from the car and approached Caleb from behind.

When the other kids saw her, she placed a finger on her lips and they immediately pretended not to see her.

"Appel! Waaa-theeer! Kookie!" read the little boy loudly as he touched the felt book.

When Kai Xin picked him up suddenly, he yelped in fear and only stopped when he realized who the person who picked him up was.

"Mama Zhen! I miz you!" cried Caleb loudly as he hugged Kai Xin.

Kai Xin smiled. As she spoke, she signed, "Your pronunciation is getting better! Good job!"

Caleb patted his chest and said out loud, "Learn evry day..."

Mrs. Wong, the caretaker of the orphanage, rushed out of the house with a stick in her hand when she heard Caleb's voice.

She had a worried look on her face as her eyes darted around to look for the threat.

When she saw Kai Xin and DX who was standing behind her, she sighed in relief and dropped the stick.

"I thought it was a wild dog," explained Mrs. Wong when Kai Xin looked at the stick curiously.

DX took Caleb from Kai Xin and handed the little boy to Mrs. Wong.

To Caleb, DX pointed to his own lips before saying slowly, "Mama Zhen and I need to talk. We will play with you later."

Caleb looked at Kai Xin for a second before looking back at DX. With his pinky finger out, he asked, "Pwomise?"

DX said slowly so that the little one could learn from watching his lips, "PRO-mise."

Mrs. Wong gathered the children and brought them into the house while the two adults talked.

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Kai Xin as she sat on the old tire swing with bright yellow ropes that she built for the kids.

While waiting for him to answer, she looked up and smiled at him innocently as she swayed left and right.

She was startled when DX suddenly genuflected in front of her.

"Du XiAn?"

With his hands rested on her knees and a gentle smile on his face, he asked, "Kara, honey...Is Zi Han here?"

When she realized what he was asking about, her smile froze in place.

With great difficulty, she tried to maintain the smile when she replied, "What are you talking about? Zi Han is the orphanage's name."

"Kara..." DX brushed against her cheek with the back of his hand, "...I know that you have a son named Zi Han. I overheard you when you were in Lyle's room."

Kai Xin stared at him with disbelief in his eyes. Her mind was filled with fear as she wondered what he would think about her now.

With hands that were trembling, she took his hands and she stuttered in fear, "DX...Pl-Please don't hate me...I didn't...I didn't mean to hide it from you."

She held onto his hands tightly. She was afraid that he would leave her.

Shaking her head frantically, she kept muttering, "No...No...No..."

It was fine before. If he had asked her the same question a year ago, she would either tell him to fuck off or she would have told him to the truth.

After she fell in love with him, she realized that she was afraid that he would leave her.

As if he sensed her fear, DX took her hands and clasped them tightly in his broad palms.

"Kara...Honey...Don't be afraid. I don't hate you and I won't judge you. I just want to know the truth. Is Zi Han here? If he is, let's bring him back with us...I will take care of him as if he is my flesh and blood...He can go to the same school with the twins and I'm sure they would be happy to have another companion."

Kai Xin looked up at him sadly. Even though he said that, she was afraid that he would change his mind once he found out what a heinous woman she was.

She shook her head. Glancing down at her feet, she muttered, "He's not here..."

DX stood up and took her hands. He led her to each of the children's rooms and at the door of every room, he asked, "Is he sleeping in here?"

Throughout the entire process, Kai Xin gave him a one-word reply, "No."

Frustrated by her lack of response, DX turned away from her so that he could think properly.

As he pinched his glabella, he pleaded, "Kara, why won't you believe me? I would never harm the kid or look down on you. Please...trust me...I just want us to move forward together...I would love your child-"

She heard the frustration and the sadness in his voice and with one step, she closed the distance between them.

As she hugged him from behind, she mumbled sadly, "I know! I know that you would love him. That's the kind of man you are...but I didn't lie to you, DX. He's not here.."

DX turned around so that they could talk to each other face-to-face.

Seeing the sorrow in her eyes and the slight hunched of her shoulders as she battled with uncertainty in her mind, DX hugged her tightly to comfort her.

Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he whispered, "Where is Zi Han? Wherever he is, we will go pick him up immediately."

With a sigh, Kai Xin held his hand and led him to the maple tree with the frayed red ribbon tied around its trunk.

As they stood in front of the tree, Kai Xin thought about everything that happened since they met.

"Can I trust that he would stay?" thought Kai Xin as she stared at the tree.

"Kara?" DX rubbed her back gently.

She walked closer to the tree and reached out to touch its trunk softly.

As she played with the frayed end of the ribbon, she said softly, "DX, I was telling you the truth. Zi Han was never in the orphanage..."

Turning around, she stared into his eyes and with a sad smile, she finally told him the truth, "My son...He's buried underneath this tree."