587 Long Gone

"Pfft!"

Su Feifei couldn't help herself as she burst out laughing when she heard Xiu saying that Xin Zimen had the most gentle eyes. She thought she heard the biggest joke. Even she herself often got unnerved by Xin Zimen's terrifying eyes. But when she saw the candid and earnest look on Xiu's face, she couldn't laugh any longer. Since she could see that Xiu meant what she said, this confounded her. 

She looked over at Xin Zimen and wondered...

How could one describe those eyes as gentle? One could say that he had a pair of beautiful eyes but gentle? Not really! Those beautiful eyes of his stimulated some oppressing feelings in others' hearts. Even though Ying was so close to Xin Zimen, even she'd not dare speak if he narrowed his eyes at her dangerously. 

However, this little girl thought nothing about it. Either she was really daring or really foolish. But since Su Feifei wasn't that familiar with Xiu, she couldn't say anything about Xiu.

"You're really serious?" she had to reconfirm this with Xiu.

And Xiu didn't hesitate before nodding her head in reply, "I swear! Ah-Xin really has the most gentle eyes but you might not see it since it's all hidden behind the loneliness."

"Who said I'm lonely?" Xin Zimen chimed in as he looked at Xiu in amusement.

Xiu shrugged her shoulders, "Your whole aura is screaming, 'LONELY'!"

Xin Zimen played her game with her as he argued back, "Didn't you say that I have you? Then how can I be lonely?"

Xiu opened her mouth to retort but nothing came out. She noticed the wicked glint in his eyes making her chuckle. "That's true. How can anyone be lonely with me around?" She suddenly clutched her stomach and hissed as a sharp wave of pain caught her off guard. "Fuck!" she couldn't help cursing out in pain.

"You okay?" Both Su Feifei and Xin Zimen asked simultaneously.

Xiu took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth. She repeated the process several times before answering, "Yeah. I think my great aunt is visiting."

Xin Zimen coughed and looked away while Su Feifei smiled at Xiu's nonchalant way of declaring that she was about to have her periods. This young lady really had no filter, eh? 

Even though Xiu said it was her great aunt visiting, the cramps she felt were different from before. It was mild but very persistent. She laid back and shifted in her seat. Within a few minutes, she could finally feel better. But since it was a very normal thing for her to have cramps during periods, she didn't think much about it.

However, as soon as she noticed the sunlight outside the windows, her expressions shifted. "How long was I asleep?"

"About two hours," answered Xin Zimen.

She lifted her eyes to look at Xin Zimen and gave him a guileless and sparkling smile. It softened the look in Xin Zimen's eyes as his lips curved slightly in response.

"Did you forget something again?"

Xiu nodded, "I am supposed to help out Dylan with something. If I don't leave now, I'll be late and then he will yap around which I don't want to deal with."

"Dylan as in Dylan Qiu?" asked Su Feifei and Xiu nodded again. "He is a friend of yours?"

Xiu snorted, "Oh, he is a friend alright! In fact, he is a very precious friend of mine."

Su Feifei gave a nod of acknowledgment as she said, "I also have a precious friend. He is so precious that I call him my treasure."

"Huh?"

Su Feifei looked at Xiu's face as she added, "He is indeed like a treasure because all I want to do is bury him in the ground like a treasure!"

Xiu pressed her lips together before she burst out laughing. "That's a good one!"

"Your sense of humor is aging with you," stated Xin Zimen. "Who looks for treasures in this age and day?"

Su Feifei gave him a look of displeasure as she said, "Brother-in-law, don't feel offended! You're definitely not like a treasure I want to bury in the ground." Her expressions changed as she went on, "You're more like a pearl I want to throw back to the ocean! That's exactly where you belong."

Xiu had to slap her hand on her mouth to stop herself before she could laugh out loud again. But she found Ying Jie's aunt to be quite an interesting character. She could actually see the willful, wild, and passionate nature of Ying in her aunt which clearly told her where Ying inherited those traits.

Extending her hand towards her, she said, "Ms. Su, it's a pleasure meeting you today. I wish I could have a cup of tea with you. But it's a shame that today I don't have time. How about some other time?"

"This workaholic doesn't have time for even herself," interrupted Xin Zimen before Su Feifei could say anything.

"Don't listen to him. I'll find some time for you."

"Great! Let's have Ying Jie join us as well since more the merrier."

"I wouldn't like anything more," stated Su Feifei in all honesty.

Xiu gave Xin Zimen a friendly hug before waving her goodbye and running off. Looking at her retreating back, Su Feifei gazed at Xin Zimen and shook her head saying, "She looks nothing like Xin Xiulin."

Xin Zimen's head whipped around to Su Feifei. There was finally a crack on his stoic face. Even his hands clenched tightly.

Su Feifei patted his shoulder saying, "Although she feels like Xiulin, don't let your heart deceive you. Treat her like Xiu, don't try to treat her like Xiulin."

Xin Zimen swatted her hand away like she was an annoying pest as he said, "I'd never mistake her for my daughter. I also know that she can only be Xiu. Because my Xiulin is..." it took him a moment to complete his sentence, "Gone. She is long gone."

He was really not deceiving his heart by treating Xiu like his daughter. He genuinely felt the bond of kinship with her. It had nothing to do with the fact that there was only one character difference between two names; Xiu and Xiulin. One was the young girl that he felt a strange affinity with and the other was his dead daughter who would never come back to him.

He could never mistake between the two! Not ever!