novelThe Secret About the Past (44)
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An Xiaoning then strolled down the mountain slowly. A sudden thought crossed her mind — If he could make his way to this mountain, that means he must be living somewhere nearby.
It might not be Jin Qingyan either.
After all, he was not the only handsome man in this world.
However, An Xiaoning was full of hope after recalling the woman's description.
She wanted to see who he was with her very own eyes.
If he turned out to be someone else other than Jin Qingyan, she could then rest her mind and continue searching in other areas.
The sun was shining brightly onto the ground below, a stark contrast from the gloomy skies and raging storm in the morning.
An Xiaoning's legs were aching terribly by the time she arrived at the foot of the mountain.
She happened to chance upon an elderly man whom she then approached and asked, "Uncle, may I ask if there are lots of medicinal herbs on this mountain?"
"Are you thinking of gathering some medicinal herbs too? There are plenty on this mountain, " the elderly man answered smilingly.
"Are there many people who go up there?"
"I live right on this mountain. There are rarely any people nowadays. I haven't seen anyone recently other than two young people who came by this morning."
An Xiaoning nodded and said, "Got it, thank you so much."
"You're welcome."
An Xiaoning agitatedly returned to the inn to retrieve her mini surveillance camera and brought it to the mountain.
She thought to herself that the battery-powered surveillance camera should be able to last for about two days.
Thus, she climbed up the tree and placed the surveillance camera at a spot on a tree that would allow her to see via the footage on her mobile phone the people who visited the mountain.
Fortunately, she had brought along with her on this trip all the fully-equipped high-tech gadgets that could come in handy.
An Xiaoning climbed back down and returned, her heart full of satisfaction.
If the two of them were to come by to pick medicinal herbs again, they would definitely be captured by the surveillance camera.
Upon returning to the inn, An Xiaoning laid down in bed straight away and did nothing else apart from staring at the live footage from the surveillance camera on her mobile phone.
Her phone was plugged to the charger throughout the entire time.
To her disappointment, she did not see them at all even after the sky turned dark.
An Xiaoning tossed and turned in bed for the rest of the night.
She could not fall asleep in peace at all and woke up right after daybreak.
After having breakfast, she put on her human skin mask and quickly made her way to the foot of the mountain again.
She sat down on a clean rock and began waiting.
The sky began to brighten gradually. Noticing that the weather seemed rather pleasant, An Xiaoning thought to herself, It'd be a pity not to come and pick herbs today .
All she wanted was some closure and to verify if the man was really Jin Qingyan. She merely wanted to try her luck, never mind if it turned out not to be him.
Eventually, the sun began to rise high above.
Finally she heard the sounds of someone talking.
It was a voice belonging to a woman.
An Xiaoning climbed up the tree in one swift motion. Shortly after, two people appeared at the end of the road.
It was a man and a woman.
The man was wearing a surgical mask.
An Xiaoning stared at the figure that she could clearly recognize, regardless of what he was wearing or however he tried to disguise himself.
She removed the camera from the tree and slid down the trunk again.
The two of them walking in front turned their heads around, perhaps because they heard the noises she made.
They were neither near nor far away from her.
She was more than familiar with those pair of eyes.
An Xiaoning burst with euphoria at that very instant.
She sprinted towards him and hugged him tightly while crying tears of joy.
Jin Qingyan was momentarily stunned by the sudden embrace.
Bu Xianxian tried to pull An Xiaoning away, only to have the latter shove her forcefully, such that she almost fell to the ground.
Jin Qingyan jerked and pushed An Xiaoning away upon realizing what was happening.
"Miss, please show yourself some respect."
Jin Qingyan should have recognized her since he was aware of the human skin mask An Xiaoning would don occasionally.
At this point, An Xiaoning immediately understood the reason why he did not return home.
He could no longer recognize her.
"Brother!" she called out.
"Brother?" Jin Qingyan asked in astonishment.
An Xiaoning nodded fervently and exclaimed, "Brother, I finally found you!"
She did not address him as her husband, in fear that she would scare him and push him further away from her.
"He's your brother?" asked Bu Xianxian, who had shock and confusion written all over her face.
"Of course."
An Xiaoning reached out to remove the surgical mask from Jin Qingyan's face. At this very moment, tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably.
"Turns out you're really still alive."
"You said he's your brother. You mean your biological brother?" Bu Xianxian asked.
"Of course."
"Why don't you two look alike then?"
"Can't I resemble my mother while he resembles my father?" An Xiaoning retorted before sizing Bu Xianxian up and scanning her from head to toe. She then grabbed onto Jin Qingyan's arm and said, "Come, I'll take you home."
"Can you prove that you're really my sister?" Jin Qingyan asked.
"Of course I can." An Xiaoning opened the photo album on her phone and showed him some photos she had taken with him in the past while wearing the human skin mask. Jin Qingyan believed her after taking a look.
"Come home with me."
"I have to bid goodbye to Xianxian's parents first, " said Jin Qingyan.
"Sure, let me call Chief Fan and get him to arrange for the private jet to pick us up."
An Xiaoning whipped her phone out to dial Fan Shixin's mobile number. However, she only succeeded after several attempts because her hands were trembling vigorously.
"I've found him. Send the jet here to pick us up right away."
"Really? Got it!"
After ending the call, An Xiaoning followed the two of them to Bu Xianxian's home.
Upon arriving at the door, An Xiaoning said, "I've been here before."
Bu Xianxian managed to guess it."You're the woman whom my mother mentioned was looking for your brother?"
"Yes."
Bu Xianxian brought the two of them inside her house and said, "Mother, she's Nick's sister."
Mrs. Bu was greatly taken aback for she did not expect there to be such a coincidence.
"Turns out you're Nick's sister. I really didn't expect it."
"Auntie, you didn't tell me previously that a man who's suffering from amnesia is staying at your home."
Mrs. Bu smiled awkwardly and explained, "You mentioned that your brother was 32 years old, but Nick didn't seem like a day over 27 to me. So I didn't bring it up since I thought it couldn't be him that you were looking for."
An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan's hand tightly and said, "My brother's name is Jin Qingyan. He's 32 years old this year, and he's already married and is a father of one."
Her words instantly dampened the spirits of Bu Xianxian and Mrs. Bu.
"He's already a married man with a wife and a son?" Bu Xianxian asked in disbelief.
"Of course he is. You may find information about him all over the internet just by searching his name online. He's the CEO of the Jin Corporation."
Bu Xianxian stared at Jin Qingyan and said, "He can't remember anything right now. Even if he has a wife and a son, he probably doesn't have any feelings for them anymore."
Her remark had struck a sour note within An Xiaoning, who felt as if a million daggers had pierced through her heart.
"It's fine, he'll regain his memory slowly."
"Some patients suffering from amnesia may never regain their memory, " Bu Xianxian insisted.
Mrs. Bu smacked her and chided, "How could you say that?"
An Xiaoning smiled and said, "It's alright, we're very wealthy. We'll do whatever it takes to make him regain his memory, even if he can't recall everything completely. What matters is that he's still alive."
An Xiaoning's words, "we're very wealthy, " had caused Bu Xianxian to be filled with jealousy.
She may never have the opportunity to say something like that ever in her life.
"Will you guys leave as soon as your family comes to pick you up later?" Bu Xianxian asked.
An Xiaoning nodded and answered, "Yes, this is a place that bring us misery and reminds us of pain and suffering. We don't wish to stay here any longer."
Mrs. Bu looked at her daughter and sighed tacitly.
"Could I come with you guys then?" Bu Xianxian asked.
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