Saturday, Quan Jiu woke up early. Although she had tidied up the room the night before, many things were not conducive to an elderly person's life. So, while the two children were still asleep, she went to the supermarket outside the community early.
After browsing in the supermarket for more than half an hour, when she returned home, breakfast was already hanging on the doorknob.
Quan Jiu's heart warmed. Thinking that she would no longer be alone in the future, she was very happy. She went to the opposite door and shouted, "Grandpa, do you have a lot of things? I'll help you move them."
There was no response from inside the door. Quan Jiu didn't mind and took the lunchbox bag and a package home.
Mi Mi and Tu Tu had already woken up and were tidying the small study. Seeing Quan Jiu return, Tu Tu said, "Mom, can this room be used for the kitten?"
"Yes. Come and eat quickly, then tidy up."
Quan Jiu put down her things, served rice for the two children, and then went to put away the things she had bought. By the time she was done, it was already half past eight. After a hurried breakfast, she changed into casual home clothes and waited patiently in the living room.
Tu Tu hid behind Mi Mi, looking nervously towards the door. "Sis, I'm afraid to see what happens next. What should I do? I'm scared."
As soon as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Tu Tu's mouth formed an "o" shape in fright, and she ran back to her room, closing the door with a "bang~". She felt her heart pounding at 120 beats per minute.
Mi Mi was also a little nervous, clenching her small fists, but she didn't move. Instead, she sat on the small rocking stool holding a doll, swaying back and forth.
Quan Jiu was about to get up to open the door when she suddenly received a text message. She opened it and saw it was from the grandpa next door.
"Are you really ready to accept me?"
Quan Jiu smiled and went to open the door.
"Click~" She turned the doorknob, pulled open the door, and said with a smile, "I..." am ready.
Her smile gradually froze, then turned into confusion. But when she saw the two bags of luggage the person was holding, her confusion gradually turned into disbelief. Finally, her eyes suddenly darkened. As if she understood something, she said in a deep voice, "It's... you..."
Tu Tu, who was hiding in the room and eavesdropping, quickly covered her ears, but she also wanted to see what was happening outside. The hands covering her ears loosened and tightened intermittently, in great distress.
Quan Jiu's emotions gradually became agitated, and her breathing became unstable. She held her throbbing temples and panted several times before suppressing her voice, but her voice trembled uncontrollably, "Wait a moment, so, the one living in room 1003, it's you, it's always been you?"
"A Jiu, I'm sorry."
"Don't... you..."
Quan Jiu felt dizzy and short of breath. She pushed Chu Rong away and ran out of the room, into the corridor. After leaning against the wall for a while, she had to believe the facts before her.
"When... did you know I lived here?" She looked back, trying to control her breathing, and questioned.
Chu Rong said in a gentle voice, "I only found out when you and the children went to Xiangge Xiaoyuan."
Xiangge Xiaoyuan was where she met Lin Zhongren. Before that, Mi Mi and Tu Tu had been to the opposite door's house many times.
No wonder he could easily do the paternity test. Quan Jiu had thought that Chu Rong must have used the Chu family's power to obtain the biological samples of the two children. She never expected it to be so simple.
"When did you move here?" Quan Jiu asked again.
"Five years ago, after you left, I moved here. This is the property deed." He took out a certificate from a file bag and handed it to Quan Jiu.
Quan Jiu glanced at it. The time was indeed five years ago, but the owner... She looked confused, "Why is the owner my name?"
"This was originally bought for you. After you left, I... moved in."
"So, it really is a coincidence."
Quan Jiu was still unwilling to believe it. How could there be such a coincidence? She had compared four or five houses when she chose this one, and finally decided to buy this place. How could it be that the person opposite was him?
Wait... Quan Jiu's gaze suddenly sharpened. "If that's the case, why did you lie to me at first and say you were an old grandpa?"
Chu Rong continued to explain in a gentle voice, "At that time, I thought you were a married woman. You often brought me food, and I was afraid of causing conflict between your couple, so I deliberately called myself an old grandpa. Later, when I knew it was you, I didn't know how to explain. A Jiu, I'm sorry."
"Mom, it's not like that. It was me and my brother who lied to you." Mi Mi walked out from inside the room.
"My brother and I have known for a long time that he is our father, and we also knew that he lived here, so we prompted you to buy this house. I just wanted to see what kind of person Dad was, so I lied and said he was an old grandpa. Later, Dad discovered our existence, and he went along with our lie."
"Sister is right, it was us who lied, Mom, I'm sorry." Tu Tu came out of the room with red eyes. "You'll be angry with me, won't you? You can be angry, but don't be angry for too long, okay?"
Quan Jiu looked at the two children in shock. They were not even five years old yet.
"When... when did you know?" She asked after a long pause.
"We knew last year. I found your marriage registration records and saw that you were still married, so my sister and I discussed it, wanting to see... what kind of person he was," Tu Tu mumbled softly with her head down.
The truth was too shocking. Quan Jiu leaned against the wall, speechless for a long time.
She had always felt guilty about the identity of her children's father because she felt she could not give her children satisfactory answers. She also regretted not being able to give her children a complete family. She had always thought that the children were still young and it was not time to talk about these things, but she never expected that the two children already knew.
"Will you blame Mom for keeping it from you?" Quan Jiu squatted down and looked at the two children with affection.
Mi Mi and Tu Tu shook their heads repeatedly and threw themselves into Quan Jiu's arms.
"Mom, how long are you going to be angry?" Tu Tu hugged Quan Jiu's neck.
Quan Jiu felt like crying and laughing. There were too many things, and the truth was beyond her imagination. She didn't know whether to be angry or cry.
"This is not a small matter, Mom doesn't know either." Quan Jiu gently pinched Tu Tu's cheek.
"Then is twelve hours enough?" Tu Tu looked at her watch, it was exactly nine o'clock. "Will you not be angry before nine o'clock tonight?"
Quan Jiu shrugged slightly, "Mom can't guarantee."
"Then what about twenty-four hours? By nine o'clock tomorrow morning. No more than that. But if you're still very angry, maybe a little more is okay, but I hope you won't be angry before Monday, otherwise I won't even have the mood to go to school." Tu Tu looked at Quan Jiu pitifully.
Quan Jiu was amused and chuckled, "Are emotions like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division? So simple, and you can bargain?"
Tu Tu's mouth pouted, and tears like beans fell in large drops. "Then how long do you want? Don't take too long, okay? I was wrong, I will never lie to Mom again."
Seeing her son's heart-wrenching appearance, Quan Jiu's anger vanished.
She hugged the two children and sighed helplessly, "Mom won't be angry with you. You've already admitted your mistake, Mom is just a little sad. So Mom promises, I'll be sad until twelve o'clock at noon, okay?"
Mi Mi cupped Quan Jiu's face and pecked her twice. "Can it be reduced to ten o'clock now?"
Quan Jiu's heart softened, and she lost her temper. All her anger and sadness were gone. With such lovely and considerate children, she could handle anything.
"Okay, okay, Mom is not angry and not sad anymore. Let's put this matter behind us."