Chapter 436: A Strange Father Appears

After eating and drinking their fill, it was nearly seven o'clock when they left the mall.

After getting in the car, Qin Tian first dropped Xia Nuannuan and Liao Juan off at home, then drove his second cousin and cousin back to the countryside.

Along the way, Second Cousin Tang Heng remained full of energy.

"Brother, you have the most experience. How do you think I performed today? Did I leave a good impression?"

Tang Heng leaned over the seat and asked with a smile.

"I suppose... you did?"

Qin Tian answered with a forced smile.

"You did nothing but suck up the whole time. Girls don't like that kind of guy."

Tang Wen said while playing with the tablet in her hands.

Qin Tian heard this and looked at her in surprise through the rearview mirror.

This girl really knew quite a lot!

The term "lick-dog" hadn't appeared yet, but the phenomenon had long existed.

"Dead Mosquito, can you just play with your tablet and stop talking?"

Tang Heng scolded her.

"I'm just expressing my thoughts. Really, Brother Heng, I think you're in a precarious position."

Tang Wen shrugged.

"What do you know? Didn't she give me her Penguin ID?"

Tang Heng said, unconvinced.

"That doesn't mean anything. Brother Tian and Sister Nuannuan were sitting right there. If you ask for someone's contact info, can they really refuse?"

Tang Wen glanced at him and said calmly.

Tang Heng was silent for a moment, then waved his hand: "Stop talking, I can't be bothered with you. Brother, Brother, do you think I should send her a message later?"

"Hmm... what are you planning to send?"

Qin Tian asked curiously.

"I haven't thought of it yet. Just chat about whatever!"

"Then just chat about whatever. Don't be checking in with 'good night' and 'good morning' at the exact same time every day."

"What do you mean?"

Tang Heng asked blankly.

"How should I put it!"

Qin Tian organized his thoughts and said with a smile: "What Mosquito said actually makes some sense. It's fine to want to be good to others, but being too fawning can be counterproductive. These things can't be rushed; you have to slowly build the relationship."

Tang Heng nodded thoughtfully.

"Brother Tian is still the most impressive. No wonder you were able to chase after a rich and beautiful girl like Sister Nuannuan."

Tang Wen offered a rainbow-colored compliment with a smile.

"You're really going to become Nuannuan's loyal little follower, aren't you!"

Qin Tian teased with a laugh.

"Of course!"

Tang Wen lifted her chin slightly and said with a beaming smile: "Brother Tian, bring me to Yucheng to hang out with Sister Nuannuan tomorrow too. We're still staying in the countryside for a few more days!"

"Sure!"

"Oh, oh... that's great."

Over the next few days, Qin Tian stayed in the countryside with his mother, letting her spend more time with her relatives.

During the day, Qin Tian would drive his second cousin and cousin into the city to hang out with Xia Nuannuan.

To his second cousin's regret, every time Xia Nuannuan invited Liao Juan out to play afterward, Liao Juan found excuses to decline.

For example, one of her relatives was having a celebration, and she had to go drink at the wedding banquet.

With excuses like that, there was nothing Qin Tian and the others could do.

Of course, it was very likely that she really did have things to do; there were quite a few weddings around the Spring Festival.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year that Qin Tian and his mother returned to their home in Yucheng.

From a distance, Qin Tian saw a black Audi A6 parked in front of their house, with Beijing license plates.

"Mom, why is there an Audi with Beijing plates in front of our house?"

Qin Tian asked with a surprised expression.

"Where?"

Tang Xiuxia, sitting in the back, leaned her head forward to look. When she saw the Audi and the license plate not far away, she froze for a long time, her face changing slightly.

"What's wrong?"

Qin Tian saw the change in his mother's expression in the rearview mirror and asked with concern.

"It's nothing. Maybe they're just stopping in front of our house. Let's go over and see!"

Tang Xiuxia shook her head, her tone sounding like she was comforting herself.

"Hmm!"

Qin Tian responded, a bad premonition in his heart.

He parked the car in front of Sun Daye's house, unbuckled his seatbelt, and prepared to get out.

Just then, the driver's side door of the black Audi opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out.

Upon seeing this man, Tang Xiuxia's body shuddered, her face instantly turning pale, and the hand she was using to open the car door subconsciously pulled back.

His mother's reaction, combined with a mysterious sense of blood connection, gave Qin Tian a guess about the man's identity.

But thinking about it, he felt it made no sense at all.

Before he was reborn, he was already in his thirties, and this man had never appeared. Why would he suddenly appear here now?

Qin Tian didn't ask his mother anything; he opened the car door and stepped out with a calm expression.

When the middle-aged man saw him, a very obvious look of excitement appeared on his firm, handsome face.

"Qin Tian?"

"Who are you, and why are you parking your car in front of my house?"

Qin Tian looked directly at him and asked in a very rude tone.

"I..."

The man's eyes darted away, and he said with a guilty expression: "I am your father. Where is your mother?"

"Father? Stop spouting nonsense here. I don't have a father. Move your car away, now!"

Qin Tian frowned and scolded.

"Xiaotian!"

His mother's slightly hoarse voice came from behind.

Qin Tian turned his head to look at his mother.

"He... is indeed your father."

Tang Xiuxia didn't look at the middle-aged man, her eyes moist and red as she said to Qin Tian.

The middle-aged man looked at Tang Xiuxia infatuatedly, his eyes full of affection and guilt.

Qin Tian fell silent upon hearing this, then suddenly began to laugh hysterically.

Tang Xiuxia and the middle-aged man looked at him with concerned eyes, not knowing what to say.

"Hahaha... Mom, ever since you came back while pregnant with me, he never appeared. Now you suddenly want me to acknowledge him as this so-called father? Stop joking!!"

"Xiaotian, don't be like this. Many things happened back then... Can we go inside and talk?"

Tang Xiuxia pleaded with her eyes.

Qin Tian lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said: "I have nothing to talk to him about. You guys can talk if you want; I'm going to find my classmates."

With that, Qin Tian opened the car door and got back in.

"Xiaotian!!"

Tang Xiuxia shouted anxiously.

Qin Tian looked at his mother with slightly red eyes, started the car, made a quick U-turn, and sped away.

Watching the car disappear from sight, Tang Xiuxia looked at the middle-aged man with a complex expression.

"Don't blame him. I never told him about what happened back then, he..."

"It's fine, I understand."

"Come inside and have a cup of tea!"

"Hmm!"

Tang Xiuxia stepped forward, took out her keys to open the door, brought the man to the sofa in the room to sit down, and brewed two cups of hot tea.

"You still let him keep the surname Qin. Thank you!"

Qin Hongwen took a sip of tea and broke the silence.

Tang Xiuxia didn't respond to this and asked: "How did you find this place?"

"I saw the news about the top scholar with a perfect score on the college entrance exam. My sister saw it half a year ago but wasn't sure if it was you, so she saved it for me. She was worried the news would affect my work at the research institute, so she waited until I went home for the New Year to show me."

Qin Hongwen explained.

Tang Xiuxia was stunned, then nodded in realization.

"Actually, I've been looking for you all these years. I also didn't listen to my mother and marry that woman; she married someone of equal social standing very quickly."

Qin Hongwen said slowly.

Tang Xiuxia looked up at him in surprise.

"My mother... passed away a few years ago from liver cancer. The doctor said it had a lot to do with overwork!"

Qin Hongwen revealed another shocking piece of news.

Tang Xiuxia's eyes widened slightly, and she picked up her teacup with a complex expression to take a sip and calm her nerves.

She still remembered clearly how that mother, who like her had raised two children alone and hoped for them to become successful, had been so abusive toward her, saying all sorts of mean and cutting things.

She also knew that everything the woman did was for her son, so that she would consciously leave Qin Hongwen and let him marry that local woman in Beijing.

Now that she suddenly heard she had passed away, Tang Xiuxia's feelings could be described as incomparably complex.