The year the mother-in-law handed the little girl to him, he hadn’t even had a chance to say a word to her before she shook off his hand and chased after the carriage, and when she fell into the icy water and woke up with a high fever, she had already forgotten him.
At that time, in his eyes, she was just a pitiful and helpless little sister.
Song Wei took full responsibility for little Wen Wan falling into the icy water, believing that if he hadn’t approached her, the little girl might have only stumbled and fallen, rather than facing such a big turn of events—not only losing her voice to the fever, but also forgetting everything from the past.
So from that day on, Song Wei never appeared in front of her again.
The care he gave her for more than ten years was mostly in silence and in the shadows.
The emotions accumulated over time are hard to trace back to an exact moment or day.
Just like his concern for her; although it was just realized, it certainly didn’t suddenly appear today.
Song Wei rarely had such a distracted moment, to the point where he bumped into a tree by the roadside and only came to his senses when he felt the pain. He looked around and found that there were not many pedestrians on the road, and no one was looking this way.
Rubbing his forehead, Song Wei continued to walk forward, secretly amused.
Returning home, he went around the screen and into the courtyard, seeing Wen Wan sitting on the rocking chair under the banana tree, her eyes gently closed.
The setting sun was half-blocked by the lush banana leaves, and half of it sprinkled on her body.
The light was soft, and her appearance during her shallow sleep was quiet and beautiful.
It seemed as though the complexities of her background were just illusions, and everything was still as simple and real as it was in the beginning.
Song Wei couldn’t describe his mood at this moment; it felt like satisfaction, or perhaps contentment, but more likely it was a sense of relief.
His steps subconsciously lightened and slowed, and he stopped beside the rocking chair, bending down, his long fingers gently pinching up a fallen leaf on her shoulder.
Just as he was about to remove it, Wen Wan had already woken up.
Her eyes slightly open, her expression was soft and lazy, half-asleep and half-awake, as if she recognized him, the lingering drowsiness gradually dissipating.
"Husband, you’re back?" Dıscover more novels at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩
Wen Wan sat up straight, the words she spoke were the usual greeting.
But to Song Wei, they were inexplicably moving.
"Why are you sleeping here?" The leaf slipped from his fingers, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"It’s cooler outside." Wen Wan said, glancing at the sky, realizing she hadn’t slept for long.
"Husband, are you hungry? I’ll go ask Mrs. Jin to prepare a meal."
Saying this, Wen Wan stood up, accidentally tripping on the leg of the rocking chair and almost losing her balance, her body swayed.
Song Wei took the opportunity to support her slender shoulder, not letting go, asking in a caring manner, "Have they left?"
"They" referred to a certain group, and Wen Wan immediately understood, nodding, "They left."
Before Song Wei could ask further, Wen Wan looked up at him and spoke proactively, "Godmother must have been really hurt by the matter with Lu Yanqing; she cried very sadly before leaving."
A small ripple appeared in Song Wei’s calm eyes, quickly disappearing, his tone as gentle as ever, "Did you try to comfort her?"
"I did," Wen Wan said, "but it didn’t seem to help much; the more I tried to comfort her, the more she cried."
Song Wei’s fingers still on her shoulder gently caressed twice, as if to soothe her, "As a birth mother, it’s normal for her to cry over such a big trouble with her son, things will get better over time." And then he added, "When I went downstairs, your father-in-law told me that your mother-in-law has been pregnant for more than two months, so in a sense, their family was blessed in disguise."
Upon hearing this, Wen Wan was full of surprise, "Godmother is pregnant?"
At that age, it’s indeed rare to conceive again.
Song Wei replied, "Your father-in-law told me himself, it can’t be wrong."
Wen Wan listened to him speak so casually and suddenly asked with a smile, "Husband, why do you call godfather and godmother father-in-law and mother-in-law?"
By rights, without any blood relation, he could easily call them the same way she did.
Him calling Lu Xingzhou father-in-law made her think of her distant father in Ningzhou, and even though she had seen him just a while ago, she still missed him now.
Song Wei didn’t think much and replied with a smile, "As long as someone is willing to treat you like their own daughter, it doesn’t matter if I call them father-in-law and mother-in-law a few more times."
"This is the first day of recognizing godparents, how do you know they will cherish me?" Wen Wan asked again, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous intent to see him make a joke.
Song Wei looked at her and said, "Their son has been sent three thousand miles away by me, and yet they are still willing to share a meal with us and recognize you as their goddaughter; isn’t that the best proof?"