A Strange Man

"Don't you dare insult my mom. You don't have the right! She gave you the best years of her life, and you betrayed her. She lost her family while you took her husband away. What gives you the right to say that about her?"

Her frail shoulders trembled. Ye Qingge would have struck back with a slap of her own if he were not her father.

She really should not have come here. The loss of her mother felt even worse now. The man whom she had constantly longed for was capable of saying such cruel words.

Ye Qingge got up and walked out. At that very moment, she had decided to go against her mother's wishes. She could be considered a dishonorable child.

She would never let her mother be buried with a father like that, never.

"Ye Qingge, you should thank Wenwen and us. You'd never have managed to become the granddaughter-in-law of the Li family. You've certainly gained a huge advantage!" Dong Wenqian called out to Ye Qingge.

Actually, she was only saying these things as a warning to Ye Qingge against saying anything untoward to the Li family.

However, she would not really give Ye Qingge the upper hand. The one who would marry into the Li family absolutely had to be her own daughter. 

Ye Qingge would never tell the Li family that it was really Ye Wenwen who had rammed into their son for Ye Wenwen's sake.

Ye Wenwen wanted to run after her, but Dong Wenqian stopped her.

Ye Qingge was dressed in a thick woolen coat but had broken into a sweat because the temperature in the house was too warm. Thus, the cold wind broke through her skin when she left the house.

However, no matter how cold she felt, it was nothing compared to the freezing tundra in her heart. Kinship was just as chilling as the winter.

'From now on, I'm all on my own, Mom…'

Ye Qingge had always been strong, but the thought of her mother made her burst into tears.

She sat on the road hugging her knees and sobbing.

Not too far away, she heard the sound of children playing. Ye Qingge turned to look… 

She immediately smiled. The innocent sound of children's laughter was the greatest comfort for her.

She had to find her daughter. She was her only family in this world. She was not alone. She was not…

There was still some meaning to her life.

She smiled through her tears, unsure if this was the greatest blessing in the world or the saddest.

A pair of black leather boots appeared in front of Ye Qingge.

Ye Qingge raised her head and faced the bright, warm, winter sun.

She saw a devilishly handsome face with a wicked smile curved at the corners of his lips. The man was gazing down at her intensely, as if she had fallen from the sky.

He was dressed in a turtleneck sweater and a black leather jacket, wildly handsome, and full of masculine energy.

Feng Yan slowly bent down and pulled off a leather glove, revealing a clean, fair hand. Then, he gently stroked Ye Qingge's hair.

"What's wrong? Can't find your mommy? Why are you crying?" His soft voice had an easy touch to it.

Ye Qingge was momentarily unable to react and simply raised her neck and stared at Feng Yan. She did not realize that he was stroking her head.

His words made her tears stream down even more uncontrollably.

It was true she could not find her mother. She would never find her again. Ye Qingge was a strong girl, but she had her moments of weakness as well.

The man's cool fingers wiped at the corner of her eye, taking one of her tears away and leaving a hint of warmth.

"My younger sister was just like you when my mother passed away. Sitting on the ground, sobbing helplessly like a kid. She said that she wanted to find our mother, but she never came back in the end!"

Feng Yan bent down and placed one arm on his thigh as he stared at Ye Qingge.

His sloe-shaped eyes were wickedly tempting.

'His sister never came back?'

When her mother died, she had considered following her, and she would have if it were not for her desire to find her daughter.

For some reason, the man's calm tone of voice made Ye Qingge's heart ache for him.

'He must be very sad because his sister never came back. He must be blaming himself.'

"She'll come back. Don't blame yourself!" She had no idea why she said such a thing to a strange man.