255— Telling Director Zhou About Her Birth Family

Li Yuchen was quick to point out proudly, "Yichen and I made the tofu and mushroom stir fry...with a little help from Dad."

He held his forefinger and thumb very close together to demonstrate how 'little' the help was, causing Director Zhou to laugh. She tasted it and praised, "It's delicious."

Li Yuchen beamed, and even Han Yichen gave a small smile.

After dinner, the boys washed and put away the dishes, then took themselves straight to bed. It was much earlier than their usual bedtime because they had not rested from the stress of the trip.

Added to the time they spent playing with their friends in the afternoon, they were dog-tired.

Li Chuanmo had a business meeting after dinner, so he ate quickly before leaving the table for the bedroom. Pei Yueran sat in the room for a few minutes while he was setting up his laptop, trying to gather herself together.

By the time the meeting participants began joining, she was ready. Taking a deep breath, she pasted Li Chuanmo on the lips and said, "For courage."

He didn't say anything and only nodded, but when he eventually turned on his video, the people he was having the meeting with distinctly saw a more amiable face.

In Gong Anwei's words, "It's like witnessing the thawing of a century-old iceberg."

The managers of various departments: Someone take this imposter away and bring back the real Chairman "Frozen" Li!

On her part, Pei Yueran walked briskly and was soon standing before the door of Director Zhou's bedroom. She knocked only once before hearing a "come in."

Pushing open the door, she went in. Her mother's room hadn't changed much growing up. It was like she kept it frozen in time since her husband died, the same way Pei Yueran herself did to the house in City A.

Subconsciously she sighed. It was truly like mother, like daughter. They were both suckers for love ah!

Director Zhou spoke immediately she saw her, "It's you Baobei. Is something wrong?"

"Yes it's me Mum. No, nothing happened, I just wanted to see you."

Director Zhou looked at her eyes swirling with heavy emotions, but did not counter her words. She let her sit down on the bed before taking her hand.

"Ran'er, today is one of the happiest days of my life. Seeing you happy and at ease with your family makes my heart very glad. Now I can sleep well without worries."

Pei Yueran nodded with a smile, squeezing mother's hand gently, "Mum, you can rest assured, I'm very happy now. Li Chuanmo is very good to me and Han Yichen. "

"That's good. How about his family?" Director Zhou was sure Zhang Heying and her husband would absolutely not treat her badly, but she was just confirming about others, especially the little sister-in-law.

"They love us too and have been very good to us. I couldn't have asked for better in-laws."

Director Zhou nodded in relief, "That's good, that's good. I don't need to ask about Yuchen. Everyone can see how much he adores you."

Pei Yueran nodded. Although they hadn't touched on the subject of how to address each other, they tacitly stuck to calling each other "My Goddess" and "Little Rascal" even after the wedding.

For now, it was enough.

Then Director Zhou began, "Ran'er, you know you can tell me anything right? There's no need to be careful and cautious. If you want to say something, say it. Your mother is here."

It was as if Pei Yueran was waiting for her words. Her grip on her hand tightened as she said, "Mum, I found my birth family."

I found my birth family.

Director Zhou blanked out. Separated, she understood each word. But strung together in a sentence, her mind was having difficulty comprehending it.

"Mum?" Seeing her lost look, Pei Yueran called out in a low tone.

Her voice brought Director Zhou back. "You've found them? How did it happen?"

"Actually, it's more like they found me— my birth mother and younger brother. I only got to know the details after the wedding, but they had been looking for me for many years."

Director Zhou wanted to hear everything, so Pei Yueran started the story from the beginning, how she saw them at the wedding, how they arranged a meeting after the honeymoon and even confirmed their relationship through a DNA test.

Zhou Qiaohui sat stunned as she listened. Her mood was indescribably complicated. On one hand, she was very happy to hear that her daughter had found her biological family, but on the other hand she was extremely sad.

She was the one encouraging her a while ago to look for them. But now that they had actually surfaced and were no longer just an abstract thought, she panicked.

What changes to her relationship with her daughter this discovery would bring, she had to admit that she was currently too scared to even think about it.

"Mum, calm down." Pei Yueran said urgently when she felt her mother's hand trembling without pause. The tears that she had carefully kept at bay threatened to spill out in that moment.

"Don't mind me Baobei, I'm fine," she said, patting Pei Yueran's hand. She continued speaking, unaware that even her voice was currently shaking, "this is good news Baobei, really good news."

"You think so Mum? Because I'm not sure about that."

Puzzled, Zhou Qiaohui asked, "Why is that?"

"Because the relationships in such large families are very complicated. Chuan's family is the exception and not the rule.

"So far, I've only seen the two of them and not the rest of the family, but even the circumstances in which I was lost hints at how complicated things are."

Seeing her precious baby girl look like a lost child, Zhou Qiaohui's heart tightened, forgetting her own pain. She held out her arms, and Pei Yueran went in to them, resting her head on her bosom. For her, it was a most comforting position, and she let her tears fall.

Zhou Qiaohui spent some time comforting her, while her own tears fell silently in a place Pei Yueran couldn't see.

After the rain of tears subsided, Pei Yueran changed her position so that her head was now on Zhou Qiaohui's laps.

Zhou Qiaohui spoke, "Baobei, it's not good to worry about things that haven't happened yet. First, it's good that they have been found.

"Now, you should focus on getting to know them better, to try and make up for lost time. I can't imagine the pain your....mother has been living in all these years, not knowing your whereabouts."

Lightly rubbing her back, Zhou Qiaohui continued, "As for the various complications, don't worry too much about those. Why don't you meet with the entire family first, before you plan your strategy to tackle whatever problems might arise?"