Persumed Dead

On the other hand, when Mu Chenyan hung up the phone, she looked really exhausted. Raising a genius like Raelle wasn't an easy job. Because she was just as much a fool as much as she was a genius. It was not only tiring to talk to her but also very difficult. However, Mu Chenyan never thought it like that.

She was true to her words when she said that Raelle was only special. Only she knew how much special Raelle was to her. And that's why no one else could understand her yearning to see that beautiful baby girl of hers to be happy. She knew she couldn't expect Raelle to be like normal people around her. That'd be too much to ask for.

However, she did wish to see her getting the happiness she deserved. She was the one who had seen Raelle struggling to become a part of this society. Because of her differences, she had to put effort more than a normal person to try to fit in. Although it seemed like Raelle didn't care about fitting in with the rest of the people but it wasn't completely true.

If it was true, why would she try so hard to read people's body language to understand their emotions? She had studied humans in such detail that even a single frown on someone's face, she would be able to interpret it perfectly. People called her an insensitive person, so she tried to become sensitive to her surroundings.

"Was she still at the office?"

Mu Chenyan's daydreaming was broken short when she heard Grandfather Xiang's voice. She stayed silent in reply but he understood her meaning which made him sigh heavily.

"It was my fault to expect too much from her," said Grandfather Xiang.

"Elder Xiang, don't say it like that," Mu Chenyan would usually never talk back to Grandfather Xiang since she respected him the most in her life but whenever it was about her Raelle, she would shot back at anyone. Raelle was her reverse scale and even Grandfather Xiang knew it. "Our Raelle needs some time to get used to it all."

"You just have to take her side, eh?" he questioned with an arched brow.

Mu Chenyan lowered her eyes and hesitated before saying, "If I won't do it, who would?" She took a pause and added, "You're always giving her a hard time."

Grandfather Xiang gaped at her in disbelief, "I'm giving her a hard time?"

"Well, you do have quite some high expectations from her," said Mu Chenyan. "She is amazing but she also needs some time to understand new things. Especially, relationships. She is also having a hard time."

Grandfather Xiang shook his head at her words. He also knew that. He looked carefully at Mu Chenyan's expressions and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Mu Chenyan bit her bottom lip and hesitated for a long while. "Elder Xiang, do you think it's because of me that she is having such a hard time?" Grandfather Xiang was stunned to hear her words of doubt. "Do you think she'd have been different if instead of me, she grew up with her mother?"

"Chenyan!" Grandfather Xiang's voice raised an octave.

Mu Chenyan wasn't fazed by his voice as she continued, "Maybe I didn't do as good a job in raising her as her parents would have been able to do so."

Grandfather Xiang beckoned her to come closer. She obediently stepped closer to him and sat down on the stool to come to his level. Grandfather Xiang pulled her ear making her gasp as he said, "Who allowed you to say such nonsense? Should I bring Elle to tell you what kind of a job you have done in raising her?" Mu Chenyan pursed her lips as he went on, "Her mother or both of her parents wouldn't have been able to do a better job than you. And I warned you, never to speak about them before me."

Mu Chenyan grumbled, "Just because we don't talk about them, doesn't mean they are dead."

"They are dead," said Grandfather Xiang. "Let them stay dead. Don't try to resurrect people who had been absent for far too long. Even a missing person is presumed dead after four years of absence. It's been 24 years now!"

"Can you let my ear go?" asked Mu Chenyan and he loosened the grip on her ear. She rubbed her ear before saying, "Technically, Ge had been wanting to meet her, it's you who didn't allow him to."

"Are you really saying that to me right now?"

Mu Chenyan looked at him cautiously before saying, "Actually, I'm scared." She came clean. "Since we have come back to this country, I'm scared that Elle would run into them somewhere. That'd be a disaster."

"With her personality, do you really think she'll cause a disaster?" inquired Grandfather Xiang. "Even if she causes a disaster, aren't you gonna be here to clean up her mess for her?"

Mu Chenyan smiled slightly, "Right. I'm always here for her. How can I let anyone hurt her?"

Grandfather Xiang chuckled at her, "If you love her this much, stop doubting your value in her life. The only relationship she understands the most is the one she has with you. Aside from her books, she believes in you the most."

Mu Chenyan had a sad smile on her face, "Maybe that's why I'm scared of losing her." She walked a little farther away from Grandfather Xiang before adding, "But I do wish to see her learn about her parents."

Grandfather Xiang glared at her, "I don't want to. Neither does she!"

"Why don't you ask for her opinion?" suggested Mu Chenyan. "It's her parents after all."

"Why don't you do it?" shot back Grandfather Xiang.

Mu Chenyan's smile stiffened, "The last time I tried to tell her that her parents love her, she didn't talk to me for a whole week. I don't dare bring them up before her again."

"If you do remember her reaction, don't ever bring it up!"

Saying that he maneuvered her wheelchair and left her alone. Mu Chenyan looked at his back, and sighed out, "His temper is still as bad as before. And then he asks why our Elle is so eccentric."