Meeting Shen Wen 2

Chen Mu gave Susu a call to remind her about bringing her medicine, wallet, keys, and other essentials before heading out to meet Shen Wen. Like always, Susu felt warmth from inside and out because of how caring he was.

"Yes, yes~ I got it. I have everything. Mwahhh. Now, go back to work~" she reassured him that she is going to be fine and that she has everything that she needs all in her bag.

When she arrived at Memories Cafe, the waitress recognized her immediately and directed her to the reserved table where Shen Wen was already seated.

Susu gave her a hug before settling down across from her. Tian Yuo was observing them from where he was sitting and listening attentively to their conversation.

After ordering the usual flavored tea and pastries, Susu showed Professor Luo Xia's picture to her, "Auntie Shen Wen, do you recognize him?"

Shen Wen looked at the man in the picture and wrinkled the area between her brows with unfamiliarity, "no, dear. I don't remember him."

"Then can you tell me more about my mom?"

"You mean anything in general or particularly a specific piece of information? You seem to have a lot of questions, so I want to make sure that I am telling you something you want to know about."

Susu smiled, "I want to know about my mother and father's story. From how they've met and if my mother had other family members. I want to know many things, but we can use this as the starting point."

Shen Wen was taken aback by her sudden interest in her mother's story because she had never asked about the details. She nodded and responded, "Alright, I'll tell you everything that I know between your mother and father. I've been friends with your mother, Zi Lan throughout our school years. Even though we were close friends, I never met any of her family. She also rarely spoke about them."

"Your mother and father met during their university days. She was one of the most enthusiastic and bright students with out of the earth type of creativity that could bring people a lot of surprises and joy. Your mother didn't speak much about her relationship with your father, but I could tell that they were on fantastic terms. They got married almost right after their graduation too."

Susu listened attentively to every word that Shen Wen had said, but something wasn't quite right. "You said that my mother was a talented designer. Then why didn't she continue her career after graduation? Was it because of her marriage?"

"Actually, it was none of those reasons. Not long after their marriage, Zi Lan was diagnosed with cancer and her health deteriorated within two years. She managed to conceive and used her last strength to give birth to you. I remember visiting her the day she gave birth to you and then getting the news that she passed away the same day. During her pregnancy, I saw her probably like once every other month and talked to each other. She seemed like a regular, healthy mother during those times."

"And that was the time that you took this picture with her while she was pregnant with me?" Susu took out the picture from her purse and asked Shen Wen.

"Yes."

"I understood everything that you've told me, but something doesn't add up. From what I was told, my mother died after my birth, but I have memories of spending time with her on designs when I was little. How could she have died if she was the one who taught me so much stuff?"

Susu was happy to finally have gotten somewhere with her questions, but now, another obstacle blocked her way.

"Dear, are you sure about that? Maybe you were dreaming about your mother after seeing pictures of her or something. There is no way for her to be alive because I've seen her body at her funeral. She definitely died the same day she gave birth to you."

"I wasn't dreaming about it because it wasn't recent. I was probably five years old or something back then when she taught me about a rose design. We worked on it together and then she disappeared on me one day." Susu's eyes swelled up as a layer of mist formed in her eyes.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down. Shen Wen passed her a cup of tea and said, "I'm sorry, dear. But that is all I know and that's the truth. I saw her with my own eyes. I'm not lying to you. Whoever you saw wasn't your mother or if you want to believe in spirits, then it could be your mother's soul coming back to visit you."

Susu shook her head and wanted to argue that it was her mother who visited her. It wasn't a dream and it wasn't her spirit because she felt her warmth. Just as she was about to say something back, her alarm went off and she excused herself.

Without saying another word, she wiped the drips of tears that escaped her eyes and took her medicine. Shen Wen worriedly inquired about her condition, "Susu, why are you taking pills? Are you feeling alright? Are you sick?"

"Nothing. These are just vitamins that I have to take. I'm fine. Really." She quickly took the medicine container and shoved it back in her bag before Shen Wen could take a look at it.

"Then, do you have any more questions for me?"

Susu's head was a mess after talking with her that she needed time to process everything. "No, that is all for today. I need some time to process some information, but if I want to ask more questions in the future, can I ask you to come out again?"

"Of course! You don't have to be so formal between us."

"Thank you. I'll pay for today's lunch since I was the one who asked you out. If you have stuff to do, I won't hold you back from it. You can leave whenever you are ready." Susu waved for the waitress to give her the receipt.

"Actually, now that we are done with your questions, I do have a request."

Susu let out a soft sigh, "Before you say anything, have Tian Yuo come from the other table first. In fact, I've noticed him since I walked in. I just didn't say anything."

Tian Yuo heard her invitation to the table and got off his seat, "It's been a while."

"Yes it has. Auntie Shen Wen, what's your request? Since I have asked you for a favor, I'll treat this request as returning the favor."

"Susu, Auntie just wants you two to be friends. I don't mean much. He was naive and trusted the wrong person. Every person deserves a second chance, don't you think? Besides, your mother wouldn't want to see you like this." Shen Wen tried to use Susu's weakness against her and thought that it would work out the same way as the past.

Susu maintained a formal smile, "Auntie Shen Wen, I still address you as my Auntie because of respect for my late mother. I told myself when I made that choice to marry Tian Yuo that I will never let this same reason rule over my rationality and choices again. If your request is for me to be friends with him, then I'm sorry. I can't do it."

"But Susu-" Shen Wen tried to argue back, but was cut off by Susu.

"Auntie Shen Wen, if uncle chose to believe another woman over you and had countlessly accused you for things that you've never done before to the point where your heart died already, do you think the word, forgive, will be in your dictionary? Betrayal, distrust, accusation and every other harmful word that I could use from the dictionary to describe what your son had done to me are the reasons why I changed to who I am now."

"Therefore, I am sorry, but I cannot accept your request. You can choose another one that is not as complicated as this one." Susu took a sip of tea while Tian Yuo sat next to Shen Wen from across of the table.

He wanted to say something, but couldn't mumble anything out. Shen Wen sighed, "Then can you please have a peaceful talk with him at least? Hear him out and see what he has to say for his actions? Can you put down your biases against him for this conversation?"

Susu smiled, "Has he ever put down his biases and actually listened to me when I pleaded for him to hear me out? I can hear him out and have a talk with him, but I can't leave all his faults out of my mind just because you want me to."

"That's okay. As long as you're willing to talk to him, then it is fine." Shen Wen bit her lips as she never thought that Susu would retaliate her words with such force.

"Alright, then let's change to a different location. Let's go to the dock." Susu handed her credit card to the waitress and then signed her signature.