I Don’t Need You

The next day, when Lu AnLing had awoken, no one was awake and the sun hadn't even completely risen either.

It was like the world was frozen and she was alone but seeing the two little kids by her side and her husband, not too far from them with his arm slung around the two bundles of joy, Lu AnLing smiled.

As she looked at them happily, suddenly her phone buzzed.

Without waking anyone up, Lu AnLing reached for her phone.

Looking at the screen, Lu AnLing frowned slightly.

Mom: [Can we meet today?]

Looking at this, Lu AnLing frowned.

Lu AnLing: [Yes. Just tell me when and where.]

It didn't take long for her mother to answer her. In fact, Lu AnLing had not even been able to put her phone down before she felt it buzz again.

Mom: [*sent a link*. Meet me at 6 o'clock.]

Lu AnLing's mother's message was stiff and business-like. It felt like there was no attachment. If anyone looked at her phone and saw it, they wouldn't believe that she was talking to her mother and at the moment, neither did Lu AnLing.

The girl did not want to dwell on it. The more she did the more she'd feel depressed and she didn't want to feel this way. She'd been feeling like this too much lately. So instead, she pressed on the link.

Once she saw where her mother wanted to meet her, Lu AnLing lifted an eyebrow.

That restaurant Lu Xiaoling had chosen was located at the other side of town, in the entertainment district, a few blocks away from the Tang Entertainment Building, where Lu AnLing would be having her audition.

This was miles away from both the Lu Family home and the Kang Manor.

The fact that this was so far from their respective homes, Lu AnLing felt strange about it. But she would just need to wait until tonight to ask why Lu Xiaoling had chosen the location.

Though she couldn't stop herself from thinking of reasons.

"What's wrong?" Lu AnLing heard a voice say as she bit on her nail.

Turning around to look at Kang Jun, Lu AnLing spoke calmly. "Nothing. I'm meeting my mother tonight."

Hearing this, Kang Jun pushed himself up subsequently waking up Kang Mingyu who had been trying to completely fall back to sleep after he had been awoken by Lu AnLing's movements.

"Time for breakfast?" The boy asked cutely as he rubbed his eyes groggily.

Seeing this, Lu AnLing laughed.

Looking at the time on her phone, Lu AnLing shrugged and then she turned to show the time to Kang Jun, Kang Mingyu and Kang Mei Xue, who had been awoken by the ruckus.

It was 6 am.

Lu AnLing: "I guess you aren't wrong"

The day went by pretty quickly after this, and Lu AnLing tried to calm herself down so she spent considerably more time hugging Kang Jun, Kang Mei Xue and Kang Mingyu.

Their body heat calmed the girl down and brought warmth to her own heart.

When it was time to go, Lu AnLing went up to take a shower and get changed. Once she was done this, Lu AnLing looked at herself in the mirror and carefully examined her features.

There was this... something... about her that truly made her look like a Lu. Something she could not put her finger on but this something could, to Lu AnLing, be seen in not only herself but also in Grandma Lu, Lu Xia, Lu Shuya and Lu Xiaoling.

The women did not quite look alike but it was something else

If Lu Yuxi and Kang Mei Xue we're twins, Lu AnLing wondered if Kang Mei Xue and Lu Yuxi would notice the certain Lu-ness in one another...

Would they immediatly know that they were sisters?

Only their meeting would reveal those answers...

Lu AnLing had already assumed why her mother wanted to talk with her. After seeing the woman's reaction to Kang Jun holding Lu Yuxi, Lu AnLing could assume that Lu Yuxi was her and Kang Jun's daughter but she had no real proof.

In this meeting, Lu AnLing was sure that her mother was going to explain how this whole situation had come to be, which had plagued Lu AnLing's mind for a while now.

As she thought of this, Lu AnLing's aura had suddenly changed. Sensing this, suddenly by the way Lu AnLing held herself, Kang Jun walked over to the girl and the he put Lu AnLing's jacket around her shoulders.

"Are you worried?" Kang Jun asked simple.

Lu AnLing looked into the man's eyes. Seeing this, Kang Jun couldn't help but hold his breath. The darkness he had expected to see was not there. Instead, there was a fire.

"No. I'm ready." Lu AnLing's voice held so much confidence that Kang Jun felt his whole body fill with light.

Seeing this, he leaned in and kissed her hard, giving himself to her wholly.

Feeling this, Lu AnLing reciprocated with all her might but then, when Kang Jun broke the kiss, Lu AnLing raised her eyebrow and said, "What was that for?"

"I wasn't ready." Kang Jun said, slightly out of breath as he pressed his forehead on hers.

Lu AnLing looked at Kang Jun with more confusion. "Not ready for what?"

"For you not to need me anymore." Kang Jun said happily but also a bit sadly.

"Of course I don't need you." Lu AnLing said seriously. Hearing this Kang Jun did not know how to react but then the girl suddenly laughed girlishly. "I want you. And Isn't it better to want you rather than to need you?"

Kang Jun: "Of course my love, you're always right."

***

Lu AnLing arrived at the restaurant at half past 5.

"Reservation for two for Lu Xiaoling..." Lu AnLing said to a young woman at the front.

Hearing her, the girl smiled and began to lead Lu AnLing to the table.

At first, she was worried that she had arrived too early but just as she began to worry, she caught sight of her mother at the table.

The two greeted each other formally when they saw each other but after that the table became silent.

With silence consuming her, Lu AnLing began to feel awkward.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Lu AnLing said coldly. She didn't mean to say it this way but it just came out like that.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoling felt her breathe caught in her throat though this didn't last long. Not wanting to drag this on for too long, in fear that she would be too afraid to face her daughter, Lu Xiaoling looked at Lu AnLing with determination.

This was the most emotion her mother had ever shown in her eyes and this caught Lu AnLing completely off guard. So much so that the girl had not heard what her mother had said.

"What?" Lu AnLing said as her heart raced in her chest.

Lu Xiaoling gulped. "AnLing... Yuxi is not some relative. She is your daughter."

Lu AnLing had guessed this. She had practically known since the first time she'd met Lu Yuxi but hearing those words come from her mother's mouth were like a slap in the face.

"I had twins... do you know what happened to the other one?" Lu AnLing asked somewhat calmly.

Lu Xiaoling nodded. "I don't know what family she was given to but by the time I went to try to get them back, she was already adopted..."

As she said this, Lu Xiaoling reached into her bag and pulled out many pictures of a child. She then handed them to Lu AnLing.

Lu AnLing looked through the pictures. As she did, her hands began to tremble and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

They were pictures of Kang Mei Xue growing up. They were all of the years Lu AnLing had been looking for the girl, all the memories which she had not gotten to experience with her. Looking at these, Lu AnLing felt slightly bitter.

"Why...?" Lu AnLing asked slowly, but the word sounded more like a sob. Lu AnLing then looked at her mother in the eyes before she said, "Why did you take them away from me? Was I that big of a misfortune in your life... did I ruin your happiness that badly, is that why you ruined mine?"