Chapter 252: Chapter 244: Unparalleled
"Hanhan, Xixi, call your grandfather." Jin Jumo wiped the tears from her face, bowed her head, and looked earnestly at Xixi and Hanhan.
Xixi looked at her brother.
Hanhan reached out to hold her small hand and said to Jin Jiancheng, "Grandfather."
Seeing her brother call out, Xixi also turned towards Jin Jiancheng’s photo and said brightly, "Grandfather, I’m Xixi, Ye Xixi’s Xixi."
Jin Jumo affectionately patted Xixi’s little head, placed the bouquet of lilies in front of Jin Ruohong and his wife’s tombstone, and stared at the young faces on the tombstone, saying in a hoarse voice, "Mom and Dad, I’m back to see you."
"Are these grandfather and grandmother?" Hanhan came over, looking at the photos of Jin Ruohong and his wife.
Jin Jumo nodded.
Xixi also came over and said to the photos of Jin Ruohong and his wife, "Grandfather, Grandmother, I’m Xixi, Ye Xixi’s Xixi."
Jin Jumo smiled softly, "Good girl, Xixi."
Xixi grinned at Jin Jumo, showing her little teeth.
After cleaning up the weeds around the tombstones of Jin Jiancheng, Jin Ruohong, and his wife, Jin Jumo sat down with Xixi and Hanhan in front of Jin Jiancheng’s tombstone.
Perhaps sensing Jin Jumo’s sadness, Xixi began chirping like a little magpie, "talking" to Jin Jiancheng.
Even though Jin Jiancheng never responded to her from the beginning to the end.
But Jin Jumo thought, perhaps this was in its own way the joy of family togetherness.
After staying in the cemetery for nearly two hours, Jin Jumo stood up, looked at Jin Jiancheng’s tombstone, her peach blossom eyes filled with determination, "Grandfather, from today onwards, Little Mo won’t avoid it anymore. Little Mo promises you, I will definitely find Fu Mulan and bring her to justice."
After a brief pause, Jin Jumo’s eyes turned red, and she spoke with a choked voice, "Grandfather, Little Mo will come to see you another day."
Jin Jumo had just placed Xixi and Hanhan in the safety seats of the backseat when she heard a gentle voice from behind.
"Momo."
Jin Jumo’s back slightly tensed, her long eyelashes fluttering as she turned around to look.
Liang Yi, dressed in a dignified, simple cheongsam with a purple fur shawl, looked at her with a nervous expression.
Jin Jumo’s eyes flickered slightly, glanced at Xixi and Hanhan in the car, and closed the car door before Liang Yi could get closer.
Liang Yi glanced towards the backseat, narrowing her eyes slightly before turning her gaze back to Jin Jumo and cautiously asked, "When did you come back?"
Jin Jumo looked calmly at Liang Yi’s well-maintained face, "Does Ms. Liang have any business with me?"
Her tone was calm but carried a sense of detachment and coldness.
Liang Yi awkwardly lowered her eyelashes and once again glanced towards the backseat, "Did you bring the children back too?"
Jin Jumo noticed the affectionate look on her beautiful profile, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, "Yes."
"Can I see them?" Liang Yi looked at Jin Jumo, her eyes pleading.
"The children are shy around strangers," Jin Jumo said impassively.
"..." Liang Yi’s face twitched a few times, her voice seemed to contain a trace of disappointment, "Oh."
Jin Jumo frowned slightly, "If Ms. Liang has nothing else, I’m in a hurry, so I won’t keep you company."
"Momo." Liang Yi took two urgent steps towards Jin Jumo, reaching out to hold her hand, "Momo, I’m sorry."
At the moment Liang Yi grasped her hand, Jin Jumo felt a sharp pain in her eyes, swallowing hard.
Jin Jumo’s eyes remained calm as she looked at Liang Yi, "Ms. Liang, you did nothing wrong to me; it was I who wronged you."
"Momo, you’re angry with me." Liang Yi shook her head, her eyes welling with tears, "Back then, Lingyi suddenly told me she met a woman who looked very much like her. Even though she didn’t directly question me, every word she said to me carried a hint of probing.
I thought she must have realized something. Lingyi is naturally suspicious. If I denied or tried to change the subject, she would definitely suspect. At that point, she would surely tell her father. If Yao Qin became suspicious and investigated you, he would find out that before marrying him, I had a child.
Momo, you don’t know how ruthless he can be. If he found out I had deceived him from the start, I might not survive. So I had no choice but to admit to Lingyi that you are my daughter. And also..."
"And also not hesitate to say I’m money-obsessed, ungrateful. To maintain your image as a kind mother in Gu Lingyi’s eyes, to prevent her from telling Gu Yaoqin that I am your daughter, you felt it appropriate to label me with the ’beautiful’ title of ungrateful?" Jin Jumo shook off her hand, sneering coldly.
"It’s not like that, Momo, let me explain..."
"Enough."
Jin Jumo clenched her hands, red-eyed, staring at her, "Ms. Liang purposely waited for me here today, it wasn’t just to explain, was it?"
Liang Yi’s eyes flickered, "Momo..."
Jin Jumo coldly smiled, walking away to one side.
Liang Yi clenched her hand, glanced towards the backseat, and hurriedly followed, "Momo, you misunderstood your mother. I came here today to pay respects to Mr. Jin, I..."
"Ms. Liang, is this interesting?" Jin Jumo looked at Liang Yi with empty eyes.
Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a knife.
What she said was no different from admitting that four years ago, she knew about Jin Jiancheng’s death and that she herself did not truly die in a car accident, as she had been led to believe.
Four years after learning she was still alive.
The first thing she did was, for the sake of maintaining her life as a rich lady, to rack her brains and do everything possible to slander and belittle her, regardless of whether in Gu Lingyi’s heart, she appeared ugly or ungrateful.
What she cared about was how, as a mother, she could be so cold and unfeeling towards her.
If she hadn’t experienced it herself, she would never have believed that there could be such a heartless mother in the world.
"Does it mean anything to you?"
Jin Jumo suddenly grabbed her wrist, squeezing tightly, "When I was four, you sent me away just to marry into a wealthy family. Twenty years later, to marry your precious daughter into the Rong family, what do you want from me now? To leave, to disappear? Or did you really hope I had died four years ago?"
"Momo." Liang Yi’s fingers grew numb from her grip, and she looked pitifully at Jin Jumo, tears streaming down her face, "It’s a mother’s fault, I’m sorry. Don’t torment yourself like this. It’s all my fault."
"Torment myself for you? Ms. Liang, you overestimate yourself too much!"
Jin Jumo’s face flushed as she fiercely shook off Liang Yi’s hand.
At that moment, her heart seemed to turn to ashes.
Taking a deep breath, Jin Jumo looked at Liang Yi indifferently, her gaze calm as if looking at a stranger, "Since Ms. Liang is not here specifically for me, then suit yourself."
As she spoke, Jin Jumo was about to bypass her and leave.
Liang Yi’s expression shook, reflexively reaching out to grab Jin Jumo’s arm.
Jin Jumo’s eyes were unmoved, looking at her lightly.
Liang Yi licked her lips, a bit at a loss, "Momo, can we have dinner together tonight?"
Jin Jumo frowned, "There’s no need."
"Yiyi will come too."
Liang Yi hurriedly said, "Momo, it was a mistake on my part, and I shouldn’t have spoken about you like that in front of Yiyi. I regret it. So tonight, I’ll explain everything to Yiyi in your presence.
Although Yiyi is headstrong and proud, she is kind at heart. The reason she has prejudices against you is because she feels sorry for me.
As long as I explain things clearly and resolve the misunderstanding, I believe she will accept you and won’t treat you as she did before.
After all, you are sisters. When I’m no longer here, you will be the closest people to each other in this world. I hope the two of you will get along well without any barriers."
Jin Jumo furrowed her brows deeper, staring intently at Liang Yi’s earnest face, "Even though you sound sincere, I don’t know why, but I just don’t believe it."
Liang Yi’s face changed slightly, "Momo, just trust mom this once, okay?"
Jin Jumo lowered her eyelashes, curled her lips coldly, "Tonight, right?"
Liang Yi nodded, "At the Vegetarian Restaurant."
Jin Jumo looked at her for a long while, not saying whether she would go or not, walked past her, sat in the passenger seat, and left.
Liang Yi watched the black car leave, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Mommy, will she come tonight?"
Gu Lingyi, wearing a bright red trench coat, walked to Liang Yi’s side, stared in the direction the car had left, and said worriedly.
Liang Yi curled her lips, looking at Gu Lingyi, "She will come, she definitely will."
Gu Lingyi looked at Liang Yi’s confident face, her heart sinking a bit, as she hooked her arm around Liang Yi and left the cemetery.
On the way back to the apartment, Jin Jumo leaned against the passenger seat, facing the car window, silent as if she didn’t exist.
The driver glanced at Jin Jumo a few times through the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with thought.
Back at the apartment.
At the entrance, Jin Jumo was bending down to get slippers for Xixi and Hanhan.
Xixi suddenly asked, "Mommy, why does that auntie keep saying she’s your mom when she talks to you?"
Jin Jumo paused in her action, then smiled and squatted in front of Xixi, putting her pink slippers on her little feet, "I actually don’t know her. So I don’t know why she calls herself mom."
"But you talked to her for a long time, you don’t know her?" Xixi widened her eyes, asking in surprise.
"She took the wrong path and kept asking mommy for directions. Mommy pointed the way to her for a long time before she knew." Jin Jumo said.
"So silly." Xixi laughed innocently.
Jin Jumo smiled, patting her little head.
Xixi then jumped and ran into the apartment, immediately throwing her chubby little body onto the sofa and rolling around joyfully.
Hanhan glanced at Xixi, changed his shoes to cotton slippers, and as he walked past Jin Jumo, he suddenly said, "You can only fool Xixi."
Jin Jumo, "..."
Hanhan glanced at Xixi, changed his shoes to cotton slippers, and as he walked past Jin Jumo, he suddenly said, "You can only fool Xixi."
Jin Jumo, "..."
At seven in the evening, Jin Jumo arrived at the Vegetarian Restaurant.
Liang Yi had been waiting in the lobby for a while, and upon seeing Jin Jumo, she happily approached, affectionately grabbing her hand, "Momo, I knew you would come."
Jin Jumo indifferently withdrew her hand, looking at Liang Yi with calm eyes, "Weren’t we supposed to have dinner? Let’s go then."