Chapter 1053 - 1049: Engagement Established
As her thoughts wandered, scene after scene of Xiao Tian surfaced in the little girl’s mind...
One thing that couldn’t be denied was that, in Le Yaoyao’s life, Xiao Tian was without doubt one of the people who had helped her the most, and also the one who had changed her the most. Even though those changes happened subtly, so subtly that she herself hadn’t even realized them, they were nonetheless very real.
He had stepped in to save her multiple times, and when everyone else refused to believe her, he had stood firmly by her side. This moved the little girl deeply, but it also made her come to see Xiao Tian as her greatest support—calling him omnipotent wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration.
Yet right now, in this very moment, the first person she thought of in her own moment of danger was himself caught up in peril, leaving the little girl with a helpless feeling of not knowing what to do.
...
Seeing the little girl looking lost and flustered, tears falling silently from her rain-drenched pear-blossom face, Lin Bingxuan forced herself with all her strength to suppress the emotions surging in her heart. At this point, anxiety and panic could solve nothing; she had to stand up, she couldn’t afford to lose her footing.
After taking several deep breaths, Lin Bingxuan had a rough decision in mind. The most pressing task was to first find out clearly whether Xiao Tian was safe; as long as nothing had happened to him, everything else could be put aside for now!
With that thought, Lin Bingxuan pulled out her phone, intending to call an old business partner in Japan. With something this big, when international TV stations were already broadcasting the video, there was no reason people over there wouldn’t know what was going on.
Just as she opened the dialing interface, she saw a call coming in ahead of her. The moment those three characters in the caller ID appeared, Lin Bingxuan’s expression turned briefly unnatural.
...
The call was from Xiao Nianqing. That made Lin Bingxuan unavoidably nervous. Xiao Nianqing had previously known nothing about Xiao Tian’s situation in Japan; calling at a time like this clearly couldn’t be just a casual greeting.
The most likely explanation was that Xiao Nianqing had also seen that video.
For a while, Lin Bingxuan tried several times, yet still couldn’t bring herself to press the answer button—but she also knew she couldn’t not pick up.
If she didn’t connect this call, given Xiao Nianqing’s temperament, very soon a whole team would be dispatched to the villa, and things would become even more awkward then.
"Hoo..." Lin Bingxuan let out a long breath, her hand unconsciously rubbing her wildly pounding heart. Gritting her teeth, she pressed the answer button...
"A... Auntie." Lin Bingxuan said cautiously, her eyes tightly shut, as if she were bracing herself for a storm that could break at any moment.
The little girl perked up her ears and leaned over, whispering by Lin Bingxuan’s ear, "Auntie, d-don’t be scared!" Her voice was choked with sobs.
Glancing at Le Yaoyao beside her, Lin Bingxuan felt her heart somehow grow a bit less anxious. Besides, she had weathered great storms before; she knew perfectly well that there was no hiding from this. She had no choice but to pull herself together by force and face Xiao Nianqing’s anger head-on...
However, to Lin Bingxuan’s surprise, the first thing Xiao Nianqing asked about wasn’t Xiao Tian, but her—and her tone was filled with concern, with no hint at all of coming to hold her accountable.
"Bingxuan, where are you now? You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?"
Hearing Xiao Nianqing’s question, Lin Bingxuan was stunned for a moment. Only when her name was called twice in succession from the other end did she finally snap back to herself and hurriedly reply, "I—I’m at home right now, nothing’s happened to me."
At this point, Lin Bingxuan could almost be a hundred percent sure that Xiao Nianqing had already seen that video. Otherwise she never would have opened by asking where she was and whether anything had happened.
"Auntie, you... you already know, don’t you?" Since she’d decided to face the problem directly, Lin Bingxuan didn’t bother with detours and asked straightforwardly.
Given how keen Xiao Nianqing was, she immediately caught the anxiety in Lin Bingxuan’s tone. Putting herself in her shoes, it was easy enough to guess roughly what was going through her mind.
"I already know about Tian’er. I understand his character." Xiao Nianqing said consolingly, "The reason I called you this time is because I’m worried something might have happened to you. I have no intention of blaming you for anything."
The little girl, who was secretly listening with her ears pricked, instantly gave a big thumbs-up in front of Lin Bingxuan, then leaned to her ear and whispered, "Auntie, your future mother-in-law is really considerate!"
But Lin Bingxuan frowned and shooed her aside. The little girl might not hear it, but she heard it clearly. Xiao Nianqing’s concern was genuine enough, yet behind those words, how could there not also be worry for Xiao Tian?
What mother under heaven doesn’t care about her own son?
"Thank you, Auntie." Lin Bingxuan replied, obviously in low spirits, then added, "I was just about to contact some friends over in Japan, ask them to help look into things. You... you shouldn’t worry too much either."
Her words were clearly forced, leaving Xiao Nianqing silent for quite a while on the other end before she finally said, "At a time like this, none of us should bother trying to comfort anyone. Over here your uncle is already deploying people. If we get any news, let’s keep each other informed."
"Mm." Lin Bingxuan agreed, feeling grateful that Xiao Nianqing hadn’t tried to dissuade her from looking into the situation herself.
Between the manpower of the Zhong Family and the business contacts she’d worked with over the years, which side was more reliable, which side more efficient—that was almost obvious without needing to think.
Yet Xiao Nianqing hadn’t voiced any refusal or polite rejection, clearly treating her as one of their own and not shutting her out.
But at this point in the conversation, both Lin Bingxuan and Xiao Nianqing fell silent, making the atmosphere grow terribly awkward.
After a long moment, Xiao Nianqing finally laughed and said, "Bingxuan, if Xiao Tian comes back this time, then you two should get married."
"..." Lin Bingxuan froze on the spot. Xiao Nianqing’s words had clearly caught her completely off guard; she couldn’t react for a long time, and her eyes couldn’t help turning red.
She truly had been waiting for these words for a long time, but she had never imagined she would hear them under circumstances like this. It was only natural that she couldn’t quite process it right away.
In fact, what Xiao Nianqing said at this moment was, to some extent, emotional.
Because thinking rationally, Xiao Tian was alone in a foreign country, and from the video it was clear he was already driven into a desperate corner. Whether he could really make it back was still completely unknown.
Yet both Xiao Nianqing and Lin Bingxuan hoped—and firmly believed—that Xiao Tian would definitely return safely!
This confidence didn’t have any solid proof to back it up, but the two of them believed it without a shred of doubt!
...
Seeing Lin Bingxuan’s eyes suddenly redden, the little girl, who had been pushed aside, hurriedly ran back over. But before she could voice her concern, she was pushed away by Lin Bingxuan yet again.
"If you don’t have any objections, then let’s settle it like this. When the time comes, your uncle and I will go to Shanghai to meet your parents." Xiao Nianqing had already made up her mind as she spoke.
"O-okay..." Lin Bingxuan’s face flushed red as she agreed in a voice barely above a whisper.
As if suddenly in high spirits, Xiao Nianqing laughed and said, "Since you’ve agreed, shouldn’t you start changing how you address me a little early?"
Hearing that teasing, the blush that had yet to fade from Lin Bingxuan’s face instantly spread down to her neck.