Qin Yinan put the light away to grab his phone. He glanced at the caller ID before answering it. He was about to answer the call with the usual 'Song Song' when a childish voice drifted through the line. "Ankle… Unkle Yinan…"
It was Little Sesame. She was already two years old, but she was still having difficulty pronouncing her words, like how uncle would be twisted into ankle or unkle.
"Little Sesame, why are you still up so late at night?"
"Just home…" Little Sesame answered before saying something completely irrelevant. "…I saw… Unkle Ma…"
Her words faltered. Qin Yinan assumed that she was talking about 'her uncle's mama', thus referring to his own mother. He smiled gently and asked, "Did your grandma give you some sweets to eat?"
"Not Grandma, Ankle Ma…"
What is 'ankle ma'? Qin Yinan frowned with confusion. As he was about to ask Little Sesame for more details, Song Qingchun's gentle voice came through the phone. "Alright, Little Sesame, it's your bed time. Daddy will take you to your bedroom. Come, let Mommy talk to Uncle Yinan, okay?"
"Okay." Little Sesame answered obediently, then she followed Song Qingchun's advice and spoke into the phone. "Good night, Unkle Yinan!"
"Good night, Little Sesame…" Through the phone, Qin Yinan could hear Su Zhinian chase after Little Sesame as he corralled her into the bedroom. Then, there were some footsteps. There was a full minute of silence on the other end of the phone before her voice started again. "Brother Yinan, happy birthday."
"Thank you," he replied.
"Brother Yinan…" Song Qingchun called his name and then paused as if she didn't know how to continue.
Qin Yinan didn't press; he waited patiently. Half a minute later, Song Qingchun continued. "Brother Yinan, the Unkle Ma Little Sesame was talking about earlier is not Auntie Qin but…"
After another pause, Song Qingchun breathed out, "…Cheng Qingchong. When we took Little Sesame for dinner tonight, we ran into her."
Qin Yinan had grown up with Song Qingchun. It was rare for her to talk to him in such serious tones. His heart quivered, and a very bad feeling soon crawled all over it. His instinct told him that what Song Qingchun was about to reveal to him was going to be some hidden secret.
Suddenly, he felt fear. His fingers that held the phone tightened with nervousness. After some time, he replied with a "hmm". He sounded calm, but internally, he was an emotional wreck. "What is it? Song Song, tell me."
"Brother Yinan… Do you know… Cheng Qingchong, she…" It was unclear whether it was too hard for Song Qingchun to voice her words or she was afraid that Qin Yinan might not be able to face the shock of the revelation, as she stammered, "…Do you know who she is with right now?"
The more she acted like this, the more nervous Qin Yinan became. As the question left her lips, he urged, "Who?"
Even though they were an impossibility, he was weirdly interested in who Cheng Qingchong's new man was.
On the phone, Song Qingchun was silent for a while before answering. Her voice was soft, but the words that she said were like thunder, shattering Qin Yinan's eardrum.
"Jin Ze."
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