Chapter 111: Ch 111: Happy Reunions and Pleasant Surprises

The sun had grown fierce, its heat sharp enough to sting the skin. Su Wanyan walked slightly ahead, angling her taller frame so that her shadow fell across Mo Xingxue and shielded the omega from the worst of the glare. The two of them moved slowly through the village, taking in the rural scenery while quietly searching for any sign of the children.

Su Wanyan spotted a kind-looking woman resting near a low fence and approached with a soft smile.

"Hello," she greeted.

The woman looked up and returned the smile at once. "Hello! Do you need something?"

Su Wanyan gestured animatedly as she spoke. "Have you seen a man with a goatee pushing a stroller, and a cute little girl with him?"

Behind her, Mo Xingxue chuckled under her breath at the lively description, shaking her head with quiet fondness.

The woman hummed thoughtfully and pointed toward a stretch of trees in the distance. "I think I saw them head that way earlier."

"Ahh." Su Wanyan’s face brightened. She bowed her head politely. "I see. Thank you!"

The woman chuckled at the formal courtesy and waved them off. Su Wanyan answered with a small wave of her own. Mo Xingxue also offered a respectful bow of gratitude before the pair turned and continued on their way.

"What a nice lady," Su Wanyan said once they had walked a short distance.

Mo Xingxue nodded, though her eyes were already scanning the edge of the forest, searching for any glimpse of PD Xu Cui or the children.

Soon the three of them—Su Wanyan, Mo Xingxue, and the trailing cameraman—stepped beneath the trees. The dense canopy immediately offered relief from the heat, the dappled shade cool and welcome. Su Wanyan’s casual chatter faded. She focused entirely on her enhanced hearing, every sense sharpened.

Where are they? She thought, listening carefully.

They walked deeper into the quiet green. After several minutes, the soft sound of laughter drifted toward them. Su Wanyan’s head turned sharply. She tugged gently on Mo Xingxue’s sleeve and pointed to the right.

"I think they’re over there."

Mo Xingxue simply nodded and began walking in that direction without a single question. The cameraman followed, privately wondering how the omega could trust the direction so completely on nothing more than a few words. Couples, he mused with a quiet shrug.

Unaware of their unexpected audience’s thoughts, the pair moved with quiet precision—Mo Xingxue’s eyes sharp, Su Wanyan’s hearing attuned to every sound.

Before long they reached a small clearing sheltered by towering trees.

There, sitting on the soft grass, was Shen Guoxing. She was making exaggerated silly faces at Mo Yan, who lay in her stroller and answered each expression with bright, bubbling laughter.

Every time the baby laughed, Shen Guoxing laughed too. Their voices blended into a clear, warm sound that seemed to soften the entire forest around them.

Su Wanyan and Mo Xingxue turned toward each other at the same time. In that shared glance, the quiet worry they had both been carefully carrying for hours finally loosened its hold. Soft smiles rose on both faces—gentle, knowing, and full of the kind of relief that only came after a long time of searching.

Mo Xingxue stepped forward first, her voice soft and warm with affection. "Xing’er!"

Shen Guoxing’s head turned at once. The moment she spotted Mo Xingxue walking toward them, her entire face brightened like a flower opening under sunlight.

"Aunt Xingxue!" she exclaimed, waving both hands with pure, unrestrained enthusiasm.

Mo Xingxue chuckled under her breath and jogged the last few steps, settling down onto the cool grass beside the stroller with practiced ease. Little Mo Yan sat propped against the soft cushions, her bright eyes following every movement around her.

"Look!" Shen Guoxing said proudly, pointing at her meimei with both hands.

Mo Yan currently sported carefully drawn cat whiskers on both chubby cheeks and a neat black dot right on the tip of her nose. The black marker lines were a little uneven in places, clearly the work of small, determined hands, but the overall effect was irresistibly adorable.

Mo Xingxue blinked once, then twice, before her laughter spilled out—soft at first, then bright and full. Shen Guoxing immediately joined in, delighted that her prank had landed perfectly.

A short distance away, Su Wanyan watched the three of them with a tender, loving smile. The sight of Shen Guoxing’s proud grin, Mo Xingxue’s warm laughter, and hearing Mo Yan’s hurried babbles.. settled something deep in her chest.

Shen Guoxing soon noticed her lingering and urgently waved her over, eyes sparkling with the need to share her masterpiece.

Su Wanyan laughed quietly and held up one hand. "Wait," she called, gesturing for them to give her a moment. Shen Guoxing nodded eagerly and turned her attention back to Mo Yan, dissolving into fresh giggles at the baby’s painted face.

Shen Guoxing must have pulled another prank, Su Wanyan thought, a fond chuckle escaping her. She started walking closer—then paused.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a small figure standing still among the trees, partially hidden by the dappled shade. The figure was staring intently at the three of them beneath the tree. Su Wanyan turned her full attention toward the figure and saw a little girl whose gaze never wavered.

She followed the direction of those eyes and paused again.

Shen Guoxing? She wondered inwardly. The child was looking only at Shen Guoxing.

Su Wanyan discreetly glanced at the cameraman nearby and offered a kind smile. "You can go ahead first, sir," she said gently. The man nodded and obediently continued toward the others.

Once he was gone, Su Wanyan returned her attention to the child at the edge of the shade and quietly studied her.

The girl stood completely still, eyes fixed on Shen Guoxing beneath the trees. At first there had been nothing unusual about it. But when Shen Guoxing let out another bright, unrestrained laugh, Su Wanyan saw the child’s eyes widen slightly before softening into something impossibly gentle.

Her lips curved into a tiny, almost unconscious smile. She looked at Shen Guoxing as though the rest of the world had simply faded away—sunlight, leaves, distant voices, everything else becoming background noise.

Oh.

Su Wanyan blinked.

She knew that look.

She had seen it in dramas and movies. In classmates whenever they looked at their deskmate with that particular quiet intensity. And she had certainly recognized it on the faces of people who believed they were hiding their feelings when they very clearly were not.

The child herself seemed completely unaware of what was happening inside her own chest. She simply stood there, watching Shen Guoxing laugh and play, her gaze lingering with an almost reverent fascination.

Su Wanyan had to press her lips together tightly to keep a laugh from escaping. Kids, she thought, using every bit of her acting skill to smooth her expression back to calm and kind.

Once she was certain her face no longer betrayed amusement, she approached the captivated child and reached out to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder—careful not to startle her.

"What are you doing here, little one?" Su Wanyan asked softly.

Leilei looked up at the owner of the voice and found a beautiful woman standing beside her, smile big and bright. For a second, her mind went completely blank.

"A-ah...." was all that came out. Oh no! Leilei thought in sudden panic. She must think I’m a creep! After all, she had been staring at her new friend for who knew how long, and this woman had clearly seen everything.

Su Wanyan laughed quietly at the child’s stricken expression and could not resist patting her head with gentle affection.

"What are you doing just standing here?" she asked again, voice still soft and free of judgment. Then she pointed toward the laughing group beneath the trees. "Let’s go over there and rest."

The simple invitation snapped Leilei out of her spiral. She blinked up at Su Wanyan. She doesn’t think I’m a creep? She thought, relief washing through her in a warm wave.

Leilei smiled shyly and nodded. Su Wanyan returned the smile, took the girl’s small warm hand in hers, and together they walked toward the others. The grass was soft under their feet, and the dappled sunlight shifted gently as they moved out of the deeper shade.

As they drew closer, Shen Guoxing’s laughter rang out again, bright and free. Leilei’s fingers tightened slightly around Su Wanyan’s hand, her eyes already seeking out the source of that sound. Su Wanyan felt the small squeeze and smiled to herself, her heart light.

The soft rustle of approaching footsteps reached Mo Xingxue and Shen Guoxing at the same time. Both turned toward the sound, and their faces brightened the instant they recognized who was coming.

"Yanyan."

"Aunt Wanyan!"

The two voices rang out in perfect synchronization, clear and joyful beneath the dappled shade of the trees. They glanced at each other, surprised and amused, then chuckled and exchanged a quick, playful high-five. The sound of their palms meeting was light and bright against the quiet afternoon air.

Su Wanyan laughed, the sound warm and full of fond exasperation. "Yeah, it’s me," she said, shaking her head as she continued walking toward them. The green grass was cool and soft under her feet, and the sunlight filtering through the leaves painted shifting patterns across her shoulders.

Just then the cameraman swung the lens in her direction. In an instant Su Wanyan’s body language changed. She shifted smoothly, stepping slightly to the side and using her own frame to guide the little girl behind her back and out of the camera’s direct view. Her movement was gentle but firm, protective without being dramatic.

After all, thousands—perhaps millions—of people were watching the live broadcast. If the child’s face was shown across the entire country, her private life could become complicated overnight. And Su Wanyan certainly had no intention of letting that happen.

Mo Xingxue noticed the small figure a moment later. The second she realized the camera was still pointed in their direction, she sprang to her feet and covered the lens with both hands, palms flat against the glass.

"Woah!" the cameraman yelped, startled by the sudden figure blocking his shot.

Mo Xingxue only offered him a small but clear warning smile and pointed discreetly toward the child still half-hidden behind Su Wanyan. The man understood at once. He quickly redirected the camera back toward Shen Guoxing and little Mo Yan, who remained safely in the frame.

Mo Xingxue released a quiet sigh of relief, then glanced over her shoulder and shot Su Wanyan a small smile and a thumbs-up.

Su Wanyan answered with a matching sigh of relief and mouthed a silent "thank you." The tension in her shoulders eased. She turned to the child still standing behind her and found Leilei looking slightly stunned, eyes wide and uncertain.

"I’m sorry. Did that scare you?" Su Wanyan asked, her voice gentle and apologetic.

Leilei snapped out of her daze and quickly shook her head. "N-no. I was just taken aback," she said, managing a small smile so Su Wanyan would not worry.

"I’m sorry," Su Wanyan admitted. "I forgot there was a camera recording." A faint note of regret still lingered in her tone. She must have been startled. She just doesn’t want me to worry, Su Wanyan thought, reading the careful politeness in the girl’s expression.

Leilei smiled again. "It’s okay, miss!" she said. Her gaze, however, had already drifted past Su Wanyan toward Shen Guoxing, drawn almost magnetically to the bright laughter still floating under the trees.

Su Wanyan followed the direction of those eyes and let out a soft, knowing chuckle. Hmm, she mused inwardly, the corners of her mouth twitching with quiet amusement.

"Child," she called gently.

Leilei’s attention snapped back to her at once.

Su Wanyan smiled. "Do you want us to leave you with Shen Guoxing for a while?" she asked, barely holding back an inward laugh at the girl’s startled reaction.

"H-huh?" Leilei blinked, clearly not understanding.

Su Wanyan laughed quietly and pointed toward the cameraman, who was now focused on the other group. "We can distract the man with the camera so you and Shen Guoxing can play. You don’t want your face broadcasted, right?" A faint spark of mischief danced in her eyes—something Leilei completely missed.

Leilei’s hands immediately began flailing in soft, panicked gestures. "N-no! It’s okay!" she insisted. "I’m okay with my face being revealed on camera." She scratched her cheek with one finger, looking embarrassed and a little flustered.

Su Wanyan blinked and tilted her head, the playful light in her expression softening into something more careful. "Will your parents be okay with that?"

Leilei stiffened for half a second. The change was small, almost invisible, but Su Wanyan’s sharp perception caught it. Then the girl offered an awkward smile. "It’s okay! I’m an orphan," she said simply, as if stating a fact that no longer carried weight for her.

Now it was Su Wanyan’s turn to freeze. Oh.

A flicker of guilt rose in her chest for accidentally uncovering something so personal, and perhaps for brushing against an old wound. Yet she hid the reaction with practiced ease, her expression remaining calm and open.

"I see," she said calmly.

She smiled again and held out her hand once more, the gesture simple and inviting.

"Let’s go?" she asked softly.

Leilei looked up at Su Wanyan’s face. There was no pity there. No careful sympathy. Just quiet acceptance and a steady warmth. Relief settled over the child like a soft blanket. She pressed her lips together, nodded, and placed her small hand in Su Wanyan’s.

Together the two of them continued walking toward the others.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

GUESS WHO’S EARLY TODAY~? THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ME!

ALSO, Y’ALL! YOU GOTTA THANK ASHE FOR THIS Chapter! Like, as I was writing this, I didn’t know what was wrong, but there was really something wrong. So, I consulted to her about it, and she said that maybe it’s because of the way I wrote Su Wanyan and Mo Xingxue—because originally Mo Xingxue was supposed to noticed Leilei’s little crush (not the exact words, but that’s the gist of it. Also, this was said nicely!)

And like, I tried what she said and like just like a miracle, THE STUFFY FEELING WAS GONE! And before I knew it, it escalated into this LMAO. So, thank AshesOT y’all!