Frail and sicky, Mom was not born in the pink of health. The Li parents thought of her as a burden and did not want to take care of her. Hence, Mom was abandoned.
The Li parents were less than animals to ditch their own flesh and blood. Well, the Fu brothers were going to have none of it even if Mother wanted to see them.
“Let’s not talk about this. Tell me, did you see Cai Ni?” Mama Fu was happy at the mention of Cai Ni. “Did you send her my love?”
“Ms. Cai Ni wasn’t present at the awards.” Fu Qingye was in a good mood at the rare sight of Mother being so cheerful. “I have a trip to China at the end of the year. I’ll probably be going over for a week or so. I will definitely try and meet up with her to convey your love for her dress.”
Mother had cried every day ever since Father went missing. It had been a while since she showed interest in anyone or appeared happy because of a person.
“Why wasn’t she there? Did something happen to her?” Mama Fu’s nerves got the better of her. “Did you ask around if something was going on?”
“I asked her teacher. Today is her mother’s birthday so she’s celebrating with her mother at home.” Fu Qingye chuckled.
“What a good child.” With her mind at ease, Mama Fu blissfully continued with the questions. “She won an award for her “Feathered Prism Illusion Dress”. Is it more breathtaking to see with your own eyes?”
“Yes.” Fu Qingye let out a warm smile. “Mom, I can buy it for you if you really like it.”
“Not me.” Mama Fu shook her head in denial before putting on a straight face to explain. “There’s no need to purchase the dress, just get it loaned to us. Your aunt was invited to a particularly important event next month and she wants to wear it.”
“Got it.” Fu Qingye’s lips curled into an even more doting smile. His Mom seemed to want nothing while his aunt wanted everything.
With her mind being read by her son, Mama Fu was quick to change the topic. “Do you know how old she is?”
Sigh. It was not a good thing to have an overly intelligent son.
“Mom, are you the police?” Fu Qingye may have said that but he still gave an honest answer in the end. “Seventeen.”
“Oh!” Mama Fu’s eyes alighted with hurt. “Our Lil Xi would be of the same age if she was still alive!”
“Mom, don’t say such a thing. Our sister is still alive and we will find her.” As gloominess clouded his eyes, Fu Qingye darted her a serious look. “Don’t let that idea get into your head.”
No matter the means – even at the cost of flipping the world upside down, they were going to get their sister back and in one piece.
“Alright, I’ll stop talking. I won’t talk about it.” Welling up in the eyes, Mama Fu turned away from the camera so her son could not see her crying. She mumbled, “I’m going to watch “The Smiling Nation”. You better watch too, alright?”
“Okay.” After hanging up the video call, Fu Qingye stared blankly at the blackened mobile screen.
The worst despair experienced in the world was never departure through death. It was knowing that their sister was somewhere in the world and try as they may, they could never find her.
As a pigeon pair, there was telepathy between Qingxuan and Lil Xi.
They may be miles apart and have no idea where she was, but Qingxuan could sense her presence.
When she was happy, Qingxuan would be happy.
When she was sad, Qingxuan would be sad.
The last time he was able to sense her was three months ago. Qingxuan held his chest suddenly, talking about how much his heart hurt. Their sister must have met with an accident.
Dad never allowed them to talk about this to their mom. They knew better than to let her know as well, afraid that she would wallow in tears and sorrow.
In the end, Qingxuan could no longer sense her existence following the great heartache. It would be hard for Mom to live on knowing that fact.
They had been haunted by fear ever since that day. Every day, Fu Qingye and Qingxuan prayed to God, hoping that their sister was alive and well.