Words I was Afraid to Hear

After finishing his call, Xiu Jin walked across Masaichi to block his path.

"Otousan..."

"I believe it's better if you let them be for a bit." Xiu Jin had a reassuring smile.

"But she..." Masaichi was reluctant to leave his wife alone.

"Your mother might be a clan leader, but she is fair and considerate."

Masaichi glanced at the hallway leading to the living room.

"Besides, I wanna know how you found her again." Xiu Jin gestured towards the veranda.

Masaichi nodded and followed his father.

.

"Hah! Found it!" With a victorious smile, Midori held up a pint of pistachio ice cream she had retrieved from the freezer.

Dan scratched the back of his head as he chuckled.

He had to keep in mind that his son should not be given too much sweets.

He watched as his wife devoured the green creamy treat as some of it smudged near her lower lip.

"What?" Midori became conscious of his stare.

Dan came closer to her, and without saying anything, he licked the ice cream off her face.

"What are you doing?!" Flustered and blushing, she hit him with the side of her fist which was holding the spoon she was eating the ice cream with.

Dan chuckled. "I thought you wanted me to directly take it off, unlike last time."

She peeked beyond his tall figure, checking that none of her family members saw what he did.

She frowned at him. "We're not in our home!"

"Then I can't wait to get back." He embraced her escaping figure and held her tight.

"I...we better go back now." Midori pointed at the doorway out of the kitchen.

Dan kept her in place. "Just let them talk for a bit. It would be easier for your mother to extract information. Too many people will make your sister-in-law more apprehensive of the situation."

"Oh...hmmmn. Okay." She stopped squirming and eyed the doorway.

.

"The donor...he was a man named Ming Rong Zhang." Agatha answered.

Aoi's face darkened. "Did you remember the name of his mother who ordered you to visit City S that night?"

"No...but they call her 'Madam Ming' and that she seemed to know my parents." Agatha Yang wanted to shrink into herself as her mother-in-law's face turned grim.

"Hmmm...Ming Rong Zhang. I think I've heard of that name before." Aoi tapped her chin with her fingers.

"Also, after that, it was reinforced that I stay out of City S. The Ming lady has a daughter who seemed close to my mother. She was nice to me. I went to see her when I came back. It was not easy living being dead, so unlocking her door was a piece of cake." Agatha snickered as she recalled Ming Rushi's expression.

Aoi noted her reaction while thinking back.

"Truth is...I did not plan to reveal myself to your son. I planned to meet Manta secretly and make him swear not to talk about it. After all, despite everything they did to my life, my fake family still raised me and provided for me. Their lives are not worthless." Her smile was full of regret.

"However, despite the disguise I had, I never expected Masa-kun to suddenly turn up in that event to take me away." She looked at Aoi Xiu. "I tried to escape from him and make him believe that it was all a dream. Hate me all you want, because I did try to hurt him again."

Aoi chuckled. "Too bad you didn't succeed." Her sarcastic smile was a weird combination to her genuine gaze of concern.

Just then, a small voice was heard. "Okaasan!"