Chapter 896: Estranged Father-Daughter (2)

“Zhirou was originally a female university student from a famous university. After she graduated, she became a university professor at a young age. She was a famous, talented woman at that time,” Lu Xiangtian said of his late wife. His cold and hard face had a rare gentleness and tenderness.

“When I first met Zhirou, she was still studying. The moment I saw her, I knew that this was the woman I wanted. I must marry her as my wife. After that, I began to pursue her,” Lu Xiangtian said as if he was lost in thought. His smile became brighter and brighter.

“At that time, Zhirou was very popular in school. There were many suitors who sent her love letters and notes, but in the end, she still chose me.” When Lu Xiangtian said this. His entire body was glowing, his eyes were even brighter. It was as if being able to marry a wife was something he was extremely proud of.

In fact, Lu Xiangtian indeed believed so. Being able to marry a wife was the most successful thing in his life.

Unfortunately, he and his wife were unable to grow old together. It was him… who had caused her death and their child to be lost outside. He had let her down and their child even more.

“At that time, I was just an unknown street thug. Many people looked down on me and thought that I wasn’t worthy of her, but she never despised me. We had the most difficult time together and welcomed our happiness together. However, just as Zhirou was pregnant and about to give birth, an enemy that I had offended before came looking for me.”

Zhao Youlin’s expression changed when she heard this. She asked almost reflexively, “What happened after that?”

“They were very powerful folk. At that time, they sent people to pester me, but they couldn’t do anything to me at that time. They turned their attention to Zhirou and the child. The people assigned to protect Zhirou were bought over by the enemy. Zhirou was taken away, and later, she used some unknown method to escape from those people’s hands, but there was no news of her ever since. It was not until a few years later that I found Zhirou’s bones in a remote mountain area!” Lu Xiangtian’s eyes reddened again when he said this. The frequency of reaching out to touch the necklace also increased.

“Later, I found out that after Zhirou escaped, she fell into premature labor. She was taken in by a kind family and gave birth to the child. She temporarily stayed in that family, hoping to find a chance to contact me after she had settled down. Unexpectedly, not long after, that enemy came to find her first. Zhirou had no choice but to run away with her newborn child.”

Lu Xiangtian lowered his head and looked at his wife and son in the photo. “This photo should have been taken at that time. The pendant once contained a photo of me and Zhirou.”

Zhao Youlin pursed her lips and did not say anything. She had imagined countless possibilities of her mother leaving her at the entrance of the orphanage. She had also thought that she had left her because she had no other choice. However, she had never thought that her mother would abandon her in such a situation.

“You just said that your friend told you that she was abandoned at the entrance of the orphanage. She must have misunderstood Zhirou. At that time, her enemy was chasing after her. Zhirou probably placed the child at the entrance of the orphanage because she wanted to use herself to help the child find a chance to survive. She did not intend to abandon her. We all loved that child so much. How could we abandon her?”

Zhao Youlin could no longer tell what she was feeling now. There was the joy of not being abandoned, the sorrow of everything in the past, and the shock of meeting that woman who gave her a chance to live. There was also a sincere sense of helplessness toward the person in front of her. All kinds of feelings lingered in her heart, making Zhao Youlin unable to explain or understand them. She could only remain silent.

Lu Xiangtian was completely focused on his wife and the child that he had never met before, so he did not notice Zhao Youlin’s strange behavior.

“When I learned of Zhirou’s news, I was heartbroken. But later, when I heard that Zhirou did not bring the child with her, I took it as a silver lining. I felt that our child might not have died, so all these years, I never gave up on searching for the child’s whereabouts until… I met Lu Shu.”

Lu Xiangtian paused, as if he didn’t want to talk about this woman who had lied to him for so many years. He returned to the previous topic. “Ms. Zhao, I’ve told you everything you want to know. Now, can you tell me where my daughter is?”

Zhao Youlin’s body trembled. At this moment, it was really hard for her to back down. She was silent for a moment. Zhao Youlin opened her mouth slowly and said, “The truth is, I don’t know where she is now. About five or six years ago, she suddenly said that she had something to do and wanted to go abroad. She asked me to help her take care of this necklace. She also told me that if she didn’t come back in five years, this was to be her legacy, and I was to safekeep it. At that time, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I only thought that she might be joking. But after that, I really never saw her again.”

The light in Lu Xiangtian’s eyes dimmed again. He was a little disappointed, but he quickly thought of something else. He looked at Zhao Youlin with anticipation. “Then, can you tell me her name, or can you give me a photo of her? At least let me take a look and know what she looks like.”

Zhao Youlin hesitated for a moment. She finally said, “As for the photo, I really don’t have it. But I can tell you her name, but there are many people with the same name in this world. Mr. Lu, you might not be able to find her with just one name.”

Lu Xiangtian was stunned for a moment, but he did not shrink back because of Zhao Youlin’s words. Instead, he became even more expectant. “Don’t worry about this. I just want to know… What’s her name and what does she look like?”

Zhao Youlin looked at the pure anticipation in Lu Xiangtian’s eyes. She pursed her lips and finally said, “Her surname is Zhao, just like mine. Her name is… Wanwan.”

“Wanwan?” Lu Xiangtian mulled over this name and called her again and again in a low voice, as if he could call her back to his side as long as he said her name.

Zhao Youlin’s heart trembled again when she heard Lu Xiangtian calling her Wanwan with his deep and magnetic voice.

Wanwan was the nickname the director gave her when she was still in the orphanage. When she was in the orphanage, basically everyone called her Wanwan. However, after she was adopted, she changed her name and became Zhao Youlin.

From then on, she would only hear the director call her by this nickname once in a while when she returned to the orphanage.

After the director died, very few people called her Wanwan anymore. Who would have thought that after so many years, when she heard someone call her by her nickname again, this person was actually…