Chapter 345 - Right Now? (1/2)

Gongsun the main butler had already made a call to the hotel staff to arrange a private room. Qin Ran led Qin Sheng towards the Chinese restaurant in the hotel and did not let the others follow them. Firstly, she was worried that Qin Sheng might feel uncomfortable with it. Secondly, she wanted to spend time with him alone. Otherwise, they would not get any closer.

Handsome lads and beautiful ladies were always the center of attention wherever they went. When Qin Sheng and Qin Ran appeared in the Chinese restaurant, they did garner quite the attention. Qin Ran was an extremely beautiful woman with a good temperament, so even if her younger brother was ugly, he would not be too ugly at all. After all, there were the family genes. Besides, Qin Sheng was really not ugly, although he was not exactly dashing. He just had a very unique charm. It was an advantage that men of his age did not have.

The private room was too suppressing. On top of that, they were alone. Qin Sheng was worried that the atmosphere would be too awkward and he was even more worried that it would turn into a silent dinner. Hence, he eventually chose a spot by the window. There was no one else around them, just their table. Outside the window was Tsingtao’s night scenery. They could see the city area’s bustling lights and even the sparkling spots from the International Sailing Center far away. This caused Qin Sheng to feel more at ease.

After taking their seats, Qin Ran placed her coat and bag on the chair next to her. She received the menu from the waiter and asked with a smile, “What would you like?”

Qin Sheng grew up in Xi’an, of course he loved noodles the most. He was indeed hungry, as he had not eaten anything since the night before. Hence, he was not shy when answering, “It would be good if there are noodles. Otherwise, buns are fine.”

Hearing the things he ordered in a Chinese restaurant in a five-star hotel, the waiter did not know to laugh or cry. But working in a five-star hotel, the waiter definitely knew how to present himself properly. Besides, he could tell that these two were definitely loaded. Hence, he kept his smile at all times.

Qin Ran did not say anything. She liked Qin Sheng to be himself in front of her. Hence, she ordered him a bowl of noodles. But thinking about it, it would probably not be as authentic, so she also added four more dishes and a bowl of rice.

“You have a lot of questions to ask, right?” Qin Ran stared at Qin Sheng and asked with a smile. Ever since they returned to the hotel, she had been wearing that smile on her face all along. It had been many years since she was last this happy.

Qin Sheng nodded and his expression looked a little serious.

Qin Ran continued, “Go ahead and ask. As long as I know the answer, I’ll tell you.”

“Ever since I start to remember things, the only relative I know is Grandfather. Since young, Grandfather and I only had each other. Afterward, I had foster parents. Until today, it has been more than 20 years. So when you suddenly appeared and told me that you’re my older sister and that I have parents, I did not believe you,” Qin Sheng said bluntly.

This was an expected question, so Qin Ran laughed and said, “I knew that you would ask that. I thought about it before as well. I even thought about how I should meet you, how I should reconcile with you. This is also why I met you first in Xiamen and Hangzhou. I just wanted to interact with you first and then tell you the truth later. But later on, I felt that no matter how I was going to tell you, you won’t be able to accept it in a short amount of time. Hence, this resulted in what happened today.”

After saying these, Qin Ran reached into her bag and took out her purse. She then took out a photo from inside it. She had treasured it for many years. She passed it to him slowly and said at the same time, “This was when we were young, before you left Beijing. This was taken when Grandfather took us to the Forbidden City. You definitely don’t remember this, but you should be able to recognize the little boy. I will tell you many things from when we were young and let you see many pictures and so on. If you still don’t believe, then you probably trust science, right? The present-day DNA technology is already very advanced.”

Qin Sheng took over the photo with doubt. It was a color photo that was turning brown. The background of the photo was the courtyard in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless. A seven to eight-year-old little girl was holding onto the hand of a three to a four-year-old little boy. The little girl’s cheeks were red and she looked shy in front of the camera. The innocent and pure boy, however, was not. He was smiling very brightly with his pearly-white teeth.

“This is me?” Qin Sheng asked himself. The only pictures from his childhood that he had were all taken after he went to Xi’an. They were all about three to four years apart from this photo. Kids grow fast, so there was still some visible difference. However, he could still tell from the facial features. Hence, Qin Sheng was a little shocked.

Qin Ran did not know to laugh or cry. “You can don’t admit that that’s you.”

Just as Qin Sheng was in a daze, Qin Ran stretched out her hand and held his arm. Under Qin Sheng’s shocked gaze, she took off his old Shanghai-brand watch that had been around for years.

Qin Ran looked at the watch and asked, “Do you know the story behind this watch?”

Qin Sheng recalled and said, “I only heard from Grandfather that this was the only present Mother gave to me, so I’ve been wearing it all along.”

“Yes, this watch was indeed given by our Mother to you. But this watch originally belonged to our maternal Grandfather. And it’s unique, no one can buy it no matter how much money they had. This is a customized watch made by a Shanghai watch manufacturer for anyone of a senior officer rank or higher. Afterward, he passed it on to Mother, who passed it on to you. No one else has this honor,” Qin Ran explained at one go. She naturally knew clearly the story that Qin Sheng had no idea of.

The amount of information in this sentence shocked Qin Sheng. Firstly, he now learned of this watch’s history. He already started to believe that Qin Ran was his older sister. He was starting to have some expectation for the woman who gave him this only present, which was his biological mother. Secondly, this watch was a customized watch for senior officers. That meant that his maternal Grandfather must be at least a senior officer, and possibly of an even higher rank. Mother would then definitely be a rich second-generation of a government official, but he did not know what she did. What about Father? Recalling his guesses about the Qin family today, Qin Sheng was increasingly curious about this true identity.

Qin Sheng slowly digested all this information. They were really causing him to be more shocked. But he still had questions, so he continued, “I want to know why I was taken away by Grandfather. Or rather, is this Grandfather not my biological Grandfather? Did he have another identity that I did not know of?”

Qin Sheng’s question caused Qin Ran to be pleased because he seemed to be starting to accept his new identity. This was a slightly better start.

She slowly explained, “You don’t have to doubt this. This Grandfather who had a close relationship with you for more than 20 years is not only your Grandfather but also mine. In my memory, I don’t have much memory of Grandfather as he was not in Beijing most of the time. Even our parents rarely get to see him. Similarly, I have some hatred toward him more or less, as he took you away and caused us to be separated for more than 20 years.”