Rebirth from the Ashes

“Honey!”

Mama Fu screamed with all her might, pouring in all her emotions. In record speed, she bolted towards the figure.

The sudden joy after the despair from a decade-long wait was screaming in every cell of her body. She was over the moon but afraid to come away empty-handed all at once.

“Fu Handing!”

She shouted at the top of her lungs, forgetting where she was. Like a girl about to meet her lover, she was filled with joy, happiness, timidity, and worry.

Mama Fu pushed through a crowd, fumbling in her footsteps before arriving at the location he was earlier. However, there was nothing there. It was as though the figure she saw was all in her head.

“Fu Handing!”

She let out a heart-wrenching cry. Looking at the huge supermarket and the crowd of strangers bustling, her vision turned blurry as tears poured down her cheeks.

With public eyes on her, she clutched her chest and silently kneeled onto the ground. She murmured croakily and heartbreakingly, “Fu Handing.”

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

The feelings of dashed hope and heartrending hurt came flushing down on her like a tide.

He would have made it home if he was alive and well.

“Li Jingran!”

With someone in the crowd yelling out this name, many swiftly gathered around Mama Fu.

This was a Chinese supermarket after all. Since Li Jingran was the queen of China’s silver screen with many productions, it was unsurprising to be recognized.

Fu Qingxuan caught sight of the approaching crowd while returning with a bottle of dark soy sauce. He quickly tossed the bottle in hand and ran over. “Mom.”

The person on her knees curled up into a ball as despair and pain took over. The sight tore Fu Qingxuan up. He tried to help her up, but the latter lost her strength to sobs. In the end, he lifted Mom and walked away from the crowd.

As soon as he left, security personnel arrived to ask onlookers to gather. They were asked to delete pictures and not to speak of the incident.

In the car in front of the supermarket.

Mama Fu was crying her eyes out while holding onto Fu Qingxuan’s hand. With tear-filled eyes, she gazed at him. “It’s your dad, Xuan. It’s your dad. I saw him, but then he disappeared.”

She really saw him!

Why did he disappear?

“Mom, I’ll get the surveillance checked. We’d soon find out if it’s Dad.” Fu Qingxuan preciously wiped away her tears and checked on the wound on her forehead. His eyes were filled with self-blame and remorse.

Why was he so dumb to take Mom to the supermarket and get her hurt? Qingli and Qingye would never let anything happen to Mom if they were here.

Soon.

The store manager personally came and knocked on the car window.

Fu Qingxuan got out of the car.

The manager respectfully handed him a photograph. “We’re sorry, Young Master Xuan. We have carefully examined the footage in the last three hours, and we can’t find the person in this photo.

Fu Qingxuan took back the photo and said, “Got it. Thanks for your hard work.”

The manager took his leave.

Fu Qingxuan happened to glance at the photo in hand as he was turning around. His eyes filled with bitter helplessness. How was he supposed to explain this to Mom?

He could not tell her that she was seeing things again.

Ever since Dad went missing, Mom would sometimes talk about seeing Dad at home or when she was outdoors.

However, it was simply a hallucination from missing her husband too much.

She was in slightly better spirits after being bed-ridden for over ten days. Mom must have been imagining things again.

“Did you find him?” Mama Fu had pulled herself together by then but could not hide the anxiousness and anticipation in her swollen eyes as Fu Qingxuan got into the car.

Fu Qingxuan fell silent.

The excited, joyful, expectant look on Mama Fu’s face went poof like bubbles. With her heart broken to pieces once again, she bitterly grinned. “I must have confused someone else for him.”

However, did she really get it wrong this time?

That figure clearly appeared before her, and even though it was only fleeting, Mama Fu could pick him out of the crowd.

“Mom.” Fu Qingxuan gently hugged her before earnestly and solemnly giving her his word. “We will find Dad and Qingxi, but before that, you have to be well.”

He could face the endless search and countless times his hopes being crushed undauntingly, but he was afraid Mom could not take the repeated blow. She might fall sick again like this time.

“Okay.” Mama Fu patted his back. She got a grip on herself and changed the topic to a lighter note. “Do you know what Dr. Jiu Zhou likes to eat? Let’s ask him to dinner.”

Hesitant to take her for another trip to the supermarket, Fu Qingxuan answered, “It’d depend whether he’s willing to join us.”

Dr. Jiu Zhou was an odd and aloof character, even more so unapproachable than Qingli. He was shutting people away through his every gesture and movement.

Fu Qingxuan’s intention of medical exchange and information sharing was turned down mercilessly. He had no idea how to get the doctor to stay for dinner.

Fu Qingxuan initially took Mom, who was on the road to recovery, out for some fresh air. Yet, things turned out this way. He scooted over to Mom who was looking out the window. “Mom, I’ll make dinner tonight. What do you fancy?”

Mama Fu turned her attention back to her son. To put his mind at ease, she softly smiled. “Everything tastes good when you make it.”

Qingye’s personality was most like her husband while Qingxuan shared her husband’s cooking. Their food tasted about the same.

“Mom, let’s pick a few clothes for Lil’ Xi. There are quite a lot of pretty clothes from the Summer collection.” Fu Qingxuan fished out a tablet and tapped on a page that showed clothes of various kinds.

“This one’s good.” Mama Fu pointed at the ethereal-like sky blue dress. The delight in her eyes grew warmer when she noticed the brand. “This must be the brand established by Shen Xi.”

Fu Qingxuan meant to distract her, but the topic somehow shifted back to Shen Xi. He tried to put the tablet away.

Mama Fu was quick to grab the tablet. She tapped on the brand’s webpage and admired the collection. There was no sorrow and sadness, only a gentle adoration in her eyes. “She’s good.”

Relieved to see Mom happy, Fu Qingxuan threw Fu Qingli’s warning out the window. “She’s good in many ways, Mom. She can dance, design, and enjoy medicine as I do. She wants to get into medical school.”

“I see.” Mama Fu nodded with a smile, not holding back with the compliments. “She’s an outstanding young lady. Her parents taught her well.”

She was in the know about Shen Xi’s family history. Shen Xi had it rough in life. Similar to Lil’ Xi, she was switched at birth and only taken back to the Su family two years ago.