Jiang Yuan felt that he should keep Shuishui away from that woman and that there should be no contact between them. Although Shuishui and the woman didn't know each other, Jiang Yuan thought that they looked similar to each other. When a mother and daughter meet for the first time, even without knowing who they were to each other, they would definitely feel something. After all, they were related by blood.
Jiang Yuan dragged Shuishui away, but not before the noblewoman saw Jiang Yuan. She felt that Jiang Yuan had been avoiding her. They were old friends, but after so many years, he still avoided her. Was she that scary? But who was that child? She didn't see the child's appearance, so she shrugged it off and went her own way.
Shuishui didn't know what was going on, but when Jiang Yuan saw the woman, he went up on stage. "There's someone here called Uncle Chen. Old Chen, where's your son?"
Old Chen turned towards the stage and looked at Jiang Yuan and Shuishui. He found Jiang Yuan quite familiar. He answered, "My son didn't come. He has something to do today. Who is the child?"
Jiang Yuan smiled, and he patted Shuishui's head. He said, "This is my niece, and this is her first time in the capital. In the future, she will be moving here to the capital, and you might see her around. She's like a daughter to me. She's so thoughtful." Old Chen felt that Jiang Yuan was hinting at something, but he couldn't understand.
Old Chen looked at Shuishui. He thought that she looked somewhat like that daughter-in-law of his. The more he looked at her, the more similar they looked. He frowned. It was the child's first visit to the capital, and perhaps they just looked alike. With so many people in the world, it was no longer surprising to see someone who looked similar to someone else.
Old Chen suddenly felt strange and said, "Recently, the Hu family has been busy with something. I don't know what they are up to. I heard that they have arranged a position and that all of them have entered the education bureau." Old Chen would often investigate whenever he would hear about aristocratic families making any moves.
The others did not understand what that position was. When they heard that the old man of the Hu family had returned, the Hu family became much quieter.
"Who knows what they are thinking? Forget it. It shouldn't have much to do with us," Old Chen said.
Old Chen looked behind Jiang Yuan as his daughter-in-law walked towards Jiang Yuan.
Although Jiang Yuan did not want Shuishui and the woman to meet, he seemed to have no choice. He could be too obvious. He turned his body to an angle and blocked the woman's view of Shuishui.
Shuishui blinked. She felt that Uncle Jiang was acting really strange.
"Jiang Yuan, long time no see. Are you avoiding me? We've known each other for so long. We go way back. It's a pity to lose an old friend like you." The woman noticed that Jiang Yuan had been avoiding her. She simply took the initiative and walked up to him to say hello.
Jiang Yuan laughed nervously and said, "Third Sister-in-Law, that's not true. I just thought I shouldn't get too close to other women because I have a family. Besides, we're not really familiar with each other." Jiang Yuan felt that what he said would put her off.
Old Chen had long known that Jiang Yuan did not like his third sister-in-law. However, they seemed to have known each other in the past. They seemed to have a love-hate friendship. Old Chen glanced at Shuishui again, and his expression suddenly became a little strange. He quickly shook his head. He thought that it was impossible. He could not let his imagination run wild.
However, his gaze shifted to the woman. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were very similar to the child's features. The more he gazed at their features, the more similar they looked. He said, "I'm going to drink some wine first. You two can chat." He then walked away.
The woman looked at Shuishui, but Jiang Yuan stopped her. She took a step forward. When she finally saw Shuishui's appearance, she was stunned. She thought of her own son. She placed her palm on her heart. She was shocked. She said, "Who is this child?"
Jiang Yuan saw that the situation did not seem right, but he could not panic. "This is my niece. What's wrong? Anyway, she has nothing to do with you. All right. We have to continue with the social gathering," Jiang Yuan uttered as he pulled Shuishui and tried to walk away from the woman.
Shuishui also turned her head to look elsewhere. She had no memory of the woman. After all, she was in a different body, so many of her memories were hazy.
The woman took a step forward and said to Jiang Yuan, "What's this child's name?"
"Jiang Shuishui. She's my relative. Why do you care so much?" The moment he opened his mouth, Shuishui was shocked. Uncle Jiang had not revealed her surname.
'What is going on?' She did not say anything and waited for him to continue.
"You have a daughter? Why didn't I know?" she asked.
"She's my relative. Why? All right. It's none of your business. Stop asking questions," Jiang Yuan said as he impatiently waved his hand.
Shuishui looked at the way the woman and Uncle Jiang interacted. Uncle Jiang didn't seem to like the woman. The woman, meanwhile, was curious. She looked classy and high-maintenance, and she had wrinkles at the corner of her eyes.
"She—"
Jiang Yuan pulled Shuishui away before the woman could say anything more.
Shuishui asked, "Uncle Jiang, who was that person?"
"That person is just a stranger. You don't have to pay too much attention to her. Besides, look at her. I didn't even want to talk to her, yet she still insisted on talking to me. Older women are really troublesome." Jiang Yuan didn't want Shuishui to learn more about the woman.
Shuishui turned her head to look at the noblewoman. She thought the woman was quite beautiful. She realized that the woman did look somewhat familiar.
Shuishui had been observing Jiang Yuan and finally realized what she should ask him. "Uncle Jiang, could that woman be related to me?" It seemed that Uncle Jiang wanted to hide her from that woman. She didn't know if her guess was right.
Jiang Yuan was stunned. "Uh. It's nothing. Don't think too much about it."
"Uncle, it's not good to lie to people, especially to minors." Shuishui was persistent. She felt that Uncle Jiang's behavior made everything so obvious. She couldn't ignore his actions even if she wanted to. Deep in her heart, she had a hunch about what was going on. She only needed confirmation. "Uncle Jiang, what are you worried about?"
"Now that you know, it won't do you any good." Jiang Yuan's head ached terribly. Why did he bring Shuishui out? He himself was surprised that the woman was there. She rarely attended banquets. What a coincidence that she was there the same night Shuishui was with him.
Shuishui nodded. "I'll guess and tell you what I think."
"No. You'd better not let your imagination run wild. I'll tell you when we get back." Jiang Yuan was considering whether he should tell Shuishui the truth. She had the right to know, but what about Qian An?
"Life is like a melodramatic drama, with its ups and downs. I wouldn't be too surprised if you said that person is my biological mother," Shuishui said in quite a melancholic tone.
Jiang Yuan was stunned. This child was really too much. "If I'm not mistaken, she's your biological mother. Do you want to acknowledge her?" he asked hesitantly.
Suddenly, he felt that he was being too cruel to Shuishui. Shuishui was just a child. Perhaps she also longed to have a mother. What right did he have to stop her? If she really wanted to acknowledge her mother, he would not stop her. However, Qian An could not know about the matter. He would suffer greatly from it.
Shuishui shrugged and said, "I don't want to acknowledge her."
"Why?" It was Jiang Yuan's turn to be curious. He stopped and looked at Shuishui seriously.
Shuishui frowned and pondered for a moment and thought of what she should say. "To me, my father is the most important person, and his feelings are also the most important. Since we are already separated, why bother. That woman is clearly living quite well now. There's no need to disturb her. If she doesn't admit it when the time comes, what can we do? Most importantly, I don't have any feelings for her. To me, she's practically a stranger."
Jiang Yuan that Shuishui had a very mature perspective of the matter. "Then what if she wants to acknowledge you as her daughter?" he asked.
"That depends on the situation. If she simply wants to acknowledge me, then I won't reject it. Uncle Jiang, you even changed my surname earlier. Jiang Shuishui. It's quite fun." Shuishui found it amusing.
She later realized that maybe it wasn't a good idea to joke about how Uncle Jiang reinvented her name. Uncle Jiang continued to bring her around and introduced her to other people. Shuishui slowly walked away when she noticed that Uncle Jiang had become engrossed in the conversation. She found the atmosphere boring. Moreover, she felt that Uncle Jiang was behaving strangely. Uncle Jiang had approached a man and asked about his son, and he kept praising Shuishui in front of the others. It was very awkward. It seemed like Uncle Jiang was introducing her to different groups of people to increase the chances of her being paired up with an eligible young man.
She walked to the buffet, picked up fresh salad, and sat at the corner to eat quietly.
Suddenly, the woman strolled over to Shuishui and sat in front of her. She glanced at Shuishui and asked, "How old are you this year?"
Shuishui looked up and realized it was the woman. "I'm sixteen this year."
'Sixteen years old?' the woman thought and pondered on it. She looked at Shuishui's face and said, "Your surname isn't Jiang, right?"
Shuishui chose to answer truthfully. "Yes. My surname is Qian."
'Qian?' the woman thought. Her expression changed. She bit her lower lip and looked at Shuishui. How was that possible? She realized that it was not impossible. She was of the same age. If it wasn't her, Jiang Yuan would not have taken care of her. Her facial features were similar to hers. How could there be such a coincidence? She realized then that Shuishui was her child.
Her hands were trembling. "I am . . . I am an old friend of your father. You can call me Auntie Sun. I haven't seen or talked to him in many years. Is he all right?"
Shuishui looked at the noblewoman. She seemed to give off a hint of schadenfreude. She was a little confused. Her father's relationship with the woman did not seem to be as good as she had imagined. It felt like they were enemies.
"My father is doing well. He has also been very healthy," she replied calmly. She was definitely on her father's side. There was no doubt about it.
"I see. What about you? Are you in the third year of middle school now?" She didn't want to ask about Qian An. She wanted to know how Qian Shuishui lived and how her family treated her.
"I'm in the first year of high school now, and everything is fine at home. Auntie Sun, can I ask you something?" Shuishui asked as she ate the last piece of watermelon.
"You can ask," she answered as she gazed at Shuishui gently.
"What's your relationship with my father?" Shuishui asked bluntly. She wanted to hear her answer.
"Ah, your father and I are very good friends. He's my senior. We had a good relationship back then, and Jiang Yuan too. If you want me to tell you the details, I can only say that we're good friends," the noblewoman explained.
Shuishui frowned. Was that so? It seemed that the woman's feelings for her father had changed. Perhaps there was no love? Or did something happen? "I see. But I don't think Uncle Jiang is very willing to talk to you. Is it because of some misunderstanding between the two of you?"