Will watched as the couple elegantly stepped out of the low key black Mercedes-Maybach sedan.
The woman seemed to be an angel walking the earth, the wind gently caressing her long black hair that framed her delicate face. The man truly lived up to his role as the Male lead; tall, muscular, with strong features and sharp eyes. Xia MingWen carefully embraced his pregnant wife as she struggled across the uneven ground.
He glanced around frowning as he took in the neglected yard and cracked walls. At this time Ning Huan let out a small gasp, her eyes filling with tears. She had spotted Will, and it was time for her acting to shine. She tried to stagger weakly to him, the very picture of a mother who wanted to embrace her estranged son but dare not.
Although Will knew who they were virtue of his helpful partner Jenny, the young Ning An would not have recognized the mother who had abandoned him days after giving birth. He pretended to be confused, his easily frightened body trembled at their approach.
His body, not him. He wasn't afraid. Even though the woman who was smiling gently at him through her tears, secretly wanted him to die. He wasn't afraid.
Seeing his wife's state, Xia MingWen decided to take the reins.
"Hello Ning An," He spoke softly afraid to frighten the young boy more than he already was. "This is your mother, and you can call me Dad or Xia MingWen if you prefer."
Though his voice didn't change, Will could tell based on his shiny eyes that he wanted him to call him Dad. He must like children, Will thought. Despite his internal good feelings toward Xia MingWen, he still backed away while shrinking himself together. The epitome of an abused and closed off child.
The sight caused Xia MingWen's heart to soften as feelings of distress grew. He knelt down so that he and Will were at eye level.
"We came to take you home An An. Would you like that?" His voice soft as ever, seemed like a beam of sunshine in the heart of the neglected child.
Will stared at him unaware that his eyes were filled with tears. He had always wanted his own father to speak to him with such care. He really wanted to leap into the man's outstretched arms but two things stopped him.
The first was that he felt inferior towards his current state; dirty and threadbare clothing with small holes, dirt stained skin, and tangled hair. He was embarrassed to sully the man's pristine appearance no matter how much he longed to hug him.
The second reason, was that Ning Huan hadn't completed her starring act yet. Indeed, in his hesitation she poured out all of the sorrow and regret it seemed she had been brewing.
"My little An An, please come with us! I know it may be hard for you to forgive me, but I swear that I will do anything to regain your trust. I beg of you, let me have a second chance." She made as if to kneel as well, which immediately alarmed Xia MingWen into rising and stopping her.
Will had to act as if he was terribly conflicted, wanting to run away but also support his crying mother for whom the original had always longed for. Though he really wanted to be as far as possible from the poisonous woman.
Eventually, it was Xia MingWen who once again rose to the occasion and broke the stalemate. He gingerly grasped the hesitating Will's hand with one of his and held his wife with the other.
"We will be a family from now on, I will protect you." He smiled at Will trying his hardest to convey sincerity.
He then slowly walked back to the car with the both of them, giving Will time to adapt. Will was staring at the hand that held his, slightly amused and sad at the same time. He was amused because, although Xia MingWen made it seem like he had the choice to stay, the strength of his hand said otherwise. He was sad because Xia MingWen who had no blood relation to him, cared so much for him but his own mother was plotting his death.
The car ride was an interesting experience for Will. On the one hand he was afraid to get the interior dirty as he felt it was probably very expensive. On the other hand he was unbearably curious about everything, having never been in a car he wanted to see everything simply hating that his eyes could take more in at a time.
Eventually though, he succumbed to the exhaustion that the past several days had inflicted on him the swaying of the car lulling him into a deep sleep.
Xia MingWen who had been keeping a close eye on him the whole time, let out a slight sigh of relief. He thought back to the results of his investigation and his brow furrowed again.
Ning An had been severely abused and neglected by his grandmother leading to him looking as though he was four or five rather than the eight years old that he was. His whole body was emaciated proving that he just barely avoided starving on a day to day basis, his face was so painfully thin that his eyes seemed to take up most of the space.
Xia MingWen thought back to when he had asked Ning An to come home with him. Those large round eyes had filled with tears as though he was a hero coming to save him.
Xia MingWen was filled with distress, and was trying hard to prevent himself from blaming his wife for abandoning such a small child to such a terrible place. He forced himself to remember that she had been a young scared girl at the time, and had no other way out.
He promised himself that he would take care of Ning An and let him return to being a carefree child like he should have been in the first place.
After arriving at the Xia family mansion Will woke up, blearily looking around his eyes unable to focus for a while. As he was guided into the house, he managed to gain enough semblance of cognizance to take in his surroundings.
He was standing in the entryway, a long beige carpet underfoot, and an elegant crystal chandelier overhead. A stately gentleman in a suit was introduced to be the housekeeper, he was told to call him Uncle Lu.
Ning Huan left to go rest after acting out a touching exhausted-but-still-wants-to-spend-time-with-her-son-routine, leaving just the three of them.
Xia MingWen asked Uncle Lu to go get some snacks from the kitchen, and led Ning An to his room. The room was exquisitely laid out, light blue walls and decor seemed to relax him immediately, the soft blankets and stuffed animals on the bed were enticing him jump right up and roll around in them. He did not however, because Xia MingWen was still here.
Right on cue he heard the gentle voice again, "An An, this is your room. If you need anything just ask." Xia MingWen's eyes were filled with warmth as he looked at him.
"O-ok Mr.Xi-" he broke off when he noticed Xia MingWens eyes dimming, then hastily amended "I mean, D-dad." His voice was barely a whisper as he managed to stammer out that last word his face blushing furiously.
Xia MingWen seemed to be glowing with joy, his smile spread wide before he gently rubbed Will's hair and departed the room.
After he left Will sighed in relief. It had been very stressful, he really couldn't bear to disappoint his new father. In fact he secretly considered the feasibility of getting Xia MingWen a new wife later. He was clearly such a good man, but he was tricked by a witch.
Before he could indulge in his thoughts, a knock came at his door. It was Uncle Lu, back with the snacks. Uncle Lu set the tray down gently before exiting. As he left he showed Will how to contact the servants through the phone, in case he needed anything else.
With everyone gone, he tried to come up with some sort of plan to survive the plot. As Will ate his snacks and remembered all that he was going to go through and all the pain he had just experienced with his evil grandmother, he started to tear up.
It really hurt, and his mother was going to try to kill him. The only person who is nice to him is his Dad, Xia MingWen, but he was in love with his evil mother.
He didn't know what to do, he was only fifteen when he died. Everything was so strange. He went to curl up on the bed with a small teddy bear, but he still felt insecure. He dragged his blanket and bear under the bed with him, then curled up in a ball to cry.
He wanted to stop, but every thought that entered his head made him sadder and sadder. He felt very alone in this big house, that was full of strangers.