Chapter 343: True feelings
Serena and the newborn twins stared at each other for a long time. The babies seemed very excited to meet her.
She softly chuckled. She said, “They are adorable.”
Nana faintly smiled. She stared at Serena for a second but then looked away. She felt thirsty, so she bent to take a glass of water.
“Wait. I will help you.”
Serena already reached the table and poured a glass of water for Nana.
“…Thank you.”
Silence. And it was awkward.
She asked, “Did you come to know anything about the culprits who planned that attack?”
Nana shook her head.
“I see. But I know that Liu Jinhai and your family will definitely find out about them.”
“I know. Jinhai is already on it, it seems.”
Serena softly smiled and nodded. She seemed hesitant to ask something.
“What?”
“I…I know you might not want to tell me. But why are you living separately from Liu Jinhai?” She quickly said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
Nana stared at her. “It’s because he did the same thing to me that you did.”
Serena stiffened.
“He broke my trust. He lied to me, and just like you, he didn’t say anything until the end.”
Serena didn’t need to know the details, but she got the gist of it. She couldn’t meet Nana’s gaze.
She slowly asked, “Will you still let me work in Natsukashi if I told you that I wanted a job so I can be close to you? I want to revive Jia Se. That is not a lie. But not now.”
“I already know that.”
Serena didn’t expect anything less from Nana. Naturally, she understood her intentions.
“I already knew why you suddenly wanted to work in Natsukashi. Reviving Jia Se was just your excuse.”
Serena awkwardly smiled. “You know me so well.”
Nana let out a sad laugh. “Do I now? I don’t think so. Sometimes I wonder about it because after all, those years of friendship for you were just so that you could keep an eye on me.”
Silence.
“What do you want to achieve by doing this?”
“I don’t know,” Serena admitted.
Nana was surprised. “Hm?”
“No, really. I don’t know. I don’t know if working by your side will help me in any way. I don’t know how to repent my mistakes. I don’t know what to do so that I could make you trust in me again.”
Nana said nothing.
Serena looked at her. “I just want to be by your side. I just want to help you in any way I can. I just want to make you realize that I am serious about getting everything back. I don’t know how, but I thought I would find a way if I stay close to you. I just want to show you my sincerity.”
Nana saw her questionable gaze and knew she had to say more.
“Why did you let me work if you knew I was lying?”
What was the answer? Nana wondered.
When she saw Serena outside Natsukashi that day, stubborn on getting a job, it made Nana recall those good times she spent with her. She felt as if the old Serena was back with that spark.
Nana was still hurt for sure, but a part of her heart wished to get those days back again in her life.
Even now, sometimes, Nana felt lonely when Serena wasn’t around. She was the first person with whom she shared everything. Sometimes she would jump into excitement to tell her something only to realize that their relationship wasn’t like before anymore.
Serena’s absence still affected her. It still made her feel empty.
Instead of answering her question, Nana asked, “Really…why did you do all those things?”
Serena was surprised because after how she was exposed that day, it was now when they were talking about this matter.
She paused. “I have the same answer to give you what I said to Jianyu. I just wanted Mom to look at me. I wanted her to love me, and following whatever she said was the only thing I could think of. I know had you been in my place, you wouldn’t have done all those things if maybe Yu Ichika had told you to do that. But at least… you understand where I am coming from.”
Nana stayed quiet.
Serena continued. “You know what? I always wondered why you were still taking care of your adoptive mom. Why do you want to do so much for a woman who blamed you for…” Her expression stiffened a bit, thinking about her biological father, “Yu Tengfei’s death? She threw you away. She disowned you in front of everybody. Yet you were paying her medical bills, and you wanted her to recover. Why? She was never going to love you back. In her heart, she had already set you as the cause of his death.”
She sadly smiled. “But then I realized I am not any different. Why am I working so hard? You and I were actually in the same boat all along. Both of our mothers shunned us away from them. But to get her love, I went too far. My stupid heart just went along with what she said. Nana. I betrayed you. I cannot turn back time. But I also don’t want just to keep doing nothing. I brought our situation to this stage. Now I want to change it, and I will.”
Nana inwardly sighed. She had no idea what to do. On the one hand, she wished to let everything go, but on the other hand, she couldn’t take that step either.
And not that she didn’t understand her predicament. Every child wants his parents love and attention. It wasn’t wrong to want that.
But…
“I see.”
For now, she was going to let the things as they were and see what will happen next.
Serena felt a bit nervous.
Will Nana disagree with this?
Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door.
They turned to look and was shocked to see that it was the food blogger, Pei Yuan standing at the door, carrying a bouquet of flowers.