There was a young woman—you couldn't quite make out her face, but you could see her beautiful eyes. Her eyes were full of happiness and love. "Sweetie, give Mommy a smile? Really now, why can't I cheer you up? Always crying. If you keep crying, I'll stop loving you—okay, okay, my little troublemaker, you win. Mommy will sing you a song, listen up—"
Little swallow, wearing your flowery dress...
It's still that young woman—this time you can see her whole figure, thin and frail. She seemed to be watching from behind a pane of glass, her eyes filled with concern and a trace of sorrow. "Sweetie, you've gotten so heavy already? Fifteen pounds, huh? Mommy probably can't carry you much longer. How have you been these past couple of days? Still hurting? No tears, no tears, take your medicine and you'll be fine. Don't like medicine, huh? That won't do. How else will you get better? Mommy made this herself, it'll definitely cure you."
Every spring, come here...
This time, he's in the woman's arms. That embrace—so warm, so enchanting, so reassuring. She held him, struggling a bit, but her eyes were full of determination. "Sweetie, Mommy will do whatever it takes to cure you. I'll never hand you over to them, never."
I asked the swallow...
The woman reached out and gently rubbed his head. She was sitting in a wheelchair now, looking gaunt, but her expression was peaceful: "Sweetie, Mommy finally found a way to cure you for good. Soon, you won't hurt anymore. You'll grow up happy and healthy, become a man, a husband, a father. I wish I could see that day, but... Mommy might not make it."
Why did you come...
The woman lay in bed, an IV in her arm. He sat beside her, reaching out to touch her face, but all he found were tears. "Sweetie, Mommy's time is almost up. I can't watch over you anymore. You're still so little, but listen, sweetie—no matter if you end up strong or ordinary, normal or weird, successful or not, you're always Mommy's child."
The swallow said...
She forced herself to raise her hand, holding a pen to write on a blank sheet of paper. She was so weak, she could barely grip the pen, and her writing came out crooked and shaky. But she was stubborn, as if she would finish writing even if it took her until the end of time. "Sweetie, they call you Jonathan, but I don't like that, because it's just a code name. Mommy gave you a name. I thought you'd be a girl, so I picked a cute name. I wonder if you'll like it?"
Springtime here...
The paper was brought before his eyes. The woman pointed at the words and spoke softly, "Remember, sweetie, Mommy's name is Su Muqiong. Your name is Su Xiu." Her hand fell limp, the mist of memory cleared, and the woman's face was revealed. It was a face so weary, yet astonishingly beautiful. "Xiu Xiu, Mommy will always love you."
The most beautiful...
The memory ended abruptly.
After so much darkness and bitterness, so many schemes and betrayals, so much cruelty and coldness, Jonathan thought he'd never cry again. But now, tears streamed down his face—because he'd finally found a reason to cry: in the endless wasteland of life, someone loves you.
"What's wrong?" A voice called out, snapping Jonathan back to reality. He opened his eyes to see Su Muhua across from him, a little flustered: "Are you okay?" After all, she just rubbed his head and ended up making a grown man cry, which left her pretty confused.
"I'm fine," Jonathan wiped his tears and grinned. "That song was just too beautiful. It reminded me of my mother. My mother was Chinese. When I was little, she'd sing that song to me. After she passed, I never heard it again. You remind me so much of her."
Not just similar—almost identical. The eyes, the voice, the face, and those gentle hands—just the same.
"Oh, I see." What a poor kid with no mom, Su Muhua's expression softened even more. "By the way, do you have a Chinese name?"
"I do." He picked up the pen and scribbled two crooked characters on the paper: "My name is Su Xiu."
In that instant, Jonathan—or maybe he should be called Su Xiu—felt the gloom in his eyes vanish, replaced by a brightness like the midday sun.
After Jonathan left: the obstetrics department exam room.
"Sister Su, foreigners really are different, huh? Their feelings are all out in the open, not hiding a thing." Another young nurse chuckled, teasing Su Xiu, not knowing that the one she thought was a straightforward good girl was actually a bit of a gangster. "By the way, Sister Su, you're usually all thunder and lightning, but today you were so gentle with that foreigner. Is it because he's handsome and you want to get to know him better or something?"
"Get outta here! If I wanted to get to know someone, I'd be looking for a girl to be my goddaughter. That's what I'm missing—a goddaughter." Su Muhua leaned back in her chair. "I just thought he seemed really kind, and turns out, he's family." She raised the cup on the table and called out, "Hey, little monkey, pour me some water."
The young nurse immediately saluted: "Aye aye, Your Majesty the Queen!"
Meanwhile, Jonathan (okay, let's stick with Jonathan for now) took out Yang Qi's file bag, focusing on the details about Yang Qi's mother's side of the family.
"Grandpa: Su Huaien. Uncle: Su Muyuan. According to the neighbors, Su Huaien had a daughter who went missing when she was young and has never been found." Seeing this, Jonathan paused for a moment. He'd basically confirmed his connection to this family. Based on all sorts of clues, plus the Chinese habit of naming, Su Huaien was probably his grandpa, and the missing daughter was most likely his mother.
But once he'd calmed down, he returned to his usual cool. He needed one last confirmation—a genetic test. But for some reason, he didn't want the Su family to know about him, at least not so soon. He wanted to do it quietly, so he'd need a special way to get a blood sample from the Su family.
The first choice, the most convenient, was obviously Her Majesty the Queen. Although there was no record of her info in the file, Jonathan swore by the lamp that this girl was definitely a member of the family. However, getting a blood sample from Her Majesty... Jonathan thought about her performance in the ring and decisively shook his head.
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Then, the closest option was Su Muhua. But Jonathan really didn't want to hurt her, so he kept shaking his head.
Su Huaien—his grandpa, Su Muyuan—his uncle, both were out of the question. Jonathan was like a wanderer who'd spent half his life searching for home. After all the coldness and grievances from his father's side, his mother's family was his last hope. Because of his mother, Su Muqiong, he felt a strong affection for the Su family. Grandpa and uncle were elders he respected—no way he could draw blood from them.
So, he'd have to look among the younger generation.
"Su Muyuan lives in Guangzhou, has a son and a daughter. The eldest, Su Yue, age twenty." Jonathan took out a photo. In it was a graceful girl, nearly 1.7 meters tall, pretty and lively, with a cute round face. In the candid shot, she was wearing sleeve covers, cleaning with gusto, beating the bedding with a big smile on her face.
"No way." Such a cute girl—if she were anyone else, maybe, but she's my cousin! Forget drawing blood, if anyone even touches her, they're dead meat!
"Youngest, Su De, age seventeen." Jonathan picked up another photo. This one was of a half-grown kid. To be polite, you'd call him a teenager. Maybe it was family genes, but Su De was also good-looking, with a face that could land him in trouble. In the candid shot, Su De was battling away in an internet cafe, eyes glued to the screen showing some restricted movie, looking sleazy as could be, drool almost dripping from his mouth.
Alright, no need to think twice—this guy was the perfect target for a blood draw.
"Abo, send someone to Guangzhou and get a blood sample from this kid—not kill him, just draw a little blood. Make sure it's done in secret, nobody else can see, and the kid can't blab about it. Got it?"
The requirements were strict, but Abo was a seasoned pro, full of confidence: "Got it, boss. Just wait for my good news."
So, that afternoon after school, a certain teenager was dragged into a back alley by a mysterious uncle. Some time later, the kid came running out of the alley in tears, clutching his butt as he fled. As for what happened in that alley, it would remain buried in the boy's heart forever.
"By the way, how's the 'Queen' doing?"
"Her Majesty has returned victorious!" Abo's voice was excited. "Boss, you should've seen it—she dominated the ring and brought the house down. She's probably the hottest, strongest, most popular queen of the ring in all Asia now! Since she loves fighting beasts in the Blood Pit, the industry has already given her a nickname: The Bloody Queen!"
"Bloody Queen?" Jonathan pictured it for a moment, then nodded. "Not bad, that nickname fits."
"Oh, right, boss," Abo's tone dropped. "The Queen's gotten pickier about the beasts. And I checked, she only eats a tiny bit of meat from each one, the rest goes to the company cafeteria. To buy those beasts, she's been spending a ton of gold—estimated at about a hundred million. Boss, what do you think she's up to? It's kinda creepy if you ask me."
"Every queen has her quirks, that's none of our business. As for her requests, my attitude is simple: if she wants it, she gets it!" Jonathan's eyes gleamed. "Even if she wants to bathe in the blood of maidens like Bloody Mary, as long as she needs it, we'll make it happen."