Imperfect Desires

While Zhao Huan and Ying were busy talking about why Xin Zimen kept his distance from his brother, Xiu's attention was completely lost. For some reason, she couldn't move on from the moment they talked about Wen Ai. Although she always found Wen Ai to be an interesting person to know about, her desire to know the woman in person had increased by a hundredfold now.

It wasn't just because of how weird, fun, or intriguing person she seemed, it was more so because of how she knew now that she was someone who saved Destiny's life at the expense of her own daughter's life.

She didn't know why but from the moment she learned about that truth, she'd been wanting to meet this woman in person. She wanted to know if she regretted saving her life or more like Destiny's life. She really wished to know what made her want to take that step. It must have made her hate herself later but did she regretted saving only one person? And that too who she wasn't really obliged to protect?

The more she thought about it, the more she wished for her to be alive. Suddenly, her eyes fell on Darren and she tried to smile at him. His eyes had been stuck on her as always. Even in a room full of people, his eyes would always be on her. And he was more than familiar with each of her expressions no matter how small. With one look, he could tell she was bothered by something. 

However, he would never ask her before anyone else. So, he just blinked at her with a reassuring smile on his face. That put brightness in her eyes. Those grey eyes were meant to be the charm she couldn't set herself free from.

Noticing that Xiu was extremely exhausted now, Zhao Huan fixed the pillow behind her back and said, "Baby, do you want something to drink? How about some fresh orange juice?"

Xiu looked at her kind smile and replied, "How about some wine?"

"Sweets!" Darren's voice rang out while Zhao Huan's eyes widened at her reply. 

Xiu looked at Darren and sighed out, "I was kidding. How can I drink wine in this condition. It's not good for the child."

"It's not good for you either," reminded Darren. "And you promised me you will stop drinking."

Xiu gave him a sheepish smile and grumbled, "It's not like I broke my promise."

Zhao Huan caressed her head and asked, "Does my daughter love wine that much?"

Xiu couldn't help nodded her head with a look of yearning in her eyes as she started, "Who doesn't? I don't even trust people who don't like wine." She placed a hand over her heart and with a nostalgic look went on, "Wine... My first love..." She looked at Zhao Huan and continued, "You must know that one can never forget their first love, right?" Zhao Huan nodded her head in a daze and Xiu added, "How can I forget mine then? People want to separate me from my first love. This world is indeed really cruel. For centuries, it had been against love. The universe couldn't accept my love either so it separated us. It's that first love that you're only allowed to look at from afar but you can never have. It's forbidden!"

Darren mentally rolled his eyes at her, "Sweets, are you calling me the villain who separated you from your first love?"

Xiu cleared her throat and said, "No, no! How can I say that? All I'm saying is that one bite of that forbidden fruit once in a while won't do any harm, right? Even I'm allowed to cheat once in a while, no?"

Darren's lips twitched her reply. "Sweets, one bite of poison is also enough to kill you. Are you sure you still want the taste of that forbidden fruit?"

Xiu's smile disappeared, "This is why I'm trying to let my first love go. But it takes time. Give me a break!"

Zhao Huan had been pursing her lips around her but ended up laughing. She kissed Xiu's forehead and asked, "Are you always like this?"

"She is," said both Darren and Ying simultaneously.

Zhao Huan nodded and added, "These antics remind me of someone."

"You also think she is a mini version of Aunt Ai, right?" questioned Ying, and Zhao Huan ended up nodding in agreement. 

Zhao Huan pinched Xiu's cheeks lightly as she said, "Wen Ai and her overly exaggerated performances had been the talk of the town once. Everybody had a strong hatred towards her but everyone secretly loved her as well. My daughter is really like her."

Xiu's smiled stiffened slightly when she heard that, "I've been hearing this a lot since I met Ah-Xin. Even Li bro said I remind him of his mother. Was she really that similar to me?"

Zhao Huan thought about it before saying, "Yes and no. If we look at how you act, you're 75% similar to her but both of your personalities are polar opposite."

"As much as you believe in kindness, Aunt Ai believed in the evil. She said even the kindest hearts have the darkest souls. She didn't believe in goodness. Especially the one she couldn't see for herself."

Zhao Huan agreed with Ying as she said, "Ai lost her blood-related family because of someone's greed for power and money. She was very young at that time. That's why she believed in evilness rather than goodness. If you slap her once, she won't just turn around and leave. She'd return that slap with a punch and a few broken bones to remind you she wasn't the one to be messed with."

She took a pause and added, "But she was a totally different person around our Xiao Zi. When they got married, I really thought it was just one of her stunts she pulled off on a whim. But they both proved me wrong very soon."

"How?" questioned Xiu. She was very curious to hear about Wen Ai and Ah-Xin from a third person point of view. What exactly was their relationship like to other people?