Fancy Me, Professor!

"My baby you will always be."

Gu Meili took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, whispering to herself a poem that she memorized to heart.

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"My baby you will always be no matter where you are. You\'re like a little part of me, whether near or far."

Wang Fang sat beside her and drank her tea, Gu Shufeng reading his papers as they both listened to Meili.

"I counted all your tiny toes when you were fresh and new. Words can\'t express how proud I was that I\'d be given you."

It was a poem entitled "My Baby You Will Always Be," by Ms Moem. Both Wang Fang and Shufeng knew that every time Mei Li said this poem, she would always remember the little girl whom all of them couldn\'t ever—and would never forget.

Gu Yan Ran.

"Your tiny little newborn face, I couldn\'t have loved more. And though your face was new to me, \'twas like we\'d met before."

Meili felt a painful lump in her throat as she tried her best not to cry. Even though she found it difficult to speak, she wanted to finish the poem as they were in front of Yan Ran\'s little grave.

"And so each day you grew and grew, as I looked proudly on. Until one day, I looked and saw… your baby days were gone."

A single tear escaped from the corner of her eyes. Shufeng sighed as Wang Fang furrowed her brows, feeling the sorrow of Meili as she still couldn\'t let go of Yan Ran\'s death.

Neither of them did, actually. With the part of the poem hurting them all, Yan Ran met death without having given the opportunity to grow.

And this broke their heart.

"But once my baby, you will always stay that way for all my days. My baby you will always be… and I\'ll love you… always."

Meili already broke into tears, her sobs silent but still showing the hurt that she carried all the years. Wang Fang sighed as she held her hand, comforting her in the best way she can.

"If she were here, I know that Yan Ran would love you so and we could have given her everything that she deserved."

"Of course, Wang Fang," Mei Li said, forcing a small smile on her face. "She didn\'t deserve this. We would have given her the whole world."

"She would still be alive and be 20 years old," Shufeng said in an angry mumble, enough for the other two to hear. "And I\'d be damned—I feel useless not finding a single clue about that—"

"Father," Wang Fang interrupted, now turning her body to look at him. "Don\'t stress yourself out—your blood pressure."

The three of them went quiet. With a sigh coming from her parents, Wang Fang let out another sigh, saying something to lighten up the mood.

"If Yan Ran were still here, she wouldn\'t want you two to look this way. Please be happy. We will get to the bottom of this, I swear we will."

Meili this time looked determined. With her wiping her tears away with her handkerchief, she looked at her husband.

"20 years may have passed, but I will still not let go—I will not give up. I know you won\'t either. With your pride and all."

"Hah!"

Shufeng scoffed, now the three of them letting out a soft chuckle as she made a comment.

"You know me so well, dear. My pride won\'t let go of all this. I have to tell you two—I may have a strong backer!"

"A strong backer?" Wang Fang asked, cocking her head to the side as she was immediately curious about what he said. "And who is your strong backer?"

A grin tugged the corners of Shufeng\'s lips. The confident look on his face made Meili and Wang Fang feel hopeful that they may get leads to the person who may have intentionally done the accident before.

Little by little, they will get to the clues in search for the person—they just knew it!

"Well?" Meili urged, poking her husband\'s arm with her index finger. "Out with it, old man!"

Shufeng playfully rolled his eyes at his wife. He would be insulted to be called an old man, however, since it was his wife, he wouldn\'t dare make a fuss about it.

Pushing it aside, he answered her question instead, but not quite as he wanted them to guess.

"The most powerful man in the business world in Country S."

"Who?"

Wang Fang knitted her brows together as she was not so much familiar about the prominent people in the business world even in other countries.

With Meili\'s eyes widening in surprise however, she tried her best to suppress her gasp as she put her hand against her mouth.

"Y-you… you\'re not joking me, are you?"

Shufeng scoffed once more, rolling his eyes in the process as he put his papers down on the picnic table before them. He then crossed his arms in front of his chest, baffled that even his wife doubts him.

"How could I joke about something like this when it\'s about the most powerful man in another country? I wouldn\'t dare! Besides, this is about our daughter. How could I joke about this?"

Meili and Wang Fang felt his insult in the words that came out of his mouth. With Meili caressing his arm apologetically, she then coaxed him by apologizing the best way she can.

"I didn\'t mean that, darling… it\'s just that I find it amazing that someone powerful like him is willing to help us! My husband is amazing, indeed!"

"Hmph," Shufeng harrumphed, a small smile appearing on Wang Fang\'s face as she knew that his simple snort is already an acknowledgement of her mother\'s apology since Meili had also complimented him. "Good that you can see that."

"Anyway," Wang Fang spoke, getting her parents\' attention. "Who is this powerful man in Country S? I\'m sorry, I\'m not that much familiar."

"Oh, he is an amazing man, child~!" Meili started, her eyes twinkling as Shufeng nodded in agreement. "He practically owns all of the businesses in Country S! He\'s like the richest man from where he lives—a legend in the business world!"

"Indeed! And I have talked to him during my stay in Country S over some drinks. Your mother always warned me about being tipsy—"

"You were tipsy?" Meili interrupted, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously. "You told me you didn\'t drink when you were in Country S."

Wang Fang was now suppressing her laughter once more. With her putting her hand in front of her mouth, Shufeng shoved his wife\'s retort for a moment, further narrating what he wanted to say.

"Anyway, it was a good thing I was drinking regardless of your mother\'s warning. I was a bit tipsy and it got me to talk about Yan Ran, and the old man—I didn\'t notice he was sitting beside me when I was ranting to the bartender. He listened to me and offered his help!"

"Oh, why are you so shameless and embarrassing!?"

Meili didn\'t find what her husband had said such good news at all! The thought of him in such a condition before a prominent and distinguished man made her cringe, Meili hitting her husband\'s arm numerous times in disapproval.

"Dear! That\'s not the point here," Shufeng whimpered, Wang Fang no longer keeping her laughter in and just let it out. "Were you listening? He was willing to help!"

"You could have told him in another way than show your vulnerability! Oh, goodness, Shufeng… have you ever thought that some people might hear what you two were talking about?"

"No," Shufeng immediately replied, Wang Fang laughing all the more with what she heard next. "I sobered up the instant he told me the words, \'Oh, poor you, Mr. Gu,\' and the conversation continued from there! I was in the best mind, I promise!"

Meili shook her head, no words coming out of her mouth. With her letting out a sigh of disappointment, Shufeng just continued talking, in hopes that his wife would disregard the fact of him being drunk.

"Anyway, he will help—truly! We will be having an evening conference later, and I want you to talk to him with me, Meili! You as well, Wang Fang!"

The girls blinked their eyes a few times.

"Wh-what?" they said in unison, Shufeng nodding his head enthusiastically as he grinned.

"He will help us… Mr. Chen—" he finally said his name, making Wang Fang want to search who this man is all the more. "—he will definitely help us with his connections."

"Oh, Shufeng!"

Meili stood up from her picnic chair and had sat on Shufeng\'s lap, surprising him when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Both of them were already middle-aged men and women, but still, Wang Fang found it sweet that her parents could act this way without having shame at all.

"I\'m so happy—why haven\'t we thought of talking to him before? Oh, he\'s really a family man! Mr. Chen is willing to help us!"

And with that, the three of them felt hopeful that they will get a single, but strong clue about the mystery of the accident that had happened 20 years ago.