That night, Mrs. Tang came knocking at Qiu Wen's door knowing he was not in as updated by Francesca on her outstation arrangements for him.

It was surprising for Xue Ting to see her in front of the main door. "Mother…"

"Don't ever call me that!" Mrs. Tang hissed as she crossed her arms.

"If you're here looking for Qiu Wen, he is not in." Xue Ting explained patiently.

"I'm here looking for you!" Mrs. Tang stammered wanting to enter the house but Xue Ting blocked her, worrying about the twins.

"Who are you to stop me from entering my son's house?" Mrs. Tang retaliated and threw the envelope at Xue Ting.

"Sign these papers or I will find ways to do more than just barge into your house. Your siblings won't be spared too." Mrs. Tang warned as Xue Ting opened the envelope to find the divorce legal documents.

Xue Ting sighed deeply feeling bad for Qiu Wen. "If you knew your son well, I doubt you would do this to him."

"Who are you to judge what kind of mother I am?" She bellowed as the twins rushed downstairs but stood behind the door as Xue Ting signaled them to not interfere.

"Even if I sign, I doubt you would ever be able to get him to ink this. Were you ever a caring mother?" Xue Ting questioned her, refusing to sign the documents as she threw them back at Mrs. Tang before slamming the door.

It was a question Mrs. Tang asked herself while being furious and stormed back into the car.

As Xue Ting sat by the balcony with the twins to calm down, she realised she missed Qiu Wen who should have already arrived but had not contacted her yet.

"Mummy, you're alright?" Matthew asked as he snuggled into her left arm. "I will be fine. Don't worry." She comforted as she rested her head on Joy's who was on her right.

"Do you like life with Daddy?" She asked the twins as they both nodded.

"What do you like most about him?" She asked again.

"He takes care of you very well." Joy complimented.

"He worries a lot about you and would always look out for you," Matthew said.

"What about what he does for the both of you?" She questioned while caressing their hair.

"He is a funny daddy and he is fun to be with." Joy smiled remembering all the good times with him and his rescue from the bullies to the little secrets they shared.

"He is fun and has good taste in music." Matthew awkwardly complimented but Xue Ting knew he meant it.

"Should we start hunting for our own home?" She asked abruptly which made the twins sit up in alarm.

"What do you mean new home? Is the six months up already? We are really leaving him? No… I thought things were going well for you and Daddy. Why?" Joy whined as Matthew patted Joy's shoulder gently to calm her.

"Remember I always was collecting money to buy our dream house? Well, now I can afford the downpayment and both of you could shift over. Besides, you're finishing school soon already. Well, six months sure is fast coming to an end. Having another house first would be the best backup plan for now." Xue Ting explained as she figured after tonight, that was the best solution she had.

Her heart ached when Joy pouted and Matthew was showing a little of his sadness.

"But does that mean you will split with Daddy? But I can't…" Xue Ting patted Joy's head gently.

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"I'm not sure about that part Qiu Qiu. I need to find time to talk to him." Xue Ting tried comforting but Joy was not satisfied as she hugged Xue Ting while sniffing.

The doorbell interrupted them as Xue Ting sighed hoping it was not Mrs. Tang again while answering the door. The twins were worried but instead, it was Qiu Yeh standing in front of the main door with his face all red.

"Qiu Yeh…" She mumbled.

Before Xue Ting could ask anything, he flashed a tipsy smile she had never seen before he fell on top of her.

"Qiu Yeh! Are you alright?!" Xue Ting exclaimed.

"Oh no! Oh no!" The twins yelled in unison as they helped to lift him up to the couch.

The twins hurried with the wet towels and a bucket of water as they both tended to Qiu Yeh who was drunk. After ensuring they wiped most of his possible-to-reach body parts, they left a wet towel on his head as Matthew helped him to drink a glass of warm water.

Xue Ting was amazed as she watched the twins attend to Qiu Yeh flawlessly. She wondered where they learned all this but a more pressing question was why was Qiu Yeh here and drunk as she arranged his pocket's belongings on the side table.

"Looks like I will sleep here tonight." Xue Ting brought out a thin mattress they used to sleep in at their rented unit and a huge comforter. The twins were quick to snuggle in with Xue Ting on the floor in the living room as she gladly welcomed them.

"What happened to him, Mummy?" Matthew asked worriedly.

"I have no idea. But it's alright. Let's keep him company and find out when he's sober tomorrow." Xue Ting comforted.

"Mummy, how terrifying was the kidnapping?" Joy asked as Xue Ting recalled it might have been what had triggered Mrs. Tang to come over just now and she was not surprised the twins were keen to know since she never really told them the details after the brief given in the conference that day.

"It was scary. I was only seven or eight. Daddy was already a teenager and so was Uncle Xavier. I ran all the way I could down the hill to get help only to be caught by the bad guys. I hated being this tiny. I wished I was as tall as you both or Daddy or Uncle Xavier. That way I would not worry them for nearly being raped…" Xue Ting paused as she noticed the distress on her twin's face. Joy was already having teary eyes as Xue Ting gently rubbed her shoulder.

"Luckily, the villagers came quick enough. You know who got them?" Xue Ting asked in a coaxing voice to comfort them as the twins shook their heads.

"Uncle Xavier. So the real savior was actually him while your daddy was the safest of all." She smiled gratefully looking at Qiu Yeh who was asleep peacefully as the twins hugged her.

"You're so brave, mummy." Matthew complimented as his voice choked a little.

"I hope you will overcome your fear of that hill soon. It's much prettier now." Joy comforted her as Xue Ting kissed their forehead one by one.

Someday… I hope so. Xue Ting thought to herself as the trio began to fall asleep.

Qiu Yeh who stirred moments ago stayed awake with his eyes closed while listening to them. He smiled sadly recalling those days and wished he was faster in getting help. Perhaps only then she would not have to suffer the trauma.

He opened his eyes when it was all quiet. He watched them three asleep as he imagined if he was quick in confessing to Xue Ting back then, perhaps the vision he saw now could be his own family as he slowly drifted back asleep in wonder.

The next morning, Qiu Yeh woke to find the twins still asleep but Xue Ting was already busy in the kitchen with their breakfast.

"Hey…" Qiu Yeh stepped in slowly as Xue Ting turned around and smiled.

"Morning! The washroom is on your right. You can go ahead and freshen up first before breakfast. What kind of eggs would you like?" Xue Ting asked as she cracked the poached eggs onto a toast.

"You don't have to… Sorry about last night. I just had one too many and forgot this house is occupied by my brother and all of you…" Qiu Yeh scratched his head with a little guilt about his lie where he was drowning himself in drinking due to his frustration with work and his mother.

Xue Ting chuckled. "Small matter. So, go ahead and freshen up. Sunny side up as always?" She asked remembering it was his favorite when they were young as grandma would add a smiley ketchup face for him.

"Yes. Thanks." He put a thumb up before heading to the washroom.

Right when he stepped out later, the twins were woken up by their alarm. Joy jolted up to find an empty couch and rushed to Qiu Yeh to check his temperature.

"Ah, normal…" Joy mumbled as Qiu Yeh chuckled.

"Morning kids! Thanks for taking care of me last night. Sorry for the trouble. I'm fine now. Just a little hangover." Qiu Yeh said as Matthew nodded before he went to the kitchen and made a glass of honey water.

Joy pulled him to the dining table and seated him.

"Here, drink this up and eat more." Matthew urged as Qiu Yeh took a sip before Xue Ting served his toast with a sunny side up and ketchup drawn on a smiley face. Qiu Yeh burst out in laughter.

"Thanks.. all of you… this is too much for the trouble I caused last night." Qiu Yeh said as Joy gently patted his shoulder.

"Then do us a favor to drink less. Remember no caffeine." She winked leaving everyone laughing as the twins went upstairs to get dressed for school.

"You taught them well you know… For a moment I nearly thought I was no longer single." Qiu Yeh said calmly as Xue Ting understood what he meant and wondered if he was hovering some hope of being together with her.

"Well, at the very least they are related to you." She teased back and winked as she sipped her tea sending Qiu Yeh chuckling at how lucky he was.