The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Chapter 309

Nathaniel's brows furrowed as he looked down at his phone and he saw that Terrance was the one who was calling him.

Then, he took a furtive glance at Rita before he answered the call.

"Nathaniel, you should get here as soon as possible. There's something wrong with Nanny Zhang."

Terrance's voice was soft, but it made Nathaniel frown.

"I'll be right there."

He had planned to go there tomorrow, but he didn't expect that Nanny Zhang would cause problems for them.

Meanwhile, Rita asked in a reluctant tone. "Are you leaving, daddy? Can't you accompany me even when you're injured?"

A lump formed in Nathaniel's throat as he heard that.

In truth, he really did want to accompany Rita, but things rarely ever went the way he wanted it to.

"After I've settled all of my things and you've recovered, I'll take you and Zion somewhere fun to play, okay?"

"Really? Don't you dare lie to me!"

Rita hurriedly extended her pinky towards Nathaniel.

"All right, I promise."

Nathaniel intertwined his pinky with Rita's and he pressed their thumbs together.

Now, Rita was satisfied and she picked up the gaming device that Zion had made for her to show it to Nathaniel. "Look, Brother Zion made me this. So, you'll have to give me a present later on."

"Very well, what would you like?"

"I'll need to think about it."

Rita tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Nathaniel.

As he looked at his daughter's smile, Nathaniel felt like he would be willing to give her the world if he could.

"Okay, it's all up to you, honey. I'll buy you the entire world if you asked for it."

"Daddy, you're the best."

Rita sprawled herself out into Nathaniel's arms coyly just as Mango walked into the room.

As soon as Mango entered and saw Nathaniel and Rita together, she couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What are you two doing?"

"Mommy, daddy said that he'll give me a present later!"

"You little rascal, all you ever ask for are presents."

Mango tapped Rita's head gently.

After that, Rita stuck out her tongue as she giggled mischievously.

Mango's mood improved considerably when she saw that her daughter's energy had increased.

On the other hand, Nathaniel gazed at the two of them as he wanted to say something but he stopped himself.

"What's wrong?"

Alas, Mango was quite observant and she sensed that something was up with Nathaniel. So, she decided to ask him about it.

Then, Nathaniel said in a low voice, "Terrance just called and he said that Nanny Zhang is up to something. Hence, he asked me to go over and have a look."

Mango paused for a moment at that as she clearly never expected something like that to happen.

"How about I go along with you?"

Mango said without much thought.

After that, Nathaniel nodded in reply.

They sought out a nurse to care for Rita before they both left for the Hans Family mansion.

When she arrived at the mansion, Mango was actually quite nervous, especially about meeting Queena. Honestly, she had no idea what to do when they met again.

On the other hand, Queena was excited to see Mango but she managed to control herself.

"Oh, you've arrived?"

There was a hint of excitement in Queena's voice.

"Yup."

Mango suddenly had no idea what to say to Queena anymore.

Should she call her Aunt Xiao? Or Mom?

She never thought that she would have another identity.

Back in the United States, the both of them were as thick as thieves. However, Mango couldn't find the same sort of closeness with Queena after her identity had been revealed.

Nathaniel observed this before he said in a soft voice, "You stay with Minister Xiao while I go and have a look."

"All right."

As for Nanny Zhang, Mango didn't have the desire to see her at all.

When Terrance heard that Nathaniel had arrived, he immediately came out and greeted him before he brought Nathaniel to the dungeon with a grim look on his face.

Meanwhile, Mango just stood there stiffly.

Queena wanted to say something to her long-lost daughter, who was standing just a few feet away, but she had no idea how to start.

She hadn't seen Mango for more than twenty years. Frankly, she had a lot to say, but she had no idea how she should tackle the subject.

Then, Mango cleared her throat and asked, "Where's Madam Hans?" "She's resting inside as she's been unwell recently. She's just fallen asleep, so it's better for you to visit her later after she's awake." "All right." After that, Mango became silent again.

Queena saw Mango's uncomfortable expression and she muttered, "Come over here and sit down, there's no need to be so formal at home."

"Okay."

Mango nodded and she sat down on the sofa.

It was not her first time in the Hans Family mansion, but it felt different this time.

Then, Queena took the initiative to make a cup of tea for Mango. However, she seemed to have remembered something halfway through and she poured the tea away.

"I heard that you've been unwell these days, so it's better for you to skip the tea. I'll go and boil you some water instead."

Despite all her time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Queena was still as excited as a child.

Meanwhile, Mango couldn't stand it any longer and she immediately stopped Queena.

"You don't have to do this, any kind of water is fine. I don't know how to act when you're so affectionate towards me."

Queena was stunned by Mango's words, and she had a helpless glint in her eyes.

Then, Mango finally let out a sigh.

"I have no intention of blaming you. I only want to sit down and have a good talk with you."

However, this sentence made Queena tear up.

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake all those years ago. I know that there's nothing I can do if you hate me, but I'm really..."

"That's enough. All of it is in the past, so why bring it up? If you hadn't saved me back in America, God knows what would have happened to me instead. Everything is fated in our lives. We're both fated to be mother and daughter, so I can't just deny this fact on a whim. I'll admit that I was quite surprised, but I never thought of you as a horrible mother. Furthermore, my life has been a lot better than you think. I'm fine, really."

Mango suddenly felt a wave of pity for the woman in front of her.

Queena had only loved one man her entire life, yet she didn't get to spend any time with him.

That must be one of the saddest things that anyone could go through in their lives.

If time could numb the pain and allow Queena to forget everything, it would've been a great choice. Alas, Queena could never forget Dennis.

Perhaps for Queena, the one who got away would always be the best. Thus, this realization made Mango appreciate the days that she had spent with Nathaniel even more.

She didn't want to regret not working hard enough to be together with Nathaniel.

On the other hand, Queena's tears flowed even more profusely when she heard that Mango didn't blame her.

"I'm sorry about Andrea. It was my fault for not disciplining her properly, you..."

"You and Andrea are different people. Furthermore, I don't think that she's evil. Her primary motivation was to get rid of me, but I don't think that she expected this to happen."

As for Andrea, Mango wasn't really sure if she could forgive her.

The fact that Andrea lusted after Nathaniel made Mango uncomfortable, but Andrea was still her half-sister. Thus, Mango didn't know whether it was right to blame her for it.

Although Andrea's upbringing was far more privileged than Mango's, she was rather unfortunate if one looked at it properly. Aside from her father spoiling her, Andrea did not have much maternal love from Queena at all.

For a moment, Queena didn't know what to say. Then, she paused for a moment before she replied, "Wait here, I have something to give you."

After that, she quickly ran into her room.

Meanwhile, Mango looked around the familiar living room of the Hans Family mansion and she suddenly felt a sense of belonging.

The word "home" was really magical, and it allowed people to form a sense of attachment to inanimate buildings because of its inhabitants or the events that happened in it.

She scrutinised every detail of the house. Strangely, she was now a member of this family.

When Queena exited the room, she carried a lot of things in her hands. Among others, there was a house deed, a bank book and some company shares.

To some extent, Mango was rather perplexed.

"What is all this for?"

Then, Queena shoved all of the things into Mango's hands as she muttered, "All of these are yours. I've collected these over the years as I was afraid that you might have had an unfortunate time growing up. Every year on your birthday, I’d put away some money for you and I've been doing this

for twenty years. No matter how you may reject me, I still have to give this to you. Please take this as a token of my sincerity."

Since Mango herself was a mother, she knew how much a mother could miss her own child.

Back then, Queena had given Mango away for her own good but there would always be a void in the heart because she had left her child.

Thus, after Mango had become a mother herself, she naturally understood the regret and longing that Queena felt.

Hence, she did not refuse Queena as she took the bank book from her.

However, the number stated on the bank book surprised Mango somewhat.

It seemed that Queena had been very thrifty, almost to the point of poverty in order to save up so much money twenty years ago.

"Why did you do this?"

"This is what I owed you. I know that you're not lacking cash since you're married to Nathaniel, but you can pass this on to Zion or Rita. Frankly, you can get rid of it if you want to. As long as you take the money, I'll feel much better."

"All right."

Mango didn't refuse Queena's request.

However, Mango refused to accept the property deed in front of her.

"I don't need this house, so you keep it. If not, you could also give it to Andrea."

"Why should I? This is my gift to you. Plus, Andrea has her father so she doesn't need this."

In truth, Queena's words made Mango feel sorry for Andrea.

"Frankly, what she needs is your love. Since you've given birth to her, you should be a proper mother to her. Can't you see how much Andrea wants your love and attention?"

In fact, Mango had no desire to defend Andrea, but she couldn't help herself.

On the other hand, Queena was both stunned and sheepish at the same time. Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

"Andrea was an accident. I had no intention of bringing her into the world."

"Even so, you've already given birth to her. As a mother, you've failed to be one to me and you've squandered more than twenty years of Andrea's time. To be honest, you could've had a wonderful daughter. Plus, Andrea's behaviour now is not because she was spoilt by his father. Growing up in a single-parent household seems a lot worse than my upbringing, really."

Queena was shocked at Mango's words.

"Don't you blame her?"

"Of course I blame her. After all, she's the reason I nearly died. However, that's a separate issue and my point is that Andrea seems a lot more pitiful than me."

Then, Mango looked at Queena as she helped the older woman onto the sofa.

Just then, a sudden noise came from the inside, which immediately caught their attention.