Ruan Danchen declined the call too, thinking it was Liu Ronghua trying to convince her to go back to the Shen family’s home again.

After that, her phone did not ring anymore. However, not long after, she received a text.

[This is Shen Zhijing. Your mother was involved in a car accident.]

Ruan Danchen’s heart stopped, she suddenly felt cold and she shivered. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and bolted out of the office. She dashed to a secluded area and dialed the number.

“You’re finally willing to talk to me,” Shen Zhijing’s voice was cold and contemptuous.

“What’s the meaning of that text?” Ruan Danchen asked coldly.

“It means exactly what it says. Your mother got into a car accident. She broke her leg. She’s resting at home now. She needs a wheelchair and all that,” Shen Zhijing stated indifferently. There was not a shred of empathy in her tone. Instead, she snickered, “She’s already in this state, are you still not going to come visit her? Sitting in a wheelchair on New Year’s Eve… Just so you know, none of us will take care of her.”

Ruan Danchen did not reply. She hung up immediately and leaned against the frigid wall.

When she dashed out, she did not grab her coat; she only had a thin sweater on. Most of B City used central heating systems Qilin was no exception. Despite that, the heat did not reach the stairwell.

The frostiness of the wall penetrated her sweater, making her back sting with pain.

If Liu Ronghua was truly in a car accident, there was no way Ruan Danchen would not be worried. After contemplating it for a while, she finally called Qi Chenglin.

At that time, Qi Chenglin was in a meeting. When he received her call, he smiled. He was just upstairs, yet she still chose to call him. Even so, it amused him to know that she was only a few steps away, but they still communicated through their phones.

“We’ll pause for a while,” Qi Chenglin announced. He then left the meeting room and answered her call, “What’s the matter?”

“Chenglin, Shen Zhijing told me my mother got in an accident and broke her leg. I want to visit her at the Shen family’s home,” Ruan Danchen explained.

Qi Chenglin furrowed his brows. He was suspicious of Shen Zhijing’s words. “Everything was fine before. Why would something like this happen so suddenly? And on this day specifically?”

“I thought that she might be lying to me too, but, nonetheless, I should still pay her a visit. I can’t rest easy otherwise. I believe that no matter how vile they are, they still wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Ruan Danchen reckoned, but she sounded a little doubtful herself.

Nevertheless, Qi Chenglin did not stop her. “I’ll drive you there.”

“No, you shouldn’t. If they see you, who knows what kind of tricks they’ll play on you again. I’m just informing you so you won’t panic if you can’t find me in the office. Besides, who knows how long I’ll have to stay there. You don’t have to wait for me. If I can’t make it for dinner in the old mansion, please apologize to everyone for me. You can’t skip the reunion dinner, so please go back to the old mansion,” Ruan Danchen instructed. She was worried that he would insist on sending her there and be delayed. Therefore, she suggested, “If you’re still worried, you can ask Xiao Yang to drive me there.”

Qi Chenglin did not promise her anything, he merely uttered, “Okay, got it.”

Ruan Danchen asked for leave from Manager Zou, and Xiao Yang then sent her to the Shen family’s home.

Xiao Yang did not know of her connection with the Shen family but he did not ask either. He stopped the car in front of the Shen family’s house and waited outside just as Qi Chenglin ordered.

Ruan Danchen rang the doorbell. After a while, Aunt Lee came out.

Ruan Danchen had only seen Aunt Lee once; that was seven years ago. Aunt Lee was especially courteous toward her, but she had no idea if it was out of sympathy or merely something she had to do. However, when Aunt Lee saw Xiao Yang, who was standing by the car, she hastily invited Ruan Danchen in.

Ruan Danchen did not expect that, after all these years, she would step into this house again. An indescribable coldness filled her heart. From the moment she entered the courtyard, she was plagued by a feeling of unease.

“Danchen, you finally came back,” a familiar voice called out, just as Ruan Danchen entered the mansion. Immediately after, someone grabbed her hand.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the woman in front of her.

The woman was wearing a festive red Tang jacket. Her makeup looked exquisite and the hand holding Ruan Danchen’s had nails painted a bright red. She gave off a strong air of joy and vitality. She looked nothing like someone who had broken her leg in a car accident. She stood just fine on her two legs.

Ruan Danchen widened her eyes so much that her eyeballs were going to fall out. Her eyes stung and her vision started to turn blurry. She was utterly infuriated.

“Just to trick me to come here, you would jinx yourself into breaking your legs in a car accident?” Ruan Danchen’s lips were trembling. She stared at Liu Ronghua; her heart filled with disappointment she could never put into words.

Just to achieve her goal of duping her into coming back, she was even willing to treat her body like a joke.

“Danchen, I had no other choice. If I hadn’t done this, would you have come?” Liu Ronghua put on her helpless and pitiable face. She held on tight to Ruan Danchen’s hand and smiled lovingly. “Come on in. Aunt Lee is making dumplings. Since you’re already here, come in and have dinner with us.”

Ruan Danchen pulled her hand away violently. She was so angry that she started laughing. “Why would I ever have dinner here? Mom, from the day I was born — apart from the times you needed me — have you ever thought of me as your daughter? Oh, wait, even when you were using me, you never thought of me as your daughter. If you did, you never would have exploited me. Mom, do you even love anyone besides yourself?”

“Danchen–” Liu Ronghua called out but was interrupted instantly.

“Danchen, we want you to come home too. We can all sit together and discuss this as a family. We never would have used this to trick you if you would just give us a chance.” Shen Jialiang approached Ruan Danchen with Shen Zhijing following beside him.

Ruan Danchen did not look at him. She stared at Liu Ronghua and snickered disappointedly. “It seems like you joining the Shen family has been pretty great for you; you all compliment each other perfectly. Every one of you is equally selfish. You don’t love anyone but yourselves.”

“Danchen, how could you say that?! It’s New Year’s Eve. Won’t it be great to have reunion dinner together? We want you to have a family too.” Liu Ronghua reached for Ruan Danchen’s hand, but she quickly moved her hands away and shuffled backwards to the door.

“Chenglin has already given me a family. It’s not something I’m lacking in,” Ruan Danchen uttered in a distant tone. She turned to Shen Jialiang, “Shen Jialiang, did she not explain it to you clearly? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll make things clear right now. I know your goals well, but I’ll never agree to do it. In this life, don’t you even think about using me to fix your relationship with the Qi family again.”

Ruan Danchen snickered and shook her head scornfully. “What is the point of tricking me into coming here? I’m never going to agree to this. You won’t use Youxuan’s identity to threaten me, now will you? If you do, Shen Zhijing’s image would be utterly ruined. Nonetheless, if you dare expose Youxuan’s identity, not only Qi Chenglin, but the entire Qi family will want revenge. So, at the end of the day, all you have is my mother’s position here to threaten me, right?”

Shen Jialiang squinted. His displeasure was evident in his expression.

Ruan Danchen sneered, “I don’t need whatever high status you are offering me. If you want to rat me out to the Qi family then go ahead. I won’t be able to marry Qi Chenglin and your family won’t be able to gain anything from the Qi family. You would think that you can threaten me with that, but, in truth, it won’t do your family any good either.”

“Danchen, can you not say that we are using you?” Liu Ronghua requested softly. “All we want is for you to join this family, and we can all live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be great? If you help me, I can have a family again. We both can have a family.”

“You’ve always had a family, but you didn’t want it.” Ruan Danchen glared at Liu Ronghua. “Are you saying a mother and daughter can’t be family? I’ve never stopped you from trying to form a complete family. I wanted you to be happy too, but happiness what you really want? In these seven years, don’t you think you’ve lived a happy life?”

Liu Ronghua opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Ruan Danchen sniffled, “Did you even think about how worried I was on the way here, thinking that you had broken your leg in a car accident and now wheelchair bound? I abandoned my work and rushed all the way here, just to find out that you lied to me. Of course you had never thought about that! You have never thought about my feelings anyway.”

Ruan Danchen took a deep breath. Her breaths were shaking as she started choking up. “I don’t want anything to do with the Shen family. If the Shen family wants me to take advantage of Chenglin, I would rather stay single for the rest of my life and die a lonely woman. Back then, you forced me to exploit him once, I’ll never give you another chance to do that again!”

Ruan Danchen accidentally let a single tear spill out. She wiped it away hastily and started at Shen Jialiang coldly. “Shen Jialiang, did I make myself clear? I am a woman of my word. If you have the guts, go ahead and tell the world. As long as I know Chenglin loves me, and that my son is living a good life, that’s enough for me.”

Ruan Danchen kept wiping her tears. “It’s quite unlucky for Chenglin to have a girlfriend like me! I dragged him into this, I wronged him. I don’t have the power to help him, so when I can help protect him by doing something small like this, I will do it! I won’t allow you to succeed.”

Ruan Danchen turned to Liu Ronghua one last time. “Enjoy your reunion dinner tonight.”

Having said that, she turned to leave.

Liu Ronghua’s face was blanched. She flinched when she heard Ruan Danchen slam the door. With her eyes filled with tears, she turned to Shen Jialiang. “Jialiang, you saw it yourself. She has made up her mind; it’s futile for you to try and change things.”

“Didn’t she say she didn’t mind?” Shen Jialiang fumed, clenching his teeth. “Well then, since she doesn’t want to help us, we don’t have to keep her secret either.”

“Jialiang, what are you planning?” Liu Ronghua asked anxiously.

…

…

When Ruan Danchen exited the mansion, she noticed that it was snowing.

She had not been in there for long. She guessed that it must have started snowing the moment she stepped through the doorway.

Ruan Danchen looked up. As the tiny snowflakes landed on her cheeks, they melted away almost immediately, turning into small pearls of water, cooling her face. She felt a lot more awake.

She wiped away the tears and melted snow and wondered if her eyes were still red. She did not want Xiao Yang to see her like that.

She took a few unsteady breaths and let herself calm down a little before walking out of the courtyard.

To her surprise, the person standing by the car waiting for her was not Xiao Yang but was Qi Chenglin.

He was still wearing his dapper suit with a black overcoat on top of it. He stood tall under the falling snow. Snowflakes gently floated onto his hair and his shoulders, the individual specks of white could be seen clearly against the black of his hair and coat.

The heart that Ruan Danchen emptied out in the Shen family’s home just now was instantly filled with warmth. Even as the freezing snow fell on her face and her hands, she did not feel cold.

She sniffled and strode toward him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried, so I came.” Qi Chenglin pulled her into his embrace out of habit. “I had set up a time limit. If you took longer than I deemed necessary, I would have gone in for you.”

Hearing that, Ruan Danchen smiled warmly. With his arms around her waist, she instinctively placed her hands onto his muscular arms.

Qi Chenglin stared at the pale hands placed on his black coat. Against his coat, her hands were so pale that they appeared to be glowing. As the chalk-white snow floated onto her fair hands, they disappeared instantly, as if they had melted into the white of her hands.

Qi Chenglin frowned. He took her hands and stuffed them into the pockets of his coat. “Why do you always not wear gloves?”

Ruan Danchen smiled faintly. She stared at him intensely, as if he would disappear any second. She had to look at him as much as she could before that happened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Qi Chenglin raised an eyebrow at her. He lifted his hand, which had a black glove on, and swept away the snow on her hair.

Ruan Danchen shook her head and pressed her face against his chest. She even opened up his overcoat, which was covered in snow, and lay on his clean, dry suit instead.

Due to the insulated overcoat, his suit was warm and cozy, making it exceedingly comfortable to lie on.

Seeing her acting like a child, sticking onto him without a reason, Qi Chenglin gazed at her tenderly and asked, “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. My mom really did lie to me. She’s not hurt,” Ruan Danchen lamented. She did not wish for him to know the full reason for her unhappiness.

“Well, no matter what, it’s still a relief to know that,” Qi Chenglin consoled.

Ruan Danchen nodded. After a while, Qi Chenglin said, “Let’s get in the car first.”

Only then did Ruan Danchen remember they were still standing outside. She hurriedly got into the car. Xiao Yang had already been sent home for the New Year.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Chenglin’s face was a little red from the cold. She took her hands out from his pocket and pressed them against his cheeks. “You’ve been waiting for so long outside. Your face is red from the cold.”

“It wasn’t that long.” Qi Chenglin smiled. He did not tell her that, although he did not go in, he was still terribly anxious and had been standing outside this whole time. Although he could not see inside, he still craned his neck the entire time.

“Liar.” Ruan Danchen puffed up her cheeks and glared at him. She was displeased with him making himself suffer like that.

Qi Chenglin chuckled and squeezed her hands. “When we get home tonight, I have something to show you.”

“What is it?” Ruan Danchen asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you when we get back.” Having said that, he started the engine and drove off. He stole a glance at her and wondered what kind of reaction she would have after seeing it. Hopefully, it would bring her some joy and relief.

…

…

When they returned to the old mansion, Song Yu and the others were in the midst of preparing the food for the reunion dinner. Aunt Liu had already returned home for the New Year. She had prepared the dumplings early in the evening.

Qi Chengyue had returned to Li City with Cheng Dongge for the New Year. Guan Liya was not accustomed to this change yet. In all these years, Qi Chengyue had never spent Chinese New Year away from home before.

Ruan Danchen speedily took off her coat, washed her hands and headed into the kitchen to help out.

At night, the reunion dinner was exceedingly rowdy. There were so many people in the Qi family. Everyone sat around a huge round table and filled the room with laughter. It was Ruan Danchen’s first time experiencing this. She turned to watch Qi Youxuan play with Qi Youjin, who was being held by Song Yu as he ate. Indulging in the rowdiness, Ruan Danchen wondered if she would still be able to join them next year.

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala. When it came to the gala’s red envelope shake event, Qi Youxuan, the little money-grubber, passed on playing with firecrackers just to win a few yuan.

Thus, the men of the Qi family all watched calmly as their women played this game. Qi Youxuan was jumping around shaking as hard as he could. Seeing how exhilarated Grandmother Qi was as she shook her phone, Grandfather Qi, who had always cared deeply about his pride, had his interest piqued too. In the end, he could not help but join in the fun.

Amongst the explosion of firecrackers and the sound from the television, the doorbell rang. Everyone was too busy shaking their phones that none of them heard it. Nonetheless, Qi Youxuan’s sharp ears picked it up immediately. “The doorbell rang.”

Qi Chenglin glanced at the door and said, “I’ll get it.”

He looked at the video intercom and saw that it was Shen Jialiang, Shen Zhijing, and Liu Ronghua. Liu Ronghua still had on her weak and feeble act. Qi Chenglin tutted. She was already so old yet still acted this way.

After opening the door, he did not wait at the doorway for them to enter. He went back to the living room and announced blandly, “It’s the Shen family.”

Grandmother Qi staggered, “Shen family? Which one?”

“The one you were engaged to?” Guan Liya asked before he could reply.

Qi Chengzhi nodded coolly and returned to his seat beside Ruan Danchen. He grabbed her hand, which had turned to ice. He squeezed firmly and began reassuring her, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”

Ruan Danchen nodded. In spite of that, she still had trouble breathing, knowing what they were here for.

Qi Chenglin put his arm around her shoulders and told Qi Youxuan, “Go back to your room and play by yourself for a while.”

Qi Youxuan looked up and blinked at him. Just as he was going to say something, Song Yu came up to him and took his hand. “Come on, I’ll go with you.”

Qi Youxuan stared at Qi Chenglin for a while, then closed his mouth and left obediently with Song Yu.

When walking down the corridor, Qi Youxuan asked Song Yu, “Auntie, are the bad guys here?”

“Yeah, it’s the bad guys. But don’t worry,” Song Yu assured, smiling. “Now that they’ve entered our den, there will be nothing left of them but bones.”

Qi Chenglin tossed his car keys to Qi Chengji and instructed, “Do me a favor and grab the document kept in my car’s glove compartment. I can’t leave right now.”

Qi Chengji did not argue with him; he took the keys and left quietly.

When he opened the door, Shen Jialiang and the others were standing right in front of him. Seeing Qi Chengji, they were all shocked.

Qi Chengji did not show much expression. He nodded at them coolly and headed out.

Shen Jialiang led the group into the house. When he saw Ruan Danchen, he gave her an evil glare. Since she would not help them and would not let them benefit, they would not let her live a good life either.

Shen Jialiang’s plan was simple: since their relationship with the Qi family was already sour, it would be great if they could benefit through Ruan Danchen, however, since Ruan Danchen would not listen to pleads nor threats, they decided that they would expose Ruan Danchen’s past. They had nothing to lose anyway. Shen Jialiang thought that it was not their fault, so the Qi family would not do anything against them, but Ruan Danchen’s perfect life would from then on be ruined.

Noticing Ruan Danchen frozen in her spot, Shen Jialiang’s lips curled up into an ominous grin. Only then did he turn to Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi and greeted them.

“Have a seat. It’s New Year’s Eve today, why are all of you here? It’s not time to pay New Year calls yet.” Grandmother Qi looked at the three curiously.

Shen Jialiang chuckled and sat down. “Well, we’re here to see Danchen. It’s Chinese New Year, yet she abandoned us and bolted here to spend her New Year. Her mother feels so dejected.”

“Mother?” Guan Liya questioned suspiciously. She looked at Ruan Danchen, then turned to Liu Ronghua.

“That’s right. Madam Liu here is her mother,” Shen Jialiang stated.

His words made it clear to the Qi family that Liu Ronghua was not Mrs. Shen yet.

Liu Ronghua’s eyes were red. Suddenly, she started crying. The whole Qi family was stunned.

“What’s going on? You haven’t said a word and you’ve already started crying. Here, wipe your tears away,” Grandmother Qi said, but she did not move to hand her a tissue or anything like that.

As these visitors are their guests, Grandmother Qi was being courteous to them. This did not mean that she did not notice their hostile aura.

These three visitors came by suddenly, uninformed. No one with even the slightest decency would pay someone a visit without calling in advance, especially on such a day.

Besides, Grandmother Qi had regarded Liu Ronghua with contempt. On such a festive day, she had come to their house and cried. Was that not intentionally causing trouble for them? Crying on a Chinese New Year?! It was going to bring bad luck.

Grandmother Qi was usually very particular about such customs. When she saw Liu Ronghua weeping, she began to sigh silently in her heart.

Shen Zhijing handed Liu Ronghua a tissue for her to wipe away her tears.

Liu Ronghua was still sobbing as she tried to dry her eyes. Even after she had wiped away the tears, new tears began to slide down her face.

“It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve and you’re here at our house. Why did you cry before even uttering a word?” Grandmother Qi was frustrated with Liu Ronghua’s fragility.

No woman in the Qi family was like Liu Ronghua. Grandmother Qi detested such character.

Liu Ronghua sniffled and said, “I… I’m sorry. I just feel… hurt.”

“This… We’ve not upset you in any way, right? Why did you start crying immediately after sitting down? Looking at you like this upsets me as well,” said Grandmother Qi, glancing at Liu Ronghua unamusedly, imitating Cai Ming’s sketch.

“It’s… It’s Danchen…” Liu Ronghua sobbed. Her eyes focused on no one apart from Ruan Danchen. She stretched out her hand to grab Ruan Danchen’s arm but pulled back when she was blocked by Qi Chenglin. She did not dare act rashly under his glare.

“Danchen, I know that you look down on me, seeing that I was not given a place in the Shen family. Since being in a relationship with Qi Chenglin, you’ve not visited me and you no longer wish to keep in touch with me. In fact, you’ve also kept your relationship a secret from me. You don’t even want to celebrate Chinese New Year with me. Instead, you had rather celebrate with the Qi family in secret. I know you feel that I’m an embarrassment, but do you know how much you’ve hurt me? My daughter refuses to acknowledge me. Do you intend to push me away forever? Do you no longer wish to be my daughter? You’re afraid that the Qi family will not accept you, so you’ve concealed your identity, isn’t it? I begged you… I begged you to come home and spend this day with me but you turned me down… Danchen, do you still think of me as your mother? I have to visit someone else’s home just to meet my daughter. I… I’m sorry… I’ve shamed you…”

Ruan Danchen’s blood ran cold. Even when she was embraced by Qi Chenglin, she still felt a chill running throughout her body. Tears rolling down her cheeks and lips quivering, she looked at the person in front of her who suddenly seemed unfamiliar.

That was her mother?

Her mother had come to deliberately distort the truth just because she had refused to help the Shen family?

Ruan Danchen was so shaken that she could not utter a word, allowing Liu Ronghua to further propagate those lies.

Her left hand was held by Qi Chenglin while her other empty hand was clenched tightly on top of her knee, turning her palm and fingers white.

As she cried silently, she also felt like laughing out of the blue. That had caused her lips to twist and her hands to tremble uncontrollably.

“Grandfather Qi, Grandmother Qi, we understand that it’s rude of us to visit at such an inappropriate time. It’s just that Ronghua was so saddened by this that her tears began to fall while eating during the Chinese New Year reunion dinner. I could not bear to see her in distress. So, I brought her over to ask Danchen if she still recognizes Ronghua as her mother,” Shen Jialiang said, her voice laced with pain.

“Ow!” Grandmother Qi felt a sudden headache. She furrowed her brows. Her fingers were massaging her temple as she leaned on the sofa limply.

Guan Liya glanced at Ruan Danchen and asked in disbelief, “Danchen, is Madam Liu your mother?”

“Yes,” answered Danchen weakly as she sniffled. Shedding her tears, she found it funny all of a sudden and her lips curled up in a sneer.

What she said in the Shen Residence was true. She had been prepared for the Shen family to cause her distress. Nonetheless, she did not expect it to be on such a day, neither did she expect Liu Ronghua to participate in the spreading of such lies

Seeing that Ruan Danchen did not speak anymore, Shen Jialiang secretly gave Liu Ronghua a jab on her back, urging her to continue.

“Danchen didn’t even tell me that she’s in a relationship with Chenglin. She hasn’t come home for a long time. Whenever I give her a call, she doesn’t pick up. I had gone to look for her at her former company when I missed her. Even so, I didn’t dare let the others know that I’m her mother for fear of embarrassing her. I could only say that I’m her mother’s friend. Only then did I find out that she had resigned for some time and is in a relationship with Qi Chenglin,” Liu Ronghua sobbed, her face filled with tears.

Before coming by the Qi family manor, she had removed her makeup. Her bare face looked more haggard as she cried.

“Danchen, are you hoping that I don’t show up when you and Chenglin get married? You’re afraid that I’ll embarrass you, right? Grandmother Qi, I don’t know what Danchen told you about me, but what she did really hurt me!” Liu Ronghua took yet another tissue to wipe her tears. Her eyes were already swollen.

While massaging her temple, Grandmother Qi let out another groan, before she glanced at Liu Ronghua feebly. “Oh, Madam Liu!”

“Grandmother Qi,” Liu Ronghua wept pitifully.

Sitting beside Liu Ronghua, Shen Jialiang and Shen Zhijing were pleased with the situation but did not express their delight. Instead, they stared coldly at Ruan Danchen.

If they could not benefit from her relationship, she would not as well!

Ruan Danchen must not have expected them to harm her without benefiting themselves!

That was why she should have just agreed to their condition. Would it not be better for both parties?

Grandmother Qi sighed again, “Madam Liu, are you Danchen’s biological mother?”

Liu Ronghua was startled and blinked. She seemed to be stunned by Grandmother Qi’s question. After a short while, she resumed crying and wiping away her tears. “Grandmother Qi, what are you talking about? How am I not Danchen’s mother?”

“If you’re her biological mother, why aren’t you hoping for the best for your daughter?” Grandmother Qi said slowly in a kind tone.

Qi Chenglin smiled as he caught on to Grandmother Qi’s insinuation.

However, Liu Ronghua could not make out what she meant. Her tears stopped momentarily. Sniffling, she asked, “How can I not hope for the best for her?”

“Madam Liu, I perceived, from your outpouring, you feel that you are looked down upon. Even common families are reluctant to welcome someone whose mother is a mistress into their families, let alone a family like ours, isn’t it? You’re aware of this yet you come by without informing us beforehand. The things that you were saying in our presence implied that Danchen is unfilial. She refuses to recognize you as her mother in order to stay with Chenglin. Any family who heard of this will no longer accept Danchen as their daughter-in-law, right?” Grandmother Qi explained while rubbing her head, seeming to still be in pain.

Seeing that, Xia Wenna left to bring back a bottle of Wood Lock medicated oil. Grandmother Qi took the medicated oil, poured a few drops on her fingertips, and rubbed it on her temple.

Ruan Danchen’s mind was empty at that moment. She heard Grandmother Qi but did not listen to what she was saying.

If only she was not too depressed, she could also grasp Grandmother Qi’s implication. Addressing her affectionately as Danchen was an indicator that Grandmother Qi held her in high regard.

Suddenly, Ruan Danchen felt a strong arm drape across her shoulders. She knew that it was Qi Chenglin without needing to turn her head around. His body scent had calmed her down slightly. Nevertheless, her body was still trembling.

Qi Chenglin noticed her glassy eyes and stupefied expression. Her pale face was drenched in silent tears. She could not say anything in her own defense. His heart ached for her. As it was improper to put her on his lap and hug her tightly with the elders around, he closed in on her ear and whispered, “Don’t worry.”

Soon after, Grandmother Qi continued, “A mother in your position, who really thinks for the sake of her daughter, wouldn’t even need her daughter to conceal her identity. She would immediately cover up the truth on her own, fearing that she may hinder her daughter’s happiness. You, on the other hand, have brought along your lover and his daughter to our house. This is to blatantly cause us troubles during Chinese New Year!”

“Our Chenglin has a good family background, character and appearance. He also treats his beloved exceptionally well. He is the perfect man for your daughter from every angle. Any mother would usually fight to bring them together. What’s the logic behind pushing away such an opportunity? Madam Liu, are you truly hoping for the best for her?”

At Grandmother Qi’s rationalization, Liu Ronghua instantly evaded her gaze and lowered her head. “I’m genuinely hoping for the best for her! I… I just miss her so much that not being able to celebrate Chinese New Year with my daughter hurts me deeply! Thus, I came here without thinking this through. Grandmother Qi, I’m a straightforward person. Sometimes I speak and act impulsively without much thought. It’s hasty of me to come like this but I really couldn’t meet her had I not done so. She didn’t pick up my calls and refused to meet me when I went to Qilin. I…”

“Madam Liu.” Song Yu, who was in Qi Youxuan’s room earlier, walked into the living room. “Do enlighten me. Is it Danchen who refuses to meet you, or you who refuses to meet her?”

Stunned, Liu Ronghua raised her head to look at Song Yu. The Qi family had always been one to keep a low profile. There was seldom news about them; their photographs were also blurry the few times they were in the news. Therefore, Liu Ronghua did not know Song Yu even if she could guess her identity in the family.

Song Yu returned to her seat next to Qi Chengzhi. Qi Chengzhi’s cold gaze softened instantly. Since she came into the living room, his sight had been on her until she sat down beside him. He held her hand in his and kneaded it unconsciously.

Shen Zhijing had nothing to do and could not bare to focus solely on Ruan Danchen’s soulless expression. So, she quickly caught sight of Qi Chengzhi’s little action, her eyes flashing in jealousy. Why was there no such outstanding man treating her that way?

When she turned her gaze back to Ruan Danchen and saw Qi Chenglin embracing her tenderly, she fumed.

Song Yu calmed down a little as the back of her hand was kneaded by Qi Chengzhi. “Madam Liu, do you recognize me?”

“You must be the eldest young master’s wife.” Liu Ronghua managed a delicate smile.

Song Yu added with a smile, “I used to be Danchen’s colleague at her former company. In the whole company, we were closest to each other. Madam Liu, do you not know me?”

“I–”

She was cut off by Song Yu, “Madam Liu, didn’t you say that you often went to Chengshi to look for Danchen?”

“I… used to wait for her downstairs,” stammered Liu Ronghua.

Song Yu nodded. “No wonder I’ve not seen you before.”

Liu Ronghua’s lips quivered. She chose not to launch in a hasty response.

Song Yu continued slowly, “Has it been seven years since Madam Liu lived with the Shen family?”

Liu Ronghua only nodded. She did not answer verbally, not knowing what Song Yu intended to say next.

Song Yu smiled and said, “I was Danchen’s colleague for three years. She used to celebrate Chinese New Year on her own every year. On the eve, when everyone was enjoying their reunion dinner, she would make dumplings for herself in her rented apartment. There was even a time when, because of an emergency, I went to visit her and found her sitting with her dumplings in front of the television. Madam Liu, if you really wanted to enjoy the reunion dinner with her, why did you leave her alone in her rented apartment then?”

“I…” Liu Ronghua lowered her gaze, her eyes shifty. “I did ask her to come back with me but she declined. She…”

Even if Liu Ronghua did not explain further, the members of the Qi family who were present understood Ruan Danchen’s reasoning.

Liu Ronghua did not have any official status in the Shen family. Shen Jialiang and Shen Zhijing did not seem to be tolerant too. Perhaps, if Shen Jialiang was truly head over heels in love with Liu Ronghua, he would be more accepting of her daughter. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Otherwise, why were they still not married to each other? How could he treat her daughter well if he had never loved Liu Ronghua?

It was obvious that Liu Ronghua desired wealth and her life in the Shen family. Thus, she sacrificed her relationship with her daughter in order to stay with the Shen family.

Grandmother Qi almost could not contain her anger. ‘You have no official status in the Shen family, but you insist on staying with them rather than celebrating Chinese New Year with your daughter. Are you being reasonable?’

“Although she didn’t return with you, you too didn’t seek her out to celebrate Chinese New Year for all these years. Why did you choose to come by today, crying aloud saying that you miss Danchen when she has finally had the chance to celebrate a proper Chinese New Year?” Song Yu clenched her hands tightly before relaxing them when Qi Chengzhi began rubbiong soothing circles into them.

Despite the Song family being bankrupt, her parents were still there for her. She did argue with Yu Qianying sometimes but she knew that Yu Qianying did it out of love. The more loved she was by her parents, the more she detested Liu Ronghua.

It was unimaginable how there was a mother like Liu Ronghua.

“I…” Liu Ronghua became speechless fleetingly.

Shen Jialiang’s face turned solemn. He thought to himself, ‘Even Song Yu has quite a sharp tongue and is difficult to handle. As expected from the Qi family.”

Just when he wanted to start talking, the sound of a door opening could be heard. After a while, they saw Qi Chengji coming in with a file in his hand.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips in distaste, “What took you so long?”

“Just received a call,” Qi Chengji answered, handing the file to Qi Chenglin.

Qi Chenglin took the file but did not open it. The Qi family was curious about his intent when he asked Qi Chengji to get that file when the Shen family came. They wondered what was inside the file.

“Madam Liu, let me ask you again. Is Danchen really your daughter?” Qi Chenglin questioned coldly.

Liu Ronghua stared blankly at him, not understanding why he asked her that question. Her eyes glinted and she frowned. “What do you mean? Of course, Danchen is my biological daughter. I carried her for ten months before giving birth to her.”

Qi Chenglin nodded. He took out the documents from the file and threw a copy near her. “Being a woman who can’t conceive, I wonder how you gave birth to Danchen.”

Liu Ronghua’s face turned pale. Ruan Danchen was astounded and turned to face Qi Chenglin instantly.

Qi Chenglin pulled her into his arms to comfort her. “Don’t worry. Trust me.”

Ruan Danchen glanced at Liu Ronghua, refusing to believe that that was the truth. How could she not be Liu Ronghua’s biological daughter? Qi Chenglin must have made that up to trick Liu Ronghua.

She would rather be Liu Ronghua’s biological daughter than not know who her parents were.

“I…” Liu Ronghua’s face turned white. Her lips quivered. “I only became unable to conceive after an accident. I… I gave birth to Danchen. Her father met with an accident when she was born. I was suffering from anxiety and did not concern myself with postnatal care at the time. They are the root cause of my disability.”

Qi Chenglin continued to nod as if accepting her excuse. “You used to live in Shuo City, didn’t you?”

Liu Ronghua did not answer, not knowing what Qi Chenglin wanted to say.

“Shuo City is not a large city. It is currently a county-level city. Before bringing Danchen to B City, it was still a small county town. There were only a few hospitals, four of them in total. It’s very easy to conduct an investigation. Based on the timing, we can no longer find Danchen’s birth record. Nonetheless, you should be pregnant the year before Danchen was born. However, at the time, you were teaching in Shuo City First High School; you were: single, unmarried and without a boyfriend. At that time, getting yourself pregnant before marriage would cost you your teaching career. Moreover, you were not pregnant. I had sent someone to Shuo City First High School to investigate. If there was an unmarried pregnant teacher, there would have been an uproar back then but there wasn’t any. There is an old staff member still teaching at the school who, unfortunately, remembers you. He told us that you were not on leave neither were you pregnant. I would like to know, how could you have given birth to Danchen?” mocked Qi Chenglin.

Liu Ronghua could not stand Qi Chenglin’s gaze and panicked. Her eyes were shifty. Her mouth was moving but nothing could be heard.

Ruan Danchen stared at Liu Ronghua in disbelief. It was hard to accept the truth. The woman whom she called ‘Mom’ for twenty-six years was not her biological mother?

Impossible… It was neither a novel nor a drama. Where did such an accident arise from?

“Mom, tell me. Say something. What… exactly happened?” Ruan Danchen cried out.

“In fact, the easiest way to discern your biological relationship is through a DNA test. We can see the results at a glance,” Qi Chenglin suggested soberly.

Liu Ronghua shuddered as she sobbed. Suddenly, she looked directly at Ruan Danchen, “Yes! You’re not my biological daughter. You were adopted.”

Ruan Danchen clasped Qi Chenglin’s hand. Was that why she had been treated that way?

That was the reason why Liu Ronghua could use her without feeling guilty about it?

In her fits of rage, she had used to demand to know if Liu Ronghua was her biological mother; she understood now. Liu Ronghua had used her time and time again without guilt because she was not her daughter. Liu Ronghua could sacrifice her in any way she wanted for her own gain.

“Twenty-six years! You’re only telling me now that you’re not my mom? You’ve never considered me as your daughter, did you? Otherwise, you would have never done those things to me, right?”

“Danchen, how can you put it this way? I’ve raised you for so many years! Without me, do you think you can grow into what you’re now? I gave you food and sent you to school, didn’t I? Although we’re not biologically related, I still raised you. What’s wrong with asking you for some help? Can’t you just treat it as repaying me? Seven years ago, you asked me if you owed me anything. Let me tell you now. Yes!” Liu Ronghua replied resentfully.

“I picked you up from the roadside. You were laying in a box, covered with a blanket. I pitied you and brought you home with me. I was young at the time. I had just graduated from school. I didn’t even have a boyfriend. Every time I dated, my boyfriend would break it off with me when they found out about you. You were an obstruction to my many unrealized dreams. Despite these, I raised you up without abandoning you. I’ve done my duty to you! We’re not related in any way, yet I treated you well. Don’t you think that you owe me for that? If not for you, I would have been married to a good man already. Unlike now, having to beg you pitifully for a status.”

Liu Ronghua clutched onto her intricate red tang jacket. “I’ve spent my prime on you. Is it wrong to ask for something in return? Even if my biological children treated me badly, others will consider them to be unfilial. I’ve raised you up into an adult. Don’t you think that you owe me for that?”

Ruan Danchen’s face turned pale. Her body swayed, seeming to collapse at any moment. Qi Chenglin had his arm wrapped around her to support her.

“Do you really think she’s in your debt? Anything owed has already been repaid in full earlier on,” said Qi Chenglin coldly. “The things that she was made to do is sufficient. Since you’re feeling so much grief, why not let her go? You’re not her biological mother, so there’ll be nothing between you anymore. You’ll both be free.”

“It’s not enough! The things that she did was insufficient to repay me! She owed it to me, she owed it to me! She should help me!” Liu Ronghua shrieked hysterically.

Qi Chenglin’s lips were pursed solemnly. After a short while, they curled down and he asked mockingly, “Was Danchen really picked up from the roadside?”

“Of course,” Liu Ronghua answered without a doubt.

Qi Chenglin sneered, “Do you think we believe that? Seeing that you’re such a selfish person, did you really have enough compassion to bring home a baby from the roadside? Let alone being so young at that time, just at the right age to enjoy yourself. Even being over forty years old now, you still look delicate, hoping that your man and daughter can get things done for you all the time. Were you really keen on looking after another when you can’t even take good care of yourself?”

Ruan Danchen turned her gaze towards Liu Ronghua absentmindedly.

Liu Ronghua could not keep her face straight when she heard Qi Chenglin’s question. “Who are Danchen’s biological parents?”

Although Qi Chenglin did not have any proof to show that Liu Ronghua might know something about Ruan Danchen’s biological parents, he just felt it in his gut that she had some idea about that.

“She was picked up! Adopted! I don’t know who her parents are!” Liu Ronghua insisted. “I’m the one who raised her up, painstakingly.”

Liu Ronghua stared at Ruan Danchen. “Danchen, you cannot be so heartless. I have done so much for you. You cannot just turn your back on me like this.”

Ruan Danchen had always felt that even if Liu Ronghua did not consider her as her daughter, Liu Ronghua was nevertheless her biological mother. That gave Ruan Danchen something to hold on to.

However, the thing that she had been clinging onto was nonexistence. Seeing Liu Ronghua’s hysterical expression, Ruan Danchen felt that the woman in front of her was sinister. The only reason for Liu Ronghua’s refusal to let her go was her ability to provide Liu Ronghua with more benefits.

In Liu Ronghua’s mind, Ruan Danchen could never ever repay her debt. She would only consider Ruan Danchen’s debt fully paid off after Ruan Danchen was sucked dry.

Ruan Danchen stiffened. She watched as Liu Ronghua moved closer to her, her face growing bigger in her eyes every second. Liu Ronghua’s shriek rang in her ears, repetitively telling her that she owed it to Liu Ronghua.

Ruan Danchen felt suffocated. She could not get enough air even with her mouth open wide. Liu Ronghua’s voice faded and she blacked out.

Ruan Danchen could not let herself faint at that moment. Her short nails dug into her palms. The pain had helped her regain some consciousness.

“You know in your heart that she owes you nothing.” Qi Chenglin ignored Liu Ronghua and turned his cold gaze toward Shen Jialiang. “Since everything has cleared up, I believe that the Shen family no longer needs to claim kinship with us. It’s Chinese New Year, so please show yourselves out.”

Shen Jialiang glared at Ruan Danchen maliciously. He did not expect things to turn out this way. Liu Ronghua was not Ruan Danchen’s mother. Looking back at what Liu Ronghua did, Ruan Danchen would never acknowledge her in the future.

Thus, the relationship between the Shen family and the Qi family was surely broken off. The Shen family even downright offended the Qi family.

Shen Jialiang glimpsed at Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi. He could only hope that their interference would rouse further displeasure toward Ruan Danchen, stopping her from obtaining any benefit as well.

As Shen Jialiang left with Liu Ronghua and Shen Zhijing, Grandmother Qi was still massaging her aching head.

…

…

Shen Jialiang kept his silence in the car where the driver was present.

Once they entered the Shen Residence and saw Aunt Li, Shen Jialiang spoke through his gritted teeth, “Aunt Li, if there’s nothing else to do, please go back and have a rest.”

Aunt Li did not utter a word. She merely lowered her head and returned to her room.

Only then did he glower at Liu Ronghua. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier that Ruan Danchen is not your daughter?”

Liu Ronghua had also pressed her luck that night. Facing Shen Jialiang’s seething expression, she raised her voice at the uncommon sight, “Even if you knew, would you have stopped using Danchen? You would still have used her as you like! Today’s event has turned out too suddenly. You’re angry because you’ve just lost your chance to continue using her.”

“You’re clear about this,” scoffed Shen Jialiang.

Liu Ronghua was definitely aware of it. If she was no longer related to Ruan Danchen, Shen Jialiang could send her on her way anytime.

The Qi family’s speech that day had assured her that Ruan Danchen would not recognize her as her mother in the future. If she was ousted from the Shen family, she would truly have no one to rely on.

She was too shocked and furious at the Qi family earlier that she blurted out the truth without much consideration. She had regretted her actions.

Merely thinking about it drove her mad. She had looked after Ruan Danchen for so many years, and Ruan Danchen could just disown Liu Ronghua after her life had turned for the better.

Ruan Danchen had refused to help her when she still thought of Liu Ronghua as her mother. Now, Ruan Danchen would only ignore her further.

Nonetheless, Liu Ronghua told Shen Jialiang, “Even if we’re not blood-related, it remains a fact that I’ve raised her up. Ruan Danchen is a softie. From this alone, she’ll not leave me out. Despite being her adoptive mother, I still have some value left.”

That coincided with Shen Jialiang’s thought. He remained silent, worried that he might appear too heartless. He felt nothing toward her. It was how he was able to use her. After all, Liu Ronghua still had some value left to him.

When Liu Ronghua had spoken out his thoughts, Shen Jialiang acted as if his anger still lingered and let out a sigh after a moment.

“Ronghua, I’m not blaming you. Today’s event happened too suddenly that I’m not well prepared for it. I’m furious at Ruan Danchen. She just sat there putting up such a fragile pretense and even turned her back on you.” Shen Jialiang said in distress.

Liu Ronghua sniggered in her heart, yet she nodded her head, tears rolling down her face.

Shen Jialiang clapped her shoulder and hugged her lightly. “Don’t be sad. Think nothing of tonight’s event and get some rest.”

Liu Ronghua nodded and followed Shen Jialiang back into the room.

…

…

At the Qi family manor, Qi Chenglin wiped Ruan Danchen’s eyes dry. He frowned at the sight of her soulless expression and held himself accountable for announcing the truth too suddenly.

The other Qi family members did not say a word. The elders scrunched their brows in deep thought.

Qi Chenglin said, “I’ll bring her to the washroom to wash her face.”

Ruan Danchen’s mind was empty, her face drenched in tears. She merely allowed Qi Chenglin tow her to the washroom.

Lifting Ruan Danchen onto the countertop in the washroom, Qi Chenglin gazed at her.

He wiped her face softly with a wet towel and apologized, “I’m sorry. It was too sudden. I had planned to show you the documents after going back home today. I didn’t expect the Shen family to visit us out of the blue.”

Ruan Danchen shook her head. “I just… just don’t know what to do. Even though I was sad, I could still hold on to the knowledge that I have a mother. However, that mother I have desperately clung onto is not real. I…”

“Danchen, do you remember what I told Liu Ronghua?” Qi Chenglin placed his palms against her cheeks.

Her cheeks were damp. Considering that it was winter, Qi Chenglin had intentionally wiped her face with a warm wet towel. Nevertheless, her face turned cold after a short while.

Ruan Danchen blinked. She had not paid attention to their conversation.

Qi Chenglin chuckled and moved half a step nearer to the countertop, pulling Ruan Danchen into his embrace. When he noticed her gaze on him, he said, “You’re aware that Liu Ronghua is a very selfish person. She had never taken good care of you since you were young. She even coerced you to get into bed with me and bear my child so that she could be accepted into the Shen family. After giving birth to our child, she tricked you into believing that the baby was dead, persuading you to give up on the baby so that this incident doesn’t come to light in the future. She did not even stay with you during your confinement, which was important after giving birth to our child. I know that the period of confinement for a woman who successfully gave birth and a woman who had a miscarriage is different.”

“Do you know that you treated yourself like a woman who had a miscarriage despite giving birth to our child. What’s going to happen if it left a lingering effect on your health? She was not concerned about all this and left you alone at the hospital,” explained Qi Chenglin calmly, even though he was stuck with worry at the possibility.

His heart ached for Danchen, while at the same time loathing Liu Ronghua.

“Based on her selfish character, do you really believe that she would be so kind as to pick up any child from the roadside?” Qi Chenglin asked, his expression solemn.

Ruan Danchen was stunned. Her eyes darkened as she realized that that was indeed something that Liu Ronghua would not do.

Qi Chenglin continued, “I believe that she might be kind enough for having at least some decency to call the police but adopting you was something that she would never do.”

“Why?” Ruan Danchen asked dumbfoundedly. Her brain was unable to process the information. The news had hit her so hard that she did not have much energy left to ponder further.

Looking at Qi Chenglin’s firm chest, she felt oddly at ease. As long as she was in his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent, her mind would be set at rest.

She knew that she was not so smart. Even in her career, she had never made up those petty schemes. Flattering her superior, associating with her colleagues, pleasing her customers, she did not know how to do any of those.

During her time in Chengshi, she designed according to her clients’ requirements until they were happy about it. She did whatever was instructed of her by Director Zhao without considering his preferences. She had never sent out any wishes on festive days. She merely performed her duties as they were as long as she did not make any mistakes.

Fortunately, she met Song Yu, who had become her close friend.

That was why she was not worried about not possessing sufficient brain cells to think things through. She had Qi Chenglin at her back after all.

Feeling worthless, she sighed dejectedly while staring at Qi Chenglin’s chest.

“I’m wondering about that too. I’ve not found any information on this and Liu Ronghua insisted that you were picked up from the roadside. Nonetheless, I will figure out a way and continue to investigate this further.” He said softly. Looking at her despondent expression, he lifted her face and rubbed her cheeks lightly. “Don’t think too much. You have me with you.”

Ruan Danchen let out a breath and looked up into his eyes. He was very close to her. His breath could be felt against her lips. His grip was as gentle as always.

His face was exceptionally refreshing and handsome. His stern black irises were left with gentle consolation along with a faint smile, moving her so much that her eyes were once again filled with tears.

“I no longer have any family from now on. I’ve really become an orphan,” said Ruan Danchen, feeling a sharp pang in her heart.

“What are you talking about?” Qi Chenglin’s elegant hands that held her, pinched her cheeks instead. “Am I not your family? Don’t you still have me and Youxuan?”

Ruan Danchen’s eyes were glazed and her nose turned red. She buried herself into his embrace. “Thank you. I’m glad to have you around.”

“I’m also glad to have you around.”

“Let’s go. We have to talk about this with the others,” remarked Qi Chenglin.

Ruan Danchen moved slightly so that Qi Chenglin could place her on the ground.

She was ready to have their relationship rejected by the elders. She did some psychological establishment daily to prepare herself for the worst, in case she lost the right to stay together with Qi Chenglin.

If that day ever came, she was prepared to take it all on herself.

Letting out another breath, she thought that after all those mental reconstructions, there was nothing that she could not face at the moment.

“Don’t worry.” Holding onto her hand, Qi Chenglin led her back into the living room.

Grandmother Qi straightened her back. A hint of peppermint from the Wood Lock medicated oil still lingered around the room. Grandmother Qi seemed to feel much better though.

When they sat down, Ruan Danchen plucked up her courage to apologize, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m sorry.”

The joyous mood of the Chinese New Year’s Eve had been ruined because of her.

Grandmother Qi sighed again. Perhaps her headache had returned as she was rubbing her temple lightly. “Who would’ve thought that it’ll turn out like this?”

Guan Liya stared at Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen.

During their absence, Grandmother Qi had asked Guan Liya and Qi Zhongxun about their thoughts on that matter, since they were already informed of Ruan Danchen’s identity.

“Mom, I’ve no idea.” Guan Liya’s head felt heavy. “Although Danchen is now an orphan, her family background is considered clean, right?”

A person without any family left, her family background was definitely as clean as a whistle.

“However, she has an adoptive mother, Liu Ronghua. The way she stormed in tells us much about her. Danchen is a good child but Liu Ronghua…” Guan Liya did not dare bring up the Shen family. She felt as if saying it out would degrade their status.

“Despite being an orphan, our reputation may be tarnished if words of Danchen’s relationship with Liu Ronghua got out.” Guan Liya was in a dilemma as she took a glimpse at Qi Zhongxun. She shook her head, trying to clear up her messy mind. “I don’t know. Zhongxun, what do you think?”

“You don’t need to ask him anymore. I just want to know if you like Danchen, regardless of her family background?” Grandfather Qi asked.

“Danchen is a good child. I can see that she sincerely treats both Chenglin and Youxuan well. Most importantly, Chenglin loves her. If we disregard Liu Ronghua and the Shen family, I will fully accept her into our family,” answered Guan Liya.

Qi Zhongxun nodded in agreement. “I don’t even want to look at her past relationship with Liu Ronghua and the Shen family, as long as she has a good character and a clean family background.”

Grandmother Qi nodded too. “As you said, Danchen is an orphan. Her family background must be clean enough. Thus, there should not be any problem.”

“Mom, you’re…” Guan Liya looked curiously at both Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi.

Before she could resume, Qi Chenglin had brought Ruan Danchen back into the living room.

When Grandmother Qi looked at Ruan Danchen’s anguished and dispirited appearance as she apologized, her heart ached for her. Why was she so pitiful at such a young age?

“Danchen, do you have anything to say? You can tell us first.” Grandmother Qi said in a kind tone.

Not knowing what she could say, Ruan Danchen’s sight swept past everyone in the Qi family. Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chengji remained composed while Song Yu nodded at her encouragingly. Qi Zhongliang and Xia Wenna felt that it was inappropriate for them to poke their nose into other’s family matters. Thus, they remained expressionless as well.

“I… I don’t know what else I can say. I’m sorry for hiding the truth about my mother. I’m sorry that things turned out badly tonight. Apart from apologizing, I don’t know how I should face you. I’m ashamed to even apologize to you. If… If you think that I’m not suitable for Chenglin, I can…”

Before she could finish, Qi Chenglin thundered, “Danchen!”

Ruan Danchen stopped herself. Her heart skipped a beat and she dared not look at him.

That was the first time Qi Chenglin admonished her. His voice was full of anger.

Ruan Danchen lowered her head, knowing that it was her fault.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” she whispered. “It would have been so much better if it’s not me whom you meet. You won’t be so troubled. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault that you have so much grievance.”

“Stop it!” Qi Chenglin said sternly.

He looked up at Grandfather Qi, Grandmother Qi, and his parents. “When you questioned me about Danchen, I did not lie, except for the fact about her mother. This is all my fault. It has nothing to do with Danchen. I told you before she could, so she was unable to refute. I lied because I knew that you will not be so accepting of her if you were aware of her relationship with Liu Ronghua and the Shen family. Instead, you’ll look at her judgmentally, magnifying her little mistakes and disliking her from your heart.”

“Didn’t you like her before knowing that her mother was Liu Ronghua?” Qi Chenglin continued. “I had initially investigated Liu Ronghua to hold something against her and the Shen family and to stop them from bothering Danchen again. This way, she can marry me without any burdens. I did not expect to find out that Liu Ronghua is not Danchen’s biological mother. I won’t say much about repaying her for raising Danchen. With what she had done, Danchen has surely repaid it all.”

“This child.” Grandmother Qi shook her head and said helplessly, “Anyway Danchen is now an orphan. Her family background is crystal clear.”

…

…

Extra Mini Scene:

Qi Youxuan, Get Out

Ever since knowing that his mother is Ruan Danchen, Qi Youxuan was elated. He did not only tell everyone he knew, he even changed the lyrics of all the songs he learned during music lessons into words that were related to his mother.

In one of his music classes, they learned the song ‘The House Painter’.

During the sing-along, there was a discord note:

I have a good mommy, who makes me yummy food~

Sweet-sour pork ribs, hamburger, yummy yu-yummy~

Aiya my little tummy, growing bigger now~

The entire class remained silent.

The music teacher said, “Qi Youxuan, get out!”

- - -

Grandmother Qi waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter now. We don’t find any problem with Danchen’s character anyway. You young people’s love relationship. It’s not as though we can interfere when you’re truly in love with each other. That Shen family is nothing. We aren’t afraid of them even if they want to create more troubles for us.”

Ruan Danchen looked at Grandmother Qi in shocked. “Grandma…”

Grandmother Qi let out a sigh, her eyes seemingly gentle as she said, “You’re such a poor child; we don’t have the right to blame you for this. It isn’t something that you can control. What’s more important is that Chenglin loves you. It’s been such a long time yet we’ve never seen him fall in love with someone. It’s a wonder that he thinks a lot about you. Youxuan likes you as well. We’re satisfied as long as you young people can live your lives well.”

Ruan Danchen had readied herself to be rejected by the Qi family. However, she did not expect that Grandmother Qi would accept her well.

Grandfather Qi sipped on his tea next to Grandmother Qi. His lips curled up into a smile as he took a glimpse of Grandmother Qi, not saying a word.

“Nonetheless, you need to be prepared when the Shen family takes this to the public. They must not want to see you well. The damage those rumors can cause should never be underestimated,” warned Grandmother Qi.

Ruan Danchen nodded. “I understand, but if it brings harm to the Qi family…”

“What’s there to be worried about? It’s not as if we haven’t gone through bad rumors before,” Qi Chenglin was the first to respond.

Grandfather Qi emitted an angry cough, glaring at Qi Chenglin petulantly.

“Alright, alright. Since this is over now,” interjected Grandmother Qi, “Wenna, please turn up the volume of the television. Sigh… After the Shen family’s disruption, I’ve missed out Cai Ming’s sketch.”

Ruan Danchen could not believe that things had proceeded so smoothly. She turned around to look at Qi Chenglin.

Qi Chenglin smiled gently at her and whispered, “Didn’t I tell you so? Don’t worry.”

“Dad, can I come out now?” Qi Youxuan shouted as Xia Wenna was turning up the television volume.

Only then did the others remember that Qi Youxuan was still in his room.

“I’ll go and bring him here,” said Ruan Danchen as she stood up from her seat, and Qi Chenglin followed suit wordlessly.

During their absence, Guan Liya could not help but reconfirm, “Dad, Mom, are you sure…”

Grandmother Qi took a sip of the tea and said, “I didn’t stop Chengzhi and Song Yu then, and I won’t stop Chenglin and Danchen now. These are their own affairs. There’s nothing to do with their family background. You didn’t have any problem with Danchen coming from a humble family, so why do your opinions conflict now? Just assume that you’ve gotten a troublesome in-law. Moreover, since Danchen is no longer related to Liu Ronghua and the Shen family, those people shouldn’t have any other ideas even though we’re not afraid of them if they even tried something. Is it right for us to ruin our children’s marriage all because of the ant-like Shen family? You should be more receptive too. Relationships can only be justified by standing in our children’s shoes.”

Guan Liya hesitated until Grandmother Qi continued to advise, “There’s nothing more important than the younger generation’s happiness. Even if you disagree with it now and break them apart, that stubborn Qi Chenglin won’t look for another partner nor will he accept any other outstanding ladies you recommend. Love is based solely on the heart, nothing to do with being remarkable. Do you really want him to stay single forever while raising Youxuan on his own?”

Guan Liya sighed. “I won’t intercept their relationship then. They… I’ll just let them do as they please.”

Grandmother Qi chuckled. “Don’t show them your reluctant expression when they’re back later.”

“I know. It’s Chinese New Year and we have to keep the mood lively.”

As soon as she finished, Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin came in with Qi Youxuan between them. The little one was still holding onto Ruan Danchen’s hand.

Ruan Danchen placed Qi Youxuan on her lap, seeming to have more to say.

“Dad, Aunt Ruan, didn’t you say that you have something important to tell everyone?” Qi Youxuan glanced back and forth between Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen in a daze.

When he was sent back to his room earlier, his auntie had turned on the computer for him. He was able to watch the live broadcast online and got the chance to shake the red envelope. However, the live broadcast online was a few minutes slower than the live broadcast on the television. Thus, he could not obtain any red envelope from the event and was left to watch only the broadcast instead.

Ruan Danchen glanced at the little one with a heavy heart. His beautiful little round face was carefree, his large eyes crystal clear. There was no hint of distracting thoughts, merely complete trust in them.

A sharp pang hit Ruan Danchen’s heart. Her courage to speak dissipated slightly.

Qi Chenglin gazed at Ruan Danchen’s hands that were holding Qi Youxuan’s. He placed his large pale hands on top of theirs, enveloping them in his palms.

The others in the Qi family had noticed the change in atmosphere and stared at them curiously.

Qi Chenglin’s sight fell on the file on the table. “There’s another document inside this file. Grandpa, Grandma, please have a look.”

With that, the others made no move to check the document before Grandfather Qi. Qi Zhongliang passed the file to Grandfather Qi.

Grandfather Qi took the documents with a mumble. As Aunt Liu was not around at that moment, he asked Qi Chengji to bring him his presbyopia glasses. Hearing that, Grandmother Qi requested Qi Chengji to bring hers along as well.

After putting on his presbyopia glasses, he took out the document and lowered his head to read its content. His expression darkened and he instantly looked up at Ruan Danchen.

Ruan Danchen’s heart constricted yet she could not escape Grandfather Qi’s intense scrutiny. She thus tightened her arms over Qi Youxuan.

“What’s wrong?” Grandmother Qi asked anxiously next to him.

Grandfather Qi did not know how to describe his current feelings. Without a single word, he handed the document over to Grandmother Qi solemnly.

Grandmother Qi held onto her presbyopia glasses as she scanned the document. Her eyes gaped wide opened before exclaiming, “Aiyo!” Then, she tapped on her chest to smooth her breathing.

“Oh, Zhongxun, Liya. Read this.” Grandmother Qi gave Qi Zhongxun and Guan Liya the document.

Qi Zhongxun’s expression turned grim while Guan Liya’s hands were trembling. “This… This…”

Xia Wenna took the document from them curiously. She browsed through the document with Qi Zhongliang and they were both astounded with the content.

Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were the only ones who knew about that matter, hence they remained composed.

“What is this?” Grandfather Qi fumed as he glowered at Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen.

“Shen Zhijing is infertile. For the sake of entering the Shen family, Liu Ronghua had forced Danchen to take Shen Zhijing’s place and she conceived my child. After giving birth to Youxuan, the Shen family tricked me into believing that Youxuan was Shen Zhijing’s son. Moreover, as Youxuan was born prematurely, the Shen family took the opportunity to delude Danchen that her baby had died,” Qi Chenglin explained truthfully.

“What else are you hiding from us?!” Grandfather Qi was seething and almost flipped the table.

Ruan Danchen felt Qi Youxuan’s little body froze in her embrace. He was stiff, not moving an inch.

Suddenly, Qi Youxuan struggled to get out of her embrace and jumped onto the ground before dashing back into his room.

“Youxuan!” Afraid that Youxuan would not forgive her, Ruan Danchen left the others out of her mind and rushed after him.

However, Qi Youxuan did not look at her, not even once. He went into his room and slammed the door shut. Ruan Danchen could hear him locking the door from the inside.

Qi Chenglin frowned and trailed behind them.

Grandmother Qi sighed. “No wonder Chenglin said that Danchen no longer owes Liu Ronghua anything. She has repaid all her debts to her after all.”

Guan Liya glanced at Qi Zhongxun. Who would have known that the stepmother Qi Youxuan was looking for was, in fact, his biological mother? It was not surprising then for the boy to be so affectionate towards Ruan Danchen; they were bound together by blood. Even before the truth was revealed, there was already a natural intimacy between them.

Ruan Danchen knocked on Qi Youxuan’s door frantically. When Qi Chenglin arrived, he saw Ruan Danchen kneeling outside Qi Youxuan’s room pathetically, like a child who had done something wrong.

“Youxuan, please open the door. If you want to blame me or if you’re mad at me, just open the door and tell me in my face. You can say whatever you want. It’s alright to even ignore me. Please don’t hide in the room alone. I’m worried.” Ruan Danchen was concerned that Qi Youxuan would let his imagination run wild and feel miserable all alone in his room.

It was the adults’ fault. She did not want Qi Youxuan to feel bad about it.

Qi Chenglin walked towards her and sat near her on the floor. His long legs were folded to keep Ruan Danchen safe in his embrace.

Ruan Danchen could sit no longer. “Youxuan, I beg you. It’s all my fault. Don’t be like this. I’m really worried. I’m sorry, Youxuan. If you… If you don’t want me as your mom, just let me know. Please don’t keep it to yourself in there. I’m the one at fault. I deserve to not be recognized as your mom…”

‘Click!’

The door opened suddenly and Qi Youxuan appeared in front of them, his little face was drenched in tears.

“Are you really my mom?” he wept.

Ruan Danchen nodded as she sobbed, “I am, I really am.”

“Why didn’t you search for me all this time? Why didn’t you tell me? I called you Aunt Ruan but you’re fine with it. You’ve never asked me to call you mom. You don’t want me anymore, do you?” Qi Youxuan cried.

“How can that be possible?” Ruan Danchen stretched out her arms, wanting to pull him into a hug but the little one evaded her as he wiped away his tears with his little hands.

Ruan Danchen’s arms were left stretched out. She felt a sense of emptiness overwhelming her as though her heart was ripped off her chest.

“You were born prematurely and I gave birth to you through a c-section. They lied to me… They lied to me saying that you were dead, so I had gone back to school. It was many years later that I found out your dad had brought you home. I didn’t know if you were truly my child, so I kept it in my heart but dared not come close to you. I only looked at you from afar yet I couldn’t see you well. It was only during your aunt’s wedding that I met you in person. I was still unsure then until I came across your birthday. At that moment, I knew for sure that you’re my child. Youxuan, I’m sorry, I wasn’t by your side all these years. I’m sorry… You can blame me for that… I deserve it. I failed to perform my duty as your mother…”

“After that… After that, I was afraid that I’d frighten you. I didn’t dare reveal my identity to you. I was worried that you’d feel miserable about it. I’ll be happy as long as you grow up without worries, even if you treat me as your stepmother.”

Qi Youxuan lowered his arms from his eyes and wailed, “Then, will you stay by my side always? Will you leave me again?”

“I won’t!” Ruan Danchen vowed. “No matter what, I’ll never let you go ever again. I’ll stay by your side forever. I’ll remain by your side even if you’re still mad at me, don’t want to recognize me as your mom, or call me Aunt Ruan.”

“Waa…” Qi Youxuan yowled and pounced into Ruan Danchen’s embrace.

His chubby short arms wrapped around Ruan Danchen’s as he cried incoherently, “I don’t want to, I don’t want you to leave. Don’t leave me anymore. Boohoo… I’ve got a mother now… I’ve got a mother now… You cannot leave me anymore… Don’t leave me anymore… Boohoo… Mom… Mom… Waa…”

Ruan Danchen’s heart broke at Qi Youxuan’s cry. She quickly hugged him tightly saying, “I won’t leave, I won’t leave. I’m sorry… Youxuan, I’m sorry… for being useless…”

Qi Youxuan cried for a very long time. Fortunately, Ruan Danchen was sitting on the floor. Although her bottom was hurt slightly from the marble ground, it was still warm and not too painful. Besides, Qi Chenglin was supporting them at the side.

The little one sniffled, “Dad said that you were forced by that fake Grandma to give birth to me…”

Qi Youxuan was not simply watching the live broadcast in the room earlier. He had left the door opened slightly. When Liu Ronghua shrieked in the living room, he could hear her clearly.

Since Liu Ronghua had said that Ruan Danchen was adopted, Liu Ronghua was deemed as a fake Grandma by Qi Youxuan.

“Did you not want me at that time as well?” Qi Youxuan asked pitifully. His arms were clasped tightly around Ruan Danchen’s neck, refusing to let her go in fear she would not want him anymore. His question hurt Ruan Danchen’s heart.

“No!” Ruan Danchen explained instantly, “I’ve missed you so since conceiving you. If I knew that you were well alive and saw them took you away from me with my own eyes, I would’ve cried myself to death.”

“Waa…” Qi Youxuan wailed louder.

Qi Chenglin looked helplessly at the mother and son. Would they ever stop crying? He could only pull them into his embrace to coax them.

His left and right hands were each patting the back of their heads. He consoled them gently, “Alright now. It’s Chinese New Year. don’t cry your eyes out. Don’t you always want your Mom? Now she is here and will never leave you. She’ll marry me and we’ll become a real family.”

“Really? You’re getting married?” Qi Youxuan finally looked up at them. Ruan Danchen felt anguished at the sight of his teary face.

Ruan Danchen could not think much about being romantic and proposing; as long as she would marry Qi Chenglin and could live a good life with him. Furthermore, they already had a son, thus there was no point in getting too fancy about it.

Perhaps she would have a little regret but those were nothing comparatively.

Seeing that Ruan Danchen had nodded her head in agreement, Qi Youxuan was finally relieved.

“Let’s get up. Great-grandpa and the others were concerned about you,” Qi Chenglin ushered.

Qi Youxuan pulled back from Ruan Danchen’s embrace and Qi Chenglin supported her as she stood up. Before she could lower her head to search for Qi Youxuan, she felt a little hand pressing into her palm.

She glanced at Qi Youxuan, his little hand in her palm and his small head hung down slightly. He seemed very shy, his teary little face flushed brightly.

Ruan Danchen’s heart warmed up at the sight. She squeezed his little hand, kneeled down instinctively and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Youxuan, I’m blessed to have you.”

Qi Youxuan was dumbfounded. Although he had been kissed by Ruan Danchen before, it was different back then. His face reddened even more as tears had once again rolled down his cheeks.

Ruan Danchen wiped off his tears in panic. She felt bad for making him cry.

Qi Youxuan hugged her neck once more. Indeed, it was always Ruan Danchen who kissed him. He had never given her a kiss. When he was still unaware that she was his mother, kissing her seemed as though overstepping his bounds despite really liking her.

Now, without any restraint, he turned to place a kiss on Ruan Danchen’s cheek.

It was Ruan Danchen’s turn to be stunned. When she felt a soft wet touch on her cheek, her heart became a puddle. She could not control her tear glands momentarily.

Resigned, Qi Chenglin looked at both of them. They were both made of water that night. He could only caress their hair, saying, “There’s still a long time to go.”

Ruan Danchen sniffled and smiled. Standing up, they brought Qi Youxuan back to the living room.

Many things had happened that night. Ruan Danchen was ashamed to face the elders as she sat uncomfortably on the sofa.

Qi Youxuan tugged on her sleeve, his large watery eyes stared at her legs, expressing his desire to sit on her lap.

The little one rarely acted so spoiled but he could not stop himself once he knew Ruan Danchen was her biological mother. Ruan Danchen smiled contently as she put Qi Youxuan on her lap. Her contentment made her seemed as if she had the world in her hand.

Grandmother Qi and the others observed their exchange and sighed. Both of them used to be close to each other. Now, they had literally become inseparable.

Grandmother Qi glanced at Guan Liya without a word. Her sight was blatantly saying, ‘Youxuan has finally reunited with his mother. This alone suffices to not break Chenglin and Danchen apart.’

“There’s a lot to take in tonight, coming one after another. I’m feeling unwell from the excessive input.” Grandmother Qi sipped her tea to calm her nerves. “Chenglin, do you still have anything left unsaid? You can tell us everything now.”

“There’s none. Only these,” replied Qi Chenglin lightly.

“Are you sure?” Qi Zhongxun was a little wary.

“There’s really none left. I didn’t intend to say so much initially. However, since Danchen and Liu Ronghua’s relationship was exposed, I felt it was right to explain her relationship with Youxuan to you altogether so we don’t need to do it twice.” Qi Chenglin explained sincerely.

Everyone remained silent.

Striking them with such a huge blow because he found it troublesome to do it twice, was that really good?

No, they could not put it that way as well.

The elders were at a loss on how to feel.

“Alright. Then, let’s live our lives well.” Grandmother Qi looked at the time and exclaimed, “Oh, it’s almost time to cook the dumplings.”

Grandmother Qi’s sudden change of topic made the earlier events seem as if they had not happened. The mood was still joyous.

Ruan Danchen shifted Qi Youxuan onto Qi Chenglin’s lap and said, “I’ll go and cook the dumplings.”

“I’ll help you,” Song Yu said standing up.

Qi Youxuan rolled his eyes cheekily and climbed down Qi Chenglin’s lap. He raced towards Ruan Danchen, calling her happily, “Mom!”

Ruan Danchen stopped in her tracks. She turned around to find Qi Youxuan running towards her. His two little arms hugged her arm tightly. They were so small that he could not cover her entire arm in his. “Mom, let me help you.”

Grandmother Qi and Guan Liya wiped their tears off stealthily at the side.

Grandmother Qi took a glance at Guan Liya and held her hand. “They’re really mother and son. Look at how natural he greets his mother.”

Guan Liya could not disagree with her and nodded in agreement. It was heart-wrenching to look at Qi Youxuan’s joyful expression when he greeted his mother. This was the first time he called out to his mother since he was born, and they felt unfamiliar with it, but the sight of his exhilaration made them happy yet melancholic altogether.

Ruan Danchen held Qi Youxuan’s hand and brought him into the kitchen. Then, she made him sit on the chair before boiling the water to cook the dumplings with Song Yu.

However, Qi Youxuan got off the chair as soon as his buttocks touched it and trailed behind Ruan Danchen like he was her tail.

Qi Youxuan could not hold Ruan Danchen’s hand due to her kitchen work, so he held onto the corner of her shirt. Ruan Danchen lowered her gaze and saw him staring back at her with his big round eyes, looking especially reluctant to leave her side.

Qi Youxuan felt embarrassed but he did not avoid direct eye contact with Ruan Danchen when she lowered her gaze. His head remained lifted but his face was flushed red as a beetroot due to the embarrassment.

This was the first time he realized that his biological mother would accompany him from now on. It made him happy to finally have a biological mother now and he fought the urge to show her off publicly. He wanted to stick closer to her but was too embarrassed to do so.

Ruan Danchen lifted him and put her on the kitchen table after the water was heated to boiling point. Qi Youxuan’s face appeared devastated from his previous crying. All the tears were wiped clean but his face appeared tainted still, so she turned on the faucet and set the water temperature to ‘warm’ before letting him wash his face.

“Sit here and wait for a while, I’ll be back soon,” Ruan Danchen hurried to the living room after giving him her instruction.

She lacked the courage to face the elders in the Qi family after all the commotions just now. The more Grandmother Qi chose to forgive her and acted as if nothing had happened, the more apologetic she felt deep down.

She felt awkward when she returned to the living room.

“What are you looking for?” Qi Chenglin noticed that she was rummaging through her bag in search of something.

“Looking for Youxuan’s face cream. I brought it with me everywhere I went. His face looked devastated after all the crying just now so I let him wash his face. Since the winter’s atmosphere is dry, I’ll apply some cream on his face or else his skin will get damaged from the cold,” Ruan Danchen answered and finally found a bottle of Johnson face cream in her bag.

Grandmother Qi was delighted after taking this in and immediately felt that Liu Ronghua and the Shen family were not important issues at all. Most importantly, Ruan Danchen was Qi Youxuan’s biological mother; she would take care of Youxuan lovingly with all her heart. The fact that her second grandson’s family was finally reunited was better than everything else in the world.

Qi Youxuan was already on the ground when Ruan Danchen returned to the kitchen. Song Yu was the one who put him down from the chair.

Qi Youxuan was pestering Song Yu to give the dumplings with money stuffed inside them to him at the moment. “Auntie, I actually made a few markings on some of the dumplings, not all of them though. It’s okay, I’m not greedy, I don’t want all of them. Just give me those that had markings on them since I don’t eat much.”

Ruan Danchen broke into laughter. She then asked him to sit tight while applying face cream on his face.

Song Yu teased him playfully and purposely. “How can I do that? We need to depend on luck when we eat this kind of dumplings. It only works if you ate it inadvertently and vice versa if you premade markings on the dumplings.”

“Mom!” Qi Youxuan yelled happily and hugged Ruan Danchen’s thighs straight away. He had the feeling that he finally had support and protection now.

Ruan Danchen scratched his nose and said, “Just try on your luck since you made markings on them, right?”

Qi Youxuan pouted. When Ruan Danchen and Song Yu were busy and diverted their attention from him, he grabbed the dumplings with markings on them with his bare hands, which then resulted in him blowing on his fingers due to the heat from the hot dumplings.

Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Youxuan was holding a plate of dumplings like they were his treasure after she finished serving the rest of the dumplings. She was unsure how to react when there were quite a few dumplings on his plate. “Can you even finish them?”

“I’ll take away if I can’t finish them and continue tomorrow,” Qi Youxuan answered with determination.

When all the members in the Qi family sat down in the dining room and munching through the dumplings, Grandmother Qi informed Ruan Danchen to follow Qi Chenglin to pay a New Year call 1tomorrow. Her action meant that she had acknowledged Ruan Danchen’s status in the Qi family completely.

After they finished the dumplings and were about to return home, Grandmother Qi held Ruan Danchen’s hand and called out, “Xiao Ruan!”

Grandmother Qi let out a heavy sigh before continuing, “What happened tonight was too sudden, so don’t overthink when you’re home later. It’s considered a relief since Madam Liu isn’t your biological mother. Everything you have is given by her if she’s your biological mother. You can’t disregard your bloodline no matter what happens, because even your blood and bones are gifts from her. How can you disregard it or return the debts, right? We have no choice and certainly can’t watch her suffer in agony. It’s not an easy task for her child with such a mother.

“Since we knew the truth now, then Chenglin was right. She didn’t let you live your life as a vagabond for these past few years, raised you and you even received the education that you were supposed to have; these were undeniable acts of kindness. We’ll repay her kindness instead of owing her debts of gratitude. What you did for her was a genuine act of repaying her kindness. Let Chenglin discuss with her later about the total foster fees from the moment she brought you in with her until now, then you’re absolutely unrelated with her afterward.”

Ruan Danchen knew Grandmother Qi was trying to shield the Qi family from being constantly bothered by the Shen family. Based on the Shen family’s shameless attitude, Liu Ronghua could take advantage of her identity as Ruan Danchen’s adoptive mother to disturb the Qi family again in the future.

Ruan Danchen took a glance at Qi Chenglin, who nodded in agreement, before saying, “Alright.”

“We’ll come back again tomorrow morning,” Qi Chenglin informed Grandmother Qi before leaving.

Qi Youxuan was leaping and jumping around when he held Ruan Danchen’s hand, and it induced a great satisfaction in Grandmother Qi as she stared at the backs of the trio.

Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan were sitting at the back of the car. They initially wanted Qi Youxuan to sit in the safety seat but he protested that he would not be able to sit with Ruan Danchen together. Thus, Ruan Danchen immediately asked Qi Chenglin to dismantle the safety seat and threw it into the trunk of the car.

“Mom!” Qi Youxuan called out happily as he pounced into Ruan Danchen’s embosom.

Qi Chenglin wanted Qi Youxuan to shut up but then he noticed that Ruan Danchen was hugging him and chirped, “Say it again.”

“Mom!”

“Call me again.”

“Mom!”

“Call me again.”

“Mom!”

“…” Qi Chenglin was dumbfounded.

He let out a heavy sigh and forced the words down his throat.

The mother and son sitting at the back did not feel like their conversations were childish and boring. They felt gratified instead as the kid’s constant repetition of “Mom” wiped away all the unhappiness which happened a few moments ago.

Ruan Danchen was satisfied by Qi Youxuan’s reiteration of “Mom”; she no longer cared about those unhappy events. She gave up thinking about them.

The duo was laughing in the back of the car as Qi Youxuan squeezed himself into Ruan Danchen’s embosom. He rested his head on her thighs and rolling around repeatedly in the back seat.

Ruan Danchen protected Qi Youxuan carefully as she was worried that he could fall down as he rolled around continuously in the car.

The car stopped in front of the traffic light. Qi Youxuan was still calling out “Mom” persistently while rolling around in the back seat, which induced annoyance in Qi Chenglin as his expression darkened. Just when Qi Chenglin was about to scold him to roll down the car if he insisted on misbehaving again, a car beside him slid down its car window.

The driver was a young man. He whistled towards Qi Chenglin’s car and said, “Yo, so bold and unrestrained!”

“…” Qi Chenglin was left speechless.

Fortunately, his car windows were heavily tinted. Otherwise, he would feel embarrassed if anyone saw him in the car.

Qi Chenglin turned his head in annoyance with the intention of telling Qi Youxuan to behave himself, but what appeared in his eyes was Ruan Danchen’s unburdened smile. Her smile was especially cheerful, and this was the first time she expressed such a delighted smile after Liu Ronghua left tonight.

Qi Chenglin’s voice failed after noticing Ruan Danchen’s smile. His expression was so gentle with his lips curled upwards, and creases appeared below his eyes as he stared at the most precious treasure in his entire life.

His gaze remained on her, only to snap out of it when there was a loud, impatient beep from the car’s horn behind him, which he quickly sat up straight and drove his car.

It was half-past one o’clock at midnight when they returned home after staying up late to welcome New Year and finished the dumplings. Qi Chenglin urged Qi Youxuan to brush his teeth and wash his face before sleep as they needed to wake up early to pay a New Year call.

Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen went back to their bedroom. Qi Chenglin yanked her into his embosom instead of asking her to get changed quickly. “Do you blame me for my unilateral decision making tonight?”

Ruan Danchen shook her head, then she took the initiative and hugged him before answering, “To be honest, it feels good after revealing the truth; at least I’m mentally relieved from the burden right now. I won’t consider them anymore and there’s no need to fear that they’ll trouble you in the future.”

Qi Chenglin sighed in relief; this was the best outcome if she was able to think this way.

Ruan Danchen lifted her head and stared at him, feeling especially secure with him by her side, and smiled. “When did you start investigating this matter?”

“Liu Ronghua and the Shen family kept disturbing you, right? I wanted to investigate her and the Shen family to see if I can get ahold of anything against them so that they’d stop disturbing us. Then, I found all these as a result of my investigation,” Qi Chenglin explained it like it was an easy task.

However, Ruan Danchen knew all his information traced back to more than twenty years ago. This sort of investigation consumed time and energy, thus naturally it was not as easy as what he just mentioned.

“I found something during the investigation but it wasn’t clear enough, so that was why I didn’t tell you beforehand. I knew you’d be stressed to marry me if Liu Ronghua continued her stay with the Shen family in fear that they’d cause trouble to me. I knew you’d feel guilty for bringing such inconveniences to me, even though I always wanted to tell you that your matters were not inconveniences to me. This sort of miniature inconvenience was nothing to me. I don’t mind bringing Liu Ronghua and the Shen family with me if I can marry you, but if you don’t mind, I’ll wreak havoc upon them and make sure they suffer without any chance to gain benefits.” Qi Chenglin lowered his gaze and stared at Ruan Danchen seriously.

“I know you’ll still feel stressed. It’s useless if I merely said it without any actions, so I’ve decided to do it myself.” Qi Chenglin smiled. The curve of his lips was soft and gentle but Ruan Danchen felt touched when she gazed upon it. She could feel her heart throbbed against the cage of her chest as she stared at this man. The more she stared at him, the more affectionate she was toward him.

She felt her heart wrenched a little. He was too kind to her by solving all the troubles she kept causing him. She had never done anything for him yet and this pained her every time she thought about it.

All of a sudden, Ruan Danchen tightened her arms around him and pushed her head against his chest firmly. She almost wanted to squeeze his chest bones away and buried her face within his precordium.

Her actions induced laughter in Qi Chenglin. He stroked her hair gently and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“You’re too kind to me, and I don’t know what I should do to repay your kindness. I don’t want you to be the only one devoting in this relationship, it’ll exhaust you. I don’t want you to feel fatigued; I want to do something for you, no matter how insignificant it seems. It made my heart wrench to see you devoting alone and treating me with such affections,” Ruan Danchen’s voice was soft and sounded extremely cute when she buried her face on his chest.

Qi Chenglin stroked her hair gently like he was petting a pet. “I know you won’t let me feel tired, but it feels good to be able to devote to the woman I love.”

However, his statement made Ruan Danchen feel more uncomfortable as deep down, her heart truly ached for this man whom she loved. She hugged his tall and muscular body tightly, inhaling the fragrance he emitted. Now, her heart raced at an incredible speed.

Then, Qi Chenglin heard her sigh heavily.

“What happened?” Qi Chenglin asked.

“Why are you so good? You have a good ability to induce heart-wrenching sensations with your goodness.” Ruan Danchen brushed her face against his chest like a kitten.

Qi Chenglin broke into laughter. “Sighing because of this?”

“Yes, because I feel extremely stressed when I have no idea how to treat you well or what I can do for you. You’ll make me feel like I’m useless here.” Ruan Danchen moved in his embosom again, feeling his firm, muscular chest which was elastic too. Most importantly, the fragrance he emitted induced addiction in her and made her feel secure and especially attached to him.

“Let me say something which may sound machismo.” Qi Chenglin patted gently on the back of her head like he was playing with a kitten, but he really felt that she was acting like a kitten now when she kept rubbing her head in his embosom.

He lowered his head and his smile-curved lips brushed against her forehead gently. His voice was husky but soothing, with a slight tinge of power in it. “It’s a man’s fault if he let a woman devote for her man. How can a man let a woman worry for him? It’s a man’s incapability to let a woman worry and exhaust herself for her man. A man’s responsibility is to protect his woman and do no harm to her precious heart. If you’re happy, then I’m a happy man too.”

“Yes, macho man,” Ruan Danchen replied gently with a smile on her face.

She lifted her head, her hands which were originally on his waist went up and clasped on either side of his face. Qi Chenglin remained silent as he raised his eyebrows happily.

“I want to look at my macho man,” Ruan Danchen explained.

Qi Chenglin blushed for some reason when Ruan Danchen stared on his face, so he launched a counterattack. “Do I look more handsome, and do you like me more the longer you stare at me?”

“Half correct. The more I stare at you, the more handsome you look, and the more I love you.” Ruan Danchen tiptoed and kissed him on the lips.

Qi Chenglin could not help but laugh before lowering his head and kissed her passionately.

“Mom!” Qi Youxuan’s voice traveled from the corridor.

Qi Chenglin sighed. Since the situation tonight was considered special, he decided not to make a fuss with his son. He had no choice but to release Ruan Danchen from his embosom.

Their bedroom door opened momentarily and Qi Youxuan was standing there, wearing bear-patterned footed pajamas with a toothbrush cup in one of his chubby little hands and a Johnson baby face cream on another hand. Inside the toothbrush cup were his toothbrush and toothpaste.

“What are you doing?” Qi Chenglin had a bad feeling about Qi Youxuan’s appearance.

“I’m here to brush my teeth!” Qi Youxuan answered before attempting to walk past Qi Chenglin and went into their washroom.

However, his attempt was futile as Qi Chenglin lifted him straight away when he just reached Qi Chenglin’s side. “You have a washroom in your room too.”

Qi Youxuan looked at him seriously and replied, “Dad, I’ve decided to sleep with my Mom tonight after our reunion. It’s obviously unrealistic to let Mom accompany me in my room because you won’t agree to it, so I compromised in the end, and here I am now. Don’t worry, I won’t sleep in between you and Mom. Mom will sleep between us so that you can hug her and sleep too.”

“…” Ruan Danchen was left speechless.

What did this kid learn usually?

“…” Qi Chenglin’s face darkened with annoyance and said, “I won’t allow it even if you sleep on the other side of the bed.”

Qi Youxuan’s short limbs moving around in the air when Qi Chenglin lifted him by grabbing the collar of his pajamas made him look like a tortoise.

“Dad, don’t be so stingy. You’ve been hugging Mom and sleep for so long, so what’s wrong with me hugging half of Mom?” Qi Youxuan hissed through gritted teeth as he waved all four limbs in protest.

“Do you really think I don’t know you well? If I allow you to sleep here tonight, I can guarantee that you’ll come here again tomorrow night. You’re not a baby anymore; do you even feel ashamed of yourself?” Qi Chenglin raised his eyebrows and did not release his grip on Qi Youxuan.

Qi Chenglin pouted and complained silently. If Qi Youxuan was a tortoise, he would be a fat tortoise.

“Dad, tonight is supposed to be a reunion night, right? We should reunite together in bed too!” Qi Youxuan said while continuously waving all his four limbs in the air.

“…” Qi Chenglin was dumbfounded.

Was that how reunion work?

Ruan Danchen would not embarrass Qi Chenglin in the presence of Qi Youxuan as it would damage his reputation and dignity as the head of the family. She would not plead with Qi Chenglin in front of Qi Youxuan unless absolutely necessary.

She knew Qi Chenglin would soften up and agreed if she spoke, but when the frequency increased, Qi Youxuan would start to plead with Ruan Danchen on every issue. That would be detrimental to his growth, so it was necessary to be strict and dour at times.

Thus, Ruan Danchen remained silent on this matter and watched their whole conversation from the side.

She smiled at Qi Chenglin when he glanced at her.

Qi Chenglin then shifted his gaze back to Qi Youxuan and noticed that he was staring back at him with his big, cute eyes, trying desperately to act cute.

Did the mother and son know that their actions were against the rules?

Qi Chenglin let out a heavy sigh before glaring at Qi Youxuan and said, “Just for tonight. If you dare to come again tomorrow night, I’ll lock the bedroom door in the future.”

“Alright, alright, alright!” Qi Youxuan appeared especially funny when he nodded his head quickly in response.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and put him down on the ground. Qi Youxuan then brought his cup and Johnson face cream and rushed into the washroom to get himself cleaned before getting into bed happily.

Qi Chenglin took a peek at him before changing his clothes and went into the bathroom for a quick five-minutes bath. After that, it was Ruan Danchen’s turn to go into the bathroom.

When Ruan Danchen exited the bathroom, she noticed Qi Chenglin sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at Qi Youxuan who was rolling on the other side of the bed with disgust. Qi Youxuan yelled during the rolling process, “There’s Mom’s scent here!”

Then, he grinned upon noticed Ruan Danchen exiting the bathroom. “Mom, I asked Dad. He said you usually sleep on this side of the bed!”

Ruan Danchen got into bed happily and the duo sandwiched her quickly. Qi Youxuan squeezed into her embosom immediately after she laid down, inhaling rapidly on her shoulder like a dog. “Mom’s scent!”

Naturally, Ruan Danchen turned to face Qi Youxuan and kissed him on his chubby cheek. However, Qi Chenglin turned her back almost immediately and said, “Don’t turn your back on me.”

“…” Ruan Danchen was left speechless.

Did Qi Chenglin plan to let her lie on the back for the whole night?

“Time to sleep. Goodnight Dad, goodnight Mom,” Qi Youxuan greeted sweetly out of exhilaration that night. That day was considered the first day of New Year after they returned home, and he felt the beginning of New Year went off to a good start.

____________________________________________________________________________

Extra Mini-Scene:

<<Mom!>>

Qi Youxuan felt that he had an extremely powerful support after having a mother.

Qi Chenglin: Don’t eat too much meat.

Qi Youxuan: Mom!

Qi Chenglin: Go to bed.

Qi Youxuan: Mom!

Qi Chenglin: Go back to your room.

Qi Youxuan: Mom!

Finally, Qi Chenglin had reached the end of his forbearance. “If you call Mom again, I’ll send you back to your grandma’s house for two days!”

- - -

“Time to sleep. Goodnight Dad, goodnight Mom,” Qi Youxuan greeted sweetly out of exhilaration that night. That day was considered the first day of New Year after they returned home, and he felt the beginning of New Year went off to a good start.

“Goodnight,” Ruan Danchen replied softly. She would always respond to him whenever he called her “Mom”.

Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and spoke in a muffled voice, “Goodnight.”

…

…

Qi Youxuan remained in his deep slumber when Ruan Danchen woke up the next morning,

Ruan Danchen had turned to lie on her side throughout the night unconsciously. Qi Youxuan was sleeping in her embosom like a piglet while she had her back pressed against Qi Chenglin’s chest. His long arm extended to Qi Youxuan and pulled them into his embosom as though protecting them firmly.

Ruan Danchen smiled unwittingly as she stared at Qi Youxuan’s pinkish face in deep slumber. She then kissed her lightly on his cheek to avoid waking him up.

Even so, the kid woke up, rubbing his sleepy eyes with his small hands before opening his eyes slowly. He was still in a state of confusion at first but he snapped out of it as soon as he saw the person in front of him. A smile spread wide open on his face as he called out cheerfully, “Mom!”

“Shh. Keep your voice down, your Dad’s still asleep.” Ruan Danchen held her index finger in front of her mouth.

Qi Youxuan nodded happily in agreement and squeezed into her embosom like a piggy.

Ruan Danchen broke into laughter before looking at the time—way past eight o’clock now. It was time for them to get up from the bed and prepare themselves to visit the Qi family manor, so she whispered to Qi Youxuan, “Get up and go back to your room to tidy up yourself. It’s time for us to wake up too.”

It was not a day or two Qi Youxuan lived with Ruan Danchen but after realizing that Ruan Danchen was his biological mother, and for some reason, he felt that he should behave well and make her happy after realizing that she had a well-behaved son. He thus got out of bed without hesitation and with great care as he tiptoed out of the bedroom in fear of waking Qi Chenglin. He was even thoughtful enough to close the bedroom door as he exited the bedroom.

Ruan Danchen then turned to face Qi Chenglin carefully and noticed that he had not woken up yet. She thought he might be too exhausted.

His thick, long layer of eyelashes covered his closed-shut eyes. His lips touched each other gently in a natural way, and there were even beard stubbles growing on his chin. Ruan Danchen adored the ticklish itchiness feeling when she kissed his stubble-covered jawline. The feeling was something similar to an electric shock, which would induce tingling sensation and numbness in her.

All she could feel was joy when she stared at his face.

He was handsome and elegant even in slumber, even though his facial features appeared stern.

She was not one who would judge people by their appearances, but after being in a relationship with Qi Chenglin, she realized that his handsomeness remained undefeated. Her man had the most striking appearance in the world and she could not get enough of that sight.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time. Are you going to kiss me or not?” The man, whom she initially thought was slumbering, voiced out suddenly.

His voice remained sleepy and husky even though he was awake, which sounded especially attractive to Ruan Danchen’s ears and even made her aroused.

Ruan Danchen blushed as Qi Chenglin opened his eyes slowly, revealing a pair of deep eyes that radiated a tinge of joy. It made his expression appear bright and clean.

“When did you wake up?” Ruan Danchen asked with a smile on her face before feeling his embrace tightened.

“When Youxuan called you,” Qi Chenglin’s stern expression was softened by the joy in his eyes.

“You didn’t open your eyes,” mentioned Ruan Danchen before she kissed him on his stubble-covered jawline to satisfy him.

Qi Chenglin yanked her further into his embosom and get on top of her. “That brat acted as the third wheeler throughout the night. How else can he leave the room if I don’t pretend to sleep?”

“This was the first time the three of us sleeping together in bed, and it felt good. Just now when I woke up, my son was in my arms and both of us were in yours. I couldn’t be more blessed at the sight of this.” Ruan Danchen let out a smile that expressed how blessed she was now. She even took the initiative and pecked on his lips until Qi Chenglin stopped being mad at his son for being the third wheeler.

“Let’s wake up, we still need to head to the old mansion.” Ruan Danchen gave him a little nudge.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night, still feeling sleepy now.” Qi Chenglin remained on top of her and refused to leave.

“Your willy is quite energetic though.” Ruan Danchen obviously felt that his phallus was poking on her like a sword stabbing at her.

Qi Chenglin became happy upon hearing her statement and pressed down on her firmly. “So I want to get energetic too.”

Ruan Danchen actually felt regret the moment she blurted that statement. It must be due to her disorganized mind after waking up, and she blamed her mouth for talking too fast without thinking this through.

Qi Chenglin started his workout with Ruan Danchen in order to drive away the sleepiness quickly. Ruan Danchen was unable to escape since she was trapped beneath him, so she had no choice but to let him closed in on her shamelessly, kissing and caressing every inch of her body. Then, they stimulated each other’s blood circulation and stretching each and every muscle on their bodies during the exercise until all energy was drained from Ruan Danchen after the end of their workout.

Both of them went downstairs afterward, with Qi Chenglin feeling lively and energetic. Ruan Danchen, on the other hand, blushed and her pace was quite slow due to the muscle soreness.

“Dad, Mom, why did you come down late?” Qi Youxuan with a new outfit for New Year finished eating his breakfast and was sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching a replay of crosstalk and sketches of Chinese New Year’s Gala on his iPad.

He was getting used to calling Ruan Danchen “Mom” now, and would always put on a sweet smile whenever he greeted her.

Ruan Danchen felt exhausted after physically tortured by Qi Chenglin initially, but after hearing Qi Youxuan’s greet, her energy level reached a peak in an instant and she no longer felt tired.

“Your Dad was having a lie-in just now,” Ruan Danchen answered. The exercise that Qi Chenglin did was considered a type of lie-in too, so in a way, she was not accusing him.

Qi Youxuan immediately pursed his lips in detest and said, “You’re an adult now but poor in self-control.”

“…” Ruan Danchen was left speechless.

Son, did you know it brought an entirely different meaning if it was spoken by an adult?

It was a rare sight for Qi Chenglin to not argue with him and went to the kitchen with a good mood instead.

Ruan Danchen suddenly recalled that Aunt Zheng was on a holiday. Since no one would make breakfast for them, she asked Qi Youxuan, “What did you eat for breakfast just now?”

“Aren’t there bread and milk in the fridge? I have no idea when you guys will come down so I took that as my breakfast. One won’t be able to survive in this house without any capability,” Qi Youxuan even let out a heavy sigh after finishing his statement.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Qi Chenglin admonished before sitting at the dining table, waiting for breakfast to be served.

Ruan Danchen went straight to the refrigerator to retrieve bread, ham, and vegetables. She then pan-fried two eggs and made sandwiches with the ingredients hastily before gulping them down and getting ready to visit the Qi family manor.

Qi Youxuan got down from the sofa with the iPad in his hands and went to the kitchen, even though he was full after consuming breakfast. He paused the video and crawled up his chair, resting his chin on his hands while he watched Ruan Danchen busy as a beaver in the kitchen. The sight of her brought a different feeling from what he experienced before.

Initially, he was staring at a stepmother who was kind towards him. He adored her too and felt happy that she could join in this big, wonderful family.

Now, he was staring at his biological mother, which made him felt especially secure.

Ruan Danchen finished making sandwiches in a flash. She smiled and stroke Qi Youxuan’s head when she returned to the dining table for breakfast.

After that, the trio went to the Qi family manor.

The outfit Qi Youxuan wore was especially jubilant. His red, short down jacket accentuated his chubbiness and made him appear extremely cute; he looked like a little bear with a pair of snow boots on.

Qi Youxuan started demanding for Chinese Lucky Money 1 the moment he entered the old mansion. He returned momentarily with four thick red packets in his hand. They were from Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi, Qi Zhongliang and Xia Wenna, his grandparents, and finally Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chengyue.

Ruan Danchen guessed there were at least twenty thousand Yuan in total based on how thick the red packets were.

Qi Youxuan handed those red packets to Qi Chenglin and said, “Dad, help me make an investment or anything will do.”

Qi Chenglin accepted it silently. Qi Youxuan was born as a money-grubber and he would always give all his money—whether it was his usual savings or through blackmail—to Qi Chenglin for investment purposes.

One could only describe Qi Chenglin’s expression as interesting when Qi Youxuan gave his savings of approximately ten thousand Yuan to Qi Chenglin for the first time.

Qi Chenglin had never invested with only ten thousand Yuan as it was just like a drop of water in a vast ocean, so he threw the money into his bank account without hesitation. He would give the money back to Qi Youxuan based on the interest rate when the time came.

The first time when Qi Youxuan gave his money to Qi Chenglin for investment purpose, he demanded a contract in fear that Qi Chenglin would take his money by force.

Qi Chenglin merely thought that he was playing around since he was just a kid, so he asked Qi Youxuan to write the contract himself and let him sign when the document was prepared. However, Qi Youxuan insisted on an official agreement contract made by Qilin’s lawyer.

Qi Chenglin ignored him straight away. One day, Qi Youxuan asked Grandmother Qi to let Xiao Fan fetched them to Qilin, and they really asked Lawyer Song to make a contract for Qi Youxuan to entrust Qi Chenglin as his financial advisor!

Qi Chenglin was so embarrassed at that time until he avoided direct eye contact with Lawyer Song. The contract and legal documents were finally made and Qi Chenglin had no choice but to stamp his personal seal onto the documents with a darkened expression under Grandmother Qi’s stern gaze.

Qi Youxuan even imitated the adults and stamped his thumbprint on the documents. From that time onward, he would gaze upon Qi Chenglin like he was an important customer and Qi Chenglin was merely a subordinate whenever he passed all his money to Qi Chenglin.

Qi Chenglin was too lazy to even argue with him so he simply passed all the red packets to Ruan Danchen for safe-keeping.

After a few moments, different families came to pay a New Year call one by one. This was the day where Qi Youxuan would feel the happiest since he would receive a lot of red packets from the adults.

Qi Chengzhi was brazen enough to hold Qi Youjin and appeared in front of the guests who came to visit without saying a word. His attitude made the guests speechless when they gave red packets to Qi Youjin. Then, Qi Youxuan, without any reservations, came to them and greeted, “May you have a prosperous New Year!” His greeting was without sincerity yet he reached out to them with his chubby hand, demanding red packets.

There was not much money inside those red packets and it was just to lighten the mood by giving them to children. However, the only people whom they would feel reluctant and unwilling to give red packets to were the children in the Qi family. Initially, there was only Qi Youxuan who made them feel this way, but now with the addition of Qi Chengzhi, it disgusted them greatly.

Qi Chenglin’s phone rang after sending off a family who came to visit. When he noticed that the caller was Yan Beicheng, he raised his eyebrows curiously and had a bad feeling about this.

“Yes?” Qi Chenglin asked lightly after picking up the call, feeling a little disgusted.

Yan Beicheng did not mind his tone at all on the other side of the phone and asked, “Are you guys at the old mansion right now?”

“Yes, we’re entertaining visitors in the morning and will pay them a New Year call in the evening later,” Qi Chenglin answered.

“Good. We’re on our way to the old mansion now, so don’t leave just yet,” Yan Beicheng said.

“We?” Qi Chenglin raised his eyebrows as he felt something odd and fishy about this.

“Yes, stay there and don’t leave,” Yan Beicheng hung up the call after finishing his statement. Qi Chenglin wanted to enquire more but he was too late.

Qi Chenglin was speechless at Yan Beicheng for acting as though advising a child.

They did not plan to leave the mansion in the morning anyway. They had reached a consensus after all these years that all men in the Qi family would stay at home in the morning. Thus, everyone who planned to visit the Qi family would rush to the old mansion in the morning.

The doorbell rang after a little more than half an hour later, and Qi Chengyue went to answer it. Then, Yan Beicheng entered the mansion momentarily, followed by Han Zhuoli, Chu Zhaoyang, Gui Zhiqian, Wei Ziqi and his family, and Wei Zilin.

The bunch of them entering the house brought joy to the atmosphere.

Yan Beicheng and the gang greeted the Qi family’s elders with extreme respect and courtesy. Then, Qi Youxuan and Qi Chengzhi who was carrying Qi Youjin sat in front of them.

“Uncle, may you have a prosperous New Year!” Qi Youxuan gave them a perfunctory greet one by one.

It was obvious that his greeting lacked sincerity, merely demanding for money. Yan Beicheng took out a red packet and gave Qi Chenglin a condemned stare.

Qi Chenglin pouted. “My son is saving up to marry his wife. A child who knows how to earn money like my son won’t let his wife down in the future. Ziqi, am I right?”

Qi Youxuan quickly nodded in agreement before Wei Ziqi could answer. “That’s right, that’s right!”

“…” Wei Ziqi was so disgusted until he planned not to pay a New Year call to the Qi family in the future.

It was Yan Beicheng who took the lead to cause trouble to Qi Chenglin; why did he even aim Wei Ziqi?

Wei Ziqi rolled his eyes in response to Qi Chenglin’s question petulantly and answered coldly, “Ha ha. My maiden daughter caught a gun during the one-year-old-catch 1, and she even told me that she wanted to learn martial arts. I initially thought that it was unwise for a lady to play with these sorts of activities which involved punching and beating around, but come to think of it, at least she won’t receive any unjust treatment from his future husband. I’ll have to research it further when I get home.”

“…” Qi Chenglin was dumbfounded.

Ruan Danchen felt hilarious watching the arguments between the duo. It would be hectic when the two children grew up and truly marry each other, but the duo remained persistent in their bickering.

She could even imagine the duo remained vindictive and their expressions of not yielding to each other when these two families sit together in the future.

Qi Youxuan was the litigant in this issue but he was not bothered at all. Instead, he brought Little Muran away from the bickering, followed by Little Muche who acted like he was their tail.

They could even hear Qi Youxuan’s voice from afar. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you angry in the future and certainly won’t retaliate if you scold or even hit me. You don’t need to learn martial arts, I’ll be your punching bag.”

Qi Chenglin smiled. “My son is fully aware of his situation now.”

Wei Ziqi nodded with great satisfaction too. “You’re fully conscious too to raise your son as a punching bag for other family’s maiden daughter.”

Ruan Danchen did not take this to heart since they were just joking. On the other hand, Wei Ran looked at her apologetically, which Ruan Danchen smiled and shook her head to indicate that she did not mind at all. Then, Song Yu and her pulled Wei Ran to one side and started chatting.

“Mom! Mom!” Qi Youxuan ran out after a while.

Ruan Danchen felt that he would show off publicly regarding the fact that he finally had a mother now based on his style. Well, here he came.

“There’s a box of Potato Farm chips[3] in the cabinet. Can I share it with Muran and Muche?” Qi Youxuan asked. It was obvious that it was just an excuse and he was just finding a chance to show off that he had a mother now.

Ruan Danchen did not expose his intentions and instead, she stood up happily and grabbed his little hand. “Come, I’ll take it for you.”

Ruan Danchen went to the kitchen and took the Japan Three Brothers French Fries down from the cabinet. Then, she found a small but beautiful plate and put some sweets and desserts for the kids. Qi Youxuan walked away happily after that.

Ruan Danchen saw Qi Chenglin waving towards her when she returned to the living room. She guessed that it was because Qi Youxuan referred her as his mother, so she walked towards him obediently and slipped her hand in his habitually.

Then, she noticed the gang winking at her. Wei Ziqi was married so he remained calm and steady. The other older bachelors were calm and steady too when they were working outside, but when they were gathered with their friends, they would lose their calmness and started to behave playfully.

“Good, he already referred her as his mother now. When’s your wedding dinner?” Han Zhuoli asked with a smile on his face.

“Wedding dinner will be held soon, but Danchen is his actual mother. Biological mother,” Qi Chenglin answered.

Ruan Danchen did not bother about his first statement anymore. Qi Chenglin was not one who knew nothing about romance and they had reached a consensus that they would get married together in the future. She just felt slightly annoyed at his confidence and without proposing officially.

She fought the urge to stomp on his foot and asked, “Who will you marry soon?”

However, it was obvious that Yan Beicheng and the rest were shocked by Qi Chenglin’s last statement. Their eyes widened as they stared at Ruan Danchen, which embarrassed her.

“Aiyoh, what in the world happened? You’re really cunning!” said Han Zhuoli.

“This is between the two of us so don’t need to inquire further. Just know that Danchen is Youxuan’s biological mother and that’s it.” Qi Chenglin did not plan on explaining the past incident to them. Even though they were like his brothers, it would still be embarrassing for them to know the truth, so only the Qi family knew what had actually happened.

Yan Beicheng and the gang did not mind too and stopped their inquiries.

“Since this is a huge joyous matter, how about we gather at the Red Roof? Tonight’s on me,” Yan Beicheng suggested. It was boring recently and besides, they had not had a gathering for such a long time.

Qi Chenglin remained silent and turned his head to Ruan Danchen instead to ask for her permission.

“Damn! You’re not married yet but acting like a hen-pecked husband now!” Gui Zhiqian mentioned it like he was watching a show while eating sunflower seeds.

Qi Chenglin ignored him straight away but Ruan Danchen felt embarrassed after listening to his statement. Qi Chenglin was the head of the family and no matter what happened, she had to protect his reputation whenever they were outside. “I’m fine with it. Since we have nothing to do, I’ll follow your decision.”

Qi Chenglin then agreed to his suggestion. Since Qi Chengzhi and his family were free too, they agreed to join the party tonight.

“Oh, that’s right, I nearly forgot about the true intentions of my visit. I’m going to share a video link in the group. Go ahead and have a look,” Yan Beicheng said and took out his phone.

Grandmother Qi and the rest of the family were listening to their conversation while munching through the sunflower seeds. Yan Beicheng’s statement raised their curiosities and Grandmother Qi asked immediately, “What link?”

“Granny, I’ll send it to you too, don’t worry,” Yan Beicheng said while his fingers kept poking on his phone’s screen repeatedly.

All the elders in their families followed the trend and knew how to use WeChat so Yan Beicheng and the gang registered these elders as friends. After a while, Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi, Qi Zhongliang and Xia Wenna, and Qi Zhongxun and Guan Liya received the video sent by Yan Beicheng.

They saw a Mercedes-Benz shaking while being surrounded by cars in front of the traffic light in the video. Grandmother Qi criticized, “Young men nowadays are really outrageous. They can’t contain themselves even when they’re waiting for the traffic light to turn green. This brings such a bad impression on them.”

Ruan Danchen glanced at Qi Chenglin amid the embarrassment.

Grandmother Qi put on her spectacles with presbyopia lenses to take a clearer view of the number plate, which was quite familiar to her. “Chenglin, is this your car?”

Yan Beicheng grinned at Qi Chenglin, whose expression paled with anger, and said, “This video was shared like crazy in my friends’ list. They said the people in this car were bold and untrammeled. They couldn’t even contain themselves when the traffic light turned red. Then, I noticed that the number plate was quite familiar so I took a closer look. Yo, wasn’t that your car?”

Han Zhuoli stared at Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen ambiguously. Ruan Danchen’s face went as red as a beetroot now and the elders in the Qi family were still sitting together with them. It would be disastrous if they misunderstood the situation.

“Youxuan and I were playing around in the back of the car last night, that was the reason why the car was so…” Ruan Danchen was unable to mutter the word “bouncy” anyhow.

“Lao Chu, what are you doing?” Yan Beicheng took a glance at Chu Zhaoyang who was sitting beside him quietly, but his fingers were busy poking at his phone.

“Downloading the video, perhaps it may come in handy when they’re getting married,” Chu Zhaoyang said lightly.

“…” Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen were dumbfounded.

“All of you came here together just for this?” Qi Chenglin felt especially speechless as he thought they were too silly.

Gui Zhiqian gave him a magnanimous nod. “It’s hectic during the New Year festival, and you should be honored that we paid you a visit.”

It was afternoon after they were done messing around with him, so Grandmother Qi made them stay for lunch in the old mansion.

Then, the Qi family realized that Yan Beicheng and the gang came here straight after their assemblage and had not paid other families a New Year call yet. Thus, Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin brought their wives and children and followed them to pay a visit to each family.

They had decided to visit the Han family manor first since it was the nearest to the Qi family manor.

Wei Ziqi carried Little Muran in his embosom after the women served lunch and started eating and feeding Little Muran at the same time, ignoring his son completely.

Ruan Danchen served a small bowl of noodles to Wei Ran, who was carrying Little Muche, so that she could feed her daughter.

Wei Ziqi was extremely patient in taking care of Little Muran meticulously.

Little Muran took a bite of the food she disliked and spat it out, and Wei Ziqi then ate it without feeling disgusted even though there was some unknown object in the meat he just ate.

Little Muran felt bored after eating for quite some time, so she started misbehaving and did not want to continue her lunch in peace. Wei Ziqi then coaxed her with a good temper. “Alright, alright. Come and have a bite again. We’ll stop eating after ten bites, alright? I’ll count for you.”

Little Muran finally started eating again after endless coaxing, but she held the food in her mouth instead of chewing it. Wei Ziqi then grabbed a piece of stewed beef and said, “Look at how I chew. One, Two, Three… That’s right.”

The other bachelors were on the brink of vomiting at the sight of Wei Ziqi tolerating his daughter’s wilfulness. Wei Ziqi would not have such a good temper before he had a daughter. If anyone dared to act capricious towards him, he would kick the person’s buttocks without hesitation, and even the person’s death would not be able to resolve his anger.

Little Muche, who was sitting beside them, misbehaved too. He did not want to eat the noodles Wei Ran fed, and he would turn his head away when the spoon was near his mouth. When Wei Ran found a good opportunity after cajoling him for a while and forced a spoonful of noodles into his mouth, he would spit it out without hesitation.

Wei Ziqi noticed it from the corner of his eye and glared at Little Muche with a stern gaze.

Little Muche went stiff and made a crying expression, looking especially pitiful. Wei Ziqi then raised his eyebrows and gave him a condescending sneer.

Little Muche was about to cry initially, but after noticing his father’s gaze, he pursed his lips and widened his teary eyes, trying desperately to hold the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. He thus kept the tears and snot at bay before eating the noodles Wei Ran fed obediently, peeking at him from time to time vigilantly.

Wei Ziqi continued cajoling his daughter to eat her lunch patiently.

“Wei Ziqi, did your son come with the package when you top up your phone charges?” Yan Beicheng shifted his gaze between Little Muche and Little Muran, noticing a huge difference between their treatment.

“What are you talking about? He’s a product of me and my wife’s hard work.” Wei Ziqi glared Yan Beicheng with a little annoyance from being misunderstood.

“…” Wei Ran was dumbfounded.

Wei Ziqi’s sleeves were being encumbrances so Wei Ran helped him to roll up his sleeves, which revealed a washable tattoo of SpongeBob SquarePants on his arm.

“Yo, Wei Ziqi, are you still childish?” Han Zhuoli laughed at the sight of the SpongeBob SquarePants tattoo on Wei Ziqi’s arm; he was an adult man but with a cartoon tattoo on him.

“Muran liked it and insisted on sticking it on him,” Wei Ran explained with a smile on her face.

She recalled Little Muran was chewing bubble gum when she came back from kindergarten on one day. There was a washable tattoo sticker inside the packet so she insisted on sticking it on Wei Ziqi’s back of the hand.

It was unwise for his subordinates and clients to notice the cartoon tattoo during his work, but he could not bear the sight of his daughter’s disappointed expression. Nonetheless, Little Muran was persistent in her demand on sticking the tattoo on a conspicuous location.

Feeling helpless, Wei Ziqi persuaded Little Muran to place the tattoo on his arm. However, it was still noticeable if he did not hide it carefully.

“The status difference between your son and daughter is huge, don’t you think so?” Gui Zhiqian winked and took a closer look at Little Muche again. Even though his eyes, nose, and mouth were the absolute spitting images of Wei Ziqi and Wei Ran, Wei Ziqi treated him as if he was picked up from the roadside.

Wei Ziqi rolled his eyes and said, “A daughter has to be doted delicately, whereas a son must be treated harshly so that he won’t suffer in the future.”

Little Muran was full after Wei Ziqi finished his sentence, and her father then advised before putting her down on the ground, “My daughter, if there’s any man who tries to court you in the future, don’t promise him if he didn’t treat you better than I did. Don’t marry if that happens. Stay home and I’ll take care of you.”

Xiao Muran nodded prudently before going to play with the others.

Footnotes:

Ch 386 Footnote 1
[1] Lucky money is prepared for children by adults and the elderly and given after the reunion dinner. There are no clear literary sources from which to trace the origin of the red envelope tradition. In China, during the Qin Dynasty, the elderly would thread coins with a red string. The money was called yasui qian (yā suì qián 压岁钱) meaning “money warding off evil spirits”, and was believed to protect the elderly from sickness and death. The lucky money was replaced by red envelopes when printing presses became more common and is now found written using the homophone for suì that means ‘old age’ instead of ‘evil spirits’. In folk culture, the children will live safe and sound for the whole year if they get lucky money. This custom still remains and the amount of money is increasing. Children use their money to buy books or other school supplies. Some families also save money for future use or use it to help cultivate in their children the habit of saving.

Ch 386 Footnote 2
[2] One-Year-Old Catch (zhuā zhōu 抓周) is a tradition with a long history in China. It was recorded even when it was in the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝). One-Year-Old Catch is usually held before eating the long-life noodles when it is on the day when a baby is one year old. The family will lay out sutras, brush pens, ink sticks, paper, ink slabs, abacus, copper coins, account books, pieces of jewelry, flowers, rouge, foods, toys, etc. For girls, scoops, scissors, rulers, thread, scissor-cut will be added. Then the parents put the baby in front of these articles and make it sit up. Nobody will give any instruction or cue to the baby so that it is left free to choose. Watching the baby catch the articles it likes, the family can then make predictions about its potential interests, future career and development.

- - -

Xiao Muran nodded prudently before going to play with the others.

Wei Ziqi gave Qi Chenglin a complacent look as if trying to say, ‘See? If your son isn’t as good as me, then don’t even bother to try and court my daughter.’

There was only one thing going through everyone’s mind now—childish men!

Qi Youxuan took out a piece of tissue paper from the tissue box to wipe his mouth after he had his stomach full. He then climbed down the chair and ran towards Little Muran. “Mumu, I’m going to treat you well now!”

Qi Chenglin shifted his gaze away from Qi Youxuan slowly before replying to Wei Ziqi. “I have confidence in my son.”

“…” Wei Ziqi was left speechless.

Grandmother Qi was smiling at them, thinking that Qi Youxuan had a bright future ahead of him. If she was fortunate to live long enough, she might even be able to witness Youxuan’s marriage with his future wife!

The lunch ended in an enigmatic atmosphere between the two future families-in-law. Then, they left together to start paying New Year calls.

Qi Youxuan followed them as he would not miss any opportunity to receive more red packets.

…

…

Their first stop was the Han family manor. Grandmother Han welcomed them enthusiastically and gave red packets to the three children happily, feeling envious as she fixed her gaze on Little Muche.

“Look at you. Ziqi had two children now and even Muche was getting older,” Grandmother Han glared at Han Zhuoli after giving all the red packets away.

Han Zhuoli did not dare to respond to her. However, Qi Youxuan passed the red packets to Ruan Danchen deliberately to show off and said, “Mom, help me take these red packets for safekeeping.”

Grandmother Han was unable to remain calm now. Her initial thunderous voice became even louder as she spoke, “Chenglin, you’ve decided on your marriage, is it?”

“I had planned to marry Danchen all these while,” Qi Chenglin held Ruan Danchen’s hand and answered confidently.

Grandmother Han was getting anxious now. “Han Zhuoli, can you stop being a disappointment and live up to my expectations? Youxuan has a stepmother now but you don’t even have a girlfriend.”

Qi Youxuan was unhappy about Grandmother Han referring to Ruan Danchen as his stepmother. She was his biological mother after all, so he corrected Grandmother Han. “Great-grandma, she is my biological mother, not my stepmother.”

“Ah? Biological mother? What happened?” Grandmother Han raised her voice and asked.

Qi Chenglin then gave her a simple explanation. “It was a misunderstanding from the past. Anyway, I’ve reunited with Danchen now and had explained it to my family and Youxuan.”

Grandmother Han was a fan of Korean drama, and she was especially fond of reading romance novels. However, she could not stare at the screen for too long as it would induce discomfort such as headaches and blurry vision, so she instructed someone else to download audiobooks for her. After that, she would feel nothing but joy and pleasure when she listened to the audiobook of romance novels every single day.

After listening to Qi Chenglin’s explanation, Grandmother Han immediately pictured a reunion after a break-up due to misunderstandings.

“Aiyoh, your child had grown up so much and you even reunited with your wife. That’s good, that’s good. Zhuo’zi, you’re not bad looking yourself too but why can’t you find a girlfriend until now? Even Chengzhi has a child now! Did you know how embarrassed I felt whenever I went out? I always saw the others hugging their grandchildren and playing with them outside, and I didn’t even dare to amuse and play with them because I feared that they’d ask if my grandson has a girlfriend or not. That would make me feel so embarrassed and humiliated.” Grandmother Han glanced at the three beautiful children in front of her, feeling nothing but affection and envy no matter how she stared at them.

Grandmother Han’s nagging made Han Zhuoli uneasy. He kept signaling the others to leave quickly so that he could use that as an excuse to escape from this terrible situation.

“Yes, you’re right,” Chu Zhaoyang, who remained silent all this while, voiced out suddenly. His deep voice sounded especially calm and steady.

Grandmother Han held onto Chu Zhaoyang’s hand as though she finally found a soulmate who understood her and sighed. “Ah, I don’t even know if I can live long enough to see Zhuo’zi marry his wife.”

In the end, Qi Chengzhi remained loyal to his friends and said that they needed to pay other families a New Year call. Han Zhuoli then quickly left alongside them in relief.

Han Zhuoli pointed his finger at Chu Zhaoyang angrily the moment they stepped out of the house. “Lao Chu, you’re not loyal to your friends at all!”

Chu Zhaoyang gave him a haughty stare with his deep eyes. “Ha ha.”

Chu Zhaoyang normally would not act spitefully to others if he was not provoked. Song Yu was well aware of his behavior so she took a glance at Yan Beicheng, who was laughing at the side. It was obvious that he knew what was going on between Chu Zhaoyang and Han Zhuoli.

“Lao Chu’s family was urging him to get married too and they introduced a lady for him to go on a blind date. However, that lady commented that he was too boring. He was silent throughout the whole meal and the most that he mentioned was “Alright”. So, the lady went back home and complained, saying that he shouldn’t go on a blind date without the intention to do so. Wasn’t that humiliating? Auntie went straight to the company after hearing the complaint and coincidentally, Zhuo’zi was there too and gloating at the side,” Chu Zhaoyang grinned as he explained to them.

Han Zhuoli had forgotten completely about this matter. Now that Yan Beicheng reminded him, he immediately pointed at Chu Zhaoyang and lashed out. “Dang, you’re a cunning b*stard! It was just a miniature matter and yet you’re bearing the grudge now. You’re such a narrow-minded person!”

“Ha ha.” Chu Zhaoyang straightened his tie in a decorous way before moving his long, slender legs, entered the car and drove away.

Whenever when they visited a family, Qi Youxuan would always find opportunities to call his mother. It was obvious the reasons why he called his mother were just excuses; he merely wanted to show off that he had a mother.

Even when they were outside and met with anyone, disregarding whether they were acquaintances or strangers, Qi Youxuan would call out to his mother deliberately.

Ruan Danchen would lower her gaze and reply to him every single time tirelessly.

The kid was out of excuses in the end. He called out to his mother again and when Ruan Danchen lowered her gaze and asked him what was going on, he hesitated for quite some time, trying desperately to come up with a new reason but failed. He blushed and answered, “Nothing.”

Qi Chenglin pouted. To be honest, he was getting annoyed at Qi Youxuan’s constant yelling which made him feel like there was callus formation in his ears now.

Ruan Danchen grinned instead and lifted Qi Youxuan. “You can call me as many times as you want, I love hearing it.”

“He’s heavy.” Qi Chenglin frowned.

“It’s okay, I want to carry him.” Ruan Danchen smiled.

The kid felt embarrassed instead and said, “Mom, put me down, I can walk on my own.”

Ruan Danchen noticed that the kid’s gaze kept shifting towards Little Muran who was lying in Wei Ziqi’s embosom and understood his concern, so she put him down on the ground.

Qi Chenglin then received a phone call from Jiang Yuan. Other than “alright”, Qi Chenglin remained silent throughout the call and hung up.

Qi Chenglin lowered his head and explained to her, “I instructed Jiang Yuan to visit the Shen family and pass them a cheque. That cheque was considered as payment for the university’s tuition and foster fees for these past few years. Didn’t Shen Jialiang think that you owe him money? The debt is paid now. Since Liu Ronghua didn’t take much responsibility in raising you, we don’t owe her anymore after they received the cheque.”

Ruan Danchen realized that the last sentence Qi Chenglin mentioned was meant to release her burden, so she nodded after understood his intentions. She was not particularly curious regarding her biological parents since she had a home and lived a prosperous life now.

She did not inquire regarding the sum of that cheque but guessed that it would be a humongous amount since Qi Chenglin wanted the Shen family to keep this matter as a secret.

She felt apologetic towards Qi Chenglin since he had to give such a huge amount of money to the Shen family for free. Even though the money was considered little for Qi Chenglin, she felt utterly disgusted.

Qi Chenglin squeezed her hand just as the thought crossed her mind. She lifted her gaze and met his gentle, bright eyes and nice, vaguely smiling nice lips. His facial expression then appeared mischievous and made his initial stern features looked younger instantly.

“I’m not buying a wife,” came Qi Chenglin’s soft answer, a little croaky but relaxed nonetheless.

Ruan Danchen grinned. “I rather you don’t spend even a penny, I’ll sell myself to you for free.”

“That won’t do. My wife is priceless,” Qi Chenglin said with a smile on his face.

“Ah, this couple is too much for me to handle!” Wei Ziqi was fed up with Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. Absent-mindedly, they had been showing their affections publicly since they exited the Wei family manor and as they walked toward the parking lot.

Han Zhuoli nodded his head indignantly. “Three pairs of couples came out today. It’s agonizing, I won’t walk alongside you guys again in the future!”

It was too unfair for him. In front of him were Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen whose actions could make bachelors suffer in agony, whereas behind him was Wei Ziqi who loved his daughter a little too much like she was his dear life. He could not live in peace and quiet now!

Ruan Danchen blushed upon hearing their playful teases and she sheepishly avoided direct eye contact with them.

Qi Chenglin fought the urge to lean forward and kiss her blushing cheeks.

When Ruan Danchen accompanied Qi Youxuan to buy new clothes for the New Year festival, she bought a red-colored trench coat as he insisted her to buy the same colored outfit as him.

Ruan Danchen normally wore a simple and plain outfit with makeup so light that no one would be able to notice it and thought that she did not wear any makeup at all.

Now, she used a brighter lipstick to match the red colored outfit, which made her appear beautiful and glamorous. One would describe her as pretty and flirtatious with her current fashion.

Qi Chenglin was a man without scruples and he certainly did not care whether the bachelors behind him could handle their affections or not, but Ruan Danchen was a very bashful woman. He was thick-skinned enough to endure the criticism or playful teases made especially by Han Zhuoli and the gang, but he feared Ruan Danchen would be too embarrassed to appear in front of the gang again, so he had no choice but to contain his urge.

Qi Chenglin entered the car and saw Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan sitting at the back of the car. His annoyance toward his son was unrestrained when he took a peek at the back through the rearview mirror.

Qi Chenglin would certainly yank Ruan Danchen into his embosom for some lip-dancing if they were alone without that little third wheeler’s presence.

Ruan Danchen felt his gaze and noticed his annoyed glare toward the unknowing Qi Youxuan. Then, he shifted his gaze to meet hers after feeling her stare on him, which radiated a burning heat immediately upon eye contact.

Ruan Danchen was scorched by his burning gaze which resulted in rosy cheeks. Then, she glared back at him before avoiding his gaze in embarrassment, but she kept recalling it and wanted to take a look at him again. Moreover, she was curious and wanted to know if he was fixing his gaze on her.

True enough, she noticed his burning stare lingered still when she eventually lifted her gaze. His gaze was scorching hot as though wanting to swallow her whole, and it made her body tremble.

Heat seared through her body as she was fully immersed in his burning gaze. She suddenly jumped in shock at the sudden loud, blaring car horn sound.

She turned her head and saw Han Zhuoli stopped his car beside theirs. He slid down the car window and asked, “Are you leaving or not?”

He drove away right after.

“Let’s leave now,” insisted a flustered Ruan Danchen.

Though Qi Chenglin was reluctant to shift his gaze away from Ruan Danchen’s pinkish face, he eventually started driving away.

After their visits to pay a New Year call to every family and Qi Youxuan grabbing every opportunity to show off that he had a mother, Grandmother Qi received a lot of phone calls to congratulate her at home in the evening. This induced exhilaration in Grandmother Qi and she even promised to deliver countless wedding invitation cards to each family who called.

Grandmother Qi then made some calculations with her fingers and realized that Grandmother Han had not given her a call to congratulate her, so she took the initiative and called Grandmother Han personally. “Xiao Han, did my two grandsons bring their wives and children to pay you a New Year call?”

Grandmother Han held the phone at home, gritted her teeth out of annoyance and took a bite at the apple with all her might. Grandmother Qi had been showing off persistently since Qi Chengzhi finally got married.

It would be fine if Grandmother Qi showed off to everyone equally, but she aimed all firepower purposely at Grandmother Han after all her cannons roared at the same time. Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin came out directly from the Qi family manor with their families, right? However, Grandmother Qi had to emphasize that two of her grandsons brought their wives and children.

These two grandmothers were competitive even though they were good friends; comparative and would argue every single time they met. They had known each other for a long time, and they started bickering and complaining when they were students, but for some reason, their friendship was not affected at all until now. The friendship between them was perceived as a miracle by others.

Grandmother Han chewed the apple for quite some time deliberately before replying, “They came, and left for quite a while too.”

“Hahahahaha…are you surprised? I didn’t inform you before so are you alright after hearing Youxuan calling out to his mother?” Grandmother Qi asked happily.

“Hahahahahahaha.” Grandmother Han gave up responding to her.

Grandmother Han had been showing off for the past decades that she got married earlier than Grandmother Qi, and even her son’s marriage was earlier than Grandmother Qi’s son too. She did not expect that she would lose when it came down to her grandson!

“Hahahaha! I was thinking that it’d be extremely difficult for my second grandson to find a wife and feared that my future granddaughter-in-law would be unkind to Youxuan since she wasn’t Youxuan’s biological mother, right? Even though my grandson was acting restrained normally and there wouldn’t be a second time when he was introduced to a lady, he was actually thinking about his son’s mother! Look at him, finally marrying his wife and reunited with his family. Extremely good news!” Grandmother Qi laughed complacently.

Grandmother Han hung up the call after listening to Grandmother Qi’s constant bragging for quite some time and called Han Zhuoli’s father.

Han Xianghui was paying a New Year call at the Qi family manor when he picked up the call. He only had time to say “Mom” before Grandmother Han bombarded him with a roar through the phone. “I’m telling you, don’t play around with those virtually nonsenses of properly-matched-marriage. Find a lady for Zhuoli now, I want to hug my great-grandchild!”

Grandmother Han hung up the phone angrily after yelling through the phone. She was in a better mood now after releasing all her melancholy that accumulated in her heart.

However, Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi heard her clearly since her voice was thunderous enough to penetrate through the phone.

Han Xianghui felt so awkward and embarrassed in an instant, especially when Grandmother Qi who sat opposite him grinned proudly while munching through the sunflower seeds.

…

…

It was the fifth day of the lunar month when Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen were having a lie-in at home. Then, her phone rang; it was the reminding alarm of her memorandum. Her curiosity led her to turn on the phone, and she suddenly recalled that she had a senior high gathering in the afternoon.

Since Ruan Danchen had promised to attend the gathering, naturally she would not renege at the last minute, so she put her phone down to get off the bed.

Qi Chenglin was awakened by the alarm too. He opened his eyes slightly and his arm around Ruan Danchen tightened. Then, he was on top of her, burying his face directly beside her neck and asked while exhaling, “What happened?”

His voice was lazy and sleepy as if acting coquettishly, which sounded especially intoxicating to her. His warm breaths were caressing the most sensitive spot on her neck which made her whole body flush pink in an instant.

Qi Chenglin tried his best to pull Ruan Danchen as close to his embosom as possible, and he then assumed a lateral sleeping position and rested his palm on her back. The fact that his palm was merely running up and down her spine coaxed shivers out of her as heat engulfed her body.

“I love the pinkish look on you,” Qi Chenglin mumbled with a deep and croaky voice as if not fully awakened yet.

When Ruan Danchen was not in her sound mind during his gentle caressing, he lifted her and inserted himself into her.

Ruan Danchen let out a quivered moan and held onto him tightly as her lips pressed against his shoulder firmly.

No one could have predicted that Qi Chenglin would be so energetic having just woken up. It was like he wanted her to collapse from exhaustion. His zeal was much more than the night before, and Ruan Danchen almost could not breathe. He made her unable to contain herself, and her body did not even answer to her anymore.

His chest was broad and she was wrapped tightly in him, bearing the weight of him engulfing her. She curled her arms and legs instinctively on him, hanging on him as if she was holding tightly onto a piece of floating wood.

Qi Chenglin intimately wiped off the sweat from her forehead. He felt very content.

“What time is it?” Ruan Danchen mumbled and asked.

Qi Chenglin glanced at the clock on the nightstand and said, “Ten thirty.”

“Oh dear, I forgot that I have a senior high school reunion to go to later.” Her words were so, but he did her so good that she was not that keen on getting up. She would much rather nuzzle in his embrace than attend the reunion.

Qi Chenglin remembered her school reunion too, but the main reason was because Ruan Danchen’s old crush would be attending too. He was hoping that she would forget the reunion.

He looked at her distantly but there was no way he could forbid her from going since that would all but reveal his pettiness.

There was a knock on the door. Qi Youxuan’s spirited voice resounded from outside. “Dad, Mom, are you awake yet? I want to eat!”

Qi Chenglin wanted to cozy himself with Ruan Danchen for a while longer, but Ruan Danchen got up immediately after hearing that her son was hungry.

“If you still want to sleep, you can sleep a while more.” Ruan Danchen looked at his handsome face and could not resist kissing him a few more times.

His pampering of her made her feel like she was becoming a member of the ‘good-looks association 1’ [1].

Qi Chenglin did not say a single word and got up after she did.

After tidying things up, Ruan Danchen went out to see Qi Youxuan standing at the door. He was holding his little tummy and sporting a rather pitiful and hungry expression.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get to it now.” Ruan Danchen brought him to one side and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“I’d like to eat some hot noodles for breakfast,” Qi Youxuan proclaimed. He thought about slurping his noodles without a care in the world, and with a hot bowl of soup and the white steam emitting from his noodles. Then, he imagined the warm feeling he would get after eating those noodles. His face looked absolutely gluttonous.

Ruan Danchen was incredibly amused by his demeanor and she wondered how the kiddo turned out to be such an adorable child. From the freezer, she took out some luncheon meat, some vegetables, and eggs. She whipped up three bowls of soup swiftly.

After the meal, all the dishes and utensils were cleaned up placed away. Ruan Danchen did not intend to put on any makeup. She might have considered doing so if it was just a simple reunion, but Chen Libai was there. He was old news, and the little embers of fondness wilted away before anything even started. After so many years, everyone was mature and no one would take all that too seriously.

She knew though, that Qi Chenglin was petty. Although she did not have any ulterior motives, putting on makeup might make him feel like she was eagerly looking forward to meeting with Chen Libai. She simply applied a layer of BB cream, some eyeliner, and a thin layer of lipstick. It was practically the same as her natural skin tone.

When she carried her bag out, she saw Qi Chenglin holding his iPad, but she could not see what he was looking at. He seemed to be engrossed in it and looked extremely focused.

Ruan Danchen could not help but do a double-take. ‘Is he really that accepting?’

Even so, she asked him in good faith, “Would you like to come with me? It’s okay to bring family members.”

Although that was the case, in past reunions, all those men bragged about bringing their own partners the next time they had a reunion. Most of them had girlfriends, while some were contemplating marriage and others were already married, yet not once did any of them bring their other half over.

They figured that everyone might feel uncomfortable since their own friends were not familiar with their significant others and might be reserved with their jokes.

Ruan Danchen had no apprehensions about it, but with Qi Chenglin’s aura, no one would probably say anything if he were to sit there, and the dinner would probably be cold.

It was Qi Chenglin’s feelings that Ruan Danchen cared the most about. She did not want him to sulk at home by himself.

Qi Chenglin remained nonchalant and lowered his iPad calmly. He cocked a brow at her and said, “Family member?”

“…” Ruan Danchen glared at him. She knew that the man was using that chance to poke fun at her, but his waggling eyebrows and mischievous look made her feel shy.

“If you don’t want to be a family member then so be it,” Ruan Danchen said bashfully. She headed out, but he grabbed her wrist.

She was then pulled down to be seated beside him.

Qi Chenglin decided to place the iPad to one side and lean over. “You’re proposing to me?”

“I hate you!” Ruan Danchen murmured softly. She was still irked by it even though she knew he was teasing her on purpose. “A proposal is the kind of thing that men should do!”

Her willingness to invite him to join her was something that made him happy, but he masked that happiness and put on a solemn expression, remarking seriously, “It’s your school reunion. I’m not close to them. If I sit there, I don’t think they can talk freely, so I don’t think I’ll go.”

After saying that, he stood up. “I’ll send you and come back home.”

“Are you sure you won’t be worried if you don’t go?” Ruan Danchen looked at him suspiciously.

Qi Chenglin’s expression was incredibly calm and he was about to take his car keys.

“You don’t need to send me. It’s rare for you to be off work, so you should rest at home. I’ll just take a cab,” Ruan Danchen stopped him as she did not want him to drive to-and-fro.

“It’s not easy to get a cab here,” Qi Chenglin said.

Ruan Danchen swiped her phone. “There are e-hailing apps, right? I learned it from a colleague. It’s very convenient. Aunt Zheng is on leave and there’s no one at home. I’ll be worried if Youxuan stays at home alone.”

“But you wanted me to go with you?” Qi Chenglin cocked a brow and asked.

“If you went with me, we could bring Youxuan or drop him off at Jade Field Park.” Ruan Danchen had already decided on that.

Qi Chenglin then nodded. “Okay. Call me when you’ve reached.”

Ruan Danchen tiptoed and kissed his lip. “I won’t stay there too long.”

“Mm,” Qi Chenglin responded. He sent her off at the doorstep, and although he really wanted her to just skip the reunion, he was so mindful of his dignity that he could not utter a single word.

Ruan Danchen went out of Prestige Residences 1 [2], and before she could even launch the e-hailing app, she saw an empty cab in front of her, which she flagged down immediately.

Around forty minutes later, Qi Chenglin received Ruan Danchen’s call.

She paid her fare and walked to Shengyue while saying, “I’m here.”

“What time do you want to leave? I’ll come pick you.” Qi Chenglin looked at the clock and was already feeling impatient just waiting at home.

“I’ll see. Will let you know later,” Ruan Danchen said. “Maybe in an hour or two.”

Qi Chenglin sat on the sofa with his iPad still on his lap, but none of the content or words could enter into his brain.

Once she hung up, Ruan Danchen went into Shengyue. She was already in the list of VIP members, so when the manager saw her, he immediately welcomed her in.

“Miss Ruan,” the manager greeted.

Ruan Danchen mentioned the name Wang Kaiyi, and the manager used his walkie-talkie to ascertain it with the front desk. He then escorted Ruan Danchen to a room on the second floor.

She went in and looked at the time. It was forty minutes past eleven and she arrived slightly later than the agreed-upon time. She went into the room and noticed that everyone was present—she was the last to arrive.

A man was seated on one of the seats that faced the wall. Ruan Danchen recognized him as Chen Libai.

He did not look too different from his senior high days, save for the slight maturation. He wore a black dress shirt with two buttons undone, lending his collar a casual but confident look. His sleeves were folded up too, and he was chatting with the others in a very relaxed manner.

Chen Libai was attractive and handsome, but compared to Qi Chenglin he was just slightly inferior, be it in his looks or his charisma.

If Qi Chenglin really did show up, it was more than likely that everyone would be hesitant to speak up, if at all. They might just answer obediently to whatever questions that Qi Chenglin asked, making for an incredibly awkward situation.

“Danchen!” Gao Xiaoyang turned around and waved.

Ruan Danchen walked over with a smile on her face.

“Come, sit! We’ve saved a spot for you.” Gao Xiaoyang looked at her phone. “You’re ten minutes late.”

Twenty people were present and seated at the large round table. The only empty seat was beside Chen Libai. Ruan Danchen did not feel anything toward Chen Libai, so she went there and sat without feeling shy at all. Gao Xiaoyang was seated at her other side.

“Long time no see.” Chen Libai was originally in the middle of a conversation with Chang Jingqiu, but once he saw Ruan Danchen sit down, he simply cut off the conversation and ditched Chang Jingqiu to greet Ruan Danchen.

Ruan Danchen had just arrived, so she did not hear what Chen Libai and Chang Jingqiu were talking about. That was part of the reason why she did not notice Chang Jingqiu’s rather unhappy expression.

She smiled and replied courteously, “Yes, it’s been a long time. I heard from Xiaoyang that you’ve just returned to the country.”

“What plans do you have after returning? Do you want to get into your family’s business?” Wang Kaiyi asked.

Chen Libai shook his head. “I want to venture out myself and see whether I have what it takes. I can give myself this challenge because I’m still young. If it doesn’t work out and I suffer some losses, it’ll still be a beneficial thing.”

“I never expected you to think of it that way. You’re very different from those other rich kids that I know,” Chang Jingqiu smiled and said. Her beautiful eyes were constantly hovering over Chen Libai’s face.

Chang Jingqiu transferred to their school during the latter half of their second year in senior high. Her family was from J City, but despite that, her family’s business was well-known across the country. In terms of ranking, the Chang family 1’s position was quite high. J City was a small place after all, with the upperclassmen paling in number when compared to B City. The Chang family [3] all migrated to B City and successfully integrated with B City’s upper-class society

“Chen Libai, you keep a pretty low profile, don’t you? Ever since high school, I knew you were from a good background, but I didn’t know that you were this good,” Gao Xiaoyang smiled and remarked. “I’m now a finance journalist. If there are any interviews in the future, maybe you can do me a favor?”

“If I can, I will,” Chen Libai answered with a smile.

“Libai, you studied abroad but you didn’t bring a girlfriend home?” Wang Kaiyi asked knowingly.

Chen Libai smiled and glanced briefly at Ruan Danchen, saying, “Westerners don’t suit my tastes, and the cultural discrepancy is just too wide. Our personalities don’t complement. In other words, I already knew that I’d be coming home, and sooner or later I’ll have to break up with them. Why should I have that playboy mentality and do all those irresponsible things?”

“I thought you couldn’t get over your old flame,” Gao Xiaoyang chimed in.

She had earlier agreed with Wang Kaiyi to lead the conversation to Chen Libai’s love life. Sensing their intentions, Ruan Danchen was left with no choice but to feign ignorance.

“When I was younger, I didn’t want to be an irresponsible person. I’m not the kind of person who can just promise you things on a whim, then slap your a*s and leave just like that. Truth is, there were some things I couldn’t forget,” Chen Libai said. He looked at Ruan Danchen without being discreet at all.

“…” Ruan Danchen did not know what else to do. She could only pretend to be clueless and drink some tea to hide what she felt.

“I remember too, even though the both of you didn’t say it, the entire class knew that you both liked each other,” Wang Kaiyi said.

Chen Libai was smiling constantly beside her, and Chang Jingqiu suddenly asked, “I heard Xiaoyang say that you already have a boyfriend, Danchen?”

Chang Jingqiu was all smiles and the question was asked in a very gentle voice, but Ruan Danchen felt that something was not quite right.

Nevertheless, Chang Jingqiu’s sentences were Ruan Danchen’s saving grace. She had no qualms about affirming it, as that would prevent Chen Libai and the others from making things awkward.

“Mm,” Ruan Danchen said without missing a beat. Fearing that her response might be too slow that others may accuse her of finding an excuse. She was still rather worried, so she added, “We’re really happy with each other.”

Chang Jingqiu sniggered and said, “Why are you so anxious for? You’re that proud to have a boyfriend?”

Ruan Danchen felt embarrassed, realizing that her answer was made in some haste, as though she was dying to let everyone know that she had a boyfriend.

She chuckled awkwardly, but Chang Jingqiu smiled and added, “Okay, I won’t tease you anymore. I know you’re really happy with the relationship. Xiaoyang said the two of you are living together.”

Chen Libai’s expression became forced once he heard that, and his mien started to become dull.

Ruan Danchen did not know what Chang Jingqiu was up to because those words did not seem to tally with the smiling face. Those sentences seemed to be directed toward Chen Libai.

However, Ruan Danchen was not at all bothered about Chen Libai’s thoughts, as it would be best to extinguish quickly whatever intentions he might have.

She nodded without even blushing. “Mm, we’re discussing marriage already. He’s considered my first love.”

“And I thought your first love was Libai,” Wang Kaiyi said jokingly.

Ruan Danchen glared at him. “Don’t make these kinds of jokes. My boyfriend will be jealous if he finds out.”

“Yo, you’re that scared of him?” Wang Kaiyi cocked a brow.

“I’m not scared of him. I love him a lot.” Ruan Danchen’s mind was already set on killing off whatever thoughts Chen Libai had, which was why she could say that so brazenly.

She was not a fan of keeping others in the dark, and she would not string anyone along either.

“You’re showing a lot of love, but your boyfriend’s not even here. If he was, I don’t even know how lovey-dovey the both of you would be,” someone jested.

“But Danchen, you’re the same age as me, right? If your boyfriend is your first love, doesn’t that mean that your first love came a little bit too late?” Chang Jingqiu asked half-smilingly.

Ruan Danchen giggled and said, “I knew him when I was nineteen. He was my first love, but we were separated for some time, and I didn’t look for anyone else. We got together again later on.”

After finishing those few sentences, she continued, “Why are we focusing so much on me? It’s nothing important to be focusing on. Aren’t we here to welcome Libai back?”

“Exactly, exactly!”

Everyone’s attention was thus successfully diverted to the topic, but Chen Libai looked at Ruan Danchen with a very convoluted expression.

…

…

Qi Chenglin sat in the living room and watched the replay of a newly-produced variety show, but he was not actually paying attention to it. The entire show was just boisterous noise, which Qi Chenglin used to drown out the loneliness in the home.

Having watched it for a while, Qi Chenglin looked at the time. It had been an hour since Ruan Danchen’s call. He looked at Qi Youxuan sitting on the rug and playing with his Lego while watching television. He wondered if the child was heartless, because it had been so long since Ruan Danchen left, yet he did not think to be worried for her.

Having watched it for a while, Qi Chenglin looked at the time. It had been an hour since Ruan Danchen’s call. He looked at Qi Youxuan sitting on the rug and playing Lego while watching television. He wondered if the child was heartless, because it had been so long since Ruan Danchen left, yet he did not think to be worried for her.

“Ahem.” Qi Chenglin cleared his throat. Qi Youxuan did not seem to notice at all, treating it as though there was an itch in his father’s throat. He continued playing.

Qi Chenglin then coughed a couple of times and completely covering the noise from the television. It was then that Qi Youxuan turned and said, “Dad, if your throat isn’t feeling well, you should drink more water.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and continued playing with his Lego, and from time to time he would even look at the television, as if he did not have enough eyes to watch everything.

“…” Qi Chenglin drank some water unhappily and suddenly froze. With a sour face, he placed the cup down.

There was nothing wrong with his throat in the first place!

Qi Youxuan still did not react after some time had passed. Qi Chenglin cleared his throat and asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Nope. I had a late breakfast. Two meals are enough for today. I have some junk food too,” Qi Youxuan said without even looking up.

“What do you mean junk food?!” Qi Chenglin roared angrily.

Sometime later, Qi Chenglin looked at his son’s arched back and asked, “Mom’s not home. Don’t you miss her?”

Qi Youxuan finally looked up at the clock. “She’s only been gone for two hours. When I’m in class, Mom’s at work. I don’t get to see her for the entire day.”

“…” Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and then twitched them slightly. “Didn’t you still treat her as Aunt Ruan back then? The feeling has to be different.”

Qi Youxuan looked down and pieced it all together. He finally looked up at his father and stared at the man with his huge, grape-like eyes.

“…” Qi Chenglin’s hair was beginning to stand on end because of the boy’s stare. “What are you looking at?”

“Dad, do you miss Mom?” Qi Youxuan’s gaze was nothing short of disdain.

“When did I say that? I’m worried that you’ll miss her. The both of you had just gotten closer, and aren’t you two still in the early loving stages?” Qi Chenglin asked in a low voice. He decided to pick up the newspaper beside him and use it to block his face.

Qi Youxuan was having none of it. He grinned after seeing Qi Chenglin’s guilty disposition. “Dad, why are you like a child? You miss her after not seeing each other for just a while. You need to give Mom some time to do her own stuff.”

Qi Chenglin’s fingertips—with their neatly trimmed nails—grasped tighter on the newspaper and flipped a page angrily.

Qi Youxuan blinked and threw his Lego down. He ran up to Qi Chenglin and asked, “Dad, is Mom at her senior high school reunion?”

Qi Chenglin simply responded, “Mm”, and ignored him. After a while, a chubby arm crept up from the paper and pushed it down.

The man raised an eyebrow and looked at his son with a sullen expression.

Qi Youxuan looked at him suspiciously. “Could it be that Mom’s old crush will be at the reunion too?”

“Ahem!” Qi Chenglin cleared his throat and refrained from answering.

Qi Youxuan ran into his room at once and took out his Totoro-shaped cell phone. “Dad! You’re worried and you want me to call her right? You could’ve said that earlier! Mom won’t get close with another man and leave you, but you’re worried that someone else might keep bothering her, right?”

As the boy mumbled, he dialed Ruan Danchen’s number. Qi Chenglin’s lips twitched a couple of times.

…

…

Ruan Danchen was in the midst of a conversation. She was seated quite awkwardly with Chen Libai.

Even though she had no other thoughts, Chen Libai still seemed to be unrelenting. On top of that, there was also Chang Jingqiu, who seemed to be rather friendly even though Ruan Danchen felt that something was terribly off. She wondered if it was simply her own subjective interpretation of the situation, and she began questioning if she was a narrow-minded person.

Listening to everyone else’s conversation revealed that Chang Jingqiu was colleagues with Gao Xiaoyang. Ruan Danchen wondered but did not ask, why the former did not go into the family business.

At about that time, the cell phone in her bag began ringing. Ruan Danchen took it out and saw that Qi Youxuan was calling. She excused herself and went to pick the call up.

Ruan Danchen picked up the call outside and smiled while asking, “Youxuan, what is it?”

“Mom, when are you coming home?” Qi Youxuan dragged his voice and asked coyly.

Ruan Danchen smiled. “You miss me already?”

Qi Youxuan nodded immediately. “I miss you.”

“Then I’ll come home now,” Ruan Danchen said, although she did enjoy going to reunions in the past.

Chatting with her old classmates and meeting them was nice as all her senior high school friends were good people and did not show off about their jobs or anything of the sort. They mostly talked about the interesting things that happened in school, but the overall gist of the conversation took an unexpected turn that afternoon, and it was pointless to keep staying there.

Qi Youxuan was just about to tell her how much he missed her, but after hearing Ruan Danchen’s words, he immediately answered, “Mom, you’re coming back now?”

He turned to tell that to Qi Chenglin, but the man had already left his side. Hearing some noise at the door, he realized that Qi Chenglin was putting on shoes at the door, having already taken a jacket and his car keys.

“Mom, Dad is going to pick you up.” Qi Chenglin was already out the door after Qi Youxuan said that.

From behind, Qi Chenglin looked as tall and proud as ever, but his footsteps were very much quickened.

Qi Youxuan stretched his neck to look out. He was sure that Qi Chenglin had left, but he still suppressed his voice and whispered, “Mom, Dad’s the one that’s missing you. He kept looking at the clock when he was sitting in the living room. He’s too embarrassed to admit it and kept using me as an excuse. All of a sudden, he asked me if I’m hungry, or if I miss you. He really wants to keep appearances and pretend like it’s no big deal.”

Ruan Danchen giggled. She found it hard to imagine Qi Chenglin anxiously waiting for her to come home. Due to Youxuan’s words, her mind was filled with the imagery of Qi Chenglin wanting her to come back home soon but was too proud to call and tell her. She found it extremely adorable.

“When he left to fetch you, he was walking really fast.” Qi Youxuan was revealing everything to Qi Chenglin without showing any signs of holding back.

“He went out already?” Ruan Danchen asked. The thought of Qi Chenglin brought an exceptionally warm smile to her face.

“Yup!” Qi Youxuan nodded and said, forgetting that Ruan Danchen could not see him. “I wanted to follow him to pick you up, but I didn’t because I wanted to tell you about what Dad did.”

“Are you okay with being alone at home?” Ruan Danchen was slightly worried. Although the young boy was already in his primary school, he was still a child in her eyes.

“I’ll be fine. I won’t just run away,” Qi Youxuan promised.

“Alrighty, I’ll be back really soon. Call me if there’s anything. Also, the book underneath the landline phone at home has the numbers of your upstairs and downstairs neighbors. You can call them if anything happens, do you understand?” Ruan Danchen was worried that Qi Youxuan might be alone one day and would have to visit the neighbours in order to find someone to care for him.

A place like Prestige Residences was not the kind of place with neighbors who were keen on visiting one another. Most of them were successful people and were busy with their respective careers. It was rare to meet them. Nevertheless, everyone’s housekeepers were familiar with each other.

Fortunately, Aunt Zheng knew the neighbors’ servants quite well, and if something were to happen and Aunt Zheng was not there, Qi Youxuan could look for the neighbors’ housekeepers.

Nevertheless, Ruan Danchen decided she would greet everyone in the evening when most of them were already at home. A couple of visits would break the ice a bit.

Qi Youxuan answered and acted coquettishly for a while before hanging up.

A smile was still present on Ruan Danchen’s lips. She just could not help herself when she thought of the boy’s cute looks and how Qi Chenglin was sulking at home all alone.

She wanted to give Qi Chenglin a call, but after a second thought, she decided not to because he was driving.

As she held her phone and headed back to the room, she looked up to see Chen Libai standing right beside her since God-knows-when.

Seeing her finally realize his presence, Chen Libai smiled warmly, but traces of his gloominess was still there.

Ruan Danchen distanced herself politely and returned the smile. She had no idea why Chen Libai was so despondent. They may have had feelings for each other during their school days, but they were nothing more than naïve children who were experiencing love for the first time.

When Chen Libai left back then, she did feel some sadness and found it a bit hard to bear, but it was not to the extent that she was unable to part from him. Not long later, she managed to pick herself up, and by then her feelings toward Chen Libai was simply her first awakening of love.

If in the present, it was Qi Chenglin who left, she would have been in such unimaginable suffering that she may not ever date anyone else again in the future.

In her eyes, no one could compare to Qi Chenglin.

“You’re talking with your boyfriend?” Chen Libai smiled and asked.

Ruan Danchen shook her head. “My son.”

“Your…” Chen Libai felt choked for a moment.

“I had him with my boyfriend. He’ll be seven after the new year.” Ruan Danchen knew that Chen Libai was still harboring hope, although she did not know why it was something worthy of not letting go. Therefore, she decided that she might as well reveal her son to him.

After standing there in shock for some time, Chen Libai finally regained his senses and smiled. “Let’s go.”

Ruan Danchen followed him back, but once he sat down, he no longer had the mood to keep on thinking. If someone made a joke, he would laugh as well but his thoughts were constantly fixated on Ruan Danchen’s child.

He began counting in his brain. Her son’s age tallied with the year that Ruan Danchen broke up with her boyfriend. She was pregnant, but she did not expect to break up with her boyfriend. She carried the child herself and raised him, but eventually she crossed paths with her ex-boyfriend again. Once the ex knew that she had given birth to his son, he may have decided to get together with her to acknowledge the child as his.

Chen Libai then realized that Ruan Danchen had her boyfriend’s child but still referred to him as her boyfriend. In that case, that would mean she got pregnant out of wedlock, and with the son already seven years of age, it was surely not something to be proud of.

Naturally, he would not simply bring that subject up in front of others as that would probably tarnish Ruan Danchen’s reputation. What surprised him was that Ruan Danchen proudly proclaimed it, as though she did not mind at all that she was not yet married.

Chen Libai thought that it was quite irresponsible for the boyfriend not to give her status as a wife, considering the fact that their child was already seven-years-old. He then thought further and concluded that the boyfriend probably could not bear the responsibility, since he made her pregnant when she was only nineteen.

Nineteen was an age where one could still be considered a child.

The man was probably very young too, and due to his inability to provide for the child, he decided to run away irresponsibly. It was completely different from Chen Libai himself, who did not lead people on because he knew he would not be able to take responsibility—that was a proper thing for a man to do.

As he thought of all that, Chen Libai frowned. From his observation, Ruan Danchen’s boyfriend was an unreliable person. Otherwise, he would not have ditched mother-and-son in the past. The boyfriend probably did not have what it takes anyway and was unable to give Ruan Danchen happiness. That might be the reason why he did not even dare to wed her.

If the boyfriend only cared about his son, then just give the boy to him. Chen Libai was more than willing to take care of Ruan Danchen.

His first love was unforgettable. Even though he went out of the country, Ruan Danchen was always in his memory. Memories are often capable of painting a person in a better light, making it even harder to forget the innocent first love he had as a teen.

Coming back home and seeing Ruan Danchen, he realized that the pureness she had during her school days was still present. Nevertheless, her purity was not faked—it was all natural, making one feel rather pleasant when looking at her. Due to her age, she became more and more mature as the days went by, giving her an attractiveness that she did not have in the past.

At times, her off-handed smile would cause her pure attractiveness to ooze out and made Chen Libai’s heart thump even harder.

He made a firm decision to overlook the fact that she birthed another man’s son—Chen Libai was hell-bent on showing Ruan Danchen how unreliable her current boyfriend was.

Ruan Danchen had no idea that Chen Libai’s mind was filled with all those weird thoughts. However, she was restless because she knew that Qi Chenglin was coming over to pick her up. From time to time, she would glance at the time on her watch.

Once Qi Chenglin’s call came, she picked it up immediately, but instead of going out, she walked to the window just behind her chair.

“I’m here.” Qi Chenglin’s voice was as delightful as always. It was mature and sonorous, much unlike most of her same-age classmates.

Through the window, Ruan Danchen was able to spot his black Benz parked just below. Qi Chenglin was standing on the front passenger seat door, leaning on it with his slender-looking legs placed slightly in front of him.

It was snowing on the pavement and he was wearing all black. He appeared arrogant against the backdrop of the snow, and his chilly aura caused many passersby to do a double-take.

His hands were placed inside his pockets and he was even wearing a pair of sunglasses. He directed his gaze to Shengyue’s entrance originally, but for some reason—perhaps having sensed her gaze—he proceeded to look up.

Even if it was separated by the sunglasses, Ruan Danchen knew that their gazes had met.

Her heartbeat quickened after being looked at from a distance, and it felt to her like she was fresh into the relationship.

How was it that he had such a strong aura just by standing there? She completely forgot everything else after looking at him.

That man was hers. He was devoted to her, and thinking about that made her heartbeat quicken even more. She lamented that father and son would be thirty-four and seven, respectively, but continued to be as attractive as ever.

Plenty of women who passed by looked at him, not once but a couple of times. Ruan Danchen felt sick in her heart.

Soon after, Qi Chenglin smiled at her and said crisply, “Come down.”

Ruan Danchen replied, “Mm.” She was just about to leave but managed to spot a woman coming up to him and saying something. Qi Chenglin kept a stern face and answered briefly, though she had no idea what he said to her.

Nevertheless, Ruan Danchen could make out that the woman was hitting on him.

Ruan Danchen was getting angry. She hung up and grabbed her bag, wishing she could just jump down from the window.

Although she was really anxious, she turned around and said to everyone, “I’m sorry, my boyfriend’s here to pick me. I have to go.”

Naturally, none of them were willing to just let her leave so easily.

“Oh, come on, you’ve only just sat here for a while. We’re all having such a good chat, it’s gonna be disappointing if you leave,” someone said.

“Yeah! It’s not easy for all of us to have a reunion,” another remarked while looking at Chen Libai.

None of them knew that Ruan Danchen had a child. All they saw was a relentless Chen Libai, who seemed to be hung up on her even though she already told them that she had a boyfriend.

Everyone could see that Chen Libai’s attention was wholly focused on Ruan Danchen. When she went out to pick up the call, he followed suit as well.

Even after returning, his unwavering determination showed no signs of fading.

Since they were classmates in senior high, they were all very close to each other. Chen Libai liked Ruan Danchen, so compared with the boyfriend whom none of them ever met, they were quite supportive of Chen Libai. Whether intentionally or otherwise, they all wanted to lift his spirits and put down Ruan Danchen’s boyfriend, whom none of them were acquainted with.

“Since he’s here, why not invite him up and introduce him to everyone?” asked someone.

“Yeah! He’s already here let him stay around for a while,” Wang Kaiyi said courteously.

“That’s right! He’s already here, we should meet him,” said another, although the tone was not so much polite as it was odd.

Ruan Danchen’s expression remained steadfast, but deep down she was quite unhappy.

They did not know Qi Chenglin’s status and definitely would not take that into consideration. If Qi Chenglin were allowed to come up, he would be faced with an endless assault of peculiar remarks. Although Qi Chenglin would definitely not get the worst out of it, she still did not want him to hear all those rude and inconsiderate remarks.

There was no need for her to drag him there and show him off like a trophy. She hated doing that.

She was also worried that Qi Chenglin might just tolerate everything for her sake. She felt incredibly unhappy when she thought about how an eminent man like him would have to suffer all those insensitive jokes and become the subject of everyone’s attention.

Besides, Qi Chenglin was a smart man—if she could make out that something was off with her classmates’ words, then it was even more likely that Qi Chenglin could sense it. He might even be able to recognize Chen Libai with just one look and kick up a fuss with her at home. She would then have to coax him.

Ruan Danchen smiled calmly. “He’s waiting downstairs and he drove, so he can’t drink any alcohol. My son’s alone at home, and he’s too young, so we can’t let him be alone for too long. We’re gonna have to rush back home, so my boyfriend’s not going to come up.”

Chen Libai frowned. ‘That’s nothing to be proud of, so why did she say it out loud?’

Those who heard her were shell-shocked. With eyes wide open and mouths agape, they could not say anything at all. Everyone looked at each other, and it was so quiet that awkwardness began setting in.

“You have a son?” Chang Jingqiu asked.

Ruan Danchen nodded and smiled. “Yes, he’ll be seven this year.”

“Is he a child your boyfriend had with someone else?” Chang Jingqiu asked again.

As rude as the question was, everyone knew that Ruan Danchen would have to be pregnant when she was nineteen if the child were to be hers. To them, that was impossible. Ruan Danchen was a proper girl when she was still in school, and she would never do such an out-of-character thing.

That was why no one regarded Chang Jingqiu’s question as rude.

Ruan Danchen was very unhappy after hearing that. “Of course not. I gave birth to him.”

_____

Author’s Note:

An error in yesterday’s chapter. When I wrote about Chang Jingqiu’s background, I was constantly thinking about how to arrange our Xiao Ruan’s background, hence my error in writing ‘Ruan family’ when it’s supposed to be ‘Chang family’. So sorry. I can’t change it anymore, because if I did, they will have to review it again and I wouldn’t have any idea when it’ll be done. I won’t amend it, but I’ll make a note here. Sorry for the confusion to all the readers who read it. _(:з」∠)_ All I can do is lie down and make googly-eyes~

- - -

Ruan Danchen was very unhappy after hearing that. “Of course not. I gave birth to him.”

‘Qi Chenglin? Fathering someone else’s child?’ Though it may only be a hypothetical situation, it still angered her terribly.

Seizing their moment of bafflement, Ruan Danchen fished out two-hundred yuan and said, “You guys continue. Don’t let me ruin the mood. I’ll be going.”

Chen Libai was the first to come to his senses. He reached out and grabbed Ruan Danchen’s wrist.

She looked at his actions without frowning, but her expression remained calm. That calmness, however, made Chen Libai retract his hand in embarrassment. He took the money and gave it back to Ruan Danchen.

“We’ve all agreed that today will be my treat,” Chen Libai remarked with a smile.

Ruan Danchen had no intention of arguing with him for fear that the others might snap out of their bewilderment and continue insisting that Qi Chenglin come up.

She kept the money and made herself scarce immediately.

Ruan Danchen walked out of Shengyue just in time to watch Qi Chenglin throw a small wad of paper into a nearby bin.

“Someone was hitting on you just now?” Ruan Danchen waggled her brows and asked. She was grinning from ear to ear and showed no sign of being angry.

Her own man was lusted after by women and it was not something to be happy about, but despite feeling sick at heart, it did not go to the extent of jealousy. There was no need for her to act petty; instead, she was felt like teasing him.

“You saw that?” Qi Chenglin saw her lack of jealousy and felt slightly crushed. He pulled Ruan Danchen to him and hugged her without rushing to get in the car.

He knew that people in the building would be able to look at them from upstairs.

From what Gao Xiaoyang said through the phone earlier, Qi Chenglin knew that Ruan Danchen’s classmates were all very curious. He wondered how many people were watching from the windows at that exact time.

He was wearing sunglasses, so Ruan Danchen could not see his eyes. She failed to notice that Qi Chenglin was looking up, and as expected, there were plenty of people at the window looking down.

They were relieved because Qi Chenglin did not look up.

Qi Chenglin was thus free to show his love to them. Ruan Danchen had no idea that he was thinking that way.

The restaurant was warm and the weather was cold, but despite the large difference in temperature, she warmed up comfortably after he wrapped himself around her.

“I was standing at the window, remember?” Ruan Danchen smiled and allowed Qi Chenglin to wrap her inside his overcoat.

Through the woolen overcoat, she felt his warmth in addition to his fresh scent flowing down from the top of her head.

Qi Chenglin cocked a brow. His sunglasses were big, so his brow was only faintly visible above the glasses. He curled his lip and his hands were gently grasping at her waist. The force of his grip was not painful, but it managed to convey to her his unhappy state of mind.

“You’re not jealous?”

“You ignored her, right?” Ruan Danchen beamed with an infectiously sweet smile simply because he ignored the female stranger. “You’re so attractive. How much more jealous can I be if I were to be jealous at every single little thing?”

Ruan Danchen’s lips twitched. She was still somewhat chagrined by his immense attractiveness.

She shot him a minorly-resentful glance. “You’re a good man who simply stands by the road doing nothing, even wearing sunglasses that prevents you from using your eyes to seduce women. And yet you still manage to attract women’s attention. What are you made of?”

Despite knowing that she was messing with him, Qi Chenglin’s body heated up because he was piqued by her pettiness. He answered bluntly, “Blame that on my good looks.”

Ruan Danchen, “…”

Was it not too over-the-top to say that out on the street?

Qi Chenglin did not even try to lower his voice. Some of the men who passed by and heard him tripped on the rocks beneath their feet.

His gaze remained steadfast underneath his shades. He continued looking at Ruan Danchen and said in all honesty, “The woman gave me a name card. I rolled it into a ball and threw it away.”

Ruan Danchen knew that it was the same ball that Qi Chenglin had just thrown into the dustbin.

Looking at Qi Chenglin again, Ruan Danchen had a feeling that he would be wagging his tail at her if he actually had a tail.

He was too loyal!

Ruan Danchen looked at his proud-but-too-shy-to-show-it expression. He was insistent on putting on a calm façade—he could not control his lips from forming a smile, but he was wary of smiling too widely.

He looked too adorable like that.

Wrapped tightly in his embrace, she tiptoed. Acting in tandem with her, Qi Chenglin lowered his head and locked lips with her.

His handsome lips then curled into a slight smile, seemingly pleased.

Qi Chenglin lowered his head and looked at her round-neck sweater. Her collarbone was displayed faintly, showing off her long and fair-skinned neck. It was as though the wind could freeze her with a single blow.

He frowned. “Why didn’t you bring a scarf? Doesn’t it feel cold to expose your neck like this?”

Ruan Danchen’s arms were tightly coiled around his waist and she was firmly tucked in his clothes. She could not move, and hence, could not touch her own neck.

After he mentioned it, she realized she did feel rather cold. Retracting her neck, she said, “I didn’t notice.”

Qi Chenglin thought about it for a moment and said, “I don’t think you have one either.”

Ruan Danchen nodded. She never once thought of buying such an item before. B City’s winters were biting-cold and pierced the bone, so making do without gloves was a big no-no.

Nevertheless, she was never in the habit of wearing gloves, and most of the time she simply stuffed her hands into her pockets. Taking out her hands once in a while was no big deal for her.

As for scarves, she did feel the cold sometimes, but she never remembered to buy it. Whenever she did remember, winter was almost going to be over.

Then she thought, ‘Winter is only those few months each year,’ so in the end, she was too lazy to buy them.

Qi Chenglin realized that the two of them had been outside for quite some time. He took off his leather gloves and held Ruan Danchen’s neck—it was cold, as he expected.

Ruan Danchen closed her eyes in satisfaction, as his hands were just too warm. The heat from his hands warmed up her skin, causing her to feel an indescribable warmth.

His hands were handsome, elegant, and his palm was rough. Slightly thinner skin would make him look less well-off, but thicker skin would make him seem clumsy. At times, Ruan Danchen could just stare at his hands for a long time.

She looked up at him. The man seemed to be so perfect from head to toe.

He was frighteningly well-endowed too.

Thinking of that made her blush. She chastised herself for thinking such lewd thoughts and being so indecent.

Qi Chenglin did not know what she was thinking of and why she blushed, but her blush was beautiful nonetheless.

“Let’s get in the car. It’s cold,” Qi Chenglin said. He led Ruan Danchen to the front passenger seat and opened the door for her to get in. He surreptitiously glanced at the second-floor window, noticing that everyone had stopped looking after Ruan Danchen entered the car.

He smiled, got in the car, and drove Ruan Danchen home.

…

…

Wang Kaiyi and his friends sat back awkwardly at their seats. Ruan Danchen’s boyfriend did not look up, hence their lack of worry over whether or not he knew they were looking. Nevertheless, why did they feel so guilty about it?

Chen Libai did not look too good. He saw how Ruan Danchen was getting all lovey-dovey with public displays of affection, and looking very much in love.

Her boyfriend was a far cry from what the young, unreliable chap that Chen Libai originally imagined. Since the boyfriend wore shades and was too far away, Chen Libai could not make out the man’s age. Nevertheless, the boyfriend seemed to carry a dignified aura and hardly looked like an ordinary man. He even drove a Benz.

As everyone returned to their seats, they were all silent for a moment. For some reason, it was as though a cat got their tongue.

“Hehe,” Wang Kaiyi chuckled awkwardly before continuing, “Danchen’s boyfriend isn’t courteous at all. He’s already down there, but doesn’t want to come up. He doesn’t even care for his girlfriend’s reputation. That kind of behavior alone makes me question if he’s really sincere toward Ruan Danchen.”

“I don’t even know how he got his Benz. It’s probably just to put up a front,” someone added.

“Yeah, if he’s really that great, why did Danchen not bring him up and introduce him to everyone? I’m guessing he’s probably not worthy of being shown off.”

The men were all looking at each other exchanging a couple of remarks. Chen Libai’s gloominess began to dissipate and he began succumbing to their views. He initially felt bummed after seeing her boyfriend and thinking that the boyfriend was a great person. However, after listening to what the others had to say, he discovered that they had a point—people must not be judged by their appearances.

“I really don’t know what she’s thinking. From what she said, her son is already so grown-up, but she’s still not married to the guy. Isn’t that a bit too irresponsible of him?” Chang Jingqiu asked.

The earlier comments were all made by the guys, but they might not necessarily hold that view. They said that mainly because they wanted to console Chen Libai.

None of the female classmates voiced their opinion except for Chang Jingqiu.

Her words, however, made sense to everyone else.

Wang Kaiyi nodded in agreement and frowned. “In that case, it’s clear that the guy has no ability to take care of her at all. Perhaps he might be capable but he doesn’t take her seriously, hence the lack of intention to marry her.

Chen Libai got more worried for Ruan Danchen after hearing that.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Gao Xiaoyang pursed her lips. “You’re all guys, for heaven’s sake. Why are you talking behind her back like gossipy women? No matter what, it’s her own life. She has the right to choose what she wants. We don’t know whether she’s living a good life or a bad one, and it’s not in our place to draw up conclusions. I know that you’re standing on Libai’s side because you’re close with him, but you can’t say such harsh things and look down on her. Libai likes Danchen, and I support him going for her. All is fair in love and war, and there’s nothing bad about it.”

The last sentence was a last-minute addition by Gao Xiaoyang. She was worried that saying too much might make Chen Libai unhappy. Her mouth was to blame for that, as she was prone to offending people due to her directness. She regretted her words as soon as she finished saying everything, but her mind managed to find a way around her words by adding those last few sentences.

She was born with that directness, which was why she chose journalism as her career. She can be as direct as she liked and owe it to the general practice in journalism. Those who were slighted by her words could do nothing to blame her, as it was all a professional matter.

Fortunately, the Chen family was a strong family, and as a financial journalist, she had to interview a few of the more prominent figures in the business world. She had been frequently liaising with their secretaries for a month or so, yet she was never able to arrange a meeting. Her editor-in-chief scolded her constantly, so she was really hoping that Chen Libai would be able to help her. She took a firm stand on her principles, but she did not dare to go so far as to completely crush whatever dignity Chen Libai had.

Speaking of interviews, Gao Xiaoyang disdained Chang Jingqiu. The latter was her colleague but used the Chang family’s influence to do interviews as she pleased. Many big shot business people knew the Chang family well, so whenever there were any work-related matters, they made things easy for her by happily agreeing to Chang Jingqiu’s interviews.

Whenever their superiors gave them assignments, Chang Jingqiu could finish them properly and efficiently. Those high-profile businessmen were difficult for Gao Xiaoyang to interview, but whenever it was tasked to Chang Jingqiu, those interviews were incredibly easy to arrange.

Soon enough, Gao Xiaoyang was made the subject of comparison, with her superiors frequently comparing her with Chang Jingqiu, causing Gao Xiaoyang to sulk tremendously. Just before the new year, another of Gao Xiaoyang’s interviewees was snagged away by Chang Jingqiu.

The male ex-classmate that earlier voiced his opinion felt awkward after Gao Xiaoyang’s chastising. Embarrassment was plastered all over their faces, and in that brief moment, the atmosphere became awkward again.

Xia Zishan, who sat beside Chang JIngqiu, asked the latter, “I want to go to the restroom. Do you want to come with?”

“Okay.” Chang Jingqiu nodded. The restroom within their room was being used by another male ex-classmate, so the two of them went in search for one outside.

Once they were at the walkway with no one else beside them, Chang Jingqiu whispered to Xia Zishan, “Don’t take their words to heart okay. Men are naturally born with low EQ, and everything they did was to support their bro blindly. I don’t think they mean it. Ruan Danchen and her boyfriend seem to love each other very much, and leaving aside whether her boyfriend is a capable man or not, Ruan Danchen doesn’t look like she feels anything toward Chen Libai. Plus, her son is already so big. Even if Chen Libai wants to marry her, his family won’t agree to it, so don’t worry alright.”

“Thank you for helping me test the waters today,” Xia Zishan said.

Xia Zishan’s family was not considered one of the more prominent families in B City. She was simply the bottom layer of B City’s upper circle. Nevertheless, Chang Jingqiu did not mind getting on her good books, as she might find some use for Xia Zishan in the future. Besides, helping Xia Zishan did not put herself at a disadvantage, as she did not say anything that would offend anyone.

Chang Jingqiu wrapped her hand intimately around Xia Zishan’s arm and said, “Such a small matter, no need for thanks. If there’s anything else with Chen Libai that you need my help with, just let me know. I’ll help as much as I can.”

…

…

Ruan Danchen thought that Qi Chenglin would bring her back to Prestige Residences directly, but rather, he stopped at a mall owned by Wei Ziqi.

There was a total of three malls in B City that were owned by Wei Ziqi. The one that they were heading to had an exclusive right to trade in high-quality luxury goods. Qi Chenglin parked the car at the outdoor, unshaded parking lot. He then brought Ruan Danchen down and went straight into a shop that was very well-known for its windbreakers.

Instead of buying the windbreaker for her, he went to a rack that displayed scarves. His bright pupils glanced at the rack, then reached out to take one with his slender fingers. He wrapped it firmly around her neck, of which the originally uncovered state was enough to make one feel cold.

His wrapping was not overly spectacular. It was simple, unlike those fancy knots in tutorials littered all over the web.

He turned Ruan Danchen around so she faced the mirror. Her jaw was buried in the scarf, looking incredibly warm, with her petite face looking even smaller as a result.

The journey from the car to the mall was not long, but Ruan Danchen’s skin was too delicate and too defenseless against the cold. Just that tiny bit of wind was enough to make her face red.

After going into the mall, the heated air amplified the redness of her face.. She looked like a doll that had its cheeks dyed red.

The scarf covered her lower jaw, with her dainty nose exposed and her big, monochrome eyes standing out even more.

She looked just like a young student, and Qi Chenglin could not resist arranging the scarf for her before lowering his head and kissing her on the lips.

His kiss was sudden, but since her face was already red, there was no change whatsoever except for her bunny-like eyes that looked even more helpless. From the mirror, she even saw the staff member smile and turn away, giving them their privacy.

“This looks really nice. You don’t look like a mother that already has a child.” Qi Chenglin looked down at her, with the tip of his nose almost touching her cheek.

Her skin warranted close scrutiny, and although she applied a thin layer of powder, the silkiness of her skin was still evident. It would be an exaggeration to say that her pores were absent, but the truth was that they were so small as to become almost negligible. It did not go so far as to be as smooth as a baby, but it was glistening and very pleasing on the eye.

His hand, originally arranging the scarf on her neck, began creeping up unhesitatingly. His thin and elegant-looking fingers rubbed casually against her silky skin. It felt really good, but Ruan Danchen began to feel a bit ticklish and wanted to scratch it.

Qi Chenglin smiled and lowered his lips to kiss the places he had touched earlier. After a couple of pecks, he even drew a circle with his tongue, licking her. Ruan Danchen’s face felt even more ticklish.

She managed to see that the store attendant had fled to the entrance and stayed far away from them. She even saw the attendant’s blushing face.

Ruan Danchen felt extremely embarrassed, but despite his teasing, it was like she was rooted to the ground and could not move.

“Stop it.” Ruan Danchen’s face became warm; so warm in fact, that she felt like it was burning. Qi Chenglin’s lips could even feel the heat from her cheek.

He appeared to ignore her, however, as he continued kissing there without even pausing a beat.

He wanted to stop, but he just could not help it.

Ruan Danchen felt more and more ticklish at the spot that he kissed as if he was going to break her skin by kissing it.

She had no choice but to be honest with him. “Your kisses are tickling me too much.”

Qi Chenglin proceeded to do something that made her absolutely speechless.

He bit down on the ticklish area.

True enough, it did not itch anymore.

Ruan Danchen was speechless.

Seeing her mortified look, Qi Chenglin smiled and finally let go of her.

Ruan Danchen felt extremely embarrassed and she did not look at him. Her head was getting numb from his stares, so she scanned the rack and quickly took one that was the same pattern as the one she was wearing.

Luckily for her, Qi Chenglin chose one that was a couple set.

She wrapped it around his neck too, and it looked far better than how Qi Chenglin wrapped it around her.

Ruan Danchen remained silent but smiled happily. Seeing their reflection, with the matching scarves around their neck, made her endlessly happy.

Qi Chenglin was happy too, and his clear eyes were filled with glee as well as warmth.

He smiled and said, “A matching set. I like it. Let’s wear these when we go to work.”

He then brought her to pay for them, leaving them wrapped around her neck.

It was the first time that the store attendant came across that kind of man. A simple act of buying scarves was enough to ignite their passion, and a couple of kisses to the cheek was enough of a catalyst to escalate the situation to a point where the man might have just pushed her down and be done with it right there and done.

The attendant did not even dare to look up after receiving Qi Chenglin’s card. The earlier scene was merely a kiss on the cheek, but it was made to look so much more intimate.

The store attendant herself began wondering if she could try it later that night with her boyfriend.

“Wait a minute.” Ruan Danchen took the card from the attendant’s hand and gave it back to Qi Chenglin. She then took out her own card and handed it over.