The sun peeled away from the clouds as the car pulled up in front of Ruan Mian’s house. Qi Yan stepped out first, opening the rear door to lift the child.

Ying Minghui was sleeping soundly, tiny snores coming from his red nose, but his hands gripped Ruan Mian so tightly that Qi Yan’s attempts to move him were unsuccessful.

Ruan Mian tilted her head and yawned. “I should probably be the one to carry him.”

A lingering, soft sensation from where his fingers had accidentally brushed against her remained on Qi Yan’s fingertips. He clenched his hand into a fist, then relaxed it, letting a handful of the cool morning breeze push back the rising heat.

He stepped back a few paces. Ruan Mian, holding the child, slowly edged her way out of the car.

She was exhausted and sleepy, her arms so numb from the pressure that she had little strength left. With a child weighing dozens of pounds in her arms, her legs involuntarily wobbled the moment her feet hit the ground.

Qi Yan’s brow furrowed at the sight. He felt an impulse to scoop both of them up at once, but after a moment of thought, he decided against it. Instead, he followed closely behind her, step by step.

The living room was a mess, resembling the scene of a brawl. Shards covered the floor, now tinted with a soft orange-red glow from the morning sun, giving the wreckage a sense of fractured beauty.

Ruan Mian gritted her teeth and carried the boy upstairs to his room. When she placed him on the bed, he likely smelled the familiar scent; his small hands loosened slightly. Yet the moment she tried to pull away, he grabbed her again. He didn’t catch her waist this time, only a section of her arm.

Ruan Mian sat beside him, reaching her fingers into his palm and scratching gently. This trick was effective. As his hand opened, she tucked a teddy bear into his grasp.

The boy continued to sleep, hugging the bear. She pulled the quilt over him before heading back downstairs with the man behind her.

The living room was in such a state. The guest cups were shattered, and the water kettle in the corner was bent out of shape. After being out for half the night, she wanted him to at least sit down for a cup of water, but even such a simple thing was impossible. Ruan Mian felt a twinge of bitterness.

“Thank you for everything last night.”

He was silent, appearing to weigh his words. It was a long while before he spoke. “I did these things only because of you, not because of anyone else. Do you understand?”

Ruan Mian half-understood.

Her heart, which had been feeling a bit down, burned at those words. Though she was essentially a blank slate in these matters, her innate feminine intuition suggested his words held a deeper meaning. However, she wasn’t sure if it was the meaning she hoped for.

It was always difficult to guess his thoughts.

When she looked up at him, the heat in her heart was doused by a thin layer of cold water. His gaze was too calm. Recalling his expression, she realized it was still detached, and his tone lacked even a hint of ambiguity.

But the magic of that sentence was too strong. After seeing him out, Ruan Mian returned to her room and crawled under the covers to catch up on sleep. Her body was exhausted to the extreme, but her mind was sharp, replaying his words over and over again.

I did these things only because of you, not because of anyone else. Do you understand?

She seemed to understand.

She lifted her nightgown and gently stroked three scars on her right arm, each the size of a soybean. She suddenly let out a laugh.

How could she be so conceited as to think he meant it that way?

That unannounced earthquake was their first intersection. It was hardly a pleasant one, filled with death and suffocation.

As the world shook, they had clung to life together; they were the rare survivors.

The ceiling above had collapsed in chunks, and the path forward was blocked. The three of them were forced to separate. In her blurred vision, a dark shadow had fallen. Ruan Mian didn’t know where she found the courage back then, but she had shoved the woman aside, pushing her out of the shadow’s range.

The woman was pushed to a safer spot, but Ruan Mian was caught by the edge of the falling rubble. Three steel nails pierced deep into her arm, leaving marks that could never be erased.

Ruan Mian, between you and me, there is no need for thanks.

I did these things because of you…

Because you once saved my mother.

Everything was so reasonable; it was perfectly logical.

She rested her head on her arm and watched the morning clouds fill the sky. It was beautiful.

But who can possess you?

She drifted through a series of dreams, waking and sleeping, sleeping and waking. Time felt as though it were being stretched endlessly, yet only two hours had passed. Ruan Mian sat quietly against the headboard.

She suddenly came to a realization.

Regardless, she was so grateful for his presence in her life. Even if he only accompanied her for a short distance, her heart would still be full of joy.

Ruan Mian went to the bathroom to wash her face, preparing to check on Ying Minghui.

The door to his room, which had been closed, was now wide open. Voices drifted from inside.

“The police station called and said he was found and sent back. It feels like a dream… I suppose they worked overtime through the night to find him. We must thank them properly later…”

The woman was crying continuously, her sobs broken. “It’s good that you’re back, it’s good you’re back… Mommy will never lose you again… It’s all Mommy’s fault…”

Ruan Mian listened at the door for a moment before turning away.

Although she didn’t understand why the outcome was framed this way, he must have had his reasons for the arrangement. Furthermore, on a personal level, she didn’t want her father to use this incident to build a deeper connection with him.

Handling it this way, to some extent, indeed saved a lot of trouble.

Ruan Mian returned to her room. Acting as if nothing had happened, she sat down quietly to do her homework.

It was noon now, and the sunlight shimmered brightly on the windowsill.

She put down her pen, washed her hands, and prepared to go downstairs for lunch.

Ying Haodong couldn’t even be bothered to eat. He had hurriedly ordered a silk banner to be made and was personally delivering it to the police station.

Besides the nanny, there were only the three of them at home.

The entire house was quiet, save for the sound of her footsteps.

As soon as Ying Minghui saw her, he jumped off his chair impatiently. He ran over and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the seat beside him.

Ruan Mian noticed that his bowl was piled high with food.

Wang Jiaxin was startled by her son’s actions. Seeing him full of smiles, his previous gloom completely gone, she felt a surge of stifled anger. However, she said nothing.

What a silly child. She was probably overjoyed when you were lost last night. Why are you rushing to be close to her? You won’t even know it when you’re being sold off in the future.

Ying Minghui’s entire attention was on Ruan Mian. He didn’t notice his mother’s suddenly cold expression. His bright, dark eyes sparkled as he picked up a piece of sweet and sour rib and held it to Ruan Mian’s lips. He opened his own small mouth, signaling for her to eat.

“I’ll do it myself.” Ruan Mian picked up her chopsticks, feeling somewhat awkward.

The boy’s mouth pouted for a second, but he quickly became happy again. He nodded and popped the rib into his own mouth, eating while watching her. His smile was filled with immense satisfaction.

Ruan Mian ignored the cold gaze circling her and finished her meal calmly.

She put down her chopsticks, and the boy did the same. She intended to go upstairs, and he wanted to follow, but Wang Jiaxin grabbed him. “Sweetheart, you haven’t eaten much…”

Wang Jiaxin watched Ruan Mian disappear around the corner of the stairs. She gripped her son’s hand. “Why are you getting so close to her? Didn’t I tell you before? You and she don’t have the same mother, and…”

She currently has no way to ask a five-year-old child to understand these complex relationships.

“In short, remember to stay away from her in the future, do you hear me?”

Ying Minghui shook his head vigorously, his body twisting.

It wasn’t like that!

Last night, when he was so scared and helpless, it was Jiejie who found him. She even brought him home…

But he couldn’t say a single word. He was so anxious that he burst into tears.

Wang Jiaxin used a tissue to wipe away his tears, but the more she wiped, the more they fell. She felt both helpless and heartbroken.

Thinking that he had just gone through such an ordeal, she assumed he was simply terrified. She stopped talking, and the mother and son cried together.

After her nap, Ruan Mian planned to dedicate her entire afternoon to drawing, starting with the simplest lines.

She had already submitted her application to the school. After the exams, she would transfer to study art. However, because of her special circumstances and the fact that she had missed the best time for intensive training, she couldn’t follow the same routine as ordinary art students.

To pass the provincial joint examination in three months, she would likely have to put in much more effort than the others.

But at least… she knew the path ahead.

Half an hour later, Ruan Mian felt a bit discouraged. She crumpled the sketch paper covered in messy, crooked lines into a ball and threw it into the trash can. Hearing a sound at the door, she looked up and saw, as expected, an expectant little face.

“Come in.”

The child slid in happily, standing obediently by her side.

Ruan Mian continued drawing lines. The room was so quiet that only the friction of the pen across the paper could be heard. She suddenly remembered something, pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, and tucked a pencil into his hand.

She wrote “Ying Minghui” on the paper. “This is your name.”

The boy nodded; he recognized those three characters.

Ruan Mian wrote a string of numbers. “This is the home phone number.”

He watched intently as she wrote another line of characters he didn’t recognize at all.

“This is the home address.”

“You must learn to write all of these.”

If he ever got lost again, he at least needed to know how to get back.

No, I hope there will never be another ‘again’ like that.

For the entire afternoon, the siblings sat facing each other, one drawing lines and the other learning to write.

The atmosphere was indescribably harmonious.

The weekend hurried past.

The teachers were efficient; the midterm results were out by Monday. Naturally, there was both joy and sorrow.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Pan Tingting screamed repeatedly. “Soft Cotton, are you on a rocket ship? These grades are shooting up… Wow! Tenth in the class! You’re treating, you’re treating!”

Ruan Mian was also pleasantly surprised by the result. Her first thought was to share it with him. She gave a distracted agreement and hurried back to her seat to send a message.

The moment it was sent successfully, the bell for class rang. The first period was a class meeting.

The homeroom teacher walked onto the podium with a beaming face. “Students, the midterm results are out. I’ll briefly introduce our class’s situation…”

Ruan Mian couldn’t sit still anymore. Why was time passing so slowly?

Sigh, why hasn’t he replied yet?

What will he say?

Almost every period was spent in this kind of torment. When the final bell for the last class finally rang, she immediately grabbed her already packed bag and ran out.

She wanted to see him as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, her wish came true.

The man stood by the lake, appearing to be on a phone call, a cigarette held between his fingers.

He turned his head and saw her, nodding slightly.

Ruan Mian walked over with her bicycle.

“Everything is proceeding according to the original plan. Mm, that’s all.”

He ended the call.

“You did quite well this time.”

Ruan Mian thought his next sentence would be: What reward do you want?

Instead, he said, “Ruan Mian, I might be leaving for a while.”

Ruan Mian’s heart tightened. “A business trip?”

Like the last time? The kind where he would return?

He gave her a deep look. “Mm.”

“Then… when…”

“Perhaps in time to return for your next parents’ meeting.” A gentle smile touched the corners of his eyes.

His gaze gave her an illusion; it was the way a man looks at a woman, and a woman he likes.

Ruan Mian didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.

“Yesterday, when you said those words, was it because I… saved…”

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a deep voice. “Ruan Mian, what was your score for Chinese in this midterm?”

“125.”

Chinese was a foundational subject, mostly dependent on memory and linguistic sense. Furthermore, her foundation had been good, so it was the quickest to pick back up, especially since the questions this time weren’t too difficult.

Did this have anything to do with her previous question?

The man stared intently into her eyes, his smile deepening. “With such poor comprehension skills, how did you manage a high score like 125?”

Ruan Mian’s heart began to thud wildly. Some thoughts were too fast for her to catch, so she habitually sought his gaze. “What do you mean?”

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