At one in the morning, a faint white light spilled through the half-open bathroom door of a budget hotel in Nanyang District.
By the sink stood a woman in a thin, loose nightgown, her hands braced against the counter. Her slender frame made her shoulder blades protrude prominently.
Her black hair fell forward, partially obscuring her pale, delicate face. Large, glistening droplets rolled down her cheeks.
She had been jolted awake by a nightmare—the image of that pink wedding invitation.
It was for the grand wedding of Lu Xiyan and Cheng Wanwan.
Though she pretended not to care, she couldn’t deny that the engagement invitation Wanwan had handed her had pierced her heart like a thorn. Just the thought of it sent numbing pain throughout her body.
An Ning splashed another handful of cold water on her face and looked up at her reflection: fair skin, an oval face with large eyes, but her gaze was dull and lifeless.
She forced a smile at the mirror, only to realize how exhausting the effort was—it had drained all her strength.
“Mommy…” a soft, milky voice called out.
The half-open door was gently pushed wider by a small, pale hand.
An Ning turned to find An Xian already awake, standing barefoot at the doorway. His plump, tender face was tilted up, eyes still heavy with sleep as he watched her.
An Ning quickly composed herself, wiped her face, and knelt to plant a kiss on his soft cheek. “Xianxian, why are you awake?” she asked gently.
An Xian reached up to touch her cheek. “Was Mommy crying?”
“Mommy wasn’t crying. I just washed my face.” She scooped him up and carried him toward the bedroom. “Mommy is a strong superwoman—how could I cry?”
“Mommy’s lying.” An Xian wrapped his small arms around her slender neck, burying his soft face in the curve of her shoulder. “Your eyes are red… and you cry quietly every night…”
An Ning’s heart clenched. She kissed his cheek repeatedly. “Xianxian must have misheard. Mommy just has a stuffy nose.”
Back in bed, An Xian still refused to let go. His large, dark eyes gazed at her seriously as he asked, “Mommy… does Xianxian make your life hard?”
Hearing such words from a three-year-old struck An Ning like a physical blow, shattering her composure. Tears instantly welled up and spilled over.
“No, my precious…” She held the small child tightly. “Mommy isn’t tired, and Xianxian doesn’t make life hard. You’re Mommy’s most treasured baby—I love you more than anything!”
Far from being a burden, she felt grateful to fate for blessing her with such a wonderful son.
She was thankful for An Xian, for coming into her life when she felt she could no longer carry on.
And she was grateful to that person, for giving her this priceless gift.
…
Yuhe Gongfu.
A warm yellow lamp glowed in the second-floor study.
A man in a black bathrobe sat in the spacious leather chair at the desk. His freshly washed dark hair partially obscured his brows and eyes. The dim light cast deep shadows across his sharply defined features, accentuating their intensity and somberness.
In his pale, slender hand was a phone. His fingertips had been scrolling repetitively over the same screen for a long time.
That blank Moments feed was refreshed by him over and over again.
Returning to the chat window, his indifferent gaze fixed on the empty conversation interface, as if suppressing something once more.
His thoughts seemed to drift back to those memories he had sealed away.
“Ningning, come here and give me a kiss.”
He sat on the sofa, beckoning to her.
Even though they had kissed many times before, An Ning’s ears would still flush red at his words, her large eyes sparkling with a shy, crystalline light.
Yet she obediently walked over to him, leaned down, and gently pecked his handsome cheek, like a little chick pecking at rice.
He seemed to relish it, the corners of his eyes lifting, his lips curling upward into a small parenthesis.
As soon as she finished the kiss and turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the sofa.
Leaning over her, he trapped her between his body and the couch, one arm wrapped around her slender waist, the other caressing her fair neck, his smiling eyes fixed on her delicate, pretty face.
Her pale cheeks instantly warmed, turning a rosy pink. He adored this shy, obedient side of her.
His kiss descended, stealing the thin oxygen from her lungs.
Just as An Ning was about to lose herself in his tender kiss, he mischievously picked up his phone and snapped a picture.
“Lu Xiyan!”
An Ning started like a frightened rabbit, both startled and embarrassed, her face instantly flushing crimson.
Lu Xiyan, however, was utterly pleased. The photo didn’t show their faces clearly, but the atmosphere was intensely intimate—clearly a kissing pose.
And any of their friends would recognize the people in the picture at a glance.
He sent the photo to her, then handed her his phone. “Change the profile picture.”
“Huh?” An Ning was surprised, her big eyes blinking as she took in his sweet, beaming smile.
“Our couple profile pictures,” Lu Xiyan said dotingly, ruffling her hair, a sly gleam in his eyes like a little lion marking his territory.
“Oh…” An Ning suppressed the urge to let her lips curl into a smile, her heart racing with excitement.
She first opened her own phone and set the intensely atmospheric photo as her social media profile picture. Then, taking Lu Xiyan’s phone, she unlocked it with her fingerprint, opened his WeChat, and changed his profile picture.
Lu Xiyan watched her actions contentedly, his eyes fixed on her long, lowered lashes. “You need to let everyone know that you, An Ning, are cherished.”
“Of course, I’m taken too,” he added, propping his chin on his hand and leaning in with a smile. “An Ning, our relationship should be out in the open.”
After handing him back the phone with the updated profile picture, An Ning grinned, her eyes curving into crescents, two little canine teeth showing. “Then it’s settled—no breaking up, no changing the profile pictures?”
He reached out and pinched her cheek, happiness overflowing from his eyes. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Breaking free from the memory.
Lu Xiyan slammed his phone onto the desk with a sharp thud, leaning back in his chair, his deep eyes turbulent with emotion.
An Ning, those who betray true feelings should swallow a thousand needles!
He lit a cigarette and made a call.
“Look into someone—An Ning.”
Taking a deep drag, Lu Xiyan suddenly remembered that night when she answered a call and someone called her “Mom.” His eyes darkened. “Find out when she returned to Jing Hai, who she was with, and where she was before—everything.”