He Huaiqin's car drove out of the underground garage, and at the intersection of the street, he saw Wen Zhaoning and her daughter again.
Two figures, one big and one small, held hands and walked quickly through the shadows of the plane trees. The child, about five or six years old, had two pigtails, and the little cherries on her hair ties shone slightly in the morning light.
"He Huaiqin, can we have a daughter in the future? I'll braid her hair every day, and you'll take her to kindergarten every day. I want her to grow up happily by our side."
"Okay, it would be best if our daughter looked like you."
"A daughter looks like her dad."
"It's fine if she looks like me too."
The memory was like an old wooden chest being pried open, dust churning in the beam of light.
But what about later?
Later, she had a daughter for someone else...
Wen Zhaoning took Qing Ning to kindergarten. She stood at the door, watching her daughter enter the classroom before turning around with relief.
Across the road from the kindergarten, a Cullinan was parked.
At first, Wen Zhaoning thought it was some parent dropping off their child and didn't pay attention. But as she crossed the road, the black Cullinan, like a silent behemoth, crushed the puddles by the roadside and stopped precisely beside her.
The car window slowly rolled down. He Huaiqin was sitting in the driver's seat. His handsome profile appeared somewhat cold in the dim light.
"Miss Wen," he called out loudly, his tone drawn out, with undisguised mockery.
"Why are you here?"
"Just passing by."
Since he was just passing by, Wen Zhaoning had nothing more to say.
She took a step to leave, only to hear He Huaiqin speak again, "Your daughter is very beautiful."
"..."
Wen Zhaoning's heart tightened. Why would He Huaiqin say that out of the blue?
Could it be that he had figured something out?
"My daughter is beautiful, and she takes after me. Is that not allowed?"
He Huaiqin's eyes deepened. Taking after her was, of course, beyond doubt.
Back then, within a few miles of Qingtai University Town, everyone knew how beautiful Miss Wen was.
Everyone who saw her said that Miss Wen Zhaoning possessed an undeniable radiance. It wasn't the cool glow of moonlight, but like the midday sun in midsummer—passionate, flamboyant, bright, and open. When she smiled, she was even more captivating, her eyes curving into bright crescents, her dimples shallow, lively and full of charm.
At that time, Miss Wen was the goddess in the hearts of countless men.
"I was just complimenting your daughter. Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm not nervous. Which of your eyes saw me being nervous?"
Wen Zhaoning was so guilty that she just wanted to escape He Huaiqin's sight as quickly as possible.
Seeing her about to leave again, He Huaiqin stretched his long arm out of the Cullinan's window and firmly grasped her arm.
"Trying to escape again? Miss Wen, who clung to me like a stubborn stain back then, why are you running away as soon as you see me now?" His slender fingers were like iron clamps. Through her thin clothes, Wen Zhaoning could clearly feel the strength of his knuckles and the burning heat of his palm.
The Cullinan was too eye-catching, and people around them kept looking over.
"He Huaiqin, this is my daughter's kindergarten. What do you want by pulling and dragging me here at the kindergarten entrance?"
"I don't want anything. I just want to inform you that I don't accept your apology from yesterday." As He Huaiqin spoke, his hand suddenly tightened, and Wen Zhaoning was caught off guard, crashing into the driver's side door. He Huaiqin then pressed down on the back of her neck. He leaned out of the car window slightly and whispered into Wen Zhaoning's ear, "Also, Miss Wen, you are not qualified to say we are even."
As soon as he finished speaking, he let go without any warning.
Losing the force of He Huaiqin's grip, Wen Zhaoning fell to the ground.
She was in a mess.
The Cullinan's engine let out a low growl and sped away, leaving her alone on the ground, eating a mouthful of dust.
Wen Zhaoning: "He Huaiqin, you bastard!"
Is this guy sick! Coming to bother her first thing in the morning!
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