His wife's pregnancy bump disappeared, and Mr. Huo was going crazy missing her.

Watching the woman resolutely flee, Huo Yanbei felt depressed.

He lit a cigarette, walked to the French windows, and puffed out smoke.

He had no intention of humiliating her.

He simply wanted to keep a woman who resembled A-Wu by his side...

He held her and kissed her, as if Awu had never left him.

That feeling was so real.

……

When Qiao Mian returned to the legal department, she could no longer control her emotions and silently shed tears while lying on her workstation.

She hated her past self for willingly being his mistress for so many years...

I used to live without a sense of self, my heart and soul were completely devoted to him, but in the end, I met a tragic end.

From the moment he abandoned her in the fire six years ago, he had already killed her with his own hands.

Now, in order to make up for his guilt, he puts on a show that he can't forget her, disrupting her new life and forcing her to be restless.

He's so selfish!

After a while, she composed herself, rubbed her reddened eyes, and looked up.

But then she saw Zhou Jinnan standing in front of her desk.

"Director Zhou..."

In the blink of an eye, a tear fell.

Qiao Mian hurriedly wiped it away, forcing a bitter smile: "Weren't you away on a business trip?"

Zhou Jinnan's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into fists little by little, but his face remained calm and gentle: "Yes, my business trip is over, and I came to the company as soon as I got off the plane."

I want to go back to the company to see her.

But then I saw her running out of the CEO's office crying...

His heart was in his throat.

Worried that Huo Yanbei would recognize her...

"You're going back to the office at this hour? Is there work you need to take care of?"

Qiao Mian noticed the suitcase next to him and casually asked a question.

Zhou Jinan hummed in agreement, then after a two-second silence, asked, "Attorney Qiao's contract with Ronghua is about to expire, isn't it?"

Qiao Mian didn't understand what he meant by asking this, but she still answered truthfully, "There are still more than six months left."

"Um……"

Zhou Jinnan nodded thoughtfully, glanced at the documents in front of her, and asked, "Review the contract?"

"Yes, Mr. Huo needs it urgently..."

Zhou Jinnan reached out and took it, glanced at it briefly, and said, "I'm very familiar with this project, leave it to me."

"Oh? I'm so sorry."

Qiao Mian wasn't being polite; she genuinely felt that her work shouldn't be delegated to others.

"It's alright, I can handle this little bit of work in half an hour. You can go home now, I'll hand it over to Mr. Huo personally later."

After saying that, without giving her any chance to refuse, he took the documents in one hand and pushed his suitcase with the other, and returned to his office.

Qiao Mian took out her phone and sent him a message on WeChat.

Thank you, Director Zhou.

The other party replied quickly: "If you want to thank me, treat me to dinner another day."

【OK. 】

After finishing their WeChat conversation, she picked up her bag and left.

Although it took a little longer, we rushed around and were not late when we picked up the children.

Back at the rented apartment, I prepared dinner, ate with the children, and then, as usual, donned full protective gear and went out to deliver takeout.

I hopped on an electric bike and braved the cold wind as I weaved through the crowded streets of the commercial district.

She felt unusually calm and content.

Without Huo Yanbei, no matter how wronged or bitter the world is, at least the heart is at peace.

……

Rental housing.

In the living room, the three little ones sat together, scrolling through the homepage of a dating app.

"Wow, Mom is so popular! So many people are asking her out."

Qiao Muxin pointed to the 999+ comments under her mother's photo and exclaimed in amazement.

Although I couldn't recognize all the words in the comments section, the various friendly emojis showed that the mother's beauty was incredibly attractive.

Qiao Mucheng raised his eyebrows with a great sense of accomplishment, "So many people like Mom, we'll definitely be able to pick a good husband for Mom and a good dad for us."

Qiao Muyue: "When should we tell Mom about the marriage proposal?"

"Keep it a secret for now. Mom is so busy. Let's filter out some uncles who don't meet the criteria and keep the good ones for Mom to choose from."

"Yay!"

The three little ones, innocent yet sensible, are making plans for their mother's marriage.

Qiao Mian was unaware that she had been listed on a dating website by her three little darlings.

……

9 PM.

The CEO's office.

Huo Yanbei flipped through the neatly arranged contract, frowned, and glanced at Zhou Jinnan: "Director Zhou is quite considerate of his subordinates."

Zhou Jinnan replied respectfully, "President Huo, I saw that Attorney Qiao had an urgent matter at home, so I let her go home first."

Huo Yanbei narrowed his dark eyes: "Director Zhou seems to have a special interest in Attorney Qiao. Have you two known each other before?"

Zhou Jinnan's lips were taut: "I don't know him."

He then explained, "Although Attorney Qiao is not affiliated with the Huo family, we both work in the legal department. It's just that I'm looking out for a colleague; there's nothing special about it."

His answer was perfectly tactful.

Huo Yanbei slammed the contract onto the table with a loud bang.

"Zhou Jinnan, do you think I haven't recognized you since the day you entered the Huo family?"

A hint of coldness appeared on Zhou Jinnan's usually gentle and calm face.

Six years ago, he was a senior in college in Shanghai.

On Qin Wu's birthday, he returned to Beijing and went to Peking University to see her.

That was the first time the two met after graduating from high school.

The two of them had a hot pot meal in the cafeteria.

At that time, she was very fat.

That face was still dazzlingly beautiful.

The boy's youthful confession remained unspoken, but he asked her in a different way if she wanted to go to Shanghai with him to make her way in the world after graduation.

Unexpectedly, Qin Wu agreed.

At that time, he was overjoyed, thinking that he could finally end his long-standing unrequited love.

However, when he left Peking University that day, he was tied up by several tall and strong bodyguards and put into a luxury car.

A cold and gloomy young man looked down at him with disdain, his chilling voice filled with arrogance and hostility: "If you dare to come near A-Wu again, I guarantee that you and your entire family will... completely disappear from Beijing."

That young man was Huo Yanbei.

Huo Yanbei, only twenty-three years old, exudes a ruthless aura.

It was then that he realized that Qin Wu was Huo Yanbei's woman.

However, he was not afraid of him.

However, when he returned home hoping for the best, he found his parents kneeling on the ground, crying and begging him, "Jin Nan, we're begging you, please, you're never allowed to see Qin Wu again..."

Only then did he realize just how terrifying Huo Yanbei was.

He also understood that Qin Wu was a taboo that no one could touch.

The scenes flashback, replaying in my mind.

Zhou Jinnan's fists were clenched so tightly they hurt.

I can't help but wonder, if he had been braver back then and taken Qin Wu to Shanghai, perhaps the Qin Wu in his heart would have been just Qin Wu.

It's not Huo Wu, and it's certainly not Qiao Mian, who's currently struggling...

But back then, he backed down.

He broke his promise to Qin Wu.

The next time I heard news about her was from online news reports; she had died in a fire…

As memories flooded back, Zhou Jinan smiled calmly: "President Huo, I didn't expect you to still remember me..."

Huo Yanbei sneered.

Of course he remembers.

And it left a deep impression.

That year, it was nearing winter break, and it was A-Wu's birthday.

He bought her a birthday present and picked her up from school.

But in the cafeteria, I saw her sitting and eating with a boy.

That person was Zhou Jinnan.

He was furious and threw away his birthday present...