After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

An Ning said nothing more, opened her phone, scanned the QR code to add the contact, and quickly walked out of the coffee shop.

Staring at her hurried departure, the person in the seat instantly gripped their phone tightly.

The friend request I received had a profile picture of the moon hanging in the night sky.

The name is straightforward: Anning.

Lu Xiyan's chest heaved violently, and his bulging temples made his eyes red.

No wonder!

Four years ago, he sent countless messages and made countless phone calls, but they all went unanswered.

It turns out she had already changed her contact information.

Even WeChat has been completely cleaned up.

My WeChat Moments is completely blank; there's nothing there.

It was as if no one had ever been a part of her world for the past few years.

He zoomed in on the photo, staring at the full moon, his eyes reddening.

Ah!

moon.

Anning, have you ever seen true darkness?

......

In the darkness around the corner, Anning could no longer support her emptied body. She leaned against the wall, gasping for breath to calm herself.

She was on the verge of a breakdown.

She leaned against the wall, trembling all over, tears instantly blurring her vision.

"Lu Xiyan, I just want to see how you rich young masters are different from us ordinary people when you're in love."

"Ms. An, I just want to see how you destitute people struggle to survive in such dire circumstances. It's pointless to be like ants."

Anning clutched her aching chest, tears streaming down her face.

He remembered her words clearly and even returned them to her with double the hatred.

She knew he hated her.

What hurt more than hatred was the look of disgust, aversion, and indifference in his eyes when he looked at her.

It was as if they were disgusted by an indelible stain on his precious white shirt.

Like a stranded fish, Anning leaned against the hard wall, panting heavily.

Realizing something was wrong, she frantically rummaged through her bag with trembling fingers, pulled out a sertraline tablet, and swallowed it.

She gave a bitter smile.

They're right.

Both she as a person and her two-year marriage with Lu Xiyan.

These are all indelible stains on his life's resume.

......

As night fell heavily, the countless neon lights along the bustling streets resembled pairs of peering eyes.

The night wind dried the tear stains on Anning's face and made the green ribbon on her left wrist flutter slightly.

Zhao Li called her and said that An Xuan should go to sleep, but he was making a fuss about not sleeping because his mother wasn't there, and asked her when she was going back.

Anning said she was going back soon and was just about to walk to the nearby bus stop when a black Bentley suddenly stopped at her feet.

The rear window slowly rolled down, revealing a young, beautiful face with exquisite makeup.

Her eyebrows were delicately arched, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes as she looked over, before she greeted her with a bright smile, "An Ning? Is it really you?"

An Ning never imagined that she would meet Cheng Wanwan so soon—Lu Xiyan's childhood sweetheart and the person he was about to get engaged to.

She greeted Anning warmly and familiarly, making it impossible for Anning to pretend she hadn't seen her. Anning replied, "Long time no see."

"I didn't expect to run into you here," Cheng Wanwan asked with a smile. "Are you free? Would it be convenient for us to sit together?"

......

The quiet and cool private rooms on the second floor of the tea house are filled with a faint aroma of tea.

Through the rising mist, Cheng Wanwan raised her smiling eyes, but her gaze was actually scrutinizing An Ning's face.

Four years later, she is somewhat different from before.

But that pretty face still made people feel disgusted.

"Anning, I'm sorry to invite you for tea at this time." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "You know I'm not in good health. Xi Yan specifically told me to drink less coffee and more tea, which is better for my health."

When those two words were mentioned, Cheng Wanwan paid special attention to An Ning's expression.

Her eyes were calm, devoid of sadness or joy, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

An Ning stared at the black tea in the porcelain cup, then looked up and asked softly, "Did Miss Cheng need something?"

"It's just been so long, I wanted to catch up." Cheng Wanwan feigned concern, leaning forward slightly to look at Anning's thin face. "Anning, you've been doing well abroad all these years, haven't you?"

"She's doing well," An Ning asked. "While I was away from Jinghai, Miss Cheng's health must have improved considerably, right?"

In fact, Cheng Wanwan was the matchmaker between her and Lu Xiyan.

Six years ago, Cheng Wanwan was hospitalized and urgently needed a rare blood source. An Ning happened to have Rh-negative blood, so he was tricked by Li Chunfang into selling his blood, which led him to meet Cheng Wanwan's childhood sweetheart, Lu Xiyan.

"I'm much better now," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, her face beautiful. "It's all thanks to west Yan's care."

"Oh, speaking of which, I just remembered something," Cheng Wanwan said, opening her handbag. "I was thinking of inviting you to my engagement ceremony with Xiyan. Now that you're back, I can give you the invitation."

She took a pink velvet invitation with gold trim from her bag and handed it to Anning.

The largest gold logo on the invitation cover is a combination of two stylish letters—L&C.

Lu, Cheng.

The two letters are intertwined, as if they were born to be together.

Only they knew that six years ago, because of An Ning, Lu Xiyan rejected marriage proposals from the Lu and Cheng families time and time again.

Now they're finally getting engaged.

Of course, Cheng Wanwan wanted to show off.

An Ning did not accept the invitation. "I'm sorry, I probably won't have time to attend the engagement ceremony."

She didn't accept the invitation, and Cheng Wanwan didn't feel awkward at all. She just asked with concern, "Is it because of your mother's illness?"

Realizing she had asked too abruptly, Cheng Wanwan smiled and explained, "I heard it from Manny and Xiaomin. They said your mother was sick, so you went back to Jinghai."

"Anning, medical resources in Jinghai are too strained right now. Many ordinary people without resources or connections can't even get an appointment with a specialist or schedule surgery." After she finished speaking, she looked at Anning and smiled slightly. "I know a very authoritative medical team abroad. If you need it, I can arrange for you and your mother to go abroad for treatment."

"No need—"

Before An Ning could finish her polite refusal, Cheng Wanwan interrupted her, "Don't worry about the expenses, I'll help you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Ms. Cheng." An Ning declined again, "My mother has spent her whole life in Jinghai, and she only wants to stay in Jinghai. Moreover, I have faith in Jinghai's hospitals and medical technology."

Cheng Wanwan's smile slowly froze at the corners of her mouth. She nodded and said, "Alright."

She picked up a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and asked casually, "After your mother's surgery, will you still leave Jinghai?"

"We'll see." Anning neither said "yes" nor "no."

Perhaps she herself wasn't sure whether it would still be necessary to stay in Jinghai by then.

It was getting late, and their "catching up" came to an end.

An Ning got up, said goodbye, and left.

Watching her disappear around the corner as she went downstairs, Cheng Wanwan's smile, which had lasted for half an hour, gradually faded, and the smile in her eyes disappeared, leaving only a strong sense of contempt.

"An Ning, since you've already disappeared, why come back?"

"I gave you a chance to take your mother abroad, but you didn't go on your own, so don't blame me."