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

Lu Xiyan's breath hitched, and the coldness in his eyes turned into disbelief.

Her eyes were filled with sadness and pity, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Lu Xiyan's eyes reddened as he looked at her intently.

A moment later, he loosened his clenched fist and turned his head to let out a soft laugh.

"Anning, why!" he demanded. "Why should I continue to love you just because you turn around?"

"Am I, Lu Xiyan, really that cheap?" He suddenly gripped her wrist tightly, meeting her pleading eyes. "What woman can't I have? Why would you keep playing with me?"

"What makes you think you have the right to come back after trampling on other people's feelings and leaving like that? You think too highly of yourself!"

An Ning's wrist was gripped so tightly it hurt. Her head was already throbbing with pain, and now even breathing was difficult. Every bone in her body ached.

Tears streamed down her face, falling like beads from a broken string.

Lu Xiyan frowned. She was the one who dumped him back then, yet she acted so aggrieved.

An Ning felt a tightness in her throat, as if pricked by needles. The overwhelming truth enveloped her like a dense, suffocating net, causing her wave after wave of suffocation.

If she could tear this intricate web apart in front of Lu Xiyan, they might be able to cross the enormous chasm that had stood between them for four years, but...

The confrontation between grandfather and grandson will bring turmoil to the entire Lu family and a dramatic change to the entire capital city.

Their future will be even more difficult.

Will Lu Xiyan be truly happy then?

Her nails dug almost deep into her palms, as if she had struggled for a long time. After a while, her tearful eyes met Lu Xiyan's dark red, turbulent eyes, and she managed to say in a trembling voice, "I have my reasons for leaving you..."

Look, they're making up lies again.

"What's your predicament?" Lu Xiyan released her hand, his eyes cold and his face full of mockery. "Didn't you get tired of playing around?"

He still remembers every single word of the things she said when she dumped him.

"Miss An, aren't you afraid of retribution for telling so many lies?"

A hint of surprise flashed through An Ning's misty, tearful eyes, as if she hadn't expected the other party to be so flippant.

She stumbled back a step, her delicate brows furrowed, her eyes bloodshot, and she opened her mouth but said nothing.

Lu Xiyan saw her turn around as if she had lost her strength, and walk out step by step.

His breath caught in his throat as he watched her unsteady yet stubborn steps.

After taking a few steps, she paused and suddenly turned around.

As if she had made an important decision, she took a deep breath, her small face covered in tears, glistening with moisture.

"Then let it be that I'm tired of playing with it..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, "I regret it now, can you... can you... come back to me?"

She sobbed, managing to utter a complete sentence with difficulty.

Lu Xiyan stood there, glancing at her, his deep eyes calm and undisturbed.

Like a pot of water that never boils.

He didn't answer, just looked at her calmly, without the slightest emotion.

An Ning's heart sank little by little, as if all the warmth in her body had been drawn away.

"Sorry to bother you..."

She lowered her eyes, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

As I turned to run away, my arm was suddenly grabbed by a strong force, and I was pulled backward and fell into a broad and warm embrace.

The deafening pounding of her heart vibrated her eardrums, threatening to shatter the chest she was pressed against. The scent of cedarwood, both long-lost and familiar, filled her nostrils.

She was stunned for a moment, as if she were dreaming.

When she came to her senses, her eyes stung, and she trembled as she touched his strong back, tears streaming down her face and soaking his clothes.

Lu Xiyan held her tightly, holding her firmly in his arms. His heavy, powerful heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. He gently inhaled the fragrance of her slender white neck, and tears streamed down his face.

As she turned away, her dim and broken eyes seemed to be telling him—once she left, she would never bother him again, and from then on, they would be strangers.

He could have let her leave, but inexplicably he reached out and grabbed her, holding her tightly.

He held her tightly in his arms, saying nothing, yet his silence spoke volumes.

He's just so spineless; no matter how harsh his words are, he's only making excuses for himself.

As long as An Ning turns around and says a kind word.

He couldn't refuse.

A warm and safe embrace, a place I've longed for day and night for four whole years.

For four years, nearly 1,500 days and nights, Anning missed his embrace every moment.

I'm so captivated by his scent and warmth that I can't bear to let go even a little bit.

Her burning cheeks were suddenly lifted up, and as she looked up, she met a pair of eyes that shimmered like the deep sea.

Lu Xiyan's slender fingers caressed her face, and the next moment, his thin lips pressed against her hot and red lips.

Their lips touched, their breaths mingled, and an uncontrollable fire ignited within them.

The light kiss gradually turned domineering and possessive.

Lu Xiyan held the back of her neck and kissed her deeply.

An Ning already had a fever and her legs were a little weak. Now that he was taking up the thin oxygen, she was even more unsteady and had to press herself against his burning body to barely stand.

One arm was tightly wrapped around her waist, a large hand gripping her slender waist to steady her body, while the other hand ran through the stray hairs at the back of her neck, greedily inhaling her scent.

An Ning gripped his lean waist tightly with one hand and clung to his shoulder with the other, her face flushed pink from the fever.

"Western Banquet..."

A soft, fragmented sound escaped her lips, her voice trembling at the end, "I have no strength left..."

It carried a hint of coquettish intimacy.

The next moment, she was lifted into the air and instinctively wrapped her arms around the man's neck.

The person in his arms was burning hot. Lu Xiyan was brought back to his senses by her words. He glanced at her misty eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then carried her upstairs.

Upon entering a bedroom, one is greeted by cool-toned decor, and the scent of the same fragrance as the man's fills the air.

That's his bedroom.

An Ning had no strength left and was vaguely placed on the soft bed.

Feeling that the warm embrace was about to leave, Anning quickly reached out and grabbed it.

"......where did you go?"

She gripped his fingertips tightly, preventing him from leaving.

Lu Xiyan stood by the bed, meeting her misty eyes, "I'll get a doctor to come and take a look at you."

His tone was unusually gentle, which made An Ning's heart tremble.

"I've already taken fever reducer..."

Anning held his hand tightly, refusing to let go. "Will you stay with me?"

Her misty eyes, fair skin with a rosy glow, and gentle, heart-warming tone all seemed like a grand invitation.

Lu Xiyan's reason had suppressed that lustful fire, but now it was reignited by her.

"Anning, do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I know..."

As memories and reality intertwined, tears welled up in An Ning's almond-shaped eyes. "Xi Yan, I really miss you so much..."

The thought of "Lu Xiyan" echoed in my very bones and blood.

These words completely shattered Lu Xiyan's remaining rationality, burning his heart like a raging fire.

He suddenly leaned down, his forehead lightly touching hers, his voice hoarse, "No regrets?"

"No—uh—"

The moment Anning uttered the word "no," his lips were sealed by hers, and her heart felt as if it had been completely filled with something.

My heart, riddled with wounds, seemed to finally stop bleeding and scab over at this moment.