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

An Ning's breath hitched as she looked at her slender, white wrist exposed to the air.

Lu Xiyan's eyes suddenly turned deep, and he abruptly grabbed her wrist and held it in front of his eyes.

When did you get that tattoo?

When the ribbon was removed, two English tattoos were revealed, each exactly the width of the wrist.

An Ning's throat went dry for a moment, then she casually said, "I got it tattooed because it was fun."

Lu Xiyan frowned slightly, looking intently at the string of English words: "take my mind, take my pain, and heal me."

Why did you get this sentence tattooed?

As he ran his fingertips along the tattoo on her wrist, Lu Xiyan's throat bobbed.

Take away my soul, take away my pain, and then heal me.

Listening to the heartbeat coming from his chest, An Ning casually said, "Don't overthink it. It doesn't have any special meaning. The tattoo artist just said that this phrase is popular among young people these days when I went to get it tattooed, so I got it."

An Ning twirled her wrist and asked with a smile, "Does this count as keeping up with the trends of young people?"

"Is that all?" Lu Xiyan seemed unconvinced.

"It really is like that." Anning turned around from his embrace to face him, and nuzzled his nose. "Don't overthink it."

As I ran my fingertips along the tattoo, I suddenly felt a raised area.

Lu Xiyan touched the spot carefully; it looked like a scar, but he wasn't sure.

An Ning was startled. Although the English letters on the scar were no longer visible, they could still be felt if you touched it carefully.

Seeing his furrowed brows, she quickly pointed to the spot he was rubbing. "I have a scar here, is it very noticeable?"

"How did this happen?"

"It was scratched by a cat."

An Ning smiled and intertwined her fingers with his. "When I was feeding the kitten, it became possessive of its food and scratched me."

Lu Xiyan asked, "Have you ever owned a cat?"

"It's not mine, it's my neighbor's." Anning smiled and said, "She found the kitten and raised it from a tiny kitten to over a year old. The kitten is very cute, and my neighbor is also a very lovely girl."

Upon hearing that she had made new friends outside of Jinghai, Lu Xiyan asked, "Are you on good terms with your neighbors?"

"Mm." Anning nodded, playing with his beautiful fingers. "Very good."

Lu Xiyan could clearly sense a hint of disappointment in her voice, so he comforted her, "Even though you've returned to Jinghai, you can still keep in touch. If she's willing to come to Jinghai, I can arrange a job for her."

The person in his arms gently shook their head.

"She's never been to Jinghai before. She said she really wanted to see the capital," Anning said, lowering her eyes. "But she'll never have the chance."

"She died; she jumped off a building."

He was not even twenty years old when he died.

"After she left, the kitten went hungry. When I went to feed it, the kitten, which hadn't eaten for several days, became very possessive of its food and scratched me."

Anning didn't cry when she said these things, but her voice trembled uncontrollably.

Lu Xiyan's heart sank, and he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

An Ning wrapped her arms around his waist, inhaling his pleasant scent to calm her turbulent emotions.

Except for the cat scratch incident, which she lied to him about, everything else was true.

However, the girl next door was her fellow patient.

The girl grew up without a mother, subjected to her father's violence and bullying from her classmates. She had severe self-destructive tendencies and, when contemplating suicide, picked up a cat, hoping to find some emotional support.

But the cat ultimately failed to become her hope for survival.

She sent a message to Anning before she passed away.

She said, "Sister Anning, I can't support the cat anymore, and I can't support myself either."

For countless days and nights afterward, Anning kept thinking that if she could hold onto her and let her live a slow, languid life like herself, would the girl be able to come with her to Jinghai to see this bustling capital?

She didn't cry out loud, but Lu Xiyan felt a dampness on his chest.

He gently stroked her back, his voice low and husky, "Are you regretting that you couldn't keep her?"

The back that was being stroked by the palm paused slightly.

He could always sense her emotions and thoughts immediately.

"Have you ever considered that she hasn't actually left you?" Lu Xiyan said softly. "She has simply transcended time and become something else around you."

"The bright stars hanging in the night sky are her, the clouds flashing by in the daytime are her. The summer evening breeze is her, and the rain after a long drought is also her. You only brush past each other in every moment of life, but she is everywhere."

These comforting words were not only for Anning, but also for himself.

It took him a long time to recover from the pain of losing his father.

He told himself that his father was always by his side.

"Ningning," he sighed softly, "leaving is her choice, but it's not the end of your friendship."

His hug, his words, and his voice all helped to gradually calm An Ning's emotions.

An Ning tilted her head back from his embrace and met his deep, starry eyes.

Anning could see reefs and waves, mountains and swifts in his eyes, as well as determination and tenderness.

Whether it was four years ago or four years later.

Lu Xiyan will always be Anning's faith and savior.

"Western Banquet".

"Um?"

An Ning's eyes were still misty, but she smiled slightly and said, "When we get back to Jinghai, I'll give you a gift."

"What gift?" Lu Xiyan asked with a smile. "Does it have to be given back in Jinghai?"

An Ning nodded, "I didn't bring the gift because it's in Jinghai."

If you bring An Xian to him and tell him, "Lu Xiyan, this is your biological son," then you can do so.

Will Lu Xiyan not cry at the banquet?

"Okay, I'll look forward to it." Lu Xiyan gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Get up and eat."

He got out of bed and took a shower. When he came out, he saw Anning sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her shoes.

He picked up the slippers from the floor and placed them beside her feet, watching her put them on and smilingly enter the bathroom.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Lu Xiyan stared in the direction of the bathroom, his eyes slightly lowered.

He didn't ask An Ning why she regretted it and wanted to get back together with him.

He didn't ask her what she meant by "I really love you."

What was the reason for their separation four years ago and their reconciliation four years later?

Is her ex-husband really Xu Zhijun? Why did they divorce? And why doesn't she tell the children who his biological father is...?

He didn't ask too many questions.

He has never been one to run away from things.

But now, he doesn't want to ask anything, he just wants to stay in this world where "Anning is by his side, and Anning says she loves him".

Because he loved her so much, he ran away from everything that had happened for the first time.

He should act as if he had never lost her.

"Western Banquet!"

A head suddenly popped out of the bathroom door, a toothbrush in its mouth and its mouth full of white foam.

Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, "Good morning!"

"Ah...no, that's not right!" she said, realizing it was already evening, and corrected herself, "Good evening!"

Lu Xiyan looked over, smiled gently, and said, "Good evening."