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

"Western banquet?"

"west Yan, what's wrong?"

Anning's voice brought him back to his senses. He looked up and saw a pair of fair and slender hands carefully placing a small bowl in front of him, filled with hot soup.

"It's nothing." He said with a smile in his eyes.

"It's okay, it's just some soup spilled." Anning gently stroked his hand as if coaxing a child. "It's not only children who can't hold a bowl properly, don't worry about it."

Looking at her sweet smile, Lu Xiyan felt a warmth in his heart. He placed a piece of fresh golden fungus sashimi on her plate and said, "You haven't eaten all day, are you hungry?"

An Ning took a couple of sips of soup, then suddenly remembered something, put down her bowl and spoon, and said, "west Yan."

"Hmm?" Lu Xiyan looked up and picked up a piece of crispy-skinned and tender duck and put it in her bowl.

"Do you know the professor couple that Engineer Han just mentioned?"

An Ning asked, puzzled, "Researching a technology is extremely time-consuming and energy-intensive. Once successfully developed, it's usually applied to scientific experiments or medicine. Why would they keep such a groundbreaking patent to themselves, refusing to sell it even for hundreds of millions?"

"I've only heard about it," Lu Xiyan said slowly. "Industry insiders say that after something happened to the couple, they completely gave up their research career and even shelved their research results."

An Ning pondered for a moment, then asked, "Can you find out where they live now?"

"Do you want to visit them?" Lu Xiyan asked.

"Hmm." Anning nodded. "Let's see if we can gain anything from this."

Lu Xiyan took her small bowl, scooped out two spoonfuls of braised lobster with dried mushrooms, and placed it in front of her. "You want to save Haowei's production line in Qichuan?"

An Ning looked at the small mountain of bowls piled up in front of her. "Although this is my first time here, I feel very warm and familiar with this place. If Haowei's production line here can be preserved, that would be the best."

"Of course, that's not the only reason."

She looked up at Lu Xiyan and said, "Perhaps this couple is now interested in selling the patent, and Auten can just happen to buy it. Then this patent will become Auten's unique resource, enough to lead other companies in the medical sector for decades, especially Zheng Hong Group."

Lu Xiyan understood; after all, she was thinking of him.

He asked with amusement, "Are you afraid that I'll lose this bet and lose my position as the successor to the Lu family?"

An Ning smiled faintly, "I know you don't care about the position of successor, but I also know you have a competitive spirit."

She knew Lu Xiyan well; he wasn't someone who valued fame, fortune, or status, but the fact that he signed this betting agreement proved that he definitely wanted to win.

No matter what the prize is, he has to win.

"I really don't want to lose, but I'm not absolutely obsessed with winning; I know my limits."

He looked at An Ning, his eyes filled with composure and tenderness, "But if you want to visit that couple, I'm willing to accompany you."

Lu Xiyan's words reassured An Ning and gave her confidence.

It was as if he had absolute confidence in everything, enough to put her at ease.

Looking into his eyes, An Ning felt as if she were being supported by an invisible force.

With Lu Xiyan around, her stagnant world seemed to be slowly reviving.

"Xi Yan," she pursed her lips, "could you lend me some money?"

Lu Xiyan was slightly taken aback, then placed his wallet on the table and pushed it towards her, "Take as many as you want."

Seeing that his expression was normal and he didn't ask her what she needed the money for, An Ning held the wallet in her hand. "Aren't you going to ask me what I need the money for?"

Lu Xiyan served her food as usual, his deep eyes calm, and the corners of his lips slightly curved up. "Since you asked, you must have a use for me. Just take it and use it."

Anning opened his wallet, which contained a bunch of black and gold bank cards, a small amount of cash, and a stack of blank checkbooks.

She took a check and was about to close her wallet when she suddenly noticed a corner peeking out from inside the wallet, which looked like a photograph.

She gently pulled out a corner of the photo and found that it was covered with tape marks, indicating that it was badly damaged.

Having only extracted less than a quarter of the wallet, An Ning's breath hitched, and her hand holding the wallet trembled uncontrollably.

She knew this photo so well that she could recognize it just by looking at the colors at the edges.

She pulled the photo out with trembling hands, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

It was the photo of her participating in a couples' photo contest, which Lu Xiyan then tore to shreds.

The only photo of her and him in her wallet was one she thought had long ago been thrown in the trash.

Unexpectedly, the fragmented photos had been pieced back together bit by bit, leaving not a single flaw.

The two people in the photo, whose love was overflowing, were pieced together perfectly, just like how her relationship with Lu Xiyan, which had been severed by time and misunderstandings, was pieced back together by his own hands.

Tears welled up uncontrollably, and my hand holding the photo was trembling uncontrollably.

Lu Xiyan naturally noticed her movements and expressions, his gaze falling on the photo that was stuck together with thick tape.

He laughed, but his voice was a little hoarse. "You don't like it?"

"Didn't you tear it up?" Anning asked, her voice trembling as she fought back tears. "You picked it up and put it back together?"

Her eyes were red, and she looked like a little white rabbit that had been bullied.

"You haven't done what you promised me yet, how can you just give up so easily?" He raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek. "Don't try to renege this time."

Anning's tears fell, dripping onto his palm. "It must have been tough, right?"

"It's not difficult."

He tore it up; he deserved it.

Seeing that she had been in a good mood but was now crying, Lu Xiyan changed the subject, pointing to the check she had taken out, "You don't want the money anymore?"

Anning wiped away her tears, put the photo back into her wallet, and covered it up tightly, as if she were afraid of losing it.

Then he took out a pen and a piece of paper from his bag. As soon as he put them on the table, Lu Xiyan took the pen.

Lu Xiyan picked up the blank check again, signed his name without hesitation, and placed the check and pen in front of An Ning.

The signed blank check meant that he was willing to give her whatever amount she asked for.

An Ning picked up a pen and wrote the amount on the check, then wrote a line on a piece of white paper, and handed the paper to Lu Xiyan.

Lu Xiyan took it, glanced at it, frowned slightly, and asked displeasedly, "An IOU?"

Anning picked up the check in her hand, her eyes still red, and said with a smile, "It's a loan from you, a total of five million. I will pay you back."

Lu Xiyan was displeased upon hearing this, and picked up the IOU, ready to tear it up—

"You'll have to glue it back on even if you tear it up," An Ning said promptly, her voice and eyes carrying a hint of threat.

Seeing his displeasure, An Ning smiled and said with a firm look in her eyes, "west Yan, I want to be with you again, in a way that's even and without any conflict."