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

Cheng Wanwan didn't hear a word the other person said after that.

The words "Anning is back" kept echoing in my ears.

"Clatter!"

The wine glass beside him fell to the ground and shattered into pieces instantly.

The woman gripped the phone tightly in her hand, her eyes blazing with barely concealed hatred.

Anning is back!

She's already disappeared, why is she coming back?

......

When An Ning returned to the hotel where she was staying, soaking wet, Zhao Li was startled.

"My God! What's going on?!"

Zhao Li quickly grabbed a dry towel to dry her hair, her voice full of concern, "Miss An, why did you come back in the rain? You'll catch a cold!"

Anning's shoulder-length hair was casually tied into a low bun, and she took the opportunity to wipe the dripping ends. She didn't have a lot of hair, but fortunately, the quality was pretty good.

Zhao Li took a towel and dried the rain off An's body, casually saying, "Miss An, I thought your hair used to be so beautiful, your waist-length hair was like seaweed, why did you cut it?"

Anning paused in wiping her hair, her back stiffening slightly.

Zhao Li sensed something was wrong and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look at your photos. Xuanxuan accidentally found them, and I glanced at them when I was putting them away."

In those photos, Zhao Li recognized An Ning from before at a glance.

Her small, oval face was just like it is now, delicate and pretty, without any makeup.

Her long hair cascaded down like seaweed, giving her a cool and aloof air.

Miss An in the photo is just as beautiful as she is now, except that she seems happier in the photo, with bright, gentle eyes.

Miss An now exudes an indescribable sadness.

"It's okay." Anning dried her hair, lowered her eyes and said softly, "Wearing the string was inconvenient, so I cut it."

"Mother!"

A soft, childlike voice suddenly rang out, followed by a small figure running from the next room, a chubby, white hand grabbing Anning's hand, "Mommy's back!"

"Mommy's back." Seeing the chubby, fair-skinned child, a glimmer of light returned to Anning's eyes. She knelt down and asked with a smile, "Was Xuanxuan a good girl today?"

"So good!" Three-year-old Anxian has beautiful and delicate features, with a pair of big, clear eyes on his round, white face. He was about to hug Anning when she stopped him.

"Mommy's all wet, how about I hug you after I take a bath?"

The little boy was very sensible; he kissed her on both cheeks, nodded, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Okay!"

......

The showerhead sprayed warm water, creating a misty spray on the small, blurry square glass window of the bathroom.

A mist of water clung to the small mirror, gathering to a fullness before slowly dripping down, leaving winding streaks that blurred the reflection of the woman's fair and shapely body.

Warm water rinsed the light green ribbon on my left wrist, and glistening water droplets formed at the edges of the ribbon.

With a light tug on her fingertips, the ribbon slipped from her wrist, revealing several grotesque scars of varying depths.

An Ning stared at the scars, each one a testament to her longing for Lu Xiyan over the past four years.

Hot tears slid down her cheeks, and as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with his cold and indifferent gaze.

Four years have passed, and she has never told anyone.

She really missed him.

I miss his embrace, I miss his passionate kisses.

He whispered her name again and again in her ear, "Anning... Ningning..."

Those photos that she put away were ones he had once treasured.

She took it with her when she left.

He used to adore her long hair, always stroking it again and again, and gently inhaling its fragrance.

Actually, her long, seaweed-like hair wasn't cut off.

It's all gone.

In the fourth month after leaving him, she began to lose her hair like crazy, in clumps.

An Ning tilted her head back, letting the hot water wash away the tears on her face.

That evening, she held the little one in her arms, gazing at his handsome features, and lowered her head to place a light kiss on his forehead.

String.

Western banquet, Western banquet.

......

The next day.

As the sun rose, Anning returned to Xiyuan Village in Linyang District.

In the bustling city of Jinghai, there is a poverty-stricken area that the sun never shines on—the urban village of Xiyuan in Linyang District.

The people here are poor and have a low standard of living, yet they are content with the status quo and take things for granted, always hoping to get rich through land expropriation and reach the pinnacle of life.

This is where Anning lived for twenty-two years.

To be precise, it should be seventeen years.

At the low doorway, when Li Chunfang first saw her, her aged and weary eyes were stunned for a few seconds before she burst into tears.

"You heartless bastard! You finally decided to come back!"

"Where have you been for the past four years! You left without a word, where have you gone?!"

Li Chunfang burst into tears, then hugged Anning tightly, "I raised you, after all. Even if I'm not your biological mother, I still raised you. How could you be so stubborn? You haven't come back even once in four years! You only came back when I was almost dead!"

An Ning looked around at this small plot of land where the sun couldn't reach. It hadn't changed much from four years ago; it was still dark, narrow, old, and suffocating.

However, in the main room, there was now an additional black-and-white portrait of the deceased.

He is her adoptive father, An Tianhua.

"Your father passed away two years ago." Li Chunfang wiped away her tears. "It was caused by alcoholism. He got drunk one night and passed out."

An Ning glanced at the man's portrait, then turned to Li Chunfang, "Pack your things and get ready to go to the hospital. I've already taken care of the admission procedures."

Her voice was calm, her eyes serene and expressionless. Li Chunfang asked, "Your father died, aren't you going to offer him some incense?"

Anning pretended not to hear and continued, "The doctor said the surgery can be scheduled as soon as possible. They'll be doing some tests in the next few days, so please cooperate with the doctor."

"Anning!" Li Chunfang looked at her in disbelief, patted her on the shoulder, "Didn't you hear me talking to you? You haven't come back for four years, and you don't even have a reaction to seeing your father's portrait? Not only do I not expect you to kowtow, you won't even offer incense, do you have any conscience?!"

Li Chunfang's strength wasn't great, but Anning still felt pain.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "Should I thank him? Thank him for leaving me with hundreds of thousands in gambling debts that suffocated me? Thank him for forcing me to marry someone for a dowry of tens of thousands? Or thank him for taking money from the Lu family behind my back, making me unable to hold my head up in the Lu family!"

An Ning's eyes were red-rimmed, her expression stubborn as she refused to let the tears fall. "No, I should thank you for buying me back from human traffickers. I still don't know who my biological parents are!"

Li Chunfang was speechless, opened her mouth, and her eyes were filled with tears.

A tear fell from her eye, and Anning immediately raised her hand to wipe it away before turning and entering Li Chunfang's room.

"Pack your things and we're going to the hospital." She opened the simple wardrobe, her tone returning to its previous calm. "I'll pack your clothes, and you can take your personal belongings with you."

The mother and daughter fell into a brief silence.

A little while later, Li Chunfang stood at the door carrying a bag of daily necessities in a cloth bag. She looked at Anning, who was collecting clothes, with her eyes downcast and her face fair and stubborn.

"peaceful......"

Li Chunfang hesitated before speaking, "I saw Xiao Lu on the news."

Upon hearing this, Anning paused, holding the clothes in her hand. Then she heard her continue, "It seems he's getting engaged to the heiress of the Cheng Group... next month."