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

Four years ago, at the Lu Family Manor.

The study was so quiet that you could hear the file folder being gently opened.

"Ms. An, I've already had my legal team draft the divorce agreement."

Lu Lixiao took an agreement out of the file bag and handed it to the girl standing in front of the desk. "As long as you sign it, everything I promised you will stand."

A written agreement, signed in black and white, was all it took to sever her ties with Lu Xiyan.

"Does west Yan know?"

An Ning shifted her gaze from the words "divorce agreement" on He Da's desk to Lu Lixiao. "The divorce certificate requires Xi Yan's signature. Given west Yan's personality, he won't agree."

"This is not a problem for Miss An to consider." Lu Lixiao placed the divorce agreement on the table, took out a pen, and said, "The divorce will be handled by the Lu family's legal team. You just need to sign it, and from now on, you and west Yan will no longer have any marital relationship."

Lu Lixiao smiled gently, "west Yan will never know about the deal between us. Miss An, just live your life abroad. From now on, you and west Yan have nothing to do with each other."

The words "no longer related" struck An Ning's heart like a hammer, shattering the life that had finally come back to life in the past two years.

......

three years ago.

In the maternity ward of Jining City Hospital, besides the faint smell of disinfectant, there was also the scent of new life being born.

The newborn baby was born with a loud cry.

"Miss An, it's a boy!" The nurse happily carried the baby to the bedside. "So fair-skinned, with a high nose and big eyes, he's so beautiful!"

The woman on the hospital bed had her hair soaked with sweat and her face was pale, but when she looked at the tiny baby in the swaddling clothes, her eyes were filled with infinite tenderness.

The newborn looks so much like him!

Almost identical!

The striking resemblance between the man's eyebrows and eyes caused An Ning's already fragile emotions to collapse. The longing in her chest almost exploded. Before her mind could make a decision, her trembling hand had already picked up her phone and dialed the number that she had subconsciously dialed even though it was unnumbered.

"beep--"

An Ning's breath hitched, her chest felt so tight she couldn't breathe.

Just as she was thinking about how to tell Lu Xiyan that she had safely given birth to his child, the phone rang for a few seconds before being suddenly answered.

"Feed? Who?"

On the other end of the phone was a young woman's voice.

An Ning's hand gripping the phone tightened suddenly, and the tension from before vanished without a trace.

If she hadn't been so familiar with that voice, she might have thought Lu Xiyan had changed his number.

On the other end of the phone was Cheng Wanwan.

An Ning looked at the clock in the ward; it was nine o'clock in the evening.

Why is Cheng Wanwan answering Lu Xiyan's private cell phone so late at night?

An Ning's already pale and bloodless face grew even paler, her fingers trembled, and her throat was so dry that she couldn't utter a single word.

Just as she was about to hang up, Cheng Wanwan's questioning voice came through.

"Is it... peace?"

With uncertainty and tentative steps.

An Ning paused slightly, then heard the other person say with certainty, "It's you, An Ning."

"It's me." An Ning's throat was dry, and her voice was very soft.

After hearing her admit it, the other person paused for a second before asking, "Why did you call west Yan?"

"Anning, didn't you already leave him?" Cheng Wanwan's voice was slightly agitated. "A proper ex-wife should be like a dead person, never disturbing his life again. It's been a year, why are you still haunting him like a ghost?"

Cheng Wanwan's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over An Ning's head, completely sobering her up.

She then suddenly remembered that she and Lu Xiyan had already divorced and had no relationship with each other anymore.

Whether she has children or not, and whose children she has, is her own business.

She shouldn't have lost control and made that call.

Turning to look at the baby fast asleep in the crib, Anning's tears streamed down her face. She made an excuse, "I just wanted to ask him if the divorce proceedings were finalized?"

Upon hearing this, the other person seemed taken aback for a moment, "You haven't received your divorce certificate?"

"Um."

"Oh, it's been taken care of for a while now." Cheng Wanwan's tone softened. "west Yan was too busy and probably didn't think about it and forgot to give you the divorce certificate."

"He's taking a shower right now. How about this," Cheng Wanwan suggested, "give me your address, and I'll mail the divorce certificate to him for you."

Cheng Wanwan's words left An Ning breathless, and her fingertips trembled as she sent her an address.

Cheng Wanwan looked at it and asked in surprise, "You went back to Jinghai?"

"This is my friend's address. Please send it to my friend for me, Ms. Cheng," An Ning said softly. "She will forward it to me."

"It's best that you didn't go back to Jinghai." Cheng Wanwan said unhappily. "Anning, since you've gone abroad, don't come back. I've said before that you and Xiyan are not on the same path. With your background, you can't provide him with any help in his career, and you'll only hold him back. It's only a matter of time before you get divorced."

"Xi Yan has had a good year. Please don't disturb him like you did today. He has also said that he doesn't want to have any contact with you anymore."

When Cheng Wanwan said these words, it carried a strong sense of asserting her dominance: "Anning, I don't want to receive another call from you, and I never want to appear in front of him again. A person should know their place, shouldn't they?"

"Miss An—"

The nurse suddenly entered the room, and Anning quickly hung up the phone.

The nurse glanced at the sleeping baby and asked with a smile, "Does the little one have a name? It will make it easier for us to register."

An Ning lightly swiped her finger and deleted the call record, as if the call had never been made.

She turned to look at the crib, wiped away the tears on her face, and said in a hoarse voice, "Take my surname, and name me An Xian."

......

Memories of the past always feel like a huge stone pressing on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Pulling herself out of her memories, Anning scrolled through her contacts, then suddenly remembered something and quickly made a call.

"Who is this?"

The call was quickly answered, and a familiar voice came through.

"Sister Chen?" An Ning's face lit up with joy. "It's me, An Ning. Do you remember me? I rented your house a few years ago."

"Ah! It's peace!"

The middle-aged woman's voice across from me was excited, "How could I not remember you? You're such a pretty and sensible young lady, I have such a deep impression of you! There was another young lady who rented my place with you back then, you two together, right?"

"That's right, that's right, her name is Song Xiaoyu!" An Ning quickly asked, "Sister Chen, did she leave anything behind when she moved out? Or do you have her contact information?"

"Oh dear, now that you mention it, I remember. She gave me an envelope and told me to give it to you if you ever came back," Sister Chen said. "But you haven't come back for the past few years, and I haven't been able to contact you. I almost forgot about it."

Anning asked, "Is that envelope still there?"

"Yes, yes," the other person asked. "Anning, you're back in Jinghai?"

"Yes, I'm back." Anning asked politely, "Sister Chen, would it be convenient for you to come pick up something from me another day?"

"Sure, sure," the other person said hurriedly. "But I won't be in Jinghai for the next few days. I won't be back until the weekend. See you then."

After hanging up the phone, An Ning felt a weight lifted from her shoulders.

The envelope that Xiaoyu left for her must have been the divorce certificate.