Reborn and awakened, this time I won't be a love-struck fool.

He was a little uncomfortable, frowned slightly, and started typing.

X: [Why not copy?]

Melancholy Sweetie: [Because I finished writing it.]

Xie Yanhuai paused for a moment.

X: [Oh.]

He felt uncomfortable, so his attitude turned cold.

Whenever he responded with a simple "hmm" or "oh," Lin Wu would patiently coax him for a long time.

So Xie Yanhuai habitually put on airs in front of Lin Wu.

Xie Yanhuai put his lit-up phone aside and pulled out a math competition book to work on. There was a national unified math competition in December, open only to senior high school students, and he was determined to win a prize for his school.

After finishing a challenging problem, Xie Yanhuai confidently opened his phone, but the smile on his lips froze.

Lin Wu, surprisingly, didn't reply at all!

-

After seeing the word "Oh", Lin Wu immediately exited.

I opened the game and started playing happily.

She and Lin Si both lived on the second floor, while Jiang Fanxing and Lin Chuanqiong lived alone upstairs.

After taking a shower, Lin Chuanqiong stood by the window and slowly smoked a cigarette. He thought of his daughter with her head down and tears in her eyes. He bit the cigarette butt, sighed deeply, stubbed out the cigarette, and threw it into the ashtray.

He turned and left.

He is currently sleeping in the study.

It's separated from the master bedroom by a walk-in closet.

He stood at the bedroom door for a few seconds, lost in thought, his face shrouded in shadow as the hallway light shone through him.

A few seconds passed slowly, and Lin Chuanqiong, as if he had finally made up his mind, pushed open the bedroom door.

Passing around the screen, what comes into view is a woman kneeling on a cushion, bowing to a Buddha statue with her eyes closed.

Jiang Fanxing seemed not to hear the footsteps and reverently closed her eyes.

Lin Chuanqiong's Adam's apple bobbed. "Does your knee still hurt?"

Jiang Fanxing opened her eyes. Her eyes, which had seemed to speak volumes when she was young, were now filled with a desolate emptiness, as if her heart had turned to ashes.

"It doesn't hurt."

She stood up, and the dress that had fit her perfectly before now hung loosely on her body.

She looked at Lin Chuanqiong, "Did you need something from me?"

Lin Chuanqiong's gaze swept over her thin shoulders, and a dull, stabbing pain shot through his heart. "Xiao Bao is gone, but we still have two children."

Jiang Fanxing stopped breathing.

Her eyes suddenly reddened. "You're not worthy to mention Xiaobao!"

Lin Chuanqiong seemed to want to say something, but swallowed his words back. "I know, I didn't come here to plead for you or explain anything. I know you're sad, but don't forget, Wuwu and A Si haven't grown up yet."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Jiang Fanxing stared silently at his back. The door closed, and she looked at the compassionate Buddha statue. A tear slid down her cheek.

She is deeply sinful, and those who come near her will suffer misfortune.

-

Early the next morning.

Lin Si got up early, and Lin Wu didn't come downstairs until he had almost finished eating.

She usually doesn't bother with tying her hair up, and since her hair is quite smooth, it looks good when it's down over her shoulders. But today, she unexpectedly tied it up in a bun, and attached a crystal hair clip to the side with great interest. She hummed a little tune as she happily dragged the chair next to Lin Si away.

"Aunt Li, I'd like another cup of hot milk." Her tone was lively and playful, and she looked very energetic.

"Okay!" Aunt Li replied quickly.

Lin Si, biting into a grilled sausage by the door, stared blankly at Lin Wu with his narrow eyes wide open.

Lin Wu hummed a little tune, picked up a slice of golden-brown toast, spread it with Li Ma's homemade sweet blueberry jam, took a bite, and exclaimed, "It's so delicious! Li Ma's blueberry jam is so good!"

Li Ma placed a cup of hot milk next to Lin Wu with a smile, saying, "If Miss likes it, I'll make a little more."

"Okay!" Lin Wu replied enthusiastically.

She tested the temperature of the hot milk and found it was at a drinkable temperature, so she lowered her head and took a sip.

After doing all that, as if finally noticing Lin Si's eager gaze, she slowly turned her head and stared at him, asking, "What?"

Lin Si bit into the sausage, threw the remaining half onto the plate, and said, "Did you... take the wrong medicine today?"

"No," Lin Wu said with a grin, taking a bite of her bread. "You're the one who's taken the wrong medicine."

Lin Si felt even more uneasy.

I told her she had taken the wrong medicine, and she wasn't angry at all; she just smiled.

He raised his hand and rubbed his brow bone with his fingers. "Why are you so happy today? Did you get heartbroken?"

"Heh." Lin Wu snorted dismissively. "What kind of heartbreak is this? My eye disease has clearly healed."

Lin Si was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Now I truly believe you don't like him."

Lin Wu took a sip of milk. "It's not that I don't like it anymore; now it's evolved to the point where I'm happy when he's unlucky."

"Oh, so you're so happy today because he's about to have bad luck?"

"More or less." Lin Wu smiled and finished the whole slice of bread and the milk, urging Lin Si to hurry up and leave.

-

Xia Ruoruo's right eyelid has been twitching ever since she woke up this morning.

The room was a bit stuffy, so she drew back the curtains and opened the window, letting in the sounds of street vendors hawking their wares along with the fresh air.

She opened her phone and glanced at it.

Xie Yanhuai replied to the message after she fell asleep.

Xie Yanhuai: [Sorry, I just got home after accompanying my mom to an event tonight.]

Xie Yanhuai: [Don't worry, Lin Wu was just throwing a childish tantrum. She wouldn't actually ask you for the 900,000.]

Xia Ruoruo's lips curled up slightly.

She said that Xie Yanhuai couldn't possibly ignore her.

The unease in my heart receded like the tide.

She obediently replied with a "okay".

With a weight lifted from her heart, Xia Ruoruo changed into her school uniform, sat at her desk, and tied her hair into a high ponytail in front of the mirror.

She seemed somewhat dissatisfied, pulling out a lot of stray hairs to frame her face. Hua Guang did not forbid her from wearing makeup; she took out a girly-colored lipstick she had bought last week from the supermarket shelf in her vanity case.

I unscrewed the cap and gently applied it to my lips.

She looked at herself in the mirror, and finally left the room satisfied.

The small living room was filled with the aroma of fried dough sticks. Xu Pan placed a plate of steamed buns she had made that morning on the folding dining table.

Hearing footsteps, she smiled and said, "Ruoruo, wake up! Come and eat some xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)."

"Mmm." Xia Ruoruo's eyes curved into crescent moons when she smiled.

She sat next to Xu Jingwang.

Almost the instant she sat down, Xu Jingwang finished the last mouthful of porridge, took a tissue to wipe his mouth, and said, "Mom, I'm leaving now."

Xia Ruoruo was taken aback: "Aren't you coming with me?"

Xu Jingwang stopped moving.

He carried a schoolbag, was tall and slender, and turned to look at Xia Ruoruo.