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

Xie Xingbang pressed the hang-up button and smiled, "A business partner."

Ji Huai's face remained expressionless. She asked calmly, "Since we're partners, why didn't you accept?"

Xie Xingbang tossed his phone onto the table. "It's after get off work, I don't want to answer."

The atmosphere at the table suddenly became strange, and the nannies not far away all lowered their heads.

Xie Yanhuai suddenly lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks and took a sip of warm water.

Ji Huai looked at Xie Xingbang quietly.

As men age, they lose the carefree, dashing air of their youth, and their brows reveal undisguised irritability.

She curled her lips into a mocking smile. "Was that the other woman calling?"

Xie Xingbang, his face grim, asked, "What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" Ji Huai scoffed. "Don't you think that's a ridiculous question?"

Xie Xingbang looked at her coldly, his gaze devoid of any of the pity and indulgence he once showed.

Ji Huai said, "I've already done more than enough by letting that illegitimate child grow up healthy. Don't even think about giving him a single penny."

"Look at yourself now..." Xie Xingbang's face was full of disgust. "Do you even resemble a proper matriarch?"

"Whose fault is this?" Ji Huai said coldly. "It's you who cheated on me, it's you who got another woman pregnant, of course you can talk like that without any remorse."

Xie Yanhuai wiped his hands with a handkerchief in annoyance, casually tossed it on the table, and went upstairs.

Every time this topic comes up, the two of them argue for at least twenty minutes, constantly bringing up old grievances.

Ji Huai and Xie Xingbang's relationship in their youth was a well-known and celebrated story in Beijing.

A charming young nobleman falls in love at first sight with a rising starlet at a banquet. Despite his parents' objections, he insists on marrying her and resolutely enters the "walled city" of marriage.

There are no conflicts when you're in love, but after marriage, living together every day leads to more conflicts.

The day Xie Xingbang first met Zou Lian, he had just had a big argument with Ji Huai. Unable to stay at home, he came to the bar to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Zou Lian had just broken up with her first love at that time, and she couldn't bear to spend her life with a man who even had to think long and hard before going out for a meal.

After the breakup, she had neither education nor a decent skill, but fortunately she was good-looking, so she took part-time jobs in various nightclubs and bars.

She was a waitress, and Xie Xingbang glanced at her a few more times when serving the drinks.

Because Zou Lian and Ji Huai have a slight resemblance in their eyes and eyebrows.

He got very drunk that night and had to be helped to a private room.

The friend who was drinking with him took it upon himself to bring Zou Lian over. Under the influence of alcohol, he thought Ji Huai had come to pick him up and take him home, and they had a one-night stand.

The next day, when Xie Xingbang got up, rubbing his aching head, and saw Zou Lian clearly, his first reaction was to keep it from Ji Huai, fearing that she would find out.

He gave Zou Lian money to get rid of her.

Who knew she was pregnant?

By the time Xie Xingbang found out, Zou Lian was already close to giving birth.

At that time, Ji Huaiyuan was filming abroad and would be gone for half a year.

During the past six months, Xie Xingbang frequently visited Zou Lian and her newborn child.

Compared to Ji Huai's fiery temper, Zou Lian's gentleness is more attractive.

He fell for her without even realizing it.

Perhaps because he acted too conspicuously, Ji Huai found out about it not long afterward.

She traveled across the ocean and presented Xie Xingbang with a divorce agreement, forcing him to choose between two options.

One was his lawfully wedded wife, and the other was a bar waiter who was only good-looking and otherwise useless.

The relative importance is obvious at a glance.

He broke up with Zou Lian, and he originally planned to secretly go and find Zou Lian again after Ji Huai left.

As a result, Zou Lian took her son and left the capital, returning to her hometown.

He then realized that he had underestimated Zou Lian's pride.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Xie Xingbang increasingly regrets his choice back then.

The unattainable is always more alluring; it's a man's inherent weakness. He often reminisced about the time he spent with Zou Lian.

-

Zou Lian dialed the number again and again, but no one answered.

Her face turned deathly pale, and she swayed precariously, needing to hold onto the bedside table to stay upright.

Zou Lian was beautiful from a young age. She was eloquent and had a sweet tongue, which made her very successful in social situations.

She didn't know Xie Xingbang was already married until Ji Huai came to her door.

She only then realized that she had become the other woman.

The woman, dressed in expensive clothes she'd only ever seen on her phone, looked down at her with a contemptuous, critical, and disdainful gaze.

Even today, more than a decade later, Zou Lian still remembers it clearly.

She had thought that Xie Xingbang would pity her.

She still has at least one advantage.

She never imagined that the man would so ruthlessly and decisively abandon her.

Over the years, it has become a source of heartache for Zou Lian.

"mom……"

A faint voice woke Zou Lian.

Her eyes were red and swollen as she looked at the single bed.

Zou Xun woke up on her own, her cheeks flushed. "Why are you crying?"

"I..." Zou Lian paused, then said, "I was just worried about you, wasn't I?"

She pulled a thick coat out of the closet. "You have a fever. Put this on and Mom will take you to the hospital."

Zou Xun nodded slowly.

-

The Lin family's old house at this time.

It was a rare treat to have a family reunion dinner, so the servants started getting busy from the afternoon.

Jiang Fanxing prefers quiet and doesn't like too many people in the house, so only Li Ma usually lives in Jiaoyue Bay, while the other nannies are there during the day and go home at night.

The Lin family mansion was filled with servants. The butler, Uncle Song, carried a plate of snacks into the study.

Lin Chuanqiong and Lin Yuan sat by the window playing chess.

Lin Qingyuan watched from the sidelines.

Uncle Song quietly placed the snacks on the table beside him.

Lin Chuanqiong casually tossed the black pieces onto the board and conceded defeat, saying, "I lose. Qingyuan will play against you."

Lin Yuan scoffed, "You can't even concentrate on playing chess, yet you're this worried?"

Lin Chuanqiong took a sip of tea. "She hasn't been acting right lately."

"Your mother isn't going to eat you." Lin Yuan waved his hand helplessly. "Get out of here, just looking at her makes me angry."

In the outer living room.

Song Xin recounted her amusing experiences abroad, making Wu Mingzhen laugh non-stop.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat on a long sofa, and from a distance, they looked to have a very good relationship.

Jiang Fanxing sat alone on a single sofa, her expression blank, or perhaps she had already gotten used to it.

Song Xin is a young lady from the Song family, and she is a good match for the Lin family. Wu Mingzhen is very satisfied with this second daughter-in-law. All Jiang Fanxing hears from Ms. Wu is criticism and dissatisfaction.

Lin Chuanqiong saw this scene as soon as he entered the room.

Jiang Fanxing is extremely thin, and her silhouette makes her appear even more solitary.

He took a deep breath, walked straight over, picked out an orange from the fruit plate, and slowly began to peel it.

Wu Mingzhen glared at the scoundrel and asked irritably, "What brings you here?"

Lin Chuanqiong handed her the oranges, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "My dad told me you got a new cat. Take me to see it."

"Then hurry up and come over!" Wu Mingzhen took the orange, stood up, and walked towards the door.

Lin Chuanqiong followed.

Song Xin swallowed the rest of her words.

She picked up an orange and said casually, "Big brother really cares about you."

Jiang Fanxing didn't say anything.

Song Xin tilted her head. "I heard there's news about Xiao Bao... Has he been found?"