A pampered young lady from a wealthy family is reborn, choosing a rich wife over a rich man.

You are the only person he has ever loved.

In the past, Bai Xue would have been reserved and smug upon hearing this.

Now, she is not only not happy because of the word "only," but also has mixed feelings because of the word "loved."

Loved it.

This means the love has expired; it's gone.

Bai Xue closed her eyes, trying to stay calm.

"Brother," she said, "Zhou Yu doesn't love me anymore. Do you know why he hasn't completely given up on me and is still willing to take care of me? It's because I saved him back then, and I lost my left leg for him!"

"This is not love, it's responsibility."

"Love may be blind, but responsibility is rational, and it's easily negated by 'nonsense' and 'greed'! Kidnapping Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou is 'nonsense,' and making exorbitant demands is 'greed'! Do you understand?"

"Don't do anything unnecessary. Perhaps he will continue to take care of the Bai family out of the last bit of affection he has for us."

Bai Zhen was disappointed and muttered under his breath, "As long as you marry him and have his child, why are you afraid he won't change his mind?"

Bai Xue's eyes stung with pain, and she clutched the thin blanket, crying out in a panic, "Bai Zhen, look at my legs!"

"Given my appearance, let alone whether Zhou Yu would marry me or not, even if you forced him to marry me, if he didn't want to have children with me, I couldn't force him!"

Bai Zhen wanted to say something, but meeting Bai Xue's angry, tearful eyes, he scratched his head in frustration: "Fine, fine, since you just won't show yourself, then watch the Bai family get played to death by Zhou Yu!"

He got up from the ground with a grim expression, kicking the coffee table in frustration: "I don't know what good it will do you if the Bai family falls on hard times! You've spent a lot of the Bai family's money abroad over the years, but without the Bai family, you'll die too!"

That was just said in anger.

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Zhen realized he had made a mistake, and his eyes flickered.

"You can leave now," Bai Xue said coldly.

Without her needing to urge him further, Bai Zhen knew the matter couldn't be resolved. He casually offered a few perfunctory words of comfort, picked up his phone, and headed for the door.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

That was Bai Zhen expressing his anger.

Bai Xue bit her lip tightly, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally rolled down her cheeks. She leaned on the armrest of the sofa and cried uncontrollably.

A tall, imposing man walked into the living room and stood two meters away, looking at her.

Bai Xue raised her head, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked at the person who had come. Her eyes held both longing and an urgent desire to be understood.

"Brother Yu, you heard everything just now, right?" she said, choking back tears. "My aunt and uncle's kidnapping really had nothing to do with me. Bai Zhen used me!"

"If I had known Bai Zhen's plan earlier, I would have stopped him! Even if I couldn't have stopped him, I would have told you!"

"I heard everything." Zhou Yu nodded, then added, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left.

"Wait!" Bai Xue quickly called out, hesitantly, "Brother Yu, do you believe me?"

Zhou Yu paused, but did not turn around.

"You're absolutely right about something. Love can be blind, but responsibility is rational. I have a responsibility to you, but not to the Bai family."

"The only thing I can guarantee is that my actions against the Bai family will not affect your interests. Even if they do, I will compensate you."

After saying that, he walked forward again.

The sound of the front door opening and closing came from the entryway again, but this time it wasn't as agitated as before; instead, it was calm and resolute.

Bai Xue sat quietly on the sofa, like a wooden sculpture.

All the panic and pleading she had shown earlier had vanished; though tears were still streaming down her face, only indifference remained in her eyes.

It's as if tears are just an instinct.

After a while, she bent down and pulled out a tissue.

He slowly and meticulously wiped away the tears on his face, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

……

the next day.

Meng Zhixue slept soundly through the night. When she woke up, she smelled the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms carried into the room by the breeze and stretched out a big yawn.

As usual, she went to the balcony to look into the distance. She looked at the neighboring yard and sure enough, she saw a familiar figure in white sitting under a tree, listening to the wind.

She didn't disturb them, smiled, and went back to her room to wash up.

But when she finished tidying up and came downstairs, and saw Xie Lingfeng sitting at the dining table, the relaxed expression on her face suddenly froze, and she hesitated.

"What, are you surprised to see me?" Xie Lingfeng looked up at her, pointed to the seat opposite her, and said, "Go get some bowls and chopsticks, let's eat together."

The breakfast on the table was plentiful, and he looked like he had just started eating. Meng Zhixue was a little disgusted but didn't eat much.

But she gave a forced smile, taking it as a polite one, and headed straight for the kitchen.

When she was working for Zhou Yu, it was just the two of them in the villa. After asking Zhou Yu's opinion, they ate at the same table.

At Villa No. 28, Xie Wei didn't have much of an appetite and often didn't eat. She would only eat a little with Yu Xuechen when he came over. She usually ate with Sister Ju and the two nannies.

Now that Xie Lingfeng is calling her, she naturally takes it as him... well, whatever.

Just pretend you didn't hear it.

But to her surprise, Xie Lingfeng called her a second time.

"Meng Zhixue".

"..." Meng Zhixue turned around, met his slightly threatening phoenix eyes, thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to get the bowls and chopsticks."

Xie Lingfeng chuckled and gave her a cold look: "That's for the best."

Meng Zhixue: "..."

It's just having breakfast together, why did you think she was so timid?

She won't admit that she was trying to avoid him just now!

After taking the bowl and chopsticks, Meng Zhixue didn't sit opposite Xie Lingfeng, but sat directly next to him, her eyes looking at him as if to say, "Here I am."

Xie Lingfeng chuckled: "Not bad, you've got guts today."

Meng Zhixue gave a smug snort and picked up a small steamed bun.

Sister Ju is a great cook; she can make even ordinary food taste delicious.

After eating a delicious little meat bun, Meng Zhixue struck up a conversation with Xie Lingfeng: "You know I can see the backyard of the villa next door from my room, right?"

"Hmm." Xie Lingfeng nodded casually.

Meng Zhixue asked curiously, "There's a young man over there wearing white... um... he looks a lot like you. Who is he? Is he a relative of yours?"

"You're curious?" Xie Lingfeng asked. "You sat down to eat with me just to ask this?"

"...Yes." Meng Zhixue scratched her cheek and admitted it.

She always speaks the truth.

Because I feel I don't have the intelligence to hide anything, I simply don't bother telling lies, so as not to have to make up countless excuses to cover up every single one.

Xie Lingfeng glanced at her coldly, and said with a sneer, "Don't be curious about him. He's just a worthless illegitimate child."

"Your dad's?" Meng Zhixue was surprised.

"Otherwise what?" Xie Lingfeng asked. "He's only half a year younger than me. How could I possibly have given birth to such a grown illegitimate child?"

Meng Zhixue: "..."

No, not at all.

How could she possibly doubt him?

...If she were to suspect anything, she would only suspect that he would be lonely for life because of his trashy personality, rather than suspect that he had an illegitimate child.

To her surprise, she heard from Sister Ju that Xie's parents were very loving before their accidental deaths and had never argued, but it turned out that the man had an illegitimate child.

Such a big thing happened, and even Sister Ju, who has worked for the Xie family for more than ten years, didn't know about it.

Seeing the unspeakable shock on her face, Xie Lingfeng's phoenix eyes darkened slightly. He put down his chopsticks and asked, "What, have you taken a fancy to that illegitimate child?"

"How could that be?" Meng Zhixue reacted, instinctively replying, "I don't like men!"

"...?" Xie Lingfeng's lips twitched, then his eyes suddenly became indescribable as he asked, slowly and deliberately, "You don't like men?"