After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan held her phone, listening to Liu Zhiyuan's soft sobs coming through it. She remained silent for a long time.

"Juan'er, I'm begging you." Liu Zhiyuan's voice was damp, and his attitude was earnest.

"This should be the last time I ask you!"

"Even if we don't consider the child, at least we had so many years of relationship and so many beautiful memories together..."

In all the years they've known each other, Lan Yujuan had never seen Liu Zhiyuan cry in front of her.

She was initially reluctant and was thinking about how to politely refuse.

But as soon as Liu Zhiyuan brought up the past, the things they had gone through together, her heart hardened instantly.

"I'm not going."

"I won't go, and Xiaoman won't go either. Don't even think about it anymore."

"If you have so much time to spare, you might as well go back sooner. Before things get really bad, you can spend a few more days with your mother."

After being rejected, Liu Zhiyuan's sobs stopped abruptly, and his voice suddenly became hoarse, on the verge of collapse:

"Lan Yujuan! Don't go too far!"

"We've known each other for so many years, when did you become so heartless? Huh?"

"Regardless of who was right or wrong in the past, we can turn the page."

"I didn't make any unreasonable demands, did I? I'm just asking you to bring the child and come back with me to see my mother one last time. I'll reimburse all the expenses; it's not like you'll lose anything!"

"Even if you don't acknowledge my mother as your mother-in-law, Xiaoman is her only granddaughter!"

"When my father passed away, we were going through a divorce, so it's normal that you don't want to go back."

"But now, our relationship is completely severed."

"Even as a regular classmate or friend, I'm begging you to go and fulfill my mother's last wish. Is that so difficult?"

Lan Yujuan took a deep breath and said resolutely:

"Stop talking, I'm never going back."

"I'm calling you today to tell you to stop harassing Xiaoman at school."

"If I find out again that you went to Xiaoman's school and harassed her, telling everyone that you are Xiaoman's biological father."

"Then I don't mind going through the trouble again to move to a different neighborhood and change Xiaoman's school."

"From now on, you'll never be able to find us again."

After saying that, Lan Yujuan hung up the phone and immediately added the number to her blacklist.

After she finished her call, she took a few minutes to calm herself down on the balcony before going back inside. She found that Chen Mo had already returned and was cooking in the kitchen.

Lan Yujuan's brow twitched slightly. She glanced at her daughter watching TV on the sofa, slowly sat down beside her, and asked in a low voice:

"Xiaoman, when did Daddy come back?"

She braced herself on either side of the sofa and noticed that the spot where Chen Mo usually sat was still warm.

The little guy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said seriously:

"Just as you got through on the phone."

"After Dad came back, he sat here with me watching TV. He just went into the kitchen."

Lan Yujuan glanced in the direction of the kitchen, then looked back at the balcony.

They discovered that the spot where Chen Mo had been sitting was the closest spot in the living room to the balcony.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she started to feel a little guilty. She raised her hand to smooth the stray hairs from her forehead and continued to ask:

"Did I disturb your cartoon watching when I was on the balcony making the phone call?"

Lan Xiaoman thought for a moment, then gently shook her head. "No."

"The door was closed, and Mom's voice on the phone wasn't particularly loud."

Just as Lan Yujuan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Lan Xiaoman suddenly turned around and asked in a serious tone:

"Mom, do we really have to move?"

"But I like my current kindergarten, and I like my teachers and classmates. I don't want to change schools."

Just as Lan Yujuan was about to get up, everything went black.

Good grief, you said the sound wasn't loud? I heard it all clearly now!

She reached out and patted the little one's head, reassuring him, "Don't worry, Mommy's just saying, it's not certain yet."

After saying that, he went straight to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Chen Mo had already started steaming the rice and was making soup while picking vegetables by the sink.

Lan Yujuan quietly walked over, gently rested her head on his shoulder, and whispered:

"You heard me making a phone call from the balcony just now?"

Chen Mo turned his head, glanced down at her, and responded softly, "Mm."

She wrapped her arms around Chen Mo's shoulders and whispered, "I blocked him a long time ago!"

"But this morning, he somehow found out about the place and refused to leave the coffee shop."

"I ran into him when I went downstairs at noon. After Qingqing learned who he was, she chased him away."

"Unexpectedly, he blocked the kindergarten gate again in the afternoon and talked nonsense to the security guard at the kindergarten gate."

"I went to pick Xiaoman up from school in the evening and that's when I heard about this from her teacher."

"I was so angry at the time that I called him back."

After listening, Chen Mo put down the vegetables in his hand, shook the water off his hands, and then turned around and gently hugged Lan Yujuan.

"Honey, you don't need to explain, I believe you."

Lan Yujuan's eyes reddened, and she reached out to hug Chen Mo back, saying, "You're so good to me!"

Chen Mo raised his hand and gently touched her forehead, his voice surprisingly calm and gentle.

"Would you like to hear my thoughts?"

Lan Yujuan tilted her head back, rested her chin on his chest, and slowly nodded, saying:

"Okay, go ahead, I'm listening."

Chen Mo pursed his lips, lowered his head and pecked her forehead, then rested his chin on the top of her head and said:

"Have you ever considered the possibility of taking Xiaoman back with you?"

"After all, no matter what, from the perspective of blood ties, that person is indeed Xiaoman's grandmother."

"Xiaoman is still so young. Aren't you heartbroken to see her labeled as unfilial at such a young age?"

As she listened to Chen Mo's detailed account, which revealed the neglected voice in her heart, she gasped for breath and remained silent.

But the arms around the man tightened in response to her emotions.

Chen Mo raised his hand and gently patted her back, saying softly:

"At this moment, what you're thinking is what I'm thinking too. We both feel the same love for Xiaoman."

Lan Yujuan's eyes welled up with tears. She rubbed against Chen Mo's clothes and whispered:

"That makes sense."

"It's impossible to let Xiaoman go back with Liu Zhiyuan alone."

"If I were to take Xiaoman back with me, I would be even less willing."

Chen Mo freed his hands and gently cupped Lan Yujuan's head, whispering:

"Perfect timing, Li Huan's hometown in the countryside is right next to Xiahe Village."

"Li Huan's mother has just recovered from a serious illness, and the family is preparing to have a lively celebration. This year, they will also be celebrating his mother's birthday in the next few days."

"I was originally thinking of not going, just sending a simple gift."

"If you'd like, I happen to be free these few days. Let's set aside two days and go."

"First, we'll celebrate Li Huan's mother's birthday and stay overnight in the county town. Before we come back, we'll take Xiaoman back to Xiahe Village to visit her grandmother and offer incense to her grandfather."

"When Xiaoman grows up, even if someone digs up old, trivial matters and tries to gossip, we won't have anything to say about her."

"Do you think this arrangement is acceptable?"