She sat on the bench and released Rainy’s hand so that she could go play on her own. Rainy began to pick up the leaves from the floor happily. She collected piece by piece and arranged them into a pattern. She thought it looked nice, but in the end, she gathered all the leaves together and placed them back at the bottom of the tree.

“Xinxin…”

Suddenly, a voice called out. With the wind blowing on Xia Ruoxin’s face, the voice simply made her feel colder.

She opened her eyes and saw a woman was already seated beside her. It was someone she had not wished to see or acknowledged.

“What are you doing here?” Xia Ruoxin asked. Her voice was devoid of all emotions. She stared at her daughter who was playing at a distance not far away from her. The other woman beside her was not even a stranger to her.

“Xinxin, do you have no intention of acknowledging me at all? You’re not willing to call me ‘Mom? Not once?”

Shen Yijun smiled bitterly. In reality, they hardly see each other; but every time their paths crossed, Xia Ruoxin would treat her with indifference like now. She was very unwilling to speak to her. Xia Ruoxin despised her mother, and she grew stingy with her emotions towards the elderly woman.

Shen Yijun knew she deserved it. She wondered if her daughter would ever acknowledge her in this lifetime. Nevertheless, she just couldn’t stop worrying and was reluctant to it. This was her daughter after all

-her only daughter. Whenever Xia Mingzheng was having a telephone conversation with Xia Yixuan, her heart would ache all over again. That’s right. Xia Yixuan had returned, and Xia Mingzheng had his daughter back. No matter how disappointing Xia Yixuan was, Xia Mingzheng still had a daughter. Although they would get into an argument each time they met, he could still scold or beat her. Deep down in his heart, he found solace that his daughter was not dead. She was alive to call him ‘Daddy’.

Shen Yijun, on the other hand, had forced her daughter out of the house for Xia Mingzheng and his daughter. She had almost caused Xia Ruoxin’s death. Nowadays, Xia Mingzheng could call his daughter to speak to her, but Shen Yijun had totally lost her daughter. She could never have her back in her life.

Rainy picked up a leaf again. When she turned to her back, she could see someone with her mother. An auntie was crying continuously. She stretched her legs and ran towards her mother with a cautious look as she hugged her mother’s leg.

“Rainy.” Shen Yijun wiped her tears away hastily. Then, she rummaged through her bag as though she was searching for something. However, her bag merely contained a lot of cosmetics, and there was nothing suitable for a child to eat or play with. She really wanted to slap herself. How could she forget about this? Unwilling to give up, she searched through her bag once more. The conclusion was the same. She couldn’t possibly give a child her lipstick to eat.

She clenched her teeth as she started to become anxious. Cold sweat gathered on her forehead. In the end, she took her purse out of the bag. She opened her purse and revealed a stack of credit cards.

Shen Yijun took out a card without a thought and gave it to Rainy.

“Rainy, this is a gift from Granny. The PIN is 123456. It’s very easy to remember. There is a lot of money in the bank account for you to buy lots and lots of toys,” she said. She wanted Xia Ruoxin to hear it too because a child’s memory was short-lived. Perhaps, the adult could remember.

Rainy stared at the card for ages, but she did not accept it. Instead, she stared at Shen Yijun with eyes that closely resembled her mother’s. Rainy’s hands reached out which caused Shen Yijun to heave a sigh of relief. It would be good if they accepted. She had saved the money throughout all these years with the intention of giving it to Xia Ruoxin.

The amount might not be much compared to what the Chu family could give her, but it was enough to let her daughter and granddaughter live a life without worries. She knew Xia Ruoxin wouldn’t accept it, given her temper. Nonetheless, she had been waiting for an opportunity to give her. Fortunately, by a freak combination of factors, her chance was here.

Alas, Rainy was reaching out for head to arrange her sun hat. While she was doing that, she turned away and buried her face into her mother’s chest. She was good at reading someone from their body language. If her mother disliked a person, she would do the same. She was sensitive enough to know her mother disliked this auntie so she wouldn’t speak to her, too. She only wanted her mother.

Shen Yijun’s felt embarrassed as she retracted her hand from mid-air.

“Xinxin, please take the card,” she said while she tried to shove the card into Xia Ruoxin’s hand. Xia Ruoxin had her hands full, carrying her daughter. It was getting more embarrassing for Shen Yijun and her card.

“Xinxin, are you really unwilling to forgive me?”

Shen Yijun knew there was no possibility of Xia Ruoxin forgiving her. Naturally, she wouldn’t accept the card as well. Couldn’t she forgive her mother’s selfishness and fear from the past on account of her advanced age?

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Xia. I won’t accept your money.” Xia Ruoxin said sarcastically through her tightly pursed lips. “Neither will I take anything that belongs to the Xia family.” She was never a part of the Xia household so there was no reason for her to accept things from them. Whatever she owed including the food and lodging they had given her, she had repaid them in abundance throughout all these years. She had also repaid the Chu family whatever she had owed them so she was no longer in anyone’s debt.

She carried her daughter and thought of how small the world was. All she did was bring her daughter out to play in the sun, and she encountered someone she was unwilling to see. Take Shen Yijun for example… or anyone from the Chu family.

“Oh. Ruoxin, is that you?” Song Wan saw Xia Ruoxin from afar, and she was approaching her subconsciously.

Is Mommy playing a game with me? Rainy remembered her mother’s instruction. She buried her face into Xia Ruoxin’s chest, unwilling to meet anyone.

Xia Ruoxin nodded at Song Wan, but she never stopped to leave the place.

Song Wan was embarrassed. Actually, she had wanted to chat, and yet Xia Ruoxin was treating her with indifference as though she didn’t matter. On second thought, she knew she deserved it considering the way her family had treated her. She wasn’t in the position to blame anyone. If she wanted to do that, there was a long list of people she could do that to.

Song Wan came over and sat beside Shen Yijun.

“What happened? She refused to acknowledge you as her mother?” A sigh. Song Wan was at a loss at how she should console Shen Yijun. Now that their relationship was broken, it wouldn’t be easy to go back to how things had been. Ruoxin might look soft on the outside, but she had a stubborn streak in her. She was a person who firmly believed in her own ideas even if that might result in her death. She would forge ahead and not look back.

“Yes. She refused.” Shen Yijun kept the card back into her purse and kept it in her bag as though nothing was wrong.

“The child in Ruoxin’s arms looked obedient. I believe her effort in raising her will not go in vain.” Song Wan said in a hurry to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.