However, when he was leaving, he went to Xia Ruoxin’s house as he wanted to bid farewell to her who had almost become his sister-in-law. There were a lot of ‘almost’s in the world, but sometimes-once something had passed, it would really be forever.

“You’re leaving?” Xia Ruoxin placed the fish, which she had already removed the bones from, into her daughter’s bowl. Rainy buried her head into the bowl and ate her food obediently. When the adults were talking, children should not interrupt or listen as they would not understand even if they did.

“Yeah, I’m leaving.” Gao Xin picked up a piece of fish and placed it in his mouth with satisfaction. “I have been trapped in this place for the longest time. In the past, I was worried about leaving my mother alone, but now, I suddenly understood. Sometimes, pain is also a type of happiness. Anyway, my brother is here, and I don’t think he’ll be leaving.”

Xia Ruoxin continued picking the fish bones, but no one had noticed that her hand movement had slowed down.

Gao Xin finished his meal happily and was about to leave, but he could not bear to leave Rainy. He held Rainy and wiped away his bucket of tears, even rubbing them on Rainy’s body. Rainy looked up at the sky and was speechless towards the blonde lying on her. The scene was kind of unnatural with a man bawling his eyes out and the child pressing her lips tight; her look made it seem as if she was staring at a lunatic.

After Gao Xin left, Xia Ruoxin and her daughter’s lives carried on as usual. It was neither fast nor slow. Every day, Xia Ruoxin would learn English from Madam Mei Fu and Little Amy while Madam Mei Fu had an interest in Chinese so both families would take turns to teach the other, elevating both families’ language skills by a notch.

At night, after Rainy had fallen asleep, Xia Ruoxin opened her computer and checked if there was any work today. In no time, she had a whole bunch of orders that would be enough for her to paint for three months.

She typed on the keyboard.

Summer’s Not Over, “Has business been good lately?”

A Sunny Day will Come, “It’s been good like always. I had a few orders that were not bad so I might be busy for a few years.”

Xia Ruoxin heaved a sigh of relief. In that way, she would not be unemployed for the next couple of years and would have the ability to provide for Rainy and herself.

A Sunny Day will Come, “Are you accepting everything?”

The other party typed a few characters.

Xia Ruoxin thought: if she accepted the deals, she would not have to work overtime. However, working overtime was better than starving. Actually, she was scared of being poor again so no matter how much the work was, she would accept it.

“I’ll accept,” she replied.

A Sunny Day will Come, “You’re working so tirelessly. Do you want to make your man hide in shame?”

Xia Ruoxin did not answer the question. In this world, the best person to rely on was herself.

She brought the canvas over, sat on the sofa, and started drawing. Minutes and seconds had passed, and the house was very quiet. Her heart, too, was peaceful… other than the faint loneliness visible between her brows.

The clock struck one, but at this time, she was not the only one who was not asleep.

The fragrance of the roses from outside the house was sometimes light and other times, heavy. It cast a shadow on the light-warm-colored bed. A pink rose was emitting a faint smell on the table, and there seemed to be dew on it, making the rose seem fresh and beautiful.

Within the house, there was the sound of a man and a woman panting. Not long after, it was quiet. The man turned over and took the cup by the side; whatever his fingers touched was cold, and so was his heart.

A smooth arm came from behind and held the man tightly at his waist, pressing her soft body against the man’s wide shoulders.

However, no one noticed that the mist coming out from the woman’s beautiful eyes was actually lightning and thunder after the calm.

“Let’s sleep,” the man said lightly before he lay next to the woman and stopped moving.

After a certain amount of time, the blanket moved once again; and the woman sat up. She put away the hair on her shoulders while the man was fast asleep.

She got up slowly, and her face was as pretty as the rose on the table—beautiful but came with thorns. Sometimes, the thorns were venomous to others.

She opened the drawer and took out a box.

Then, she walked over and smiled warmly.

“Yi, you’ll be mine very soon.” She took out the needle and jabbed the man’s arms.

Gao Yi woke up and felt uncomfortable once again. He held his forehead, rolled up his sleeve, and strangely found a small red dot on his arm. When he wanted to inspect closer, Bai Luoyin’s voice sounded.

Her arms held Gao Yi’s arms. “Yi, you see, I peeled an apple for you.” She presented the apple to him.

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Gao Yi pushed the peeled apple away. Not sure if his movement was too big or if he was careless, but the fruit knife in Bai Luoyin’s hand had slid over.

In an instant, the entire room was filled with the smell of blood.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Yi, you’re hurt. Let’s rush to the hospital.” Bai Luoyin was shocked, and the fruit knife in her hand landed on the floor with a ‘pang’. She was shocked beyond words, and her face was visibly a lot paler than before.

“It’s okay.” Gao Yi took out a piece of tissue and pressed it on his wound. “I’m a doctor myself; there’s no need to go to the hospital,” said Gao Yi as he dressed his own wound. Without his knowledge, the lips of Bai Luoyin behind him curved up; and it looked like the rose, bright like blood.

Gao Yi took the medical box, opened it, and dressed his wound slowly. He disinfected it and wrapped it. It was a small wound; he did not need stitches. He was so busy with his wound that he forgot about the red dot on his arm.

“This is for you.” Little Amy ran over holding a basket in her hand. “Mommy picked it. Amy wants to eat Auntie Ruo’s biscuit.”

“Okay, let’s ask Mommy to make biscuits.” Rainy extended her small hand, and they went to look for Xia Ruoxin together.

Xia Ruoxin pinched Amy’s small black cheeks and exclaimed, “Amy’s here.”

Amy broke into a smile, showing off her row of white teeth. “Auntie, Amy wants to eat rose biscuits.”

“Okay, Auntie will make it for you.” Xia Ruoxin took the rose petals over from Amy’s hands. Those petals were the most delicate, from roses that had not blossomed. The biscuits made from these roses tasted the best. Not only did they have the rose scent, but they also had the sweet taste of it, which was what children liked the most. She only picked the ingredients and made the cookies just recently, but after trying it once, the two children clamored for it every day after.