“She’s under my mom’s name. I know you don’t like her so, naturally, I won’t let her appear in front of you. Not even her name.” Chu Lui extended his hand to hug this woman. At this moment, he felt that his life was complete.

“Ruoxin…”

“Hm?” Xia Ruoxin’s gaze stopped at the accounts, and her eyes were kind of upset.

“I’ll hold a big wedding for you, away from others.” Chu Lui patted her forehead lightly. “I won’t let you suffer. I’ll return everything that I owed you. All of it.”

“I know…” Xia Ruoxin smiled, and her fingers were intertwined with his fingertips.

“I will also return you whatever you owed me. All of it.” She thought in her heart. The smile on her face became even more vibrant, but under the sun, there was an indescribable distance on the side of her face.

Chu Lui’s brows knitted slightly and acted as if he did not see it. He only held the woman tightly and locked her in his arms.

He was scared. He was afraid that she would run off if he did not hold her tighter.

He was afraid that if he did not hug her tightly, he would lose her.

“Why don’t you ask me about Rainy?” Xia Ruoxin suddenly asked and wanted to find out if he knew about it. However, he clearly did not.

Song Wan hid everything really well. She lied to everyone, including her son and herself.

Chu Lui’s palm ruffled her hair gently. “Since you decided to leave so harshly, you wouldn’t bring the child back so easily. No matter where she is, I believe that you’ll put her in a safe place.”

However…

There was a sigh in his voice and the hoarseness had a bit of vibration to it; it was like an old book, an ancient instrument in a place without a storm—as quiet as ever.

“Ruoxin, we agreed. Wherever you go, I’ll follow you. This kind of harsh departure was crueler than letting a person die.”

Xia Ruoxin did not say anything. No one knew that she was smiling; she was smiling sarcastically and mockingly.

Yes, it was harsh.

It was not a living separation… but separation by death.

However, her life was cheap, and the heavens did not want it back.

She continued to play with Chu Lui’s buttons. This habit of hers was indeed like Rainy’s.

Just that, Chu Lui, do you really believe that I left on my own and I was not abducted by someone else? Her eyes squinted, and something flashed in her eyes. However, Chu Lui did not see it.

Do I not understand you enough, or do you not understand me enough?

However, she was wondering: if she was not pushed into the sea at the start and Rainy did not go missing, would she leave with her? She did not know. Perhaps she would.

Outside, the light that came in through the gaps in the leaves reached the floor and shone. She used her hands to cover her eyes, and her overly-white skin finally had some colors on it.

…

A pair of high heels stopped in front of a building.

It stopped, continued, and then entered the elevator and left.

Xia Ruoxin placed her hand on the handle, and one could tell that the door already had a thick layer of dust. No one must have come back in a long time. As for the keys… she took a step back, squatted down, and flipped the mat. In a small corner, she found a key. Luckily, no one came here to clean up; if not, the key would have gone missing.

This was her and Rainy’s house so she always had a habit of keeping a spare key. Just that, she was afraid to see everything here because it would remind her of her daughter that was not there anymore.

Ka! The door opened, and the smell of dust wafted over.

It seemed as though everything here was just like the day she left and did not change.

The water in the flower vase was long gone, and the flower inside had withered. There was a thick layer of dust on the cupboards and all the house appliances, including the electronics.

She walked over and picked up the glass on the table. The light that refracted through the top of the glass was all sadness. She placed the glass next to her face. This was Rainy’s favorite glass, and she loved putting all kinds of flowers and plants in it. Even if it was just a bunch of wild grass, she would love it, too.

The glass was still there, but it had a layer of dust… and everything had already changed.

She put the glass down and continued to walk forward, but she suddenly stepped on something. She moved her leg away and found a piece of paper. She squatted down and picked up the paper.

“Chu Lui, I don’t want to see you ever again—or any of the Chu family. Hasn’t your Chu family harmed me enough? Now, you still want to harm my Rainy? I hate you. I hate your Chu family. Don’t look for me because you disgust me. Do you know that I want to puke every time I look at your face?”

She knitted her brows. This really looked like her handwriting.

Just that, this was not written by her. She did not write it herself. Perhaps… she still did not know. It looked like Song Wan had really made lots of painstaking efforts to make this act look more realistic. Could it be that her clothes were also gone to be evidence for her leaving?

She opened the door to her bedroom, and inside, everything was the same as if nothing changed. Just that, there was a thick layer of dust on it. She walked in and opened the cupboard. As expected, all the clothes inside were missing.

They… she laughed. They really put in a lot of effort.

She walked to the bedside and found the blanket folded there neatly. She used her fingers to touch it and could feel the layer of dust on it. She reached her hand in, and after feeling for a while, she found a doll. Even though the dolly was a bit old, it was protected well; and even the dolly’s clothes were clean. She sat down and was not even afraid that the dust would cover her entire life.

She held the dolly in her arms and started crying without a sound.

After some time, she stood up and placed the dolly under the blanket to prevent it from gathering dust. She did not want to touch anything here. Perhaps when she was at her most helpless times, this place would give her some memories.

She tidied her clothes and walked out. Then, she closed the door and locked it, placing the key back to its original place before leaving.

She went back to the place that she was living at, but Chu Lui was not there. This time, he should be at work. She opened Chu Lui’s study room. There was a computer, some documents, and nothing much. This man was still like the past and, sometimes, viewed his work even more important than his life. She walked over, and behind the office table, there was a small safe.