Chapter 1: The Return

Lincheng.

Late summer, dark clouds gathered, and the air was humid and stifling.

Business in the coffee shop was slow, desolate to an extreme.

A cold, slender figure stood behind the bar.

The dim, yellow light spilled down like moonlight, shrouding her in shadows.

Her head was half-lowered, a strand of hair falling across her forehead, revealing only the bridge of her straight, elegant nose and two rows of eyelashes as dark as crow feathers.

Her skin, white as jade, was somewhat pale, yet still incredibly delicate and clear; she seemed to glow from within.

A girl with a baby face finished clearing the tables and walked over.

"Xiao Li, I heard you're leaving tomorrow?"

Ning Li nodded gently.

"Yes."

"Then it'll be hard for us to meet again."

The baby-faced girl sighed, wanting to say more but stopping herself.

They all knew that Ning Li had been raised by her grandmother since she was a child.

But half a month ago, Ning Li’s grandmother passed away from a heart attack.

Consequently, custody of Ning Li fell to her mother.

—No one knew that her mother was still alive, let alone that she had married into a wealthy family. And it was in Yunzhou, just an hour's drive from Lincheng.

"Still, after not seeing each other for so many years, your mother must miss you very much," the baby-faced girl said, her voice sounding a bit dry.

Ning Li paused, her eyelashes lifting slightly.

They were a pair of exceptionally beautiful peach-blossom eyes, curved at the corners, clean and elegant, yet the pupils were pitch black, deep as the hazy night, adding a touch of coldness.

The corners of her lips curled up, a faint, shimmering light rippling in the depths of her eyes, her voice indifferent

"Maybe."

If there had been even a shred of longing, she wouldn't have stayed away for so many years without ever showing her face.

Her father, Ning Haizhou, came from an ordinary background. In his youth, he relied on his handsome looks to coax Su Yuan into marrying him.

But good times didn't last. After marriage, Ning Haizhou was idle and lacked ambition. Su Yuan, who was proud and high-minded, couldn't stand such a life of poverty. In a fit of anger, she divorced him and left when Ning Li was six.

A month after she left, Ning Haizhou was sentenced to life imprisonment for a hit-and-run while driving under the influence.

From then on, Ning Li lived with her grandmother, the two of them relying on each other.

If not for her grandmother’s unexpected passing, Ning Li felt she might never have seen Su Yuan again in her life.

A burden like her—no one would like that.

This was a truth anyone could understand, yet in her past life, she had been foolishly naive, yearning for familial affection. She was disfigured, slandered, lost everything, became notorious, and was eventually confined to a sanitarium for a year before dying an unnatural death.

Waking up again, she found she had returned to the age of seventeen.

Fortunately, everything—was just beginning.

The baby-faced girl looked surprised.

When Ning Li spoke of this before, her eyes were always full of joy. Why today...

She didn't know why, but ever since Ning Li had a high fever three days ago, she seemed to have become a little different.

The phone in Ning Li’s pocket vibrated.

She took it out and glanced at it; the screen displayed a phone number from Yunzhou.

Her gaze tightened, then she decisively hung up and set the phone to silent.

The baby-faced girl asked curiously

"Who is it?"

Ning Li didn't care

"Don't know, probably a spam call."

The baby-faced girl nodded in understanding, turned, and went to the back room to change her clothes.

She was supposed to be on the evening shift today, but because she had something to take care of at home, Ning Li had volunteered to swap shifts with her, and she was very grateful.

"Ning Li, I'm off then! Be careful on your way back later."

Ning Li waved goodbye with a smile.

The sky grew darker.

With a rumble of thunder, bean-sized raindrops began to pelt down.

Ning Li stayed in the shop for another two hours until the clock pointed to ten.

She sat on a high stool, tore off a sticky note, and scribbled something aimlessly.

Suddenly, a harsh car horn sounded from outside.

She looked up and saw a black Cayenne parked in front of the shop.

She slowly sat up straight.

The driver got out, opened an umbrella, and went to the back door.

A woman dressed in exquisite attire stepped out and walked into the coffee shop.

Light and shadow intertwined, revealing the woman’s well-maintained face.

Only, the expression on that face was not pleasant.

She knitted her thin brows, staring at Ning Li. She had already seen photos of Ning Li; this was their first formal meeting in eleven years.

The girl in front of her wore a simple black T-shirt, revealing a hint of delicate collarbone, and smoke-gray skinny jeans that outlined her straight, slender legs.

Her appearance was elegant and clear, with an indescribable sense of laziness and defiance between her brows.

The driver, Zou Hua, stood to one side, his eyes filled with a hint of disdain as he looked at Ning Li.

Since the Madam entered, Ning Li hadn't even made a move to stand up and greet her; her entire demeanor was one of detachment and indifference.

Is this how one treats their own mother?

Truly lacking in upbringing!

Su Yuan felt this too, and felt even more embarrassed.

But years of life in a wealthy family had made her accustomed to maintaining her composure at all times.

She paused, trying to make her voice sound as calm as possible

"Ning Li, I went to your school earlier. Director Zhang said you haven't been to class for the past few days. If you aren't at school, why are you here?"

She had to ask around to find this place; it had been quite a hassle.

Ning Li capped her pen and said faintly

"I had a fever for three days and only just recovered today. Besides, I owe money from my grandmother's funeral, so I came here to work to pay it off."

Su Yuan choked.

"I called you so many times earlier, and you didn't answer—"

Ning Li raised an eyebrow, took out her phone, and sure enough, saw over a dozen missed calls. She realized

"So that's it. I thought they were spam calls."

Of course, Su Yuan’s number wasn't saved in her phone.

Su Yuan closed her eyes.

When she left Lincheng all those years ago, she never intended to return.

Her past marriage and this daughter were things she didn't want to mention.

The Ye family was prominent in Yunzhou, and she had spent a lot of effort to gain a foothold.

She had finally gotten Ye Ming’s daughter, Ye Ci, to accept her, and had given birth to a son, Ye Sheng. She thought she could finally live her life in peace, only for Ning Li to suddenly intervene.

She didn't want to come, but she had no choice.

Moreover, whenever she saw Ning Li, she couldn't help but recall her embarrassing past, which made it impossible for her to feel close to Ning Li.

"You don't need to worry about these things. Go back and pack your things; you're coming back to Yunzhou with me tonight."

Su Yuan’s tone was unquestionable. After speaking, she turned to leave.

Ning Li suddenly said

"I can't finish packing my things. I can't leave tonight."

Su Yuan turned back, somewhat impatient

"What is there to pack in that house of yours? Everything is prepared for you in Yunzhou, you—"

"I'm not used to using other people's things."

Ning Li interrupted her.

Su Yuan felt a lump in her throat.

But before coming, she had promised Ye Ming she would return tonight. If it weren't for Ning Li, she wouldn't have been delayed until now.

*Whoosh!*

The rain outside grew heavier.

Zou Hua checked his phone, his expression changing slightly

"Madam, the highway to Yunzhou is closed due to the heavy rain."

"What?" Su Yuan was startled.

Now, it seemed they really couldn't go back.

Ning Li rested her chin on her hand.

There really wasn't anything to pack; she just didn't want to leave tonight.

On this day in her past life, there was heavy rain in Yunzhou, and a pile-up of over a dozen cars occurred on the highway, resulting in three deaths and seven injuries.

And Ning Li was one of the injured.

In that accident, Zou Hua and Su Yuan were lucky enough to only suffer scrapes, but Ning Li’s right arm was fractured, and it took a full three months to heal.

Most importantly, from then on, her right arm lost some of its function.

At the time, she felt there was something wrong with the car and wanted to investigate, but was told the car had been scrapped, leaving her with nowhere to look.

Having lived through it once, she wouldn't take that risk again.

Seeing the situation had changed, Su Yuan had no choice but to say

"Then I'll call home. We'll stay here tonight. Zou Hua, go book a hotel."

"Yes."

Ning Li said

"I'm going home to sleep."

Su Yuan was on the phone and frowned at her when she heard this.

Since Ning Li insisted, she had nothing more to say, but she would never step foot into that dump again.

She pulled her shawl tighter.

"Zou Hua, take her back."

Half an hour later, the black Cayenne drove into an old district.

Over the years, the east side of Lincheng had developed rapidly due to its proximity to Yunzhou.

In contrast, the west side appeared much more crowded and dilapidated.

Finally, the car stopped in front of an alley.

By now, the rain had eased significantly. Under the dim streetlights, one could vaguely see the potholes on the narrow road, and the nearby tenement buildings were mottled and worn.

Su Yuan took one look and averted her gaze in disgust.

She sat there motionless

"I'll come to pick you up at eight tomorrow morning."

Ning Li shouldered her black backpack, got out of the car decisively, and turned to leave.

Under the thick night, she held an umbrella, her silhouette slender and thin, standing straight and proud.

A white car drove past.

Cheng Xiyue was driving and asked lazily

"I really don't know what's so good about this tiny Lincheng that's worth you coming here once a month. And you don't do anything when you get here, just wander around these streets. It's been almost a year; you've really made me your full-time driver?"

The man in the passenger seat turned his head to look out the window.

His skin was very fair, his black hair hanging down. The lines from his brow bone to the bridge of his nose were as perfect as a sculpture, and his jawline was clean and sharp.

He wore a black shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing a sexy Adam's apple.

The two extreme colors of black and white were distinct, yet blended perfectly.

It was clearly a very lazy and casual posture, yet his brows and eyes were noble and cold, exuding an extreme sense of asceticism.

He spoke, his low voice slightly hoarse from not sleeping well last night.

"Hmm."

Cheng Xiyue: "..."

The man was truly stunning, but with this ancestor-like temperament, he didn't know who could ever serve him.

He remembered the instructions from the Lu family elder and coughed, saying

"If you ask me, always being like this isn't a solution. That matter happened a year ago; you should go see a psychiatrist—"

Before he could finish, he noticed the man sit up slightly, staring intently outside.

He followed his gaze and saw a familiar license plate.

"Huh? Isn't that the Ye family's car? Looks like they came to pick up that little girl after all."

Lu Huaiyu watched the silhouette disappear into the alley for a long time before coming back to his senses.

"The Ye family?"

Cheng Xiyue shrugged

"Ye Ming’s current wife has a daughter from her ex-husband. She's not even an adult yet and has no one to raise her. The Ye family said they were going to bring her back; it's been quite a scene lately. That little girl's life probably won't be easy."

Lu Huaiyu pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked

"Is it Elder Cheng’s seventieth birthday in a few days? Has the invitation been sent to the Ye family?"

Cheng Xiyue shook his head: "Not yet."

"I'll go with you to deliver it tomorrow."

Cheng Xiyue slammed on the steering wheel, looking at him in disbelief

"It's just the Ye family—wait, you aren't going there for the little girl, are you?"

Reflected in the lights, his face was half-lit and half-shadowed, as if misted with flowing light, passing through the depths of those thick, sea-like eyes.

He chuckled softly

"Didn't you say the little girl has no one to raise her?"

Second Brother: I'll raise her.