The richest man's parents were kidnapped, and his adorable son captivated the entire family.

She bit her lip and said, "I've always liked you, Auntie. Please don't overthink it, okay?"

Xie Yumin was taken aback, her eyes first filled with shock, then quickly filled with tenderness and joy. Looking at that innocent yet incredibly earnest little face, her heart felt as if it had been gently kneaded, melting completely.

She asked softly, "Really?"

"Of course it's true!" Mengmeng said in her childish voice, her tone full of determination.

Looking into her clear eyes, Xie Yumin finally realized that this was not a dream. She nodded gently and replied with a smile, "Okay, I understand."

Just then, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.

The two looked over instinctively and saw Ruolan standing at the door with a faint smile on her face.

She looked at the two figures in the ward, snuggling together and chatting happily. Her expression changed slightly, and her fingers unconsciously clenched. But the next second, she quickly adjusted her expression and put on a smile.

"Oh dear, Miss Xie, why are you here so early today?" She walked in, her tone gentle but with a hint of coolness. "Don't you have to go to work today? You don't always have to come so early. I will take good care of Mengmeng, so you don't need to worry about her so much."

Xie Yumin's heart skipped a beat; she could hear the implication in her words—she was clearly trying to get rid of them.

She pretended not to notice, her smile as gentle as ever: "Really? With you here, of course I'm at ease, but... I think Mengmeng needs me too."

She then turned her head to look at the little girl on the bed and asked in a gentle tone, "Isn't that right, Mengmeng?"

Mengmeng already harbored resentment towards Ruolan because of what happened last night, and seeing the fake smile on Ruolan's face only made her angrier. So she deliberately hugged Xie Yumin's arm, tilted her little face up, and said in a childish voice, "Yes, I really need Auntie, I like Auntie the most!"

These words struck Ruolan's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, her smile almost vanished, and her fingers clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned slightly white.

Fortunately, she forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger and resentment in her heart, and finally managed to force a smile: "Really... you two have a pretty good relationship."

After saying that, she didn't look at Xie Yumin again, but walked to the bedside and asked gently, "Mengmeng, is anything bothering you?"

Mengmeng just lowered her head and ate her cake, giving a soft "Mmm" without looking at her.

This action completely ignited a warning bell in Ruolan's heart.

She maintained a gentle smile on her face, but her heart was in turmoil, and she was almost grinding her teeth to powder.

This Xie Yumin, she really is here to steal someone!

Mengmeng's heart has already turned to her; if she doesn't act soon, she will truly be completely taken away.

Ruolan lowered her eyes, her gaze dark and gloomy.

She made up her mind.

This time, she is determined to get rid of Xie Yumin completely.

Not long after, in the hospital ward, Mengmeng sat on the edge of the bed, her small body nestled among the pillows, a sketchbook resting on her lap, a paintbrush in her hand, her delicately beautiful face filled with seriousness. She carefully traced the outline, wanting to color her favorite little rabbit with the most beautiful colors.

But as she drew, her brows gradually furrowed.

Suddenly, the paintbrush became unruly, the colors coming out intermittently, like a tantrum-throwing child. She tried to draw more on the paper, but it only made things worse.

"Sigh..." She pouted and sighed softly, putting down her paintbrush and looking at the half-finished rabbit ears with some frustration.

Ruolan looked up when she heard the sound and saw that Mengmeng was hanging her head and her little mouth was almost pouting. She asked with concern, "Mengmeng, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Mengmeng muttered softly, "No... it's my paintbrush that's not working properly. It suddenly stopped producing color, like it's dozing off."

Ruolan smiled upon hearing this, got up and walked over, took the paintbrush from her hand, and lightly tried to draw a few strokes on a piece of scrap paper. Sure enough, the strokes were intermittent, the colors were light, and the ink flow was not smooth.

"Yes, it really is broken." Looking at Mengmeng's wrinkled little face, her heart softened, and she said gently, "It's okay, it's nothing, Auntie will go and buy you a new one later, okay?"

"Wow! Really?" Mengmeng's eyes lit up instantly, her little face flushed, and she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Auntie! Auntie is the best!"

As she spoke, she tilted her head back, revealing two small dimples, and smiled sweetly like a marshmallow.

Xie Yumin's heart melted. She raised her hand and gently rubbed the top of her head, as if she were stroking her most beloved treasure: "Okay, then you wait here obediently for me. Auntie will be back in a little while."

"Okay!" Mengmeng nodded vigorously, waving her little hand at her as if sending her off to war.

Xie Yumin smiled and responded, then left the ward with light steps.

She walked out of the hospital, stood on the street outside the entrance, glanced at the small supermarket on the opposite corner, confirmed its location, and then lifted her skirt to prepare to cross the road.

Just then, a dark gray sedan suddenly sped out from around the corner not far away, its tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground at an extremely high speed.

Xie Yumin had only taken two steps when a glance out of the corner of her eye alerted her to something amiss, and her heart tightened suddenly.

She gasped in surprise and instinctively dodged to the side.

But the car came too fast and too quickly, and she had no room to dodge. She could only force her way to the side and back, but her foot slipped and she fell heavily to the ground.

"boom!"

Her body rolled onto the concrete ground beside the sidewalk, her knees hitting the hard surface directly. Her skirt rolled up, revealing bloody scratches on her fair legs, and her arms were also scraped raw, with bright red blood seeping out.

She gritted her teeth, her face as pale as paper, feeling pain all over her body, especially in her knees and arms, where waves of burning pain surged up like tides.

Xie Yumin tried to stand up by supporting herself on her elbows, but the movement pulled on her knee, causing her to gasp in pain.

Just then, a young girl happened to be passing by and saw her fall. She quickly ran over.

"Miss, are you alright?" The girl looked at her with surprise and concern, and quickly took her arm.

Xie Yumin gritted her teeth and shook her head with difficulty: "I...I'm fine, I just fell..."

With the girl's help, she slowly stood up, her left leg still slightly limping, but she tried to appear calm.

"Thank you..." she whispered, forcing a smile, but the bloodstains on her face made the smile look extremely pale.