Sober and beautiful, my husband and son begged for my forgiveness on their knees.

"Bang bang bang!"

Another triple strike.

Ning Yao felt the hairs on her body stand on end.

Just when she was on the verge of a breakdown, a sound finally came from outside the door.

"Ning Yao, are you home?"

"Ning Yao!"

Ning Yao felt the voice sounded familiar, so she couldn't help but straighten up and carefully move to the doorway.

The person outside the door called out twice more.

Ning Yao confirmed that it was Zhong Yunche's voice before opening the door.

"How did you come?"

Zhong Yunche had already prepared for Ning Yao not to be home and was about to turn around and leave.

The door was suddenly opened, revealing a sinister face illuminated by a cell phone screen.

He was so startled that he stumbled.

Ning Yao: "..."

Who's scaring whom here?

Zhong Yunche recognized Ning Yao and felt a little embarrassed, but he kept his composure.

"So you're alright. I heard someone scream as soon as I stepped out of the elevator. I thought something had happened to you, so I knocked on the door and called you."

Ning Yao then realized that the misunderstanding was caused by her neighbor's scream.

"Okay, but what brings you to me so late at night?"

Zhong Yunche smiled and said, "You've been at the Lu Group these past two days. I was thinking of inviting you to see fireflies to relax since it's Friday."

Ning Yao didn't respond. Ever since they had spoken frankly, she had noticed that Zhong Yunche's behavior had become increasingly uninhibited.

But she has no such thoughts at all right now.

Zhong Yunche understood her attitude from her silence and said, "But if you don't want to go, that's fine. However, there's a power outage here tonight, and it's not safe to stay at home. My friend has a hot spring hotel nearby. Why don't you go and stay there?"

The suggestion was good, and Ning Yao readily agreed, but didn't forget to remind him, "However, I'll pay for it myself, so don't interfere."

Zhong Yunche did have this idea, but after hearing her say that, he naturally wouldn't force her.

Ning Yao has a strong sense of boundaries. If I were to interfere rashly, she would definitely block and delete me.

Soon, Ning Yao packed her things into the largest tote bag and went downstairs with him.

Zhong Yunche noticed that her bag was bulging, as if it contained a lot of things, and offered to help her carry it.

Ning Yao didn't have the habit of asking others to carry her bag, and was about to refuse.

But then a cold, indifferent voice came from the side.

"You slept in the same bed with me last night, and tonight you're going to run off with another man. Ning Yao, you're quite the player!"

Ning Yao looked displeased. "Who slept in the same bed with you! Don't spread rumors!"

Lu Jingmo snorted coldly, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Zhong Yunche. "Mr. Zhong, are you sure your fiancée knows about your enthusiasm?"

Zhong Yunche sensed his sarcasm and smiled, "President Lu is out of touch. My engagement has been cancelled, and I am single now."

He was saying this to Ning Yao as well.

Hearing him deliberately emphasize the word "single," Lu Jingmo felt a fire ignite in his chest, but he didn't react. Instead, he looked at Ning Yao.

“Mingjin is throwing a tantrum and refuses to go to kindergarten. He won’t listen to anyone. I’d like you to go and see him.”

Ning Yao had just opened her mouth when he added, "You don't want your son to grow up to be illiterate, do you?"

Ning Yao swallowed the refusal that was already on the tip of her tongue.

She didn't want to see this "barbecued son".

But when she thought about how her illiterate son might become her only stain after she achieved success in the future, she hesitated again.

Lu Jingmo noticed her hesitation and added in a detached tone, "Meilin mentioned to me today that she wants to give you a credit in the New Chinese Style series. I'm still considering it."

Ning Yao's eyes lit up instantly. She could turn a blind eye to her son, but not her career.

If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another one.

Furthermore, the reason she worked so hard was to gain Merlin's approval and secure her place in the credits for his work.

With the Lu Group backing it, it's hard for 'Shattered Star' not to take off.

"Let's go then."

Zhong Yunche clearly hadn't expected that Lu Jingmo would be willing to use even his own son as a tool in order to repair his relationship with Ning Yao, and he sighed silently.

It's still a bad move.

Lu family villa.

Ning Yao went straight to Lu Mingjin's room as soon as she got off the car.

After knocking twice, there was no response from the person inside.

Ning Yao prepared to go downstairs and told Lu Jingmo that she couldn't persuade him either.

“Young Madam.” The butler stood at the top of the stairs and continued as if he had mustered up his courage, “Young Master, it’s not that he doesn’t want to go to school, but he wants to wait a few more days because he knows that next Wednesday is your birthday and he wants to prepare a gift for you by hand.”

Ning Yao's heartstrings were unexpectedly plucked.

She took out her phone to check the calendar, and sure enough, it was true.

But she didn't look forward to this birthday, so she never celebrated it.

How could he know that you told him?

The butler had already realized that Ning Yao didn't care about the young master and the little master at all, so he didn't dare to lie and explained truthfully, "No, he only found out by asking Miss Ning Yan."

“Ever since you moved out, the young master hasn’t been as cheerful as before. After returning from the hospital this time, he even went to the warehouse and dug out all the gifts you had given him before. He opened them and neatly arranged them in his bedroom, and he won’t let us touch them.”

Ning Yao was slightly touched when she heard this.

But it was just a trigger.

During the five years she devoted herself to caring for him, if he had cherished her gifts even once, she wouldn't have felt so heartbroken and desperate.

Now that she's escaped the mire, she naturally doesn't want to fall back down.

"Who told you to say those things?"

The butler's expression stiffened slightly, then he said, "No one did. I wanted to tell you myself."

Ning Yao didn't believe it. They had never treated her like the mistress of the house before, and now that she had divorced Lu Jingmo, they were even less likely to look at her with respect.

The housekeeper couldn't keep up under her cold gaze and hurriedly made an excuse to leave.

Ning Yao stood there for a while, then went back and knocked on Lu Mingjin's door again.

"Lu Mingjin, open the door."

The previously quiet room was suddenly filled with the sound of tapping.

It looked like someone was frantically searching for something.

Soon, the door was opened.

Lu Mingjin stood timidly behind the door, wearing a dinosaur pajama set.

Two feet, one wearing a slipper, the other bare.

Upon seeing him, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes, and he whispered, "Mom."

Ning Yao paused for a moment when she saw the dinosaur pajamas.

Those were family-sized clothes she bought.

She, Lu Mingjin, and Lu Jingmo all have it.

She imagined the three of them, all wearing these pajamas, sitting neatly together in the media room watching a movie; that scene would surely be very heartwarming.

But after the clothes were bought, Lu Jingmo and Lu Mingjin both thought they were ugly and threw them on the ground, saying that she had no taste and that such things were not worthy of their status.

She was heartbroken but dared not say anything. She could only go to the media room to watch a movie while they were asleep, wearing her pajamas.

Before long, tears began to stream down her face.

After that night, she put her pajamas away and gradually forgot about them.

Now, those dead memories are attacking her again.

"Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for dressing like that?"