The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

The child suddenly hiccuped, and Lu Zheng turned his head. The child was also staring blankly at him.

In the shoe store, Suwen carefully selected shoes for her child, considering everything from the leather and style to the size and comfort. She made her child try on each pair, showing even more care than when she bought shoes for herself. After seeing one pair on her child's feet, she couldn't resist wanting her to try on another.

Lu Zheng smiled helplessly. He knew Su Wen couldn't bear to part with her child, so he could only make these last moments last a little longer. He took out his wallet and went to the cashier to pay. Behind him, Su Wen was gesturing and struggling to communicate with the clerk about the style and size she wanted. The child, sitting on the sofa, stared silently out the window with open eyes.

Suddenly, she jumped off the sofa, called out "Mom," and ran out of the store.

Suwen, who was behind him, realized what was happening, threw down her shoes, and chased after him, asking, "Where are you going?"

After all, the child was only three or four years old and couldn't run fast, or perhaps he wasn't used to wearing shoes yet. He tripped at the corner and fell heavily to the ground.

Suwen saw this and rushed over to pick her up, but a figure blocked her way.

Suwen looked up, saw her face, and gasped, almost horrified.

"evening……"

"Long time no see," she said, her voice gentle, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

What surprised Suwen even more was that the child, with tears in his eyes, got up from the ground, hugged Xi's leg, and cried out in a sob, "Mommy..."

"Your child?" Suwen asked in surprise, a vague unease creeping into her heart.

Based on the timeline, she couldn't possibly have had a child that big.

Xi smiled and shrugged: "Does it matter whose child it is? Now it's her turn to call me Mom."

She beckoned, and the little girl, ignoring the pain from her scraped leg, obediently moved closer and snuggled up to Xi.

Suwen felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Xi's words seemed to have indirectly acknowledged the child, the child...

“She is…” Suwen murmured, taking a closer look at the little girl.

Her eyebrows were thin and long, and her eyes were exactly like Lu Zheng's, though her nose resembled hers somewhat. Her features, which were not yet fully developed, already hinted at the signs of a beauty.

That's her daughter! Her and Lu Zheng's daughter!

Suwen's chest heaved as he rushed over to hug her, but Xi stopped him.

She angrily questioned, "Whatever the grudges, they are matters of our generation. I have suffered a lot at your hands, why did you have to take my child away?"

Her daughter is still alive! They hadn't seen each other for four whole years! She didn't even recognize her own daughter when she saw her!

For a moment, I was filled with righteous indignation, and a surge of bloodlust welled up in my chest.

Looking at the angry Su Wen, Xi replied casually, "Am I not good to her? Isn't she perfectly healthy and whole now?"

Su Wen was speechless. Yet, the thought of the child's bare feet and cold, expressionless face caused a pang of pain in her chest. What kind of environment had she grown up in to become so silent and unsmiling? She wouldn't even dare to spit out food she disliked if she wasn't allowed to.

“I thank you for raising her for me all these years, but if you leave her with me, she will live a healthier and happier life. I can give her a better environment and educational opportunities.”

Xi remained noncommittal, looked up at her, and said, word by word, "That's impossible."

"Why?" Su Wen stared at her, almost sharply. "She's just a child. What use is she to you? Do you want to train her to be an assassin like you?"

She absolutely wouldn't allow that!

Xi retorted sarcastically, "Train her? No way, she doesn't have the talent. And I don't have the energy." She flicked the child's head, looking at Su Wen defiantly, "Don't believe me? Ask her, ask her if she wants to go with you or with me?"

Su Wen suddenly lowered his head, looking at the girl whose eyes were still wet with tears. After suppressing his emotions for a long time, he finally called out, "...Nianyun...would you like to come home with Mommy?"

The child blinked his clear, black-and-white eyes and looked at her.

Suwen mustered her courage: "Mommy will buy you lots of pretty shoes, dolls, and delicious cakes. Mommy will never leave you alone again... Come with Mommy, okay?"

Her tone was almost pleading.

The girl remained silent, then softly called out, "Mommy..."

Instead of calling her name, he looked up at Xi beside her.

"Sweetie, here's some candy." Xi patted the child's head and took a candy out of her pocket.

The girl's eyes lit up, and she quickly unwrapped the candy and swallowed it.

In the short time they had known each other, Suwen noticed that this child had an unusual fondness for sweets. While it's understandable for children to enjoy sweets, the excited, sparkling look in her eyes when she received candy was so unlike a typical child.

Xi Yang faced Su Wen and said, "You saw it? It's not that I don't want to return her to you, but that she can't live without me now."

Suwen felt a chill in her heart, but still insisted: "That's because she's still young. She's been with you since birth, so of course she trusts you more. But I am her biological mother. In time, she will know who is truly good to her and who is bad to her."

She always believed that blood is thicker than water. And since Xi hated her so much, she would definitely not treat Nianyun kindly.

Xi smiled and said, "Don't you understand yet? She can't leave me not because I'm good to her, but because of... my candy."

Suwen was taken aback and looked at her blankly.

"Do you remember the medication Tang injected you with during your childbirth? You were lucky to be able to overcome your addiction through dialysis. But your daughter wasn't so fortunate." Xi smiled gently. "Do you know what an addict is?"

Suwen was speechless with astonishment.

Yes, Lu Zheng said that the drugs she was injected with were removed through surgical dialysis and would not leave any aftereffects.

But her child inherited the toxin.

She recalled the pain Lu Zheng endured during his drug rehabilitation. Was such a young child really meant to suffer like that?

"You...are you telling the truth?" Suwen struggled to find her voice. She couldn't believe that such a young, beautiful child could be addicted to drugs.

Xi raised an eyebrow: "Why would I lie to you? The candy I gave her was just a way to help her relieve her drug addiction. Without my candy, she wouldn't be able to stand it for more than two days. At her age, don't expect her to have any so-called self-control."

Suwen suddenly woke up with a start. Last night, her child didn't sleep in the middle of the night and suddenly woke up to sit alone by the window. It wasn't because of the unfamiliar bed, but because of drug withdrawal...

"Are you still going to insist on taking her away?" Xi asked almost provocatively.

"I..." Suwen suddenly lost her confidence. If she got the child back, what could she do for her? If the child was in pain, was she just going to stand by and watch her suffer helplessly?

The piercing sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached, tugging at Su Wen's eardrums. Xi's eyes flashed, and she suddenly pushed away the girl who was clinging to her leg. With a few leaps, she disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"Mommy, Mommy..." the little girl cried as she chased after her. Suwen went up and hugged her, her face already covered in tears.

The daughter she was holding was calling someone else "Mom".

Lu Zheng arrived breathlessly and looked at Su Wen, who was squatting on the ground, hugging the girl and crying uncontrollably. A look of doubt flashed in his eyes: "That woman just now... was it Xi?"

He also saw that agile, cat-like figure and asked uncertainly.

Suwen rested her chin on her daughter's shoulder and nodded slightly.

"Just as I expected. The police are here to arrest her. Last night's assassination attempt must have been done by Xi..." He then turned his gaze to the girl in Suwen's arms, and suddenly his heart trembled.

"This is ours..."

Even the usually composed Lu Zheng lost his voice.

That soft, small body in her arms suddenly became the source of all warmth. Suwen shielded her with her own body, and nodded with all her might.

In the distance, a gunshot suddenly rang out on the quiet street, shattering the city's morning. Then came the screams of passersby.

The child in Suwen's arms was startled and poked his head out from her embrace: "Mommy..."

Suwen held her tighter, pulling her deeper into his embrace: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"Auntie..." She finally learned to address women other than her mother.

Suwen held her tightly, sobbing uncontrollably: "From now on, I am your mother."

Tears welled up in the child's eyes, then fell in the blink of an eye.