Start as a top student after transmigrating.

"As I just said, I will not hate you, nor will I love you. You gave me a home, and I will give you a home in return. I will not shirk my responsibilities. You raised me, and I will take care of you in the future, but that's all."

Han Ning'er's voice was somewhat turbulent, but still very cold.

"Do you know that eighteen years ago, I almost stayed in that small mountain village forever because of you?" Wu Jie's voice was hoarse and choked with sobs.

It's flesh that fell from her body, yet it has no feelings for her whatsoever; how can she accept that?

"That's enough!"

However, Han Ning'er suddenly screamed, "Don't say things like that to me, don't try to morally blackmail me. I know you were almost buried by a mudslide when you gave birth to me, but why did that happen?"

"Because you are a leader, you have to preside over the emergency rescue. Even when production is imminent, you have to stick to your post despite all the advice. To put it nicely, you care about the people; to put it bluntly, it's all for your career advancement."

"The outcome didn't disappoint you. You received an award and a promotion for your selfless rescue efforts, didn't you?"

"This is what you wanted, not what I caused, so don't try to act all righteous."

"Sometimes I even wonder if you thought I was a stumbling block to your career back then, or if from that moment on you just saw me as a tool for promotion, and that's why you didn't love me."

Wu Jie's eyes were already red.

She never expected her daughter to know so much about what happened back then. Perhaps when she was very young, her daughter also regarded her as a hero and admired her every time she heard her story.

But now...

She offered no explanation for these past events; all her words seemed pale in comparison to her daughter's detached narration.

But those last words.

"Ning'er, you are my daughter. I have never treated you as a tool or a stumbling block. Mom really loves you~" Wu Jie said very seriously. Whether Han Ning'er believed it or not, these were her true feelings.

But Han Ning'er didn't want to hear any of this.

She opened the car door, leaving only her last words: "None of this matters anymore. I am your daughter, and always will be. I will not let family affect your career, but that's all."

"One should know how to be content and not want everything. Since you've chosen your career path, then firmly move forward and stop hoping for anything else, okay?"

"You won't regret it if you don't navigate this career path well."

"And I, at least, don't feel sorry for you."

"As for us, let's just stay like this. Don't try to interfere in my life, and please don't force me to really cut ties with you."

As she got off the bus, Han Ning'er's eyes were already red, and glistening tears welled up in them, but with her back to Wu Jie, she didn't show any strong emotions.

"Mom, my ambition is to become a journalist, so Secretary Wu, you'd better stick to your career path, otherwise one day I will personally send you to jail."

Bang!

As she spoke, Han Ning'er slammed the car door shut and strode towards the residential area, but the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back and silently streamed down her face.

Inside the car, Wu Jie watched Han Ning'er's retreating figure, her eyes also red-rimmed, and two streams of hot tears slid down her cheeks.

Her heart was truly aching. She desperately wanted to rush out of the car and hold Han Ning'er in her arms, but she didn't. She didn't dare; she knew she didn't have that right now.

But she was also worried about Han Ning'er.

She only felt relieved when she saw a figure emerge from the residential area. Staring blankly out the car window, the cold winter was nothing compared to the chill in her heart at that moment.

She didn't know how much time had passed before the phone rang, waking her up.

Meanwhile, inside the residential complex, Chen Dong and Han Ning'er did not go upstairs. The two sat in a pavilion downstairs. Han Ning'er's condition fluctuated greatly, and Chen Dong was trying to comfort her.

"I thought I could remain calm and composed." Han Ning'er cried. She didn't want to cry, but the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Silly girl, cry if you want to, I'm here." Chen Dong stood next to her, smiling and gently patting her head.

There was no excessive comforting, nor any talk of mother-daughter affection to persuade her.

If you cry, I'll be there for you.

I'm here, I've always been here!

"Waaah..."

Han Ning'er's tears finally broke free. She leaned on Chen Dong's shoulder and cried freely without restraint or forcing herself to hold back.

She needs to be released.

The words she just said to Wu Jie had been weighing on her heart for a very long time, and her emotions had been suppressed for a long time. Today, she finally spoke them out and was finally able to cry freely.

It took about half an hour for Han Ning'er to calm down. She stopped crying and lifted her head from Chen Dong's shoulder.

"Pfft~"

Chen Dong suddenly burst out laughing when he saw her expression.

"What are you laughing at?" Han Ning'er pouted.

"I've thought of something good," Chen Dong said with a smile.

"What is it?" Han Ning'er pressed.

"I saw a little tabby cat."

Han Ning'er was stunned for a moment, then reacted and angrily swung her two little fists at Chen Dong, "You bad Dong-ge, you made fun of me."

Chen Dong didn't fight back, letting Han Ning'er play around, and finally took out a tissue to wipe away Han Ning'er's tears.

"Alright, we should go back now, or Mozi and the others will worry." Chen Dong's movements and voice were very gentle.

Han Ning'er lowered her head, the darkness seemingly concealing her slightly flushed face, and only gave a soft "hmm".

Chen Dong never mentioned Wu Jie's matter, nor did Han Ning'er, but both of them knew in their hearts that this was perhaps a tacit understanding.

……

upstairs.

At first, Liu Yumo and the others weren't in the mood to watch TV at all. They kept looking out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of Han Ning'er and Chen Dong and see what was going on.

At first, he was a little anxious, especially when he saw Han Ning'er crying as she returned to the community. Liu Yumo wanted to go downstairs on the spot, but Jiang Lina stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?"

"Of course we should go downstairs to comfort Sister Han. Can't you see how miserable she is? She must have had another argument with Aunt Wu."

"Just sit still. With Brother Dong here, don't go and cause trouble."

After spending this time together, Jiang Lina has come to understand Liu Yumo quite well. He's a straightforward, honest guy, a typical straight man. Asking him to comfort someone would probably just be like rubbing salt into the wound.

Dong Ge is more suitable for this kind of thing.

Even so, none of them were in the mood to watch TV. They kept glancing out the window until Chen Dong and Han Ning'er got up and walked back, at which point they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't ask any more questions later," Jiang Lina warned Liu Yumo.

"Why?" Liu Yumo didn't understand.

"Dong-ge has already taken care of it, why do you still bring it up? It's like you had to lift up the bandaged wound to see how deep it is." Jiang Lina rolled her eyes at him.

That straight man is such a blockhead.

"oh."

Liu Yumo didn't quite understand; he just wanted to care about Sister Han, but he knew that Jiang Lina was quicker-witted than him, and that listening to her on certain matters wouldn't be wrong.

The four agreed that when Chen Dong and Han Ning'er returned, they wouldn't pry into the matter. Instead, they would jokingly ask where they had been and tease them about whether they had gone on a date behind their backs.

Han Ning'er blushed with embarrassment, but her mood improved significantly, and she was no longer dwelling on her less-than-pleasant relationship with Wu Jie.