Even Ruan Danchen was staggered, so needless to say, Wu Min and the others were too.

Shocked, Wu Min and the other two looked up to see Ruan Danchen holding Qi Youxuan's hand. She was looking at their direction, standing diagonally behind their table.

Due to Qi Youxuan's words, she had no choice but to stop and look toward them. Her original plan of pretending she was never here would clearly not work anymore.

"Danchen." Wu Min smiled at her awkwardly, her lips twitching.

Ruan Danchen replied with a cool nod. Everyone else felt awfully awkward too.

"How are you these few days on leave?" Zhang Fangfang asked.

"Not bad. It's nice to take some time off once in a while. It's a good change in mood," Ruan Danchen answered calmly.

"Aren't you on unpaid leave? I wonder how long your leave will last. You can't just live on your savings forever, right? How can you live like that? The living expenses in B City is extraordinarily high. With daily expenses on food and clothes, along with rent, how much can you actually save a month? Your savings will be depleted in no time," Yang Yunshu said in a disturbing tone, turning around in her seat to look at Ruan Danchen.

"In my opinion, you might as well hurry up and apply for a new job instead of wasting time waiting for the company to allow you to return." Yang Yunshu snickered. Acting as if she had just remembered, she exclaimed, "Ah! I forgot that your name has been spoilt in this industry—even if you're looking for a job, I'm sure no company would want you. Is this why you're clutching onto Chengshi like your life depended on it? Even so, is it really worth it to sleep with a client just for an order? Once the incident with Xu Haode comes out, your name won't just be spoilt—it'd be completely rotten."

Ruan Danchen immediately shielded Qi Youxuan, who was fiddling with his kid's phone. She did not want him to hear such vicious words. Despite being young, Qi Youxuan was a bright child—he could understand what adults were saying.

"Yang Yunshu, you're going too far. Isn't it enough for you to slander me in the company? You even came all the way out here to tarnish my name. What's wrong with you? I could understand that you attacked me back then because you wanted to return to the design department, but now that you're back, why do you still have to talk bad about me? I really am curious, what do you gain from this? Can you not peacefully sleep at night if you go a day without harming others?"

"Yo, why are you mad again? We all know in our hearts whether I'm slandering you or not. You don't have to stand here and pretend to be the victim. You think I'm attacking you? Why would I do that to you and not anyone else?" Yang Yunshu stood up, crossing her arms and puckering her lips happily.

The words had slipped out of Ruan Danchen's mouth in a fit of rage. She never wanted to argue with her in front of Qi Youxuan. She regretted her words then—she should have left after greeting them, no matter what Yang Yunshu spat out.

"Whatever," Ruan Danchen uttered, turning around to leave with the little boy.

Qi Youxuan, however, stood firm at his spot. He questioned, "Auntie, who are you?"

Yang Yunshu was stunned. When she saw Ruan Danchen pouncing at her as if she was her prey, she did not notice the tiny Qi Youxuan. When she finally saw him now, she was shocked.

Wu Min hastily tried to loosen up the atmosphere. She smiled and asked, "Little boy, you're so cute. Who are you?"

"Thank you, Auntie," Qi Youxuan thanked Wu Min's praise politely. He then answered, "I'm Aunt Ruan's boyfriend's son."

A simple identity was told in such a roundabout way by Qi Youxuan.

Ruan Danchen's four colleagues could not hide their astonishment. Even the way they looked at her changed.

Nonetheless, Yang Yunshu could not care less. She covered her mouth exaggeratedly and commented harshly, "Ah, Ruan Danchen, are you serious? Even if your career isn't going well, did you really need to find a man looking to remarry? Not only do you have to be his second wife, you even have to be a stepmother. How tragic!"

"Youxuan, let's go," Ruan Danchen prodded Qi Youxuan in a gentle voice. She was not giving Yang Yunshu any attention.

"He's not even your biological son. Why are you treating him so well? Do you want to marry his father so badly? You're quite an attractive woman—it's not like no one would want you—so why did you have to find a man looking to remarry and raise his child for him? Why are you trying to please his son now? Why are you in such a rush? Have you really stooped so low?" Yang Yunshu sneered, shaking her head. Her lips were crooked with mockery.

"You can't talk about Aunt Ruan like that! I want Aunt Ruan to be my mom! What does this have to do with you!" Qi Youxuan's face reddened with rage. He was usually a well-tempered child, yet at that moment, his body shook with wrath.

Zhang Fangfang could not endure seeing this anymore. She tugged on Yang Yunshu but she did not care. Yang Yunshu pushed her hand away irritatedly. Yang Yunshu pressed her lips into a thin line then scolded, "Hey kid, where are your manners? Did your family not teach you that kids can't interrupt adults' conversations? How can you speak so rudely? Did your family educate you on how to behave? Is it because you don't have a mom to teach you, so you don't even know what manners are?"

Qi Youxuan's little face was completely red. His body trembled with rage. His pair of huge, round eyes turned red and his vision was clouded by tears.

"My family is great! I won't let you talk like that!" Qi Youxuan was choking with fury.

Everyone pampered him so much at home—how could this evil lady say he had no manners?

Eyes red, he clenched his other hand not held by Ruan Danchen into a tight fist. After all, he was just a six-year-old child. How could he endure Yang Yunshu's rancorous words?

He might be clever, but he still threw little tantrums at times. At home, all the adults would let him win. Everyone loved him dearly, thus they would never let him suffer even a tad bit. Although Qi Chenglin was usually strict toward him, the truth was that he was never too serious with Qi Youxuan. He might not say it out loud, but he would silently let Qi Youxuan have his way every time.

Seeing that the child was on the verge of tears, Ruan Danchen was overcome by guilt.

If she had left in the beginning without locking horns with Yang Yunshu, Qi Youxuan would not be hurt.

She swiftly picked Qi Youxuan up. Her heart aching, she apologized to Qi Youxuan, "I'm sorry."

She then turned to Yang Yunshu and glared at her coldly. "Anything you want to say, say it to me. Don't bully the child. Do you not feel horrible saying those things to a child? It's a character problem when you accuse me and attack me, but when you pounce on a child, it shows that you're not even human. Anyone with but a trace of kindness would never say such things to a child!"

Ruan Danchen's eyes welled up with tears too. Infuriated, she immediately left with Qi Youxuan in her arms.

She trotted into the corridor leading to the washroom, and only then did she slow down. She looked down to see Qi Youxuan. Overwhelmed by guilt and despair, she murmured, "I'm sorry that I let you go through something like this."

The little boy, who had always been active and never tired, was now filled with sorrow. His soft and chubby face rested on Ruan Danchen's shoulder. Thinking that Ruan Danchen would not notice, he quickly raised his tiny hand and wiped away his tears silently.

Of course, Ruan Danchen did notice.

Her heart ached tremendously. She wanted to tear Yang Yunshu's mouth straight off her face.

"Youxuan, I'm sorry," Ruan Danchen repeated, hugging him tightly. She was so hurt to see him like this that she had no idea how to comfort him.

The tears that flowed down the little boy's cheeks felt like a chunk of her flesh being cut off.

Qi Youxuan shook his head against her shoulder. "It's okay. It's that Auntie's fault! Why is she so wicked?!"

Ruan Danchen caressed the back of his head and told, "Don't take her words to heart. Don't care about them. There's not a single truth in her words."

"She said my family didn't educate me. She said I don't have a mom to teach me," Qi Youxuan mumbled, disheartened.

"How's that true? You're the most polite child I've ever seen, and the cutest too. Everyone in your family has taught you well, making you a well-educated child. On the contrary, the lady just now can't even be compared to you or anyone in your family. She's the uneducated one. Insulting others without reason is truly the act of an uneducated person," Ruan Danchen assured tenderly.

Not hearing a reply from Qi Youxuan, she asked, "Do you believe the things she said about me?"

"Of course not!" Qi Youxuan yelled, shaking his head instantly. Now, he was full of energy.

Heart aching, Ruan Danchen caressed his little face. "See? There's not a word from her mouth that can be trusted. It's not worth it to enrage yourself with her nonsense. Don't punish yourself with others' lies."

"Okay," Qi Youxuan agreed. Nonetheless, he was still in low spirits. "Aunt Ruan, are they your colleagues?"

"Yeah," Ruan Danchen uttered. Qi Youxuan did not push it after that.

Ruan Danchen brought him to the entrance of the washroom then anxiously watched the little boy enter alone.

After a long while, he finally came out. On their way out, Ruan Danchen purposely avoided Yang Yunshu and the others' table.

After lunch, she brought him to the dolphinarium. They were quite early so they got to sit in the first row.

Qi Youxuan was in a glum mood at first, but once the show started, his mood improved a lot.

When the interactive session began, the host looked for a few kids from the audience to volunteer. Ruan Danchen speedily raised Qi Youxuan's hand and raised her own hands as high as she could to attract the host's attention.

The little boy was eager to interact with the dolphins as well. He had forgotten about his woe that afternoon and jumped up from his seat. He bounced up and down energetically, trying to attract the host's attention.

He indeed got chosen in the end. The little boy glanced at Ruan Danchen exuberantly and Ruan Danchen nodded at him, encouraging him. Thus, he scurried up the stage with his little round and plump buttocks bouncing in the air.

Ruan Danchen watched the boy interact with the dolphins from below, but her heart still dwelled on the incident that afternoon. The more she saw the little boy smiling joyfully, the more guilty she felt. Her eyes were starting to sting.

When the interactive session ended, Ruan Danchen hastily got herself together and welcomed the boy back with a smile on her face.

The dolphin show had recovered Qi Youxuan's mood — it was as if he had completely forgotten about his despair that afternoon.

Although children are forgetful, Ruan Danchen was still worried that the incident would haunt him.

…

…

They returned to the old mansion in the evening. Ruan Danchen asked the little boy, "What would you like for dinner? I'll cook dinner tonight."

Hearing that, the boy was overjoyed. He ordered countless dishes without shame.

Luckily there were ample ingredients available in the old mansion. Ruan Danchen headed to the kitchen instantly. Aunt Liu was also there to help.

Qi Youxuan went back to his room with his little backpack. Not long after, he poked his head through the living room door and craned his neck to see Ruan Danchen still busy in the kitchen. Thus, he decided to find Grandmother Qi.

"Great-grandma, come here," Qi Youxuan whispered, waving his hands in a peculiar, spy-like manner.

Grandmother Qi saw her great-grandson's abnormal actions and inquired confusedly, "What's the matter?"

"Shush!" Qi Youxuan pressed his chubby finger against his lips. "Great-grandma, please lower your voice. Just follow me."

"Urgh, what shenanigans is this child up to now?" Grandmother Qi removed her presbyopia glasses and put down the book, An Actor Prepares. She then followed Qi Youxuan and entered his room with him.

"Ah, what's going on? Why are you being so secretive?" Grandmother Qi questioned before closing the door.

Qi Youxuan ran to the door and stuck his head out, glancing in all directions before finally closing the door.

Grandmother Qi sat on his little bed, contemplating whether they should cultivate this child into a war film star in the future.

"Great-grandma, we ran into some of Aunt Ruan's colleagues at a themed restaurant when I went to the amusement park with her today, but they were all such wicked people!" Qi Youxuan revealed angrily. As he recalled Yang Yunshu's words, his eyes reddened.

"Ah, what's the matter?" Grandmother Qi's heart ached when she saw Qi Youxuan like that. She pulled him into her embrace instantly. "What's going on? Did someone do you wrong today?"

Grandmother Qi did not suspect Ruan Danchen at all—after everyone left yesterday, leaving Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan at the house, Grandmother Qi observed her carefully and noticed that as long as Qi Youxuan was around, Ruan Danchen's entire focus would fall on him. Her gaze was soft and tender. Even if they told others that Ruan Danchen was his biological mother, no one would be suspicious.

There was no way Ruan Danchen would let anything unjust happen to Qi Youxuan. Therefore, Grandmother Qi presumed that it must have been the colleagues Qi Youxuan mentioned.

Qi Youxuan wiped his tears with the back of his hands. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out his Totoro-shaped phone. He played a recording for Grandmother Qi.

When Ruan Danchen saw him fiddling with his phone that afternoon, she did not think much about it, but in reality, he was recording their conversation.

As Grandmother Qi listened, her expression turned darker and darker. In the end, her expression was so menacing that even Qi Youxuan was terrified.

The recording ended. Grandmother Qi squinted—she knew then that this Yang Yunshu was constantly bullying her granddaughter-in-law at the company. She even accused her granddaughter-in-law of sleeping with a client just for a project!

Humph! If Ruan Danchen wanted a project, there's plenty available! With just a word, Qilin can hand all their projects to her, though the only problem was that she might become too busy.

Furthermore, that Yang Yunshu even dared to insult Qi Youxuan.

Qi Youxuan was the eldest grandson in the Qi family!

Grandmother Qi could not tolerate her claiming that the Qi family was uneducated!

The fact that Qi Youxuan did not have a mother had always been a thorn on the Qi family—no one outside the family dared to touch it. Whoever did would be stung and poisoned.

Thus, when Yang Yunshu said those words, Grandmother Qi exploded.

Grandmother Qi immediately made a call to Guan Liya with Qi Youxuan's phone. "Liya, come to the old mansion tomorrow."

After she hung up, she exclaimed, "That crone has crossed the line! Just wait and see how I'm going to deal with her!"

Her words sent a shiver down Qi Youxuan's spine. He retracted his neck, thinking about how petrifying his great-grandmother truly was.

Grandmother Qi snapped out of it. In a fit of rage, she forgot Qi Youxuan was right there. Seeing Qi Youxuan's horrified look, she hurriedly got rid of her stern expression and put on a wrinkly smile. "Be a good boy now. Great-grandma will surely avenge you and Xiao Ruan."

"Great-grandma, can I help when you avenge me and Aunt Ruan?" Qi Youxuan yearned to participate in seeing Yang Yunshu regretting her actions terribly.

"Stop joking around. Focus on school." Grandmother Qi patted his head and left.

…

…

After dinner, Ruan Danchen returned home with Qi Youxuan.

They did not stay longer as Qi Youxuan's school uniform and textbooks were still at home. Besides, the distance from the old mansion to Jixia Elementary School was longer.

…

…

Qi Chenglin came back on Monday, but he did not inform Ruan Danchen about it. When he came home, Ruan Danchen was preparing to wash QI Youxuan's school uniform and the clothes he wore to the amusement park.

As she carried the pile of clothes from Qi Youxuan's bed to the washroom, she saw the front door open — Qi Chenglin came in with his luggage.

Ruan Danchen was staggered. When she saw Qi Chenglin entering, she was so exhilarated that she tossed the dirty clothes on the ground and ran straight into his arms. "Why didn't you tell me you're back?"

"Spot-check. I wanted to see what you're up to at home," Qi Chenglin teased, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You didn't even wake me up when you left that morning." Ruan Danchen pouted with her soft lips. Her words carried a hint of blame.

Suddenly, she felt his grip tighten around her waist. When in his embrace, in his arms, she felt especially delicate; she felt that her waist was so slender that it could not be held.

She did not hear a reply from him but she saw the fire of passion burning in his eyes, igniting the fire in her heart.

It was as if Ruan Danchen's voice had been swallowed by him—she could not utter a word. She swallowed nervously, her breathing thrown out of rhythm. Under his scorching gaze, her body was inflamed, her scalp felt like they were burning.

As she breathed nervously, Qi Chenglin lowered his head gradually and finally landed his hot lips on hers. His arms tightened further, squeezing her deep into his embrace.

"I missed you so much," he said, lips still pressed firmly against hers.

Ruan Danchen's body trembled. She stood on tip-toes and held on tight to his neck as she kissed him.

Qi Chenglin's arms tightened around her. In a flash, he picked her up, leaving her legs dangling in the air.

"I still need to wash Youxuan's clothes." Ruan Danchen knew what he wanted to do. At that moment, he was already carrying her to the bedroom. "You just came back. You must be tired…"

Before she could finish, Qi Chenglin locked lips with her.

Immediately after, she was pressed onto the bed. Qi Chenglin pressed close on top of her. "I'm not tired. When I got down from the plane, all I wanted to do was bolt back home."

His lips were pressed against hers so whenever he spoke, she could feel his sizzling breath blown on her. Ruan Danchen could not help but shiver. The heat was overwhelming. As his hot, raspy voice spilled onto her skin, she felt itchy and numb.

Seeing Ruan Danchen's flushed face, Qi Chenglin could not help but chuckle. Merrily, he teased, "In fact, I feel especially energetic right now."

Ruan Danchen blushed. She could not utter a word. Qi Chenglin proceeded to kiss her again—he kissed her everywhere.

"What time did you wake up that morning?" Qi Chenglin remarked as he ground against the corner of her lips.

Knowing that he clearly harbored no good intention, Ruan Danchen mumbled, "I don't like you."