"I know that too, but I'm still worried," Ruan Danchen mumbled.

"Your man will be there with you, so what are you worried about? If anything, I'll deal with it first." Qi Chenglin's lips formed into an alluring smile. His hot, thin lips landed between her newly unfurrowed brows and worked their way down along her face. His lips kissed and rubbed the delicate skin beneath her eyes.

This seductive grinding sensation made Ruan Danchen's cheeks flare up into an enticing red. She could not help but lean back a little.

Noticing this, Qi Chenglin cupped his hand on her cheeks and rubbed his thumb on her reddened cheek. As the coarse surface of his thumb rubbed against her cheek, pulses of electric-like sensation coursed under her skin.

"When will you learn to not overthink things? If you run into any problems, don't worry about it, just let me handle it," Qi Chenglin stared at her for a long time, then finally continued, "If the incident from seven years ago still bothers you greatly, we'll find a chance to reveal it to our family one day."

Ruan Danchen returned his gaze. She yearned to let go of this burden.

Qi Chenglin stroked her hair and pointed out, "After my big brother and Song Yu's matters, and also Chengyue and Dongge's matters, my family's tolerance had sky-rocketed. They will be shocked at first, but I don't think this is something they cannot accept. Especially since you are Youxuan's mother — if they can't accept you, who in the world can they accept?"

Ruan Danchen was still hesitant. "Give me some time to brace myself; then, we'll tell them."

"What are you afraid of?" Qi Chenglin questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Previously, you told them that my mother had remarried, but the truth is that she merely lives with the Shen family — to this day, she never officially entered the family. I don't believe that your family won't mind that. After all, we did lie to them. I'm afraid that they would be even more furious," Ruan Danchen confessed, "I'm afraid that they won't accept me; that they won't agree to us being together."

Qi Chengzhi stared deep into her eyes. Ironically, he was delighted with her concerns. "If they don't agree, I won't register our engagement behind their backs — that would be too irresponsible of me. Besides, if they don't approve of you from the beginning, this would only make matters worse. It would make you miserable when with my family. I don't think you would agree to that either."

Ruan Danchen nodded. She looked up to see his charming face. She was astonished by how well he knew her. His dark, shining pupils stared deep into her soul — he looked exceedingly serious.

Qi Chenglin resumed, "So if I don't get their blessing, I will never marry anyone in this life. If they don't approve of you, they'll have to see me stay single forever and watch Youxuan grow up without a mother his whole life. I'm already 33 — sooner or later, they'll realize I can't drag this on any longer. For Youxuan, they'll know they can't let me drag this on."

"..." To Ruan Danchen, his words sounded like he was going rogue. It was as if he had nothing to lose.

"Do you trust me?" Qi Chenglin asked abruptly, "If we're not bound by a marriage certificate, will you still be confident in this relationship?"

"Yes," Ruan Danchen stated confidently. She gazed at Qi Chenglin's handsome face. There were two thin lines of wrinkles extending from the corner of his eyes, making him appear especially mature and reliable.

He had a high nose bridge, a defined jawline, and angular facial features. He appeared stern — not exactly the warm and gentle type — but that was the kind of man that Ruan Danchen felt she could trust.

He was that dependable a man.

"I would believe anything you say. I know that you will only promise things that you know you can accomplish, so no matter what you say, I'll believe you. Even without a marriage certificate, I'll gladly be with you for the rest of my life. You said you will never let me suffer. I will always be with you. I believe that you won't fall for anyone else," Ruan Danchen declared, staring at Qi Chenglin earnestly.

Hearing her words, his stern lips melted into a warm smile. His gaze landed tenderly on her face.

Ruan Danchen blushed. Wrapped in his embrace, she gently circled her arms around his waist — her soft hands pressing gently on the small of his back. Subconsciously, her hands started rubbing against his clothes.

"For those who have gotten married and have a marriage certificate, divorce will still be inevitable if they lose interest in one another. However, you, Qi Chenglin, already see me as your wife. Even if we don't have a marriage certificate, I know you will never do anything to hurt me, so why would I feel insecure?" A tender smile spread across Ruan Danchen's face. Her smile even carried a hint of mischievousness, making Qi Chenglin's heart throbbed.

His gratitude toward her unconditional trust could not be put into words. He was genuinely moved.

In spite of her believing that she could never be good enough for him, she still stayed with him earnestly without saying a word. The truth was, she never thought she would be able to marry him.

Qi Chenglin's heart suddenly ached for her — from young, she had never had a family.

In a soft, tender voice, he assured, "This is merely speculation — Grandma still wants other great-grandchildren beside Youxuan. She wishes to see my big brother and me, and Chengji and Chengyue have more and more great-grandchildren for her."

With a resolute expression and a tender yet stern gaze, he declared, "Ruan Danchen, in this life, I, Qi Chenglin, will only marry you. I will give you a complete family."

Ruan Danchen's nose stung, her chest felt stuffy and she felt like choking. She never expected Qi Chenglin to say something so sweet and touching.

How could this man be so perfect!

She could not wrap her head around why he would fall for someone like her.

He knew perfectly well that that night was all part of a scheme, yet he never blamed it on her. On the contrary, he even allowed her to spend time with Youxuan and to be with him. Now, he even wanted to give her a home.

Her eyes stung but she refused to cry. She buried her face in his chest and hugged him tightly.

Qi Chenglin looked down and pecked her forehead and between her brows. Then, he leaned in and landed a kiss on her soft lips.

With his searing lips still pressed against hers, he assured, "Don't worry. I've never planned to hide this from my family forever. If I want to marry you, I'll inevitably have to disclose the incident from seven years ago and the fact that you are Youxuan's mother. If you are still afraid, I can wait. Whenever you're ready, I'll go with you together."

Ruan Danchen nodded silently. Her cheek was rested on his chest. Seeing her meek and spiritless appearance, his heart ached.

…

…

At night, Shen Zhijing returned home from her company. The moment she entered the house, she saw Liu Ronghua and Shen Jialiang seated on the sofa. Liu Ronghua was refilling Shen Jialiang's cup with tea. The moment she saw Shen Zhijing, she put down the teapot hastily and stood up fawningly. "Zhijing, welcome home."

When Liu Ronghua first moved into the Shen family's home, she had calculated every move well. She thought that as long as she moved in, one day, Shen Jialiang would surely make her part of the family. Although Shen Zhijing disliked her, she had found out that ever since Shen Zhijing came back from studying overseas, she started living outside. She only came back on weekends to have a meal at home.

It was only a meal, so she could endure it.

As for Shen Jialiang's eldest son, Shen Zhenghong, ever since he got married, he stayed with his own family outside. He also only came back on weekends.

Shen Zhenghong did not carry much hostility toward Liu Ronghua, but he was still cold and distant toward her. Nonetheless, he never deliberately tried to trouble her. It was likely because Shen Zhenghong knew that Liu Ronghua was too old to have another child, so there was no way she could get her hands on his portion of the inheritance. Consequently, he did not see Liu Ronghua as a threat.

Unexpectedly, instantly after Liu Ronghua moved in, Shen Zhijing moved back in too. Shen Zhijing watched her carefully every day she came home as if she was afraid Liu Ronghua would snatch away her portion of the inheritance. Without saying, her attitude toward Liu Ronghua was not pleasant in the least bit — she would get mad at her for the most insignificant things.

Whenever Shen Zhijing was around, Liu Ronghua had to be extremely careful with everything she did — she was fearful of Shen Zhijing would tattle about her to Shen Jialiang, enraging him.

Ever since she moved into the Shen family's home, Shen Jialiang instructed her to not say a word about Ruan Danchen. Ruan Danchen was not allowed to be entangled in a single affair of the Shen family. Although Liu Ronghua seemed to be living a glamorous life in an enormous mansion, was being treated as a rich lady outside and did not have to worry about daily expenses, the truth was that she did not have much freedom.

In the beginning, Shen Jialiang gave her an allowance of about the same amount as before. However, Shen Zhijing found out about her allowance somehow and was extremely discontent about it. Therefore, she convinced Shen Jialiang to reduce her allowance to a fraction of the original amount.

Throughout these years, Liu Ronghua had worked hard to befriend a few rich ladies within the Shen family's social circle. When she needed to have a meal with them or go shopping for branded stuff, she would save up as much as she could beforehand to avoid being judged when she went out with them.

After all these years of living there, Shen Jialiang never brought up a thing about officially making her a part of the Shen family.

She felt helpless but no matter what, she had to clench her teeth and keep trying. After all, she chose this route herself. She had come so far — there was no way she would give up now.

She could not afford to fall out with Shen Zhijing, so she could only lick her boots.

At this moment, Liu Ronghua had a smile on her face as she saw Shen Zhijing march in with a glum expression. Despite that, it did not bother Liu Ronghua — after all, Shen Zhijing had the same face on every time she saw Liu Ronghua — she had grown accustomed to it.

In fact, she even extended her hand to take Shen Zhijing's bag for her.

However, Sheng Zhijing shot a cold glance at her and hurled the bag toward the sofa. The metal buckle on the bag hit Liu Ronghua's extended hand and scraped her hand as it slid down.

"Ouch!" Liu Ronghua exclaimed in pain. She turned to her hand to see a cut made on her index finger. It was red and bleeding.

Shen Jialiang, who was still sitting on the sofa, furrowed his brows. "Zhijing, what was that for?"

"Why don't you ask her what she did?" Shen Zhijing was so angry that she could barely catch her breath. She glared at Liu Ronghua furiously. "Your surname is Liu, yet you stay in the Shen family's home, eat the Shen family's food and spend the Shen family's money. Even so, you dare to do such things to us?"

"I don't understand…" Tears welled up in Liu Ronghua's eyes. She sucked the wound on her finger. She glanced at Shen Jialiang helplessly, then turned her gaze back to Shen Zhijing, "Zhijing, you came home and convicted me without explaining a thing. What's going on?"

"You don't know? Miss Liu, your acting skills are amazing!" Shen Zhijing pointed her finger straight at Liu Ronghua's nose. Shen Zhijing had the urge to slap her across the face. "You are staying in my Shen family's home yet you have your daughter out there seducing Qi Chenglin — are trying to get two strings to your bow? Are you satisfied now? With Ruan Danchen dating Qi Chenglin and admitting to being Qi Youxuan's real mother, you can run to your daughter in the future and become the mother-in-law of the Qi family's second son, so what are you still doing in our home! You've been staying here for so many years, yet this is how you repay us?"

Shen Jialiang's eyebrows knitted tightly together. His expression darkened as he leaned forward on the sofa. He could not keep his composure anymore. "Zhijing, what are you talking about? How can Ruan Danchen be dating Qi Chenglin?"

"How would I know? Today, I went to Manman's class for parents' visitation day and I saw Ruan Danchen with the Qi family. Qi Chenglin even had his arms around her! No one would believe it if they deny that they're going out together. Moreover, the old lady from the Qi family was going around telling everyone Ruan Danchen is her second daughter-in-law!"

Shen Zhijing turned to Liu Ronghua and glared at her maliciously. "What did you promise us that day? Ruan Danchen was supposed to leave after giving birth. She was to carry on as if she never had that child. She was not supposed to meet him. But I turn around and now she's going out with Qi Chenglin! Who does she think she is! If it weren't for us, would she ever meet Qi Chenglin? Would she have carried his child? Do you resent us for not letting you be a part of the Shen family after all these years? Is that why you made your daughter go to the Qi family? Liu Ronghua, you did such horrid things behind our backs yet you have the nerves to keep staying at our house and try to flatter me?!"

Liu Ronghua widened her eyes in shock. She could not believe her words. Liu Ronghua shook her head vigorously, but Shen Jialiang continued without giving her a chance to explain.

"Dad, kick her out now!" Shen Zhijing screamed.

"No, I honestly did not know. Zhijing, this is a misunderstanding. I did not instruct Danchen to do this. Is she really with Qi Chenglin? That's impossible — with her status and his status, there's no way they would meet. They are both from completely different worlds — how could that have crossed paths?" Liu Ronghua justified hastily.

"You're asking me? The fact is that I saw them with my own eyes today! When I went up to them, she even remembered who I am!" Shen Zhijing scowled, clenching her teeth.

"I honestly knew nothing about this. I did everything according to your instructions. In all these years, I've only called her during New Year. Even when she was going through confinement after giving birth, I never visited her. I don't even know when she left," Liu Ronghua explained anxiously, "Only until recently when I ran into her at a restaurant did I exchange a few words with her."

Having said that, Liu Ronghua abruptly remembered — when she say Ruan Danchen, she was with a little boy. According to the child's appearance, he was about the same age as the child Ruan Danchen gave birth to.

Could he be Qi Chenglin's child that Ruan Danchen gave birth to that year?

Liu Ronghua did not reveal this. Silently, tears began to roll down her face. She sobbed, "But that's my daughter! I've done so much for you all! All these years, I finally saw her a while ago. She despises me so much — why would you think I'm capable of telling her to do anything now? From the day she left the hospital seven years ago, she never told me where she lives. I even had to inquire from others to know where she's working now. To this day, I still have no idea where she stays, let alone step foot into her house! In these seven years, I couldn't even see her on New Year. New Year is supposed to be the day families hold reunions, but she had to spend seven years of it alone. All this because she hates me. Even if she is with Qi Chenglin, do you think she'll ever tell me?"

"I fear that I'm the one she's hiding this the most from. She may be afraid that I'll steal her spotlight and take advantage of her situation, humiliate her. Zhijing, I know that you've never liked me. In all these years I've been living here, you've always seen me as an outsider. Your expression is always dark when you see me and you're discontent with anything I do. I don't know if it's because you think I have replaced your mother's role in the house, or if it's because of something else—"

"Stop blowing your own trumpet!" Shen Zhijing shouted disgustedly, "Who do you think you are to replace my mother? Unlike you, my mom was officially wedded to my dad. She's a knowledgeable woman and the respectable daughter of an eminent family! She is the first wife in this family — even in her grave, she still is!"

Shen Zhijing looked Liu Ronghua up and down and expressed her disgust. She pouted in disdain. "You are merely living in our home. You have no place here whatsoever. According to ancient times, you are nothing but a concubine. What makes you think you can compare yourself to my mother? It's true that I dislike you. In fact, I've always looked down on you. Didn't you come here just for our money?"

"Zhijing, you're crossing the line! Tell me, what have I gained after so many years of being here? I want to marry Jialiang because I love him from the bottom of my heart. Which woman doesn't want to marry a guy she loves? This has nothing to do with money. Besides, how much can I get by staying here?" Liu Ronghua cried.