The very faded scar did not diminish her beauty in an outsider's perspective.

However to her, it was extremely ugly, always reminding her of the dark past.

"Mom?" Lin Lihua called out when she noticed her mother looked rather pale.

What was the scar all about? No matter how many times she had asked in the past, Xia Rou would always evade the question. With time, she had stopped asking.

However, her mother seemed to be bothered by it now that she was going to see Wan Jia. Was it related to Wan Jia's disappearance? Lin Lihua wondered.

"Mom, I'm done, but you'll need to wear a scarf." Lin Lihua said when she completed the make up.

Xia Rou looked at the woman in the mirror and indeed she was quite different, but people who knew her would still find some familiarities if they saw her like this.

Make up alone was not able to conceal everything, a scarf was necessary.

Three hours later, Lin Lihua and Wan Jia were laughing happily as they baked a raspberry cake in Lin Lihua's apartment.

Wan Jia had never baked a cake on her own before, Lin Lihua was teaching her. Unfortunately, they did not know what they messed up, or maybe they were too engrossed in chatting, the end result was quite tasteless.

"Urgh!" Lin Lihua groaned. It was her first time failing in anything.

Wan Jia also frowned when she took a bite. "How about we just order a cake?" she had wanted to take some of it back for Lu Aotian and Little Jia, but she would only be calling for endless teasing if she took this back.

"I wanted to cook for my Little Wan, I'm not even in the mood to cook anymore." Lin Lihua pouted.

"It's okay sis Lihua, I don't feel like cooking either. Let's just order something."

What Wan Jia did not know was that her mother was on her way. Lin Lihua had already sent a message.

Xia Rou had a key to Lin Lihua's apartment so she just entered.

The two girls looked over at the same time.

"Mom?" Lin Lihua acted surprised.

"Oh, Lihua, you are home! I thought you were filming and wanted to surprise you on your return."

The woman was carrying what seemed like a bag of food. She went ahead and placed it on the dining table before going to her daughters.

She hugged Lin Lihua and sat beside her. "You have a new friend."

Lin Lihua introduced. "Yes, this is my friend, Little Wan. Little Wan, meet my mom."

Wan Jia shook Xia Rou's hand, then she felt something and frowned.

She did not know why but her mind was already lost. Her heart was beating so furiously that she was out of breath.

Why was it that Lin Lihua's mother had such gentle hands? She felt as though they were coaxing her, gently soothing her, making her want to be embraced. It was something she had never felt before.

Most importantly, her voice. Although she had not even directly talked to her, Wan Jia felt as though she was singing to her and not just talking. So sweet...it made her eyes want to well up for some reason.

She could only blink like and innocent child and study this woman behind a scarf who made her heart uneasy. She studied her eyes that were the only exposed part of her body. She really wanted to get closer to her and study her properly, or even....hug her...

Wan Jia did not know whether she was dreaming but she felt like this woman was looking at her lovingly. When she blinked and looked again, the feelings she thought she had seen were replaced with a normal look.

Lin Lihua at the side looked at the way Wan Jia was looking at her mother and was flabbergasted. Wasn't her little sister too sensitive?

It was said that newborn babies would recognize their mothers' presence easily. However, it had been twenty three years and a few months already. Did Wan Jia still remember her mother's presence? This was a rare case.

If these two continued staring at each other lovingly, Wan Jia was going to suspect something.

"Ahem, Little Wan, weren't we feeling hungry just now? Mom brought over some dishes. Let's go eat."

Mom...

Lin Lihua had said "Mom" and not "my mom"...

She would never know the effect that word had on Xia Rou and Wan Jia.

Xia Rou knew she had said that because she was not only her mother but Wan Jia's too.

For Wan Jia, it made her even more confused. It was as if her heart was itching to be closer to her....her mouth was itching to call her "Mom" too.

Crap! Was she crazy? She must have been fazed by the way Lin Lihua said her mother was loving, or she was just longing for her own mother. Yes , that had to be it.

She scolded herself. Wan Jia, don't go longing for other people's mothers!

Xia Rou noticed her own and Wan Jia's uneasiness was becoming too much and decided to leave.

As they ate, Lin Lihua kept studying Wan Jia and could see the unmistakable feelings in her little sister's eyes.

Damn it! These two really had deep feelings for each other. You would think they had only been separated for twenty three days and not thwenty three years.

At least, she was sure of one thing. Even if Wan Jia blamed her mother for leaving her, she would not entirely hate her.