——

Six years later.

Yan Yunning brought her beloved daughter and beloved youngest son to attend He Qingxia and Gu Jingye’s wedding.

Speaking of her second pregnancy with Xuan Xixi — it had been a complete accident.

Neither she nor Xuan Xixi had planned to have a second child so soon. Or rather, Xuan Xixi hadn’t planned on a second child at all.

According to Xuan Xixi, having Xiaoxiao was enough. If there were a second child, he worried there would be no more room in her heart for him — that there would be no place left for him.

The accident happened when their Xiaoxiao was three years old. Xuan Xixi had gone on a business trip, initially scheduled for seven days. Since they had gotten married, Xuan Xixi had not been away from her side for even a single day.

At the time, she hadn’t wanted to leave her precious son, while Xuan Xixi hadn’t wanted to leave her. Unable to persuade her to accompany him, the man had moodily boarded his private jet and left on his own.

That very afternoon, Yan Yunning received a call from Ye Jian. Ye Jian told her over the phone that Xuan Yanyu had a fever — a serious one.

Yan Yunning guessed it was a ruse. He had been perfectly fine when he left home that morning, so how could he possibly have come down with a serious fever by that same afternoon? Even so, Yan Yunning still flew over to be with him.

Xuan Yanyu’s business trip lasted seven days, and they hadn’t spent a single quiet night apart. It happened to coincide with what she thought was her safe period, so neither of them had anticipated an accident, and they had been bold enough not to take any precautions.

The safe period turned out to be anything but safe. A month later, Yan Yunning began sleeping more than usual and occasionally felt nauseous. She tested herself, and the result showed she was pregnant.

At six weeks along, she and Xuan Yanyu went for a prenatal check-up, where an ultrasound revealed dichorionic twins.

If the second pregnancy was an accident, then twins were doubly so.

On the day the two babies were born, Xuan Yanyu, waiting outside the delivery room, only thought to ask about the sex after confirming that both mother and children were safe.

Yan Yunning had given birth to a boy and a girl. Since their daughter came out first, a nurse informed Xuan Yanyu he had a daughter — and he did so well upon hearing this that he fainted before even learning that the second baby was a son.

The doctor said he had simply been overcome with excitement, so much so that even after Yan Yunning had woken up, he was still unconscious.

Xuan Shi’an simply had the nursing staff arrange an extra bed in Yan Yunning’s hospital room. The household staff who had originally come to care for the mother and her babies ended up tending to all four of them.

When Yan Yunning woke up and saw Xuan Yanyu lying unconscious in the bed beside her, she was entirely at a loss for words.

The names for both children were again chosen by their grandfather. Their youngest son’s formal name: 【Xuan Yunzhao.】

Nickname: 【Ruirui.】

Their daughter’s formal name: 【Xuan Youyi.】

Nickname: 【Jiaojiao.】

Though in her father’s eyes, it was 【Jiaojiao — Xuan Jiaojiao.】

She was the apple of her father’s eye, and not a drop of grievance was to touch her.

In Xuan Yanyu’s heart, she ranked first, and Xuan Jiaojiao ranked second — no one could ever compete with Xuan Jiaojiao.

With their eldest, Xiaoxiao, most of the diaper changes and feedings during infancy had been handled by the household staff and his grandparents. It was the same with little Ruirui — Xuan Yanyu would occasionally step in for feedings, but he had never once changed a diaper.

Xuan Jiaojiao was different. Xuan Yanyu took care of her himself for the majority of the time whenever he was free.

Feedings, diaper changes, putting her to sleep — even when he gathered with Xie Yan and the others, he would bring her along. Xuan Jiaojiao’s little darling would always be present.

Naturally, Ruirui would also be there, because if he wasn’t brought along, Ruirui would make a fuss with Xuan Xixi.

Whether Xiaoxiao came along depended on whether his grandparents had already taken him out to dinner.

“Yan Yunning.” A familiar, composed male voice sounded in her ear. Yan Yunning pulled herself from her thoughts and turned around to see Wen Zhilu, whom she hadn’t seen in six years.

She took in the sight of the man in his impeccably tailored suit. Wen Zhilu studied her in return. Yan Yunning had changed very little over the past six years — if anything, having become a mother had made her even more beautiful than before.

She truly had a gift for taking care of herself. Her figure remained as slender as ever. She wore a camel-colored trench coat over a black knee-length dress. Her slightly wavy long hair fell loose over her shoulders, the ends dip-dyed in a gradient of blueberry purple and grey. She had on heels, and the small stretch of leg visible between the hem of her skirt and her shoes was fair and slender.

Her palm-sized face remained as strikingly beautiful as ever, without a single flaw to be found.

She was seated, eyes bright as she watched her son and daughter carrying out their duties as flower children, her lovely gaze filled with gentle warmth. Her beauty was the kind that stood out from the crowd — the sort it was difficult to look away from.

She was now managing the entertainment company under the Xuan Group. She had a keen eye when it came to signing artists, and the talent she had brought on board boasted a combined reach and commercial value that could fairly be called among the industry’s finest. She had also secured the annual partnership qualification with a major streaming platform.

Wen Zhilu curved his lips slightly. She was still as outstanding as ever.

“Zhilu.” Yan Yunning’s voice carried a note of pleased surprise. Wen Zhilu lowered his gaze and gave a small nod.

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together. For a moment, she didn’t know quite what to say. The two of them, who had once talked so freely and naturally, suddenly felt almost like strangers.

“Mommy~!” Having completed her duties, the little girl came running toward Yan Yunning, arms outstretched for a hug. “Mommy, wasn’t I amazing?”

“Amazing. Our Jiaojiao was absolutely amazing.” Yan Yunning reached out to pick her up, but before she could, Wen Zhilu had already scooped the little girl into his arms.

Yan Yunning tucked the loose strands of hair back behind her daughter’s ear and said gently, “Jiaojiao, say hello to Uncle.”

“Uncle.” The little girl called out in her sweet little voice.

Wen Zhilu patted Xuan Youyi’s small cheek and looked toward Yan Yunning. “She looks just like you. Very beautiful.”

The little girl had rosy lips and pearly teeth, a delicate porcelain complexion, bright and round sparkling eyes. She wore a little beret on her head, with her hair hanging at just the right length on either side of her face, dressed in a pretty little skirt — her soft, fair little face carried about eighty percent of Yan Yunning’s likeness.

Upon hearing Wen Zhilu compliment her beauty, two faint dimples appeared in her cheeks as she smiled.

Yan Yunning nodded, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile. “She really is. Only Jiaojiao takes after me.”

Xiaoxiao and Ruirui both took after Xuan Xixi. The three of them standing together, it was instantly obvious they were father and sons — her role had essentially been to serve as Xuan Xixi’s delivery courier.

“Mommy, Older Sister didn’t wait for me.” Led over by Qiuci, the little chubby one arrived in front of Yan Yunning and immediately launched into a complaint.

The little girl huffed with flushed cheeks. “Mommy, it was Xuan Yunzhao who said Daddy’s hat didn’t look good on me. That’s why I didn’t want to wait for him.”

Yan Yunning pressed her hand to her forehead, not even knowing where to begin. Before Xuan Xixi had left for the office that morning, he had picked out a brown tie and asked her to knot it for him.

She had chosen a blue gradient dress for their daughter, and Xuan Xixi had gone ahead and paired it with a beret matching the style of her own trench coat. It wasn’t that Jiaojiao looked bad in it.

It was just that she had genuinely never seen anyone pair a blue dress with a brown beret before.

There was nothing to be done about it. Xuan Xixi had a habit, every so often, of wanting to coordinate his outfit with hers in matching tones. And when he wanted to match her color palette, their daughter had no choice but to go along with it.

“Mommy~” The little girl’s long lashes fluttered slightly. Her rosy little lips were pursed, her head bowed as she fidgeted with her little fingers — the picture of someone who had suffered a great wrong.

Xuan Yanyu was completely at the mercy of this act. If Xuan Yanyu were here, he’d probably be beside himself with worry.

“Mom~ my~”

Yan Yunning looked down at the little chubby one who had mastered the same move as his sister — identical pout, identical fidgeting fingers — and closed her eyes in exasperation.

“He said it first,” the little girl muttered, lips turning down.

Yan Yunning looked between the two children with a throbbing headache and ultimately made her decision. “When we get home, we’ll let Daddy settle this for both of you.”