Quite inappropriately, after Chen Die finished speaking, the man beside her who had called Lin Quan “aunt” burst out laughing.

Lin Quan’s anger was interrupted by him. Before she could say anything, Chen Shuyuan had cleaned the coffee from her face and hair and came forward sniffling and sobbing, “Mom, let’s go. Don’t argue with someone like her.”

Chen Die almost wanted to applaud her.

The way she cried, like a pear blossom drenched in spring rain, looking wronged yet understanding—she was truly an actress in her own right.

Lin Quan put her arm around Chen Shuyuan’s shoulders and left without giving Chen Die another glance.

Chen Die watched their retreating figures and let out a gentle sigh.

She called a server to clean up the spilled coffee on the floor, apologized, and when she returned to get her bag, that man was still there.

Chen Die then took a serious look at him.

He wore a formal suit, but not rigidly so. It conveyed an expensive casualness while also displaying a somewhat rakish air.

Noticing Chen Die looking at him, the man turned his head, “My name is Chen Shao.”

Chen Die had no interest in any of the Chen family members and nodded faintly.

Chen Shao said, “That princess is quite annoying, isn’t she?”

“…”

Chen Die understood he was referring to Chen Shuyuan.

He continued, “Her mother too. Just two idiots who think they’re princesses.”

Chen Die pushed open the door and walked out of the coffee shop, with him following.

The sunlight was blinding. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and turned to look at him, “Thank you for earlier.”

“No need to thank me,” he said casually. “After all, you are technically my cousin by blood.”

“…”

Chen Die truly wondered if there was something wrong with this cousin’s brain.

“Where are you going now? Do you need me to give you a ride?” He was quickly becoming familiar.

Unfortunately, Chen Die’s personality was cold, “No need.”

After saying this, she walked in the opposite direction, not bothering to call her driver. She hailed a taxi and went directly back to the villa in the western suburbs.

Getting into the taxi.

Chen Die sat in the back seat, her forehead against the window, watching the scenery flash by outside.

Her expression was quiet and focused. Some things had happened too long ago; thinking about them now no longer felt difficult to accept.

After being adopted by her foster parents and taken to a small town, Chen Die never felt that they treated her badly when she was little. Though there was no doting, they were decent, yet they very readily “sold” her to the Chen family.

On the final day she was taken away, Chen Die looked at the family photo of the three of them hanging on the wall of the old house, said nothing, and left with the Chen family people.

On one side were foster parents who didn’t want her because of money.

On the other side were biological parents she had never met who only solved problems with money.

Deep down, Chen Die didn’t want to go with either side.

Arriving in Yan City, she walked out of the station and saw tall skyscrapers reaching into the clouds and intertwining overpasses—things she had never seen before.

Prosperity and coldness were her first impressions of this city.

Her second impression was Wen Liang.

That suddenly appearing arrogant, flamboyant youth who stood before her like a deity.

He asked, will you come with me?

Chen Die nodded without hesitation.

The driver drove the car into the western suburb villa area and stopped at the entrance.

Chen Die thanked him and got out. As she pushed open the door, Auntie Zhang was making dinner. Besides the smell of food, there was a sweet fruit fragrance mixed with a milky aroma that stimulated the taste buds.

“Oh, miss is back!” Auntie Zhang turned and saw her, quickly coming out from the kitchen, wiping her flour-covered hands. “Do you want dinner now…”

She paused, suddenly walking quickly over to take Chen Die’s hand, “What happened? Why is there so much blood?”

Chen Die only then realized her hand was injured.

It must have been when Lin Quan pushed her and her palm scraped against the picture frame on the coffee shop wall.

At that moment, her emotions had been so turbulent that she hadn’t even noticed she was injured during the whole journey home. Crimson blood had stained half her palm.

Auntie Zhang frowned deeply and quickly went to the storage room to get the first aid kit.

“Come, let me bandage this first, so it doesn’t get infected.”

Chen Die pulled out a chair and sat down beside her.

Auntie Zhang handled it skillfully, gently blowing on the wound while disinfecting it with alcohol, and finally taking out a roll of gauze from the first aid kit.

“We don’t need gauze, Auntie Zhang. It’s not that serious,” Chen Die said.

“It needs to be wrapped.” Auntie Zhang’s attitude was unusually firm. “Otherwise, if it touches something, it might get infected. The bandage also provides some waterproofing.”

Chen Die looked up at her.

She was approaching 50, neglected her appearance, had many wrinkles around her eyes, and her hair tips showed an unhealthy yellow. She was focused on wrapping the gauze around Chen Die’s palm, her thick side-swept bangs covering half her eyes.

Chen Die was silent for a moment, “You’re quite skillful at bandaging.”

Auntie Zhang smiled, “My son was always getting into trouble when he was little, bumping into things every day. I was always patching him up.”

“How old is he?”

“Older than you. He’s still in graduate school.” As Auntie Zhang said this, pride surfaced on her face. “I don’t know who he takes after. Neither his father nor I graduated from middle school, but he just kept studying up.”

Chen Die smiled, “He’s smart.”

She sniffed, looking toward the kitchen, “What are you making in the kitchen?”

Auntie Zhang put away the first aid kit and went to the kitchen to bring her a piece, of apple pie. Try it.”

It was flaky pastry sprinkled with sesame seeds, and coated with a layer of golden egg wash. When broken in half, there were butter-infused apple pieces inside, with a sweet fragrance.

“I didn’t know you could make this.”

Chen Die took a bite, and some of the warm flaky crust fell. She quickly cupped her hand beneath to catch it.

“It’s my first time making it.”

Auntie Zhang scratched her hair, somewhat embarrassed, “My younger daughter said she wanted to eat it, but we don’t have an oven at home, so I thought I’d make it here.”

Chen Die quickly finished one piece on her plate, “It’s delicious.”

Auntie Zhang smiled, “Luckily I made plenty. I’ll pack some for you to have as a snack.”

“No need, take it all to your daughter. I’m on a diet and can’t eat such sweet things,” Chen Die said.

“You’re so thin already, why diet?”

“I’m about to join a film crew. I need to be thinner to look good on camera.”

This was the first time Auntie Zhang had heard about her filming a movie. Her eyes widened, and she quickly smiled again, “That’s amazing.”

Chen Die glanced at the time, “You should go deliver it to your daughter now.”

Auntie Zhang agreed repeatedly, took off her apron, and packed the apple pies from the kitchen into boxes, but still left one box for Chen Die.

As she came out of the kitchen, she received a phone call from her daughter.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. You little devil, you’re like a debt collector. There’s a perfectly good cafeteria at school, but you insist on apple pie.” Auntie Zhang complained while unable to suppress a smile. “I’m on my way, aren’t I? I’ll make sure you get it while it’s still warm.”

Auntie Zhang hung up, said goodbye to Chen Die, and left.

Chen Die watched her retreating figure, then couldn’t resist taking another piece of apple pie.

Dinner was already set on the table with two place settings.

Wen Liang hadn’t returned yet.

They didn’t often have dinner together in the past. Most of the time, Wen Liang came back very late, sometimes having already eaten outside.

But today, for some reason, Chen Die didn’t want it to be like that.

The spacious living room was silent. Even the warm apple pie scent in the air gradually dissipated. There was only her at the rectangular dining table.

She suddenly felt extremely restless.

With her right hand wrapped in gauze, it was inconvenient to hold things. She took out her phone from her bag and dialed Wen Liang’s number.

After two rings, he picked up.

All these years, whenever Chen Die called him, he would never speak first after answering but would wait for Chen Die to speak.

“When are you coming back?”

Wen Liang laughed, his tone casual, “Missing me?”

Chen Die pressed down hard on the corner of her lip, sitting at the dining table, raising her hand to press against her eyelids, and made a very soft “mm” sound.

“I’ll be late today. Don’t wait for me,” he said.

Chen Die made another “mm” sound and hung up.

She stared at the food on the dining table listlessly for a while. The dishes were exquisite, but suddenly she didn’t want to eat at all.

That feeling, hard to define as either restlessness or disgust, rose to her throat.

In the end, she dug out a package of instant noodles she had casually picked up at the supermarket, added hot water, and took it upstairs.

The western suburbs had a good environment with no tall buildings. Looking out, she could see the distant lights illuminating the boundless, quiet night.

When she woke up again, it was already ten at night, and there was no one beside her.

Before sleeping, she had eaten another piece of apple pie and forgotten to brush her teeth. Now her throat felt uncomfortable, coated with sweetness.

Chen Die got up, brushed her teeth, and rinsed her mouth, then went downstairs for a bottle of cold water.

The icy water flowed down her throat, finally washing away the sticky feeling, much more comfortable.

Lying back in bed.

Chen Die suddenly remembered what Lin Quan had said during the day.

—”Chen Die, I hope you understand that you are not a member of our Chen family. My only daughter is Yuanyuan.”

Although Chen Die never considered Lin Quan as her mother, she didn’t know what was wrong with herself. She just suddenly felt it was all so meaningless.

Being brought to Yan City by the Chen family and causing such a commotion was meaningless.

Fighting with Chen Shuyuan for so many years was meaningless.

Continuing to be with Wen Liang also seemed meaningless.

The day after tomorrow was the graduation ceremony, which also marked the expiration date of their contract.

Chen Die wasn’t sure if Wen Liang still remembered that contract, but she could roughly guess that if she didn’t bring it up, Wen Liang probably wouldn’t mention it either.

To Wen Liang, she was an attractive enough vase, with a personality that matched his. She wouldn’t restrict him or demand more from him, so it was suitable to keep her by his side.

But none of this had anything to do with liking or loving.

With Wen Liang’s personality, he seemed born incapable of loving anyone.

The closer the contract expiration date came, the more frequent her inner wavering became.

That day Wen Liang took her to eat after leaving the police station, and that day when they sat on the steps listening to the concert Wen Liang’s softened profile, and how he specifically had someone investigate Xu Zhiran for raising his hand to her.

All these things had made Chen Die waver.

Thinking that maybe after a few more years, perhaps Wen Liang would truly come to like her.

But her proud nature had been shaped by Wen Liang himself, and it was precisely this pride that made Chen Die decide to leave him.

Chen Die lay in bed, able to smell the faint scent of shampoo on Wen Liang’s pillow beside her, surrounding her.

Chen Die turned over, facing away.

This was when Wen Liang returned.

The sound of a car being locked came from downstairs, and soon the bedroom door was opened.

He didn’t turn on the light but walked to the bedside. The bed sank, followed by a warmth enveloping Chen Die from behind, his arm around her waist.

“Have you showered?” Chen Die asked.

“You’re still awake.” Wen Liang touched her face.

He had originally worried that showering now would wake Chen Die, but seeing she was still awake, he got up and walked into the bathroom.

He quickly finished showering and came out.

The mattress sank again.

Wen Liang leaned down, his now somewhat heated lips kissing her repeatedly, his fingers playing with her ear, his movements tantalizing.

In such matters, Wen Liang had always been in absolute control.

“Wen Liang.”

Chen Die turned her head to avoid his lips.

Looking into his eyes in the darkness, she said slowly, “Do you still remember that contract we signed the year I finished the college entrance exam?”