“Su Qingcheng, I demand an explanation!” The man’s heart felt as free as a grassy field now. He had spent several years waiting miserably for this woman…

The man seemed like he had endured for an excruciatingly long time.

His heart was plagued by various unpleasant feelings since the night Su Qingcheng took Mu Chenyan in and allowed her to stay at her place. That was how Shao Yibai discovered Su Shaoan’s existence.

He had drunk alcohol today. Whether Su Qingcheng was willing to see him or not, he had blocked off the entrance to her home to get an explanation from her.

Shao Yibai was actually a good drinker. He could actually drink up a thousand cups of liquor without getting drunk. He had gotten drunk during the two years when he was fooling around in Capital City, but there were very few people who could get him intoxicated.

He had drowned his sorrows in alcohol today.

Su Qingcheng never expected that Su Shaoan’s existence would upset Shao Yibai so much.

She allowed Shao Yibai to lean on her as she led him inside and poured him a cup of tea.

Both of them looked straight at each other. The man’s sharp gaze seemed like it could penetrate everything. Su Qingcheng could not hide from his unrelenting demeanor.

Both of them had fought, slept together, experienced the most intimate things with each other, and remembered their past together during the days they had spent in Luo Hai. Su Qingcheng’s heart was not made of stone. When she was faced with the man she had once loved so deeply, she was worried that she would not be able to restrain herself and fall back into his arms again.

The woman closed her eyes. In a trembling voice, she said, “I told you before that I’m married… The child’s father…”

Su Qingcheng wanted to continue lying, but she was actually afraid of Shao Yibai’s persistence.

“I know that you’re lying! I f*cking believed you when you told me this the last time, but Li Ji has explained everything to me. Stop using that innocent face to fool me!”

The man slouched on the sofa with the floral countryside pattern in Su Qingcheng’s house. He crossed his legs and cast a sidelong glance at the embarrassed woman.

“Will you believe me if I tell you that I adopted the boy?” Li Ji had previously promised not to reveal An An’s origins to anyone else. He had kept his word on this matter.

Su Qingcheng knew that it was impossible for her to hide this anymore.

There had never been any misunderstandings between her and Shao Yibai. They had never spoken to each other in a roundabout manner. She did not want the truth about An An to be a thorn in Shao Yibai’s side.

Shao Yibai seemed slightly reluctant to believe this. Deep down, he was hoping that the little boy was his own son.

Su Shaoan really resembled Shao Yibai when he was younger. Although he knew that the possibility was extremely small, he still harbored some hope in his heart. He purposely took several strands of the boy’s hair to do a DNA test.

He was very disappointed by the results because the boy was not his son.

Nonetheless, he was slightly relieved to hear that the boy was adopted. He was not his son, but this could at least prove that Su Qingcheng was still his woman after all these years.

He would not believe her lie about being married.

Shao Yibai would kill any man who touched the woman he had slept with.

Shao Yibai’s eyes lit up as though he had just glimpsed a ray of hope. Su Qingcheng hurriedly said, “Big Brother Shao, you should stop thinking of me. I’m living a happy life with this child now.”

Su Qingcheng was too afraid to meet Shao Yibai’s gaze. She continued, “I’m sure that you already know the reason why I left Capital City. It would be too selfish for us to get married. I wouldn’t want the Shao Family’s bloodline to end simply because of me…”

Shao Yibai pursed his thin lips tightly and narrowed his eyes. His expression showed that he did not care for what she had to say.

His handsome face darkened further when Su Qingcheng mentioned that they needed to sever their ties with each other in the future.

“Would you believe me if I said that I didn’t care?” said Shao Yibai firmly. He realized that she was still using the fact that could not have children of their own as an excuse for them to not be together.

Su Qingcheng laughed bitterly. “You’d be an unfilial son if you deny your parents of grandchildren. You may not care, but your parents do!”

“Children come in many forms. When you raise them from when they’re young until they’ve become an adult, they would’ve become your children whether they’re related to you by blood or not. I didn’t make this child, but I’ll be his adopted father in the future!”

Shao Yibai thought about this from a different perspective. This was an opportunity for him to reveal his true intentions while on the topic of the kid. He had no qualms about adopting this child and making him his heir.

Su Qingcheng was speechless.

“No matter what you say, that child still needs a father. I may have arrived out of the blue, but you should definitely allow me to fill that position immediately.”

Shao Yibai spoke sincerely. Su Qingcheng was at a loss. She wondered whether he was actually drunk or not. His mind seemed to be working soundly, and he had clearly come with a goal in his mind. It looked like he had not come here simply to criticize her.

Su Qingcheng felt as though she had fallen for his tricks.

She had wanted to console him and make it clear to him that he should not involve himself in her life anymore. How did she wind up finding a father for her son?

He had cornered Su Qingcheng. The man savored his first victory gleefully.

His expression gradually relaxed and looked more handsome. The man rose from the sofa and embraced Su Qingcheng. A smile hung on the corners of his lips. “I’ll take you back to Capital City once the matter with Yuan Xuan is settled. Our parents won’t find out that this child isn’t ours if we don’t tell them. He’s so cute that our parents will probably love him very much once they’ve seen him.”

Su Qingcheng was so stunned that she could not reply. She recalled the promise she had already made to Mr. and Mrs. Shao. What would they think if they saw her in Capital City again?

Would they think that she got together with Shao Yibai again because she had finished spending the one million yuan that they gave her?

A foreboding chill rose in the depths of Su Qingcheng’s heart. The Shao couple would probably be as equally disappointed to see her back in Capital City as they were hoping to see her pack and go in the beginning.

She felt slightly regretful for coming to Luo Hai. It had made her desire certain things.

She would never have returned to Capital City if she had not seen Shao Yibai.

“Alright, you should return to Capital City first and tell your parents about this beforehand. After that, you can bring me and my son over…”

Su Qingcheng knew that Shao Yibai would never let this matter go even if they continued to argue. She realized that it was better to please him.

Shao Yibai was pleasantly surprised when he heard the warm tone in Su Qingcheng’s voice. He was obviously unaware that this was merely her strategy to buy time.

After all, she had always been very much against the idea of going back before this. The man was satisfied after getting this bit of consolation.

They had previously shared a bed, but the woman refused to let him enter her house now. At least he had managed to make some progress this time as she had partially yielded.

“Xiaodai, please wait for me to return. Yuan Xuan needs me to go back to Capital City to work with him. You need to stay here and help him take care of Mu Chenyan. Once everything is over, I’ll send someone from Capital City to come and get you.”

Su Qingcheng nodded.

*

Capital City

Shao Yibai returned to fight alongside his father and suppressed Yuan Tangzhong’s followers who were deployed to Capital City.

The first piece of information that Yuan Xuan had provided Shao Yibai allowed him to instantly capture all of the criminals who had managed to slip away from the old incident in Xi Fan. As this mission was concerning national security, the higher authorities had supervised the investigation of this matter in secret.

Once Shao Yibai had settled everything here, he discovered that they were about to take action in Luo Hai very soon. He rushed back to Luo Hai immediately. During the Yuan Family’s banquet, he happened to watch Yuan Tangzhong suffer a terrible fall.

The situation in Luo Hai underwent drastic changes. Capital City had removed the henchmen around Yuan Tangzhong silently amd caused the second son of the Yuan Family to suffer a crushing defeat. It would be impossible for him to turn the tides again.

The incident at Xi Fan had finally been resolved at this point, and Yuan Tangbai’s soul in the afterlife could finally be at peace.

The next step was to counter Mu Chenwu. Yuan Xuan had deployed troops for this matter long ago. The elite soldiers from Capital City that Shao Jingshan had allocated for him for this operation would give their full cooperation to him. Shao Yibai was very confident in this operation.

Unfortunately, bad news arrived from Capital City at this time. Jiao Shuzhen wanted Shao Yibai to rush home because she was ill.

Frankly, Jiao Shuzhen had been the one to handle the major and minor matters at home while Shao Jingshan was working outstation all these years. It was no surprise that she had finally succumbed to illness after all these years.

Before Shao Yibai returned to Capital City, he repeated two things to Su Qingcheng. First, she needed to protect Mu Chenyan. Second, she had to wait for him to return.

Shao Yibai only dared to return to Capital City when Su Qingcheng agreed to his demands entirely. He never expected that Su Qingcheng would break both of her promises to him.

After cooperating with the search for Mu Chenyan when she went missing, she had submitted her resignation letter to Wu Huai on one sunny afternoon.

Wu Huai could not understand this at all. He underestimated Su Qingcheng when the young woman came to the major crimes department, but he realized through her performance that she was brave and skillful in battle during the later stages. She was calm and quiet, literally a perfect candidate for the criminal police force. Wu Huai wondered why she decided to resign so suddenly.

“Little Su, did you find a better job?”

It was rare for Wu Huai to say things like these and poke his nose into other people’s business. The man’s gloomy face was tinged with curiosity when he asked the question. He knew that she loved this job because he had seen it with his own eyes.

Su Qingcheng gave a faint smile and murmured, “No. I just want to leave Luo Hai for now”

Su Qingcheng handled the procedure to defer Su Shaoan’s studies. She packed some of their belongings and drove off on their journey.

Su Qingcheng was rather shocked when Mu Chenyan left. Her heart was troubled for a long time.

The two women had not known the other party for a long time, but they understood each other quite well.

Mu Chenyan hesitated for a long time, but she finally left after recognizing the love she held in her heart.

It was similar to when Su Qingcheng left Capital City. She did it not because she did not love him anymore, but it was because he had loved him too much and did not want to burden him.

She was in the same situation right now.

Jiao Shuzhen was rather shocked when she discovered that Shao Yibai encountered Su Qingcheng in Luo Hai by chance. She pretended to be sick so that Shao Yibai would come home while she sent someone to contact Su Qingcheng.

“Miss Su, the mistress has promised to give you a blank cheque if you need more money. You can write any amount you want. The Shao Family will definitely honor it as long as they can afford it. The only condition is that you must leave Luo Hai, Miss Su…”

The attitude of the lawyer wearing gold-rimmed glasses was acting strictly businesslike. Su Qingcheng forced a smile. “Attorney Liang, please tell Mrs. Shao that I was never the one who is in need of money. She doesn’t need to bribe me to leave Shao Yibai because I’ll do it on my own. I know that she’s doing this to show that she loves her son, but I love Shao Yibai in my own way as well.”

As Liang Heng had worked as a lawyer in Capital City for many years, he had settled disputes on behalf of numerous aristocratic families. When Jiao Shuzhen sent him here, he initially assumed that he was going to fight a tough battle with this poor woman.

He never imagined that this delicate and pretty woman before him was actually so iron-willed.

“Miss Su, since you’re willingly given up on him, please don’t appear in front of Mr. Shao ever again.” Liang Heng was not convinced. He added, “The Shao Family will help you erase your tracks once you’ve left Luo Hai.”

Su Qingcheng thanked him. The weather was a little chilly on the day she left Luo Hai. It resembled the weather on the day she first arrived there. Su Qingcheng glanced at the grey sky and remembered her nineteen-year-old self loving that man despite knowing all the risks to it, but that version of herself seemed so far away from where she was right now.

“Mom, where are we going?” Four-year-old Su Shaoan could already see through the emotions of adults.

His mother had been in a bad mood ever since that strange man came to their house.

Once they had packed their belongings, his mother drove in the southwest direction. Young An An had never seen the scenery they had passed throughout this journey before.

“We’re going somewhere that isn’t far away from Luo Hai. Some of the memories that I left behind are still there.” Su Qingcheng smiled. She knew that her son would not understand what she meant by the memories that she left behind. However, she was certain that a person like herself who resembled a parasitic mistletoe plant could only survive in a city where Shao Yibai had left his mark.