In the dimly lit room, Zhou Jing sat stiffly in a chair. Her deliberately well-maintained, fair and slender fingers were gently pinching the corner of the diary. The movement seemed elegant, but it was actually a bit stiff.

She slowly turned the pages, one by one, as if performing a reluctant ritual. The rustling sound of the papers rubbing against each other was amplified infinitely in the room, where time seemed to have stopped and you could hear a pin drop. Each sound was like a heavy hammer blow, striking everyone's heart and making them tremble.

In her diary, lines of neat handwriting, like the strokes of time, delicately record Xia Shuhua's ordinary yet warm moments in life. One page depicts a scene of her family sitting around a steaming table, celebrating a joyous holiday together.

In the photo, their cheeks are flushed with the festive cheer, their faces are beaming with smiles, and happiness shines in everyone's eyes.

That warm atmosphere seemed to have a physical presence, about to overflow from between the pages and infect everyone who saw it.

There are also records of the children's growth. The crooked handwriting describes the children's first unsteady steps when they learned to walk. Xia Shuhua's nervous yet joyful feelings at that time seem to come through the words. The soft and sweet voice when the children first called her "Mom" was also carefully preserved in her writing. Every stroke is full of a mother's deep, endless love.

"This is your diary. I found it by accident while cleaning Wanwan's room today and gave it to you."

Xia Shuyu stood aside and saw Zhou Jing flipping through the diary with a blank expression and wandering eyes. She was slightly taken aback and a sense of doubt welled up in her heart, like a stone being thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

However, she quickly regained her composure, a gentle smile on her face, and began to explain. Her gaze unconsciously fell on the diary, her thoughts drifting like a wild horse back to her childhood. Back then, her father, with a serious yet expectant expression, personally taught the three siblings to write diaries, instructing them to record the beauty and insights in life.

As she pondered this, she couldn't help but wonder why Shuhua seemed completely unfamiliar with her own diary entries and couldn't understand them at all.

"Oh...it's been a long time since I wrote anything, so I forgot about it." Zhou Jing's lips curled into a seemingly nonchalant smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Her tone was casual, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.

In her heart, she secretly calculated that she had known all along that Xia Shuhua had been living at her husband's house, and the diary in her hand was probably an old item from several years ago, with yellowed paper and somewhat blurry handwriting.

So when she casually said she forgot, it shouldn't arouse suspicion from others, after all, time can fade all memories.

However, Zhou Jing was completely absorbed in her own pretense and calculations, and did not notice at all that the moment she uttered those words, the Xia Xiong and Xia Shuyu sisters sitting next to her had a flash of undisguised surprise in their eyes.

That surprise, like a thunderclap hidden behind the clouds, was mixed with a hint of wariness.

Xia Shuqin has always been impatient, like a powder keg ready to explode. Seeing this, her brows furrowed instantly. Just as she was about to question her, Xia Shuyu, quick as a cheetah, reached out and grabbed her arm, giving it a squeeze. At the same time, she gave her a wink, signaling her not to act rashly.

Xia Shuyu suppressed her inner doubts and unease, concealing the probing look in her eyes as if nothing had happened.

She turned to Xia Xiong, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze, and said, "Dad, let's eat first. Shuhua has finally come back."

She knew perfectly well that the situation was already delicate and tense, and it was not advisable to cause any further complications. She had to stabilize the situation first to avoid triggering a larger conflict.

"Okay, let's eat." Xia Xiong's expression was complicated, a trace of loneliness flashed in his eyes, he nodded, and sighed heavily, his sigh full of helplessness and exhaustion.

He slowly turned around and walked towards the dining table with slightly heavy steps. His back was slightly hunched, as if the burdens of life had bent his spine, and every step revealed the vicissitudes of time.

Zhou Jing was completely oblivious to all these subtle changes around her, still immersed in her carefully woven disguise.

She forced a fake smile, a stiff and unnatural smile, like a mask stuck to her face, but her eyes remained icy cold, exuding an unfathomable chill that seemed to freeze the surrounding air.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I already said I wasn't coming. It was my dad who made the guards insist on calling me over."

As she spoke, she slowly sat down at the table, her movements deliberately slow and deliberate. She picked up the chopsticks, but just casually fiddled with them in her hand, the chopsticks twirling aimlessly between her fingertips. She had no intention of eating; she was just going through the motions.

"Hmph, pretentious." Xia Shuqin, who could never keep a secret, blurted out her thoughts like beans spilling from a bamboo tube. Seeing Zhou Jing's affected manner, she couldn't help but mutter under her breath.

Her voice was soft, but in this quiet environment where even breathing could be heard clearly, it was still clearly audible, like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

Zhou Jing seemed not to hear, not even lifting her eyelids, as if Xia Shuqin's words were nothing more than a passing breeze.

She looked up at Xia Xiong, a mocking smile curving her lips like a cold crescent moon, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Dad, why did you suddenly call me back for dinner? I don't know what important thing it is. We still can't get to the point. I've been very busy lately."

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