“Your father and I both heard it. Su Su said that Nannan looks like her when she was little. That’s utter nonsense!”

Xue He snorted angrily, as if her granddaughter had been inexplicably dragged into this woman's affair, like a toad crawling on her feet, disgusting!

Why would she say such a thing? Jiang Wanqing's brows furrowed even more deeply.

"It's okay, hurry up and eat. Take a couple of days to rest. Mom will help you enroll in school. You'll make new friends and integrate into the new environment here, and you'll soon forget about those unhappy things."

It's not good to say too much in front of children. Jiang Wanqing gently rubbed her daughter's head, and the little girl nodded.

"Thank you, Mom."

"You don't need to say thank you to Mom, just eat."

She put a lot of meat into her daughter's bowl. The child was growing and needed to eat more to replenish her nutrition and energy.

That night, Jiang Wanqing was so tired that she couldn't help but close her eyes as soon as her head hit the pillow. Sleepiness washed over her. Cheng Ran quietly lay down behind her, turned off the light, hugged her, and kissed her cheek.

"You've worked hard, good night."

"Okay, goodnight."

Jiang Wanqing slept soundly for the first half of the night, but in the second half, a cool breeze blew in from the window, and she began to dream again in a daze...

She dreamt that Jiang Xiu was homeless on the streets in that cold winter, fighting with dogs for food, being chased away like a rat crossing the street, wearing tattered clothes that couldn't even be covered by patches, her toes showing through her shoes, her fingers and feet covered in frostbite, and her face red and sore from frostbite.

Jiang Xiu suddenly turned her head, a piece of spoiled steamed bun dangling from her mouth, and looked at Jiang Wanqing, staggering closer step by step.

"Hahaha... Are you happy to see me like this? Jiang Wanqing! I'll never forgive you, you'd better die!"

Jiang Xiu threw away the steamed bun in her hand, suddenly pounced on Jiang Wanqing and grabbed her by the neck with force, her face contorted in a ferocious expression.

"Die...die...die!"

"Ah...cough cough...let go..."

It hurts so much, I feel so suffocated, I can't breathe. Jiang Wanqing clutched her neck with both hands, as if she were possessed by something. Cheng Ran was awakened by her movements. When he opened his eyes, he saw this strange scene. She was choking herself, her face red from suffocation.

"Wanqing, wake up! Let go!"

He quickly grabbed her hand, trying to force her to let go, but she was incredibly strong in the dream. Cheng Ran used all his strength but couldn't get her to let go. Helpless, he could only open the window, letting the cold wind blow in, and then pinch her arm.

"I'm sorry, Wanqing, wake up!"

He frowned deeply, and the next instant, Jiang Wanqing, like a drowning person, suddenly opened her eyes, soaking wet, and gasped for breath.

"Huff... Ah... Huff..."

She sat up, and Cheng Ran, holding her hand, breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

"What...what's wrong with me?" Jiang Wanqing turned her neck. "I just dreamt that someone was choking me, trying to kill me. I was resisting, I...ouch...it felt so real, it hurt so much..."

She cried out in pain. Once Cheng Ran was sure she wouldn't do anything foolish again, he let go of her hand and sat down with one leg bent.

"No one is pinching you, you're pinching yourself the whole time. Are you having another nightmare? Did you dream about Jiang Xiu again?"

He could already guess what she was dreaming about; it was pretty much the same. Every time she acted strangely, it was always related to the woman who almost caused her tragic death. Perhaps this was a shadow of her past.

She swallowed hard, raised her hand to look at it, and muttered to herself, "Pinching myself? How could that be..."

She could hardly believe it. Cheng Ran looked at her seriously and nodded solemnly.

"I'm telling the truth, you just startled me."

"I...I did dream about Jiang Xiu. She's haunting me, and she still wants to fight me to the death." Jiang Wanqing pursed her lips; they were so dry that it was almost difficult for her to open them. She looked at Cheng Ran, "How's the matter you helped me investigate going? Any news?"

"Several days have passed. I'll call and ask tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Cheng Ran naturally prioritized her affairs, but since he was here, the investigation had to be handled by a reliable and trustworthy person, so he could only wait.

"Okay, go to sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow." Jiang Wanqing took a deep breath.

"I'll watch you sleep first. Aren't you going to the factory for a review tomorrow?"

He spoke gently, watched her lie down, and covered her with the blanket. He didn't dare to sleep until she was settled in, in case something else happened.

She felt a little guilty, but this wasn't the time to back down. She gave a hoarse, muffled "Mmm," snuggled closer to him, and reassured him.

"That way I won't have nightmares anymore. I believe that with your righteous spirit protecting me, no demons or evil spirits can get close to me."

"If only that were true," Cheng Ran sighed, reaching out to wrap his arms around her and gently patting her back.

She slowly drifted back to sleep, and slept quite soundly for the remaining few hours. When she woke up the next day, Cheng Ran was still beside her, and she rubbed her eyes.

"Why are you still here? Aren't you going to work? You don't need to take care of me..."

Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Ran silenced her with a kiss.

“Taking care of you is another job for me, and as long as it doesn’t affect my work, I have no problem doing it.”

"But you today..."

"Don't worry, I'll go to work right away."

Cheng Ran patted her head. Jiang Wanqing opened her mouth to apologize, feeling that she had been holding him back lately. But if she said it, they would inevitably have to argue again, so she gave up and instead sped up her actions, getting out of bed, putting on her shoes, and getting ready in one go.

Today, her main task was to review yesterday's events with Yang Chang so that they could learn from them later. Without any outside interference, she worked very efficiently and finished early, then went home.

In a couple of days, Nannan will be going back to school. While there's still time, Jiang Wanqing wants to spend more time with her child. She knows the educational resources in the Southwest better than in Beijing, so she'll be teaching her child herself from now on.

After doing these things, the day passed quickly. When Cheng Ran returned, he brought her news about Jiang Xiu as expected...

As soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Jianguo and Xue He. After thinking for a moment, he decided it would be better to avoid them in this matter. He exchanged a glance with Jiang Wanqing, who immediately understood. She made an excuse to go out to buy something, and the two of them left the courtyard.

As soon as they went outside, Cheng Ran took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Wanqing.

"Everything you want to know is in here, but let me remind you first, once you've read this, it'll be over. Don't overthink it, okay?"