These words touched the most vulnerable spot in Lin Yuqing's heart.

If it were in her usual temperament, she would have wanted to rush up and grab the woman by the neck, slapping her hard across the face several times.

Or, like with Xia Yubing, let Ayi and the others do the dirty work, and be as ruthless as they can.

But she can't do it now.

Lin Yuqing took several deep breaths, trying to stop her body from trembling slightly, and then looked at her calmly.

“Don’t say that,” she said softly. “You’ve raised her for twenty years, you deserve to be called ‘Mom’.”

Su Ai was stunned for a moment, then tears instantly fell. "But these twenty years, I stole them..."

The moment those words left her lips, it felt as if the heavy weight on their hearts had shattered simultaneously. Lin Yuqing struggled to breathe, desperately trying to suppress the urge to cry.

Su Ai finally let go of her resentment.

After twenty years, she can finally face this reality.

She asked herself, if she hadn't gotten this illness, if it weren't for the coincidence that Mianmian found her biological parents, would she really have been willing to let go?

The answer is definitely no.

She was just an ordinary person; she possessed both the brilliance and the darkness of humanity.

But now, she regrets it.

This illness is probably retribution. Even God couldn't stand her taking someone else's daughter, so He gave her a terminal illness. Once she dies, she will never be able to separate the mother and daughter again.

Su Ai silently shed tears, and the tea tasted unbearably bitter.

"I'm sorry..." she said to Lin Yuqing, "I'm really sorry!"

Lin Yuqing felt a buzzing in her ears and clenched her fists again, trembling slightly.

Not every "I'm sorry" can be met with "It's okay." One "I'm sorry" cannot fill the void of twenty years of separation between mother and daughter, nor can it make up for the pain she has endured for twenty years.

But now, besides saying sorry, what else can Su Aiqian say to her?

Lin Yuqing smiled bitterly. Actually, this woman wasn't a bad person. At least she could apologize to her.

At least, they got their daughter back to her.

"Don't be like this." Lin Yuqing pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. "This is not your fault. If you and your husband hadn't taken Xiaoyouzi away, she would have died in that shipwreck."

"But in the end, it was still our fault..."

“Sister Su,” Lin Yuqing hesitated for a moment, her outstretched hand ultimately not landing on the back of Su’s hand, but withdrawing it, “Could you tell me…about your daughter’s childhood?”

Su Ai paused for a moment, sniffed, and held back her tears.

She began to recall Jiang Mianmian's growth process from childhood to adulthood.

When will they be able to speak clearly? When will they be able to eat with a spoon by themselves? When will they be able to run and jump? When will they start kindergarten, primary school, and middle school?

She was flustered when she got her first period; she gave all the money to her mother when she received her first scholarship.

When she received her first love letter from a boy, she was both shy and scared, and secretly threw away the pink letter.

Su Aiqian recounted these things as if they were her own treasures, remembering every single little detail clearly.

However, the clearer she remembered, the more uncomfortable Lin Yuqing felt.

These are things that she and her daughter should have experienced...

"It seems you really treat her well," Lin Yuqing said with a smile. "You wouldn't treat your own daughter any better."

Su Ai suddenly stopped, opened her mouth, and after a long while, stammered out the question: "Will you... forgive me?"

Lin Yuqing's heart tightened.

She paused for a moment, then said honestly, "I'm sorry, I can't completely forgive you."

Su Ai was startled, her eyes dimming.

This time, Lin Yuqing gently placed her hand on the back of her hand, looked into her eyes, and said slowly and deliberately, "But I still want to thank you."

"Thank you for treating my daughter so well, thank you... for saving her life."

Su Ai looked at her in surprise, but before she could say anything, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her body.

She immediately bent over, her face pale, large beads of sweat sliding down her face.

*

Jiang Mianmian brought You Huan to her office.

At this moment, Lu Ran was in the drawing room discussing design issues with several colleagues.

Jiang Mianmian closed the door, then remembered that a big star needs to protect her privacy, so she quickly lowered the blinds.

She even made the coffee herself, not letting anyone in or interfering.

This thoughtfulness made You Huan feel embarrassed.

She took off her sunglasses, and her beautiful big eyes looked at Jiang Mianmian with a sincere smile.

"I sensed something special about you downstairs!" Jiang Mianmian sat opposite her, smiling at her like a devoted fan. "These past few days, female celebrities have been coming to discuss becoming spokespeople for the film studio. I didn't expect you to be here today! By the way, who did your agent talk to?"

"Oh, no, no!" You Huan quickly waved her hand. "I'm so sorry, I didn't come here for the spokesperson thing."

"Why is that?"

“Because…” You Huan bit her lip.

You can't exactly say you came because you wanted to see her!

However, this trip was definitely worthwhile. As soon as she met Jiang Mianmian, she immediately understood why Wen Jie had chosen her as his girlfriend.

If it were her, she would also like Jiang Mianmian.

And we must pamper her and cherish her, never letting such a good girl suffer any injustice.

You Huan curled her lips and casually made up an excuse: "I... I didn't have any work today, I just went out for a stroll. I ended up at Lu's Group, so I came in to take a look."

Jiang Mianmian asked curiously, "What's so interesting about the Lu family's property?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!