Pei Nian froze, as if the floodgates of her memory had been flung open in that instant. She thought that by leaving that place, she had also left the past behind, but the boy in front of her was like an inescapable shadow, shrouding her in the past she desperately wanted to escape.

She desperately tried to suppress her racing heartbeat, and fragmented memories surfaced in her mind.

Ding Cheng...

No, it shouldn't be.

Isn't that child named Aye?

The man lost money gambling when the boy was born. When he came home, he beat his wife, who had just given birth, saying that the child was there to collect a debt and was a karmic obstacle.

That's why he's called Ah Ye.

So... Ding Cheng belongs to someone else, right?

Yes, that must be it.

Everyone in the village has the surname Ding, so they might belong to someone else's family.

Pei Nian took two steps back, her fingers trembling slightly as she gripped the hem of her clothes.

The fierceness in Ding Cheng's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by an indescribable gentleness that seemed completely out of place with his rugged features.

He gave a wry smile. It turned out that she really didn't recognize him. It turned out that she had already erased this younger brother from her memory.

Yes, that past wasn't pleasant, so there's no need to keep it in your memory.

Ding Cheng took a step closer to her, then stepped back. He looked at her quietly, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes, and suddenly he laughed.

"Teacher, I don't come to class often, so it's normal that you don't recognize me."

"Oh..." Pei Nian slowly loosened her grip, chatting with him in as calm a tone as possible, "Why don't you come to class?"

"My family is poor and the school is far away, so sometimes I just don't come."

"Now that you have this opportunity, you should do your best and study hard."

"Yes, I definitely will." Ding Cheng smiled. "Whatever you say, I will do my best to do it."

Pei Nian smiled at him as well.

At this moment, Qin Yu called to her from the balcony on the second floor. Pei Nian waved, signaling Ding Cheng to hurry back to the hall.

"Teacher Pei."

Just as Pei Nian turned around, Ding Cheng called out to her softly, hesitatingly uttering those words, "You... take good care of yourself."

Pei Nian was taken aback, somewhat bewildered.

Ding Cheng smiled and said, "We have no relatives here, you are our only relative, so of course you have to take good care of yourself!"

“Okay!” Pei Nian nodded and hurriedly returned to the banquet hall.

Although she still had doubts about Ding Cheng, she didn't have time to think about it at the moment.

The banquet was filled with social engagements. Huo Jingnan had many friends, and even more people were trying to curry favor with the Huo family. Everyone was very curious about Young Master Nan's girlfriend.

Pei Nian smiled helplessly, then stood gracefully beside Huo Jingnan.

Huo Jingnan was pleasantly surprised, as he thought Pei Nian would stay far away in this kind of situation.

"I will always stand by your side from now on," Pei Nian whispered to him, "because... I want to stand with you for the rest of my life."

Huo Jingnan and she held hands lightly, the two of them a perfect couple, attracting countless eyes.

After the social engagements came to an end, Huo Jingnan was just about to go to the courtyard with Pei Nian for some alone time when he saw Fan Yawen walking gracefully towards them.

Huo Jingnan tried to cover his face with a plate, pretending not to see, but his mother caught him red-handed.

"What, you're running away as soon as you see me? You think you're all grown up now!"

"mom……"

"You call yourself my son! You heartless brat!"

Pei Nian walked over with a smile and nodded slightly, "Hello, Auntie."

Fan Yawen tidied her hair, adopting the haughty demeanor of a golden peacock, and glanced at Pei Nian before replying after five seconds, "Hmm, you too."

Then she noticed that Pei Nian's fingers were bare, without any jewelry.

Huo Jingnan reacted quickly and knew how to read his mother's expression, so he immediately made an excuse for Pei Nian, "Mom, it's not that Nian doesn't want to wear the ring you gave her, it's just that the ring is too big and her fingers are too thin, so I don't think it suits the occasion today. Besides, Nian cherishes that ring very much and keeps it carefully in her drawer, and she doesn't take it out easily!"

Fan Ya-wen glanced at her son again, pursed her lips, and said, "I didn't say anything, why are you rambling on and on?"

"I……"

"I know you young people don't like that style!"

"No, Auntie!" Pei Nian quickly explained, "I really like it..."

"If you don't like it, just have this kid buy you a new one!" Fan Ya-wen laughed. "Buy as many as you want!"

Huo Jingnan and Pei Nian were both stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and smiled.

Fan Yawen stepped forward and took Pei Nian's hand, her eyes full of affection for her daughter-in-law.

"Our Niannian is still the most capable! This charity project is a great success. Although it was planned by President Qin, you, as the behind-the-scenes promoter, deserve much credit!"

"Auntie, you flatter me."

"Is it really that good?" Huo Jingnan stared at his mother with wide eyes, as if she were an alien. "You used to dislike it..."

"What do you mean, 'I don't like it'?" Fan Yawen's eyes widened even more. "I really don't like you, you brat!"

Huo Jingnan was speechless, but Huo Junyu, who was not far away, saw this scene and smiled as he mouthed to him, "This is a family tradition!"

Elders often find fault with their daughters-in-law or sons-in-law at first, but eventually they all succumb to the "it's actually good" phenomenon.

“Niannian, let me tell you, when you pick a ring, you absolutely have to pick the expensive one! This kid used to get a stipend in the army, and it was quite a lot! He's usually stingy and saves it all up, so you have to take this opportunity to squeeze some out of him!”

Huo Jingnan was utterly despondent, "Mom..."

Pei Nian couldn't stop smiling.

Huo Junyu came over and asked Pei Nian to take care of Jiang Mianmian, as he and Huo Jingnan had some friends to attend to.

"Okay," Pei Nian immediately agreed. "Where is my sister?"

“She’s in the mother and baby room,” Huo Junyu said with a light laugh. “Little Yuan Yuan wanted to drink milk and was a little fussy, so Mianmian took her there to breastfeed. After she’s full, she’ll probably take a nap there.”

Pei Nian was worried that Jiang Mianmian would be too busy, so she quickly ran to the mother and baby room.

Jiang Mianmian had already fed the baby. After the little princess burped contentedly, she nestled on her mother's shoulder, feeling sleepy. Before long, her eyelids began to droop.

Jiang Mianmian continued to coax her to sleep, carefully placing her on the small bed next to her before straightening up and massaging her shoulders.

"You must be exhausted?" Pei Nian went behind her and gently massaged her. "Being a mother is really hard. How long will it take you to carry her like this?"

"Actually, when I think about it, I won't be able to hold her for very long," Jiang Mianmian said with a smile. "When I think about the future when she can run and jump and no longer needs me to hold her, I actually feel quite lost."

At that moment, the doorknob moved slightly, and Pei Nian suddenly became alert. She told Jiang Mianmian to watch the child and then tiptoed to the door.

She didn't see anything through the peephole, but when she turned around, the doorknob moved slightly again.

Pei Nian couldn't help but shout, "Who is it?"

After a moment of silence, the sound of the doorknob turning turned into a polite knock. "Teacher Pei, is that you inside?"