Shen Linyue lowered her eyes and fiddled with her phone for a while before He Liyu came out.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft glow on him, making him difficult to see clearly.

"Ah Yue," he said with a smile, his gaze seemingly fixed solely on her, "your performance was brilliant."

Shen Linyue raised her small, palm-sized face with a gentle smile, looked him over, and then said, "I thought you wouldn't make it in time."

He Liyu's eyes held an apology: "Sorry I'm late. I'll take you out for something delicious to celebrate the end of your performance."

The two of them, oblivious to their surroundings, completely ignored He Xiao, who was still standing to the side. He glanced at the two of them with displeasure, and stopped at He Liyu's face.

"What? Did I disturb you two? Do you need me to leave?" He curled his lips in a sarcastic tone.

He Liyu then looked at him, his smile unchanged: "Your performance as the black wizard was also excellent. I didn't expect you to have such talent."

He Xiao was taken aback, then looked away somewhat nonchalantly, coughing lightly while covering his mouth: "Do you even need to tell me that? Let's go."

He turned around, slung his bag over his shoulder, and left.

Shen Linyue watched her eldest son's retreating figure with a smile and whispered to He Liyu.

"Our Ah Xiao is a shy big boy."

He Liyu looked down at her, smiling but saying nothing.

Whether or not one participates in the afternoon's activities is unimportant, but Shen Linyue has never participated before.

After having lunch at a famous private restaurant, they took He Liyu and He Xiao to browse the stalls set up at the school.

She didn't buy any necessities, but Chen Linyue didn't miss out on any food.

He Xiao, who had been accompanying her all the way, couldn't help but look at her flat stomach.

"How come you won't burst from eating so much? I haven't seen your mouth stop moving."

Shen Linyue stuffed a takoyaki into her mouth, puffed out her cheeks, and glared back defiantly.

"Can't you be a competitive eater?"

“…Awesome.” He Xiao gave her a thumbs up.

Watching the interaction between the mother and son, He Liyu, who was following behind, felt a tenderness in his eyes that almost materialized.

...

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when we got back to the villa.

After He Xiao returned, he went straight upstairs. Shen Linyue also wanted to go up, but He Liyu, who was standing at the door, called her down.

"Ah Yue, I have something I want to tell you, is it a good time?"

Shen Linyue paused, turned around to look at He Liyu who hadn't come in yet, and blinked: "It's convenient, what's wrong?"

"Come here." Hearing her response, He Liyu walked over and sat down on the sofa.

Shen Linyue was puzzled, but she still walked over and picked up an imported orange from the fruit bowl to peel.

"What do you want to say to me?" Shen Linyue asked.

It doesn't seem to be anything particularly important, otherwise He Liyu wouldn't have talked to her in the living room.

He Liyu watched her carve a hole in the orange, feeling both helpless and amused.

Do you want to meet your dad?

Shen Linyue, who was already somewhat nervous, felt as if something had exploded in her mind when she heard those words.

Looking bewildered and confused, she asked, "You want to take me back to see my dad? Has something happened?"

The two had never openly discussed these topics, so when they suddenly heard He Liyu ask her to meet her father, they instinctively felt that something very serious had happened.

The main reason is that He Liyu is a very opinionated person. He won't bring up things that she won't ask him to. It's also possible that something happened to her father.

Shen Linyue's blank expression vanished, and she became serious.

Seeing her reaction, He Liyu knew she had misunderstood. He shook his head slightly and said, "I respect your wishes. If you want to meet with Dad, I can arrange it without letting anyone know."

Shen Linyue: ?

I didn't understand. Oh, it wasn't his dad who had an accident.

She felt relieved, but then she heard He Liyu's cool voice ring out again.

“Jiang Yanxin’s birthday banquet this month, she invited your father too. I suspect she has ulterior motives.”

He Liyu's eyes were deep and dark, like an abyss into which one would be doomed.

Shen Linyue jumped up in surprise: "You mean Jiang Yanxin hasn't given up on her suspicions about me? And she's trying to test me with my father?"

"Yes, would you like to see Dad? I can arrange it."

Shen Linyue pursed her lips, her expression somewhat unpleasant: "No, is Jiang Yanxin out of her mind? Why did she call my dad here?"

Whether she sees him or not, it's like a kitten is scratching at her heart.

“I also think she might be quite ill.” He Liyu nodded, his eyes slightly cold.

This was the first time Shen Linyue had heard He Liyu curse. Her initial annoyance vanished considerably, and she raised her eyebrows to scrutinize him.

"So President He can swear too? And he swears really well."

He Liyu paused, then looked up at her with a slight smile: "Does A-Yue also want to be scolded by me?"

Shen Linyue quickly waved her hand, feeling that the meaning behind those words was unclear and embarrassing.

"I think I'd better not go. I don't want to give my dad hope only to have it dashed." She sighed deeply.

She had a gut feeling that she wouldn't stay in this world for long, so ever since she came back, she had a sense of unreality as an outsider, otherwise she wouldn't have taken the initiative to hide her identity.

If it were according to her old personality, she would have made a big fuss about her return, making it known to everyone, and might even have held a welcome banquet.

He Liyu frowned, his voice becoming somewhat deep: "A-Yue, don't talk nonsense."

Shen Linyue forced a smile: "You seem to have never asked me how I suddenly appeared in this place, or how I found A-Xiao."

He Liyu's eyes flickered slightly; he had indeed ordered someone to investigate the matter upon his return.

He couldn't help but recall the surveillance footage from that night: a petite figure appeared out of nowhere at the deserted street corner.

Actually, it wasn't entirely out of thin air, because the surveillance footage flashed briefly when she appeared, and then when it became clear again, A-Yue was already standing at the street corner, looking around blankly.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to so easily acknowledge her and reveal her identity.

“I thought there were some restrictions preventing you from saying so,” he said after a moment’s thought.

After A-Yue returned, he asked his assistant to investigate this matter, but he couldn't find out anything. However, he did learn a lot about time-travel or reincarnation novels.

He also drew attention to this issue online, but unfortunately, the situation was too surreal, and online statements were mostly untrue and shouldn't be taken seriously.

Shen Linyue smiled brightly and shook her head gently: "No, I don't know either."

He Liyu's long eyelashes fluttered slightly as he looked at her: "So you're trying to tell me?"

"Give it a try?" Shen Linyue tilted her head and answered with a smile.

He Liyu's breathing became slightly labored, and his hands, resting on his lap, involuntarily clenched.

He really wanted to nod, but he was afraid that if A-Yue said these things, she might run into trouble or suddenly disappear.

This was the first time in his life that he couldn't make a decision directly.

He could no longer bear the pain of losing A-Yue a second time.

He Liyu nodded silently, "Okay, but let's talk somewhere else."

His smile was somewhat faint, and a gloomy aura enveloped his entire being.

Shen Linyue noticed this and wanted to comfort her but ultimately remained silent.