While Lin Qingtong was still angry, Shen Tinghe suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, spreading his legs slightly apart so that she could sit on his lap.

An ambiguous atmosphere immediately filled the surroundings, and Lin Qingtong subconsciously wrapped her arms tightly around Shen Tinghe's neck.

For a moment, Lin Qingtong was stunned. Then she quickly released Shen Tinghe, coughed twice, and reminded him.

"Master Shen, don't forget, we are just contractual partners."

Shen Tinghe ran his warm fingertips across Lin Qingtong's cheek, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"But your actions just now have already shown your attitude."

His fingers slowly moved down, landing on Lin Qingtong's slender collarbone, and a sentence escaped from his thin lips.

"Face your own heart, Lin Qingtong."

His voice was hoarse and deep, like a feather haunting Lin Qingtong's heart.

Lin Qingtong's thick, curled eyelashes trembled as she slowly raised her eyes to look at Shen Tinghe.

When she met those dark eyes, Lin Qingtong's heart skipped a beat and she spoke.

"Shen Tinghe, there's no way we can be together."

She was perfectly clear-headed. Putting aside whether she would continue with another relationship, she had to consider Shen Tinghe's family background.

That's the prestigious Shen family, a powerful and influential clan with a complex web of connections. How could a divorced woman like her possibly enter such a place?

Even if she could get in, Lin Qingtong wouldn't bother.

She always wanted to be a free wind, not a caged canary.

Shen Tinghe suddenly chuckled, cupped Lin Qingtong's small, smiling face tightly in his hands, forced her closer to him, and slowly uttered a sentence.

"Lin Qingtong, what are you thinking? It was just a joke, and you took it seriously?"

"This isn't like you at all."

These words seemed to be full of sarcasm, as if mocking her for having decisively abandoned Shen Tinghe back then, only to end up like this now.

Lin Qingtong's ears immediately burned; she had been so foolish as to say such a thing.

Immediately, her eyes turned icy, and her tone became extremely cold.

"Oh dear, what should I do? I wanted to act all sentimental, but I failed. What a pity."

In that instant, even if Lin Qingtong really had those thoughts, she had to suppress them and desperately try to make amends after Shen Tinghe said those words.

Her pride wouldn't allow her to easily bow her head, especially not to Shen Tinghe.

As expected, upon hearing Lin Qingtong's words, Shen Tinghe's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"I really underestimated you, Lin Qingtong."

They were getting along perfectly just a moment ago, but now they're at each other's throats again.

Perhaps their personalities simply don't allow them to get along.

After uttering those words, Shen Tinghe reached out and grabbed Lin Qingtong's chin, then forcefully and aggressively pressed his hand against hers.

Unable to break free, Lin Qingtong simply began to enjoy it.

Under the warm orange light, the two figures intertwined, and the evening breeze rippled merrily around them.

Just as they were lost in their sweet romance, a crisp sound of a vase falling to the ground came from behind them, followed by a flurry of activity.

"You guys, please continue. I didn't see it on purpose."

Upon hearing the voice, Lin Qingtong hurriedly pushed Shen Tinghe away, got off him, and glared at him reproachfully.

Lin Qingtong walked into the darkness and saw her mother, Su Wanjun, awkwardly supporting a fallen vase. She smiled and spoke.

"Tongtong."

Hearing this, Lin Qingtong smiled helplessly, helped to lift the vase, and then turned to look at Shen Tinghe.

"I'll take my mom home first."

Shen Tinghe stood under the orange light, slowly adjusting his suit, nodding with an inscrutable expression.

With Shen Tinghe's permission, Lin Qingtong helped Su Wanjun walk down the corridor toward her room.

Su Wanjun suddenly grabbed Lin Qingtong's hand, her face full of worry as she asked, "I just heard that Jiang Nuan came and caused you trouble. Are you alright?"

Lin Qingtong smiled and patted Su Wanjun's hand, replying, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Jiang Nuan has probably already returned to the Jiang family."

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

Her tone became more serious, which made Su Wanjun nervous as well.

"Tongtong, whatever you want to do, Mom will support you."

Seeing Su Wanjun's nervous look, Lin Qingtong chuckled.

"What are you thinking about? I'm here to talk to you about having children."

When the topic of childbirth came up, Su Wanjun became quite dejected, her eyes filled with sorrow.

She always felt guilty, thinking that she hadn't taken good care of Lin Qingtong, which was why Lin Qingtong couldn't have children.

Ever since learning that Lin Qingtong was infertile, Su Wanjun had been suffering greatly and under immense pressure.

Seeing Su Wanjun like this, Lin Qingtong felt extremely distressed and hurriedly spoke up.

"Mom, you'd better stand up straight from now on. I'll just tell you straight, I'm not the one who can't have children."

Upon hearing this, Su Wanjun was taken aback.

"Ah, it wasn't you, then how come it's been so many years..."

"That's not right. If Jiang Hao can't have children, then how did Qi Huimin get pregnant?"

Lin Qingtong curled her lips into a cold smile and began to explain.

"You guessed right, the one who can't have children is Jiang Hao. I helped him cover it up back then to save face, and I took all the blame myself, since I never wanted children in the first place."

"But I never expected that this would become Jiang Hao's weapon to attack me."

"As for the child in Qi Huimin's belly, I can confirm that it is not Jiang Hao's. I told Jiang Nuan about this today, but I don't know if the Jiang family believes it."

These words reached Su Wanjun's ears, and she stood there stunned for a long time before suddenly covering her face and crying.

"It wasn't Tongtong's fault after all... You've suffered so much, my child."

When Lin Qingtong saw Su Wanjun start crying, she immediately regretted her decision. She had been incredibly foolish to have covered for Jiang Hao.

I never considered the pressure my mother was under.

Her nose tingled, and she reached out to put her arm around her mother's shoulder, speaking in a joking tone.

"Don't cry, this is a good thing. In the future, I can go out and tell people that my mother raised me very well and that I am healthy."

"Do you remember? I was a chubby little girl when I was a child, all fair and plump."

Su Wanjun was amused by Lin Qingtong's words and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Alright, my child, I'm happy for you. It's getting late, let's go back and rest."

The two walked hand in hand through the corridor in the night, leaving behind cheerful laughter along the way.

The next morning, a large crowd gathered outside the Jiang family villa, shouting something loudly.

Jiang Hao walked out sleepily and saw several middle-aged women standing at the door of his house, talking all at once.

"Oh my, you must be the nephew Jiang Nuan was talking about? You're quite handsome."

"But your aunt hasn't come back all night. What's going on? We're so worried."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao was taken aback.

"My aunt didn't come to the house. You must have made a mistake."