Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Fang were sitting head to head, seemingly engrossed in something. Miranda looked around, and suddenly a wave of loneliness rose from the depths of her heart, engulfing her.

This bustling world belongs to others; it has nothing to do with her.

Just then, Qin Xiaoyu looked over, and the two bumped into each other. Miranda quickly turned her head away.

Qin Xiaoyu handed the child to Zhou Yue, then got up and walked to Miranda.

"Are you tired? Let me take you home to rest," Qin Xiaoyu said considerately.

"Okay, no need to see me off, I'll go by myself." Miranda seemed eager to escape, and Qin Xiaoyu couldn't let this opportunity slip by. At this moment, Miranda suddenly revealed her weakness, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Two people walked out of the building. The street was quiet, with countless lights visible in the windows, each one telling a story.

The two people stood at the street corner waiting for a taxi.

“When I was little, I lived at my maternal grandmother’s house and I was very unhappy.” Qin Xiaoyu didn’t look at Miranda and continued, “After school, I didn’t want to go home. I would always stand outside other people’s windows and imagine the happiness inside. Now I understand that there is no such thing as happiness. All living beings suffer.”

"Aren't you happy?" Miranda stopped and asked.

“Happiness is just a fleeting moment, it won’t last forever. It’s precisely because of so much unhappiness that a moment of happiness is so precious.” Qin Xiaoyu looked at her quietly.

“You’re much better than I thought. At first, I thought Alxe was just infatuated with you, that you two wouldn’t go far, and that he would leave you once he got tired of you. But now it seems that he’s the one who has changed.”

“You’re wrong. He hasn’t changed. This is the real him. His longing for family is beyond your imagination.”

"The desire for a family! Qin Xiaoyu, you're capable and have accomplished a lot. But don't get involved between me and Alxe. I'm not your foolish mother; I won't tell him I never abandoned you. I did abandon him. I signed the divorce papers myself, exchanging him for tens of millions worth of stocks and real estate. Are you satisfied now?" Miranda's outburst caught Qin Xiaoyu off guard. Before she could even understand what had crossed Miranda's line, she had already exploded.

The merciless blow struck Qin Xiaoyu, leaving her feeling as if she had been suddenly stripped naked and thrown into the street, utterly embarrassed.

She swallowed hard, powerless to defend herself. Indeed, she had tried to appeal to the woman's emotions and win her over. But now it seemed she was too naive. Miranda hated being manipulated; she must have felt challenged. This had backfired.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to see you..."

“We don’t need that kind of cheap stuff, thank you for your kindness. Just do your job.” Miranda was still quite blunt.

"Actually, the past doesn't matter. Why not give yourselves a chance..."

“What do you mean by ‘not important’? How much do you even know? The life I have now is the result of my own choice! There are no excuses, and even his father didn’t cheat on me as rumored. It’s just that I feel he and his child are limiting my life. If I remove them from my life, I’m perfectly fine.” Miranda’s words, “his child,” deeply wounded Qin Xiaoyu.

The child she referred to as "his child" was none other than A Lei. Qin Xiaoyu's most precious child was discarded like unwanted trash!

"You're a devil! Do you even know what responsibility is? You gave birth to him, then felt he was a burden and just dumped him like that, and you're even so self-righteous! I despise you!" Qin Xiaoyu exploded, no less powerful than Miranda, even though she was small in stature, her aura was just as strong.

The two faced off for a few minutes before parting ways.

A Lei saw Qin Xiaoyu and Miranda come out. Worried, he paced around the door, waiting for Qin Xiaoyu to return.

Seeing her angry face, he guessed what was going on, so he didn't say anything, but went over and put her in his arms, and they went through the door together.

Qin Xiaoyu really couldn't say those words to A Lei anymore; they were too hurtful.

So she tried her best to control her emotions and appear happier. A Lei didn't ask any questions or put any pressure on her.

Madam Fang noticed this and took the opportunity to call her aside.

"What did that woman say that made you so angry?"

"She said the reason for her divorce was that she felt her husband and children were a burden." Qin Xiaoyu had nothing to hide from Mrs. Fang; the old lady was incredibly shrewd.

"That's how blunt she was back then. My silly son, ha, he admitted to cheating, which made it easier for her to get a divorce." Mrs. Fang suddenly felt a little sad.

"I've never heard A Lei talk about his father. Why won't he come back?" Qin Xiaoyu suddenly became curious.

"He studied physics and achieved some success. For someone like him, you need to control his career flow. He's just a bookworm, very knowledgeable, but completely clueless about social interactions. Heaven knows what Miranda saw in him in the first place. They were very happy when they first got married, but later... actually, I don't know what happened, they just suddenly got divorced." Mrs. Fang shook her head.

“A Lei said that in order to fight for his custody, his father hid him so that his mother wouldn’t be able to find him…” Qin Xiaoyu couldn’t continue. Looking at Madam Fang’s eyes, she knew that this was a white lie, made up entirely to protect A Lei from getting hurt.

Miranda never even wanted him.

Qin Xiaoyu had never hated anyone so much. Scorpios have a natural protective instinct. If anyone dares to hurt the people they love, she must retaliate, which is even more serious than the harm done to her.

"Alright, my little fighter, you're the one who brought her here, she didn't come to hurt me on her own. Just let her go, I don't want a war between you." With a single sentence, Are turned hostility into friendship.

"I'll listen to you, just send her away quietly." Qin Xiaoyu immediately deflated; A Lei was right. Miranda was passive.

This was Qin Xiaoyu's first time celebrating the Spring Festival in Guangzhou. Although the house wasn't as spacious as her hometown, her family was all there, making the atmosphere warm and lively. Miranda had gone to Hong Kong, which relieved Qin Xiaoyu; if she had been there, she probably wouldn't have had a good Spring Festival.

The original plan was to let A Lei reunite with his mother for the Spring Festival, but now it seems that she was just being delusional.

Qi Si had the hotel chef prepare and deliver the New Year's Eve dinner. The hotel was very busy, so he rushed over during the mealtime. People from Guangdong are much more open-minded than people from Northeast China and are used to having their New Year's Eve dinner at the hotel, so his business was even better than usual.

Qin Xiaoyu didn't have to do anything, nor did she have to look after the children. Hanhan and her younger sister watched over their younger brother's crib with loving eyes.

She just ate whatever was available, going upstairs and downstairs, taking bites here and there.