Chapter 34 is not what you think.

"What are you doing?"

Xu Jialan lowered her eyes and asked her, "What did Shi Xingyu say to you just now?"

Why is he curious about this?

"Nothing happened, just women whispering among themselves, what's wrong with that?"

Xu Jialan nodded.

Good! Very good, you even lied to him.

So he went straight to the point, "Shi Xingyu lent you money, didn't she?"

"How did you know?" Chen Yao'an frowned. "Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?"

Xu Jialan sneered, "So what if I eavesdropped? So, you can accept her lending you money, but you can't accept mine, right?"

"no……"

“Why not?” Xu Jialan raised an eyebrow, looking at her with amusement, waiting for her explanation.

"I just..." She stopped halfway through her sentence, unsure how to continue.

Xu Jialan's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Chen Yao'an, in your heart, neither I nor she can be compared!"

His eyes were dark and deep, with emotions churning within them, as if he were brewing something, or as if he was trying his best to suppress an emotion that was about to explode.

Chen Yao'an tried to reassure him, "Xu Jialan, it's not what you think."

Unexpectedly, Xu Jialan turned around and left, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.

She called his name from behind, "Xu Jialan!"

He remained unmoved and quickly disappeared into the Silver Field.

Chen Yaoan never expected him to be so angry.

Back at the bar, Shi Xinyu was still mixing drinks. "What have you been doing for so long?"

"I spoke a few words with Xu Jialan."

"Where is he?"

"They're gone."

"He's gone? He hasn't paid for his drinks yet!"

"I'll pay for him." He said, taking out his phone.

"I'd be so sorry." Shi Xingyu said no, but her actions betrayed her words; she didn't stop them at all.

"But why did he leave so suddenly? Was it something urgent?"

Chen Yaoan scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then told him what had just happened.

Shi Xinyu asked her, "But why didn't you accept the money he lent you? It's just a drop in the ocean for him, and you don't need to rush to pay it back."

"I just don't want to bother him, and besides, he's been having a tough time lately."

"No wonder he's angry. You're clearly treating him like an outsider. He probably already considers you a good friend."

Chen Yao'an immediately looked worried. "What should we do?"

"What else can we do? Just try to appease her."

Chen Yao'an frowned. Was she supposed to go and comfort the person?

She couldn't quite do it.

Shi Xinyu knew her personality, "Then you should apologize to him first and explain properly."

After returning home from Shi Xinyu's place, before going to bed, Chen Yaoan thought it over and sent Xu Jialan an apology message, along with an explanation.

But the message disappeared without a trace, receiving no response whatsoever.

The next day, Chen Yao'an looked at the quiet chat interface and fell into sorrow.

She exited the chat with Xu Jialan and opened Shi Xinyu's WeChat.

I apologized, but Xu Jialan ignored me.

It took Shi Xinyu a long time to reply to her message.

Your birthday is in a few days. Try asking him out and see if he comes. Then you can talk things out in person.

That's not a bad idea, but I don't know if he'll come.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Yaoan sent Xu Jialan another message.

My birthday is next Wednesday. I'll be at my house that evening, and I hope you can come.

After waiting all afternoon, there was still no movement from the other side.

On the other side, Xu Jialan was sitting in front of her computer drawing a design when a WeChat message popped up on her screen.

He moved the mouse and clicked on it.

It was a message from Chen Yao'an. He frowned, paused for a moment, and then clicked on it.

Is next Wednesday her birthday?

He stared at the message for a few seconds, then closed the page.

He got up to pour himself a glass of water, but noticed the iPad he had left lying in the corner of his desk, still in the same packaging as when he brought it back from the store.

He bought the iPad a few days ago, intending to give it to Chen Yao'an.

Her birthday is in a few days, so this is a perfect birthday present for her.

Thinking of this, he curled the corners of his mouth.

They quickly realized something was wrong.

Who wants to go to her birthday party!

He was a little annoyed; he was still angry!

On Sunday morning, Chen Yaoan got up as usual, washed up, and planned to go to the kitchen to cook. However, when she passed by Zhou Yao's room, she heard some noise inside.

She stood at the door and asked, "Mom, are you awake?"

Suddenly, with a loud "bang," the door was slammed open and shook.

Zhou Yao lunged at the door.

Chen Yao'an was startled.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yao's hoarse voice came from inside the door.

"Let me out!" Zhou Yao shouted, pounding on the door. "Let me out!"

Confused, she hurriedly ran back to her room to get her key and opened the door for Zhou Yao.

Zhou Yao ran out and threw herself into Chen Yao'an's arms.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Zhou Yao looked at her, tears welling in her eyes, "Yao'an, I miss your brother, I want to see him."

Chen Yaoan was stunned for a moment, "Mom, my brother went to study in another city, we can't go."

"Why can't we go? Is it very far?"

"Yeah, it's a bit far."

She suddenly grabbed Chen Yao'an's hand, "Then why didn't you go to school?"

"Mom, you forgot, I've already graduated."

"Why do I feel like I haven't seen you in so long?" Zhou Yao burst into tears.

Chen Yao'an had no idea what she was thinking or which timeline her memory had returned to. She wiped away her tears and asked, "Mom, why are you crying?"

"It's nothing, I just missed you."

Zhou Yao seemed to be more clear-headed than usual today, which made her very happy; it had been a long time since Zhou Yao had felt this way.

"How about I stay and keep you company today?"

"So you're not going to work? Is that okay?"

"It's okay, I'm my own boss now."

Hearing her say that, Zhou Yao smiled happily, "That's wonderful!"

Chen Yao'an told her to go back to sleep for a while, "I'll wake you up after I make breakfast, okay?"

Zhou Yao nodded, obediently returned to bed, and closed her eyes.

The family of three ate breakfast together, and after breakfast, Chen Yaoan accompanied Zhou Yao to watch TV in the living room.

Seeing this, Yan Shumei asked her, "Aren't you going to the shop today?"

"I'm not going. I'm spending the day with my mom."

"Then I'll go back and get some more sleep."

"good."

After watching Yan Shumei return to the west room, Chen Yaoan received a message from Xu Jialan.

He asked her where she was.

She replied: At home.

Then, there was no response from Xu Jialan, and she didn't know for a moment why he asked that question.

Next to her, Zhou Yao was happily watching a TV series.

"Mom, would you like some fruit?"

Zhou Yao's eyes were still glued to the TV. "Eat."

"Then I'll cut it for you."

Chen Yaoan got up and went to the kitchen.

About a minute later, a scream suddenly came from the living room.

"Ah—ah—"

Chen Yao'an's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly dropped the knife and ran back to the living room.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Zhou Yao stood in front of the television with a terrified expression, frantically patting the screen, but found that she couldn't pass through it no matter what she did.

Chen Yaoan went over and grabbed her arm. "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yao pointed anxiously at the television, "Save him! You have to save him!"

Chen Yao'an then noticed the scene on the TV screen, where a TV drama was showing a child falling into the water.

The little boy was struggling desperately in the water, trying to float to the surface, but to no avail.

Zhou Yao grabbed her clothes desperately and shook her repeatedly, shouting, "Go save him!"

"Mom, that's all fake, it's just a TV drama."

She broke free from Zhou Yao, took the remote and turned off the TV. "Mom, look, it's not real."

But Zhou Yao seemed completely unable to understand. When the TV screen went black, she became even more anxious, throwing herself at the TV and frantically hitting it.

Chen Yao'an tried to pull her up again, but could only lie and say, "Okay, Mom, he's been rescued."

So Zhou Yao turned around and searched everywhere, "Where? Where?"

"He went home."

Zhou Yao's expression changed, and when she turned to look at her, her eyes were filled with anger. She reached out and grabbed Chen Yao'an's collar, "You lied to me! Your brother didn't come home at all!"

Chen Yao'an knew she had made a foolish mistake again, so she could only try to comfort her, "Xiao Qin will be back soon, she's on her way now."

"You're lying to me! You're lying to me! He didn't come back that night at all!" She started crying as she spoke. "You have to go find him right now!"

Chen Yao'an had no choice but to agree, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll go now."

Zhou Yao then let go of her.

Chen Yao'an pretended to walk out.

Zhou Yao, standing behind him, suddenly broke down, crying, "He can't come back! Xiao Qin is gone forever! You've all been lying to me! You've been lying to me all along!"

Zhou Yao's sobs were heart-wrenching, and Chen Yao'an couldn't help but tear up as well. She went over and hugged Zhou Yao, patting her back to comfort her.

Zhou Yao, however, seemed convinced that Chen Yaoan was lying to her, and pushed her away forcefully without any restraint.

Chen Yao'an suddenly fell to the ground, hurting herself badly. "Mom..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Yao pounced on her again, knocking her to the ground.

She muttered, "You lied to me! You lied to me!..."

She kept repeating that sentence, as if she were possessed, repeating it countless times, while Zhou Yao's eyes gradually hardened.

Chen Yao'an felt a chill run down her spine; she remembered the last time.

She tried to dodge, but Zhou Yao held her down.

"You're lying to me!" Without warning, Zhou Yao's hand gripped her neck.

“…Mom!” Chen Yao’an managed to utter, instinctively grabbing her hands.

But Zhou Yao used all her strength right away, and they couldn't pull it apart at all.

Zhou Yao remained unmoved by her pleading cry.

Chen Yao'an gradually began to have difficulty breathing, her face turned red, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

Is she going to die here?

Her mind began to race, quickly going through the first twenty-odd years of her life.

She was a little scared.

Instinctively, she began to struggle desperately, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Is she going to die at the hands of her own mother?

Xu Jialan didn't see anyone when he stepped into the room. He only saw Chen Yaoan and Zhou Yao lying together in front of the TV cabinet after scanning the room.

Upon closer inspection, Zhou Yao's hands were actually gripping Chen Yao'an's neck!

Chen Yao'an's face turned red, his scalp tingled, and his mind went blank for a moment.

Without thinking twice, he dropped what he was holding and rushed forward.

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Author's Note: Sorry, I forgot to put it in the draft box last night. [doge][doge][doge]