At that moment, the small mole seemed so conspicuous.

Her mind, previously foggy, now couldn’t help but wake up completely.

“Back then, I was attacked by a robber,” Lu Nian said. “A boy saved me.”

His body stiffened for a moment, his thoughts gradually returning to clarity, apparently realizing what she was saying.

“I remember seeing this mole,” Lu Nian said, looking at him with her big eyes, “exactly the same.”

He hugged her arm stiffly.

“You all said it was Lin Junrun.”

At the time, she mistook him for Lin Junrun.

Although she felt something was off, she still wanted to treat him to a meal, give him gifts, and even mentioned it to Qin Si.

But he never explained anything, never admitted it was him, never even refuted it once.

The young man pursed his lips, his long eyelashes drooping, saying nothing.

She finally asked softly, “Was it you?”

…

In his gray teenage years, those emotions that had nowhere to go, had to be hidden and suppressed, surged like a tide.

He was a proud person, but in front of her, he felt so humble, so insignificant, he couldn’t even speak up.

Finally, he said hoarsely, “Yes.”

Lu Nian asked softly, “Then why?”

She couldn’t understand why he would tell this lie, how he saved her.

She remembered very clearly that during that time, they had quarreled again, Qin Si had been missing all the while, why could he suddenly appear to save her at that time, and then not say a word after saving her?

Her breath scattered there, stirring up a wave of tingling.

He tried hard to control himself, his voice hoarse, “I just happened to pass by.”

“Why didn’t you tell me later?”

“Because of the argument,” he tightly pressed his lips, his brows trembling slightly.

Lu Nian also remembered that during that time, almost every meeting ended in an argument.

Lu Nian, “…”

“A few days ago, how did you find me?” She changed the subject, asking softly.

The madness he had done in his teenage years, things that made him feel ashamed to think about, were impossible to mention.

Even now, because of his possessiveness and insecurity towards her, he always felt she would leave him.

“It was Fang Deng,” he finally said.

He knew her location.

With Fang Deng’s technology, installing a small tracking software on her phone was not a problem.

When she was fifteen, during that time, he had been tracking her all along, convincing himself under the guise of protection, until the day she got into trouble.

And those crazy and dirty things he had done before, he had been obsessed with her for a long time.

He couldn’t say it at all.

Lu Nian, “…”

She suddenly lowered her head, lightly pecking the crimson beauty mole, slightly indulging it, but didn’t make any further moves.

He was in a sorry state, his body’s reaction already out of control.

“You promised to accompany me,” Lu Nian said, looking up at him, her soft eyelashes casting a gentle halo under her almond eyes, looking even more charming and delicate, “otherwise, I’m scared.”

Qin Si, “…”

He gritted his teeth and moved himself away a bit, his body stiff.

Luckily, she didn’t try to get closer again.

“You all kept it from me,” Lu Nian lay in his arms, staring at the ceiling, “one by one.”

“But, thank you,” she said softly. “For both times.”

It seemed that every time she was in trouble, he was the one who came to her rescue.

Including when she was in her teens, during the Chinese New Year that year, when she was locked at home, feeling hopeless, she sent him a text message, only to unexpectedly see him rushing to her from outside the window.

That night, under the moonlight and the evening breeze, the girl’s long hair danced in the wind, and seeing the handsome profile of the young man in front of her, she tasted the feeling of love for the first time.

She thought, maybe it was then, she truly started to fall for him.

Because it was considered a scandal within the family, this kidnapping case wasn’t widely publicized outside.

Only those within the Lu family and a small number of Lu’s executives knew about it.

Both Lu Yang and Feng Xiaoran ended up in detention, counted as attempted kidnapping.

Mogane had a criminal record, so considering both old and new accounts, he would likely be in for a long time.

Lu Yang’s parents came to find Lu Nian, but Qin Si didn’t allow them to see her.

So, they had no choice but to go to find Lu Zhihong, who was still in the hospital, and begged him to be lenient and forgive their son.

Of course, under Qin Si’s influence, Lu Zhihong couldn’t agree.

He cared about his reputation and didn’t want the Lu family to have such a scandal.

There might have been a chance for reconciliation, but with Qin Si present, he didn’t dare to say much, only vaguely saying that they would follow Lu Nian’s wishes.

Qin Si was ruthless and efficient, everyone knew that.

With a complete chain of evidence, testimonies and physical evidence all in place.

While Lu Yang was in custody, he also handled Li Wenjun’s case.

With the help of Ning Sheng’s former assistant, Fang Deng, and Qiu Fan, they quickly gathered evidence of collusion between Lu Yang and Li Wenjun, embezzling public funds, and submitted it together.

Several high-ranking executives of the Lu Group were imprisoned, and the power dynamics within the company were completely reshuffled.

Now, the company was basically split into two factions.

One was composed of people with connections to Ning Sheng, and the other consisted of original Lu Group employees who hadn’t been affected by this upheaval.

They whispered behind the scenes, saying that the world had changed.

The internal chaos within the Lu family finally came to an end.

Lu Zhihong was also about to be discharged from the hospital.

He had been in the hospital for two months, and his health had basically recovered.

With the investigation cleared, he was found to have only been negligent in supervision, and hadn’t actually colluded with his subordinates to commit any illegal activities.

The police had left, and the seized properties and houses of the Lu family had all been returned.

Lu Zhihong’s health was improving, and he would soon be discharged from the hospital.

Since Lu Zhihong’s incident, the enormous pressure that had been weighing on Lu Nian’s mind finally eased.

She had been exhausted lately, coupled with the attack she faced on the road, one thing after another, she finally couldn’t hold on anymore.

During this time, she had been staying in the house at Qingfeng Court, sleeping for most of the day.

It felt like going back to childhood when she spent half a year in the hospital, constantly taking various medications.

Only now, there was someone else taking care of her.

She felt a bit stifled staying at home, with no friends contacting her.

Even Qiu Li and Zhao Yayuan didn’t come to see her.

She drew back the curtains and looked down, seeing the incessant flow of traffic in the distance.

This area was in the city center, where every inch of land was precious.

She could see the leaden sky and towering skyscrapers in the distance.

Qin Si said, “We can move later.”

If she felt stifled here.

Lu’s residence had some history.

When Lu Nian used to live there, he often hid in the shadows, watching her happily stroll around the flower beds, breathing in the fresh air, or trying to plant a few flowers that would never thrive.

“Or, we can buy a new one,” he said.

Nowadays, he was certainly in a different position than before. Lu Nian had no doubt he could afford a better house than the Lu residence.

However, she gently shook her head.

Lu Zhihong was about to be discharged from the hospital, so she wouldn’t be staying here for long.

Today, she felt quite well, not as fatigued as usual.

She opened her tablet and checked her email, finding a message from the editor of her monthly comic series.

“Nian Nian, the deadline is approaching. I’ve been trying to call you, why aren’t you answering? If you see this email, please call me back.”

Her phone seemed to have been lost in that accident, crushed by a man named Mogane, and until now, due to her poor mental state and no one reminding her, she hadn’t bought a new phone.

“Can I borrow your phone?” Lu Nian asked when she saw Qin Si in the living room.

She called the editor.

“You finally picked up,” the editor said. “Did you change your number?”

“I had a little accident before, so this is someone else’s phone,” Lu Nian said.

“What accident? Your hands are treasures, they can’t have problems.”

Lu Nian lowered her eyes. “It’s nothing serious, I’m fine now.”

“When can you submit your manuscript?” the editor said. “This is the first time the ‘Black and White’ series will be published physically, and the fans are highly anticipating it.

We’ve already announced the release date for promotion. Don’t let me down halfway.”

The “Black and White” series was the most popular among all of Lu Nian’s serialized works online.

Since high school, she had been intermittently serializing stories online, sometimes in comic form, sometimes just with scene illustrations.

There were plots and various settings, but the characters “Black” and “White” remained consistent. Over the years, she had gained many fans.

“Your back cover is all set,” the editor said. “It’s definitely going to sell well.”

She added, “When it’s published, make sure to sign a few extra copies for me. Actually, considering your current level and fan base, you could totally hold a signing event now.”

Yuelu had never shown her face in public before.

The editor only knew her real name because of the contract and knew she was a pretty young girl, still a student.

What she actually looked like, she had no idea.

“Or you could hold a signing event,” the editor said. “Young girls nowadays, with a little makeup, they all look great.”

The editor thought that Yuelu had always been reluctant to show her face in public due to image concerns, and she said it very tactfully, “What people like is your art. Holding a signing event would also help boost sales for your big son.”

She knew that Lu Nian attached particular importance to the “Black and White” series, which could be considered her own child among all her works.

This time, Lu Nian didn’t outright refuse.

She remained silent for a moment. “Let me finish the manuscript first.”

Lu Nian said, “I just need to do some final polishing.”

Because she had drawn freely before, there were many inconsistencies and irregularities in the content. If she were to publish it, she naturally needed to do a thorough revision.

The editor said, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

After hanging up the phone, Lu Nian rolled over from the bed and handed the phone back to Qin Si.

The weather was a bit chilly now. She put on a coat, swayed to her feet, ready to return to her room to continue drawing and polishing those manuscripts.

The young man had been sitting in the living room, writing documents.

Now, seeing her like this, he frowned.

He said, “You should go to sleep, stop drawing.”

The doctor had said these past few days for her not to overwork her brain, to rest well.

She was already lacking in vitality.

Lu Nian shook her head. “It’s fine, just drawing for a while won’t hurt.”

Seeing that he had no intention of giving in, Lu Nian pursed her lips. “I remember, I never interfered with you before.”

During their youth, he lived a turbulent and unsettled life.

She tried her best to make things a little better for him, but he refused all her efforts, even returning all those items.

The young man fell silent.

On the screen, she was working on a black original manuscript.

The young hero’s brows were furrowed, his handsome face indifferent, clad in black attire with black hair, his phoenix eyes gazing into the distance.

The man standing before her was his prototype.

Among her fans, there were quite a few who were fans of “Black.”

Originally, the comics were light and fresh, full of girlish charm.

Many readers especially enjoyed the interactions between “Black” and “White,” likening them to a knight and a princess.

But midway through, for several years, she didn’t know when it started, the comics suddenly took on a dark tone.

She crafted a long story where the young hero abandoned his childhood sweetheart and princess, venturing off alone with his sword.

At the time, there was an uproar online, and her private messages almost exploded with people asking if she had been affected by something.

Lu Nian didn’t reply to any of them.

So, the publishing house eventually decided to publish the part before her transition.

She looked at the man standing before her.

She remembered when she was in high school, she had persuaded him to come to her house to be a model for her drawings.

Unfortunately, they only drew half of it before Lu Zhihong interrupted.

It was then that she drew “Black” based on that inspiration.

After that, for several years, she drew many pictures of him, all kinds of scenes of their interactions.

They were all recorded on her account.

Some readers asked, “Will Little Black and Little White end up together?”

Lu Nian always replied, “I don’t know.”

Previously, the “Black” she drew had always remained in his youth, like a shadow of the past.

And now, he was back.

“How is it?” she suddenly asked, showing him the screen.

He glanced at it. “You’ve drawn it very well.”

Clearly, he didn’t see anything else.

A rough and inconsiderate guy.

She pursed her lips. “I must finish this part of the manuscript today.” No negotiation.

“Otherwise, I’ll go back and draw it a few days later.”

Hearing the words “go back,” he stiffened for a moment, then finally let go of her hand and let her sit back at the computer.

He glanced at the time.

Lu Nian drew vigorously, lowering her head for almost two hours.

When she wanted to continue, her pen had already been taken away.

“The time is up,” he said expressionlessly.

Lu Nian glared at him sullenly. “Give it back.”

She stood up, and suddenly her head spun, and she nearly fell.

She fell into a warm embrace, his face looking not too good.

He put away her pen, picked her up, and placed her on the couch.

Lu Nian held her head, awkwardly explaining, “I got up too fast.”

He didn’t say anything.

Lu Nian knew that if she wanted to say such things every day, it probably wouldn’t work anymore.

“Tomorrow,” Lu Nian said, “I want to go to Qiao Li’s place.”

Hearing that name, he lowered his eyes, his expression faint.

When Lu Nian was attacked, Qin Si eventually told them.

At that time, Qiao Li wanted to come to the hospital to see her but was rejected by him, saying she hadn’t fully recovered.

These days, he had made quite a few calls, all of which he answered, and then they were transferred directly to Fang Deng.

He murmured, “You want to go back?”

Lu Zhihong’s discharge from the hospital was imminent.

He even seemed a bit tense, his pitch-black eyes staring at her without blinking.

Lu Nian said, “Just to see him and reassure him.”

“Then, I want to buy a new phone and reinstall the SIM card,” Lu Nian said, “It’s too inconvenient for me to contact others like this.”

In their confrontation, he was the one who ultimately lost.