Chapter 7

Lanting Manor.

Shi Xia was sitting on the living room sofa, her phone on speaker and tossed onto the coffee table as she obediently listened to her mother’s scolding.

Ms. Chen’s voice was rapid and urgent:
“…I’ve told you before, raising a child isn’t that simple. He needs a healthy and complete home! I already consulted someone—frequent sleepwalking in a child as young as Xiao Yan is directly related to his upbringing!

Other kids all have fathers—only he doesn’t. And his mother has to keep it hidden, can’t even be called ‘Mom’ in public. If you’d grown up like that, you’d have problems too!

Don’t try to brush me off! For Xiao Yan’s sake, you need to listen to me! Pack your things and come back home for blind dates—I’ll make the arrangements!”

Shi Xia was speechless. “Mom, I am a public figure, you know. If someone leaks that I’m going on blind dates, netizens will laugh me off the internet!”

Ms. Chen ruthlessly shot her down:
“You? A Z-lister buried eighteen tiers deep? You think you’re newsworthy? The paparazzi and gossip accounts wouldn’t waste time on you!”

“Oh, and the last time you did make the trending topics, it was for a death rumor!”

Ms. Chen laughed heartlessly for a moment, then repeated sternly:
“This is not up for negotiation. You come back immediately. Don’t make your father and me go to Beijing to drag you back!”

Shi Xia had a sudden flash of inspiration:
“Uh—well, I still have three stitches on my head! I need to go to the hospital in a few days to get them removed!”

Buy herself a little time, at least.

In the end, Ms. Chen relented and gave her an ultimatum: she could return home after getting her stitches removed.

After hanging up, Shi Xia stared at a photo of Shi Yan on the coffee table, her emotions stirred.

She hadn’t told anyone, but she had also consulted a doctor about Shi Yan’s frequent sleepwalking at such a young age.

Genetic factors? She was certain no one on her side of the family had sleepwalked. But what about his biological father?

Shi Xia sighed. She didn’t know. She knew nothing about Qin Lie.

Environmental factors? The doctor said that being overly stimulated or overtired before bed could cause sleepwalking. But if it continued long-term and didn’t improve even with a change in environment, then it was likely not environmental.

That left psychological factors.
Maybe… just as her mother said—Shi Yan, even at four years old, had already learned to be emotionally aware. Though he appeared indifferent to not having a father, perhaps he was just a child who had learned to keep quiet about it.

Shi Xia couldn’t help but think about her job, about how, when they were out in public, Shi Yan wasn’t allowed to call her “Mom,” not even to ask to be picked up like other children.

She couldn’t remember when exactly Shi Yan had learned to stop calling her “Mom.”

For an adult, it might seem easy.

But for a four-year-old child to suppress something like that—it was no small feat.

Suddenly, Shi Xia’s nose stung, her eyes turned red, and her vision blurred with tears.

Until now, she had never regretted her impulsive decision to secretly give birth to this child.

But right now, for the first time, she did.

Because she suddenly realized—her mother was right. Other than material things, she hadn’t been able to give him a complete mother’s love or a complete home.

She was an unqualified mother.

Tang Guo came upstairs carrying dinner. Seeing Shi Xia like this, her heart ached too.

Shi Xia patted the space beside her and motioned for her to sit.
“Tell me everything that happened this morning.”

She had fired the previous nanny for negligence—Shi Yan’s accident had happened on her watch.

Tang Guo knew Shi Xia wanted every detail about the rescue, so she didn’t hold back, recounting the incident fully.

Shi Xia knew that when Shi Yan sleepwalked, once he grabbed onto something, he would never let go easily. And they never dared to force him, for fear of hurting him.

So when she heard that he had obediently let go and completely trusted the firefighter who held him—

Her heart clenched, stabbed with pain.

She asked, “What’s the name of the firefighter who saved him?”

Her voice trembled slightly, laced with a hope even she hadn’t noticed.

Tang Guo hesitated. “I was too busy hugging Xiao Yan and crying… I forgot to ask.”

And Qin Lie had been wearing an oxygen mask when he rescued Shi Xia before, so she hadn’t recognized him. The firefighter who had saved both Shi Xia and her son… was actually the same man.

“But I know which fire station responded. My cousin works there—I’ll ask him.”

Shi Xia: “Okay.”

Tang Guo: “Shouldn’t you eat something and rest early? Don’t you have interviews with a few new nannies tomorrow?”

Shi Yan needed someone to take care of him, so they still had to find a replacement.

It was getting late. And with stitches still in her head, Shi Xia really did need to rest.

But when she finally lay down in bed, she kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Worried about another incident, she had Shi Yan sleep with her in her big bed—but the little rascal tossed and turned even more than she did.

She ended up occupying just a small corner of the bed, while the rest was taken up by Shi Yan flipping back and forth, east to west, head to toe.

And he didn’t just toss—he had long limbs for a four-year-old, and every now and then he’d smack her with a hand or kick her with a foot. She was already a light sleeper, and with so much on her mind, there was no hope of rest.

Just as she was about to text Xu Yunzhi, a message came in from her first:

“Xia Xia! So, so? Did you run into him again?”

Obviously referring to Qin Lie.

Shi Xia stared at the message for a while before typing just two words:
“Nope.”

Xu Yunzhi:

“…He’s a firefighter. He’s probably really busy, right? But still, he saved your life—you can’t just say nothing, right?”

She had a point.

Shi Xia was tempted. “But… what if he already has a girlfriend or is married?”

Xu Yunzhi immediately FaceTimed her. The moment the call connected, she was grinning mischievously:

“Hey, Missy, aren’t you overthinking this? I just said you should go thank him for saving your life, and you’re already worried about whether he’s taken? Where is the connection?!”

“Be honest—have you still not gotten over him?”

Shi Xia’s phone was on silent, but worried it might disturb Shi Yan, she quickly took the call into the living room.

Xu Yunzhi, hearing no response for a long while, immediately knew what her friend was thinking. She dropped a bomb:

“I already checked for you. He’s not married—still single. So go for it!”

Shi Xia’s heart pounded wildly. On reflex, she ended the call.

Xu Yunzhi wasn’t offended—she sent several voice messages right after:

“Shi Xia, you’ve always been bold, fearless, and passionate—when did you start being so timid when it comes to him? So what if it was just a teenage crush? Are you planning to cling to it for the rest of your life?”

“Why not take a leap? You might even realize you only liked the memory of the boy in your mind—and that the man he is now doesn’t move you at all. Then you’ll finally be free, and ready to pursue your own life.”