This small town is famous for its lavender fields, and now that it’s flower season and summer vacation, many tourists are visiting.

However, “Xiaoyuan Fragrant Restaurant” is in a remote location, so there aren’t many customers who come specifically here. Yet today, for some reason, customers kept coming in waves, and Zhong Xintian hardly had a moment to spare.

Seeing her busily attending to everything inside and out, Lu Zongyue voluntarily offered to help, taking over the task of greeting customers. Even Dongdong put away his playfulness and, with his little legs, went back and forth serving tea and water.

They were busy until after eight in the evening when the restaurant closed, and only then did the two adults finally catch their breath. Dongdong had spent the afternoon playing with some neighborhood kids and returned to help in the evening. After a simple dinner in the kitchen, Dongdong was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, dozing off with his head on the table.

Zhong Xintian gently woke him, coaxing him to go back to his room to sleep. She supervised him as he bathed and brushed his teeth, ensuring the little boy changed into clean pajamas and lay down in bed before turning off the light.

Lu Zongyue was waiting for her in the backyard. The backyard was slightly more spacious than the front, with a wooden double rocking chair in one corner and a small herb garden on the other side, planted with herbs like mint, basil, and thyme. A few whimsically shaped large stones were placed around the garden, and he was sitting on one of those stones.

Zhong Xintian chose another stone to sit on. The bright moon hung like a hook, and the night was tranquil. They sat in silence, listening to the croaking of frogs from the nearby fields, each lost in their thoughts.

After a long while, Lu Zongyue broke the silence. “Dongdong… is he your child?”

He finally asked.

Zhong Xintian slightly lowered her head, suppressing the hint of sarcasm at the corner of her lips.

“How old is he this year?” The man’s voice was rough.

She gave a faint cold smile, raising her head to reveal her clear and cold eyes in the moonlight.

“I thought you had already asked Dongdong.”

He paused, then bitterly smiled. “I didn’t ask.”

She looked directly at him. “You didn’t dare to ask.” It wasn’t a question.

He sensed the mockery in her words and felt somewhat uneasy. Clearing his throat, he said, “You… aren’t married, right? You probably don’t have a boyfriend either?”

“What does that have to do with you?” she retorted sharply.

He was taken aback again, his gaze flickering uncertainly. “I just… thought he… this child…”

“He’s not your child!” She interrupted him bluntly.

His face paled, and he was left speechless.

A smile tugged at her lips, the sarcasm sharper. “Don’t worry, Dongdong isn’t your child, so you don’t have to be this nervous.”

“…I’m not nervous,” he defended.

She shot him a glance.

He noticed the derision in her eyes and self-deprecatingly smirked. “Okay, I am… a bit nervous.”

She turned her head away, no longer looking at him.

Lu Zongyue stared at her side profile, which looked even whiter in the moonlight, with long eyelashes, a delicate nose, and a graceful neck—she was actually quite beautiful, something he had never realized before. He sighed silently.

“We’ve been divorced for nearly four years. This child looks to be more than three years old; does that mean…”

She stiffened, glaring at him with fiery eyes. “Are you doubting that I had an affair before our divorce?”

He was taken aback, hurriedly denying it. “How could I? What I meant was… that night we were at the restaurant…”

“Don’t say it!”

“Yuan Yuan…”

“Don’t call me that!”

She suddenly jumped to her feet, her heart surging with turmoil, causing her entire body to tremble.

She didn’t want to lose her temper at him. Although his arrival was unexpected, she had planned to have a polite and earnest conversation with him, as a way to bid farewell to the past. But he… was crossing the line! Why did he have to bring up that night, the night she wished to forget forever?

That was a month before their official divorce, and she didn’t know what was wrong with him—he suddenly stopped coming home for a long time, preferring to stay in a hotel. Not wanting to worry her ill father-in-law, she went to find him at the hotel, only to discover he was sick with a fever.

Fearing he wouldn’t be taken care of, she quietly stayed behind. In his feverish state, he mumbled another woman’s name. She pretended not to hear, resting at the edge of the bed and holding his hand, only to wake up in the middle of the night to find herself in his arms.

Neither of them wanted that to happen, but in the chaos, they didn’t know who seduced whom, and the kindling ignited into a fierce fire, leading to reckless entanglement.

Later, he recovered and returned home, but he was even more indifferent to her. She knew he regretted it; that night, he must have thought of her as a substitute for his first love.

She hated him, and hated herself even more. A month later, her father-in-law passed away, and she actively filed for divorce.

That was the last bit of dignity she had preserved for herself; at least he didn’t initiate the breakup…

Zhong Xintian gritted her teeth, striving to push away the unwelcome memories flooding her mind.

But Lu Zongyue still affectionately called out, “Yuan Yuan…”

How could he call her that!

She was furious; even the gentlest woman has her temper, and today, she would let him see it. “What exactly do you want? We have nothing to do with each other anymore!”

Her voice was sharp, adopting a shrewish demeanor, but he didn’t seem afraid at all. He didn’t look at her with the usual indescribable disdain; instead, his deep eyes shimmered with gentle ripples.

“If you think we have nothing to do with each other, why did you come to the hospital to see me?” he asked hoarsely.

She knew it! She knew he would use that to annoy her!

“Why did you take care of me when I was unconscious, bathing me, washing my hair, and massaging my hands and feet? Don’t you remember our past affection?”

How could he ask such an outrageous question?

“What affection do we have?” she retorted angrily. “Why should I remember?”

“I don’t know.” Compared to her frustration, he appeared calm, serene yet somewhat melancholy. “Yuan Yuan, I’m also curious about this; can you tell me what kind of affection we still have between us?”

What kind of affection did they have?

After three years of marriage, what exactly had accumulated between them?

This question was one Zhong Xintian wanted to ask herself. In the dead of night, she sometimes found herself weakly seeking an answer. But…

Tears shimmered in her eyes.

He trembled and stepped forward to touch her. “Yuan Yuan, don’t cry…”

“Don’t touch me!” She shook off his hand, so resolute, so cold. After a long time, she finally calmed down a bit and spoke softly. “You shouldn’t have come. I only heard that you were gravely ill and thought to come and see you off for the last time…”

She didn’t want him to touch her, so he stood at a distance, his expression tinged with a hint of pain. “Since you know I won’t die just yet, why do you continue to come see me?”

“I just thought it was the right thing to do.” She turned her gaze away, her voice hoarse. “We were married for three years. I know you’ve suffered and were unwilling, but I… owe you a debt of gratitude.”

She paused, suppressing the tumult of emotions in her chest. “If it weren’t for your father helping our family back then, my dad would have probably committed suicide long ago. He’s not the kind of man who can bravely face failure. It’s because your dad helped us pay off our debts that our family didn’t fall apart. And you were forced to marry me… I’m very grateful to you. The Lu family’s help to our Zhong family is something we could never repay in our lifetime.”

Her tone was wooden, her expression even more so. After a long time, he found his voice, looking at her as if she were a wooden doll.

“So you can’t bear to see me die alone?”

“You won’t die.” As she spoke, she gave a wistful smile. “Haven’t you already woken up? You’ll live well.”

“I have woken up…” He replied with the same wistfulness, his deep, dark eyes hiding thoughts that no one could decipher.

She didn’t want to interpret it; she just wanted to quickly clear up her entanglement with this man.

“Dongdong is really not your child. He calls me ‘Mommy’ because I’m his godmother. He is my friend’s son, and this house is lent to me by his parents. Because they are both busy with work, they sent Dongdong here to spend the summer vacation—he just looks small, but he is already over six years old and will start elementary school after the summer.”

Upon hearing this, he looked lost, realizing that Dongdong was neither his child nor hers. Yet, he didn’t seem to feel relieved at all; he merely muttered.

“If that child were still here, he would be about the same age as Dongdong…”

Zhong Xintian felt a chill.

She certainly knew who he was referring to— their lost baby from when they were newlyweds due to her miscarriage, a pain she could never truly heal from in her lifetime.

“I’m sorry, Yuan Yuan.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t apologized, but when he did, it only made her heart ache more.

She closed her eyes, praying for calmness from the heavens. She couldn’t lose her temper anymore; she wanted to say goodbye properly to this man. After going through the gates of hell, he must have suffered too; they should part on good terms!

“No need to apologize; that was fate.” She tried to speak in a calm tone, then paused and pretended to be cheerful. “When are you getting married?”

He was taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to ask such a question.

She forced a smile. “I heard that after Miss Ding broke up with her ex-boyfriend, you two got back together. You should be very happy now, right?”

He remained silent.

“You can send me a wedding invitation. Even if I can’t attend the wedding, I’ll prepare a wedding gift.”

“I won’t be getting married.” He declared calmly.

She was surprised. “Why not?”

He didn’t explain, just gazed deeply at her, his eyes filled with a bitterness she couldn’t understand. “I want to stay here for a while.”

“What?!”