As Lu Zongyue walked over to talk to her, the chubby lawyer Zhao beat him to it, pulling her aside to a quiet corner of the house.

Lu frowned. Though his mind warned him to stay calm, his feet had their own idea, and he quietly moved to the corner to eavesdrop.

He heard Lawyer Zhao’s somewhat nervous voice. “Miss Zhong, is that man your boyfriend?”

“You mean Zongyue? No, you’ve misunderstood. We’re just friends.” Her voice rose slightly in protest, and Lu Zongyue felt a twinge of bitterness in his heart.

“Just friends?”

“Really! Don’t get the wrong idea. There’s nothing between us like that.”

“That’s good.” Lawyer Zhao smiled, revealing two rows of healthy white teeth, his grin tinged with a sunny shyness.

She paused, surprised.

“Miss Zhong, can I call you ‘Xintian’?” The man’s tense voice was filled with obvious anticipation. Lu Zongyue instinctively clenched his teeth.

“…Sure.”

His heart sank.

“I’ve been on a business trip to Hualien recently, and whenever I have free time, I come here to help, hoping I might run into you again…”

Lu Zongyue couldn’t bear to listen any longer. He quietly turned and left, a faint bitterness creeping onto his lips.

Earlier, he had also casually asked the director about Zhao Mincheng. Apparently, despite his young age, Zhao had co-founded a law firm with a friend and was quite a renowned civil lawyer, known for charging high fees but often taking on pro bono cases for the poor.

In short, he was a smart and kind-hearted man.

Completely different from selfish and self-centered Lu Zongyue.

A man like that might truly be worthy of Yuan Yuan. So why did he feel so sour about it?

“Lu Zongyue, be generous,” he murmured to himself. “You wanted to find her a good man, didn’t you? Now the opportunity’s right in front of you. You should be happy.”

Yes, he should be happy. If she found a man she could entrust her life to, he could move on peacefully.

Lu Zongyue smiled to himself, but the smile that reached his eyes was tinged with an indescribable melancholy.

The entire afternoon, Zhong Xintian played with the children in the yard, while Lu Zongyue was pulled into a game of dodgeball by Dongdong.

The afternoon sunlight reflected off their lively faces, even making the beads of sweat on their foreheads seem crystal clear. Lu Zongyue laughed heartily.

Yet somehow, Zhong Xintian felt that he wasn’t as happy as he appeared. In the depths of his eyes, there was a shadow of sadness.

She could tell.

Perhaps because she had spent a long time secretly observing him in the past, carefully gauging his emotions, she felt as though she could detect the subtlest changes in his expression.

When he excused himself to wash his sweaty face and returned, he didn’t rejoin the children’s games but stood quietly on the side, lost in thought. Unable to hold back any longer, she approached him.

“Are you okay?”

He was taken aback, staring at her in surprise. “What?”

“You seem like you have something on your mind,” she explained.

He smiled faintly at her words. “I was just thinking that you seem really relaxed when you’re with these children.”

“Huh?” She was startled, not expecting him to be thinking about her.

“Yuan Yuan, you should have a few children of your own one day,” he suddenly said in a deep, resonant voice, as rich and mellow as a cello, carrying a hint of wistfulness. “Marry a good man, raise a few wonderful kids. I know you’ll be very happy.”

Why was he saying all this?

She felt uneasy and avoided meeting his overly deep gaze, turning to look at the children playing on the playground. After a while, she asked softly, “And what about you? Don’t you plan to get married again?”

He didn’t answer.

She couldn’t help but turn to look at his face, only to see his profile bathed in light and shadow, his features sharp and resolute like a figure carved from stone, reminding her of the brooding male leads from British films.

She hesitated, about to say something, when suddenly her phone rang, breaking the quiet moment between them. She answered the call and was shocked by what she heard.

“What?! You’re already in Hualien?”

After explaining the situation to Lu Zongyue, Zhong Xintian quickly said goodbye to the children at the orphanage.

The director was regretful to see her leave so soon, and Lawyer Zhao Mincheng was even more reluctant, seriously promising to stay in touch with her.

Once they got into Lu Zongyue’s car, they hurriedly headed back. When they returned to the quaint Japanese-style wooden house, a tall woman was already standing at the gate.

Seeing her from a distance, Dongdong couldn’t wait for the car to stop. He excitedly opened the door, jumped out, and ran on his little legs, leaping into her arms.

The woman crouched down and opened her arms, embracing him tightly.

“Mommy, why are you here?” The little boy asked sweetly, his dark eyes full of joy, shining like gemstones.

“You little rascal!” The woman pinched his small nose. “School is starting next week, don’t I need to come early to pick you up and get you ready?”

“Mommy… I missed you so much!” His small head rubbed affectionately against the woman’s chest.

“As if!” The woman snorted. “You didn’t even call me once. You’ve just been sending Line messages to your dad and mom. I bet you’ve been having so much fun here with your mommy that you don’t even want to go home!”

“That’s not true!” Dongdong quickly raised his hand in loyalty. “I really did miss you! And Daddy too. Why didn’t he come to pick me up?”

“He had a meeting today, so he couldn’t make it. But you’ll see him when we get home tomorrow. He bought you some awesome toys from America!”

“Really? That’s great! Yay!”

Watching the mother and son embrace happily, Zhong Xintian smiled, but Lu Zongyue stood off to the side, feeling somewhat awkward, his posture stiff as he tried to conceal his discomfort.

So, this woman was Dongdong’s mother, which meant she was the one who lent the house to Yuan Yuan, even trusting her to take care of her child.

She must be Yuan Yuan’s close friend; there was definitely a deep bond between them…

As if sensing his unease, the woman let out a cold laugh, released her son, and gracefully walked toward him. “Mr. Lu, do you remember me?”

It was a very direct and sharp question.

Lu Zongyue smiled wryly, having a strong feeling that this would be a tough encounter.

“I knew you’d forgotten.” The woman snorted, a faint sneer appearing at the corner of her lips. “I’m Luo Aili, Xintian’s friend. I attended your wedding, and we’ve met a couple of times afterward.”

“So, you’re Miss Luo.” Lu Zongyue let out a sigh of relief, quickly smiling and nodding to show goodwill. “Hello, it’s nice to see you.”

“Is it really?” Luo Aili’s delicate brows arched slightly, her tone full of sarcasm. “Because I’m not happy to see you at all!”

Hearing this, Lu Zongyue felt a chill at the back of his neck, cold sweat beginning to form.