After marriage, Lu Nian was a freelancer, so she had a lot of time at home.

Besides working on her drawings, she started learning cooking and flower arranging.

Whatever interested her, she would learn.

As long as she wanted, Qin Si supported her in everything.

Their home was well organized by her, while he was busy with work at the company.

Lu Nian also felt sorry for him being so tired in the past.

Now, besides work, she couldn’t help, but she tried to arrange everything else for him so that he wouldn’t have to worry.

Qin Si was used to handling everything himself and returning home to a cold and empty house.

Now, every time he came back, there was someone waiting at home, the lights were always on, warm and bright, someone was caring for him, waiting for him to come home.

For so many years, Qin Si had never experienced this kind of life.

Especially since the one waiting for him was the person he had loved for so many years, placed at the top of his heart.

In these days, he loved her more and more.

Compared to before marriage, not only had his love not diminished, but it had become more intense day by day.

He had wandered for too long, and finally, by her side, he found the place where his heart belonged.

However, even though they had been married for so long, they still hadn’t had any children.

Because they didn’t have any elders above them, there was no one to urge them to have children, so they made all the decisions themselves.

Several of Lu Nian’s friends from college had gotten married and soon became pregnant.

Seeing that Lu Nian hadn’t shown any signs of pregnancy, they were curious, “Your relationship with your husband is so good, why don’t you plan on having children?”

Their conditions were good, and there was no issue with supporting a child.

Lu Nian didn’t actually have any particular obsession with having children.

Her health was poor, and although Qin Si had always remained silent, she could tell that he was trying his best to take care of her health.

The doctor said her health was poor, and while she could have children, the risks would definitely be higher than usual.

As the weather gradually warmed up, it was the season for eating strawberries.

Someone had delivered several large boxes of fresh strawberries to their home in advance.

Lu Nian washed them early and saw him getting ready to leave for work, so she hurried over.

Just after getting up, Lu Nian hadn’t tidied up much since she didn’t have to go out today.

She was still wearing her nightgown, the hem soft, and she held a fresh strawberry in her mouth.

“These are so sweet,” Lu Nian exclaimed after tasting the strawberry juice. “You should try one!”

The man had just finished tying his tie and looked up at her.

Lu Nian had already tiptoed over, pressed him against the table, and kissed him.

A morning kiss.

He cooperated skillfully.

After a while, Lu Nian finally let him go.

“Your younger brother is coming this afternoon,” Qin Si told her before leaving.

Lu Nian wasn’t surprised. “For company business?”

Now, Qiao Li basically took over the Lu family.

With him came Zhao Yayuan, and their cooperation with Ning Sheng had also become closer.

Everything was gradually getting back on track.

He nodded.

Qiao Li and Zhao Yayuan came over to discuss business with Qin Si in the afternoon, which was scheduled for later.

They arrived an hour early, but unexpectedly, while Qin Si was usually punctual, he was still dealing with other work at Ning Sheng when they arrived, and there was only Lu Nian at home.

“Let’s wait a bit,” Lu Nian said happily. “He’ll be back soon.”

It had been a long time since she had seen them, and it seemed they were all doing well.

Qiao Li was now in charge of the Lu family, which was also smooth, although it wasn’t as glorious as it used to be, it was still moving in the right direction.

It seemed that Qiao Li already had a girlfriend, and Lu Nian trusted him as always and didn’t inquire too much.

Zhao Yayuan had been single all along, despite the occasional prodding from Jiang Wenyin and the others.

However, after seeing the lessons learned from Zhao Tingyuan’s experience, they were even more cautious and didn’t dare to interfere too much.

So, if Zhao Yayuan didn’t want to get married, they let him be.

Unexpectedly, this time, apart from the two of them, Lu Nian also met a very unexpected little guy.

“No way, he’s a clingy one and insisted on coming along,” Zhao Yayuan shrugged.

There was only a little boy about three years old, who looked particularly cute, sucking on his fingers and clutching Zhao Yayuan’s clothes, shyly looking at Lu Nian.

“Xiu Yi?” Lu Nian had known about the existence of this child for a long time, but it was the first time she had actually met him.

“Yep, my mom went on a trip, and I have to go out. He just wouldn’t let the nanny take him, so I thought since I was coming here anyway, I brought him along,” Zhao Yayuan explained.

Zhao Xiuyi clearly inherited more of the Zhao family’s genes.

There wasn’t much resemblance to Su Qingyou on his face.

Standing next to Zhao Yayuan, it was obvious that they were uncle and nephew.

Perhaps because he had been without his parents since he was young, Zhao Xiuyi was shy and timid.

He looked very similar to Zhao Yayuan, with amber-colored big eyes, a small red mouth, and a white and tender face, a very obedient little guy.

Lu Nian squatted down to play with him. “They say that children will gradually resemble the people they see every day.”

She picked some fruits that children liked and gave them to him.

The strawberries were bright red.

Zhao Xiuyi was very obedient.

When Zhao Yayuan nodded, he timidly took them from her.

Qiao Li also smiled. “He looks a lot like Yayuan when she was young, but with a much better temperament.”

Zhao Yayuan shrugged. “He’s just too introverted. When we go out, everyone thinks he’s a little girl.”

Zhao Xiuyi had started to learn to speak.

He would call people in a vague manner.

He was very close to Zhao Yayuan, but this was the first time he had seen Lu Nian, and he curiously sized her up with his childish eyes.

There were very few young women of this age in his living environment.

Lu Nian held his little hand and gently wiped away the strawberry juice from his lips.

Zhao Xiuyi felt her hand was very soft and fragrant, very different from his uncle who usually carried him.

“Call her Auntie,” Zhao Yayuan said casually.

Zhao Xiuyi leaned against her and suddenly lifted his small face, crisply calling out, “Mommy.”

He had never had a mother since he was little.

Jiang Wenyin taught him to recognize words.

Of course, he had said that the corresponding word for dad was mom.

Sometimes he would randomly call Zhao Yayuan dad.

Zhao Yayuan was indifferent and lazy, like a lazy young master.

Sometimes he didn’t care as long as no one else heard it.

But this shocking word startled all three adults.

Coincidentally, the door was pushed open.

Qin Si returned home, pushed open the door, and just as he entered, he saw Lu Nian intimately holding a child, wiping his mouth, Zhao Yayuan standing beside him, bending over to look, and then came this crisp “Mommy.”

His expression couldn’t have been darker.

Now, everyone in the room fell silent.

Zhao Yayuan was a bit overwhelmed. “She’s not your mother.”

Could a mother be called so casually? Wasn’t this blatantly putting a cuckold hat on Qin Si?

Zhao Xiuyi was young and could only feel that after he said this, the atmosphere in the room seemed to become distorted.

He pouted, and his big amber eyes seemed to be filled with tears, looking pitiful.

Lu Nian softened. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Auntie will take you out to eat strawberries.”

“You guys go ahead and talk.” She took Zhao Xiuyi out while stealing a glance at Qin Si’s expression.

This man was easy to placate.

Even if he was a little angry now, once they all left and they got a bit closer, everything would be fine.

Zhao Yayuan felt quite embarrassed.

Qin Si’s expression remained neutral, and he didn’t bring up the incident again, pretending as if it hadn’t happened, which eased the tension.

Having known Qin Si for so long, he knew that despite his seemingly silent and reserved demeanor, he had an extremely extreme and rebellious personality.

If provoked, he was capable of anything.

After finishing their work conversation, Qiao Li lagged behind a bit and asked Qin Si in a low voice, “Are you really not planning to have children with Nian Nian?”

“You should set your own wedding date first,” Qin Si replied without looking up.

Qiao Li, “…”

“Her health isn’t good,” Qin Si finally explained after a while. “There’s a high risk of childbirth.”

Originally, he didn’t want children, and with this reason, it was even more impossible.

“If you’re willing, then we don’t have to,” Qiao Li said, his tone relaxed. “For the sake of Nian Nian’s well-being.”

He was afraid that Qin Si would care a lot about the issue of having children and might have other thoughts because of Lu Nian’s weak health.

But now it seemed that they were on the same page.

Lu Nian didn’t know what the two men inside were talking about.

She really liked Zhao Xiuyi and spent half the afternoon playing with him outside.

Cute, pretty, and obedient children; who wouldn’t like them?

She couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if she and Qin Si had a child.

If it were like him, then in childhood, the child probably wouldn’t be cute, not affectionate, quiet, and solitary.

However, she thought again.

Qin Si’s personality was like this because of his childhood experiences.

If he had been cared for from an early age, he wouldn’t be like this.

She wondered what his original personality might have been like.

After Zhao Yayuan and the others left, only the two of them were left in the room.

“Not angry, are you?” Lu Nian asked him with a smile.

He lowered his eyes and didn’t speak.

She sat on his lap, sighed, and smiled, “Since you won’t give me children, I’ll just take advantage of you here.”

Qin Si hugged her waist, kissed her, but remained silent.

Lu Nian didn’t really have a strong desire to have children.

The doctor had also said that her health wasn’t good, and there was a high risk of childbirth.

She knew that Qin Si was particularly afraid of her falling ill, so she wouldn’t bring up this matter to avoid making him unhappy.

Lu Nian suddenly remembered another matter.

For so many years, she had been sponsoring the orphanage where Qin Si had previously stayed.

She kept meticulous accounts and supervised to ensure that every penny was spent on the children, and the facilities and food there improved every year.

The children all liked her.

Every time she went, they surrounded her, calling her sister, with very sweet mouths.

“How about we adopt one?” Lu Nian asked for his opinion. “There are many abandoned babies outside now, or children in orphanages who have no one to adopt them.”

Perhaps because of Qin Si’s influence, she had always felt very sorry for those children, with an extra bit of compassion.

Qin Si had never gone back to that orphanage.

Although it had all changed, the memories of the beatings, humiliation, and verbal abuse… were deeply rooted in his childhood memories, in the depths of his soul.

Lu Nian also deliberately avoided these things and never mentioned the orphanage to him.

“Do you really want this?” he finally couldn’t help asking.

He had selfish reasons.

If her health was indeed the main concern, adoption could solve the problem.

But he only wanted her to look at him, not to let her attention be diverted by anyone else, and not to have anyone else interfere between them.

This was another important reason that he found it hard to express.

Lu Nian kissed him gently and spoke in a soft voice, “I’ve said it before, I’ll listen to you on this matter. If you want it, we’ll have children; if you don’t, we won’t.”

The man’s long fingers tightened slightly.

Even after being married for all this time, hearing her express herself so directly still quickened his blood flow, and his ears would still uncontrollably heat up.

Lu Nian loved him the most when he was like this, and she couldn’t help but feel more affectionate.

“I’m actually not from this world,” Lu Nian suddenly said, looking into the distance.

After being here for so long, she finally said this sentence.

She said it quickly and lightly.

If the listener didn’t care, it wouldn’t even register, just sounding like meaningless nonsense.

“I know,” he said without surprise, still cherishing her breath.

Lu Nian was completely stunned.

He said, “You’re nothing like them.”

“I’m not that stupid. I can tell the difference between you two.”

To him, she was her, and there was no way she could be mistaken for anyone else.

From a young age, he had been mature and sensitive, so naturally he couldn’t fail to notice her changes.

In his childhood, after realizing this fact, he had always considered her a gift from heaven or a good-hearted fairy from a fairy tale.

In those early days, it was funny to think that he had always been worried that one day she would turn back and disappear from this world completely.

Then, as he grew older, he began to seriously consider how to keep her by his side forever.

“I am Lu Nian.” She suddenly felt her nose tingle and wrote her name carefully on the paper, which was why she tried using the pen name “Yu Lu” (“Meet Lu”).

Since she died at the age of fourteen, until now, this was the first time she had written her name in front of someone else.

“Maybe one day, if I suddenly disappear, like lightning striking me,” Lu Nian said.

“In that case…”

She was daydreaming, but suddenly looked up and saw his expression.

Lu Nian, “Just kidding.”

It was the first time she had seen such a terrifying expression on Qin Si’s face.

“If you leave,” he said, still holding her, his tone calm, “I won’t let your body go.”

“I’ll commit suicide. Even if only my soul is left, I’ll still follow you.” He lifted her chin, speaking softly.

The first time, he couldn’t control his strength, and almost hurt her.

Despite his seemingly calm demeanor, his beautiful and serene phoenix eyes belied the craziness of his words.

He was afraid of her having an accident while giving birth, afraid of her leaving silently, afraid of her not loving him anymore, afraid that everything now was fake, just a dream.

He cherished his current life too much.

He didn’t want any changes at all, so any factor that could affect this life had to be eliminated.

This man was always restrained and reserved, in his emotions as well as his words.

But now, the intense change in his feelings, for some reason, made her feel so straightforward for the first time.

Lu Nian suddenly felt very sorry for him.

She remembered his painful and rocky experiences during his teenage years, the desperate and crazy ending in the original book…

and all these years, his restrained but desperate and crazy admiration for her.

“I won’t leave,” Lu Nian said earnestly. “I promise.”

“No need, just love you.” She hugged him back, sighed softly, and kissed his eye corner. “Is that enough for you to be satisfied?”

Until she could bring him enough love and security.

In this lifetime, since she had provoked him, she had to take responsibility until the end, loving and cherishing him for the rest of her life, until everything ended.