The countryside mornings were softer than the city's.
The air smelled of earth after rain, of wildflowers and smoke from distant stoves. Birds called from the trees as if announcing a new beginning — one Xu Ling wasn't sure she was ready to claim.
She woke early every day now, though sleep often came late. The nightmares had faded, replaced by memories she couldn't escape — her grandmother's frail smile, her stepsister's deceit, Li Wei's eyes filled with cruel disbelief.
When she looked in the mirror, she saw a stranger. Her face was thinner, paler. But her eyes… her eyes had grown quieter.
The small cottage Wang Zheng gave her sat by a stream, surrounded by bamboo and silence. He rarely stayed there, but his people checked in daily — respectful, distant, efficient. She suspected they knew who he truly was, but no one ever said it aloud.
That morning, she ventured into the nearby town for the first time.
---
The Town of Shuilan
The market street buzzed with life — merchants calling out prices, children laughing as they chased chickens, the air thick with the smell of fried dough and herbs.
Xu Ling kept her head low, her worn dress blending into the crowd. She wasn't used to this kind of noise anymore, yet something about it comforted her — the ordinariness of it, the lack of judgment.
"Miss, fresh tofu! Made this morning!"
She smiled faintly and bought a small piece. The vendor's wife — a round, cheerful woman — squinted at her curiously.
"You're new here, aren't you?"
Xu Ling nodded. "Just moved nearby."
"Ah, countryside's quiet but good for healing," the woman said, handing her a bag. "You've got city hands, though — not used to lifting things, hmm?"
Xu Ling laughed softly, her first real laugh in weeks. "I suppose not."
As she walked through the street, she caught whispers trailing behind her — the way people always whispered about strangers.
"Did you hear? That young woman came with the man from the big hill house."
"They say she's his lover."
"Lover? Maybe his ward."
"Either way, she's too beautiful for a quiet life like this."
Xu Ling pretended not to hear. The countryside gossips were gentler than the city's tabloids — but they still stung.
She turned toward the small tea shop at the corner, drawn by the scent of jasmine. There, behind the counter, an elderly man smiled knowingly.
"You must be the young lady Mr. Wang brought in."
She froze. "You know him?"
The old man chuckled. "Who doesn't? He's been coming here for years, always polite, always quiet. Not like the rest of his kind."
His kind.
The capital's elite — the people she had once brushed shoulders with but could never belong to.
Xu Ling smiled faintly. "He saved my life."
The man nodded slowly. "Then perhaps fate owed you both a debt."
---
Later That Day...
Wang Zheng returned from the city that evening, dust still clinging to his coat.
He found her sitting by the stream, a basket of vegetables beside her, the late sunlight catching strands of her hair.
"You went out," he said, his tone neutral.
She glanced up. "I needed air. And tofu."
He stared at the basket. "You walked alone?"
"Yes. Should I not have?"
He sighed, sitting down beside her. "The countryside talks. Be careful what they make of you."
Xu Ling plucked a leaf of mint from her palm, inhaling its scent. "I'm used to being misunderstood."
That silenced him.
After a while, she turned to him. "You're always so serious, Mr. Wang. Do you ever smile?"
He raised a brow. "I just did."
"That was not a smile."
"Then perhaps I've forgotten how."
She smiled softly. "Then maybe I'll remind you."
He looked at her, something flickering behind his eyes — a rare warmth. But it faded quickly, replaced by quiet restraint.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," he said gently.
---
Meanwhile, in the Chen Mansion…
In a vast study lined with scrolls and old photographs, Chen Heo placed a stack of documents on the table. His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed urgency.
"I found her — at least, I think I did. She was admitted to a countryside hospital two weeks ago. No records before that. No family listed. She disappeared after she was discharged."
The Chen Patriarch, a man whose aura could silence generals, leaned back in his chair. His silver hair gleamed under the lamplight, his eyes sharp despite age.
"You're certain?"
"The pendant," Chen Heo replied, placing a photo on the table. "It's identical to Mother's. And her face…" He hesitated. "She looks like her."
For a long moment, silence reigned. Then, the old man whispered, "After twenty years… my daughter's child is alive."
Another brother, Chen Long, crossed his arms. "But missing again. We can't just announce this. The Chen family's enemies are watching."
The patriarch's eyes darkened. "Find her quietly. Bring her home when the time is right."
Chen Heo nodded. "Yes, Father."
As he turned to leave, he couldn't shake the image of the fragile girl lying in that hospital bed — the one who looked like a ghost from their past.
---
In the Capital...
Li Wei sat alone in his penthouse, surrounded by silence.
On the screen before him, his investigators' report glowed faintly — the blurred security footage of a bridge, a figure in the rain, then nothing.
His chest tightened.
He should have felt relief that the scandal was fading. Instead, he felt nothing but emptiness.
He had called her a liar.
He had thrown her out when she said she carried his child.
And now she was gone.
The words echoed in his mind: What if she was telling the truth?
Li Wei gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles white. "Find her," he ordered. "No matter what it takes."
---
Back in Shuilan...
That night, the wind blew gently through the open window. Xu Ling lay awake, listening to the rustling bamboo outside.
She thought of Wang Zheng's quiet voice, of his steadiness, of the peace he carried — so different from the storm she had come from.
But every time she closed her eyes, she still saw Li Wei's face — the anger, the disbelief, the heartbreak she had tried to erase.
She pressed her hand against her abdomen, tears sliding down silently.
"I'll protect you," she whispered to the tiny life inside her. "Even if no one ever protects me."
Outside, under the same sky, Li Wei stared out his window — haunted, desperate, and utterly unaware that the woman he had destroyed was still alive… and carrying his sons.