On the day of the divorce, I became Qin Shao's darling.

Lin Xiwei nodded: "Mm."

"Hahaha, Weiwei, as expected of you! I can't wait to see those two scoundrels get their comeuppance!"

After her initial excitement, Chu Qing suddenly frowned with worry: "But Su Yunfan is also very shrewd. Will he agree to a divorce settlement with you?"

Lin Xiwei thought for a moment and said, "He will definitely suspect that I cheated, but the problem is, given his current situation, if we really go to the point of filing for divorce, it will do him more harm than good."

Chu Qing listened attentively.

Lin Xiwei continued, "My lawyer told me that even if I can't make him leave with nothing, I have the right to divide his company's shares, which would be very detrimental to the future development of his company, especially if his company wants to go public."

So after weighing the options, Su Yunfan will definitely still gamble—gamble that she will get a million and quickly get a divorce.

But she didn't.

We deliberately want to disgust them, making them hate us to the core yet feel helpless.

After hearing this, Chu Qing clapped her hands happily, "So that's how it is! You're so smart. I thought you were driven crazy by your parents and just gave in to that scoundrel."

"How could that be? Even if it means a fight to the death, I won't let them get away with it."

"that is."

Seeing that her best friend's predicament was resolved, Chu Qing returned to her own department to get back to work.

After her best friend left, Lin Xiwei's smile faded, and her mood instantly plummeted.

It wasn't because of Su Yunfan's betrayal, nor because of Zhong Yurou's provocation, but because of her parents.

The thought that her parents would risk Junjun's life just to get money from her made her heart feel like it was being soaked in ice and snow.

The husband can divorce her and never see her again.

But what about the parents and family?

This blood ties cannot be severed.

Unless she hardens her heart, takes her son away from Jiangcheng, and completely severs ties with her family so that they can never find her again.

No solution...

She took a deep breath, rallied her spirits, and turned to return to her ward.

Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he saw a couple standing behind him.

Mrs. Qin sat in a wheelchair, while Mr. Qin pushed his wife.

This time, they came alone, without their housekeeper or caregiver.

Their eyes met, and Lin Xiwei remembered what the doctor had said earlier: it was thanks to the help of these two elders that her mother hadn't taken her son away.

The scene was chaotic then, and she didn't have a chance to properly thank them. Now that she had run into them, she immediately smiled politely and said, "Hello, thank you so much for today. Otherwise, I would be frantic with worry, searching everywhere for my child."

Madam Qin smiled and said kindly, "You're welcome. I'm just glad you don't mind us meddling."

"How could that be? I'm very grateful for your help earlier," Lin Xiwei said sincerely.

Over the years, almost no elders around her have said anything to defend her.

But a stranger was able to speak up for her.

She cherished this warmth.

Seeing that Lin Xiwei treated her well, Madam Qin's worries subsided, and she then explained her purpose: "Miss Lin, is that right? It's like this... Actually, my husband and I have come several times, specifically to see the children."

Lin Xiwei frowned, and the smile on her face vanished instantly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

Madam Qin continued, "It was also a coincidence. We discovered by chance that your son looks a lot like my youngest son. My youngest son passed away unexpectedly half a month ago, and we are finding it hard to accept..."

Before Madam Qin could finish speaking, her voice choked with emotion, and tears streamed down her face.

Mr. Qin immediately comforted his wife and then said, "My youngest son is not married yet, so we have no children. We couldn't help but come and see your son because he looks like my youngest son, just for some peace of mind."

After calming down a bit, Madam Qin regained her gentle and kind demeanor: "We were just thinking, could you allow us to visit the child occasionally? To let him keep us company?"

Today, Madam Qin held Junjun in her arms. The feeling was as if time had turned back, and she was holding her youngest son from her childhood.

Back in the ward, the elderly couple became increasingly tempted, so they rashly approached Lin Xiwei and made this unreasonable request.

Lin Xiwei stood there, her expression indescribable.

She is not superstitious.

But now her son is seriously ill, and if he can't be cured, he may leave her in a few years.

Just then, an elderly couple came to her door and said that her child looked like their son who had died young. They missed their son and wanted to use her child as a substitute.

Lin Xiwei instinctively felt that this was an unlucky thing.

Besides, she didn't know the elderly couple in front of her.

What if they have ulterior motives? Or even worse, what if they were sent by Su Yunfan just to gain her trust and take the child from her?

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Xiwei shook her head and said politely but distantly, "I'm sorry, I don't know you. The child was also frightened today, so please don't bother us again."

After saying this, Lin Xiwei didn't wait for the other person to speak again, turned around and went back to the ward, closing the door tightly.

Madam Qin came full of confidence, thinking she could gain Lin Xiwei's trust and let them see and hold the child up close.

To my surprise, I was rejected.

Madam Qin felt a pang of pain in her heart, and her blood pressure and heart rate suddenly spiked, causing her to faint from the pain.

Mr. Qin was terrified, "Shuqin, Shuqin?"

The doctor happened to be passing by and, upon seeing the situation, immediately pushed the wheelchair and rushed the patient to the emergency room.

Lin Xiwei was in the ward when she heard the commotion outside and roughly guessed what was going on.

But she's in dire straits, barely able to save herself, her own life is a mess, so how could she have the mood or energy to sympathize with the fate of others?

Finally, she hardened her heart and pretended not to know anything about it.

Coming to her senses, she instructed the nanny, "Sister Hong, I'll have to trouble you to be more careful in the future and not let strangers get close to Junjun, not even my parents."

Lin Xiwei only wanted to protect her son, so she had to be extremely vigilant.

Sister Hong nodded: "Don't worry, I know."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Qin Jiamo took a vacation of almost half a month, and the backlog of files almost filled her office.

Only after his mother's condition stabilized did he resume work and begin handling court cases.

As a result, just after a high-intensity court hearing ended, before he could even catch his breath, Han Rui came over to tell him: the old lady had fallen into a coma and was being rescued.

His face darkened, and without having time to tell the parties involved any more details about the case, he hurriedly left.

Fortunately, by the time he arrived at the hospital, Madam Qin was out of danger, though she was still unconscious.

As dusk fell, Qin Jiamo listened to his father recount the day's events. Standing by the window, gazing at the night outside, he fell into deep thought.

"I told you before not to bother them. You are heartbroken at losing your son, and she is just as anxious because her son is seriously ill."

Mr. Qin nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, she's had a tough time too. Her child got leukemia at such a young age, and instead of helping her, her parents pressured her like that. Your mother and I were inconsiderate today; we shouldn't have gone over to bother her so rashly."

Qin Jiamo remained silent, his expression solemn.

He began to wonder again whether Lin Xiwei's son and her brother were related.

"Jiamo, how about... you apologize to them on our behalf tomorrow?" Old Mr. Qin was a respectable man, and realizing that he had done something wrong, he wanted to make amends.

Qin Jiamo had long wanted to see Lin Xiwei's son in person, but when he went to look for him before, he didn't see the child.

He was planning to go there again sometime, and he was determined to see the child before making a decision.

But he didn't plan to have much involvement with Lin Xiwei until he found out the child's identity.

Although her situation is indeed very pitiful.

But tragic things happen every moment in this world. He is a lawyer, not a savior, and cannot save all the miserable people in this world.

"I'm too busy, I don't have time. I'll have someone prepare some gifts tomorrow, and Uncle Zhang can go over there." Qin Jiamo refused and arranged for the butler, Uncle Zhang, to apologize.

But in his heart, he secretly planned to find an opportunity to see the child tomorrow.

I'll just look; I won't make any direct contact.

Mr. Qin complained, "All you do all day is work, work, work! What's the use of earning so much money? You don't even have a wife and kids, who are you going to spend it on?"

Qin Jiamo remained silent.

He knew that after his younger brother's sacrifice, his parents would definitely urge him to get married more quickly.

He wanted to be a filial son, but marriage was something he couldn't rush into.

If he doesn't meet a woman who moves his heart, he finds it hard to convince himself to enter into a marriage.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day, Lin Xiwei went to work as usual.

But during her lunch break, she rushed to the hospital to be with her son.

Upon opening the door, Lin Xiwei was taken aback to find the ward piled high with various high-end gifts. "Who... sent these?"

Sister Hong was busy, but when she heard this, she turned around and saw her, and immediately went up to explain.

"It was sent by the elderly couple. They said they were too abrupt yesterday and asked you not to mind. They said these are nutritional supplements for the children and it's just a small token of their appreciation."

"Why didn't you tell me? You can't accept something so valuable."

"I refused repeatedly, but they insisted on giving it up, saying that it was all for the children, and if we didn't want it, they wouldn't be able to use it either, so we would just have to throw it away..."

After Hongjie finished speaking, she looked troubled.

Lin Xiwei looked at those items and estimated their value to be over ten thousand.

She simply couldn't believe that there were still such kind and generous strangers these days.

But she was truly heartbroken by the person she loved most.

So even if someone is nice to her now, she instinctively suspects that the other person may have some ulterior motive.

"Miss Lin, I see they are very sincere. Why don't you accept it? It'll be good for Junjun's health." Sister Hong was also concerned about her current situation and advised her in this way.

"No, this is too expensive. I'll go ask them which ward they're staying in."

After refusing, Lin Xiwei turned and left.

However, when they consulted the doctor in the department, they learned that the couple had already been discharged from the hospital.

"Discharged?" Lin Xiwei asked in surprise. "Wasn't that lady still in critical condition yesterday after falling ill?"

The doctor said, "Yes, but they were transferred to another hospital today."

If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do.

Lin Xiwei returned to her hospital room and looked at the expensive nutritional supplements, feeling only able to silently express her gratitude to the other party.

"Mom, the ward is so boring, I want to go downstairs and play." Junjun asked pitifully, whining as his mother returned.

Lin Xiwei walked over, picked up her son, and asked gently, "Baby, what do you want to play downstairs?"

"Mom, there are cats in the little garden downstairs, shall we go find them?"

There are stray cats in the garden, fed and fat by people, which children love.

When her son mentioned cats, his big, dark eyes sparkled, and her heart softened. "Okay, Mommy will take you to find cats!"

Lin Xiwei picked up her son, and the two happily went out.

In the luxurious ward of the North Building on the same floor, Qin Jiamo only had time to visit her mother at noon.

Madam Qin's condition is not yet stable, so she will not be discharged from the hospital.

The housekeeper was thorough and worried that Lin Xiwei might insist on returning the nutritional supplements when she arrived, so he instructed the medical staff to tell them that the old lady had been discharged from the hospital.

Hearing from the housekeeper that the child was in the ward with only the nanny, Qin Jiamo changed her mind and decided to go and see him again.

Han Rui followed behind him, a hint of excitement and anticipation in his voice: "This time, we'll definitely be able to see that child."

Qin Jiamo remained silent, but her anticipation was palpable.

But he only wanted to see the child and didn't want Lin Xiwei to find out.

To their surprise, just as the two of them crossed the corridor and reached the south building, they turned a corner and bumped into Lin Xiwei carrying her son.

The moment their eyes met, both of them were momentarily stunned.

Qin Jiamo, who was usually as steady as a mountain, felt inexplicably guilty at this moment.

He subconsciously lowered his head and coughed lightly, pressing his fist to his lips.

Han Rui turned to look at him, his gaze quite remarkable.

After all, it's extremely rare for a boss to react like this.

There was an awkward silence for two seconds before Lin Xiwei was the first to recover and greeted him politely, "Hello, Attorney Qin."

Qin Jiamo may appear cold and aloof, but his heart is also filled with turmoil.

"Hello." He reacted quickly, not taking another step forward, but turning slightly towards the elevator, explaining to himself, "The elevator in the north building is broken."

"Pfft..." Han Rui almost couldn't help but laugh out loud—his usually dignified and unyielding boss had actually lied!

"oh."

Lin Xiwei was puzzled and had no idea that he had come specifically to "spy" on her son, so she nodded in response and said to her son in her arms, "Junjun, say hello to your uncle."

Junjun hugged his mother's neck, turned to look at Qin Jiamo, and shook his head for the first time ever: "No way, Uncle is a stingy person."

The child's voice was innocent and adorable.

But what he said stunned the three adults present!

Lin Xiwei's face froze. She stared at her son for a second, stunned. "...What?"

My son said Qin Jiamo is a stingy person?!

Qin Jiamo was even more surprised. He stared at the little boy in the woman's arms, his expression instantly becoming stern.

But the next second, he felt a distinct jolt in his heart.

Because the little face in front of me really does look just like my younger brother when he was little.

It even gave him the illusion that his younger brother had been reincarnated!

Attorney Qin, who is usually unfazed even by the collapse of Mount Tai, once again lost his composure and froze in just a few minutes.

He stared at the little boy, momentarily losing his composure.

Fortunately, the elevator arrived with a "ding," and someone came out and pushed them aside, allowing Qin Jiamo to come to her senses.

Han Rui glanced at him silently, knowing that he was startled by the little boy.

"Boss, the elevator's here." Han Rui said in a low voice, blocking the elevator door with one hand, trying to snap himself out of his daze.

Qin Jiamo nodded, his tall and slender figure moving into the elevator, then stepping aside to make room for Lin Xiwei and her son.

Lin Xiwei came in carrying the child and nodded to Han Rui, "Thank you."

Noticing Qin Jiamo's lapse in composure, Lin Xiwei, unaware of the reason, assumed he was bothered by her son's comment that "Uncle is a stingy person," and thus tried to ease the awkwardness: "Sweetie, have you met Uncle before?"