After the divorce, he went on a motorcycle trip, and his ex-wife and daughter were filled with regre

at the same time.

In another corner of the old town of Hanju.

After experiencing the incident at the kindergarten gate, and especially after hearing Han Qingru's enlightening lecture, Shen Qinghan underwent a profound awakening.

She finally understood that tears and pleas would get her nothing and would only make her feel more worthless.

She no longer complained about fate or cursed its injustice, nor did she yearn to return to Jiang Ye's side immediately and become that high-and-mighty wealthy lady again.

She wanted to do as Han Qingru suggested, first clean herself up and stand up like a human being.

Shen Qinghan quit her job washing dishes at the fast food restaurant.

With the little savings she had left, she rented a tiny storefront in a remote corner two streets away from the international kindergarten where Shen Xinyu studied.

The storefront is less than ten square meters, the walls are mottled, and there isn't even a decent sign.

Shen Qinghan bought several buckets of cheap white paint, painted the walls herself, and then opened a flower shop that couldn't be simpler.

The once pampered, haute couture-wearing, and luxury-car-driven female CEO worth hundreds of billions has now become a struggling laborer.

Every morning at four o'clock.

While the rest of the city was still asleep, Shen Qinghan had already gotten up.

Wearing a faded old coat, she rode a secondhand tricycle, braving the biting cold wind, to the largest flower wholesale market in Hanju to purchase goods.

To get flowers for a few cents cheaper, she had to haggle with those rude wholesalers; to save on transportation costs, she had to grit her teeth and carry buckets and bouquets weighing dozens of kilograms onto the tricycle herself.

While pruning the flowers, her hands were pricked countless times by the thorns of the roses.

Blood flowed out, but he simply wiped it off with a tissue and continued working.

Over time, her hands, once as flawless as white jade, are now covered with tiny scars and thick calluses. Her once fair and delicate skin has also become rough and dull due to daily exposure to wind and sun.

However, Shen Qinghan's eyes held a new kind of resilience and calmness that she had never seen before.

Every afternoon at 4:30 is the time that Shen Qinghan looks forward to the most, but also the most agonizing.

Because this is the time when international kindergartens let out for the day.

At times like this, Shen Qinghan would put down her work. She dared not leave the flower shop, but could only hide far away behind the somewhat blurry glass door, staring intently at the street corner through the crack in the door.

Soon, that familiar black Rolls-Royce Phantom will slowly drive past the street corner.

Sometimes it was Jiang Ye holding Shen Xinyu's hand, and sometimes it was Han Qingru holding Shen Xinyu's hand.

The little girl, carrying her schoolbag and holding snacks or toys, skipped and hopped along beside them, her face beaming with an incredibly bright and happy smile.

Looking at her daughter's carefree smile, and seeing how well Jiang Ye and Han Qingru protected her.

Hiding behind the glass door, Shen Qinghan's tears would always fall silently and uncontrollably.

She dared not approach and disturb them, not even daring to breathe too heavily, for fear of disturbing the happiness that belonged to her daughter.

She could only bite her lip tightly, letting the tears flow into her mouth, tasting the bitterness.

She stood there quietly, watching silently, until the Rolls-Royce completely disappeared from sight. Only then did she turn around, wipe away her tears with her scarred hands, and continue trimming the thorny roses.

. .

That evening, the sky over Hanju was dyed a brilliant orange-red by the setting sun.

In the penthouse of Donghu Apartments, Han Qingru sat in her spacious study. Wearing frameless glasses that block blue light, her brows slightly furrowed, she faced the computer screen, conducting an urgent international video conference with executives from overseas branches in fluent and authentic English.

This meeting involved a multi-million dollar acquisition, and every detail had to be perfect, so Han Qingru couldn't get away from it.

Jiang Ye carried a glass of warm water into the study and placed it beside her. Looking at Han Qingru's focused and busy profile, he didn't disturb her, but gently patted her shoulder and mouthed, "I'll go get Xinyu."

Han Qingru looked up and gave him a gentle and apologetic smile before immediately immersing herself in the tense meeting.

Jiang Ye turned around and went downstairs, driving his black Rolls-Royce Phantom smoothly towards the international kindergarten where Shen Xinyu studied.

After picking up his daughter, on the way home, soothing music played in the car. Shen Xinyu sat in her car seat in the back, fiddling with the little red flower her kindergarten teacher had given her, chattering away to Jiang Ye about the fun things that happened at school that day.

The Rolls-Royce encountered a red light as it drove through an intersection two blocks away from the kindergarten.

The car stopped slowly.

Shen Xinyu pressed her face against the car window, her big eyes gazing curiously at the street outside. Suddenly, she pointed her chubby little finger to the street corner and exclaimed excitedly, "Daddy, look! There's a new flower shop over there! They have so many beautiful flowers!"

Jiang Ye looked in the direction his daughter was pointing.

It was a very secluded and inconspicuous corner, with a very small storefront. There wasn't even a proper sign; the word "flowers" was simply painted on the wall in white paint. Through the somewhat blurry glass door, you could vaguely see some common flowers displayed inside.

"Dad, Qingru's mom worked so hard today, how about we buy her a bunch of sunflowers? The teacher said that sunflowers represent sunshine and happiness, and Qingru's mom will definitely be very happy to see them!" Shen Xinyu looked up at Jiang Ye with her little face full of anticipation.

Hearing his daughter's understanding words, Jiang Ye felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Without thinking much of it, he smiled and nodded, "Okay, Dad will take you to buy it."

When the green light came on, Jiang Ye pulled the car over to the side of the road, unbuckled his seatbelt, took Shen Xinyu's small hand, and pushed open the glass door of the simple flower shop.

"jingle--"

The cheap wind chime hanging on the door made a crisp sound.

The flower shop was very small, and the air was filled with the scent of cheap flowers mixed with the smell of damp earth.

Upon hearing the wind chimes, the shop owner, who was busy in the corner with her back to the door, instinctively turned around.

"Welcome! What would you like to order...?"

Before the proprietress could finish speaking, her voice was cut off as if by an invisible pair of scissors, abruptly stuck in her throat.

The moment she turned around, the air in the entire flower shop seemed to freeze instantly.

Jiang Ye stood at the door with Shen Xinyu by his hand, looking calmly at the woman in front of him.

It's Shen Qinghan.