Chapter 1 Reuniting with Ex-Husband on a Stormy Night

Lu Xining had always believed that even if there was no love and sweetness between a husband and wife, they could at least respect each other.

So, during the five years of her secret marriage with Ji Muye, she had earnestly played the roles of wife and mother.

"Congratulations, you are pregnant."

After leaving the hospital, Lu Xining couldn't wait to share the good news with her husband Ji Muye, but his phone was unreachable, and she learned from his secretary that he had gone to pick up their twin sons.

Lu Xining decided to wait at home instead and even asked the kitchen to prepare a few extra dishes.

Yet, as time ticked by,

Ji Muye and the sons hadn't returned, and Lu Xining became somewhat anxious.

His phone still showed it was turned off.

Just as she was about to grab her coat and go out to look for him, someone sent her a video.

In the elegant setting of a Western restaurant, Ji Muye, clad in a bespoke black suit, sat with the twin sons beside him and a familiar woman across the table.

Liu Xixi, Ji Muye's old flame.

A romantic candlelit dinner, the joyful quartet, Ji Ze happily calling out "Aunt Xixi," the spreading smile in Ji Muye's eyes, matched with the hot search video title "The Beautiful Family," indeed they looked blissful.

In the video, Liu Xixi asked Ji Ze, "Who do you like better, Aunt Xixi or Mommy?"

Ji Ze's reply "Aunt Xixi" made Lu Xining's heart wrench in sour agony, making her rush to the bathroom to vomit.

Five years of a hidden marriage, twin sons aged four, she had never felt his warmth and affection in public, yet today, she saw it bestowed upon another woman.

That night, Ji Muye returned with the sleepy sons.

The villa was dark; upon turning on the lights, the table was set with untouched food.

He furrowed his brows and used the home phone to call Lu Xining.

As soon as the call connected, Ji Muye urgently asked, "Lu Xining, do you still care about this home?"

Lu Xining lay in a hospital room, her lips pale, "Ji Muye, let's get a divorce."

The call ended, followed by a permanent busy tone.

—

Two years later, in Yunqiao Village.

A sudden severe rainstorm had disturbed the peace here.

Lu Xining had just soothed her daughter to sleep when she heard the sound of a car stopping outside the yard and the doorbell ringing, making her frown and approach the window, where a black stretch car was parked outside.

The rain poured heavily outside, making it hard to see the people through the rain and unlikely that the rain would stop tonight.

Lu Xining didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble and turned off the bedside lamp, silently acknowledging the people downstairs.

Outside.

The male secretary, upon seeing the lights go off upstairs and then looking at the car, reluctantly kept ringing the doorbell.

Lu Xining lay back in bed but canceled the doorbell sound, only to hear frantic knocking.

She had no choice but to turn on her mobile phone and interact through the video intercom.

Lu Xining, "Try it again, and I will call the police if you don't leave."

Hearing her voice, the secretary quickly responded, "I apologize for disturbing you so late, but the rain is too heavy to travel. Our boss's child has a fever. The villagers told us you have children's antipyretics, and we are willing to pay a high price for them."

Lu Xining coldly refused.

As she was about to shut off the video intercom, the secretary hurriedly said, "Madam, we are not bad people—my boss is Ji Muye, president of Jingzhou Shian Group. Please, name your price—it's no issue for us!"

Ji Muye?

...Her ex-husband.

Hearing this name again gave Lu Xining the sensation of a world apart.

A thunderclap woke up her daughter.

The perturbance of their reunion and the acidity of bygone days were dispersed by the child's crying, and she hurriedly put down the phone to comfort her child.

The male secretary, hearing the child's cries, quickly played the empathy card.

"Madam, you have a daughter; you know how dangerous a child's fever is. Could you please help us out? We'll just buy the medicine and won't cause any trouble; please help."

Her child, right—that was the child she had borne after ten months of pregnancy...

Even though her two sons didn't love her.

But this place was too remote; the nearest hospital was two hours away, beyond Dashan.

Ten minutes later.

The secretary, looking up at Lu Xining's cold eyes, suddenly stood frozen, "…Ma'am?"

Lu Xining stood inside the door, handing out a bottle of children's fever medicine.

"I am not your madam anymore. Take the medicine and leave quickly."

The back seat of a black Maybach.

Dressed in a black suit, Ji Muye opened his eyes, his dark pupils as deep as ink, sharply and fiercely looking out the window, exuding the aura of a superior.

He held his feverish son, his handsome eyes intently fixed on the silhouette of the woman in the rain, his gaze inscrutable and dark.

The rain was heavy, and although she held an umbrella, Lu Xining's clothing was still splashed wet.

As she turned around, she was stopped by her secretary, "Madam, won't you take a look at the young masters? They have been missing you."

Lu Xining suppressed the sting in her heart and didn't look back, "Forget it, it might not be necessary."

Ji Muye had just gotten out of the car and heard her reply, his face suddenly darkened, and the coldness around him grew stronger.

A cold voice came from behind him.

"Lu Xining!"

She paused slightly but didn't turn around or respond, closed the door, and entered the house in one fluent motion.

Ji Muye watched the unyielding silhouette of the woman, overlapping with the image from two years ago.

The secretary looked at the rain and thought it too dangerous to drive on, "Boss, I'll go to the village to see if anyone is willing to provide shelter."

On the second floor, Lu Xining stood by the window watching the man getting into the car, the secretary hurriedly leaving under the umbrella.

After closing the door, Lu Xining clutched her rapidly beating heart, feeling a momentary numbness in her limbs.

Over these two years, as a mother, there hadn't been a day she did not miss her sons, and had secretly arranged to check on them.

But she couldn't forcibly take them away from the Ji Family, especially since they preferred "Aunt Xixi."

She hurriedly returned to the second floor and hid behind the curtains, watching the man get into the car and the secretary leave hastily under the umbrella.

She returned to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, the deliberately forgotten five years returning with renewed pain, causing her body to tremble slightly.

Lu Xining, always worried about her sons, hadn't fallen asleep and stood behind the curtains watching the car downstairs.

"Madam! It's bad! The little master has a high fever and vomited!"

Lu Xining softened inside.

She let Ji Muye and others in and quickly managed to reduce her young son's fever.

Living room.

Ji Muye discreetly surveyed the surroundings, noting many children's items and toys, his handsome eyes cold, a chill rising in his heart again.

He recalled the villagers mentioning Lu Xining had a young daughter and couldn't help but snort coldly.

Everyone was drenched from the rain, but fortunately, the house had floor heating which warmed them considerably.

While Lu Xining tended to the children's fever, a sharp gaze constantly fell on her. After the children were cared for, she gave some instructions and went upstairs.

The first floor had guest rooms with en-suite bathrooms. After dealing with his younger son's vomit, Ji Muye discovered that his older son also had a low fever.

They struggled throughout the night, and Ji Muye barely slept.

These last two years, he had taken on the roles of both mother and father, living his days just like that.

The next morning.

Lu Xining woke up to her daughter's kisses.

The little one woke up without crying or fussing, lying quietly by her side.

Lu Xining changed her daughter into a new diaper and a light pink dress and carried her downstairs.

The hourly maid, preparing the meals, saw the secretary sleeping on the couch and prepared extra porridge and side dishes for breakfast.

The children's fever-reducing medicine provided by Lu Xining was effective; by morning, both Ji Chao and Ji Ze's fevers had subsided.

At that moment, the two boys sat to one side, looking dubiously at Lu Xining and Lu Nuonuo.

Ji Chao whispered to his brother Ji Ze, "This woman looks a lot like mom."

Ji Ze also furiously added, "But what's with that little girl? Moreover, mom didn't want us before, she is a bad woman!"

Lu Nuonuo, sitting in a high chair drinking formula, curiously observed the few strangers who had appeared at the dining table today.

After finishing her formula, she naturally handed her bottle to Ji Muye sitting next to the high chair.

The child, just over a year old and starting to speak, popped out a word or two, though her intentions were clear.

Lu Nuonuo: "Put."

Just as Lu Xining reached for the child's bottle, Ji Muye had already extended his hand.

Their hands met over the bottle, and Lu Xining quickly withdrew hers first.

Lu Nuonuo, thinking they were playing with her, grabbed Ji Muye's finger and placed her tiny hand in his.

Ji Muye's gaze shifted between the faces of Lu Xining and the child; Nuonuo's lively eyes were exactly like Lu Xining's.

Nuonuo's interest came quickly and left just as fast; after releasing Ji Muye's hand, she waved toward Ji Ze and Ji Chao sitting on the other side.

She sweetly called out, "Brother, play."