In the simple room, the girl lying on the bed unconsciously furrowed her brows.
Her eyelashes trembled lightly, her expression somewhat pained, as if she were having a nightmare.
“Mm…”
The girl jolted awake from the nightmare.
She slowly opened her eyes, her crimson pupils reflecting a faint bewilderment.
An Qing had woken up, but it was a bit late.
Perhaps because she had been too exhausted yesterday, An Qing hadn’t gotten up on time today—she was at least an hour later than usual.
She stared at the familiar ceiling, a trace of involuntary disgust flickering in her eyes.
In just a moment, An Qing snapped fully awake.
She was still in the An family home, the An family parents were safe and sound, and that damned impostor was celebrating her birthday today.
Every morning, she had to confirm this to herself—to feel the reality of her second chance at life.
An Qing took her routine deep breaths to stay calm.
Though her physical fatigue hadn’t fully dissipated, she had no intention of lingering in bed.
Today was a very important day.
An Qing slowly sat up on the edge of the bed, opened the drawer beside her, and only relaxed after confirming the little cat hair clip was still there.
Today, she would return the hair clip—and all the hopes she once had—to An Yu.
An Qing silently changed her clothes, then slipped the important hair clip into her pocket.
The girl slowly moved to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The girl before her had long black hair and a pair of crimson eyes.
She was very beautiful, but her icy expression carried a hint of weariness.
She pinched her cheek, quickly switching to a different face.
The cold expression transformed into a gentle smile, her whole demeanor radiating a faint elegance.
However, if someone could see through the surface to her inner self, they would discover endless frost.
An Qing silently raised her hand, neatly arranging her appearance and keeping her clothes impeccable.
She had said it herself—today was a very important day.
Today, she would make An Yu face reality, then officially begin her revenge.
On the other side, An Yu and the three others arrived at a beautifully decorated dessert shop.
Eating sweets for breakfast might be a bit rich, but since An Yu had said she wanted something sweet, Cheng Shimumeng brought her here for sweets.
Yes, coming here had been Cheng Shimumeng’s decision.
She’d called the car and set the destination.
Now, the four of them sat at the table, each with a small cake in front of them.
Everyone had ordered different cakes, and each one looked delicious.
An Yu stared expressionlessly at her own cake, her amber eyes gleaming with something called anticipation.
It looked good. She wanted to eat it.
If she wanted to eat it, then eat it—thinking this, An Yu picked up her fork, gently speared a piece of cake, and silently brought it to her mouth.
“Mm.”
An Yu blinked quickly.
This was delicious.
Cool and refreshing, fragrant and sweet.
Watching the scene, Cheng Shimumeng smiled.
She’d known An Yu would be satisfied with this shop’s cakes.
Because she liked them too.
But well…
Cheng Shimumeng turned to look at Huai Xiang.
She was gripping her fork, her small hand trembling slightly.
With every movement, the fork shook along with it.
For some reason, after hesitating for so long, Huai Xiang just couldn’t bring herself to take a bite.
From her expression, it was easy to tell she was nervous—tiny beads of sweat on her forehead.
Cheng Shimumeng wasn’t surprised at all.
She teased, “Xiangxiang, why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”
At that, Huai Xiang whipped her head around and glared at Cheng Shimumeng, but Cheng Shimumeng continued as if she hadn’t noticed.
“What’s wrong? If you don’t like it, I can swap with you.”
Cheng Shimumeng reached to exchange her cake with Huai Xiang’s, but Huai Xiang stopped her.
“N-No need!”
Huai Xiang suddenly stabbed her fork down, then quickly brought it to her mouth.
At the very least, she wanted to eat the flavor she’d chosen!
The cake really was delicious—fragrant and sweet, with cream that melted in her mouth.
But right now, Huai Xiang felt like crying.
It was good, sure, but after seeing the price, Huai Xiang couldn’t feel any joy in the food!
She was only worried about whether her wallet could handle the cost for two people.
Yes—just one portion was enough to make Huai Xiang’s heart ache, but she had to buy two, because she’d promised to treat An Yu.
She couldn’t go back on her word!
“Ahh woo!” In anger, she bit down another mouthful. Huai Xiang furtively shot Cheng Shimumeng a resentful glance.
It was all her fault!
Cheng Shimumeng hadn’t made a move earlier—how come she was getting revenge just because she hadn’t gotten to hold An Yu’s hand?!
The outing allowance she’d just applied for from her dad was probably going to be completely sunk into this cake shop!
Damn that Cheng Shimumeng!!
Damn it, how was this cake so delicious?!
Beside them, An Yu tilted her head expressionlessly.
Huai Xiang was eating so fast, but why did she look like she was about to cry?
Was it because it was so good that she was moved?
Mm… Hard to understand.
An Yu silently brought her fork to her mouth again, slowly savoring it.
It really was delicious, though.
“Ah, really…”
Ning Wanciu gave Cheng Shimumeng a helpless side-eye.
Her mischievous streak never let up.
“And you too, Shimumeng—hurry and finish eating so we can go, okay?”
But Huai Xiang was the same… She just had to provoke Cheng Shimumeng.
No sooner had the wound healed than she’d forgotten the pain.
Also…
Ning Wanciu helplessly pulled out the tissues she always carried, gently wiping the corner of An Yu’s mouth.
“You got some on you.”
An Yu looked at Ning Wanciu expressionlessly, not rejecting her actions.
Instead, she obediently let her wipe her mouth.
“There…”
“Oh.”
“…Xiangxiang, just eat properly.”
Ning Wanciu averted her gaze and said softly.
An Yu responded quietly, then silently continued eating her unfinished cake.
After wiping An Yu’s mouth, Ning Wanciu shook her head helplessly.
For some reason, she felt like she’d gone from being the mom of two kids to three.
It must be her imagination.
…
Meanwhile, back in her room, An Qing had finished getting ready. She gently opened the door and slowly walked out.
She descended the stairs gradually, instinctively glancing toward the corner on the first floor.
That was An Yu’s room.
“Heh…”
It was clearly her birthday, yet she’d kept her door tightly shut and hadn’t come out…
It didn’t matter. It was fine if she refused to accept reality.
An Qing would pierce through An Yu’s last layer of protection and let her experience what the cruelest reality was like—for her.
An Qing lifted her head coolly, reaching into her pocket to touch the little cat hair clip.
Then, without further hesitation, she walked to An Yu’s door and knocked lightly.
It was time, An Yu.
An Qing waited silently, but even after a long while, there was still no response from inside.
She unconsciously furrowed her brows, her patience gradually wearing thin.
“Miss An Qing? Are you looking for Miss An Yu?”
Hearing the voice, An Qing turned instinctively and saw Wang Man with her usual expression.
“If you’re looking for Miss An Yu, she already left this morning. She’s not home right now.”