"Alright, you go ahead. Let's have tea together when we're free next time." Zhao Yanlan patted Gu Xiyan's shoulder and watched her leave.

  What made Gu Xiyan feel even more unexpected was that Shao Yuan had been transferred to a high position in Huateng, so Gu Xiyan no longer saw him in the technical department.

  When Dongdong met him, Dongdong was unusually subdued and didn't have his usual carefree attitude. Looking at Gu Xiyuan, Dongdong wanted to speak several times but stopped himself.

  "Dongdong, what do you want to say?" Gu Xiyuan asked strangely.

  "Xian, are you really leaving?" Dongdong hooked his finger on Xian's sleeve, a struggle in his eyes.

  "Really? Dongdong, what's wrong? Can't bear to part with me?" Gu Xiyan teased.

  Dongdong heard the words and only forced a slight smile, sat back in her own seat, took out a cotton candy from her drawer and ate one, after thinking for a moment, she handed another peach flavored one to Gu Xiyen.

  Gu Xiyan smiled and took it over. "Dongdong, I'll go say goodbye to the other colleagues first."

  "Xiǎo Yán." Just as Xiǎo Yán was about to leave, Dongdong suddenly called out to her. "Xiǎo Yán, let me think... think..."

  Dongdong sat with her head in her hands. A few pieces of candy had accidentally fallen out of the cotton candy packaging bag next to her hand.

  "Dongdong, are you uncomfortable?" Gu Xiyuan stopped in her tracks. Dongdong, what's wrong with her?

  Dongdong finally gave Gu Xiyuan her QQ number and asked Gu Xiyuan to add her as soon as she got home. Gu Xiyuan didn't understand what Dongdong was up to, but nodded in agreement. After confirming that Dongdong was okay, she left.

  The place where Gu Xiyan used to work now has someone else in it. Gu Xiyan knows him. He is also a capable person in this department, named Lian Yu. Dongdong had even told Gu Xiyan before that the name Lian Yu was too feminine.

  "Xiǎo Yán, you're back! It's been a long time since I've seen you." Lián Yù greeted Gù Xī Yuàn warmly when she saw her.

  "lian yu . wo zhe ci shi lai cizhi de . shun lu lai he tongshi men daibie." gu xi yuan wen wen de xiao zhe dao.

  Translation:

  "Lian Yu, I'm here to resign this time. On my way, I came to bid farewell to colleagues." Gu Xi Yuan said with a gentle smile.

  "Why is it that Xian doesn't work well here?" Lian Yu didn't understand. Hua Teng's treatment was among the best in the industry. His first thought was that Xian wanted to change jobs.

  "It's not about the company. It's my personal reason. I haven't been feeling well lately. I don't want to exhaust myself. Besides, if there's a chance in the future, I can still come back, right?" Gu Xiyan placed one hand on the desk where she used to work. Actually, working here was a very happy thing.

  "Alright, Xiǎo Yuān. You should get some rest now. By the way, I've helped you and Xiao Yuan organize the things you left behind and put them in the drawer under that table over there. Take a look and see if there's anything you want to take with you." Lian Yu said, pointing to a drawer under another table.

  "Thank you, Lian Yu. Let me take a look." Gu Xiyan didn't remember dropping anything, but since Lian Yu was so enthusiastic, she couldn't refuse. So she squatted down and opened the drawer.

  Gu Xiyuan was just casually flipping through. Unexpectedly, she saw a white mobile phone as she flipped.

  Cell phone. This cell phone wasn't hers, of course. But she remembered that Shao Yuan's was not this one either. "Lian Yu, do you know whose cell phone this is?"

  Lian Yu was tapping away at the keyboard in front of the computer. He took a quick glance at the phone and said, puzzled: "Isn't this yours? I found it in Xiao Yuan's drawer, but I remember his phone didn't look like this one. I thought it was yours."

  "It's not mine. Let me take a look. Maybe someone accidentally left it here." Gu Xiyan said, lowering her head to turn on the phone. Fortunately, the phone still had battery. After turning it on, Gu Xiyan randomly clicked on a few places to take a look. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just as she was thinking of handing the phone over to Zhao Yanlan to ask around, Gu Xiyan inadvertently pressed the send message button. This time, she couldn't hide her shock.

  The message sent was just one MMS, and the content of the MMS was surprisingly the photos that Gu Xiyan had received that day, which showed Shang Que and He Yun standing very close together.

  How could it be like this...

  With a sense of shock and unease, Gu Xiayan vaguely felt that she had fallen into some kind of trap. Why were these pictures on this phone? And this phone was found in Shao Yuan's drawer.

  Gu Xiyan dialed her own phone number with this mobile phone. Before long, the ringtone of her mobile phone rang out.

  Gu Xiyan took out her own mobile phone and took a look. The number that appeared on the screen was indeed the same number that had sent her pictures that day.

  "Xian, what's wrong?" Lian Yu glanced at Gu Xian who was fiddling with two mobile phones and asked curiously.

  "Nothing, Lian Yu. I still have things to do. I'll leave first." Gu Xiyan almost fled in a sorry state. Deep down, she had a vague guess. But she resisted accepting such an unfounded and baseless guess. It can't be... it's impossible...

  Is it really unfounded? Gu Xiyan shook her head. She didn't know. She didn't want to know anything anymore. Didn't want...

  When she returned home at noon, Gu Xiyan was very silent. Ji Shufen thought that something had happened in the hospital again. "Xiaoyan, is it about the hospital..."

  "No, mom. Wei Zhe and Han Xiang's conditions are both fine." Gu Xiyan interrupted Ji Shufen's words. Now whenever she hears the word "hospital", she feels a lingering fear.

  "Xiao Yan, why aren't you happy? Isn't it a good thing that nothing's wrong?" Ji Shufen gave her a serving of stir-fried meat. Then, as if recalling something, Ji Shufen hesitated before speaking. "Xiao Yan, is it because you didn't get pregnant this time that you're unhappy? It's all Mom's fault for giving you false hope."

  The child, Gu Xiyan's hand holding the chopsticks trembled for a moment. Looking at her mother-in-law, she felt a slight bitterness in her heart, but still forced a smile and said: "Mom, it's not that. I just resigned this morning and thought about parting with those friendly colleagues, so my heart is a bit reluctant to let go."

  "So that's how it is." Ji Shufen clearly saw that Gu Xiyen was not unhappy for this reason, but she still cooperated and continued: "Xiaoyan, all feasts in the world must come to an end. Don't force things. Just go with the flow."

  "Got it, mom. By the way, where's Yan'er?" Gu Xiyuan was somewhat surprised. The little girl wasn't always at home every day, was she?

  "Xiao Yatou had been pestering Xiao Qi to take her to the troops earlier. Xiao Qi couldn't resist her, so he took her there. Xiao Yan, are you still going to the hospital this afternoon? Xiao Qi said this morning that he wants you and Yan'er to move back in. The woman who wanted to harm you has also been caught. I heard that the organization Xiao Qi was tracking suffered a significant loss this time. It's unlikely they'll make any big moves for a while. Besides, Xiao Qi has more free time now. I think he might be thinking of developing feelings with you." Ji Shufen said with a sly smile, winking at Gu Xiyun.

  Gu Xiyan saw her mother-in-law's childish behavior and felt a pang in her heart. Was this how to cultivate feelings? If Qi knew that she was already thinking of leaving him, then he...

  "Mom, I'm full." Gu Xiyan actually hadn't eaten even half a bowl of rice. She hadn't been feeling like eating anything for the past two days.

  "Xiao Yan, didn't Mom say something that made you unhappy? Why are you only eating so little?" Ji Shufen thought about giving Gu Xiuyan some supplements. This lunch had taken her a lot of effort to prepare. "Xiao Yan, at least drink some soup."

  Gu Xiyan looked at the dishes on the table, obviously carefully prepared. She couldn't bear to refuse this kindness. Gu Xiyan forced a bright smile. "Thank you, mom. I'll serve myself."

  Ji Shufen smiled kindly upon seeing this. This daughter-in-law was indeed very much to her liking. Yesterday, Xiao Xiao had even called her saying she didn't want to get married. It seemed like she needed to help Xiao Xiao's parents out a bit. She heard that the woman who wanted to harm Xiao Yan was also motivated by love turning to hate. She absolutely couldn't let Xiao Xiao follow in that woman's footsteps.

  After lunch, Gu Xiyan insisted on cleaning up the table. Originally, it was already troublesome for her parents-in-law at home. If she didn't help out a bit, she would have to blame herself to death. Moreover, the days she could stay with them were already in countdown mode.

  Shang Yi brought Xiao Ya Tou back from the army around 2 pm. When Xiao Ya Tou saw Gu Xi Yan, she mischievously held up a big stuffed dog in front of her and said: "Mommy, look! Auntie He bought this for me. From now on, I'll sleep with Doggy every night. Mommy, what should I name Doggy?"

  The little girl's small face was flushed with excitement, a bright smile spreading across her face. Gu Xiyan made a concerted effort to remember the little one's happy expression at this moment. She wanted to remember it, to recall the little one's joy at this instant.

  Yan'er, her precious daughter.

  "Mommy, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you like this puppy? Mommy doesn't really like puppies, does she?" The little girl saw Gu Xiuyan's non-reaction and was puzzled. She hugged the puppy tightly by herself. The little girl almost jumped up to express her love for this stuffed animal."

  "Yan'er said what name would be good for the dog." Gu Xiyan heard the little guy's discontent and rubbed her head, saying "The dog is very cute, Aunt He has a great eye for this."

  "That's right. Aunt He and Dad took Yan'er to play. Yan'er wanted to buy a dog plush toy. Dad and Aunt He both liked this dog plush toy too. Yan'er also liked it. The owner of the store that sells plush toys, Auntie, said that this dog was handmade. There is only one like this."

  "Xiao Yatou heard Gu Xiyen praise her plush toy and couldn't help but feel happy. In her opinion, Mommy praising her plush toy was the same as praising her."

  "Is that so? Aunt He and your father will take you there." Gu Xiyan's words were tinged with melancholy.

  The little girl didn't notice the change in her mother's tone and continued to say excitedly, "Yes, this morning Mom said she had something to do and went out without bringing me along. So I asked Dad to take me to see Aunt He and Uncle Xue. They were all very happy to see me. When I heard them say they have the next few days off, I asked Aunt He to take me out to play. But Aunt He still had to go home, so I asked Dad to send her back home. That way we can all go out and play together."

  Author's Notes