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  Lin Nuan had been the apple of Liang Mulan’s eye ever since she was young, so how could she put down their mother-and-daughter relationship of so many years just like that?

  Now that her biological daughter had relented, if Lin Nuan was still in Liang Mulan’s heart, she could come and see Lin Nuan, and she wouldn’t be surprised by it.

  Lin Nuan’s hand clenched around her safety belt, all sorts of emotions welling up in her heart…


  After promising Lin Ran that she would no longer associate with the Lin family, no matter how much she missed her kin at the Lins’ home, she forced herself to hold it back and never once went to visit them!

  However, with Liang Mulan standing at the entrance of Tianfu Bay, waiting for her, how could she pretend that she didn’t see her when she got out of the car?

  Her eyes reddened, and a sour feeling overwhelmed her heart. Her emotions were complex.

  When the car got to the entrance of the villa…


  Seeing Fu Huai’an reverse the car, Liang Mulan’s heart rose up into her throat. She peered into the car with her reddened eyes, attempting to see if Lin Nuan was inside.

  The nearer she got to seeing Lin Nuan, the more awful Liang Mulan felt.

  She had distanced herself from Lin Nuan for fear that she would lose her biological daughter, and only when Lin Ran softened her stance did she dare to come. What kind of mother did this make her?

  Liang Mulan felt incredibly guilty towards Lin Nuan, and her lips started trembling even before she got to see Lin Nuan. Her brain blanked out, and she didn’t know what she should say to Lin Nuan.

  By the time Fu Huai’an finished parking the car, a thin layer of sweat had formed over Lin Nuan’s hands, which were still holding onto the seatbelt.

  “Do you not wish to see your Lin mother?” Fu Huai’an asked.

  Lin Nuan didn’t utter a sound, her eyes feeling stung and swollen.

  After taking a look at Liang Mulan, who was standing before the car with her body stiffened, Fu Huai’an helped Lin Nuan unbuckle her seatbelt and said, “Perhaps Lin Ran said something to your Lin mother. Otherwise, no matter how much she wanted to see you, she wouldn’t have continued waiting for you until this hour, when the skies have already darkened…”


  He watched as Lin Nuan bit her lower lip. Her eyes, which were as black as jewels, stared at Liang Mulan’s thin frame, and her nostrils flared slightly.

  Fu Huai’an continued, “Lin Ran should have experienced certain emotions when she saw your birth mother earlier today. If you wish to see her, go ahead, Lin Ran won’t blame you!”


  Fu Huai’an sounded so sure. Lin Nuan bit her lip hard. Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer and got out of the car.

  Seeing Lin Nuan get out of the car with a complicated look in her clean eyes, Liang Mulan felt her throat choke up, and she couldn’t manage a single word. She wanted to smile at Lin Nuan, but when the corners of her lips turned up, her smile looked even more terrible than if she were crying.

  “Nuan Nuan…” Liang Mulan managed to speak with a choked voice. She clearly wanted to rush up to her daughter and hold her in a tight embrace, but it was as if her legs were bogged down by lead, making her unable to lift her feet and move despite her intentions.

  Perhaps other than guilt, Liang Mulan also felt fear—fear that Lin Nuan would blame her, fear that Lin Nuan had ceased to regard her as her mother.

  Lin Nuan tightened her grip on the car door, tears gushing down her face.

  Memories of how she used to wheedle in Liang Mulan’s arms before she knew she wasn’t Liang Mulan’s biological daughter surfaced before her eyes…


  Lin Jingquan had said it before, that Liang Mulan, who had never bothered herself with household chores, started learning how to prepare food when Lin Nuan started eating solid foods as a toddler, and that continued up until Lin Nuan began living on campus.

  Liang Mulan had attended a baking class for the first time in order to be able to personally make a birthday cake for Lin Nuan on every single one of her birthdays. That was a preferential treatment that Lin Chen and Lin Jingquan weren’t given!

  Liang Mulan always said that daughters were the most caring, so naturally, she would want to give the best to her caring little darling.

  She had learned to knit sweaters so that her daughter could have a mother-brand sweater that wouldn’t coincide with what others were wearing!

  Liang Mulan had given many of the first times she had personally done something to this daughter of hers, Lin Nuan.

  “I’ve made your favorite soup, it should be warm by now. Want to… take a few sips?” Liang Mulan sounded choked, her nostrils flaring and tears flooding down her cheeks.

  Lin Nuan smiled and nodded. “Okay…”


  The mother-and-daughter duo said nothing else. Lin Nuan and Liang Mulan, who both had restrained personalities, didn’t hug like Lin Ran and Ji Yun!

  Right now, the two of them were three to four meters apart. As their eyes met, the emotions accumulated in their hearts overwhelmed them.

  Liang Mulan had raised Lin Nuan, so her personality was more or less similar to Liang Mulan’s.

  The two of them tended to be restrained, so even when they were being overwhelmed by their emotions inwardly, they still managed to hold themselves back.

  “You can go over and hug your mother just like Lin Ran! No need to hold yourself back…” Fu Huai’an spoke in a soft voice.

  Lin Nuan closed the car door. Unwilling to suppress her emotions any further, she jogged over and ran into Liang Mulan’s arms…


  Liang Mulan paused in surprise at Lin Nuan’s sudden gesture. Her tears then started falling even harder as she hugged Lin Nuan tight.

  On this cold autumn night, both Lin Nuan and Liang Mulan’s hearts were warm.

  Fu Huai’an locked the car door, then said to Lin Nuan and Liang Mulan, “It’s cold outside, go inside and talk!”


  …


  After Lin Nuan led Liang Mulan into the villa, Auntie Li brought Liang Mulan some tea.

  Noticing Tuan Tuan staring at her with those round eyes of his, Liang Mulan hurriedly asked the chauffeur to bring her the toys she brought for Tuan Tuan.

  Tuan Tuan saw the chauffeur enter with large and small bags, so the little one bounced to the door and helped the chauffeur carry in those presents.

  Liang Mulan couldn’t keep still. After she removed her shawl and placed it on the back of the sofa, she wanted to head to the kitchen and help Lin Nuan pour the soup into a bowl. Auntie Li offered to help but was stopped by Liang Mulan. The latter took out the thermos from the paper bag and smiled at Auntie Li. “Let me do it myself…”


  “How could I trouble you to do it yourself? Just instruct me if there’s anything I can help with!” Auntie Li knew Liang Mulan was Lin Nuan’s mother and was very polite towards her.

  “Auntie Li, you can go and rest!” Fu Huai’an said to Auntie Li.

  Auntie Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded and retreated to the villa next door to rest.

  Liang Mulan washed her hands and found two bowls in the kitchen, then placed them next to the thermos’ cup and poured three bowls of soup…


  Once Fu Huai’an came down after changing his clothes, Liang Mulan smiled and called out to him, saying, “Huai’an, come and try this…”


  Fu Huai’an nodded. “Thanks, Mom!”


  Hearing Fu Huai’an address her as Mom, the smile in Liang Mulan’s eyes intensified.

  Liang Mulan asked Fu Huai’an and Lin Nuan to drink the soup, then carried another bowl to Tuan Tuan, who was unwrapping the presents in the living room. She coaxed Tuan Tuan softly to drink the soup…


  Liang Mulan had always been fond of children and had always wanted grandchildren, but Lin Chen was neither dating anyone nor looking to get married up until now, and this made Liang Mulan feel helpless.

  Lin Nuan saw Liang Mulan kneeling on the ground, scooping up soup with a little spoon, and blowing upon it before bringing it to Tuan Tuan’s lips, a doting look in her eyes…


  This was a familiar taste, the taste of Liang Mulan.

  Even though it wasn’t particularly tasty, the wonderful thing about it was that Liang Mulan had personally prepared it, so it tasted of motherly love.

  It had been a long time since Lin Nuan got to taste soup personally prepared by Liang Mulan. She thought she’d never get another chance in this lifetime!

  Liang Mulan stayed until a late hour that day. It was only because she was concerned that she might delay Tuan Tuan’s bedtime that she finally left reluctantly.