The coffee Zhao Youlin had just sipped stuck in her trachea, and she kept coughing.

  Duan Yarong was startled by her. She got up in a panic to pat Zhou Youlin’s back. She said anxiously, “Why did you suddenly choke? Do you need some water?”


  “I’m… I’m fine. It just went down the wrong side. I’ll be fine in a moment after I cough a bit.” Zhao Youlin took Duan Yarong’s hand and stopped her from running to get her water.

  Duan Yarong had no choice but to keep patting Zhao Youlin’s back to help her recover her breath.

  Zhao Youlin’s dramatic reaction was tantamount to verifying Duan Yarong’s guess. And for a moment, it left Duan Yarong with an even more complex feeling.

  Duan Yarong had undoubtedly mixed feelings about Mu Tingfeng,

  Even though Mu Tingfeng had stood out for Zhao Youlin not long ago, even though Mu Tingfeng claimed that he did have some feelings for Zhao Youlin, even though Mu Tingfeng told everyone that he was willing to remarry Zhao Youlin, the trauma from the past could not just be wiped off.

  Sun Fengzi might just have just heard it from the grapevine, and she did not know much about it, but she had really watched how Zhao Youlin made great effort to get close to that man like a moth to a flame, and she ended up hurt badly from it.

  Putting aside the fact that she did not believe in everything Mu Tingfeng just said, even if she did, when she recalled those unpleasant memories, Duan Yarong could not help but feel worried about this.

  She was worried that this could be Mu Tingfeng’s elaborate plot to take revenge. She was worried that this could be another conspiracy or another trap. And her precious daughter, whom she only just adopted, would once again get tempted by him and desperately jump into the trap again, only to end up getting her heart broken.

  If it was not for this man, Youlin would not have gotten pregnant at such a young age. If it was not for this man, Youlin would not have had such a rough time over the past few years. If it was not for this man, Youlin would not have been called an abandoned woman by the age of twenty. All of this was because of this man!

  Though Zhao Youlin was unaware of Duan Yarong’s concerns, she finally recovered her breath after coughing for quite some time.

  Looking up at Duan Yarong’s hesitant expression, she suddenly did not know whether she should laugh or cry. She said, “Mom, what gave you the idea? My relationship with him is not what you think it is.”


  Duan Yarong was stunned. Her concerns eased a little. She asked tentatively, “What do you mean it is not what we think it is? So actually, you and him…”


  “There’s nothing going on between us.” Zhao Youlin cut Duan Yarong off swiftly, and she continued, “Mom, what are you thinking? Sun Fengzi doesn’t know much about what happened between me and him, but do you not know too? How is it possible that me and him would…”


  Duan Yarong could not process what she said for a moment. She opened her mouth and asked hesitantly, “But just now, didn’t you two…”


  “That was just a smokescreen. Mom, didn’t you see how dark Sun Fengzi’s face was just now?”


  Duan Yarong was stunned for a while before she came back to her senses. She replied in shock, “In that case, what you just… just said are all false? Including that… remarriage?”


  “Of course it’s fake,” Zhao Youlin said assuredly. “Mom, it’s not like you don’t know what kind of relationship I had with that man. How would a man who rarely saw me over long stretches of time, who thought about divorcing me every day, and who wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible so that I won’t get in his way, really want to remarry me?”


  Zhao Shunrong, who arrived right behind Duan Yarong, happened to hear what Zhao Youlin just said. His brows furrowed a little, as he did not agree with what she said.

  Mu Tingfeng did not want to see her? That man who seemed wistful when he left and even reminded him to take good care of Zhao Youlin did not seem like he did not want to see her at all!

  Yet Duan Yarong was fully convinced by Zhao Youlin. She let out a sigh of relief, but then, as if she thought of something else, she asked softly, “Then why would he suddenly help you? Haven’t you two always been…”


  ‘Hating each other before?’


  Zhao Youlin just rolled her eyes silently. “Who knows? Maybe he was knocked on the head when he was in the elevator before and was delirious.”


  Hearing what Zhao Youlin said, Duan Yarong did not know whether she should laugh or cry at that moment. However, when she looked at Zhao Youlin’s uncaring look, she felt less concerned. She hesitated for a little before she asked again tentatively, “Youlin, you really won’t remarry him?”


  Zhao Youlin’s hand, which was holding the coffee, paused for a second. She turned her head and gave Duan Yarong a reproachful look as she said with absolute certainty, “Mom, I’m not a masochist. That man doesn’t care about me at all, yet I tried so hard to please someone who gave me the cold shoulder. I’ve learned my lesson, and that’s enough for me. Why would I do it again? It’s not like I’m looking to be beaten down.”


  “That’s not what I meant. I’m just worried that… What if… What if he offers to remarry you? What if he puts aside his pride and asks you to get back together with him for the sake of your child? Will you…?”


  “Never!” Zhao Youlin interrupted without thinking before Duan Yarong could finish. She said determinedly, “He was the one who abandoned me back then. Why would he want me back again? A resolute person will never turn back once he makes his decision! Just because he wants me back, doesn’t mean I have to throw myself at him again gratefully and accommodate him. For the sake of our child? All those years Joy stayed in the Mu family, has he ever hugged him once or kissed him once? When I asked for Joy’s custody when we divorced, he gave Joy to me without even hesitating for a second. He did not care about his son at all. And now, he finally knows to talk about Joy with me, where has he been in the past then?”


  Ever since Zhao Youlin was reborn, Joy had been her salvation and her berserk button. She was feeling okay before Duan Yarong mentioned Joy, but the moment she brought up Joy, Zhao Youlin remembered how Joy was being neglected in those years when he was in the Mu family. The little liking she had gained for Mu Tingfeng was knocked back to square one.

  Seeing that Zhao Youlin’s aversion to Mu Tingfeng did not seem fake, Duan Yarong sighed with relief and reached out to hold Zhao Youlin’s slightly cold hand. She said softly, “It’s not that I’m objecting to you getting back together with Mu Tingfeng. I’m just worried about you. After all, you were married to Young Master Mu, and you suffered a lot in that marriage. I just don’t want you to suffer like that again.”


  Duan Yarong’s gaze toward Zhao Youlin was full of the concern that only parents have for their children. “There are millions of good men in this world. Why are you only obsessed with him? It’s better to find someone you love who also loves you back. Even if you can’t find someone who is compatible with you, it’s far happier to be with someone who truly knows how to love you than to be with a man who you love but doesn’t love you back.”


  Zhao Youlin met Duan Yarong’s loving gaze. She pursed her lips and whispered, “Okay, I got it. Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t let the same man hurt me twice, and I certainly won’t give anyone the chance to hurt me and my family.”


  Despite saying that, Zhao Youlin could not help but recall Mu Tingfeng’s firm and serious eyes when he talked about remarrying her and what he said to her when they were in the elevator.

  “I told you, I won’t let you die. Even if you were to die, I’ll die with you.”