“Yes!” Mom Qiu responded, turning to arrange the steamer and secretly wiping tears from her eyes.
Ru Feng snuggled closer, grabbing her arm, “Mom, when can we eat our pumpkin pancakes? I’m so hungry.”
“Almost ready, just wait a bit!” Mom Qiu said lovingly.
Ru Feng smiled. “Mom” – such a warm address she hadn’t had the chance to use in many years. Pumpkin pancakes lifted her mood.
The next morning, Xiao Su kept staring at Ru Feng, “You seem different today.”
Ru Feng wiggled her fingers, smiling mysteriously, “Of course.”
She had eaten two bowls of rice that morning, preparing to settle accounts with Qiu Chi. Between them, there were many scores to settle. She had originally wanted to let things go, but he seemed unwilling. Since her rebirth, she hadn’t stretched her muscles yet!
During the lunch break, she rolled up her sleeves, “Manager, I’ll be out for an hour. I’ll be back before the afternoon shift.”
“Okay!” Xiao Su quickly agreed, seeing her determined look.
Ru Feng sped off on her bicycle towards Qiu Chi’s company with fierce momentum.
The two security guards at the entrance hesitated, unsure how to respond. The boss had said not to let her in but also to allow her entry. While they deliberated, Ru Feng strode confidently inside.
It was lunchtime, and Qiu Chi was absent. Li Qin, who was eating bread and looking at documents, stared at Ru Feng as she charged in, struggling to swallow his food. “President Qiu is not here. Miss Qiu, please come back another time,” he said.
Ru Feng replied, “It’s good he’s not here,” and walked directly to Qiu Chi’s office, recalling where she stood last time while delivering a cake. She confirmed, “Is this Qiu Chi’s office?”
Li Qin nodded blankly.
Ru Feng then entered, ignoring the work documents untouched on the desk. Her hands moved quickly to scatter personal items across the floor, careful not to break anything she couldn’t afford. The suit on the coat rack was kicked into the trash.
“What are you doing?” After initial shock, Li Qin rushed to stop her, shouting, “Security, call security!”
Ru Feng pushed him away, responding, “Don’t interfere, or I’ll trash your office too.” As one ran and the other chased, chaos ensued in the office.
Soon, security arrived with Qiu Chi, who had been eating in the staff cafeteria.
“Ru Feng, what madness is this?” he roared.
Ru Feng, catching her breath, replied, “You know it’s madness. Wasn’t it you who went crazy at my home yesterday?”
Qiu Chi’s forehead veins bulged. “Throw her out! She’s never allowed in here again. If she comes back, you’re all fired!”
As guards tried to grab her, Ru Feng dodged. “No need to drag me. I’ll leave on my own.”
Seeing her proud stance, Qiu Chi’s humiliation boiled over, and he slapped her.
Ru Feng, surrounded by guards, didn’t notice Qiu Chi’s sudden approach.
“Slap!” The sound froze everyone.
Her face burning, Ru Feng covered her cheek and looked up. “Qiu Chi, if the past Ru Feng ever loved you, I’ll say this one last time: From now on, Ru Feng will never love Qiu Chi again.”
Qiu Chi’s hand remained suspended, seemingly shocked.
“No tears,” Ru Feng said as she stepped back. “Everyone here can witness that I have no more intentions towards Qiu Chi.”
All anger had faded into calm. “From now on, we’ll go our separate ways. I won’t appear before you, and you must not provoke me, especially not my mother.”
She lowered her hand, her swollen cheek stark, and walked through the crowd and out.
After everyone dispersed, Qiu Chi asked hoarsely, “What did Xiao Hei and the others do last night?”
Li Qin called and then approached cautiously. “You said to warn her. Xiao Hei and the others smashed her home while only her mother was there.”
“Bang!” Qiu Chi slammed his palm on the desk, turning back angrily. “I only asked you to warn her. Did I tell you to take action?”
But you didn’t say not to, Li Qin thought, feeling aggrieved.
Qiu Chi walked to the window, his chest rising and falling slightly. He focused on his numb hand and recalled the moment he had slapped her, closing his eyes.
For some reason, his emotions felt turbulent, especially when recalling her words upon leaving. Damn it, if she wants to leave, just leave. Why say so much?
Meanwhile, Ruofeng sat on the flower bed between two buildings, feeling incredibly sad. She realized her willfulness relied on her father’s and brothers’ doting. Away from them, what right did she have to be so uninhibited?
Covering her face, tears streamed down her right cheek, burning and painful.
“Little girl, what’s wrong?” someone crouched in front of her and asked softly.
Ruofeng looked up, tears streaming down her face.
“What happened? Tell Uncle; I’ll help you find a solution.” After a tiring day reading documents, he stepped out for a walk and saw the little girl crying. She reminded him of his daughter, prompting him to pause.
Suddenly, Ruofeng hugged him tightly, sobbing, “Dad, that arrogant Wang hit me! It hurts so much.”
Situ Jin stiffened. “You, what did you call me?”
“Dad, will you go beat him back for me?” she asked, nestled in his arms, as if it were natural.
His heart sank; her tone and manner were disturbingly familiar.
“Who are you?” he asked, his gaze locked on her.
Ruofeng looked up, confused, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. “Dad?”
Situ Jin continued to stare, deeply engrossed. The girl before him had an unfamiliar face, but her eyes reflected a trust and attachment he recognized from his beloved daughter, who had suffered from illness since childhood yet never complained. She always believed he and her brother could heal her so she could enjoy the sunshine like other girls. She held onto this hope until the end of her life.
Situ Jin was no ordinary person.
The Situ clan was an ancient noble family aware of many mysterious forces in the world. Situ Jin’s heart had guessed the truth, but he needed confirmation. “Feng’er, is it you?”
Ruofeng blinked, then realized. She gently hugged her father’s waist, saying, “Dad, it’s me. I’m back. I missed you.”
Situ Jin embraced her tightly, overwhelmed with joy. He closed his eyes, trying to contain his tears. “Feng’er, my treasure, you’ve finally come back.”
To him, Ruofeng was unique—truly belonging to him and his beloved woman. She was nurtured during their happiest moments. Though he had four children, only Ruofeng was the true treasure he had always hoped for. He cared for his other children, but the bond with Ruofeng was innate.
Yin Feng’s arrival resulted from a clan arrangement following a drunken night with his betrothed. Qi Feng came from a trade between his betrothed and his lover’s family—exchanging his sperm for his lover’s lifelong imprisonment, with one side gaining him and the other a child with Situ family blood.
Sui Feng was a product of a woman he neglected, who hated him and sought revenge. He recalled her cold laughter as she waved the hospital test results, taunting him: “Situ Jin, do you think you’re something special, still pining for that cheap woman? I’m not without men either. Look, your wife is about to have a child for another man, hahaha…”
In contrast, Ruofeng was conceived during the tender moments with his first love. He cherished watching her grow in her mother’s womb, speaking to her, feeling every movement and imagining her heartbeat. He relished her birth, coaxing her to sleep, making her laugh, and feeling the joy of life’s continuation.
If he favored one among his four children, it was Ruofeng, a true daughter of blended blood and emotion—not just out of responsibility or simple blood relation.
”Dad, are you crying?” Ruofeng asked, feeling unfamiliar tension as she nestled in his arms. After a long silence, he tightened his embrace.
Ruofeng gently patted his back. “Dad, don’t be sad. I’m back.”
