Chapter 10

After Chi Wanzhao left for work, Kong Xiyan stayed in the apartment, intending to clean up the kitchen she had messed up. But before she could even start, the doorbell rang.

When she opened the door, an elderly man of about fifty stood on the doorstep, smiling at her. "Madam, we're here to clean."

Kong Xiyan nodded and stepped aside.

The servants the old man brought soon finished cleaning the kitchen and then went upstairs.

Yanyan had been sleeping on the sofa. Hearing the noise, she lifted her head, glanced at the old man, then jumped off the sofa and padded over to him. It was then Kong Xiyan realized who he was.

He was the old butler of the Chi family, usually staying at the Old Mansion, and he came over twice a week for light cleaning.

Chi Wanzhao used to live at the Old Mansion, so Yanyan was naturally familiar with the butler. She kept rubbing her head against his pant leg, meowing without pause.

The butler's usually stern face instantly broke into a grin. He whispered, "Yanyan seems to have gotten fatter again."

Kong Xiyan let out a soft laugh. Hearing the sound, the butler quickly set Yanyan down, stood to attention, and bowed his head. "Forgive me, madam. I overstepped."

"It's no trouble."

Kong Xiyan had never been one for strict hierarchies, and besides, she believed in respecting the elderly. So facing the flustered butler, she smiled and said, "Li Bo, if you don't mind, you can call me Xiyan."

Li Bo swallowed nervously. "Yes, madam."

Kong Xiyan: ...

Soon the servants finished cleaning the entire apartment, and Li Bo led them out. Kong Xiyan watched the door close, picked up Yanyan, shook her head, and took the script from the coffee table to study it.

This drama had weakened many of her scenes, but that didn't mean there were no highlights.

There was one right at the start.

On New Year's Eve, as the whole nation celebrated, the emperor of Wu invited all ministers and their families to the palace to stay up through the night. Amid the festive scene, the Left Prime Minister suddenly locked horns with the Crown Prince.

Everyone at court knew the Left Prime Minister's daughter was a noble consort who had given birth to the Second Prince, and he had long been scheming to put the Second Prince on the throne.

The Crown Prince's mother had died early, and he had no one behind him, so he was targeted at every turn.

Fortunately, the emperor was not a fatuous ruler; he could tell right from wrong. He secretly assigned the Right Prime Minister to assist the Crown Prince—and the Right Prime Minister was none other than Chu Qian's father.

But her father's feud with the Left Prime Minister ran deep; there was long-standing enmity between them.

Fearing the situation might worsen, the Right Prime Minister could only help the Crown Prince covertly.

So when the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister argued fiercely, and her father couldn't openly intervene, Chu Qian, as his daughter, stepped forward.

With just a few words, she left the Left Prime Minister fuming, yet he couldn't rebuke her directly. Everyone knew the emperor favored this daughter of the Right Prime Minister—had the emperor been ten years younger, he might well have taken her into the palace as his empress.

So the Left Prime Minister could only sputter with rage, his face dark and sinister, without really saying anything harsh.

The highlight of this scene was her entrance—stunning everyone present, overshadowing even the emperor on his high throne, and infuriating the Left Prime Minister so much his beard bristled.

She stood alone at the banquet, looking down upon the assembled ministers.

Kong Xiyan was deep in character, probing Chu Qian's thoughts, when her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

A soft, tender voice came through the line. "Teacher Kong, this is Yuanyuan. When are you coming back?"

Kong Xiyan immediately put down her script and spoke softly. "Yuanyuan, how did you get the teacher's number?"

Chen Yuan thought for a moment. "I secretly looked at Teacher Wang's phone, but she said her phone couldn't make calls, so I ran to Auntie's house to call."

"Teacher Kong, aren't you coming back?"

Kong Xiyan, thinking of the six-year-old child who had run so far just to call her, felt a lump in her throat. She comforted her in a low voice. "No, Teacher will come back."

Chen Yuan continued, her voice still soft and pleading. "Teacher Wang says you're so, so busy, but everyone misses you so much. A few days ago, Xiaopang even cried. Teacher Wang asked what was wrong, and he said he missed you."

Kong Xiyan's nose tingled, and tears nearly fell. She sniffled. "Be good. Teacher promises you, as soon as I'm done with this busy period, I'll come back, okay?"

"And I'll bring you all lots and lots of gifts."

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment. "We don't want gifts. We just miss you."

Her young voice carried so much longing that Kong Xiyan felt choked up. After a moment's thought, she said, "Alright."

"I'll come back as soon as I have free time."

Only then did Chen Yuan brighten, smiled through her tears, chatted with Kong Xiyan a little longer, and then hung up.

Kong Xiyan stared at the unfamiliar number on her phone, lost in thought.

Back then, she had been betrayed by those closest to her, framed by her company, blacklisted from endorsements, and even the roles she had lined up all fell through. The money she'd earned had gone entirely to pay breach-of-contract fines.

Later, when her father fell ill, she had to shuttle alone between hospitals. By the time she saw him off, everything had changed.

She was no longer the genius girl Kong Xiyan but a homewrecker everyone cursed—even blacklisted from the industry.

At that moment, she had been utterly despairing, often sitting by the seaside for an entire day. Then she met Wang Haining.

Wang Haining took many photos—of the beach, of the roads. She seemed to want to capture every landscape in her camera. Kong Xiyan was puzzled but never asked.

Until one day, Wang Haining asked her, "Do you want to go somewhere with me?"

Kong Xiyan replied, "Where?"

Wang Haining patted her camera. "To bring it back home."

Kong Xiyan went with her—and stayed for three years.

Looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Kong Xiyan picked up her phone from the coffee table, found Wang Haining's number, and typed a message.

—I'm fine. Thanks for taking care of the kids.

Wang Haining didn't reply for a long time. Kong Xiyan put down her phone and took Yanyan to make lunch. The past few days, she had looked up many cat food recipes online—ones that wouldn't starve Yanyan and wouldn't be too greasy either.

After her afternoon nap, she took Yanyan for a walk as usual. Perhaps because her mind was heavy today, she unconsciously circled the park again and again, until Yanyan protested by plopping down in the middle of the gravel path, snapping her back to reality—it was getting late.

Back in the apartment, after getting off work, Chi Wanzhao didn't see Kong Xiyan or Yanyan. Remembering that yesterday she'd taken Yanyan for a walk, she figured she hadn't returned yet.

Just as she was about to grab a hat and go find her, she heard her phone buzz.

Chi Wanzhao walked to the coffee table, looked down, and saw a message on Kong Xiyan's phone.

—I'll take good care of the children.

Her gaze lingered on the sender's name for a long time, unwilling to move away.

The sender—Wang Haining.