Xian Guiying stiffened for a moment. She remained in his arms silently, her body pressing against him and she could feel the scorching heat coming from his body.

"I'm sorry ..." Qin Gengxin was still pressed against her forehead, whispering softly.

"Guiying..." He sighed lightly as he hugged her tightly, but his eyes remained closed. It was unknown whether he was awake or just mumbling in his dreams.

Qin Gengxin whispered her name into her ear. Xian Guiying closed her eyes and stayed in his embrace quietly for about a minute, feeling the heat from his body and the smell of his wine gradually disappearing. The smell was unique to her.

"Guiying... I'm so sorry."

Xian Guiying's eyes gradually turned red. She pushed him away and quickly stood up, stepping back from the bed.

Qin Gengxin was pushed to the other side of the bed, but he had no other reaction. There's still an uncomfortable expression on his face as he mutters some vague words.

Seeing that he was neither pretending to be asleep nor awake, Xian Guiying looked at him coldly. After a while, she leaned over to straighten the blanket on his body and helped him lie down properly. She then placed the ice pack on his forehead again.

When she was done, she walked out of the bedroom and closing the room door behind her. She didn't want to look at him again.

She walked into the living room and looked at the clock on the wall. Xian Guiying couldn't tear her eyes away from the time needle on the clock for a long time.

Qin Gengxin must have been in pain and his love for her must have been deep.

Those words were very lovable, yet they made her feel sad.

Yes, just sad.

It was not heartache, nor was it love, nor was it hate. It was just sadness.

Xian Guiying could treat her twelve years of feelings as her own wishful thinking, but just with an apology, could it wipe away the damage that Qin Gengxin had inflicted on his daughter? After all, he was the child's father. In these years, whether it was intentional or unintentional, whether he could catch up or not, he had missed out on too much.

Even though he had nothing with Bai Nuying, even though he had explained everything clearly to her, but the thing was, she was tired.

'Qin Gengxin, our fate had ended long ago. Why do you have to go back when I don't want to catch you anymore?'

Xian Guiying looked at the clock on the wall. All these years, she didn't even know how time had passed. And how her heart had become riddled with scars, little by little.

Xian Guiying wasn't someone who liked to use words to express too much. She was used to being patient, and many of her relatives and friends would say that her personality was nothing like Xian Zihao's, but the person who truly understood her would say, "Xian Guiying, you and Xian Zihao are really the same. No matter how many emotions you have inside your heart, no one will ever be able to see through it clearly."

Just like her heart. Even though she remained indifferent, that didn't mean her heart wasn't bleeding and shattered.

• • • •

The next day,

The clock showed six in the morning and Qin Wenqian woke up to pee. She was already four years old and had been trained by her mother to go to the toilet alone. She rubbed her eyes as she climbed out of the sofa bed.

It was so quiet in the living room. Qin Wenqian usually slept until 6: 30, so Xian Guiying was used to going out for her morning run an hour before the child woke up.

Qin Wenqian didn't realize that her mother was not in the house. She rubbed her eyes as she walked to the bathroom that merged with the bedroom. As she entered, she suddenly saw a tall black shadow standing on the toilet.

Qin Wenqian raised her head blankly and looked at the tall figure in front of her.

When the man turned around and saw the little girl standing in front of the bathroom door blankly, he immediately pulled up his pants to prevent the girl from seeing his lower body.

Qin Gengxin woke up early in the morning and he didn't know where he was. He drank too much last night. As he woke up, he slowly went out of the bed, opened the bathroom door, and groped his way into the bathroom.

While he was in the middle of peeing, he heard a movement behind him. He turned around and saw his daughter staring at him with eyes like glass beads.

Qin Gengxin quickly pulled up his pants and flushed the toilet. Then, he looked at the little girl, who still had her eyes opened widely. His pale but cold face finally subsided when he saw the little girl.

"No wonder mommy wants to be with Uncle Wei." Qin Wenqian suddenly opened her mouth, causing Qin Gengxin, who was trying to remember how he came to this place last night, to stop in his tracks abruptly.

"You have a weird posture when peeing." Qin Wenqian pouted as she said these words with an expression as if she looked down on her father. She pointed to the toilet by his side. "You can't pee like that! Let me teach you!"

After saying that, the little girl ran to the toilet and put her potty seat on it. Then she quickly took off her pants and sat on the toilet with her bare butt, peeing. As she peed, she smiled and raised her eyes to Qin Gengxin, whose face was already half black. "This is how mommy taught me."

Qin Gengxin's face immediately darkened. He didn't know whether he was supposed to laugh or be angry. In the end, he sighed. This meant that he was in Xian Guiying's apartment.

His head was still spinning. He reached out his hand to hold the door before he managed to stabilize himself. Seeing the way the child stood to lift her pants after peeing, he felt a little sad.

Qin Wenqian was only four years old, but she was already so independent that even though her mother was not at home, she could still do her own things obediently without crying or fussing.

"Qianqian." Qin Gengxin's voice sounded a little weak, but he looked at the child as softly as possible and asked softly, "Where is mommy?"

Qin Wenqian washed her hands and then looked at the man in front of her innocently. "I don't know! Mommy said you're sick! Do you want an injection?"

After saying that, the child suddenly ran out of the bathroom. Seeing how fast the child was running, Qin Gengxin slowly followed her from behind, but as he leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, he saw his daughter running into the study.

Qin Wenqian took out a child's medical bag from her toy case and took out a toy model of a medical device. She then ran out from the study and walked towards Qin Gengxin. "Let me check you. You'll recover soon!"

From the moment she saw him until now, Qin Wenqian never called Qin Gengxin 'daddy'.

The character of this child was very similar to Xian Guiying's.

Qin Gengxin was about to go and touch his daughter's head, but as he stepped forward, he suddenly felt dizzy. He paused for a while and wanted to continue walking when he suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.

Xian Guiying brought some ingredients that she had bought from a nearby supermarket inside. Qin Gengxin turned to look at her. His gaze was indifferent, without the slightest ripple. However, it was even colder than when he was sober.

Xian Guiying did not think he would wake up early. After her morning run, she went to buy some vegetables to make a vegetable porridge for Qin Gengxin since he had a fever.

By the time she met Qin Gengxin's gaze, she had closed the door behind her. As if nothing had happened, she calmly asked, "Are you still feeling unwell?"