Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I wanted to find Qin Jing and get some answers, but he suddenly vanished.

Qin Lei told me, “My brother had an emergency at work. He had to rush over.”

Her tone was calm, but her eyes flickered for a moment.

I didn’t press further because I knew there was no way Qin Lei would tell me the truth. So I simply responded, “Then I’ll take Xingyue and head home.”

The name belonged to my daughter, but when I spoke it aloud, my throat tightened painfully.

My best friend came with me, riding in the car as we headed home. She gently patted my daughter’s swaddled blanket, trying to comfort me.

“Nuonuo, don’t overthink it. It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Qin Jing loves you so much. He would never do anything to hurt you.”

It wasn’t that my best friend was intentionally speaking on Qin Jing’s behalf. It was just that, these past two years, Qin Jing truly had been a model husband.

At home, he handed over his salary card, took care of all the chores, always remembered to buy the pastries and fruits I liked after work, gave me massages every day during my pregnancy.

When out, he kept his distance from every other woman, always checked in with video calls when traveling for work, and even stuck a “Nuonuo’s Exclusive Passenger Seat” sign on the front seat.

I was married far from home. After my parents divorced, they each started their own families and wanted nothing to do with me, so I had to forge my way alone.

It was through a company introduction that I met Qin Jing. When he learned about my family, he hugged me tightly, his voice full of tenderness: “Don’t worry, Nuonuo. Wherever I am, that’s your home now.”

Qin Jing should… really love me, right?

He should cherish our little family, shouldn’t he?

I tried again and again to convince myself, but no matter how hard I tried, the heaviness in my heart felt like lead-there was just no way to see things in a brighter light.

As if she could sense my turmoil, my daughter suddenly started crying and spitting up milk.

My friend and I scrambled clumsily to calm her, and in the end just had the driver turn the car around and speed to the hospital.

Thankfully, after the doctor checked her, we were told it was nothing serious.

While waiting to pick up the medicine, my friend saw that I was staring blankly and couldn’t help but offer, “Let me hold the baby. Get some rest.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. I got up and wandered through the hospital hallways, hoping to shake off my anxiety.

I had already messaged Qin Jing several times asking where he was, called him again and again-but not a single reply.

What emergency was his company dealing with?

That thought hadn’t even fully formed when I stopped in my tracks.

Because at the end of the corridor, I saw Qin Jing-the man who was supposed to be handling that urgent business at work.

He hadn’t noticed me. His head hung low, as though trying to stifle intense emotions.

Standing next to him was the girl who had broken down crying at Xingyue’s hundred-day celebration.

I crept closer, quietly listening in on their conversation.

“I told you already-it’s over between us,” Qin Jing said in a low voice. “Stop coming to find me, Xingyue.”

My gut feeling had been right.

This girl was, in fact, Chen Xingyue from the list.

“I just wanted to see if you’re doing well,” Chen Xingyue’s voice trembled, on the verge of tears again.

“That jade pendant-you gave it to me back then. I’ve worn it all these years, and thanks to it, even after all the ups and downs, I’ve stayed healthy and safe. So I wanted to give it to your daughter, to pass that good fortune on to the little one.”

I saw a flicker of emotion on Qin Jing’s face, too.

He exhaled gently. “Back then I didn’t have any money, couldn’t afford anything expensive, so I got that jade pendant instead-told you I’d swap it for a diamond ring someday…”

Tears finally spilled from Chen Xingyue’s eyes. “It’ll always be the most precious gift I’ve ever received.”

I stood there, shaking all over.

My mind felt frozen, but the revelations kept coming-

Chen Xingyue was Qin Jing’s ex-girlfriend.

The jade pendant was the love token Qin Jing had given to Chen Xingyue back then.

And Qin Jing-when our daughter was born, he gave her the name Xingyue.

He held my hand, voice gentle but solemn: “From now on, you and Xingyue are the two treasures I cherish above all else in this world.”

…

Chen Xingyue wiped away her tears and asked Qin Jing, “Did you name your daughter Xingyue? Was it you?”

Qin Jing stayed silent for a long, long time.

I trembled in that silence, as if waiting for a blade to fall from above.

At last, Qin Jing spoke.

“I thought… after you went abroad, you’d never come back.”

“So I wanted a way for you to always be a part of my life, so I could never forget you.”

The blade overhead crashed down.

In that instant, the happy life I’d always believed in was shattered beyond repair.