Mu Lan often heard Qin Hai complain when he was drunk, so she was privy to more things than most. Grabbing hold of Qin Hai’s dissatisfaction, Mu Lan engaged in pillow talk, slowly poisoning him against Wen Xin.

It led to a series of events that happened later.

After listening to Mu Lan’s words, Qin Shu found out what happened that year. She never understood why her mother would fall for Qin Hai and work herself so hard.

It was amazing how a simple misunderstanding had snowballed and led to the misfortune her family faced.

Her mother must have agreed to marry Qin Hai because she wanted to give her a complete family.

Her mother had said that she was the most important person to her.

Looking at Mu Lan, even if her mother and Qin Hai had no feelings for each other, she was still the third wheel in the marriage.

“So… You don’t know who my biological father is?”

Mu Lan was afraid that Qin Shu did not believe her.

She shook her head desperately, “I don’t know. I only know what Qin Hai said while drunk, no more. Even Qin Hai doesn’t know who your biological father is. Please, I beg of you, save my daughter. Otherwise, she really won’t be able to live.”

Qin Shu replayed their conversation in her mind and assessed that Mu Lan was speaking the truth. Her mother, Wen Xin, was already pregnant when she met Qin Hai. In such a case, she would not have mentioned her past to Qin Hai; such was her mother’s character.

“I will have someone send her to the hospital for treatment. Still, cancer is cancer. Whether or not she’ll live is in the hands of fate.”

Qin Shu walked away, having said her piece.

With Qin Shu’s words, Mu Lan heaved a sigh of relief. She could only pray for a miracle and hope her daughter lived.

Qin Shu squinted against the glaring sun overhead as she stepped out of the mental hospital.

Qin Hai was not her biological father, and her mother never carried any affection for him. For reasons she could not explain, it felt like the bonds constricting her heart had loosened, a scar finally fading after years of constant torment.

Relief. Yes, it was a sense of relief. All those doubts, the question of an absence of fatherly affection, everything became clear to Qin Shu.

Qin Shu lowered her head and took the stairs down to where she parked her car. Once she strapped herself in, she started the engine and drove back to Bright Garden.

As she drove, Qin Shu recalled what Hai Ze had said about her mother when she was in Miao Xin.

Her mother had eloped with the man she liked because her grandfather did not approve of her marrying someone other than Miao Xin.

That year, her mother was 16, and she met Qin Hai when she was 19. Her mother had been with that man for more than two years, so it was very likely that the man was her biological father.

She then thought of her master and the painting. It was something he painted.

She still remembered the mother in the painting. She was very young in that painting, no older than eighteen. Her eyes were a fathomless blue, azure in lustre.

A thought struck her then. Could Master be…?

So shocked was Qin Shu by the epiphany she reached that she failed to break in time and crashed into the guardrail. The car tail-gaiting her rammed into her a millisecond later.

The traffic police were quick to respond, rushing over to maintain order. Many people suffered injuries in the collision, and the police called for an emergency dispatch to provide first-aid to the injured.

A strong sense of nausea hit Qin Shu. Her ears were ringing, and she could barely open her eyes.

After an indeterminable amount of time, her surroundings quietened. The sudden shift from overwhelming noise to pin-drop silence was overwhelming. Only the steady beat of her heart in her ears kept her conscious.

Everything was dark. Qin Shu could see nothing beyond the shroud stealing sight. A flash of light, a soft glow, began expanding in the atramentous desert of her mind. Soon, a bright moon hung overhead, its cold light dispelling the shadows and illuminating her surroundings.

A face appeared, a face she would know anywhere. The handsome young man looked like a painting come to life, his features having yet to shed the tenderness of youth.

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The young man appeared to be sleeping with his eyes shut tightly.

It was Fu Tingyu as he was in his youth.

In his arms was a young girl. After a moment, Qin Shu realised that she was the girl in Fu Tingyu’s arms. Perhaps he was afraid she would feel cold, so he hugged her as tightly as possible, wrapping his coat around her. It looked quite comical on her much smaller frame; a guess would put it at two sizes too large.

They were not on Mount Qi but somewhere in the neighbouring province. She and Fu Tingyu had snuck out.

Qin Shu vaguely remembered something. She had wanted to pick hawthorn berries in the mountains, and Fu Tingyu insisted on accompanying her. Not long into their search, the weather took a turn for the worst, and it began raining heavily.

They hid in a small alcove between the jagged cracks in the mountainside, waiting for the rain to stop, but, to their dismay, the rain continued falling in large sheets well after it got dark out. Qin Shu and Fu Tingyu had no choice but to continue hiding, eating the hawthorn berries they foraged when hunger gnawed.

Fu Tingyu did not eat sour foods. Eating a hawthorn berry was enough to pucker his lips in a grimace.

They slept until midnight, when the rain finally stopped. Neither Qin Shu nor Fu Tingyu entertained the thought of heading down without any light. Therefore, they slept, waiting for dawn to break.

The scene melted away in swirling clouds, transforming once again.

This time, Qin Shu found herself standing in front of a wooden door. The door was not closed properly, and she could peep into the room through a small gap. She saw two individuals hugging each other tightly. They were her mother and her master.

Her mother was struggling, doing her best to push her master away. However, it was an act in futility. The hold her master had over her mother was too great; it was not something she could overcome with her meagre strength.

“Why did you lie to me? You lied not once but twice! Would you lie to me again by teaching my daughter martial arts? You’re nothing more than a hypocrite!”

“Ling’er, please listen to me. I want to teach Babe…”

Before Master could finish his words, Long Ziling interrupted him with a slap. “Then why did you disguise yourself as Jin Cheng?”

Her master asked, “If I didn’t disguise myself, would you be willing to see me?”

“You’re the last person I want to see in my life.”

“Ling’er, why aren’t you willing to listen? Did you forget that you said you would marry me? Although we don’t have a name…”

“Shut up! I, Long Ziling, regret meeting you the most in my life.”

Qin Shu saw her mother cry. Since she was young, it was her first time seeing her mother in tears. It was a heart-wrenching experience.

She saw her master holding her mother. The two of them struggled and fell onto the bed behind them.

The only thought on Qin Shu’s mind then was to comfort her mother. She was scared, and she wanted that fear to go away, so she pushed open the door intending to prevent her master from bullying her mother.

When Qin Shu barged in, Long Ziling momentarily forgot her struggle. Her daughter was thirteen. She must have heard everything they had said just now.

“Erase her memory. I’ll pretend that none of this happened. You’re not her master, and she doesn’t know you. We’ll pretend we never knew each other.”

“You’re afraid that Babe will find out about what happened between us and tell Qin Hai, right? Do you truly love that man?”

“Of course, I love him. Otherwise, why would there be Xiao Bao? I hope you won’t return and ruin our peaceful life together!”

“What about us?”

Qin Shu had always viewed her master as a cold and aloof man, possessing an otherworldly temperament, much like an immortal.

It was her first time seeing her master lose his composure. She could not understand what was going on then. Now, she understood a little better.

It must have been torture for her master to hear the woman he loved proclaim her love for another man. It was a wonder he managed to control his emotions as well as he did.

“Enough. Do you have to say these things in front of Xiao Bao?” Long Ziling was angry and anxious. She held her in her arms, trying to comfort her frightened daughter.

“What if I don’t help you?” It was a threat and a promise if she did not offer him a compromise.

…