Chapter 7

He doesn’t know that I can’t wait for the day he promised, which seems so far away.

In the small room, I quietly watched as the city buzzed with news about his wedding to Lin Xiran, with reports everywhere.

He was busy attending various events with Lin Xiran, leaving no time to think of me.

On the last day, the autumn sun was rare and bright.

I boarded an old bus, winding through roads for hours until it reached a dilapidated, old town.

The place was still as dirty and chaotic as I remembered, which didn’t surprise me.

But when I saw the house, now a mess pushed by excavators, and Lin Xiran, I froze as if my mind had crashed, taking a long time to come to my senses.

I could barely steady my trembling voice: “Who allowed you into my home? Where is the little mound here?”

My little dog was buried under that mound, but now there was nothing left.

“What are you, talking to me like that?”

Lin Xiran pushed my pale face, unable to suppress a sneer: “An Qin, you’re really naive.”

“This shabby place only constantly reminds Huaixu of his downfall at that time; why would he keep it?”

“Coincidentally, I wanted to build a villa here; the scenery is nice, so he bought all the surrounding land and gave it to me.”

She stood disdainfully on high ground: “I haven’t even scolded you for burying a dead dog’s urn in the dirt! Just like you, don’t know where that mutt came from, so unlucky, ah-”

I grabbed her collar, tears uncontrollably sliding down: “Where is that urn? It’s there!”

Xiao An was not a mutt.

It was the only thing my mother left me before she passed away, my family.

The night before being sold to an old man, it bit through thick ropes, as thick as wrists, until its mouth was bloody.

When my dad came with a stick, searching for me along the paths, it led me, finding one path after another to escape.

In those hard days in the slums, I often cried secretly, and Xiao An would always come over wagging its tail when it saw me.

It suffered countless injuries for me, but just a half-eaten bun from me would make it happy again.

I always thought that once I had the means, I could let it live in a cozy little home and eat lots of meat and bones.

But my life seems always filled with “what a pity.”

At seventeen, it died under the sticks of Jiang Family’s enemies, buying me time to flee with Jiang Huaixu.

It was really obedient, breathing its last in a corner I couldn’t find, never thinking of burdening me.

“An Qin, what are you doing!”

My wrist was forcefully pulled away, Jiang Huaixu arrived at some point, pulling the tear-stained Lin Xiran into his arms.

“An Qin, I told you to stay put and not cause trouble, is this how you do it?”

He spoke each word with difficulty, unable to hide his anger: “If you like it here so much, then stay here, don’t go back to Hai City.”

Security personnel rushed up, gripping my shoulders tightly.

Never before had I felt such aversion towards Jiang Huaixu.

Tears blurred my vision, and I softly said:

“Jiang Huaixu, I will never return to Hai City again.”