On the way back, neither of them said much. Silence was the unspoken verse of the evening.

The night breeze drifted by gently. Jiang Xia turned to look at Lin Yanwan’s face, radiant under the faint moonlight. A wave of emotion washed over him. ’How long has it been since we’ve taken a walk at night like this?’

"What’s wrong?" Lin Yanwan suddenly turned to look at him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Caught off guard by her sudden glance, he blushed and looked away, a smirk playing on his lips. "There’s a dog up ahead."

"AHH!!!"

Her shriek pierced the quiet of the night. Lin Yanwan instinctively moved closer to him.

"Where? Where is it?"

"Oh, my bad. I was mistaken. It’s just a fire hydrant."

"Jiang Xia, you did that on purpose, didn’t you!"

She gritted her teeth in frustration and gave him a light kick, just like she used to.

But just as she said that, a rustling sound came from the darkness ahead. A moment later, a large, yellow dog, wandering in the night, ambled past her.

"A dog! A dog!"

Her nervous system lagged for about half a second before she yelped and jumped away. She grabbed onto Jiang Xia’s arm, her supple waist twisting at a surprising angle.

Her sudden shriek startled the passing dog, which flinched, tucked its tail between its legs, and vanished into the darkness in an instant.

Seeing this, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but let out a series of honking laughs.

"How dare you laugh!?" Lin Yanwan subtly let go of his arm and gave him a hard thump to hide her embarrassment.

Jiang Xia put on an innocent expression. "I warned you from the start. You’re the one who didn’t believe me. Who’s to blame for that?"

"...I don’t care! It’s your fault anyway!" she huffed, then suddenly realized her tone sounded like she was pouting.

A deep blush quickly crept up her cheeks. She didn’t understand why she was acting so coyly with him. ’Is it because we were once husband and wife, with no secrets between us?’

’Or is it that, over the past twelve years, I had grown accustomed to relying on him?’

Taking a few deep breaths, Lin Yanwan rubbed her face vigorously. Thank goodness it was pitch-black, so he couldn’t see her expression.

Otherwise, she would have wished for the ground to swallow her whole.

"Alright, alright, my fault, okay?" Jiang Xia said with a helpless sigh. A scene like this couldn’t help but remind him of the past.

"It was in the first place!"

After she spoke, they both fell silent at the same time.

Lin Yanwan walked silently behind him, her heart a tangle of emotions.

Once upon a time, Jiang Xia would always give in to her like this. Back then, they had been deeply in love, inseparable, with endless things to talk about.

But when exactly did they start arguing endlessly over trivial, everyday things? Was it after his parents passed away one after the other, or was it when he gave up on his dreams and lost his spirit?

Or perhaps, it was both.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at Lin Yanwan’s residential complex.

Jiang Xia looked up and saw the faint flicker of firelight in some of the apartments. ’People must have lit candles.’

"We’re here. You can go up on your own. I’m going to head back."

After saying this, he turned to leave without any hesitation. ’Even though this place was once a home to me in my past life,’ he thought, ’it has nothing to do with me now.’

Staring at the pitch-black darkness within her own complex, the gaping stairwell looking like a man-eating maw, Lin Yanwan felt her legs go weak.

She swallowed hard and called out as if asking for help, "Wait."

"What’s wrong?" Jiang Xia stopped and turned back to look at her.

Lin Yanwan took a deep breath. "I live on the thirteenth floor."

"I know."

"So... can you walk me up?"

Jiang Xia: "???"

’This isn’t how the script is supposed to go,’ he thought. ’Besides, since we’ve already broken up, what am I doing going to my ex-wife’s place? What if I run into her parents? Wouldn’t that be incredibly awkward?’

"The power’s out, so the elevator isn’t working. We have to take the stairs." She put on a pitiful expression and pleaded, "I’m scared of the dark, and I’m scared of ghosts. What if there’s something... unclean... in the stairwell..."

Hearing this, Jiang Xia realized he had been overthinking things.

"Hmm, let’s go."

He agreed without a second thought. ’I’ve already walked her this far,’ he reasoned. ’Taking her to her front door seems reasonable enough.’

Following the path, they had just reached the entrance of Building 3 when a bright flashlight beam shone on them.

Jiang Xia squinted, instinctively raising his arm to shield his eyes. A second later, he heard Lin Xiaoman’s delighted voice.

"Big Sis! Big Sis! I’m over here!"

Lin Xiaoman came bouncing toward them, the beam of her flashlight dancing wildly.

"Xiao Man, slow down. Watch where you’re going, be careful not to fall."

A woman’s gentle voice called out from ahead.

Jiang Xia’s heart skipped a beat. He unconsciously clenched his fists as a wave of nervousness washed over him.

’I’m screwed,’ he thought. ’It’s my mother-in-law. If I’d known someone was coming to meet her, I never would have agreed to this.’

Hearing his somewhat ragged breathing, Lin Yanwan turned to look at his face and found it inexplicably amusing.

In their past life, after his own parents had passed away, Jiang Xia had transferred his love for them onto his in-laws. And his mother-in-law, taking pity on him, had treated him like her own son.

Their mother-and-son-in-law relationship had been incredibly harmonious.

So, Lin Yanwan genuinely couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. It wasn’t like her mom was going to eat him, was it?

She cleared her throat and said in a low voice, "She’s my mom now, not your mom. Can you try to act normal?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

"If you ran into my mom, would you be nervous?"

Lin Yanwan’s breath caught in her throat.

For both of them, the love from his parents and her parents had been genuine. That affection couldn’t just be ignored simply because they had been reborn.

"Anyway, just be careful. Don’t call her the wrong thing," Lin Yanwan reminded him again.

If he blurted out "Mom," their relationship would become impossible to explain away—it would be solid proof they were dating.

"I know." Jiang Xia took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Lin Xiaoman bounced up to them, her face beaming with joy. "Big Sis, the power’s out today, so Mom and I came to get you~"

"Wow! I’m so touched! Thank you, Xiao Man." Lin Yanwan crouched down and gave her little sister a big smooch on the cheek.

"Huh? Big Brother is here too! Did you walk Big Sis home?" The little girl finally noticed Jiang Xia and aimed the flashlight at his face.

A blinding white light flashed before his eyes, and Jiang Xia reflexively turned his head away.

"Xiao Man! It’s rude to shine that in people’s eyes!" Lin Yanwan took the flashlight from her and looked at Jiang Xia with an apologetic expression.

"Hello, Xiao Man. We meet again." Jiang Xia smiled faintly and gently patted her head.

"Mhm! Big Brother, you came to see Xiao Man!"

With that, she grabbed Jiang Xia’s pant leg, turned to her mother, and shouted excitedly, waving her arms, "Mommy, Mommy, the big brother who saved Xiao Man today walked Big Sis home!"

Watching his mother-in-law from his past life walk closer step by step, Jiang Xia clenched his fists and held his breath. His recently calmed heart began to pound nervously once more.

Ji Wanqiu looked at Jiang Xia standing beside her daughter, sizing him up for a moment before speaking with a smile.

"Hello. I’m Yanwan’s mother. Thank you for walking her home."

A stiff smile immediately plastered itself on his face as his rapidly spinning brain crashed on the spot.

"Mom..."

The word had barely left his lips when all three of them froze.