"You want to spend the night here?"

Guo Jinfeng nodded. "Is that okay?"

Xiao Nian scratched his head. He glanced at his dad’s bedroom door, unsure if he could make that call.

"Can I?" Guo Jinfeng asked pitifully. "It’s so far from the train station. If I walk back, it’ll probably take me until dawn. And... my leg."

Xiao Nian glanced at Guo Jinfeng’s leg. He had noticed earlier that his mother seemed to be limping.

Xiao Nian didn’t know what had happened to make his mother end up like this, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

But Xiao Nian’s heart softened.

"You can stay in my sister’s room, then." There were only three rooms in total, with no guest room.

Guo Jinfeng was instantly overjoyed. She smiled at Xiao Nian and said, "You’re still the one who cares most about your mom."

Xiao Nian forced a smile.

He Nan came out of his room. The main room was empty, so he assumed Guo Jinfeng had left and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But when he went into the kitchen to wash the dishes, he found Guo Jinfeng there, having already cleaned it up.

"You haven’t left yet?"

Seeing He Nan come in, Guo Jinfeng wiped her hands. "I washed the dishes."

He Nan nodded. "Now that you’re done cleaning up, you should get going. It’s getting late."

Only then did Guo Jinfeng say cautiously to He Nan, "The train station is too far from here, and my leg is acting up. Tuanzi took pity on me and said I could stay in our daughter’s room for the night."

He Nan was stunned. "Spend the night? That’s not okay!"

He Nan thought of Wang Hui Fang’s reaction earlier. Besides, given his past relationship with Guo Jinfeng, having her stay the night was completely inappropriate.

Guo Jinfeng pleaded, "He Nan, I have nowhere to go. Can’t I just stay in our daughter’s room for one night? I won’t bother you two. Don’t tell me your wife won’t even allow this? I never knew you were so scared of your wife." Guo Jinfeng directly blamed Wang Hui Fang for He Nan’s reluctance, claiming it was Wang Hui Fang who disapproved.

He Nan was at a loss for words. He paced a few steps in the kitchen. "Why don’t you understand? It’s not appropriate for you to stay here."

He wanted to reason with Guo Jinfeng, but just then, Xiao Nian walked in.

"Dad, you’re here too. Mom, are you not done washing up? When you’re finished, I’ll take you to my sister’s room."

Guo Jinfeng shot He Nan a look and followed Xiao Nian out, leaving He Nan to sigh helplessly.

’Now it’s going to be even harder to explain this to my wife.’

It wasn’t until Wang Hui Fang got up the next morning and saw Guo Jinfeng washing up in the courtyard that she realized Guo Jinfeng had stayed the night. She stood there, stunned, for a long moment before turning and going straight back to their room. He Nan was also up by then, getting dressed.

"She slept at our house last night?"

He Nan paused, then hurriedly explained, "I was going to tell you last night, but you weren’t talking to me. It wasn’t me who let her stay, it was Xiao Nian. She’s his mother, after all. He probably couldn’t bear to see her suffer."

Wang Hui Fang laughed in anger. "So because I wasn’t talking to you, you just didn’t bother to tell me you were letting your ex-wife spend the night? What will the neighbors think if they see her? He Nan, I never realized you were a man of so few words. You give your ex-wife money and don’t tell me either. What are you trying to do?"

He Nan quickly stood up to explain. "I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d overthink it. I just saw the state she was in and was worried Xiao Nian would be upset. I—I’ll make her leave right now."

Wang Hui Fang gave a cold smile. "She’s already stayed the night. Can you really kick her out now? She’s the mother of your children, I’m not. I’m the one who should leave."

Wang Hui Fang packed a couple of items of clothing. He Nan went to stop her but was pushed aside. He couldn’t hold her back as she walked right out.

He Nan grew anxious, filled with regret. ’I should have just made Guo Jinfeng leave last night.’

At breakfast, Xiao Nian didn’t see Wang Hui Fang and asked He Nan, "Dad, where’s Aunt Wang?"

He Nan glanced at Guo Jinfeng, who was eating with an unfazed expression, and said in a low voice, "Your Aunt Wang went to work."

Xiao Nian was confused. "She went to work without eating breakfast? Isn’t it still early?"

He Nan said no more. Guo Jinfeng, of course, knew why Wang Hui Fang had left. It was definitely because of a fight with He Nan over her. She had watched Wang Hui Fang leave with a dark expression on her face.

After they finished eating, He Nan said to Guo Jinfeng, "You should go now."

Guo Jinfeng looked at Xiao Nian, but he didn’t react, just stared back at her.

Guo Jinfeng dropped the act and laid her cards on the table. She said, "He Nan, I don’t want to leave. We didn’t divorce because our feelings fell apart, and I’m single again now. Besides, we have two children together. A stepmother, no matter how nice, is never truly genuine. I’m their birth mother. She’s already gone, so why don’t we get remarried?"

He Nan thought Guo Jinfeng must be insane. He looked at her, speechless, then said, "Guo Jinfeng, what do you take me for? I’ll tell you one more time: I’m married. I have a wife, and we have a great relationship. Even if something happened between us, I would never remarry you. I pity you because you are, after all, the mother of Xiao Nian and Ziqing. I was afraid the children would be hurt, so I gave you money to make your life a little easier. But I have no other intentions, and I hope you don’t either. Leave. Don’t come back, and I don’t want to see you ever again."

He Nan’s words left Guo Jinfeng flushed with shame, her eyes welling up with tears. She had no face to stay any longer. She turned and ran out, limping away.

Xiao Nian stood frozen in place, unable to snap out of his daze for a long time.

He Nan looked at Xiao Nian. "What are you thinking? Do you still want your mother to come back to you?"

Xiao Nian shook his head. ’That’s not what I was thinking.’ Guo Jinfeng had been gone for many years. To be honest, Xiao Nian was used to it. Being around her always felt a little uncomfortable somehow, but she was his biological mother, and he couldn’t bear to see her suffering so much.

"Is your Aunt Wang not good to you?"

Xiao Nian looked at He Nan, surprised. "I never said she was bad to me. Dad, why are you asking that?"

He Nan sighed. "But you let your mother stay last night. What do you think your Aunt Wang must be thinking?"

"Is Aunt Wang angry because of that?" Xiao Nian finally realized. No wonder Wang Hui Fang had left this morning without eating breakfast—she hadn’t eaten last night either.

Xiao Nian smacked his forehead in frustration and said earnestly, "Dad, hurry up and go find Aunt Wang. I’ll apologize to her. I wasn’t thinking. Mom was telling me her troubles, and I just gave in because my heart softened. It won’t happen again."

He Nan patted Xiao Nian’s head, relieved. "You haven’t let your Aunt Wang’s kindness go to waste after all. Okay, you clean up the dishes. I’ll go find your Aunt Wang."

Xiao Nian nodded.

With that, He Nan got on his bicycle and headed to his workplace.

However, when He Nan arrived at his workplace and went to the back kitchen, he didn’t see Wang Hui Fang. After asking around, he learned that she had just been there to request time off and had already left.

He Nan’s heart sank even further.