Xi Xianya angrily threw away the groceries she had just bought and said, "I don't need your kindness. I'll move out with my mother right now!"
With that, she turned and went into the house to find her mother without looking back.
As soon as she entered the room, before she could speak, her mother asked, "You stabbed Zhao Jianhua. Shouldn't you have been arrested by the police?"
"Mom, what did Ai Yifeng say to you..."
"It has nothing to do with him. I saw the news online myself," Mother Xi said, holding up her phone. "The girl in the photo is clearly you!"
Xi Xianya glanced at her mother's phone and knew she couldn't hide it anymore. She said, "Mom, don't get agitated. Take care of yourself. I was released on bail. The lawyer said it was self-defense, and I'll be fine."
Mother Xi suddenly understood and asked, "So the business trip you mentioned was actually being taken to the police station. I was in the hospital then, and you were at the police station, so you never messaged me?"
Afraid to meet her mother's eyes, she nodded.
"Heavens, so this case isn't over yet, and you still have to go to the police station?" Mother Xi asked again.
"Yes, I can't leave Lancheng right now."
Mother Xi slumped down, asking, "Will you still go to jail? Is the lawyer from legal aid?"
"The lawyer was hired by my former boss..."
"Your former boss? Which former company? Didn't you only intern at one company? Didn't you lose your job long ago?" Mother Xi had too many questions.
Xi Xianya didn't want to hide anything from her mother anymore. She decided to tell everything and said, "Yes, I quit long ago because of Zhao Jianhua."
"Then why would someone help you hire a lawyer? How much have you been hiding from me? You have to tell me everything today." Mother Xi wanted to know the whole truth.
Xi Xianya looked at her mother and told her the whole story, suddenly feeling a lot lighter.
Mother Xi listened without a word, as if she had been frozen in place.
Xi Xianya dared not look at her mother's expression and said softly, "The former vice president of the company is a good person. He genuinely helped me hire a lawyer and won't harm me."
"That beast! He harmed your father, ruined our family, and now he wants to harm you!" Mother Xi said indignantly. "Why didn't you tell me sooner! If you had told me, I would have killed Zhao Jianhua. I would have taken the death penalty, gone to jail, anything! I'm almost in the grave anyway..."
"Mom, you were supposed to have surgery then. I didn't want you to be stimulated," Xi Xianya comforted her. "It's okay now, it's okay. I've already avenged Dad. Now I just want to clear Dad's name and let the police know who was dealing in contraband."
"Yes, we need to tell the police the truth. The contraband has nothing to do with your father or his company," Mother Xi agreed, eager to report it to the police immediately.
Xi Xianya stopped her and said, "Mom, not yet. We don't have enough evidence. Words are not enough. I still need to find President Xiao. He should have found some solid evidence."
"Okay." Mother Xi was still worried about her unborn child and asked, "Whose child are you carrying? Zhao Jianhua..."
Xi Xianya shook her head firmly and said, "No, it's not his. Otherwise, I wouldn't insist on keeping it."
"Ai Yifeng's?"
She pursed her lips and nodded.
Mother Xi felt a great sigh of relief, but then she thought of her daughter facing imprisonment and being pregnant. If she went to jail, she would suffer greatly.
"This child has come at the wrong time. No matter whose it is, you can't keep it," Mother Xi said anxiously. "Think about it, if you're pregnant and have to give birth in prison, how much suffering that would be. You and Yifeng are still young, and there will be plenty of time for children. Let's go to the hospital and have it aborted."
Xi Xianya said unwillingly, "Mom, Yifeng is too good to me. I want this child. If he leaves me after I go to jail, at least I'll have a child."
"Do you think raising a child is that easy? Why are you still so foolish..."
"I'm willing to raise her with you," Ai Yifeng said, pushing open the door and looking at Xi Xianya with determined eyes.
Mother Xi looked at Ai Yifeng, naturally hoping that at this moment, there would be a man who loved her daughter deeply to help her through this difficult time.
But she also knew it was unfair to Ai Yifeng and couldn't ask him for anything. She sighed, "You two talk it over. I'll go out for a walk."
After Mother Xi left, Ai Yifeng remained standing at the doorway, not entering.
Xi Xianya lowered her head, unable to face him. She said in a complaining tone, "Were you eavesdropping on me and my mother?"
"It wasn't intentional. I've washed the vegetables and just wanted to ask how you want them stir-fried," Yifeng said, preparing to go to the kitchen.
"Don't go. I'll cook," Xi Xianya said, getting up and passing by him to go to the kitchen.
Ai Yifeng, however, tightly grasped her arm.
Before she could react, Ai Yifeng deeply kissed her lips, as if pouring all his love into it madly.
Xi Xianya was caught off guard and felt a rush of emotion.
But she quickly regained her composure, tried to push him away, and looked at his warm eyes with unsteady breath, saying, "Don't you understand? From the beginning, I was using you. I never truly loved you..."
"I don't care, but I love you," Ai Yifeng confessed in a low voice.
The phrase "I love you" struck her like an arrow piercing her heart. She held back tears, lowered her head, and was speechless.
How she wished she was still that pure girl, how she wished she hadn't acted impulsively and burdened herself with a crime. Now, she didn't deserve such beautiful feelings.
"Are you out of your mind? I'm a criminal now. I'm not worth your love. Don't say such foolish things again," she said, expressionlessly prying his fingers off her.
Ai Yifeng cupped her face and said loudly, "Look into my eyes! Trust me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. I don't care if you're a prisoner or not!"
Xi Xianya could no longer control her emotions. She hugged him tightly, crying tears like rain, "My mom says I'm foolish, but you are the most foolish one, you fool! You fool! What is there about me that you like..."
"It's okay, it's okay. It's alright now. I will never leave you again. With me here, you don't have to be afraid of anything," Ai Yifeng said, feeling his heart melt.
Her coldness and indifference towards him were indeed just an act.
They embraced each other, and Xi Xianya felt as if she were dreaming.
They could be together again, having confessed their feelings, with no more manipulation or testing each other.
Ai Yifeng held her tighter and tighter, his cheek against her hair, his breath warm as he inhaled her familiar scent.
Xi Xianya saw the unconcealable passion in his eyes and shyly dodged, saying, "Be careful of the baby."