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d to play games, she would follow through until the end.The bicycle slowly rode over the path lined with kapok trees, turning a corner before arriving at a small farmstead.It was a very beautiful farm...The Substitute Wife of the CEO Complete 704

Long Xiushui looked up, staring at Ruan Wenwu as if searching for something beyond her. Ruan Wenwu did not like this feeling and was quite wary but remained silent. Long Xiushui said, "The last time I saw you, your brows were furrowed and your complexion pale. Now you look rosy and happy."

Ruan Wenwu sighed; she thought that since this woman was her mother, there was no need to be so guarded. This excessive caution seemed to even affect the child in her womb, making it feel tense.

"Yes, I was very sad last time because I had a miscarriage and some unexpected trouble with Fei Mo. My heart was troubled and full of fear and anxiety, naturally affecting my appearance," Ruan Wenwu said frankly. "The man who was with me last time is my husband. We were divorced but are getting remarried."

"I know." Long Xiushui smiled. "You two look very compatible."

"I recall you once told me to leave him and that we shouldn't get married," Ruan Wenwu said with a smile, not intending to waste time on this exchange. "Now you say we're compatible. I don’t understand your intentions. Can you just state the purpose of your visit I'm not clever enough to guess what others are thinking, so why don’t you tell me directly."

"You seem resentful towards me."

"No!" Ruan Wenwu said. "Although you're my mother, we are strangers. If it weren't for the curse incident, I wouldn't even know that a mother exists in this world. In my heart, the Wu family will always be my home. I have my parents and don’t understand why you gave me away to foster parents. But I’m grateful because I got good parents and an adorable little sister. My brother also returned to me. The relatives I originally shouldn't have are a gift from you. If not for your decision, who knows what fate would befall me today Regardless of how things turned out, I wouldn’t blame you."

"I see," Long Xiushui said with a smile. Her own daughter saying such words face-to-face didn't seem to affect her emotions in the least. Ruan Wenwu thought that she had always lived within her own world with her father and hadn’t stepped outside of it, thus unaffected by others' feelings. This was fortunate for her.

Without joy or sorrow, she couldn’t articulate this uncomfortable feeling but could only feel it acutely. Even her lower abdomen seemed to ache slightly as if the child sensed her mother's stress and discomfort and was protesting in its own way.

A warm, gentle smile appeared on her face as she tenderly placed her hand over her flat abdomen, wishing to ease the pain.

"Why did you come to see me"

"Warming..." For the first time, Long Xiushui called out her name. She bowed her head, lost in a moment of reminiscence. "I never meant to hurt you or your brother. You are my children, but Zi Ming is dead and I no longer wish to live on either. I feared that I wouldn't be able to raise both of you, so I sent each of you to different families for upbringing. The curse... Haha, the Long family’s curse really does kill people, it's truly vicious. I wanted to break the curse but your father used his life to save mine instead, sacrificing himself in the process. My life was bought with his; I have no right to die. I promised him that I would raise you both, so when I couldn't see you grow up safely and at peace, I felt uneasy. Knowing I could never take care of you both myself, if you were to stay with me then sooner or later you would meet your end. That's why I sent each of you to different families."

Warming was unable to comprehend her thoughts nor understand why staying with her meant death; however, it no longer mattered now, truly didn't matter anymore. The past couldn’t be changed, and what happened back then was beyond remedy.

She felt nothing but indifference and could not empathize with Long Xiushui's situation at that time either. It seemed she did not need Warming to understand; instead, she merely stated a fact. Warming wanted to ask her about the curse but feared it would cause her discomfort, so she decided against asking.

Long Xiushui asked with a smile, "You didn't want to ask me about the curse"

Warming thought that when she smiled, she looked truly beautiful, like a white tea flower. Her face still held youthful brightness and few signs of time’s passage. She was lovely yet lacked spirit.

"I don’t wish to know anymore; whether there's a curse or not doesn't stop me from being with him, so it no longer matters." Warming said. Long Xiushui smiled faintly in reply, "You’re more open-minded than I."

She did not deny it. To look at her, she appeared to be an obstinate person, which explained why she had been stuck on this issue for so many years. Actually, one didn’t need to be that way; only the open-hearted could truly find happiness.

"You may not ask but I wish to tell you—there is no curse upon you," Long Xiushui said. Warming’s eyes widened and she couldn't help touching her shoulder. "What did you say"

Dragon Xiushui sighed, "I used the Dragon family's witchcraft when I was carrying you, so you were not born as an heir. But I don't want to be forced by the Dragon family to give birth to another heir again, so on your shoulder, I tattooed a butterfly. Who understands the Dragon family’s butterflies better than me The butterfly I personally tattooed looks just like a real birthmark. Besides, you are my daughter, they definitely won’t investigate too thoroughly, so everyone soon dismissed their suspicions."

Warmth was shocked to find out that she wasn't an heir of the Dragon family after all. She felt elated for a moment, thinking that if this were true, then there would be no more worry in her future life. But then came anger, "Why didn’t you tell me from the start Why didn’t you tell me when we were on the island"

If she had told her back then, she and Feimo wouldn't have wasted that year of time. She wouldn’t have left him when he was sick, wouldn’t have hurt him, wouldn’t have abandoned him. This was too much.

"I never thought you would meet the Du family people. I sent you to your mother so she could raise and take care of you for a lifetime of health and happiness, without ever knowing about the curse. When your mother came looking for me on the island, I knew what had happened to you and felt very sorry. At that time, I thought you were determined to divorce him. I didn’t have the face to meet both of you, so it was better not to say anything. Later, when I advised you against getting married, it's because after you left, people from the Dragon family came looking for me. That was a very trustworthy cousin of mine, whom I had believed that the Dragon family had an heir for more than ten years. But he told me there wasn’t one… This generation of the Dragon family has no heir, so their daughters might give birth to heirs. Even if she herself isn't an heir, you are direct bloodline and have the best chance. So I was afraid that you would get married and bear a child with a birthmark on her body, thus making this tragedy happen again and again. It’s very contradictory for me; you don’t know how painful it is to know your daughter's life is short-lived and she will be cursed all her life. When you become a mother, you'll understand."

Warmth understood now: Xiushui must have thought that another branch of the Dragon family had given birth to an heir at the time; otherwise, why would she send her away so she wouldn’t suffer and could grow up happily without worries She could then get married and bear children without any relation. After finding out later on that this generation of the Dragon family didn't have an heir, she became afraid that getting married and bearing a child might make this tragedy repeat itself.

So it was like that…

She had thought that Xiushui disliked her so much that not even her marriage would receive a blessing from her. But in fact, she did all of this for her sake. Warmth felt very heartache at the realization; she couldn't understand Dragon Xiushui's feelings back then but now she could.

Who would want to give birth to a daughter destined to suffer a lifetime of curses and unable to find happiness It was better not to bear children in the first place, thus avoiding such suffering. She suffered, her daughter also suffered; this tragedy repeated itself generation after generation.

She didn't know whether she should thank Dragon Xiushui or resent her for it. This feeling was very contradictory.

"Why doesn’t this generation of the Dragon family have an heir"

"I don't know," Long Xiushui said. "This situation has never occurred before, so I'm not sure either. That's why I'm worried. Warming, I tell you this to prepare you mentally. You're about to get married and have a child; you need to decide for yourself whether you want to take the risk."

"When you decided to give birth to me, it was also risky," Warming said. Long Xiushui nodded, and Warming smiled, "Then why did you ask my opinion I'm already pregnant, but I don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. Even if it’s a girl and there is a curse, I still have 30 years of緣分with her, during which I can love and cherish her for 30 years. That should be enough time. I believe my child wouldn’t blame me."

Long Xiushui smiled bitterly; she had once thought the same way. Since Warming understood her completely, it meant that Warming didn't hold anything against her.

"I have no aptitude for the witchcraft of the Long family," Warming said, "and I've grown up in City A, away from the Long family. Essentially, I'm not considered a daughter of the Long family anymore, so my daughter wouldn’t be an heir. My daughter will take her mother’s surname, Ye, and she'll belong to the Ye family."

Warming was fully confident that she wasn't destined for bad luck; she believed good fortune would come her way eventually. Therefore, there's no way she'd give birth to a daughter with a birthmark. Her long-held worry had finally been alleviated. She had initially been very afraid of Long Xiushui visiting her, worried about what Long Xiushui might say to prevent her from getting married. Instead, Long Xiushui brought such good news; Warming thought it must be the best wedding gift she could receive.

The best wedding gift. Although their fated connection was thin, she hoped that as her birth mother, she would have a better life.

Blood is thicker than water.

“Thank you for giving me such good news,” Warming sincerely thanked her. Long Xiushui shook her head and said, “Cheng Tian told me you’ve already decided to get married; I believe it’s time for you to know this information so that you can choose your own path.”

Warming nodded. She had drunk the cold coffee—it must have been bitter by now. Warming didn’t know if Long Xiushui wanted her to call her "Mom"; she couldn’t bring herself to do it because of their unfamiliarity.

Maybe this mother-daughter relationship was just too shallow in this lifetime.ted to slap the sense into Warm. How could someone so intelligent not understand Wasn’t this just about spending a few hundred thousand She earned enough from her endorsements that there was no issue...