In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Because of her child, she gradually shifted her work behind the scenes, establishing a transcription studio and no longer taking on tasks personally.

While others' careers might decline after having children, An Huai never gave herself an excuse to relax.

Over these three years, her parents had always been her strong support, making the difficult and overwhelming seem more bearable.

During this time, she actively went on blind dates, but none of them worked out.

Many people advised her to find someone who was good to her child and not to be too picky.

But she didn’t agree. She was looking for a partner for herself, not just a father for her child.

Yet, as she talked with one man after another, she began to gradually agree with what her mother had said over the phone years ago—how society devalues women who have had children.

An Huai once thought she would always prioritize her career and dreams, dismissing the notions of marriage and family. But now, nearing thirty, she realized just how much she longed for a complete family.

She couldn't pinpoint when her mindset had changed.

In the past, she prided herself on not liking stability or routine. But now, as her career flourished, she suddenly found herself envying the idea of a shared life within a marriage.

Especially when she thought about growing old alone, she felt terrified.

An Huai admitted honestly that she wasn't as happy as she once was. She wanted to be someone's girlfriend or wife; she needed a man.

Her life might never be perfect, but now she was desperately yearning for completeness.

When a 20-year-old intern in her studio righteously told her that single moms could also have exciting lives, she shook her head.

"An Huai, times are changing. Marriage isn't a woman's only option; everything is moving toward freedom. I've thought about not getting married."

An Huai didn't argue; she just listened quietly, looking at the intern as if she were seeing her younger self.

Life, after all, only reveals its truths after you've lived through a few years.

As a woman nearing thirty, she was now desperately wanting to get married, even if it meant jumping into the fire of an unhappy marriage.

Something is better than nothing.

After the negotiation, she shook hands with the man across from her. He asked what she was going to do next, and she openly replied that she was going to pick up her child.

The man looked surprised. "You already have a child?"

Accustomed to such reactions, An Huai smiled and said, "I was young and foolish."

She hadn't driven there, so the man offered to take her.

She quickly understood and graciously accepted, "Sure."

The man, Gu Si, was thirty-four, working in the live-streaming industry, and was a new business partner of hers.

Like many successful men, Gu Si was mature and steady.

An Huai liked this type of man, but she knew that such excellent men wouldn't be interested in her.

This was a fact, a challenge, and an expected truth of life.

So, An Huai had no other thoughts about Gu Si, though they did grow closer through work.

Gu Si was very straightforward with An Huai, telling her that he had been divorced once.

Her hand paused as she poured tea, and she asked in a flat tone, "Why?"

"Because I cheated during the marriage. She has a psychological need for purity and insisted on a divorce."

Instinctively, An Huai wanted to call him a jerk, but she had seen plenty of jerks in her time. Remembering that Gu Si was her business partner, she held back.

Like many stories, the man couldn't handle his once-beautiful, lively young wife turning into a nagging, dull housewife.

"I was with her for ten years. She changed so much, she was no longer the woman I once loved. So I had that immoral night, but it was a night of freedom and true release."

"We’ve been divorced for four years now. She’s doing well as a single woman, and we’ve even become good friends, but there’s no going back."

An Huai listened quietly, without much comment. These were matters an outsider couldn't really judge.

In today's society, cheating is still seen as a heinous act, with people wishing ill upon unfaithful men and women. But the truth is, love inevitably grows stale.

When neither party can keep the relationship fresh, one might resort to an affair as an outlet, a way to reclaim the vitality they once had.

An Huai simply said she could understand but didn’t agree.

In her view of marriage, she believed she would enjoy being with just one person for life—sharing household chores, arguing and making up, and growing old together.

Day by day, love would turn into a habit rather than the boredom many assume.

"And you, have you considered finding a father for your child?" Gu Si, noticing that An Huai hadn’t commented on his situation, subtly shifted the topic to her.

"I'm actively looking for a lover for myself. After all, no man would willingly love a child that isn’t his own, right?"

"So, I just hope he could at least be kind enough to accept my child as part of the package."

Gu Si found her words captivating, seeing a glow of confidence in her that he hadn’t noticed before. This was the first time he had heard such a self-assured response.

He thought "intelligent" was the word to describe her. She clearly and thoroughly understood many things.

Gu Si didn’t beat around the bush. After taking a small sip of tea, he looked up and directly asked, "Do you think the two of us are compatible?"

"But I don't agree with your views on marriage," An Huai replied.

Gu Si chuckled lightly. "Don’t you think I'm very honest? I just said what most men think. Besides, in the future, I’ll surely be more cautious about the cost of infidelity."

"You didn’t stay with that woman who 'liberated' you?"

"How could I? I didn’t love her. It's easy to like someone, but truly loving someone is hard. To this day, my ex-wife is the only woman I’ve ever loved. I didn’t want to divorce her, you know."

An Huai blinked slowly a few times, paused for a moment, and then asked Gu Si, "So, how do you feel about me? To what extent?"

"Admiration."

For a long time after she got home, An Huai’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding, and she even made mistakes while telling An Jinghuan’s bedtime story.

"Mom, what’s a 'Gu Si'? Shouldn’t the princess be with the prince?"

An Huai’s face flushed slightly. "Right, the princess is with the prince. Mommy made a mistake."

An Jinghuan cuddled her teddy bear and fell into a peaceful sleep, but An Huai, leaning against her daughter's bed, couldn’t sleep at all.

Although she had known Gu Si for a few months, this was the first time they had such a candid conversation.

She hadn’t expected Gu Si to have feelings for her. And no matter how old a woman gets, when she encounters a man who makes her heart flutter, her mind inevitably reverts to that of a young girl.

When Gu Si drove her home tonight, she actually felt a spark of romance. Was she just too lonely?

She wrestled with these thoughts for a long time, then sent Gu Si a message: "There’s a parent-child event at the kindergarten the day after tomorrow. Are you free?"

Gu Si replied immediately: "Yes."

One word, clean and straightforward.

The next day, to her surprise, An Huai received a package containing two tracksuits—one for An Jinghuan and one for herself, both from a very expensive sports brand.

This was Gu Si's first gift to her, and this set of matching outfits filled with love touched her deeply.

But what she hadn’t anticipated was that when Gu Si came to pick them up for the kindergarten event, he was also wearing a tracksuit. The moment she saw him, she couldn’t help but smile in surprise.

She thought, he’s really a thoughtful man.

Gu Si, in his tracksuit, looked even younger. Holding An Jinghuan in his arms, he gave An Huai a brief illusion of a complete family.

But those eyes, An Jinghuan’s eyes, didn’t resemble Gu Si’s at all.

Four years had passed, and everything that strange man had brought into An Huai’s life had faded from her memory. She couldn’t recall his scent or his warmth; only when she looked into An Jinghuan’s eyes did she faintly remember the man’s beautiful eyes.

When his eyes were closed, his lashes were so long and dense.

She didn’t know when it happened, but she had already given up searching for him.

When you’re searching for someone, you gain a deeper understanding of the vastness of your country.

Trying to find him with no clues felt like an impossible task.

That day, An Jinghuan was particularly cheerful, and An Huai suddenly understood the mindset of single mothers who seek a father for their children. Sometimes, a child’s happiness truly outweighs one’s own.

An Huai was secretly taken aback, realizing she had become frighteningly selfless.

An Jinghuan was quite mature for her age. Despite their efforts to keep things from her, she still sensed that something was amiss.

Especially after she started kindergarten, she occasionally asked questions about her father, but now she had stopped asking altogether.

An Jinghuan’s silence on the matter made An Huai’s heart ache all the more. This was her mistake, yet it was her child who bore the consequences.

Moved by An Jinghuan’s reaction, An Huai finally gathered the courage to call Gu Si. "Gu Si, what you mentioned before—I’ll seriously consider it."

After the call, everything around her seemed to take on a surreal, beautiful quality, as if even the air she breathed in was inexplicably fresh.

So, when her assistant called to say they were short-staffed for a meeting, she didn’t hesitate before replying, "I’m available."

But, in reality, making decisions when your mind is in a haze isn’t the best idea, as An Huai realized upon arriving at the meeting. She was utterly clueless about the subject matter she was supposed to transcribe.

She had never even heard of the formulas and symbols they were discussing, let alone knew how to record them accurately.

She pulled out her recorder, knowing she would have to spend a lot of extra time researching and organizing the material later.

Though she had been a stenographer for ten years and was more experienced than most, there were still areas she had never encountered.

For the three-hour meeting, she felt as though she was enduring an ordeal.

To her surprise, as soon as the meeting ended, they immediately asked her for the transcript. She stammered, saying she still needed to organize it.

"No worries, we can handle the organization," they replied.

"Well…" Just as she was struggling to respond, a male voice suddenly interrupted, "What’s the matter? Where’s the meeting transcript?"

Following the direction of the voice, An Huai turned and was stunned the moment she saw the man.

She had thought she’d forgotten the details of his face, but it turned out she could remember everything so clearly.

It was evident that Chen Du recognized her just as quickly, but neither of them revealed their emotions.

Following Chen Du into the office, she uploaded the meeting notes to his computer.

"I didn’t prepare in advance, so I missed some technical terms," she admitted honestly. "I recorded the meeting."

Chen Du glanced at her briefly, then said nothing, simply scrolling through the document. It wasn’t until he reached the end that he remarked, almost nonchalantly, "So, you’re a stenographer."

His words sent An Huai’s heart racing—he was acknowledging that he knew her.

But before she could say anything, Chen Du continued, "There aren’t many gaps. The higher-ups are in a hurry to get this. Why don’t you stay and help me make some edits?"