She looked at Tang Lanxi and her mother with a smile that was not quite a smile. Seeing Gu Wanwan hiding behind Tang Lanxi, she fell silent. What irony! Even if Gu Wanwan was not good, her heart was so deep, but she was still the treasure of Tang Lanxi's heart.

  Tang Lan Zhi hugged Gu Wan Wan in her arms and comforted her, then took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped her face. Only after that did she dismiss the crowd, leaving only An An's family behind.

  An An didn't know what kind of medicine Tang Lan Zhi was selling in her gourd, she just looked at her vigilantly. Tang Lan Zhi felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, she slowly untied the bundle on the ground and revealed the contents inside. She squatted down, picked up an article of clothing and held it up, "An An, this is the latest style of cotton-padded jacket, Mom doesn't know if you like it or not? I bought one of each color."

  Indeed, there were three camisoles in the package. An'an lowered her head and suppressed the sourness in her heart. Tang Lanzhi seemed not to notice anything and continued, "And this silk flower, I heard that 17- or 18-year-old girls love red silk flowers the most. If you tie up your hair, it will look great, and you'll instantly become a big girl. And there's lipstick, bright red, my daughter looks good, and after applying it, she'll definitely look even better."

  Tang Lanxi carefully picked out the things that belonged to Anan, and then it was Dongdong's turn. She beckoned to Dongdong, wanting him to come over so she could try on his new clothes, but Dongdong just shook his head and burrowed into Anan's arms, clearly unwilling.

  Tang Lanqi couldn't help but tear up again, "Dongdong, it's been a long time since I've seen you, and Mom doesn't know what size clothes you wear, these few pieces of clothing can be worn until you're 12 years old." Dongdong's clothes were all sweaters, which Tang Lanqi had knitted herself one by one on countless nights. She coaxed, "And look! This is a set of building blocks that can be assembled into various shapes." Although it looked like just a small set of building blocks, Tang Lanqi had actually pulled strings to get someone to bring it back from a large department store in Shanghai.

  Dongdong looked at the things Tang Lanxi had laid out, and he was a bit at a loss, turning his head to look at Anan. Anan patted Dongdong on the back, "Go ahead, take it, that's what Mom has prepared for you." She could let Dongdong be influenced by her own feelings and choose to live with his father, but she couldn't make him refuse, this was Tang Lanxi's only remaining sincerity.

  To be honest, when An saw the things Tang Lan Zhi had prepared, she felt a momentary wavering in her heart. Perhaps this cheap mom wasn't so bad after all and also loved her and Dongdong. Compared to Gu Wanwan, Tang Lan Zhi's love for the two siblings was somewhat lacking, but it wasn't enough for An to completely deny all of Tang Lan Zhi's good qualities.

  Winter was curiously playing with a set of building blocks, and Tang Lanxi's eyes sparkled with amusement. She deliberately dismantled the blocks, scattering them all over the place, instructing, "Winter, look at how to assemble it." After teaching Winter, she stood up, glanced at Gu Weiqiang, then looked at Anan, and softly requested, "Anan, come here for a moment, Mom has something to tell you."

  An An fell silent for a moment, then suppressed the surprise in her eyes and followed Tang Lan Zhi to the side corridor. With her back to the crowd, Tang Lan Zhi faced An An, who felt as though she was the only one in Tang's eyes when Gu Wanwan wasn't around. For an instant, An An even had a misconception that Tang Lan Zhi's heart belonged to her alone. She toned down her previous sharpness and spoke in a rare gentle tone, "What do you want from me?"

  Tang Lan seemed to be unable to get enough of An, her eyes were red and she smiled bitterly, "An has grown up into a big girl, and she's become even more beautiful."

  An'an didn't want to listen to such empty and meaningless words, she suddenly interrupted Tang Lan Zhi, "Regret what?", What regret? Abandoning the child, abandoning her husband, leaving this complete family, both mother and daughter knew it in their hearts.

  Tang Lanji hesitated for a moment, and with practical actions told An'an that she stretched her hand into the inside of her clothes, took out a thick stack of money from inside, looked at the considerable amount, and stuffed it all into An'an's arms. She wiped away her tears, determination in her eyes, "I don't regret leaving this family, but I only regret not taking you two siblings with me back then."

  This is the biggest mistake she has ever made, which makes Anan and Dongdong estranged from her. Perhaps in the past when she was taking care of the family, Tang Lanzhi had been biased towards Gu Wanwan. After leaving that environment, she carefully reflected on it. She said with a heavy heart, "Anan, I heard your dad lost his job. Keep this money secretly. If your stepmother treats you badly, take the money and come to the provincial city to find me according to the address above."

  This is the way she left for her two children, it is said that with a stepmother there will be a stepfather, although she knew that Gu Weiqiang loved and spoiled the two children, but who knows what will happen in the future!

  An An looked at the wad of cash stuffed in her arms, with both small and large bills scattered about, totaling no less than three hundred, possibly even more. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions as she moved her lips, unsure of what to say. After a moment, a glimmer of struggle flashed across her eyes as she asked, "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" She had grown accustomed to Tang Lanxi's favoritism and coldness towards her, but now that he was starting to think about her and Dongdong, it even made her feel like she couldn't hate him properly.

  She hated Tang Lanxi because there was a firm voice in her heart that told her, Tang Lanxi was not a good mother, but a biased and bad mother.

  But from clothes to silk flowers, from sweaters to toys, and even secretly taking all the money on her body for herself, An An had to admit that her hard heart wavered for a moment.

  An An had always been someone who yielded to softness but resisted hardness, and Tang Lan Zhi's actions happened to hit An An's weak point.

  When An heard her daughter's question, Tang Lanxi suddenly laughed, laughing heartily and freely, a smile that An had never seen before, at least not in the ten or so years she had been with the Gu family.

  An An looked puzzled.

  Tang Lan Zhi's face had a hint of relief, her words were heavy with emotion, "An An, you will understand Mommy later!", after saying that, she didn't even look back and pulled Gu Wan Wan's hand, leaving the big yard.

  An'an tightly grasped a wad of scattered money in her hand, watching Tang Lan Zhi's receding back, her mind went blank, without any emotions, just staring blankly at Tang Lan Zhi's departing figure.

  Gu Wei Qiang rushed over from behind, and Dong Dong followed closely after him. Dong Dong said in a muffled voice, "Sister! Did the bad aunt bully you?"

  An An lowered her head, looked at Dong Dong and shook her head, "No!"

  Gu Wei Qiang saw the wad of cash in An An's hand, and for a moment, his face showed a complex expression. "An An, since she gave it to you, just accept it!" Along with the clothes and toys, he had to admit that even though Tang Lan Zhi was not a good person, when it came to treating the two children, she still had some genuine feelings.

  An An leaned her head on Gu Weiqiang's shoulder, asking "Daddy, why?" Why did he suddenly treat her well, making her lose the strength to hate.