After the rehearsal, the students left the classroom one after another. Mr. Yan invited Lin Wan to his office and said, “Miss Lin, the competition tomorrow marks the end of our time working together. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you on behalf of the school!”

“Don’t mention it, Mr. Yan. Thank you for providing me with this opportunity so that I can bring my education career to a successful end.” Lin Wan replied sincerely. She wasn’t trying to be polite, but she meant it from the bottom of her heart and was sincerely grateful to Mr. Yan for providing her with such an opportunity.

Headmaster Yan waved his hand and said with a smile, “Don’t mention it either, Miss Lin. It’s my job to do so. Miss Lin, there is something I’d like to tell you, but I’m worried it’ll offend you.”

“Are you trying to persuade me to go back to school? If so, you don't have to try. I will leave Shanyang City soon and may not come back. I really can't say yes to your offer.”

Mr. Yan rubbed his hands together awkwardly, not knowing how to continue the conversation. He was indeed going to persuade Lin Wan to change her mind so she could return to the school and continue managing the choir.

Humans would never stop at one. When they didn’t win the championship, all Mr. Yan had in mind was to win the championship. Now when they were so close to winning, his mind shifted to think about going on to win a few more championships.

For this to happen, Lin Wan’s position was very crucial.

The best person for this position was none other than Lin Wan. And if she left, Mr. Yan couldn’t imagine how the school’s choir future would be.

But thankfully, the old man had a frank character. Upon Lin Wan’s rejection, he did not insist and said, “In that case, I won't try to persuade you anymore. Miss Lin, I wish you a happy family and a happy life after you leave school. I hope you are always happy and joyful!”

After leaving the headmaster's office, Lin Wan hurriedly drove to Lu House. She promised to spend time with Lu Jiaxue today. But due to Mr. Yan asking her to stay back, she had to ask Jiaxue to go back with Madam Jiang first.

Lu Jiaxue pouted and frowned when she left. Lin Wan knew she was unhappy with the fact that she wasn’t going home together with her “mother” on her birthday. The sense of ceremony probably meant a lot to her. Lin Wan also took this birthday party seriously.

Today would be a day to remember as it was her “daughter’s” birthday. This was her first time attending her “daughter’s” birthday party as well as their last gathering. She wanted to leave her “daughter” a beautiful, warm, and long-lasting memory.

On the way, Lin Wan drove the car as fast as she could, eager to get to Lu House right away.

For some reason, she suddenly remembered that her husband was going to give her a gift. What kind of gift would it be?

Her husband had said that it was about the life of a family, and even mentioned about reliving old memories. Lin Wan was almost certain that it must be a romantic and affectionate gift, which served as a reminiscence and testimonial of their lovely marriage.

Lin Wan got a little teary-eyed. She planned to watch that gift with her husband and relive the memories of their love together so their relationship could be further elevated.

She even felt that her husband was taking the initiative to make it up to her and was trying to win back her affection with these actions.

Lin Wan decided that she must tell her husband herself that she had never meant to treat him coldly, and that her love for him had never changed. She also intended to form a touching story from her recent experiences so he could experience the same emotions she felt.

Perhaps if Lin Wan was able to make such decisions at the very beginning, much of the latter would not have happened!

Just as He Xiaoyu had told her, her lies and selfishness would ruin her marriage sooner or later. Her pursue for her dreams and her understanding of perfection were exactly a form of humiliation for Li Mu over and over again. And this would be what completely ruined their love for each other.

When she arrived at her destination, Lin Wan was surprised to find that the mansion was already surrounded by cars. She had no choice but to park at a distance as she could not find a spot.

Holding the exquisite gift box in her hands, Lin Wan quickly arrived at the entrance of the Lu House. Just as she walked into the courtyard, she suddenly heard music bursting into life, followed by a flurry of ribbons and flowers. Everyone in the courtyard was applauding and welcoming her.

Lin Wan was shocked. What was this? Whose birthday was it today? Why was she the main character instead? Bewildered, she didn't notice that the music playing at that very moment was actually a wedding march.

Before she could react, Lu Jiaxue ran over to her all dolled up. She took her hand and shouted, “Mummy, you’re back! Uncle, Aunties, she is my mummy!”

All she could hear was endless words of congratulations and compliments. Lin Wan greeted the crowd politely, still unclear why everyone was congratulating her.

Everyone talked to her enthusiastically and kept praising her for her beauty and poise. Confused, Lin Wan could only politely exchange pleasantries with the crowd.

Gradually, Lin Wan sensed that something was wrong. Although no one had made it clear, one thing was obvious from their words and attitudes: They seemed to think of her as Lu Fangliang’s wife.

The thought of it startled her. This wasn't on street where it didn't matter if a stranger misunderstood. After all, they’d probably not cross paths again in the future.

Many of Lu Fangliang's friends and relatives were prominent figures. And in case there were people who knew He Xiaoyu and told her what happened today, it would surely be evidence of her cheating on her husband.

This wouldn’t work. It had to be taken seriously. Lin Wan who finally realized what she got herself into decided to find an opportunity to explain her relationship with the Lu family to everyone in public.

The birthday party began with the sounds of drums and music. And then the emcee asked Lu Fangliang to make a speech first.

Lu Fangliang who was all smiles walked onto the stage and first expressed his greetings to the guests. He then gave a heartfelt wish that was full of love and expectations for his daughter. He ended the speech by mentioning how grateful he was to Lin Wan and did not try to hide his affection for her.

The guests applauded loudly and several even cheered and asked Lu Fangliang to propose to Lin Wan in public.

Lin Wan who was both ashamed and angry started to regret her decision to attend the party. She forced herself not to lose her temper on the spot. After all, this was a very important day for her “daughter” and she did not want to ruin the little girl's birthday party.

Luckily, Lu Fangliang did not do anything too out of the ordinary. Although what he did had already reached her limits, but he did not go further than that.

To the cheers of the crowd, Lu Fangliang stepped down from the stage and asked his daughter to speak instead.

As soon as she got on stage, she immediately talked about her mother and described what happened for the past few days as if it was a family story. When she got to the emotional side of her story, the little girl cried, “Mummy, I love you!”

Many women in the crowd were moved by the little girl's voice and emotion and could be seen wiping away their tears from time to time. Lin Wan was also moved and could not help but walk on stage to hold her “daughter” tightly in her arms.

Once again, the crowd cheered and roared loudly. Some asked them to take a family photo, while some asked Li Mu to propose to Lin Wan. The chaos gradually brought the atmosphere to a climax.

Lu Jiaxue took the opportunity to shout, “Daddy and Mummy bought me a precious birthday present. I want to put on the ring and necklace for Daddy and Mummy with my own hands and make today the best memory of our family!”

“Great!” The stage thundered with applause and clapped till their palms turned red.

Excited, Lin Wan did not think about the consequences of this move at all. With the audience being her witness, Lu Jiaxue put three rings and three necklaces on the fingers and necks of the family. Of course, Lin Wan helped Jiaxue to put on her ring and necklace.

After this ceremony, Lin Wan thought it was her turn to speak. But to her surprise, the emcee did not have this arrangement at all. The events that happened afterwards were followed one after another, so Lin Wan did not have the chance to give her speech in public at all.

Agitated, Lin Wan plastered a forced smile on her face and continued to attend the party but refused to participate in any interactions between the father and daughter anymore.

Both of them did not force her either. What should be done and what should not be done had already been done. They were repeatedly reminded by Zhou Zijian beforehand to get a good grip on what they were doing, and to not go overboard.

As the banquet came to an end, Lin Wan was the first to offer her farewell. Lu Fangliang personally escorted her out of the house. Halfway home, Lin Wan took off her ring and necklace and handed them over to Lu Fangliang.

“Mr. Lu, my original intention in buying this gift for Jiaxue was to let her put this necklace around her mother's neck with her own hands someday. I didn’t want her to give it to me, who is her godmother only.”

“Miss Lin, what do you mean?”

“I made it clear. I can't accept this gift. I can cooperate with Jiaxue to finish this birthday party, so she won’t be sad. But if I accept this gift, the nature of my intentions will change.”

“Don't you want to be her mother?” Lu Fangliang asked, reluctant to give up.

“I don't want to. I'm leaving the country soon and we won't meet again after I leave Shanyang City. I have my own family and a husband, and I love him deeply. His significance is such of my life. You should understand what I mean by now!”

“Understood. Well then, I'll take the stuff. Thank you so much again Miss Lin for the gift.”

Lu Fangliang did not insist. Through their past interactions, he kind of knew how Lin Wan's character was like. The more he forced her, the more she’d feel annoyed. To court her, one had no choice but to be patient and not rush things.

As for saying that they would never see each other again, Lu Fangliang simply did not believe it. As long as his daughter did not give up, the bond between her and Lin Wan would never be broken. With that, it was easy for them to meet up anyways.

After leaving Lu House, Lin Wan was completely at ease.

It was finally coming to an end. After the finals tomorrow, it would be time for her to leave her motherland with no regrets, and bring her husband along with her to the South Seas. They could finally live comfortably in their own house.

She had no intentions of contacting Lu Fangliang and his daughter anymore, and even intended to not let the two of them locate or find her.

The birthday party made Lin Wan sensed danger and knew that any further interaction with the two of them would affect her marriage. After all, it was obvious that Lu Fangliang was interested in her.

This was something Lin Wan could not accept for sure. If Lu Fangliang knew his score, she might consider keeping in touch with Lu Jiaxue.

But Lu Fangliang's confession made Lin Wan realize that if things went on like this, he might go on and on. Once her husband found out, there would be another fiasco.

Lin Wan finally remembered of the boundaries, but unfortunately it was too late. She only knew that Lu Fangliang had crossed the line and pushed the limits but failed to realize that her own behavior had also crossed the line several times in the past few days too.

This often happens. People tend to have a clear mind and conscience when they’re looking at others’ problems but become confused when it comes to viewing their own problems.

Lin Wan made this mistake too.

As usual, the video of the birthday party was sent to Li Mu. Li Mu watched it calmly, without any anger or feelings of hurt. He was numb already.

The boss was right. A slow cut hurts more than a fast stab in the heart. At first, his heart ached so bad when he saw his wife pushing the limits and having vague relationships with another man. But afterwards, he no longer felt anything.

After turning off the video, Li Mu said calmly, “She's going to compete tomorrow, so this should be the last video. Of course, if they get together in the end, there will be more videos like this. But it wouldn’t have anything to do with me anymore.”