Meng Sihan saw her blushing face and quickly let go of his hand. While she bowed her head in silent contemplation, the man reached out and picked up the photo. The angle of the photograph was captured quite well. The entire picture featured just him and the young girl, precisely at the moment she was making a wish, and his gaze was fixed on her. The photographer had taken the picture beautifully, and from afar, the two in the photo appeared very intimate. He looked at the two identical photographs in his hand and pulled one out, extending it to the young girl, "One for each of us." An Yin looked up, took the offered photo hesitantly, "Mm." While An Yin was examining the photo, Meng Sihan picked up a paper bag from beside the machine that printed photos and placed the photo inside it. "Let’s go." Meng Sihan said when he saw the young girl had also put the photo in her pocket. Tonight was particularly special and unforgettable for him; so this is what having a birthday feels like! In the past, due to family reasons, he had always resisted celebrating his birthday. But the young girl had made him see things in a new light. The two originally took the elevator downstairs, but thinking about the crowded scene, Meng Sihan rejected An Yin’s suggestion. In the end, they took the escalator back and forth several times before finally reaching the ground floor. As they walked out of the mall, the neon lights on the tall buildings outside brightened the entire city completely. "It’s so beautiful!" An Yin raised her hand to point at the huge screen across the street, which was playing an image of vibrant roses. Despite the distance, the image was still vividly lifelike. Meng Sihan followed the direction the young girl was pointing, his handsome face serene, but not wanting to spoil the young girl’s excitement, he casually responded, "Mm." An Yin turned her head and happened to see the man’s sharply defined profile. His face always bore a hint of an indistinct gloom. Thinking of him saying he never had a birthday before, out of curiosity, she blurted out, "Why don’t your mom and dad celebrate your birthday with you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, An Yin hastily closed her mouth, her mind buzzing: why did she voice her thoughts? An Yin shamefully withdrew her gaze. After hearing her words, Meng Sihan’s gaze, which was fixed in the distance, gradually became void, "They don’t love me." The man’s words were firm, as if this was an answer engrained in his heart long ago, leading to such a resolute belief. An Yin froze. This wasn’t the first time he had said his parents didn’t love him, and An Yin couldn’t comprehend the man’s parents. Since they brought him into the world, why couldn’t they love him genuinely? "I’m sorry." She shouldn’t have asked the man this question. "It’s alright." Meng Sihan shook his head, his long-closed eyes suddenly widened. He turned, his gaze intensely focused on the young girl, "I’ll take you to a place." "Where to?" An Yin looked at the man’s urgent expression and asked in bewilderment. "Follow me." Meng Sihan stepped forward, seeing the young girl still standing dumbfounded. He urged, "Hurry." An Yin initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the man’s eager appearance and thinking about how his parents treated him poorly, her heart softened, and she agreed, "Oh." After getting in the car, it sped along the road like an arrow. They didn’t notice another car following closely behind. An Yin realized that she was very familiar with the route the man was taking, which eased her concerns. When the car stopped at "Jianjia Alley," An Yin saw many people already pouring out of the alley. Night had fallen, and many tourists were about to leave. The car parked by the roadside, and An Yin leaned out, gazing into the alley, full of curiosity. "My dad lives here." He unbuckled his seatbelt, his gaze quietly fixed on the plaque over the archway, with its flowing script that stirred some distant memories. "Then you should head back, and I’ll catch a ride back to school later." An Yin thought the man just wanted to go home and made the considerate suggestion. "I’ll take you back to school later." Meng Sihan lifted his eyelids, speaking in a deep, husky voice. "Really, you don’t have to, just go home." An Yin advised again. "Go home?" Meng Sihan scoffed coldly, "This isn’t my home." "What do you mean?" An Yin’s beautiful face wore a puzzled expression. "We’re not allowed in this house. To him, this is his home, but it’s not mine." The man pulled out a cigarette from somewhere and lit it... When An Yin began coughing, the sunroof slowly opened, and the smoke drifted upward. Listening to the man’s words, An Yin became increasingly confused, but she understood that the "him" the man was referring to was his father! After a moment’s thought, a thought suddenly popped into An Yin’s mind, "So you mean your dad found a mistress elsewhere, and this is the place where he’s hiding his lover?" Hearing the young girl’s earnest speculation, Meng Sihan’s lips curled into a bitter smile, and after a while, he responded, "You could say that." Except his father’s "mistress" was a virtual person. From as far back as he could remember, Meng Sihan knew about the existence of this woman, yet he had never seen the woman who held Meng Heming’s heart for so many years. In the silent car, the man smoked one cigarette after another, and in no time, the entire cigarette was finished. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵 Watching the man’s desolate appearance, An Yin felt a surge of indescribable emotion. She didn’t know how to comfort the man, but seeing him about to pick up another cigarette, she murmured softly, "Smoking to forget your worries only adds to them." As expected, the man’s action of reaching for a cigarette froze abruptly; then, he thoughtfully turned his head to look at the young girl’s innocent face. "What nonsense," he said. Despite saying that, he stopped what he was doing. When the young girl had smelled the smoke earlier and made a face, he had seen it clearly. "It’s true," An Yin argued patiently. Meng Sihan glanced at her, his face showing a trace of helplessness. Meanwhile, not far away, Uncle Ma, carrying a heavy bag, was about to walk into the alley. When he turned his head, he saw a familiar car out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but pause, looking twice more. Subsequently, his pupils slightly contracted. Standing in place, he looked conflicted. Pedestrians shielded him, making it difficult for the people in the distance to see him. Considering the strained relationship between father and son, Uncle Ma finally looked in the direction of the car, vaguely seeing a young girl sitting in the front passenger seat through the windshield. Due to the distance, he couldn’t see very clearly... With this thought in mind, Uncle Ma eventually turned and walked into the depths of the alley. When Meng Sihan saw Uncle Ma’s bent back gradually retreating into the distance, the last glimmer of light in his eyes extinguished. "It’s late. I’ll take you back!" he said, his voice deep and cold.