Lin Muke returned home in a daze, accompanied by her friend.

Twice… Exactly twice.

Once in secret, once openly declared—and both ended in failure.

She couldn’t understand why Ye Huaixian wouldn’t even spare her a glance. Was she really… so unattractive?

She tried to hold back her tears, but her eyes had stayed red the whole way. By the time she reached her doorstep, bid farewell to her friend, and stood alone, she finally broke down. At her own front door, she wept quietly, muffling her sobs.

She knew Yuyin was waiting inside for news—but how could she say it? That she was a useless mother who couldn’t even win over Yuyin’s father?

Anxiety swirled. The more she thought, the more fear gripped her.

What if… she truly never ended up with Ye Huaixian? What would happen to Yuyin? As the child destined to be born of her and Ye Huaixian, if she failed now… wouldn’t Yuyin simply never exist?

Would Yuyin… disappear?

Once fate’s path was set… Lin Muke had read manga about erasure of existence. She knew how terrifying it was.

Every trace Yuyin left would vanish. Her very existence erased. Lin Muke would forget her entirely. She and Ye Huaixian would walk separate lives.

Only Yuyin—Ye Yuyin, their daughter—would vanish from this world forever…

Lin Muke dared not think further. Heart pounding, she fumbled for her keys, hands shaking, failing again and again. *Please be safe, Yuyin…*

Just then—the door opened on its own.

“Mommy!”

Little Yuyin, in a pure white dress, stood before her. She’d heard the sound and knew it was Mom.

She beamed—not just for her return, but because Mom had been so brave this morning!

Come to think of it, Ye Yuyin had always believed Dad pursued Mom first. Now the roles were reversed! Surely Dad fell for Mom’s charms right away!

But then… Yuyin’s smile faded.

She saw it… her mother’s tear-streaked face.

“Mommy…?”

Tears welled in Yuyin’s eyes too, yet she ran forward and wrapped her tiny arms around her mother.

Lin Muke had crouched down. Naturally prone to tears, and now comforted first by Yuyin, she sobbed harder.

In that moment: a little girl hugging a young woman who looked like her sister, gently stroking her head—tears streaming down her own cheeks, yet whispering through choked sobs:

“Don’t cry, don’t cry… Ouchies, fly away… Mommy, please don’t be sad…”

Lin Muke felt like the most useless mother in the world—to be comforted by her own daughter…

She lifted her head, hugging Yuyin back, shoulders still trembling. But her gaze was suddenly, fiercely firm—a resolve the timid sixteen-year-old had never known before.

*No matter what… I will never let my sweet Yuyin disappear.*