Three years had passed in the blink of an eye. Since Li Taitie returned Xiaoshu on New Year's Eve night, Madam Li hadn't shown herself since.

Whenever someone brought up his wife, Mr. Li would merely shake his head and assume a look of profound sorrow, prompting endless speculations among neighbors. Some claimed he'd adopted the child from an affair, driving Mrs. Li to divorce him in anger; others said she fell ill after returning home and remained at her parents' house to avoid burdening her busy husband; the most sinister rumors whispered about his wife's disappearance into the wilderness. Police investigations came up empty while missing person reports yielded nothing but fleeting gossip - like blooming briefly before withering away. Gradually, the neighborhood adapted to life without Madam Li and found comfort in Xiaoshu's presence.

From that first feeding, Aunt Nangong became Xiaoshu's exclusive nursemaid. Born into wealth and smoothly navigating business ventures, Mr. Li had no shortage of resources. When he saw his neighbor's wife nursing their newborn son selflessly the next day, he arranged a private meeting with Uncle Nangong to propose an arrangement - generous compensation for caring for this "abandoned infant" beyond her usual childcare duties.

As a full-time homemaker, Aunt Nangong eagerly accepted the well-paid opportunity. She raised Xiaoshu alongside her own daughter Yuying with equal devotion and affection. The two families lived opposite each other's homes; every morning, little Xiaoshu would rush to play with Yuying at their house until sunset when Mr. Li returned from work exhausted.

Their farewells were like a magical ritual. As twilight deepened, Yuying - whom everyone called "Yingzi" - would carefully pack the day's toys into an oak chest, wind up the music box that sang lullabies, and mimic their mother's soothing gestures to tuck the toys in as if they were sleeping children. Only when all toys lay silent within would Xiaoshu put on his shoes at the doorframe for a French-style kiss goodbye, vowing to reunite the next morning.

Mr. Li believed early education should begin immediately. So Xiaoshu entered the city's most expensive preschool at age three, attended an elite school by six, and joined the prestigious high school - same class as our dearly missed Ming Xiaoyu - at fourteen. With their income from caring for Xiaoshu now gone, the Nangong family fell into financial hardship. While Xiaoshu enjoyed private education, young Yingzi remained homebound like a small housewife waiting by the window each evening, basking in sunset's glow as she awaited her friend's return.

Xiaoshu always rushed to Yingzi's door first upon arriving home. More often than not, his slipper-lined path and neatly arranged toy collection on the coffee table were already prepared. At his request for snacks, Yingzi would tie on her mother's sunflower apron and use tiny pots, stoves, knives and bowls for their housewife game - offering him plastic tomatoes or squash alongside real bananas, strawberries, honeydew melons and chocolate cake. These delicacies became sacred treasures they shared exclusively.

But happiness is fragile. Fourteen years of unbreakable bond between the two children were shattered by an unexpected event one fateful year.