Even the ants cling to life. Though Gu Yingxi felt defiled, as time passed, she found herself increasingly reluctant to die. She hadn't truly gazed upon Lan Lingyan enough; even if her body was now unworthy of him, just being able to watch him from afar would be enough contentment. That was all she desired, so simple a thing.

While Gu Yingxi wallowed in self-pity, Lan Lingyan remained puzzled by the meaning behind Mu Jinyan's decision to save Gu Yingxi. After a deliberate probing, he finally allowed the situation concerning Ning Yuncheng to relax slightly. Ning Yuncheng, having been guarded like a prisoner for two months, was nearly driven mad. Upon regaining his freedom, the very first thing he did was search for his beloved woman.

Yet, during those two months of confinement in the Ning household, news of Gu Yingxi had seemingly vanished from the earth. Not only did he find no trace of her at the Gu residence, but even Xie Zhuoyin had reportedly been taken back to the Xie family.

For a time, information about Gu Yingxi seemed intercepted; unable to locate his sweetheart, Ning Yuncheng was on the verge of losing his mind. The Gu family was also frantic, searching everywhere for Gu Yingxi. They exhausted every means, collaborating on posters, while in the shadows, an external foreign influence was also discreetly inquiring about her whereabouts.

Ning Yunhuan paid no attention to these developments. Her father's health had greatly improved recently. After finalizing his discharge papers early that morning, Father Ning impatiently settled into the car sent by Lan Lingyan to take him home.

Having stayed in the hospital for such a long duration, Father Ning felt as if half his life had slipped away. Although his health wasn't what it used to be, and the surgery left some lingering ailments, Father Ning was immensely happy to have survived. After getting into the car, he asked Ning Yunhuan about Lan Lingyan. Upon learning he was at work, he felt no displeasure at not being picked up by him; instead, he laughed, saying, "He is thoughtful and diligent in his responsibilities. Compared to your elder brother, he truly is far superior. Now that you are married, Father is relieved. The company will be yours as a dowry from now on, well managed by someone capable, and I can finally retire and travel with your mother."

This illness had brought Father Ning clarity. He was getting old, and he hadn't spent enough time with his family before. Now that Lan Lingyan could take over the company, and knowing he had many capable people under him—though Father Ning himself was meticulous and responsible, he wasn't a shrewd manager, and the Ning family business only managed to maintain its status quo under him, never reaching greater heights—it was better to seize this opportunity to hand the company to Lan Lingyan and spend time with his family instead.

He originally only had two children. While Father Ning had previously considered passing the company to his son, Ning Yuncheng seemed like a changed man now. This near-death experience had made Father Ning even more open-minded. As soon as he voiced this, Madam Ning felt a mix of surprise and delight. The family, chatting cheerfully, soon arrived back at the Ning residence.

As they alighted with their belongings, Ning Yunhuan moved to open the door, only to find it swung open from the inside. Ning Yuncheng stood leading the group, looking haggard, and right behind him, surrounded by his three siblings, was Gu Xian, whose face was unnervingly pale. Upon seeing the group getting out of the car, Ning Yuncheng froze for a moment before a look of sudden realization dawned on his face. He pointed directly at Ning Yunhuan and exclaimed:

"What are you still doing here? Did you capture Xi'er?" Ning Yuncheng recalled that when the campus police arrested him and took him to the station, it was because he had argued with Ning Yunhuan. He was her own brother, yet Ning Yunhuan stood by and watched him be taken away without saying a single good word for him. When he was detained by the police for psychiatric evaluation regarding violent tendencies, this sister also failed to vouch for him!

Because she herself had been detained for nearly two months, Gu Yingxi disappeared upon his release. Ning Yuncheng hadn't connected the dots before, but seeing Ning Yunhuan now, the sequence of events suddenly clicked into place. A bold, daring speculation flooded his mind: "It was you, it must have been you!"

Saying this, he turned to Gu Xian: "Aunt Gu, it must be her who has hidden Xi'er!"

Tears welled up in Gu Xian's eyes. She struggled free from the grasp of her two daughters, staggered a few steps, and then, with a 'thud,' knelt before Ning Yunhuan. "Miss Ning, if my daughter has somehow offended you, please, in your magnanimity, spare her. Send her back; I kowtow to you, I beg you."

Everyone present was stunned by these words. Father Ning frowned, glaring at his son beside him. Ning Yunhuan took a deep breath: "Madam Gu, you can eat food carelessly, but you cannot speak nonsense. Whether your daughter offended me is another matter, but on what grounds do you claim I captured your daughter? Making such an accusation without evidence—do you believe I won't call the police?"

Her mentioning the police only agitated Ning Yuncheng further. He ran a hand through his hair and snapped, "Don't you have any other means? Besides calling the police, what else can you do? If you say you didn't take Xi'er, who would believe you?"

The Gu family faces also showed disbelief. Even Gu Shaotao's expression was laced with suspicion and fury, let alone Gu Yingxi’s two younger sisters, who were now pointing accusing fingers at Ning Yunhuan:

"It was you! My sister offended no one; it’s just that you dislike her. If not you, who else could it be?" The elder of the two, Gu Yingnuo, continued, "My sister is always the kindest; everyone speaks well of her. Only you dislike her. It had to be you."

This Gu Yingnuo was destined to become the girlfriend of Song Qingyun's son, Song Minran, in the future. However, she had poor luck; in the previous life, the only time Ning Yunhuan knew of her existence was when she died in a car accident, and Ning Yunhuan went to the Gu house to handle the funeral arrangements. When she returned from abroad last time, she had seen this young woman, but at that time, she hadn't paid Gu Yingnuo much mind. Someone who died in both the book and her previous life held no significance for her. But now, seeing her speak up for Gu Yingxi so indiscriminately showed a strong affection for her elder sister, which sparked a strange thought in Ning Yunhuan’s mind.

If Gu Yingnuo didn't die in this lifetime, how would she feel seeing her beloved sister intimately involved with the man she deeply loved, and learning that her future father-in-law had already been involved with her as well? Thinking of this, Ning Yunhuan began to laugh.

"You're laughing? Give me back my Xi'er!" Seeing his sister smile, Ning Yuncheng became even more convinced that she was the one who had hidden her. He had suffered terribly these past few days; his eyes were bloodshot, his skin dry and peeling from days spent searching day and night for Gu Yingxi, and his lips were so chapped that blood seeped out when he spoke excitedly. Not to mention his raisin-like clothes and ghastly complexion.

Seeing her son in such a wretched state for the first time, Madam Ning showed a flash of pity. He was, after all, her flesh and blood. No matter how much she had resented him before, seeing her son so distraught softened her heart.

Ning Yunhuan saw the situation turning dangerous and feared Father Ning might also start sympathizing with Ning Yuncheng. She quickly interjected:

"You weren't worried when Father was hospitalized, nor did you visit after he underwent surgery due to being angered by you! And now, for the sake of one woman, you've let yourself become this!" Madam Ning faltered upon hearing this, exchanging a glance with her husband. The sudden softening toward her son instantly reverted to resentment. Yes, he ignored his own father's hospitalization, and during Father Ning’s surgery, he had frantically rushed off to meet a woman, unable to wait for him to come out of the operating room. Furthermore, he hadn't visited Father Ning once during all these days.

Even if he couldn't move freely while under police watch before, the first thing he did after being released was not to take Father Ning home from the hospital, but to look for his little lover!

Thinking this, no matter how much pity Madam Ning felt for her son, a chill ran through her heart. She glared at her son; the more destitute he looked, the more Madam Ning realized all this mess was caused by that little slut Gu Yingxi, and her dissatisfaction grew intense!

"What do you mean, 'that woman'? That is my sister!" Gu Yingnuo couldn't hold back and retorted to Ning Yunhuan, "Brother Ning is my future brother-in-law. Should he not help us look for my sister and just stand by and watch?"

"You need to understand something: my father was hospitalized. There is no guarantee that your sister will even marry into which family yet! She is just missing, not dead. Is she more important than my father?" Ning Yunhuan's words made Father Ning nod involuntarily. He could see his son was unreliable, but he hadn't expected him to be so foolish. He had raised him for over twenty years, only for him to value a woman he had known for less than a year more highly.

Gu Yingnuo was rendered speechless by Ning Yunhuan’s remark. While she felt discontented that Ning Yunhuan looked down upon her sister so easily, she dared not openly state that Father Ning’s life mattered less than Gu Yingxi's; if she said that now, the Ning family would surely tear her apart. Thus, she glanced anxiously at Ning Yuncheng, who quickly said, "Nuonuo, don't argue with her. Just make her hand over Xi'er immediately!"

Ning Yunhuan did bear some responsibility for Gu Yingxi's disappearance, but who ultimately held Gu Yingxi captive was truly not her concern. Ning Yuncheng, without a second thought, assumed she was involved. This assumption wasn't based on any evidence he possessed, but rather, just as in the past life, whenever something happened to Gu Yingxi, the man automatically assumed someone else was at fault. Because of this, Ning Yunhuan had endured immense suffering. Fortunately, she no longer considered Ning Yuncheng her elder brother, so she wasn't particularly hurt by his indiscriminate accusations; rather, she found it amusing. "Which eye of yours saw me capture Gu Yingxi?"