Bao Lanchu looked at her daughter's carefree face and couldn't help sighing. Almost a year had passed since the car accident. Liang Jun had already been sent to prison.

After recovering from her injuries, she immediately began dealing with Liang Jun. Bao Lanchu considered herself not heartless, but facing her husband of over a decade, recalling his cruelty, his willingness to orchestrate the car accident for the sake of his mistress and his property, nearly sacrificing her daughter as well, her heart turned bitter. She wished Liang Jun dead.

After leaving the hospital, she gathered more evidence and had the badly damaged car tested, confirming that the brakes had been tampered with. Combined with the other evidence collected, it was enough to file charges.

Bao Lanchu immediately filed charges against Liang Jun for murder and attempted robbery. The case was exposed to the Bao family, who were furious and worried about their daughter. In the end, they secretly supported her efforts. Liang Jun was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the mistress, who was in the same school as Liang Jun, received a sentence of over ten years.

This news could not be hidden from Liang Mi, who was now a teenager. Her father's conviction was public knowledge. Bao Lanchu informed her of the truth, and Liang Mi was severely affected, developing depression. Bao Lanchu felt both heartbroken and regretful, wishing she had kept the truth from her daughter.

Eventually, she had to seek help from a psychologist for Liang Mi.

The psychologist was of little help, so Bao Lanchu remembered the encounter with Gu Qin in the hospital right after the accident. If it weren't for Gu Qin's reminder, she wouldn't have noticed Liang Jun's abnormalities.

Bao Lanchu originally planned to visit Gu Qin after resolving the matter to express her gratitude. But for her daughter's sake, she had to visit earlier. She knew Gu Qin was a feng shui master and hoped she could help her daughter, as Liang Mi had developed tendencies toward self-harm.

Bao Lanchu chose the right person. Within a month, Gu Qin cured her daughter, and seeing her daughter restored to normal, Bao Lanchu was deeply grateful to Gu Qin.

They thus became acquainted, and Bao Lanchu liked Gu Qin's personality, becoming friends.

Occasionally, they would chat, and Bao Lanchu learned from Gu Qin that their survival in the car accident was due to the jade pendants they wore.

Speaking of the jade pendants, Bao Lanchu recalled that it was an elderly man she had accidentally helped who gave her the pendants. He told her to wear them always, saying they would save their lives.

Initially, Gu Qin said, "No wonder, the old man must be a feng shui master like me. He saw your predicament and helped you. Luckily, you listened to his advice and carried the pendant. This is a low-level defensive artifact, usable only once, during the car accident. Otherwise, the impact... "

Gu Qin didn't finish her sentence, but Bao Lanchu understood that without the pendant, they would have perished.

At the time, Bao Lanchu told Gu Qin, "Initially, I didn't take it seriously and put the pendant away. But then I started having dreams, dreaming of the old man repeatedly telling me to wear the pendant. I had the same dream for several nights. I felt strange and gave one pendant to Liang Mi. We each wore one. After wearing them, I never had those dreams again. It turned out they saved us."

Gu Qin smiled, "It wasn't the pendants that saved you, but your kindness. There's cause and effect. Kindness is the cause, and the outcome is the result."

Gu Qin also mentioned that the pendants had fulfilled their purpose after the accident and were now cracked. Initially, she thought it was due to the accident's impact, but now she understood that their mission was complete.

Despite this, Bao Lanchu did not remove the pendant. It was a reminder of her kindness.

As she stroked the pendant, reminiscing, her phone rang. Bao Lanchu answered, and her friend Wan Jing's voice came through, "Lan Chu, how is Mi Mi?"

Bao Lanchu laughed, "Mi Mi is fine. It's winter break, and she's watching TV at home. Ajing, we haven't seen each other in a while. How are you?"

Wan Jing was her classmate in her youth, and they remained close friends from middle school through university. They had always studied at the same school, and their friendship was unquestionable.

The Wan family was a true scholarly household. Her mother was a professor at Beijing University, and her father was a renowned cultural relic appraiser.

Wan Jing was fortunate. After graduation, she met a man and married him. Only after marriage did she realize how wealthy his family was. The Wan family's wealth was so vast that they didn't need to arrange marriages. The Wan family's descendants could simply choose whom they loved.

Wan Jing's husband's family, the Lis, were among the top ten wealthiest families in Beijing. They were even richer than the Bai family, which wasn't even in the top ranks of wealthy families in Beijing.

The Li family had risen to prominence through politics, but by the time Wan Jing's husband Li Yunze's father came along, they shifted to business and seized opportunities, becoming well-known within a decade.

Wan Jing only realized how wealthy the Li family was when she married Li Yunze. She was surprised and slightly angry at first, as she preferred a simple life with a loving husband. However, she later realized that aside from being rich, Li Yunze met all her other criteria. She came to appreciate him, finding him a loving and respectful man.

Their marriage was happy, and she bore two sons. Having sons in such a family was ideal for her.

Over the years, her in-laws treated her well, and she lived happily. She and Bao Lanchu maintained regular contact, often meeting in Beijing.

But over the past year, Bao Lanchu had been preoccupied, so they hadn't met, communicating mostly by phone. Bao Lanchu shared her personal matters with Wan Jing, who remained silent for a long time before sighing, "I never imagined Li Jun would be seen as such a good man... Forget it, no point in talking about it. He received his punishment."

Wan Jing called because she was worried about Mi Mi. She was Mi Mi's godmother and had no daughters of her own, so she cared deeply for Mi Mi. Hearing that Mi Mi was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Good that Mi Mi is fine. I've been feeling unwell lately. I'll visit her once I feel better."

"What's wrong?" Bao Lanchu was alarmed, "What's wrong with your health?" Just over a year ago, they had met and Wan Jing was in good health, living a comfortable life and looking much younger than her peers.

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Wan Jing sighed over the phone, "Before, Yunze told me he wanted a daughter, but at my age, it's impossible. Seeing how much he wanted a daughter, I tried, but unfortunately, it didn't work out. I was too old. The pregnancy ended when the baby was four months old, and I developed some health issues. Yunze feels very guilty and built a villa for me in the suburbs, saying the air is good there. He doesn't mention having a daughter anymore."

"This, Yunze is really clueless." Bao Lanchu didn't want to say too much. The Li family was wealthy, and wanting more children was understandable. But Wan Jing had already given birth to two sons and had waited over a decade to consider having a daughter. How could she bear it?

Wan Jing didn't want Bao Lanchu to blame her husband and laughed, "He knows he was wrong and regrets it. He specially sent me to this place to recuperate. The air here is indeed good, with a large lake nearby. Mi Mi is on winter break, why don't we bring her here to play for a few days?"

"Sure, I'll bring Mi Mi tomorrow." Bao Lanchu also wanted to see this beautiful place.

"Friend."

After chatting for a while, Wan Jing started coughing, her voice also sounded somewhat tired. Bao Lanchu could only tell her to rest well and hung up the call.

The next morning, Bao Lanchu packed some things, drove with her daughter to Wan Jing's place.

The Fifth Ring Road of the capital city was on the outskirts, and beyond the mountains was even more remote. However, the road had been improved, and the car drove smoothly. After taking a detour, Bao Lanchu arrived at the foot of the villa.

The villa covered a large area, mainly because the front yard and back yard were big. The villa was a four-story small villa, with an area of about two hundred square meters. Including the front yard and back yard, it was roughly over a thousand square meters.

Bao Lanchu first noticed not her friend but the villa. Unlike ordinary small villas which were usually three or four stories tall, this one had eight floors. The overall design of the villa was somewhat peculiar. Generally, small villas were square, round, or in European styles. This villa, however, resembled a city skyscraper, appearing narrow, tall, and thin. It wasn't a perfect rectangle but seemed slightly concave from the front, with protrusions on both sides. Whether it was an illusion or not, the building looked odd.

She didn't pay too much attention to the villa, finding it merely strange and couldn’t help but look at it twice. There was also a sense of fear within her, though she couldn't understand why.

Before she could think further, Bao Lanchu saw her friend come out. At that moment, her heart skipped again.

A year and a half ago, when they met, her friend had rosy cheeks, fair skin, bright eyes, and no one would believe she was forty. But now, her friend’s complexion was sallow, with faint dark circles under her eyes and obvious wrinkles.

"Wan Jing." Bao Lanchu walked up, her heart pounding, her voice trembling. "How did you end up looking like this?" Her friend was still in a wheelchair, being pushed by a woman.

There was a metal gate between them. Wan Jing raised her hand, signaling the woman behind her to open the gate. She said, "I had a miscarriage and injured my body. Yunze also had people check, saying I was seriously hurt. Now, I have a nutritionist and a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to take care of me. Alas, I don't know if I can recover. My body is too weak, so I always use this thing."

"But..." Bao Lanchu was puzzled. "Even if you had a miscarriage and injured your body, how could you not recover? This seems too serious."

Wan Jing sighed. "Traditional Chinese medicine says that due to my age and the miscarriage, it's normal to need several years to recover. The city is too noisy. This villa was just built, and I thought it would be good to move here to adjust my mindset."

The woman, presumably Chen Ma, had already opened the gate. Bao Lanchu and Liang Mi walked in, and Bao Lanchu pushed the wheelchair into the villa. Liang Mi worriedly said, "Mom, please be careful."

Wan Jing held Liang Mi's hand, turned her head, and smiled. "Mimi, don't worry. Mom will be fine soon."

Liang Mi's hand suddenly pulled back. "Mom, your hand is so cold." Extremely cold, sending shivers down Liang Mi's spine.

Upon hearing this, Bao Lanchu reached out to hold her hand, her face changing. "Wan Jing, your hand is so cold."

"It might be because of winter. Ever since the miscarriage, my body has always been cold."

But this kind of cold... Bao Lanchu felt her whole body tremble. Her friend's hands felt completely lifeless, not just from the cold.

Entering the villa, which had central heating, Bao Lanchu and Liang Mi took off their coats and hung them up. Wan Jing was still wrapped in a down jacket, showing no intention of taking it off. Bao Lanchu sighed; with such cold hands, she would need to wrap herself up thickly even in a heated room.

"Sister Chen, prepare lunch, no need to worry about me. I haven't seen Lan Chu in a long time and plan to chat for a while."

The woman should be Sister Chen. She said, "Madam's health isn't good, remember to rest later."

Wan Jing nodded. When Sister Chen entered the kitchen, she had Bao Lanchu push her into the elevator, going up to the second floor. She introduced, "The second floor is where I live. The third floor has a study, coffee lounge, and bar. The fourth floor is for fitness, guest rooms are also on the second floor. You and Mimi can choose a room later. The upper floors have entertainment equipment, a home theater, Mimi can watch movies upstairs, and the rooftop is a golf course, but it's too cold to go up now."

Bao Lanchu noticed that the villa was covered with wooden floors, similar in color to the tiles outside. The wooden floors were slightly brownish, and most of the furniture in the villa was made of wood.

Entering Wan Jing's room, Bao Lanchu asked Liang Mi to go pick a room and explore the third and fourth floors. Liang Mi nodded and went out, closing the door behind her.

Bao Lanchu stayed in the room with Wan Jing, chatting for half an hour, after which Wan Jing grew tired and fell asleep.

At lunchtime, Li Yunze returned specifically to accompany Wan Jing for dinner. He knew Bao Lanchu and greeted her, asking her to keep her company. Seeing that Li Yunze was still as caring as before, Bao Lanchu felt relieved. She was afraid that her friend's illness would make her husband turn his back on her, but he hadn't.

Accompanying Li Yunze and others for lunch, he left for work, informing Wan Jing that he would be traveling the next day, leaving early in the morning and wouldn't come back to accompany her that night.

After he left, Wan Jing sighed, "This place is great, but it's too far from Yunze's company. He doesn't often come back at night, but he does come for lunch sometimes."

"He's busy, this is still good. I see he cares for you just as much as before. Take good care of your health. Once you're better, you two can live happily together."

Wan Jing smiled warmly.

In the afternoon, they sat on the balcony to bask in the sun. Wan Jing fell asleep again, and after dinner, she went to bed earlier.

Although there were many guest rooms, Liang Mi insisted on sharing a room with Bao Lanchu. That night, they whispered to each other. Liang Mi whispered, "Mom, I feel something's off in this house. It feels oppressive. I went up to the upper floors today and it was empty..."

Bao Lanchu didn't think much of it. "Don't be afraid. It's just because this place is too big and there aren't enough people living here."

Liang Mi couldn't help but mutter, "Why build such a huge place for just one person?"

Bao Lanchu was also puzzled. Ordinary villas were two or three stories high, but this one had eight stories. Although each floor had different purposes, with a small golf course on the top, she still felt that living in such a building alone was too spacious and gave her a sense of oppression.

That night, Bao Lanchu didn't sleep well, having nightmares. In the morning, she had dark circles under her eyes, and noticing that her daughter didn't sleep well either, Liang Mi said, "Mom, is there something wrong with the feng shui here? Did Uncle Li consult anyone when he built the house? I didn't sleep well last night, it felt so oppressive, I kept waking up."

"It might be because we changed places," Bao Lanchu hesitated.

Liang Mi pouted. "Mom, I heard from Sister Gu that feng shui is very important for houses. If we're uncomfortable living here, it must be due to the feng shui. Auntie's health isn't good, and she won't be able to recover if she doesn't sleep well."

"You've become quite superstitious," Bao Lanchu laughed. "Have you learned a lot from Sister Gu?"

"Not really, Sister Gu didn't teach me directly, she just talked about it sometimes."

Mother and daughter chatted for a while. Breakfast was ready, and they went downstairs to eat. Wan Jing was already sitting at the table, greeted them, and let them sit down.

Bao Lanchu sat down and asked, "Wan Jing, how did you sleep last night?"