"Clang!"

The heavy iron gate of Jianghai City Prison slowly swings open.

Qin Huai, sporting a buzz cut and grubby grey overcoat, steps out. He glances back, a fleeting trace of nostalgia crossing his eyes. Three years ago, he found his fiancée, being harassed by another man, and a moment of hot-headedness, leaving his harasser wounded, had landed him behind the bars. Today, finally, he walks free.

Taking a deep breath of this newfound freedom, Qin Huai scans the empty road around him, a tinge of desolation flickering in his eyes.

Today marks his release from prison. But his fiancee, Cheng Ruoyun, is nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she's caught up with company affairs," he mutters to himself for reassurance, picking up his bag and heading to the roadside to hail a cab.

"Qin Huai?"

A sweet voice pulls him from his thoughts, and he turns to see a Volkswagen Santana slowly pulling up beside him.

"Lin Wantong?"

Leaning in to get a closer look through the window, Qin Huai sees the pretty driver, momentarily taken aback. He didn't expect to run into his old university classmate, Lin Wantong, here. Even more surprising is the transformation Lin has undergone over the years. The once somewhat naïve Lin Wantong has now turned into a graceful beauty.

"What are you staring at? Get in!"

Lin Wantong gives him a slight smile and insists.

"No need, I just got out and I'm full of bad luck. I can grab a taxi up ahead," Qin Huai dismissively waved his hand and laughed.

"I came specially to pick you up, and I have some things to say to you. Get in the car, quick!" Lin Wantong urged again.

Hearing this, Qin Huai looked surprised again but did not refuse further, opening the passenger side door to take a seat.

"How was it? The past few years inside must have been tough, right?" As the car gently started, Lin Wantong initiated the conversation.

"It was alright, I suppose." Qin Huai looked a bit unnatural, his tone faltering slightly, "Could I borrow your phone? I need to call Ruo Yun."

During the three years inside, the ones he missed most were his parents and his fiancee, Cheng Ruo Yun.

Even if they did not come to pick him up today, Qin Huai still desperately wanted to see them.

"Qin Huai, a lot has happened while you were inside these past few years. I hope you're mentally prepared," Lin Wantong's tone became a bit heavy, and she handed over her phone with a touch of hesitation.

"Mentally prepared?" Looking at the serious expression on Lin Wantong's face, a sense of foreboding rose in Qin Huai’s heart. Nevertheless, he reached out and accepted her phone, inputted a familiar number, and made a call.

However, the phone rang several times without being answered.

"Right, is there something you want to tell me?"

He dialed the number again, but there was still nobody on the other side. Qin Huai had no choice but to give the phone back to Lin Wanto and asked.

"During the years you were absent, Qin Huai, Cheng Ruoyun and Gao Qiang seem to have gotten quite close. I've seen them walking hand in hand while shopping and dining several times..."

"Impossible!"

Before Lin Wanto could finish her sentence, Qin Huai interrupted sharply.

He knew his fiancée well, and how could Cheng Ruoyun possibly betray him, especially when they were already engaged?! And as for Gao Qiang, he was his good brother, an old classmate from middle school. He had never despised him because of his family background. After graduation, he had even let him be a manager in their family company. There was no way these years of brotherhood could result in such a thing!

He didn't believe it!

"Qin Huai..."

Looking at Qin Huai, a hint of reluctance surfaced on Lin Wanto's face, but some things she had to say were like a fishbone in her throat.

"Qin Huai, Uncle Qin... he's passed away!"

Like a bolt from the blue!

For Qin Huai, whose mind was still in a whirl, his brain went blank when he heard this news. His eyes widened as he looked at Lin Wanto.

"Just half a year after you went away, Uncle Qin died of sudden myocardial infarction. Not long after, news reported that your family business was transferred to Gao Qiang's hands. Moreover, Auntie Xiao couldn't take the shock mentally and her health deteriorated day by day, so she was admitted to the hospital..."

"What did you say!"

Qin Huai's mind was booming, as if falling into a deep abyss. It took him a while to regain his senses, disbelief written all over his face that it was all real.

When he was first sent to prison, his parents advised him to behave well in there, and his fiancée, Cheng Ruoyun, had also vowed to take good care of his parents.

He had been in prison for three years. In his absence, his fiancée got together with his best friend, his father passed away, and his mother was admitted to the hospital. How could all of this happen?

"Qin Huai, I know it's hard for you to accept this all at once, but all I said is true!"

Looking at Qin Huai's pale face, Lin Wantong regretted blurting it all out without much thought.

Anyone would probably find it hard to accept such a brutal blow, let alone Qin Huai, who had just been released from prison. Could he handle it?

"Ding ling ling..."

At that moment, a phone ringing suddenly broke the silence, Qin Huai instinctively turned to look. It was his fiancée, Cheng Ruoyun, calling.

"I'm Qin Huai, where are you?"

Qin Huai, trying to suppress the anger in his heart, asked directly.

"Qin Huai? Are you out?"

A gentle and slightly surprised voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot today is the day you get out. Where are you, I'll come pick you up now!"

"No need, head straight to the City Hospital!"

"Alright!"

After receiving the answer, Qin Huai immediately hung up, a faint sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Even forgot the day of his release? Moreover, even the way she addressed him changed, calling him by his name directly, no longer the endearing 'husband'. If he had doubts about Lin Wantong's words before, then her answer obviously confirmed that what Lin Wantong said was all true.

"Wantong, could you drop me off at the city hospital?"

Qin Huai requested.

"Sure, but first, we have to pick someone up."

Lin Wantong nodded in approval.

"Ah, alright."

Qin Huai didn't mind, thinking that Lin Wantong was just going to pick up a friend along the way, so he didn't inquire further.

However, when they arrived at a kindergarten, and he saw a little girl, who was only as tall as his thigh and looked barely three or four, right in front of him, his eyes popped out in disbelief!

"Connection through blood, is she my daughter?"

Just a moment ago, when he first laid eyes on the little girl, his blood started to boil uncontrollably, as if in joy.

This kind of phenomenon would be impossible for ordinary people, but after he had practiced the "Shennong Medical Classic", he would automatically resonate with people connected to him by blood. The stronger the kinship, the stronger the resonance.

And the little girl in front of him gave him the strongest resonance!

"Is she..."

Qin Huai fixed his gaze on the little girl, asking without taking his eyes off of her.

"Qin Huai, what I'm about to say may startle you, but I have no intention of deceiving you. Her name is Qin Mengmeng, she is your daughter with Su Xi!"

Lin Wantong sighed softly, stating each word cautiously, fearful that Qin Huai wouldn't fully comprehend.

"Su Xi?"

Looking at the cute little girl who was as adorable as her name suggested, Qin Huai had no doubts about what Lin Wantong had said, as their blood ties had already proven it.

However, what surprised him was that the adorable little girl standing before him was not the child he had with Cheng Ruoyun, but the fruit of his love with Su Xi.

Su Xi, his college classmate, was also his first love!