Iris at Dusk

Zhou Han left immediately after speaking, without wasting a single extra word. His departure was effortless, but it left Lin Li feeling conflicted. His apology had been straightforward and sincere; if she refused it, she would seem overly coy or difficult. Yet, if she accepted and went to eat noodles with him—sitting face-to-face—it felt rather awkward. However, if she didn't go, she would be going hungry. For some reason, her appetite had improved over the past couple of days; although she still couldn't eat large portions, it was a significant improvement over the recent past, and the bouts of nausea and vomiting had subsided. After a brief internal struggle—and driven by genuine hunger—Lin Li ultimately made her way to the dining area. By the time she arrived, Zhou Han had already eaten more than half his meal; he glanced up at her as she approached. Flustered by his gaze, Lin Li pulled out a chair and sat down, offering an awkward explanation: "I... I just didn't w...

The cool breeze outside the window blew past her face, which made her a little dry. Lin Li drove the car slowly and followed the large group, pausing for several minutes. After more than half an hour, she actually drove less than fifty meters. Her chest was still tight and uncomfortable, and she was still uncomfortable with what Zhou Han had just said. In fact, after calming down and thinking about it, he was right. They were not a couple in the first place. Not only could they not be called husband and wife, they could not even be called friends. She did not realize her identity and was careless. Lin Li did not deny that she did regard the little guy as her child who had not had time to be born. Thinking of the fateless child, the soreness and pain in her heart became a little more. She raised her head slightly and pushed back the tears in her eyes.  After a while, she heard the urging sound of "Papa -" from behind. Lin Li looked up again and saw that the long queue in fr...

Trigger Warning: Abuse Unable to shake the feeling of unease, Zhou Han grabbed his keys and drove straight to Ling Ran’s home. When he arrived, Ling Ran reeked of alcohol, and her gaze was already unfocused and hazy. Upon entering, he saw the child cowering in a corner of the living room; a shard from a broken bottle had sliced ​​a long gash across the boy's hand—fortunately, the cut wasn't deep, though it was bleeding profusely. Beyond the hand injury, the boy had a cut on his forehead that was oozing blood, and the skin on his face was scraped raw, showing traces of blood. Zhou Han could hardly believe his eyes. Although he knew Ling Ran was prone to verbally and physically abusing the child, he had never imagined she would be so brutal. After all, the boy was her own flesh and blood — did she feel absolutely nothing? He stepped forward and scooped the child up, turning to leave, but Ling Ran blocked his path. "You are not taking the child!" Glancing at the long, bl...

 When Lin Li drove up to the kindergarten, school had just let out; parents were coming out from the entrance, holding their children's hands and chatting happily as they prepared to head home. Lin Li parked her car nearby. As she stepped out, she spotted Teacher Chen standing at the entrance, deep in conversation with another mother. Lin Li glanced around but didn't see the little boy anywhere nearby. She closed the car door and walked straight toward Teacher Chen. By the time she reached her, the other mother had finished talking to the teacher and was walking away happily, holding her child's hand; the little girl she was with even gave a polite wave and said goodbye to Teacher Chen before leaving. Teacher Chen waved back at the child. As she lowered her hand, she noticed Lin Li approaching. She looked surprised for a moment, then walked over and asked with a puzzled expression, "Mrs. Zhou, what brings you here?" Lin Li was taken aback by the question but smile...

Although she had applied a hot towel to her eyes the night before, the intense crying meant they still looked somewhat red and swollen. So when she dropped her child off at school, Teacher Chen had even asked about it with concern. Lin Li couldn't bring herself to tell the truth; she simply claimed she hadn't slept well, then made an excuse about needing to rush to work and quickly walked away. By the time she drove to the office, Zhou Han had already arrived and was discussing the agenda for the 10 AM meeting with Special Assistant Xu. She set her bag aside and turned on her computer; while it was booting up, she picked up the mug from her desk, intending to get some water from the pantry. As Lin Li emerged from the pantry with her mug, a woman stepped out of the elevator. She was wearing a khaki trench coat; her long, loose waves hair cascading over her shoulders, and she strode toward them in heels nearly ten centimeters high. Lin Li stared, momentarily mesmerized. The woman...

Lin Li couldn't remember how long it had been since she had cried so hard. When An Ran told her that Cheng Xiang was seeing someone outside, she didn't cry. When Cheng Xiang left at the wedding, she woke up in the hospital, and the doctor said the child was gone. She cried, but she just stared at the ceiling with her eyes open and tears streaming down her face, because she knew there were people who were sadder than her.  When her father suddenly collapsed and was diagnosed with cancer, she was so panicked that she didn't know what to do. She was scared and anxious, and wanted to cry but had to hold it back because she was afraid that if she cried, her mother would not be able to bear it either. In the end, all her tears were accumulated. Lin Li woke up in a daze, and then she realized that she had exhausted herself crying to sleep. The light in the room was still on, just like before she fell asleep. She turned her head and saw that it was still pitch black outside the win...