CHAPTER 1179: CHAPTER 1190: MEMORIAL RITUAL (5)

For the past six months, let’s not mention it, she used to live in Toronto. Every year during Qingming, she would return to pay respects at her father’s grave, following the traditions of Huaxia Country. Although her father had passed away, in the cold Cheng Family, she felt like she was completely an extra among the four members of the Cheng Family.

It was only at this moment, here, facing the silent tombstone, that she felt she wasn’t a rootless floater.

Furthermore, perhaps because she had been stifled in the Cheng Family for too long, she became taciturn. It was only in front of her father and grandparents that she could relax and return to the lively state she used to enjoy, full of laughter and chatter.

"This year, I’ve gone through a lot, met many friends, and changed a lot. I even went to Huaxia Country, to the hometown. Shangcheng is a beautiful city—it’s just unfortunate that I didn’t have Aunt Qiu’s contact information. In the vast crowd, I didn’t know where to find her."

When mentioning "Aunt Qiu," Yu Zexiao found it a bit strange. After all, among all the people he knew, only Qiu Yixian had the surname Qiu.

However, with the surnames in Huaxia Country, the pronunciation "qiu" corresponds to many surnames such as "Qiu," "Qiu," "Qiu," and "Qiu," so even though Yu Zexiao found it somewhat familiar, it wasn’t possible to immediately connect it to Qiu Yixian.

"Dad, I didn’t take over the company—and because of this, the company became unstable. I let Uncle Hu take charge of things, will you blame me for not guarding the family business?"

In fact, if she hadn’t fallen in love with Yu Zexiao, she would certainly have returned to the company to inherit everything from her father.

However, unexpectedly, this time, she escaped the trap set by the Cheng Family, could it be that her father was watching over her from the beyond?

She crouched down, gently brushing the dust off the tombstone. Yu Zexiao also crouched down, despite being such a clean person, he used his own hand to lightly wipe the dust off the three tombstones.

Once the cleaning was done, Jian Anning’s gaze seemed to suddenly become distant: "I broke up with them. At first, I took her as a mother, took them as family. But..."

She shook her head, and beside her, Yu Zexiao seemed to sense her disappointment and immediately reached out, holding her hand tightly. It was as if he was trying to pass his strength to her, surrounding her with his warmth.

Jian Anning looked back at Yu Zexiao, his eyes clear and profound, like an endless ocean. From that gaze, she saw resilience, determination, and persistence, just like the feeling her father used to give her, it was reassuring, comforting, and also intoxicating.

Unconsciously, she spoke to her father and grandparents: "Dad, Grandpa, Grandma. Although I’ve lost a mother, I have gained the most precious gift. That is, Zexiao by my side. He loves me, understands me, supports me. I want to spend a lifetime with him."

Hearing Jian Anning praise him like this, he blushed a little.

Not to mention anything else, the "supports me," he just couldn’t live up to.

Even knowing that Ma Xinyu and the others have already passed away, Yu Zexiao still felt a sense of being valued.

He immediately puffed out his chest, as if he wanted to thump it in assurance: