Xu Youning felt as if she had entered into a strange world.

There was no color or sunlight but endless darkness and thick fog in this world.

She was shrouded in the thick fog in the center of the world and the surroundings were totally desolate and uninhabited.

It was as if something was pressing down on her heart and she could not breathe. She was eager to escape from this strange world.

However, before she moved, the thick fog suddenly turned into a monster and pounced on her with wide opened its basin-sized mouth.

At this moment, she was only one step away from death.

Xu Youning broke out in a cold sweat. She gasped and woke up from the dream, and looked around in panic.

Fortunately, she was in the old house of the Kang family. Everything that had happened just now was just a dream.

Xu Youning touched her forehead which was covered with a thin layer of sweat. It was wet and cold, verifying the dream just now.

“Auntie Youning,” Mumu slowly said in a tender and worried voice, “are you awake?”

Following the sound of the voice, Xu Youning turned around and saw Mumu standing by the bed.

The little boy’s gentle and delicate eyebrows were furrowed in a frown. His bright and lovely eyes were full of worry, which made him look cute and pitiful.

Xu Youning’s heart softened. She wanted to reach out and touch Mumu’s head as usual to comfort him.

However, she felt very uncomfortable.

It was as if there was a large iron hammer pressing down on her head. It was so heavy and burdensome that she felt powerless. Even the simplest movement was a great challenge for her.

Xu Youning had to give up trying to hug the little boy. She compressed her lips and nodded. “Yes, I’m awake.”

Mumu was not happy at all. He kept frowning and said, “Daddy just told me that you will be fine when you wake up. But you still seem to be very uncomfortable. Auntie Youning, may I call a doctor for you?”

It would be an absolute lie if Xu Youning said that she was not warmed.

She stretched out her hand and gestured for Mumu to come over. “Daddy didn’t lie to you. I’m fine now, but I’m still a little tired.”

“Then could you please stop being so tired and recover as soon as possible?” Mumu climbed onto the bed and hugged Xu Youning tightly. “I don’t want to see you like this. I want you to play games with me.”

“Don’t worry.” Xu Youning forced a smile. “I’ll be fine soon.”

Mumu nodded, buried his face in Xu Youning’s arms, and replied with a “hmm” in a muffled voice. Then, he stopped moving and made no sound.

Xu Youning knew the little boy too well. He was either crying or secretly crying.

She stretched out her arms and wanted to hug Mumu. At least, she wanted to let the little boy feel that she was really awake.

However, she was still a little powerless.

For the first time, Xu Youning profoundly realized that the disease was devouring her body, and she was slowly losing her abilities.

Perhaps it would not take long for her to become the person she used to be, even weaker than an ordinary person.

This feeling was truly terrible.

After a while, Mumu overcame his mood, left Xu Youning’s arms as if nothing had happened, and gazed at Xu Youning.

After watching for a while, Mumu seemed to suddenly find something wrong. He pressed Xu Youning to lie down and said like an adult but in a childish voice, “Well, just lie down and rest! If you want anything, tell me and I can get it for you!”

Xu Youning could not help smiling and nodded. “Okay.”

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.” Mumu had a serious look, which did not match his age, on his tender face. “Daddy is so powerful that he will definitely help you find a very powerful doctor. You will get better soon, so don’t worry!”

“Okay.” Xu Youning could not help smiling. “I’m not worried, but I want some water.”

There was a bottle of warm water and Xu Youning’s usual cup on the tea table. Mumu ran over, poured a cup of warm water, inserted a straw into it, and carefully brought the water to Xu Youning’s lips.

After taking two sips, Xu Youning felt that the dryness in her mouth ease a little and she looked much refreshed.

She touched Mumu’s head and said, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I promised Daddy that I would take care of you!” After a pause, Mumu suddenly looked confused and blinked. “But, Auntie Youning, why are you not feeling well?”

Xu Youning thought for a while and came up with the most reassuring excuse. “I just caught a cold, just like you often sneeze when you accidentally catch a cold. I will soon recover.”

“You’re so pitiful.” Mumu stroked Xu Youning’s face and brought the cup of water to her lips. “You have to drink more water since you caught a cold. Only in this way can you recover. This is what the nurse auntie said. You have to listen to the nurse!”

In order to reassure the little boy, Xu Youning took a few more sips of water cooperatively.

In fact, she did not know when she would recover.

Or perhaps, this was the beginning of the decline of her body. She… would never be able to recover.

In the past, she had also felt dizzy and even fainted, but this time, the symptoms seemed to be more serious than before.

The worst thing was that for a few seconds, she seemed to be blind and could not see anything.

The doctor had said that she might lose her sight, but she was used to seeing everything in the world as long as she opened her eyes. She had always held a hope in her heart that she might not lose her sight according to the doctor’s diagnosis!

However, the blindness descended faster and more abruptly than she had imagined. She did not even have time to make any preparations.

Once she lost her sight, it would be meaningless for her to stay with Kang Ruicheng.

By then, she would not only be unable to collect evidence of Kang Ruicheng’s crimes, but also the secret that her child was still alive would gradually be exposed.

Thus, she and her child would be in great danger.

However, at this point, Kang Ruicheng would not give her an opportunity to escape.

Even if Kang Ruicheng neglected something so that she could find an opportunity, her current physical condition could not support her in her bid to escape.

Her only choice was to expedite her collection of evidence of Kang Ruicheng’s crimes and send it to Mu Sijue, so that Mu Sijue could know her real purpose of returning to Kang Ruicheng.

If Mu Sijue believed her, he would come back to save her.

It seemed that she really did not have much time left. Moreover, she was worried about Mumu.

Xu Youning looked at the little boy and patted the space beside her. “Mumu, lie down. I want to hug you.”

“Oh, no problem!”

Mumu lay down cooperatively, snuggled into Xu Youning’s arms like a little worm, and held Xu Youning tightly with a smile.

Xu Youning could finally touch the little boy intimately. She stroked Mumu’s head and apologized to him in her heart.

From the moment Kang Ruicheng decided to kill her grandmother and forced her to come back, she had lost the possibility of accompanying Mumu when he grew up.

Even if Mumu hated her in the future, she could not care about it.

If she did not get rid of Kang Ruicheng, not only her, but Lu Boyan and Su Jian’an would not have a peaceful life too.

“Auntie Youning.” Mumu seemed to suddenly think of something. He abruptly raised his head and looked at Xu Youning innocently. “When Daddy left, he told you to have a good rest.”

“Uh-huh.” Xu Youning nodded. “So?”

“So let’s have a sleep competition!” Mumu closed his eyes and continued, “Whoever falls asleep first will win. Quickly close your eyes!”

Xu Youning did not know how much time she still had to play with Mumu, and she was happy to cooperate with him and closed her eyes to compete with him.

“OK, let’s start!”

Mumu closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

The little boy forgot that he had wanted to coax Xu Youning to sleep, and he took the competition seriously. In the end, Xu Youning did not fall asleep, but he fell asleep instead.

He snuggled against Xu Youning, covered his eyes with one hand and looked very serious.

Xu Youning gradually regained her strength. Looking at Mumu, she could not help smiling. She sat up and tucked Mumu in. Then she left the room quietly and went downstairs.

Because of Xu Youning’s fainting spell, the Kang family home was shrouded in a nervous atmosphere, and the air flowing through seemed to be frozen, stiff and slow.

Seeing Xu Youning coming downstairs, Dongzi hurried to greet her and looked at her cautiously. “Miss Xu, are you still feeling uncomfortable? Do you need me to call a doctor for you?”

“I’m fine now.” Xu Youning looked very calm and her tone was as calm as usual. “Where did Brother Cheng go?”

“Brother Cheng went out to deal with something.” Then, Dongzi hesitated for a moment and finally said, “Miss Xu, Brother Cheng was very worried about you just now.”

Xu Youning replied with a “hmm” and did not say anything more. She found a seat casually and sat down, waiting for Kang Ruicheng to come back.

If she guessed correctly, Kang Ruicheng should have a lot of questions for her.

There were some questions that she could not escape from. She could only answer Kang Ruicheng, persuade him, and try her best to fight for a chance for herself and her child’s survival.

Dongzi hurriedly called Kang Ruicheng and told him that Xu Youning had woken up.

Not long after, Kang Ruicheng hurried back. When he saw Xu Youning sitting in the living room, he strode over and squatted down in front of her. “A Ning, how are you feeling?”

“I’m much better.” Xu Youning stood up and looked at Kang Ruicheng. “Have a seat. Let’s talk.”

Kang Ruicheng’s gaze was fixed on Xu Youning’s face all the time. It took him trice as long as before he sat down slowly. “A Ning, I’m not in a hurry. You can have a longer rest.”

He and Xu Youning both knew the questions he needed Xu Youning to answer, but he could not ask Xu Youning for answers when she looked like this.

Xu Youning shifted to a more relaxed position. She smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’m fine. Even if you’re not in a hurry, I am. I don’t want any misunderstandings between us.”

“Between us.” Listening carefully, Kang Ruicheng could tell that there was a secret intimacy in her words.

Kang Ruicheng smiled and became very relaxed. “In that case, A Ning, answer these few questions.”