When Mo Xingxue opened her mouth to speak, the air itself seemed to hold its breath. The surrounding noise of the zoo—distant animal calls, the murmur of visitors, the rustle of leaves—faded into a muted backdrop, as though the world had quieted down just to listen. But after a long moment, she closed her lips again, hesitation flickering across her elegant features like a shadow passing over still water.

Mo Fangyue, who had grown up beside this very sister, recognized the conflict immediately. She waited, jaw tight, but her patience was wearing dangerously thin. The younger woman leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping into something more serious, almost pleading.

"Look," Mo Fangyue started, her voice low and serious as she leaned slightly forward. "If you want to be willful, that’s fine." She spoke as if she had long since accepted her sister’s stubborn nature. "But what I can’t accept is.." Her voice rose, cracking with protective fury. "You’re letting your child suffer out here!"

Mo Xingxue’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by the raw care bleeding through Mo Fangyue’s words. Yet her own pride refused to bend. "She’s not suffering," she replied, her voice steady but edged with defensiveness. "She’s with me, after all."

Mo Fangyue let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair in clear frustration. "She might be doing fine with you right now, but what about when she grows up?"

The question struck one of Mo Xingxue’s deepest, most hidden worries. "Your career is only just stabilizing. You’re going to get more projects soon, and it’s only going to get harder to look after her properly."

Mo Xingxue flinched. The words hit too close to the truth. The reason she had accepted this love variety show was precisely because it guaranteed a full month of filming with no other projects allowed. It had given her precious time to focus on raising Mo Yan. But once it ended.. she wasn’t sure how she would balance everything again.

Even though Mo Fangyue was right, Mo Xingxue couldn’t bring herself to admit it out loud.

Mo Fangyue could see she wasn’t getting through. The anger that had been simmering inside her finally boiled over. She sneered, voice dripping with mockery. "Looks like I hit the right spot, huh?"

Mo Xingxue frowned, displeasure clear in her expression. "No. I can raise her just fine." The statement lacked conviction, the words sounding hollow even to her own ears.

"Heh." Mo Fangyue let out a mocking laugh that sounded closer to a sob. "Stop making excuses. Look, you’re a mother now." She placed both hands firmly on the table, leaning in. "It’s not just you anymore. You have Mo Yan too."

Mo Xingxue’s eyes widened. How did Mo Fangyue know her daughter’s name? In the past, Mo Fangyue had never bothered to remember names unless the person held significance in her eyes. The realization sent a strange flutter through Mo Xingxue’s chest.

Mo Fangyue continued, voice growing more strained. "How will you protect her when you can’t even raise her properly?"

"I can and will protect my daughter," Mo Xingxue shot back, determination flashing in her phoenix eyes—a strength Mo Fangyue hadn’t seen in her sister for a very long time. But determination alone wasn’t enough.

Mo Fangyue’s temper finally snapped. "You can’t even protect yourself, yet you dare say you’ll protect Mo Yan?!" She shot up from her seat so violently the chair nearly toppled over.

The commotion drew startled glances from nearby tables. People began gathering their things and quietly moving away, creating a wide circle of empty space around the two sisters. Fear flickered in their eyes, but no one dared call security.

Mo Xingxue remained seated, completely composed on the surface. "I can protect myself."

Mo Fangyue let out another mocking laugh that sounded closer to a broken sob. "Protect?" She looked straight at her sister, eyes hollow with pain. "If you can protect yourself.. then how did you end up getting pregnant?"

Mo Xingxue’s eyes widened in shock, then flashed with raw anger. "You’re crossing the line, Mo Fangyue," she hissed through gritted teeth.

The words had dragged up memories Mo Xingxue had tried desperately to bury—cries for help that went unanswered, Gu Chengze’s forceful hands, the night her innocence was stolen. Her hands clenched tightly in her lap as her vision darkened at the edges. She shook her head hard, forcing the memories back.

Mo Fangyue’s shoulders trembled. "Do you know how much it hurt?" Her voice cracked. "What?" Mo Xingxue let out.

"Do you know how much it hurt when I found out.." Mo Fangyue paused, her hands on the table trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes. "When I found out that the only sister I had got raped?"

Mo Xingxue froze completely.

"And how powerless I felt finding that out!" Tears finally spilled down Mo Fangyue’s cheeks. "Do you know how much I blamed myself for not getting there on time? For being too incompetent to save you? And then seeing you live like an empty shell for months afterward?" Her voice broke into raw sobs. "Do you know how much that hurts as your sister?!"

Mo Xingxue stared at her younger sister, truly seeing her pain for the first time. She had always assumed Mo Fangyue didn’t care—that the distance between them was mutual. Now she realized how wrong she had been.

After several moments of silent crying, Mo Fangyue wiped her tears roughly with the back of her hand. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen as she looked straight at Mo Xingxue. "I couldn’t protect you.. so at least let me protect my niece."

She sat back down heavily. "Do you know what they call Mo Yan at the Mo estate?"

Mo Xingxue didn’t need to guess. "Bastard, right?" The word tasted bitter on her tongue.

Mo Fangyue laughed hollowly. "Yeah.. that’s what they call her."

Silence fell between them again, heavy and suffocating. Then Mo Fangyue spoke once more, voice quieter. "I’m now formally named as the Mo heir." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Mo Xingxue raised an eyebrow, confused. Was she showing off? It didn’t feel like it.

Mo Fangyue stared at her sister earnestly. "That means I have power now. I’m not that powerless idiot I used to be." Her voice trembled. "I can protect you two now. So please.. go back home." She looked straight at Mo Xingxue, completely vulnerable. "In that way, I can rest easy."

Mo Xingxue’s expression grew incredibly complex. She pursed her lips, clearly torn.

Seeing her sister still hesitating, Mo Fangyue let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I get it." Her voice was soft, almost broken. "I still don’t have enough power to protect you. That’s what you’re thinking, right?"

Mo Xingxue immediately started to deny it, but Mo Fangyue didn’t let her. "Fine. Then that just means I have to gather more authority to convince you." She moved to her sister’s side, hesitating for a long moment before speaking again, voice small and vulnerable. "Big sister.."

Mo Xingxue’s thoughts came to a sudden halt. It had been nearly eighteen years since she last heard Mo Fangyue call her that.

"Big sister," Mo Fangyue continued, voice thick with unshed tears, "I promise I’ll gather more power so I can protect you two properly."

Mo Xingxue stood up slowly. Without a word, she pulled her younger sister into a tight embrace. Mo Fangyue stiffened for a second before wrapping her arms around her in return, burying her face in Mo Xingxue’s shoulder as fresh tears soaked the fabric.

"I’ll be waiting for that day, Mo Fangyue," Mo Xingxue whispered, her own eyes stinging as she gently patted her sister’s back—just like she used to do nearly two decades ago.

The two sisters slowly broke the hug, though their hands lingered on each other’s arms for a few extra seconds, reluctant to let go completely. Mo Xingxue pulled back just enough to look at Mo Fangyue’s face.

Seeing her younger sister’s aggrieved, tear-streaked expression—eyes red and puffy, lips pressed into a trembling line—Mo Xingxue let out a soft, watery laugh. She gently lifted her hand and wiped the tears from Mo Fangyue’s cheeks with her thumb, the touch tender and careful, like handling something precious she had almost lost.

"I’m sorry," Mo Xingxue whispered, voice thick with regret. "I’m sorry for not realizing you were suffering too, Mo Fangyue."

Deep inside, Mo Xingxue had always carried the quiet belief that her sister had been secretly relieved by her downfall—happy to finally step into the spotlight as the favored heir. How wrong she had been. The realization stung sharply.

Mo Xingxue smiled at herself, the expression self-deprecating and pained. It seems the poison the elders fed me all those years is still engraved deep in my bones, she thought bitterly.

Mo Fangyue shook her head quickly, eyes glistening again. "It’s also my fault, Big Sister." Her voice cracked. She looked at Mo Xingxue with raw apology written across her face. "I’m sorry for calling you those horrible slurs.. and for calling Mo Yan a bastard." She paused, swallowing hard. "Not only that.. I’m sorry for all the bad names I threw at you in the past. I thought.. I thought it was the only way you would take me seriously."

Mo Xingxue’s heart twisted painfully. How cold and distant must I have seemed for my own sister to believe that?

She let out a long, heavy sigh and pulled Mo Fangyue into another hug, tighter this time. Mo Fangyue returned it immediately, burying her face in her sister’s shoulder as fresh tears soaked into the fabric. They held each other like that for a long moment—two women who had been kept apart by family schemes, misunderstandings, and years of silence.

When they finally pulled apart again, Mo Fangyue mustered up a small, determined smile. Her eyes, though still red, burned with resolve. "I’ll take over the company in a month or two, Big Sister. Until then.. please wait for me patiently."

Mo Xingxue looked at her for a long moment, then smiled softly—a real, warm smile that reached her eyes. "Un."

For the first time in nearly two decades, the deeply strained relationship between the Mo sisters began to heal on this ordinary afternoon, under the gentle shade of zoo trees. An event that would have been impossible in the original novel.