177: Honey, I'm not interested in men.

Guoguo nodded obediently, took the food, and whispered, "Thank you."

Bai Wanning gently stroked his head, then looked up at Jiang Dai, a hint of apology on her face. "I'm sorry, I seem to have scared your son."

"It's fine." Jiang Dai shook her head, not thinking much of it.

She could tell that Bai Wanning had no ill intent, and her emotional breakdown was clearly due to genuine fear and pain. She paused for a moment, then quietly asked, "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine." Bai Wanning nodded, then turned to the other team members, lowering her head to sincerely apologize. "I'm sorry, I seem to have caused you trouble."

"Hmph, putting on an act." Lu Yin snorted coldly and turned to walk away.

She wasn't as easily convinced by Bai Wanning as the others. She always felt that Bai Wanning's current demeanor was an act to gain Lei Qian's sympathy.

She had seen this tactic too many times, assuming others were just as blind.

Yun Chuan glanced at her, his lips twitching slightly, but he didn't speak. He turned to Bai Wanning and said softly, "No need to apologize, we are a team. Supporting each other is what we should do."

"Yes, don't overthink it." Da Cheng also nodded in agreement, adding, "On the contrary, the child was thoughtless, suddenly waking you up and scaring you."

Jiang Dai's body stiffened when she heard this, and she looked at Da Cheng with some displeasure. The child was only three years old; how could he understand so much? How could Guoguo know that Bai Wanning was having a nightmare? How could such a thing be blamed on a child?

"It's not his fault." Bai Wanning gently shook her head, not blaming Guoguo. After all, she was the one who had scared the child, and Guoguo was still young and didn't know any better.

Da Cheng said nothing more, just gave her a slight smile.

As for Jiang Dai's angry glare, he completely ignored it.

This woman's abilities were weak, and she had no presence in the team. In fact, whether she could even stay in the team was still an unknown.

If it weren't for that child, Bai Wanning wouldn't have bothered to keep her.

A woman dragging a child, unable to even protect herself, why should he go out of his way to take care of her? His only concern was to make Bai Wanning happy.

As long as she was happy, Lei Qian would be satisfied, and if Lei Qian was satisfied, his position in the team would be secure.

However, Bai Wanning wasn't the kind of woman who was easily pleased; even though he had spoken up just now, she still chose to defend the child.

But it didn't matter, he wasn't in a hurry, he would slowly integrate into this team.

Since he had already decided to become a part of this, he had to clearly see everyone and the entire situation.

He turned and walked away, knowing he shouldn't disturb Bai Wanning and Lei Qian any further, lest he become annoying.

"Are you really okay?" Bai Jixuan asked again in a low voice.

Bai Wanning nodded and replied softly, "I'm fine, it's just... I recalled something I never wanted to think about again."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to look out the window.

If she could, she would rather forget forever the day that took her son away from her.

That heart-wrenching pain, once in her lifetime, was enough.

Bai Jixuan and Bai Zhan exchanged glances, their eyes filled with heartache.

They knew that there was probably only one thing that could make their sister so panicked and cry so sadly.

Lei Qian stood to the side, silently rubbing the tip of his nose.

He didn't think he was the reason; he knew the Bai family members were truly to blame.

He lowered his head and solemnly apologized to Bai Wanning, "I'm sorry."

Bai Wanning turned her head in confusion, her gaze falling on him. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

Her tone was calm, but her eyes held a clear inquiry. Everything was clearly normal, so why would this man suddenly apologize?

This time, it was Lei Qian's turn to glare at Bai Zhan and Bai Jixuan. "Did you see? She's not crying because of me at all."

"Wanning, aren't you crying because you remembered... that night?" Bai Zhan frowned, speaking in confusion. Why would she suddenly cry because of that night?

She was already eighteen, no longer a simple young girl.

She was a mother; how could she cry like this because of a past memory? Moreover, Lei Qian had always been very respectful of her and had never done anything out of line.

Therefore, to say she had an emotional breakdown because of that night's events was simply too absurd.

Bai Wanning gently shook her head, not speaking.

Bai Zhan's expression froze, and he looked at his sister with complex eyes. Not because of that night... then what was it for?

"Wanning..."

"Second Brother, I'm a little tired." Bai Wanning interrupted him. She knew what her brother wanted to ask, but she couldn't answer. She couldn't tell them the truth, and she didn't want to lie.

"Bai Wanning, you..."

Hearing Bai Zhan's raised voice, she trembled slightly.

Seeing this, Bai Jixuan immediately pulled Bai Zhan behind him and said in a deep voice, "Enough, don't get angry at Wanning anymore."

He looked back at his sister, his tone gentle: "Wanning, you too, don't always keep things to yourself. We're not your enemies, we're your brothers. You can tell us anything."

Listening to the concern in her brother's voice, Bai Wanning's eyes immediately reddened, and she nodded gently, responding with a choked-up, "Mhm."

She knew that Bai Jixuan truly cared for her. This brother, who had taken care of her and Bai Zhan since they were young, had long been accustomed to worrying about them.

"I will, Brother."

Seeing her nod, Bai Jixuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his hand and gently ruffled her hair before turning and leaving the room.

"But—" Bai Zhan looked at him unwillingly, about to speak.

"Shut up, come with me." Bai Jixuan grabbed him and pulled him out.

"Hey, I still want to—"

Before Bai Zhan could finish, he was dragged out of the room by Bai Jixuan.

Bai Wanning didn't know what else he wanted to say, nor did she press him. She turned to look at Lei Qian, who was still standing there.

"Why are you still here?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her tone. The matter was over; shouldn't he have left already?

Lei Qian, however, asked her in return, "Why were you crying?"

"What?" Bai Wanning froze.

Lei Qian stepped forward, cupped her cheeks with his hands, his brows slightly furrowed, and his voice low: "Why were you crying just now? Was it really because of a nightmare?"

If it were the old Bai Wanning, he might have believed she was genuinely scared, but after everything they had been through, Lei Qian knew that Bai Wanning wasn't the type of person to cry over a nightmare.

She looked at him, not answering, but instead asked, "What do you think of Guoguo's father?"

"Him?" Lei Qian frowned, a puzzled expression on his face.

He paused, then suddenly looked at her with an annoyed expression, a hint of hurt in his voice: "You don't actually expect me to be interested in him, darling, do you? Although I look a bit like a woman, I'm not interested in men."

Bai Wanning rolled her eyes, kicked him on the shin, and glared at him angrily: "Who asked if you were interested in him? You jerk, I'm asking you what you think of his 'actions'. Do you think he was right to abandon his son?"