Qin Yue herself wasn't sure why she suddenly got so angry earlier.
Perhaps it was because today was her fortieth birthday. As a middle-aged divorced homemaker, the idea of becoming less attractive and aging was particularly sensitive to her, sensitive enough to lead her to argue with her own son.
"What was I even doing just now? I can't believe I said those things to my child."
Qin Yue forced a smile, took a moment to compose herself, then closed and locked the bathroom door.
The bathwater had started to cool down. She added some hot water before getting back into the tub.
"Could it be that this is all there is for me in this lifetime?"
Qin Yue sat in the bathtub, gazing at her body submerged in the water, softly speaking to herself.
Although she wanted to forget the embarrassment of being seen naked by her son just now, Chen Yifan's words kept involuntarily echoing in her mind.
She lay down wearily, resting her head slowly against the edge of the bathtub.
"Well, at forty, it's probably time to accept fate," she chuckled softly.
Thinking about the years she had drifted through since getting married, Qin Yue's heart grew increasingly melancholic.
She wondered how different her life would have been over the past ten-odd years if she hadn't married so early or quit her job to become a homemaker so soon.
At the very least, it probably wouldn't be worse than it was now.
"Sigh, if only I could be young again. How wonderful it would be — a beautiful face, fair skin, a slim waist, a perky chest, and a firm behind. Those were the days."
Qin Yue reminisced about the past, slowly closed her eyes, and unexpectedly drifted off to sleep in the bathtub.
She didn't know how long it had been before she drowsily opened her eyes.
"Huh? How did I fall asleep?"
As Qin Yue mumbled to herself, she gently stirred and began to regain sensation in her body.
Soon, a wave of coldness spread throughout her body—it turned out that while she was asleep, the water in the bathtub had completely lost its warmth.
"So cold!"
Qin Yue exclaimed in surprise, quickly stood up, and leaped out of the bathtub. She immediately grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped it around her body, now soaked with cold water.
"Almost froze me to death! How careless of me. How could I fall asleep while bathing?"
She shivered while tightening the bathrobe around her body, scolding herself.
However, she abruptly steadied her trembling body, as if sensing that something was amiss.
"My voice… my voice sounds a bit strange," Qin Yue remarked, noticing an unfamiliar quality in her own voice.
Whether it was due to just waking up or the sluggishness caused by the cold water in the bathtub, she only now realized that her voice was much brighter and more delicate than usual.
She raised her arms, lowered her head, and carefully examined her hands. The skin on her hands was white and tender, with almost all the wrinkles that were once visible on the back of her hands now disappeared.
These hands resembled a child's hands, they didn't look like hers at all!
Qin Yue held her breath, then took a step forward and rushed to the mirror after putting her hands down.
In the mirror, there was a young and beautiful face.