At half past eleven in the evening, Qing Yan finally returned to the Lakeside Villa.
"Sister, you're back?" Leisha, who was about to go downstairs, saw Qing Yan ascending the stairs. A gust of wind blew by, and Leisha caught sight of several kiss marks on Qing Yan's neck, which took her by surprise.
Leisha's heart felt as if it had been struck by a blunt object, aching and incredulous.
"Sister, why are you coming back so late? Did you go out with your husband?" Although she knew it was highly likely that Qing Yan was with Si Yechen, seeing the kiss marks on her neck, Leisha couldn't accept it.
How could Si Yechen, such a restrained person, passionately kiss a woman like that?
Qing Yan must have seduced him!
"Sister, even though we don't have strict rules at home, you should still come back early. If this gets out, people will say our family has no proper upbringing."
Qing Yan raised her gaze and asked indifferently, "Do you like Si Yechen?"
"I... of course, I don't like him anymore..." Leisha lowered her head, denying it, unable to meet Qing Yan's gaze.
It wasn't that she was afraid of Qing Yan as a person; it was mainly because she feared that Qing Yan would complain to their parents. Even if she did like Si Yechen, there was no way she could admit it in front of her.
"Then keep your distance from him." Qing Yan's tone was casual, devoid of any emotion. "Mind your own business."
"Sister..."
Leisha watched Qing Yan step by step as she ascended the stairs, unable to help but clench her fists.
Who did this wild girl, raised in a small place, think she was to speak to her like that?
Did she really think she was something special just because she returned as the legitimate daughter of the Li family?
Upon returning to her bedroom, Qing Yan's phone suddenly vibrated. It was Dahai calling.
"Boss, the matter with the S Gang has been resolved. Also, you asked me to investigate the cause of the fire at Sanjiang Hospital on September 10th, eighteen years ago. I have some leads now."
"That cleaner Yunxiang, who was taken in and raised by Lu Muyao, once told her close friend about that night. It was pouring rain, and the roads were bad in those days. With heavy rainfall, there were many areas prone to waterlogging."
"Around two o'clock in the morning, Yunxiang and a few other cleaners were clearing the garbage on the road and near the manhole covers to help with drainage. Suddenly, they heard a deafening explosion."
"Following that, the explosions continued one after another. Initially, Yunxiang didn't dare approach, but when they needed to rescue people, they discovered several unlicensed black cars driving away in the opposite direction."
"In that era, in that place, very few people had cars... I guess that fire must have something to do with those few cars," Qing Yan's gaze deepened. "Who could it be, and for what reason, that would destroy the entire clinic?"
"I find it strange too... At that time, Yun Xiang was only concerned about saving people and didn't think much about it. If she had paid attention to who was in the car or any distinguishing features, it would have been easier to investigate," replied Qing Yan.
"But Yun Xiang is in a pitiful state now," Qing Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm?" Qing Yan expressed curiosity.
Isn't she the foster mother of Lu Muyao? Although Lu Muyao has already returned to the Lu family, how could Yun Xiang, who raised her so painstakingly over the years, end up in such a miserable state?
"After Lu Muyao returned to her ancestral roots, the Lu family gave Yun Xiang a hundred thousand yuan, but Yun Xiang refused it. She only wanted to see Lu Muyao when she had spare time. However, Lu Muyao doesn't recognize her and wants nothing to do with her."
"Yun Xiang went to the Lu family several times, but the servants there drove her away. Now she's in poor health, has no income, no children or relatives to take care of her, quite pitiful," explained the other person.
"Raised an ungrateful person," Qing Yan knew Lu Muyao's true nature. To her, her past identity would only make her feel embarrassed and she would rather push away Yun Xiang and ascend to the upper class of society.
"There's also another strange point. The high-ranking officials of the clinic from that year have all disappeared, and the archives room is gone."
"Now, we can only gather useful clues from Yun Xiang and the other rescuers. However, boss, you need to be mentally prepared. It may not yield results so quickly."
"Okay," Qing Yan said, and just as she was about to continue, she heard her phone vibrating. She glanced at it and saw Si Yechen's call coming in. "I'll hang up."
After talking on the phone with Si Yechen for a while, taking a shower, Qing Yan went to bed.
In her dream, she seemed to be back at the Lu family, seeing a little girl holding Xu Aiqin's hand with teary eyes and asking, "Mommy, when will you come back next time?"
"Luo Qing Yan, will you ever stop! Your father and I are busy all day, do you think we have time? You let your grandmother call us and demand that we come back just because you have a 39-degree fever? Do you know that our project went downhill again when we came back?"
The young Qing Yan felt a bit wronged and sobbed softly, "I didn't..."
"If you didn't tell your grandmother, would she have called us and forcefully demanded that we come back? Do you know how much trouble it caused when we came back?" Xu Aiqin scolded angrily.
"Alright, alright, Aiqin, she's just a child," Lu Zhenhai intervened.
"What child!" Xu Aiqin exclaimed in anger. "Have you ever seen a child of such a young age using elders to deal with us? Look at how her mother favors her! Luo Qing Yan, let me tell you, the more you act like this, the more I dislike you! Your constant crying is annoying!"
Seeing Xu Aiqin walking out and leaving, Lu Zhenhai hurriedly caught up, "Darling, don't be like this... Our child doesn't know that her grandfather left the company for us to manage after his passing. There are so many people in the company who want to kick us out and secretly create obstacles... The child just misses us."
"This jinx, she always brings trouble to us. If she has the ability, she should let us not have to work for money. What else can she do besides crying!"
Little Qing Yan wiped away her tears as if she had made up her mind. If she became more outstanding and helped the family earn money, would her parents not have to work so hard anymore?
Would they start liking her?
With the help of her grandfathers, Qing Yan became outstanding. It was at that time that she realized that the relationship between Lu's grandmother and Xu Aiqin was not good because of the equity issue, and it had caused some unpleasantness...
Xu Aiqin didn't like Lu's grandmother, and every time Lu's grandmother protected Qing Yan, Xu Aiqin disliked Qing Yan even more...
Xu Aiqin even felt that Qing Yan was a disaster. Every time she came back, there would be mistakes at work, so she became less and less willing to return to this home.
In these years, Lu Zhenhai and Xu Aiqin rarely came home. The affection between them and Qing Yan was very weak.
In the past, Xu Aiqin didn't like to hear Qing Yan cry. Slowly, Qing Yan became a child who wouldn't cry. In the eyes of outsiders, she even appeared cold and unfeeling.
Not knowing how long it had been in the dream, Qing Yan opened her eyes again, and the sky outside the window was already bright.
Her heart felt empty.
She picked up her phone and checked it. It was only 6:30 AM, and there were several unread WeChat messages on the screen, sent by Si Yechen.
"Yan Yan."
"Can't sleep because I miss you."
"Wish I could hold you while sleeping."
The empty feeling in Qing Yan's heart seemed to be filled with something. The sense of loss disappeared, replaced by a faint happiness.