Before Lin Mei met Zhao Jianghe, she knew he was three years older than her. Xie Qin Jia had mentioned it more than once, saying Zhao Jianghe was the same age as Xing Yan. Zhao Jianghe himself had also said so, but his passport showed him as nearly five years older than her.
If calculated by his passport age, he wasn't twenty-nine this year but thirty-one. However, when he applied for a loan earlier, his ID card had a different birth date…
It wasn't uncommon to alter one's age for convenience, but it was rare for someone like Zhao Jianghe to consistently state he was younger, even keeping those close to him in the dark.
Lin Mei looked closely; the passport had expired many years ago, and the photo likely wasn't taken recently. Why would Zhao Jianghe hide his age from everyone?
He always said he regarded Xie Qin Jia as his mother, yet Xie Qin Jia didn't know his real age. Although she couldn't figure out the reason, Lin Mei felt a chill down her spine…
"What's wrong?" Zhao Jianghe finished his call and saw Lin Mei holding the passport. His expression remained unchanged, and he smiled as usual.
Seeing his smile, Lin Mei quickly explained, "Your dog just carried your passport over. You should put it away. It's such an important item; it would be troublesome if it got damaged."
She didn't bring up the age issue, but Zhao Jianghe smiled and said, "This is a fake passport; it's useless now."
Lin Mei: "Huh?"
Zhao Jianghe: "Didn't you notice the age is wrong?"
Lin Mei leaned down to look, feigning realization. "You're right. I was just focused on the photo earlier."
She didn't forget to compliment Zhao Jianghe, "Your passport photo is very handsome; you look so young."
"Yes, I was only sixteen when it was taken," Zhao Jianghe took the passport from her hand, looked at the photo, and laughed. "I keep it to look at the picture and occasionally reminisce about my younger days."
"You're only twenty-nine now; you're not old," Lin Mei said.
Zhao Jianghe merely smiled without speaking. His candid attitude dispelled much of Lin Mei's doubt. Perhaps the passport was indeed fake, and Zhao Jianghe had no reason to hide his true age.
Lin Mei had lunch at Zhao Jianghe's place. During the meal, Lan Lan sent a message in their WeChat group: [I heard Xing Zheng's mother has been missing for several days.]
Lin Mei put down her chopsticks. [Who told you?]
Although she didn't know the source, Lin Mei felt worried upon hearing the news. It suddenly occurred to her that Xie Qin Jia hadn't contacted her in a long time.
A moment later, Lan Lan's reply arrived: [Liang Yu Feng said it. He was supposed to discuss business with Xing Zheng today, but Xing Zheng is in the hospital. Apparently, he hasn't slept much looking for someone these past few days.]
Lin Mei frowned slightly. [Missing for how many days?]
With the Xing family's and Xing Zheng's resources, finding a missing person in Nanjiang City shouldn't be difficult. Yet, according to Lan Lan, Xie Qin Jia seemed to have been out of contact for a while.
Indeed, Lan Lan said: [From what Liang Yu Feng said, it should be about four or five days. The Xing family has been searching for her. Isn't it absurd? Even with their capabilities, father and son can't find her.]
Lin Mei also found it absurd. With Xing Zheng and Xing Sha working together, they couldn't find Xie Qin Jia. Where could Xie Qin Jia have gone to be so elusive? Upon hearing this, Lin Mei's first thought was that someone had hidden Xie Qin Jia, deliberately preventing them from finding her. As for who that person was, it remained unknown.
If she could come to this conclusion, Xing Zheng and Xing Sha surely could too. However, Lin Mei was still worried about Xie Qin Jia's health. Her condition was unstable; any shock could be life-threatening.
Although Lin Mei didn't agree with some of Xie Qin Jia's actions, from a friend's perspective, Xie Qin Jia had always treated her well, and she didn't want to see anything happen to her.
Zhao Jianghe noticed Lin Mei looking at her phone with a heavy expression and asked with concern, "What's wrong? You look so troubled."
"Nothing," Lin Mei shook her head lightly. She put her phone down, not mentioning the matter to Zhao Jianghe.
After lunch, Lin Mei and Zhao Jianghe went out for coffee. Zhao Jianghe took Lin Mei to a café near the villa.
It was afternoon, and there weren't many people. The café had a pleasant ambiance. Lin Mei sat by the window, basking in the sun, savoring the owner's pour-over coffee, and listening to the cats' meows. It was quite relaxing.
Zhao Jianghe and Lin Mei chatted casually. Later, he received a phone call and stepped away to take it. Lin Mei happened to need to use the restroom, so she went.
After flushing, as she was about to come out, she heard Zhao Jianghe's voice on the phone outside. She hadn't noticed earlier that Zhao Jianghe had come here to take his call. He must have just come out of the restroom and was washing his hands.
The sound of running water, along with his voice, reached Lin Mei's ears. "Auntie Xie, I'll come over tonight. Is there anything you need? I'll bring it for you."
The only person Zhao Jianghe would address like that was Xie Qin Jia…
From Zhao Jianghe's words, Xie Qin Jia must have been "sheltering" with him for a long time. He treated Xie Qin Jia very well, patiently and gently, just as he had said, treating her like his own mother. Xie Qin Jia was undoubtedly safe with Zhao Jianghe.
But why hadn't Zhao Jianghe informed Xing Zheng and Xing Sha about Xie Qin Jia's whereabouts?
As this question arose, Lin Mei overheard Zhao Jianghe say, "Auntie Xie, Uncle Xing and Ah Zheng are looking for you everywhere now. Do you really want to keep hiding? They are very worried about you. Why not communicate face-to-face if there's any problem!"
With Zhao Jianghe saying this, Lin Mei understood the reason. It was likely that Xie Qin Jia, due to Xing Zheng, had a conflict with Xing Sha and chose this method to resist him.
Zhao Jianghe was probably choosing to conceal it to accommodate Xie Qin Jia's feelings. However, Xing Zheng and Xing Sha would eventually suspect him. At that point, being caught between them would surely be difficult for him.
"Okay, I won't say anything. Please don't be angry, Auntie. I'll listen to you," Zhao Jianghe was heard coaxing Xie Qin Jia from outside. Lin Mei guessed that Xie Qin Jia was likely becoming emotional.
Hearing Zhao Jianghe "coax" Xie Qin Jia like this, Lin Mei could understand why Xie Qin Jia was so good to him. Her own son had passed away early, and having such a considerate younger person by her side must have, to some extent, filled her emotional void. As for Xing Zheng…
Someone like him, even without any misunderstandings, couldn't coax Xie Qin Jia the way Zhao Jianghe did. Lin Mei recalled the confrontation between Xing Zheng and Xie Qin Jia and smiled.
He was like a child craving attention but unwilling to yield or back down, stubborn as a mule, only able to gain attention through extreme measures. With Xie Qin Jia's disappearance this time, he had landed himself in the hospital…
Outside, Zhao Jianghe's footsteps gradually faded away. Lin Mei picked up her phone, looked at Xing Zheng's avatar on WeChat, and fell into deep thought.
She was hesitating whether to tell Xing Zheng about Xie Qin Jia.