Even after three years of marriage, Zhao Shuyao found it difficult to fathom the man's emotions.
His depth was like a bottomless abyss, unfathomable, immeasurable, and impossible to grasp.
Huo Yanxue clutched the man's clothes tightly, her questions echoing, but the man remained silent, his thin lips pressed together.
"Qin Yusheng, I've given my youth to you, wasted it all on you. How can you treat me like this? I just want to marry you, to be your wife. Is that so difficult? Can't you even fulfill this small wish? Why are you doing this to me..."
Huo Yanxue fainted as she cried.
Doctors and nurses rushed in.
Zhao Shuyao stood for a while before leaving the hospital.
The winter sun was warm yet glaring. After standing in it for a while, her body still felt no warmth.
Haicheng.
Jiang Shiyu almost buckled as she walked out of Derong Company. She forced herself to walk to the car, leaning against it to catch her breath before opening the door and getting in.
She rested her head on the steering wheel, her mind a complete blank.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally managed to compose herself slightly.
She opened her phone and turned on the navigation.
Chun Tian Orphanage.
Jiang Shiyu parked the car and got out, standing at the entrance of the orphanage. She looked at the dilapidated and somewhat dated building.
She had no memory of ever having been here before.
If what Jiang Dehai had said on the phone was true...
Jiang Shiyu entered the orphanage, where she was greeted by an elderly director who, mistaking her for someone looking to adopt, was extremely enthusiastic.
"I'd like to see the albums of children who were adopted," Jiang Shiyu stated calmly.
The old director readily agreed, producing dozens of thick photo albums for Jiang Shiyu to look through.
The albums were marked with years.
The earliest dated back to the last century.
Jiang Shiyu found an album corresponding to her birth year and quickly flipped through a few pages, her gaze settling on a title page.
The photograph showed an infant girl, no more than a month old, still being fed, a pacifier in her mouth, wrapped in swaddling clothes. It was a black and white photo, but even in monochrome, Jiang Shiyu recognized it instantly.
It was clearly herself as a child.
She still had photo albums at home of her mother holding her when she was just a month old...
Impossible, how could this be...
Jiang Shiyu's fingertips began to tremble slightly.
The old director seemed to notice something was amiss. She took a closer look at the girl before her and then realized the truth.
"You... you couldn't be... the daughter taken by the Jiang family back then..."
When Jiang Shiyu returned home, Murong Cheng had already returned and was on the phone discussing work.
"Handle Rongcheng according to my plan. The Lu family will eventually relent."
Murong Cheng stood on the balcony, smoke curling around him, his back tall and imposing, a scene like a movie still.
Jiang Shiyu changed her shoes and walked into the living room. After listening for a moment, the man seemed to sense her return and hung up the phone.
"You're back."
"Mm."
"You're home so late, where did you go?"
Murong Cheng stubbed out his cigarette, closed the balcony glass door, and walked in, casually sitting on the sofa and pulling Jiang Shiyu into his embrace.
The scent of smoke from the man's body filled her nostrils.
This man had clearly installed a tracking device on her, yet he pretended to ask.
Jiang Shiyu remained silent. The man continued, "If you don't like it, you don't have to associate with the Jiang family anymore. There's no need to force yourself."
Jiang Shiyu still said nothing, her eyes downcast, lost in thought.
"You seem preoccupied, what's wrong?"
"I'm a bit tired, I'll sleep for a while..."
Jiang Shiyu slowly got up and swayed towards the bedroom.
Once Jiang Shiyu was in the bedroom and the door was closed, Murong Cheng took out his phone and checked the places Jiang Shiyu had visited today.
His gaze sharpened.
An orphanage?
Jiang Shiyu slept until late at night. She sat up, holding her forehead, her mind a little hazy, almost unable to distinguish reality from dreams.
Everything that had happened during the day felt like a dream.
She opened her phone and called Zhao Shuyao.
Zhao Shuyao had been in a bad mood, but upon hearing what Jiang Shiyu said, she covered her mouth in shock.
"You're not a Jiang family member, your mother isn't your birth mother, you were adopted?!"
"Shh..."
Across the phone, Jiang Shiyu wished she could cover Zhao Shuyao's big mouth.
Zhao Shuyao realized she had lost control and quickly covered her mouth. "Don't worry, I'm in my room, and the soundproofing is excellent. No one can hear. I definitely won't say anything, don't worry."
"I went to Chun Tian Orphanage yesterday. The director didn't tell me anything, but I clearly overheard their conversation outside Jiang Dehai's office. Yet, the director refused to reveal even half a word to me."
The old director refused to say anything, even though she clearly knew who her birth mother was.
At the same time, a black car slowly stopped in front of the Chun Tian Orphanage.
Fang Yuan got out of the car, removed her sunglasses, and looked up at the orphanage before her.
Her subordinate had told her that Jiang Shiyu had visited this welfare institute.
Fang Yuan walked up the steps, stopped at the orphanage entrance, and knocked on the door. The old director personally greeted her. Sitting in the director's office, Fang Yuan cut to the chase.
"Jiang Shiyu came here?"
Upon hearing Jiang Shiyu's name, the old director froze, then gave a wry smile. "Jiang Shiyu came here wanting to adopt a child, but after looking for a long time, she didn't choose any children she liked and left."
"Is that so?"
Fang Yuan narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but there was no other plausible explanation.
Could it be that Jiang Shiyu was infertile? And that's why she went to an orphanage to adopt a child?
That suited her perfectly!
As long as Su Ziyue could endure, she would eventually be able to snatch Murong Cheng away.
However, thinking of the man she loved, whom she couldn't possess, Fang Yuan felt a surge of resentment and clenched her fists.
Her phone rang; it was her father.
"Yuanyuan, where are you? Your Uncle Lu is coming to Haicheng from Rongcheng tonight. Hurry home and get dressed. Tonight, your mother and I will host a welcome dinner for Uncle Lu's family."
"Okay, Father."
Fang Yuan stood up and left the orphanage after a brief exchange.
Meanwhile.
Zhao Shuyao remembered that the paternity test results should be out by now.
"Shiyu, my dear, don't worry. There's something even more important. I'll tell you when I get back to Haicheng!"
"What important thing?"
Jiang Shiyu felt restless and anxious. Hearing Zhao Shuyao say that only made her more agitated.
"It's good news. Wait for me, and absolutely do not act rashly."
Zhao Shuyao hung up the phone and hurried to call the hospital that conducted the paternity test. The hospital informed her that the report had already been mailed to Zhao Shuyao's address in Haicheng.