“Mommy, you’re here.” Chenchen sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
Shen Xi glared at him with a hint of annoyance.
Chenchen, however, remained unfazed. He took her hand and led her to Qin Siye’s desk.
“You two have met already, haven’t you? Mommy, tell me, is this Uncle Qin my daddy?”
A flicker of panic crossed Shen Xi’s eyes. She met Qin Siye’s gaze briefly before quickly lowering hers, whispering, “Chenchen, can you stop causing trouble? Let’s go back. We shouldn’t disturb Mr. Qin.”
With that, she gave a slight nod to Qin Siye, took Chenchen’s hand, and turned to leave.
“Wait.” Qin Siye pushed the jewelry box on his desk forward. “I wanted to ask about this jade bracelet.”
A jade bracelet? Shen Xi’s head snapped back at the mention of it. She finally saw the bracelet she had kept for five years. How could it suddenly be on Qin Siye’s desk? Had Chenchen taken it to find his biological father? Still, it was for the best; the bracelet could finally be returned to its rightful owner.
“I picked it up accidentally while I was abroad. I looked for the owner for a long time, but no one claimed it. Could it be yours, Mr. Qin?” Shen Xi asked, feigning surprise, her expression betraying no unusual emotion.
Five years ago, on the day of the car accident, she had gone to the cemetery to pay respects to her father. She had brought the jade bracelet with her, planning to return it to Qin Siye afterward. Unexpectedly, she had an accident and was rescued by Song Kai Cheng, who happened to be at the same cemetery.
Although the jade bracelet had been with her for five years, she had only been keeping it temporarily and had never examined it closely. Naturally, she didn’t know that a “Qin” character was engraved on its inner side.
“Picked it up? What a coincidence? Where did you find it?” Qin Siye’s gaze was fixed on her, his face full of suspicion.
Shen Xi wished to avoid further entanglement with him, so she continued with her fabricated story. “I found it by chance on my way to work one day.”
Hearing her dismissive explanation, Qin Siye remained half-believing, his sharp gaze fixed on her. Her voice and appearance bore no resemblance to that woman, but her eyes and the aura she exuded… whether it was an illusion or a psychological effect, he felt as if Yin Xi herself stood before him. His normally calm heart skipped a beat. Qin Siye stared at her intently. “Do you know Yin Xi?”
Chenchen’s heart trembled at the mention of the name. Yin Xi was his mother’s former name. It seemed they did know each other before.
“I’ve never heard of her.” Shen Xi fluttered her fan-like eyelashes, then continued, “Mr. Qin, now that the jade bracelet has been returned to its owner, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my child and leave. I apologize again for the trouble I’ve caused.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Siye gestured to Zhao Ze, who stood nearby, to escort them out. He lowered his head, remaining silent. A fleeting look of disappointment crossed his eyes. Chenchen, equally disappointed, looked up at Shen Xi with confusion. He couldn’t understand why his mother wouldn’t admit she was Yin Xi and pretended not to know Qin Siye.
Leaving the CEO’s office and taking the elevator all the way down, Shen Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the first-floor lobby, Han Haoming and two other police officers were still waiting. After Shen Xi explained the situation, they all departed.
Shen Xi’s face remained cold until she started the car. After driving for a while, she finally spoke, “Chenchen, don’t you think you owe me a proper explanation about what happened today?”
Chenchen, also feeling quite frustrated, coldly changed the subject. “Mommy, why won’t you admit you’re Yin Xi? What exactly was your relationship with that Qin Siye before?”