Qin He thought for a moment and arranged to meet Gu Qishen tomorrow at the West District United Department to review the contract.
Half an hour later, Qin He's car stopped at the entrance of the Xu family mansion.
After notifying the doorman, the Xu family's butler soon came out to greet her personally.
"Miss Qin, you've finally arrived. If you hadn't come any sooner, our madam would have personally gone to fetch you!"
Qin He was a little surprised. "What's going on?"
The butler wore a bitter expression. "Ever since the eldest young lady returned from Haicheng, it's been over half a month now. She locks herself in her room every day and no one knows what she's doing. The master, madam, and the elder master are all very worried."
Qin He's brow furrowed. "Uncle Lin, I know about this. The main thing is that I haven't been able to contact Wanwan myself lately. Don't worry, I'll go see her now. Next time you feel the situation is serious, just call me directly."
"I said I would call you, but the young lady wouldn't allow it. She was extremely emotional. Madam thought you had a disagreement with her, which is why she was so angry, so she didn't pay much attention to her for a while."
Steward Lin said with difficulty, "I didn't expect that after more than half a month, the young lady still refuses to leave her room."
Qin He's brow furrowed tightly. "What about her meals and things?"
"Meals are delivered to her room by the maids every day. If she really stopped eating, I'm afraid the madam and master would drag her out of the room. But even though she eats, she doesn't eat much."
The butler had watched Xu Wanwan grow up, and tears of heartache streamed down his face as he spoke.
"The young lady has lost so much weight lately. You'll know when you see her!"
Led by the butler, Qin He first met with Elder Master Xu and Xu Wanwan's parents.
Madam Xu held Qin He's hand and kept asking.
"He'er, have you and Wanwan had some conflict?"
"Auntie, we really haven't argued. Please don't worry," Qin He reassured her.
Elder Master Xu reprimanded Madam Xu from the side. "Enough. If it were related to He'er, Wanwan wouldn't have lasted this long. She used to be the most afraid of starving, and now she's too lazy to even eat when food is brought to her door."
Elder Master Xu looked at Qin He. "He'er, go and see her. If there's anything, try to comfort her."
Madam Xu echoed from the side, "He'er, if there's anything, you must tell us. Try to get it out of her. I need to know what's going on! This is really driving me crazy!"
Qin He sighed inwardly.
She couldn't tell Madam Xu that Xu Wanwan had become like this because of her brother. If she did, the complications between Xu Wanwan and Qin Yun would likely increase.
After greeting the elders of the Xu family.
Qin He, guided by the butler, arrived at Xu Wanwan's door on the second floor.
She reached out and knocked on the door. Silence emanated from within.
The butler raised his voice. "Young lady, Miss Qin He is here to see you!"
There seemed to be a slight movement inside, but it quickly subsided into silence.
Qin He felt a pang of heartache and was also annoyed by Xu Wanwan's disregard for her own health.
She turned to the butler. "Uncle Lin, you go ahead and attend to your duties. I'll talk to her."
Uncle Lin sighed, still a bit worried, and left, looking back repeatedly.
At the end of the corridor, only Qin He was left. She knocked heavily on the door twice. There was no sound from inside.
Qin He's voice became stern and sharp!
"Xu Wanwan, we've been friends for so long since we were kids. What do you think I am now? Are you shutting me out?"
There was still no sound from inside.
Qin He gritted her teeth. "Do you know how worried your parents and grandfather are? If you were to go and smash your grandfather's purple clay teapot now, he might even be happy that you have some spirit!"
"Your mother has been crying because of you, and your father has been sighing! Even Uncle Lin doesn't cry when he talks about this. Xu Wanwan, do you have the heart to make your whole family so sad?"
There was still no sound from inside. The door was as stubborn as a stone, blocking Qin He firmly.
Qin He, unable to get an answer after calling for so long, grew angry. "Xu Wanwan, is reason not working? Open the door! You know my personality. If you don't open the door today, I'll have Uncle Lin get a hammer, and I'll smash your door open."
"I'm pregnant now. If you want me to miscarry, then continue pretending to be dead."
There was a movement inside the room, clearly indicating wavering.
Qin He pressed her advantage and leaned against the door. "Is it just about a man? If it doesn't work out, we can just find another one!"
The door swung open with a whoosh!
Qin He, caught off guard, nearly stumbled inside.
She leaned against the doorframe and looked at Xu Wanwan, who indeed looked thinner, but not as drastically as Uncle Lin had described.
The room was dim, the floor-to-ceiling curtains tightly blocking out all light. Qin He sighed and walked into the room.
Xu Wanwan gritted her teeth, her eyes red.
"What do you mean find another one? That's your brother! You're his sister, how can you not side with him?"
Qin He raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it good for me to side with you?"
Xu Wanwan clenched her small hands and fell silent.
Qin He walked to the curtains and pulled them open. Bright sunlight streamed into the room, and Xu Wanwan turned her head away uncomfortably.
Behind the window was a small balcony. Qin He opened the balcony door and walked to a chair, sitting down.
She beckoned to Xu Wanwan. "Come over here. We haven't seen each other for so long, let's chat for a while."
Xu Wanwan sat over with a sullen face. "You threatened me with your pregnancy to make me open the door! And now you have the nerve to chat with me happily!"
Qin He chuckled. "If I didn't threaten you, would you have opened the door for me? Are you really going to shut yourself off like this forever, without considering your parents and family?"
"I just have a lot of things I haven't figured out."
"What is there to not figure out?"
"I don't understand what your brother is thinking!" Xu Wanwan gritted her teeth. "Do you know that your brother is more detestable than those scumbags? With scumbags, at least I know it's a character issue. But Qin Yun? He always acts so superior, and sometimes he seems so devoted!"
As Xu Wanwan spoke, she seemed very resentful and continued to list Qin Yun's merits. "I understand your brother. His character and values are indeed good, but I don't understand why he's so good to everyone else, yet so cruel to me?!"
Qin He sighed softly and reached out to take Xu Wanwan's hand.
"Let me tell you why. Because he loves you."
"What do you mean?" Xu Wanwan frowned. "I don't have Stockholm syndrome! He loves me, so he treats me like this?!"
Qin He glanced around the balcony and then got up to look around Xu Wanwan's room.
"What are you looking for?"
"I'm checking if there are any surveillance cameras in your room," Qin He said with a smile.
"There aren't any of those. There are only in the living room."