A beautiful summer night

In front of the whole family, Xie Qiyan carried Xia Wanzhi, who was barefoot, in a princess carry and put her on the sofa.

The young couple sat together, their fingers intertwined, facing their interrogation together.

The two of them looked like they were united against a common enemy.

Xia Yongqing glanced at their tightly clasped hands, feeling a lump in his throat.

Now that his daughter has grown up, he understands how Richard felt when he watched his beloved daughter, whom he had raised, turn her against outsiders.

I've never seen Xia Wanzhi defend Zhou Yu before.

But this also shows that she is only now truly enlightened.

Xie Qiyan was lucky to win the favor of her beloved daughter.

"Why are you so nervous?" Xia Yongqing met Xia Wanzhi's wary eyes with annoyance and sighed helplessly. "Relax. We've come this far. Your grandfather and I won't be so rude as to kick him out."

Richard glanced at him: "You talk to yourself, why are you dragging me into this?"

Xia Yongqing: "..."

Fine, he'll end up being the sinner.

The old man was a coward too.

If Xie Qiyan were just Xie Qiyan, old man Richard might not have been so polite to him.

But Xie Qiyan turned out to be Mrs. York's adopted grandson.

Xia Yongqing only learned from Ms. Qiao Shu that Mrs. York had designated a large sum of her property to Xie Qiyan.

The Becker and York families have extensive business dealings.

Xia Yongqing frowned, inwardly cursing Xie Qiyan for his incredible luck.

The buffs are stacked so many times.

Ms. Qiao looked kindly at the perfect couple in front of her, and the more she looked, the more she felt they were a good match.

"Where were we? Let's continue," Ms. Qiao Shu said gently.

Xia Wanzhi unconsciously tightened her grip and glanced sideways at Xie Qiyan.

When it comes to meeting the parents, the questions asked are usually about his family and personal situation. Since Xie Qiyan's past is involved and there are so many people around, Xia Wanzhi is worried that he will have difficulty bringing it up.

“Take it easy with your questions…” Xia Wanzhi cast a pleading look at Ms. Ross, afraid that Xie Qiyan would be made things difficult for her again.

Ross smiled and gave her a look that indicated her family knew what they were doing and wouldn't really make things difficult for Xie Qiyan.

Xie Qiyan clenched his palms and said methodically, "Speaking of my parents..."

Xia Wanzhi's heart tightened, and she glanced at him sideways.

He slowly recounted: "My mother was born in Jiangnan. She conceived me in the first year she fell in love with Xie Tianqi. Before I was five years old, our family lived a very happy life."

“But he ran away when I was five years old.”

“Back then, the old man didn’t agree to him being with my mother. He gave up the power of the Xie family and lived with my mother in the south of the city. The household registration book was with the old man, so he couldn’t get a marriage certificate with my mother.”

"Because we didn't get a marriage certificate, I became an illegitimate child."

If you were to ask Xie Tianqi whether he ever loved Yao Qin...

The answer is undoubtedly yes, I loved.

If he didn't love her, he wouldn't have given up his wealth and status to come to Nancheng and live an ordinary life with Yao Qin.

Xie Qiyan doesn't have many memories of the time before he was five years old, but every scene he has is of the three of them enjoying each other's company.

He didn't know why Xie Tianqi would abandon him and his mother.

"After Xie Tianqi returned to the Xie family, he married Hou Mengqiu. That year, my mother took me to the Xie family. I don't know what happened, I only know that it was the last time I saw her. So I became the eldest grandson of the Xie family and continued to be Xie Tianqi's son."

“When I was twelve, I was sent abroad. It wasn’t because my grandfather was planning ahead, but because there was no place for me in the Xie family anymore. My grandfather knew my situation and asked for my opinion beforehand, so going abroad was actually my own choice.” Xie Qiyan’s palms tightened involuntarily. He paused for a moment and continued, “I have been living in England ever since, and I only returned to the Xie family this year.”

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and everyone's breathing became slightly heavy, especially Xia Yongqing, who hadn't expected Xie Qiyan to explain in such detail.

Revealing someone's wounds was never their intention.

Xie Qiyan said this because he was willing to offer his complete sincerity.

Richard and his wife knew nothing about the Sher family's affairs; they only felt sorry for him.

However, Xia Yongqing always minded.

She was concerned that he had suffered since childhood and wondered if he would hold a grudge against the Xie family when he grew up. She was also worried that he might have a twisted side to his heart.

Xie Qiyan said this in front of so many people because he hoped to gain Xia Yongqing's approval.

He knew what Xia Yongqing was concerned about.

He, Xie Qiyan, had crawled out of the mud, a fact he couldn't change. But he wanted Xia Yongqing to know that his feelings for Xia Wanzhi were pure and sincere.

Xia Wanzhi's throat tightened, and she suddenly remembered how badly he had lived in the Xie family when he was a child, and her eyes couldn't help but redden slightly.

After saying all that, Xie Qiyan finally got to the point: "Xie Tianqi suffered a sudden heart attack and fell into a coma because he was already in poor health. I only said a few fair words about my mother, and he got so angry that he fainted. If you want to say that I caused his current situation, I admit it."

"Everyone says Hou Mengqiu is crazy, but she's actually faking it. My mother's disappearance is related to her. She's afraid of being exposed and also afraid of me finding something to use against her, so she's hidden her son as well. I'm looking for him, and I'll find something to use against her one day."

Xia Yongqing and Ross's expressions became extremely solemn.

Before Xia Wanzhi arrived, Xie Qiyan had already explained who Xie Tianqi and Hou Mengqiu were, so Richard and Qiao Shu understood.

"As for the Xie family, they are full of parasites from the inside out. I did return to China for the Xie family, but the old man's intentions also played a part."

Everyone says that Xie Qiyan, who was parachuted in, is vying for power with his father and uncles, using every means at his disposal, ruthless and arrogant.

But they never considered that if Xie Qiyan hadn't returned, how could the Xie family have regained its former glory so quickly?

Tonight's conversation was incredibly heavy.

Some things cannot be explained in a sentence or two. Qiao Shu decided to let Xie Qiyan stay and rest well. As for anything else, they both agreed not to ask any more questions.

Qiao Shu said, "He was a pitiful child, but also a very upright one."

Ross also said, "Our little Maruko has good taste."

The elderly and middle-aged people who were being subtly mocked for their lack of discernment kept their mouths shut and remained silent.

It was two o'clock in the morning and the night was quiet.

Xie Qiyan stayed overnight at the manor, and Xia Wanzhi seized the opportunity to sneak out of her room in the dark and run to Xie Qiyan's room to sleep with him.

Her eyes welled up with tears again upon seeing Xie Qiyan.

Xie Qiyan let her in with a helpless expression, letting her jump onto him like an octopus and cling to him.

Xia Wanzhi felt sorry for him, and he knew it.

After explaining his affairs to the elders, he kept trying to comfort Xia Wanzhi. He finally managed to calm her down, but after taking a shower and lying in bed, she became upset again because of the incident and said she wanted to come and keep her company.

"Oh, my poor Xie." Xia Wanzhi cupped his face, looking at him with eyes full of heartache. "I'm sorry, I used to bully you."

She knew he wasn't doing well in the Xie family.

However, because their first meeting was unpleasant, Xia Wanzhi's self-esteem was hurt, and she couldn't help but pick fights with him every time they met.

Fortunately, he was also the kind of person who would fight back, otherwise she would have felt even more guilty.

Xie Qiyan chuckled: "What's so bad about your bullying?"

He was in the wrong from the start.

He suffered too much neglect in the Xie family, and far too many people looked at him with different eyes—disgust, pity, contempt…

He thought Xia Wanzhi was the same way.

That's why I spilled the milk she handed me.

This became the basis for their feud.

He had actually wondered if they would have become good friends after that day if he hadn't spilled the milk Xia Wanzhi had handed him.

Xia Wanzhi still felt guilty, and thinking back to her unreasonable behavior tonight, as well as what Ms. Ross had said, she took a deep breath, looked straight into his eyes, and said earnestly, "Xie Qiyan, I want to understand you, to understand every little thing about your past, to understand you completely, inside and out."

"I'm ready. I want to enter your world and face the unknown future and the past with you. I want to find Mom with you."

She was a little nervous, her lips slightly parted, and after gathering her thoughts, she blurted out in one breath, "I want to—"

Xie Qiyan cut off his words with his hand.

He looked at her with a smile: "I know, but I should be the one to say these things."

Xia Wanzhi looked into his eyes and was met with a passionate kiss.

What she wanted to say was—

I want to give you a home.