A beautiful summer night

On Monday, Beicheng welcomed its first snowfall of the winter, and the Xingyao Building was also officially completed on the same day. Xia Wanzhi ignored everything else and only cared about her studio and the rooftop garden next to it.

This rooftop garden is Xie Qiyan's private property and is not open to the public.

Xia Wanzhi had always been puzzled by Xie Qiyan's motives for acquiring the building. She didn't understand capitalists' affairs, so she simply assumed that he was after money, since turning Xingyao Building into a shopping mall would be a sure thing.

But now it seems that building the Hanging Gardens is what he cares about most.

This place is not open to the public; he considers it his private space.

It's like an obsession.

He must build a sky garden.

Just like she had to save her studio before.

Xia Wanzhi knew he had many things on his mind, and she also knew his personality. If he wouldn't tell her, then she would ask him herself.

The Xie family lived not far from her place, and since Xia Wanzhi was here, Xie Qiyan kept her in his heart, especially concerned about her sickly health.

Because they were concerned, they came.

Before he could even ask a few questions, Xia Wanzhi asked about the Sky Garden.

She had been well taken care of by Xie Qiyan in recent months and hadn't been sick much, but today she inexplicably caught a cold, probably because of the snow and wind.

Her voice was a little nasal, which made Xie Qiyan frown. Remembering how she used to be sick for half a month at a time, he reached out to check the temperature of her forehead, but Xia Wanzhi pulled him away.

"It's just a minor cold, not enough to cause a fever." Xia Wanzhi knew what he was worried about, smiled at him to show that she was in good spirits, and then continued to ask, "Can't you tell me about the garden?"

"No." Xie Qiyan took her hand and helped her up, pushing open the studio door and walking towards the newly built rooftop garden. "I'll tell you sooner or later."

The rooftop garden was drafty and not yet fully completed. He simply stood with Xia Wanzhi, quietly watching inside through a glass door.

In the past two days, the gardeners we hired have been bringing in many different varieties of seedlings to plant. Now it looks vibrant and full of life. If all the flowers bloom in the future, this rooftop garden will probably become a fairyland on earth.

The two stood side by side when Xie Qiyan suddenly stood behind Xia Wanzhi, resting his chin on her head and pulling her into his arms.

Xia Wanzhi tried to turn around, but he raised his hand and pinched her cheeks to stop her from moving: "Don't look at me."

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

I can probably guess that it's related to her mother.

If you don't want to watch it, then don't.

Xia Wanzhi pursed her lips, showing exceptional tolerance towards the vulnerable Xie Qiyan.

With her hands wrapped around Xie Qiyan's and her body covered, Xia Wanzhi felt warm as the heat flowed continuously through her.

After a moment, Xie Qiyan began to explain.

"This rooftop garden was built for my great-grandmother and my mother."

“My mother grew up relying on her grandmother, who was my great-grandmother. My great-grandmother was a flower farmer, and my mother was deeply influenced by her and also loved flowers and plants. When we were young, our family lived in a small town in Jiangnan. Although the house was simple, the yard was spacious and full of flowers and plants.”

"The entire yard was designed by my mother. She is a landscape designer and my great-grandmother's pride. When I was little, I heard them chatting, and my mother promised to design a rooftop garden for my great-grandmother, which was her long-held wish."

"But when I was five years old, right after the New Year, my great-grandmother passed away."

Xie Qiyan's voice choked slightly: "My great-grandmother was very old. She passed away quietly in her sleep, without any warning."

“A lot of bad things happened that year. My great-grandmother passed away, and my mother was heartbroken for a long time. It took her a long time to recover, but Xie Tianqi lied and said he was away on a business trip for several months and never came back. Later, my mother brought me to Beicheng, but I stayed in Beicheng and she disappeared.”

Xie Qiyan stopped there and brought the topic back, explaining, "I want to fulfill my mother's unfulfilled wish. Over the years, I have never done anything for her. If she comes back to me one day and sees this garden that was specially designed for her and my great-grandmother, she should be happy."

As for choosing Xingyao Building, it was simply because it was a good fit.

The acquisition of Xingyao Building was originally a business plan. When we were inspecting the place, we were surprised to find that the scenery and location were quite good, so we decided to have it transformed into a sky garden.

Xia Wanzhi listened quietly, and before she knew it, Xie Qiyan's hand, which had been wrapped around hers, was now wrapped around hers.

"Yes, that day will come." Xia Wanzhi prayed, praying that God would hear her prayer.

Xie Qiyan simply chuckled, his chin brushing against her soft hair: "I will find her."

It's almost here.

He will definitely find Yao Qin.

for sure.

Xia Wanzhi has finished painting all of Yao Qin's portraits. Her work is easier now, but her heart feels heavy.

The year is almost over, and she doesn't really want to paint another one.

She hoped that Xie Qiyan would see not a portrait of Yao Qin next year, but the real, smiling, and moving Yao Qin.

Xie Qiyan came over during his lunch break. Now that it was almost time to go back to work, he touched Xia Wanzhi's face again to make sure her body temperature was normal before leaving.

Xia Wanzhi repeatedly assured that she would not have a fever.

She knows her body better than anyone; she gets a recurring cold every winter, and she's used to it.

This year has been good; I only got sick once, even in late December.

"Sister, take your medicine." Zhu Zi prepared the cold medicine granules and handed them to her.

Xia Wanzhi took the bottle and gulped it down. She hadn't been busy for the past two days, so she decided to go to the exhibition room to organize some of her old paintings now that she had some free time.

These paintings are very well preserved, with only a light dusting, but it took an entire afternoon to sort them out.

Before she knew it, it was time to go. Knowing that Xie Qiyan would pick her up after get off work, she quickly tidied up.

Her phone showed a call from Xie Qiyan. She thought he was asking her to come downstairs, but to her surprise, he immediately apologized and then said in a somber tone that he needed to go to the Beicheng Mental Hospital.

Xia Wanzhi said anxiously, "Take me with you."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.

Xia Wanzhi didn't want him to bear the burden alone, so she blurted out urgently, "Your mother will be my mother too. What's wrong with me helping you find your mother?"

It was rare for Xie Qiyan to be able to laugh out loud at a time like this: "Okay, I'll come pick you up."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Wanzhi glanced at Zhu Zi, who was secretly laughing beside her.

"Sis, is our studio going to have a boss lady soon?" Zhu Zi joked with a smile.

Xia Wanzhi glared at her and ignored her.

She's the studio owner, so Xie Qiyan is the boss's wife.

Bamboo was excited just thinking about it and had already started figuring out when she could be served at the banquet.

On the way to the mental hospital, Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan sat in the back seat, Yu Fei drove, and Huo Yang sat in the passenger seat to report on matters.

Although they went to see Hou Mengqiu, they talked about Hou Mengqiu's missing son.

Xie Qiyan took off his glasses and pressed his nose, then slowly uttered a sentence: "It doesn't matter whether Xie An comes back or not, just keep an eye on this person. Remove some people from Hou Mengqiu's side to give him a chance to get close to Hou Mengqiu."

As long as they make contact, Xie Qiyan is not afraid that he will be unable to control Hou Mengqiu.

Xie An was Hou Mengqiu's Achilles' heel.

It was also Xie Qiyan's bargaining chip.