A beautiful summer night

The person Xie Qiyan instructed Huo Yang to keep an eye on was named An Bihua, who was also Hou Mengqiu's nominal cousin.

Five years after Hou Mengqiu married Xie Tianqi, she suddenly brought her cousin into the Xie family home and asked him to be their driver, saying that her cousin couldn't find a job and that a distant relative asked her to help him out.

It's unclear how Hou Mengqiu managed to fool them back then, or perhaps she tampered with An Bihua's information to make the Xie family believe her lies.

She knew best what kind of cousin he was.

Xie Qiyan investigated Hou Mengqiu because he suspected that Yao Qin's disappearance was related to her. Unexpectedly, the investigation uncovered Hou Mengqiu's scandalous affair with An Bihua.

After Xie Tianqi fell into a coma, Hou Mengqiu went mad, and Xie An and An Bihua also disappeared.

The Xie family had lost a grandson, and the old man was naturally anxious. He was so anxious that he almost called the police when Xie Qiyan gave him a stack of photos.

The photos show shocking scenes of Hou Mengqiu and An Bihua's secret meetings over the years.

After reading it, before Xie Qiyan could say anything, the old man, who was anxious to find his grandson, called back all the people he had sent out.

The Xie family doesn't plan to look for Xie An's grandson anymore.

Xie Qiyan didn't know why the old man was so certain that Xie An wasn't a descendant of the Xie family after seeing the photos, nor did he care whether Xie An was a descendant of the Xie family or not. He just wanted to pry the truth about what happened back then out of Hou Mengqiu.

Hou Mengqiu was a tough nut to crack; once she went mad, Xie Qiyan was completely helpless.

Unless we find Xie An and use him as leverage to force her.

Hou Mengqiu feigned madness and sent Xie An away because she was afraid of the old man's interrogation and also afraid that the Xie and Hou families would find out about her shameful deeds.

Besides, there might be other reasons, but Xie Qiyan couldn't guess them.

The roads were slippery due to the snow, so Yu Fei drove slowly and the journey was long. During that hour, Xia Wanzhi listened to Xie Qiyan's heavy breathing and quietly took his hand to help him calm his chaotic emotions.

Xie Qiyan glanced coldly at Yu Fei, who kept glancing at the rearview mirror. Feeling guilty, Yu Fei simply tilted the rearview mirror to avoid being seen out of the corner of his eye.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Xie Qiyan openly and honestly held hands with Xia Wanzhi.

She didn't fully understand what Huo Yang was saying, but now was not the time to ask. Since she couldn't help, she tried not to get in the way.

Upon arriving at the mental hospital, Xie Qiyan pulled out a scarf from somewhere and wrapped it around Xia Wanzhi, worried that her cold would worsen. He also walked faster than usual.

Xia Wanzhi almost ran.

Once inside the heated area, Xia Wanzhi breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could even stand properly, Xie Qiyan touched her head and face again to check her temperature.

"Aren't you cold?" Knowing that she was unusually sensitive to the cold, Xie Qiyan was worried that she would freeze to death.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Every time she catches a cold, Xie Qiyan seems particularly afraid that she will develop a fever.

Just like Lao Xia.

Xia Wanzhi suspected that Xia Yongqing might have exaggerated every time she had a fever, deliberately creating anxiety for Xie Qiyan.

"I'm not cold, but your hands are as cold as ice." Xia Wanzhi grabbed his hands and pressed them against her face to warm them up.

A warm feeling washed over Xie Qiyan. He withdrew his hand and squeezed her equally cool fingers before pouring a cup of hot water for Xia Wanzhi to hold and warm her hands.

After learning that Xie Qiyan had arrived, the dean rushed over and explained Hou Mengqiu's situation to him in detail.

Yu Fei scoffed: "I just passed by the corridor and saw some mentally unstable old man grabbing snow and eating it. Shouldn't a madman like Hou Mengqiu take a basin, scoop it up, and put it on the table to eat?"

Huo Yang found this reasonable and nodded before asking, "Dean, even madmen get cold?"

Dean: "..."

"You mean, she's been behaving herself lately?" Xie Qiyan wasn't in the mood for jokes; his deep black eyes were filled with coldness.

The dean was afraid of Xie Qiyan. He couldn't afford to offend a capitalist, so ever since Hou Mengqiu was sent in by him, he had been cooperating with whatever Xie Qiyan said.

Whether Hou Mengqiu was truly insane or faking it, he never gave a definite answer, but in his heart he felt that Hou Mengqiu was truly insane.

But recently...

He began to doubt his own judgment again.

"We provide heating in all the patients' rooms, so Mrs. Xie may indeed be sensitive to the cold." The hospital staff couldn't give a definitive answer as to whether the mentally ill person was actually sensitive to the cold.

Aside from staying indoors to keep warm, which doesn't seem like she's crazy, Hou Mengqiu's other behaviors are the same as before.

Xie Qiyan pondered for a while, then said, "Bring her here."

Whether he was crazy or not, Xie Qiyan already knew the answer in his heart.

Hou Mengqiu was dragged over by her arms, looking disheveled.

The woman's screams were quite frightening, and Xia Wanzhi instinctively stood behind Xie Qiyan.

Hou Mengqiu entered the room, glanced around, and then fixed her gaze on Xia Wanzhi. Her eyes widened, and she burst into laughter, about to rush to Xia Wanzhi: "Daughter... my dear daughter..."

She had seen Hou Mengqiu before, but she had never seen Hou Mengqiu this frightening.

Two sturdy female caregivers held her tightly, and no matter how much she cried, they didn't loosen their grip at all. After a while, she gradually calmed down and stared at Xia Wanzhi with a grin.

Xie Qiyan stepped forward, completely shielding Xia Wanzhi behind him, and coldly looked at Hou Mengqiu: "If Xie An doesn't come back, the old man will remove him from the family register."

These words were meant to test Hou Mengqiu; the old man didn't say them aloud.

Even without being told, Xie Qiyan could guess that the old man would do that.

The old man was even more certain than him that Xie An was not a descendant of the Xie family.

The Xie family usually requests their genealogy book on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which means there's only a little over a month left.

Everyone was watching Hou Mengqiu's expression, but this person had been pretending for so long that he had become so skilled that he didn't reveal a single flaw and continued to stare at Xia Wanzhi with a dazed look.

Unable to find out anything, Xie Qiyan had her taken away again. His eyes narrowed slightly as he asked the hospital director thoughtfully, "Are the other patients all staying in double rooms?"

The courtyard doctor shook his head: "Those whose conditions are relatively stable will be arranged to stay together, while those with violent tendencies will be placed in single rooms."

"Starting today, arrange for her to stay in a double room." After saying that, Xie Qiyan's eyes sharpened, and he added, "Find someone a little crazy to share the room with her."

We arranged for her to stay in a single room because we thought she might let her guard down and give herself away when she was alone, but we didn't expect her to be such a good actress.

If the first method doesn't work, then try the second one.

He didn't believe she could keep pretending.

Before leaving, Xie Qiyan personally instructed the people monitoring Hou Mengqiu to relax their vigilance. They had been keeping a close watch on him before, but after half a year they had no luck, so they had to do the opposite.

Hou Mengqiu only had a weakness when his men relaxed.

"If anyone approaches her, just follow them secretly, but don't let anyone notice," Xie Qiyan added.

When An Bihua returns, he will inevitably come to find Hou Mengqiu.

He needs to give them a chance to meet in order to learn more.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. Winter nights fall quickly, and the wind that blows after nightfall is even more biting. Xia Wanzhi shivered after getting into the car, and Xie Qiyan forcibly held her hands in his.

Xie Qiyan rubbed her hands together and brought his face close to warm them for her: "Were you scared just now?"

Xia Wanzhi just shook her head and didn't say anything. After glaring at him, she shrank back like a quail, too embarrassed to make a sound.

Yu Fei and Huo Yang were completely ignored by Xie Qiyan.

After dropping the person off at Lanting Villa, Yu Fei finally let out a long breath: "Old Huo, do you think I should suggest to President Xie that we install a partition in the car?"

The car is a luxury car, and the interior is also high-end, but it's missing a partition.

Huo Yang rarely agreed with Yu Fei's wicked idea: "Okay, you can suggest it."

Anyway, it's not him who's always the one driving, acting as a third wheel, and eating dog food (a metaphor for being subjected to public displays of affection).

They've made great progress recently, at least they've completely figured out An Bihua's whereabouts. Now all they have to do is wait, wait for him to see Hou Mengqiu, and then they can follow the clues to find out that bastard young master of the Xie family.

With this bargaining chip in hand, Hou Mengqiu will have to tell Xie Qiyan everything he wants to know.