A beautiful summer night

No one has ever said that he looks like his mother.

It's been about twenty years.

Twenty years is too long, so long that his memory of Yao Qin has become blurred.

Since being cruelly sent to the Xie family when he was five years old, Xie Qiyan has never seen his mother again.

Only this photo remains beside him.

Xie Qiyan doesn't know what Yao Qin looks like now; his memory of her is still stuck twenty years ago.

After graduating from university, he was directly assigned by Mr. Xie to be the vice president of Xie's overseas branch. From then on, he began to send people to inquire in China.

After years of fruitless inquiries, he finally returned to China to take over the Xie family business and began investigating Xie Tianqi and Hou Mengqiu.

He was like a stubborn person adrift in a vast ocean, lost and unable to turn back.

Over the past few months, he had received countless clues, but just when he thought there was about to be further progress, nameless waves crashed against his lonely boat, extinguishing his hard-won hope time and time again.

Each time I feel disappointed, that voice in my head grows stronger and stronger.

The voice told him that his mother didn't want him anymore.

Even knowing this, he still wanted to find her.

Especially after learning that Hou Mengqiu had used some underhanded means to force her to leave, his determination to find her became even stronger.

He wanted to know if she was safe.

I also want to ask her why she left him with the Xie family back then.

He is clearly a very well-behaved person.

"She is my mother." Xie Qiyan's low voice rang in Xia Wanzhi's ears.

Because of the action of tearing off his clothes, Xia Wanzhi was very close to him, so close that she could see the sadness hidden in his eyes with just a glance.

It was an emotion that even lenses couldn't block.

Xia Wanzhi slowed her breathing and listened attentively to what he was saying.

"Her name is Yao Qin. She's only twenty-seven years old in the photo." Xie Qiyan lowered his eyes, suppressing the emotions welling up inside him.

This Polaroid photo was taken for Yao Qin on his fifth birthday.

It was springtime then, and Xie Tianqi hadn't abandoned them yet.

Xie Qiyan took a deep breath and looked up at Xia Wanzhi: "I want to ask you to paint thousands upon thousands of portraits of her, based on her likeness."

Xia Wanzhi's hand holding the photo twitched slightly, her eyes filled with confusion.

She could tell how deep his obsession with his mother was in those words.

Millions of hers.

There are countless different versions of her.

It's not just Yao Qin, who is twenty-seven years old.

Xie Qiyan was more interested in what Yao Qin looked like now.

"Xia Wanzhi, you can do it, can't you?" His gaze was intense, filled with a deep urgency; he knew she understood what he meant.

Xia Wanzhi lowered her eyes and sighed softly, "Yes, I can."

She didn't know how he figured out she had this ability, nor why he trusted her so much, but the fact was that she could indeed use her drawing skills to deduce what Yao Qin looked like at forty-seven years old from a photograph.

However, this is a long process.

From the age of twenty-seven to forty-seven, she could not miss a single painting. She had to make comparisons with the previous painting, extract the details, and gradually paint the next one.

However, it is also possible that the inference is incorrect.

After a long while, she heard Xie Qiyan say with a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

Xia Wanzhi looked at him without speaking, as if she could see through him the boy who had been kneeling in the courtyard all those years ago, full of perseverance.

Beneath even the strongest exterior lies a fragile heart.

This wasn't the first time Xia Wanzhi had felt this pang of heartache for him.

"I won't thank you enough for such a great kindness. Considering how devoted Xia family sister has been, I won't ask you to repay me with your body."

The heavy atmosphere was dispelled by his lazy remark.

Xia Wanzhi was stunned: "..."

It felt as if everything that had just happened was a dream.

Xie Qiyan was still the same cheeky Xie Qiyan, not the Xie Qiyan who had shown his vulnerable side to her just now.

Xia Wanzhi chuckled and gave his leg a light kick: "Then get off me, I'm going back."

Xie Qiyan stood up to see her off, and took the two boxes of gifts he had brought back from Nancheng, which he had traveled a long way from.

I thought it was just to be delivered to the door, but to my surprise, the person carried the things and walked across to the opposite door in a very natural way.

Xie Qiyan said in a serious tone, "It is my honor to serve Miss."

Xia Wanzhi's lips twitched slightly: "Thank you."

This person is prone to being sarcastic and unsettling.

But precisely because of this, Xia Wanzhi could never see through him.

He kept himself too well hidden.

Xia Wanzhi spent the entire night processing everything that had happened that night.

She became Xie Qiyan's girlfriend and drew pictures for him.

These two things alone laid the foundation for her to spend every day with Xie Qiyan from now on.

She didn't know when it started, but Xie Qiyan had quietly become a part of her daily life.

Unable to sleep while lying in bed, Xia Wanzhi suddenly remembered that she hadn't opened the two boxes of gifts Xie Qiyan had given her. So she jumped up and ran out to sit on the sofa, feeling a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe, and started to open the gifts.

The box on top contains exquisite pastries from Nancheng, just like Xie Tan's box.

As for the other box...

Xia Wanzhi stared at it for a long time.

A box of traditional rose brown sugar.

Her ears suddenly turned a little red.

Late at night, I suddenly felt a warmth in my chest.

After sorting out her thoughts, Xia Wanzhi ran back to her bedroom and buried herself under the covers. She kicked her legs a few times before finally turning over and letting out a heavy sigh as she looked at the ceiling.

Oh no, all I can think about is Xie Qiyan.

The next morning, Xia Wanzhi put on a tense face and threw herself into her work, trying to numb herself by going to work. But she had barely gotten into the zone when Zhu Zi gestured to her through the glass door of the studio: "Zhou Yu is here."

Xia Wanzhi was in a particularly bad mood.

She was already feeling suffocated because she dreamed about Xie Qiyan last night, and now that Zhou Yu has arrived, she's even more furious.

"What are you doing here? What are you still doing here? Wouldn't it be better to be a normal ex? Do you have to force me to poke your eyes out with a paintbrush before you'll give up? Your current behavior is sexual harassment. If you don't leave, I'm calling the police!"

Zhou Yu was clearly taken aback, wondering if Xia Wanzhi was possessed by something: "Zhizhi..."

"I don't want to hear it! Bamboo, open the door and chase the dog away!" Xia Wanzhi put one hand on her hip and pointed domineeringly toward the door with the other.

Bamboo blinked, thinking to herself that her boss actually had such a domineering side, and excitedly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Zhou Yu's face immediately fell: "I'll leave after I ask!"

Xia Wanzhi also kept a straight face: "Hurry up."

Zhou Yu loosened his clenched fist and said in a deep voice, "The thing about you being with Xie Qiyan isn't true, is it?"

He didn't believe it when Sheryl sent him the photos last night. He couldn't believe it, and he couldn't accept that she was with someone else.

Xia Wanzhi was so angry at his words that she laughed: "Just as real as your cheating."

"I don't believe it!" Zhou Yu's face was tense as he suddenly rushed in front of Xia Wanzhi, staring intently at her. "This isn't true..."

Xia Wanzhi remained remarkably calm: "We've met each other's parents, lived together, done all sorts of things like kissing, hugging, and lifting each other up high. We'll get engaged this year, married next year, and have two big, healthy boys the year after. Then you'll believe me."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a round of applause rang out at the door.

Xia Wanzhi's pupils suddenly widened, and her brain nerves abruptly snapped.

What did she just say?

Could you grant her a rollback system so she can retell the story?

In the instant the air froze, Zhu Zi, who had been standing aside supporting the event, scratched her head and ran to the showroom to organize the catalogs.

What an incredibly dramatic and embarrassing scene!

She felt embarrassed for her boss.

"Cousin Zhou, aren't you leaving yet? You've upset my Wanzi, or she'll give birth to two big, fat boys tomorrow and drive you crazy." Xie Qiyan walked in lazily, looking bitter. "You're really giving me trouble."

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Zhou Yu was thoroughly humiliated, and just as he was about to storm out, Xie Qiyan stopped him.

This time, it wasn't an irreverent tone.

"Next time, you try it."

This is a blatant threat and warning. "I'm stuck, only one chapter tonight, I'll make up for it with three chapters tomorrow (°ー°〃)"