A beautiful summer night

Upon arriving at Yunli's home, Xia Wanzhi felt a pang of heartache as soon as she entered, and she held Yunli's hand to inquire about the situation.

"Still can't get in touch." Yunli had been looking for her since morning, but the number she dialed was still switched off. When she saw Xia Wanzhi, she finally couldn't hold back her tears. "I told her last night that I don't like Liang Jing, and she... she argued with me. I didn't want to argue with her. I just said I needed to calm down, but she disappeared this morning."

Yunmu is an extreme person. If Yunli deviates from her control even slightly, she will do things to harm herself in order to threaten Yunli. This is why Yunli has no choice but to obey.

Xia Wanzhi wiped away her tears and comforted her, "It's okay, Xie Qiyan has already sent someone to investigate, don't overthink it."

Yunli looked at Xie Qiyan gratefully, oblivious to how disheveled she looked.

"Have you checked the community's surveillance footage?" Xie Qiyan asked.

"I've already checked." Yun Li tried to calm herself down. It was precisely because she had searched everywhere but still couldn't find the person that she asked Xia Wanzhi for help.

She has always been proud and didn't want others to know about her family affairs. In addition, given Yunmu's resentful nature towards the rich, she dared not let her know that she and Xia Wanzhi were friends.

“I’ve checked the security camera footage in the community. She left the community around 8 a.m. without taking anything with her, but I can’t see the footage after she left the community. The time she was missing was too short for the police to file a case. I…” Yunli was somewhat incoherent.

"Does Liang Jing know?" Xie Qiyan glanced down at her. After hearing what Xia Wanzhi said on the way here, he had Yu Fei investigate Liang Jing first.

Only Yunli would believe that Yunmu is missing.

In their view, this method was no different from the previous ones.

“He said he didn’t know.” Yunli scratched her hair in frustration. “I went to Liang’s house to look for him. Liang Jing’s parents said my mother hadn’t contacted them. I also went to Liang Jing’s workplace. His colleagues said they hadn’t seen anyone come looking for him.”

Xie Qiyan remained silent for a while.

Xia Wanzhi seemed to have thought of the same thing as him and said, "If Liang Jing had any conscience at all, he would have helped you look for your mother if he knew she was missing. The reason he is so calm is that he must know where your mother is."

A short while later, Yu Fei called. After Xie Qiyan answered, he glanced at Yun Li and said in a slightly deep voice, "I had someone investigate Liang Jing. At 8:17 this morning, Liang Jing appeared at the park near your house to pick up someone."

Yunli's lips were slightly pale, and her palms involuntarily tightened.

“That person should be your mother.” Xie Qiyan continued with a complicated expression, “After he took her to a hotel to settle her in, he went straight to his workplace. Your mother might be in that hotel.”

Xia Wanzhi cursed, "Bastard!"

Yunli's mind went blank. She was relieved that her mother was alright, but at the same time, she felt extremely heartbroken.

She made it clear to her last night that she didn't like Liang Jing, and she even told her all the grievances she had suffered while being with Liang Jing these past few days.

But she still didn't understand her.

She even said that serving her boyfriend's mother was filial piety, something she, as a qualified girlfriend, should do.

At that moment, Yunli felt completely powerless.

She seemed not to recognize the person in front of her.

This is her mother.

Yunli didn't want to argue, and she didn't want to make her angry, so she explained that she needed to calm down and planned to talk to her calmly again this morning.

But early that morning, she conspired with Liang Jing to deliberately disappear in order to pressure her.

Calming herself, Yunli dialed Liang Jing's number and deliberately probed after he answered: "My mother is missing. Do you know where she is?"

Liang Jing seemed a little impatient: "Didn't you already ask once? Your mother is missing, shouldn't you reflect on your own actions? I'm about to start a meeting, you yourself..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yunli slammed the phone down with a "beep".

Making this call was simply a way to make myself feel completely indifferent.

"Where is the hotel?" Yun Li looked up at Xie Qiyan.

"Zhongxin Road, Excellence Hotel"

Taking the car keys, Yun Li suppressed her emotions and patted Xia Wanzhi's hand: "You don't need to come along, I can handle it myself."

She was in a sorry state, and perhaps she would be even more so later. She didn't want anyone else to see her like this, nor did she want Xia Wanzhi to worry.

"Let us take you. I'm worried about you driving yourself." Xia Wanzhi squeezed her hand back.

Yunli shook her head: "I can do it. I'll message you once it's resolved, don't worry."

Xia Wanzhi instinctively wanted to follow, but Xie Qiyan grabbed her wrist.

"I……"

"Trust her." Xie Qiyan wiped Xia Wanzhi's slightly damp eyelashes. "You can help if you want, but not now. The timing is wrong. You and I can't help, and neither can Jiang Baichuan. The only one who can help her now is herself."

He viewed the matter from the perspective of an excellent bystander, offering a methodical analysis: "Yunli needs to take this step herself."

Mica's actions today were a heavy blow to her, but also the beginning of her decision to take this step.

Inside the Excellence Hotel, Yunli asked the front desk several times without success, so she had no choice but to call Liang Jing.

"I'm in the lobby of the Excellence Hotel. Give me my mother's room number." Her tone was tinged with coldness, and her attitude brooked no refusal.

Liang Jing, on the other end, seemed taken aback and somewhat dissatisfied with Yun Li's tone: "What's your attitude?"

"You're talking about my attitude? I'm already at the hotel and you still won't admit that you brought my mother here?" Yun Li shouted, almost losing control of her emotions. "Liang Jing, you've seen it yourself, I'm not someone without a temper. If you really push me too far, believe me, I'll go to your workplace and cause trouble."

"I'm saying this one last time, tell me my mom's room number!"

Yunli was aggressive and had Liang Jing's life in her grasp.

She knew what he cared about most.

"You're being completely unreasonable!" Liang Jing slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

Yunli spoke up again: "I need the room number."

After Liang Jing recited a string of numbers, Yun Li hung up the phone and took the elevator directly to the eleventh floor of the hotel.

This time, without hesitation, I pressed the doorbell.

The person inside opened the door with a kind expression. The moment Yunmu heard the doorbell, she thought it was Liang Jing coming to see her, and as she opened the door, she called out his name, "Little Liang, you're off work so early..."

The words she was about to say were swallowed back the moment she saw Yun Li, and the smile on her face vanished instantly. She was surprised for a second, then asked with a straight face, "Did Xiao Liang tell you I was here? You and Xiao Liang have made up?"

Seeing that Yunli didn't answer, she ignored her and turned to walk into the house, saying as she went, "Yunli, Mom is doing this for your own good. Where can you find such a good man as Xiaoliang? Don't take your blessings for granted. It's common for young people to quarrel. This matter is over and done with. From now on, you two should get along well, okay?"

Yunli didn't move. She stood at the door, blocking it with her hand, and said, word by word, "There's no possibility between us. If you insist on me being with him, I'll die."

Unless I die.

She returned the same words to her.