His tone sounded pretty harsh, so Xi Xiaye instantly knew he was upset. She shrugged. "Don't mind him. Didn't you shut him up afterward? Also, we have projects with Qi Kai now."

Without missing the slight sense of jealousy in the air, Xi Xiaye added with a chuckle, "Moreover, he's not my cup of tea."

Mu Yuchen glanced at her before looking back to Li Si. "Keep an eye on the Qi family. At the same time, do everything you can to find out who was in the car. Also, check through all the hotel's employee's information, especially those who joined recently as well as their whereabouts last night."

Li Si instantly understood what Mu Yuchen's intention was.

He suspected that there was a spy within the hotel employees, or someone pretending to be one of their employees.

After giving it some thought, Li Si agreed that there was a very high possibility of this happening, he then nodded. "Yes, Master! I understand. I'll get it done now!"

He then left after giving that brief reply.

...

It was a weekend, a day to rest. Having been busy for the past few days, Wang Qin arrived back in City Z before afternoon. She felt exhausted after working abroad for several days.

As Wang Qin stepped out of the airport, Yang Sheng went to pick her up.

"VP Wang!" He called out to her as she came closer.

Wang Qin nodded and sat inside the car. "Where's Xiao Lei?"

"Master Qi is at the Grand Waves Villa. He's handling an emergency case and can't take time off, so he sent me to pick you up." Yang Sheng closed the door carefully and went to the driver's seat.

"Excuses! He doesn't even care about his mother anymore. With his personality, he'll never be favored by Qi Qiming! Did he go home last night?"

Wang Qin was outraged when he heard Yang Sheng! She was really frustrated!

She knew Qi Qiming too well. He liked people to get on his good side and he desired to be regarded highly. Always acting all high and mighty, he could not put himself down even for a moment.

Actually, the two of them were really similar in nature. They were extremely stubborn and none of them liked to admit defeat.

"VP Wang, Master Qi attended Glory World's Master Mu's wedding last night. That's why he didn't go back., CEO Qi is meeting some friends at home. I invited Master Qi to go home, but he declined. I think he didn't want to see CEO Qi. Because of what happened with Yueying the other day, Master Qi is a little..."

Wang Qin knew very well what Yang Sheng meant.

She had the same opinion as Qi Lei on Yueying's matter. They did not want to help clean this mess up. However, Qi Qiming insisted on doing so. It seemed odd to both her and Qi Lei that he put in so much effort to help Yueying, and because of this, the father-son pair was very unhappy with each other.

"Did CEO Qi call Xiao Lei to ask him to go back?"

Wang Qin knew that even if it was just a simple meal at home, if Qi Qiming genuinely intended to repair his relationship with Qi Lei, this was a very good excuse. Otherwise, Qi Qiming could have just totally left Qi Lei out.

Having worked for Wang Qin many years, Yang Sheng understood very well what she meant. She was trying to find an excuse for Qi Qiming, but that was not his intention at all!

"VP Wang, CEO Qi did not call Master Qi. He called Yue Hai over instead," Yang Sheng replied carefully.

As expected, Wang Qin's expression turned into a dismal storm! From the rearview window, he could see her anger and she was almost bleeding herself from pinching her palm too hard.

"VP Wang, are you alright?" Yang Sheng called out to her after a while.

His voice calmed her down and she came back to her senses before replying coldly, "I'm fine. Head straight to the Grand Waves Villa area." Wang Qin then took out her tablet and was scrolling through it quietly.

"Yes, VP Wang." Yang Sheng stepped on the pedal and sped up.

Wang Qin opened her inbox. She had not had the time to check her mail in her past few days and many documents from her subordinates were sent right to her inbox.

As usual, she checked her inbox and went through the emails one by one. However, an email titled "Covered Truth – Qi Feng" caught her attention!

She clicked the email and it loaded gradually. It was a very long email with many image attachments!

Wang Qin read through it in detail, but just the first few sentences into it, her face turned pale!

The attached photo was also a shocker!

She very well recognized the woman in the photo.

Gu Lingsha!

It was her!

It must be Gu Lingsha!

A side profile of her face was enough for Wang Qin to recognize her!

Thud——

Wang Qin's hands trembled and her tablet fell onto the floor as her pale expression darkened!

Gu Lingsha!

They could not find her body at the accident scene back then. Qi Feng had disappeared with her as well. Tragically, Mu Lingtian was found dead. If Gu Lingsha was still alive, where was Qi Feng? Was he still alive as well?

These two witches!

They were actually still alive?

Although there were some signs that they might still be alive, she had investigated numerous times before and could not locate them. She tried to track Qi Qiming down in secret and could not get any useful information too. Now, someone had noticed Gu Lingsha was in Los Angeles?

The aura around Wang Qin turned chilly while sweat formed on her palms as she clenched her fists.

The Gu family!

No wonder the Gu family acted indifferently toward Gu Lingsha's death. They must have been aware that Gu Lingsha was still alive.

If the Gu family knew Gu Lingsha was alright, that meant that Qi Qiming knew it as well, and he must have known Qi Feng was alive. He never disputed any news claiming that Qi Feng was dead over the years. Furthermore, he had been holding onto the company that should have been handed over to Qi Lei long ago!

Ample evidence suggested this bastard Qi Qiming had been paving a path for Qi Feng. He had never thought about letting Qi Lei take over Qi Kai!

When she thought about this, the anger in Wang Qin's heart was about to burst. There was a slight pain from her palm, but that could not compare to the sharp hurt she currently felt in her heart!

Why?

Wang Qin was the real lady of the Qi household. In fact, she was an influential person in Qi Kai. Qi Lei was also Qi Qiming's biological son, so why did Qi Qiming reject Qi Lei so much?

If it was because of the marriage that resulted in him not being with the woman he loved and he resented her for that, she could understand. After all, she did not love Qi Qiming either, but since they already got married and even gave birth to Qi Lei, why could he not be a little kinder to Qi Lei?

Ever since Wang Qin joined the Qi family, the person who owed her big time was Qi Qiming!

All these years, because of Qi Feng, even though she had felt unhappy, she accepted Qi Feng's identity quite openly, did she not? Apart from the knot in her heart, she had never troubled Qi Feng for anything!

Instead, it was Qi Lei. Ever since he was born, she had never witnessed Qi Qiming fulfill his duty as a father!

Back then, because of that shameless witch, Gu Lingsha, Qi Lei became ignored and unliked by Qi Qiming. Wang Qin had taken all of these in. She wished the two of them could quickly die. After that car accident, she thought that Qi Feng and that cheating couple would have died, but unexpectedly...

Wang Qin felt herself fall limp. A complicated cold light became dense in her beautiful eyes. Even when Yang Sheng called out to her quite a few times, she did not respond.

Now that she thought about it, the Gu family and Qi Qiming must have known that Gu Lingsha was still alive. In fact, they must have been the ones who rescued them. After that, there had been no news at all. They did not know whether Qi Feng and Gu Lingsha were still alive. Out of the blue now, Gu Lingsha suddenly appeared in a picture. All sorts of information pointed to the possibility that Gu Lingsha was still alive too. Qi Feng must have come out unscathed too.

If that was the case, then he would definitely return. Qi Qiming would let him do that, and if that happened, then Qi Kai...

What about Qi Lei?

Qi Feng was just an illegitimate child. What basis did Qi Qiming have to let Qi Feng take over Qi Kai?

He called out to her quite a few times, yet he did not hear her answer. Yang Sheng took a look at the rearview mirror to see how things were behind. Wang Qin's expression had turned extremely pale while her eyes burned with anger and unhappiness. He quickly slowed the car down and asked with concern, "VP Wang? VP Wang? Are you okay?"

Then, Wang Qin finally snapped back from her daze. She was stunned for a moment before she took a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm fine. Let's quickly go to the Grand Waves Villa," Wang Qin responded tiredly. She bent down to pick up the tablet that she had dropped.

She took a good look at the e-mail which did not contain any message. She thought about it, and then her gaze darkened.

Who was the one who sent her this e-mail?

What was this person trying to achieve?

The contents of the information were quite complete. In fact, they seemed to know Wang Qin would be interested in this matter. They must know her rather well then, so who could this person be? Or rather, was this a friend or a foe?

The many questions circled Wang Qin's mind, forcing her to finally take her phone out uneasily and make a call.

"Hello, it's me. There's something I need you to check for me."

When the car slowly drove into the Grand Waves Villa area, it was just in time for lunch.

At this moment, inside the kitchen of Qi Lei's luxurious villa.

Pa!

Bam bam!

The sound of ceramic breaking shattered the air. The floor was covered in destroyed pieces of ceramic.

Qi Lei lowered his head, frowning as he looked at the plate that had met the end of its life. Helplessness could not help but surface between his brows. He casually pushed the ceramic pieces aside. Then, he continued to stir the noodles in the pot with his chopsticks. You could not see the original soup base because it was practically a one-pot meal.

He put noodles, all sorts of ingredients from the fridge, vegetables, slices of meat, and anything he thought would be quite delicious in, and created the gaudy pot in front of him. Even now, he seemed to be adding more and more ingredients.

His chopping board and sink were already extremely messy.

Master Qi actually did not know how to cook. Young masters like him who led an easy life with everything provided was already used to being served since he was young. Usually, he would ask someone to deliver him food or he would go out to eat. However, since he had an off day today, he suddenly had an urge to cook himself a meal, yet every time he stepped into the kitchen it would be a huge disaster!

He definitely did not know how to cook any delicate dishes. Even just cooking himself some noodles would result in him creating something weird.

Just as Qi Lei was leisurely stirring his pot of noodles, he heard the door open and then there was the sound of footsteps.

The resounding sound of heels clanked onto the floor as Wang Qin's voice came. "Xiao Lei?"

"VP Wang, Master Qi is in the kitchen!"

Yang Sheng keenly picked up the aroma of food, and he instantly smiled.

The kitchen?

With a frown, Wang Qin quickly put her handbag down and walked to the kitchen. The sight of Qi Lei standing before the stove greeted her. When she looked down, she did not miss the ceramic pieces that shattered on the floor. Her brows furrowed even deeper then.

"Xiao Lei? What are you doing?"

Wang Qin looked around in puzzlement whilst a flash of concern colored her eyes. She quickly walked over and examined Qi Lei carefully. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

Qi Lei silently looked at her, but he did not stop what he was doing. "I was hungry, so I'm making some food."

When he finished, Wang Qin then looked at the pot he was working on.

It was a mishmash of food. She did not know what he was cooking!

She then frowned and swiftly took his chopsticks. Her voice became gentler. "Alright, you've never cooked. You only barely learned how to cook porridge after I taught you quite a few times. You could've just asked someone to deliver you food? What are you cooking by yourself here?"

Qi Lei's handsome brows raised, but he did not mind her comments and pulled his hand back. He was about to say something when Wang Qin had already turned the stove off, and efficiently arranged the chopping board. As she turned to get some ingredients from the fridge behind, she said, "Xiao Lei, how about you move back home? You have family, and you won't have to do this yourself. Now that you've living alone and you don't like to hire servants, I'm quite worried about you."

When Wang Qin said that, Qi Lei answered calmly, "No need for that. I'm doing just fine here. I quite like the peace and quiet."

He did not miss that home a single bit. There was no point in staying there!

However, just as Qi Lei said this, Wang Qin's heart could not help but sting. It was a feeling that she could not explain. She remained startled for a while before she continued washing the ingredients.

"Xiao Lei, no matter what it is, you're still a part of the Qi family. As your mother, I know that even though you look like you don't care, you're actually just laid back and don't bother to bicker, but you must know that sometimes, even if you let go and tolerate them, they won't let go of you. Do you understand?"

When Wang Qin said this, her expression seemed solemn. She did not turn to look at Qi Lei. Instead, she sighed and continued, "It has always been the strong and powerful who have the rights to speak. It's even more so in the business world. Think about it. If I had handed my shares to your father to handle back then, how would things look like today? Son, you'll be controlled by others if you aren't powerful. Then, it'll be too late to regret when that happens. You will lose all your power to hit back."

Wang Qin was very worried. Even she herself felt that all her life, she was like a warrior who kept on fighting. This female warrior could only compromise the family's interests with fate, sacrificing herself. Perhaps when it came to love, kinship, and her best interests, she had chosen the latter two, and given up on love.

Actually, there was not much to talk about here. It was not a heinous thing to give up on love and choose kinship. To the innocent her back then, the two of them were equal in position. She could not possibly deny or part with her parents for the sake of a relationship.

With regard to relationships, love, kinship, friendship, and many more, everyone would have different views and different priorities, so Wang Qin had never regretted her decision back then.

She chose her own journey, and she would finish it even if she had to kneel all the way. She did not mind having to deal with Qi Qiming and the rest because she needed to fight for something for the sake of her son.

"Mother, you think too much. You and the old man built Qi Kai together. It turned out so grand and formidable. A halo like that is too dazzling. It's simply too garish to me. I don't need you two to give me my own halo either. The old man has never liked me anyway. You two can go and be the so-called strong and powerful while I'll be the audience. I'll, you know, hype you up from time to time."

Qi Lei's tone sounded weird, yet you could also hear the plain sarcasm in it.

"Xiao Lei, what are you saying? I'm only doing all this for... Never mind. I don't want to pick a fight with you. It hasn't been too peaceful recently, so I hope that you can come home for a while. In fact, I hope that you can get to know Xian Er. I personally think she's quite nice. She'd be perfect for you since she's from a prestigious family. We're well-matched. Qi Qiming would have to agree too. It's time you find a woman to marry and live your life properly."

"If you want to marry someone, you can let the old man do that, or you can do it yourself too."

When this matter was raised, Qi Lei smiled coldly. He looked in disdain at Wang Qin, then turned to leave the kitchen.

"Xiao Lei! You..."

Wang Qin always had no way of dealing with Qi Lei's temper, and now...

But no matter what, she definitely could not let that witch, Gu Lingsha reappear and disrupt things, that woman looks simple, yet she extremely ingenuine, even Wang Qin felt uneasy!

This woman could almost make the Gus, the Mus, and the Qis tear into each other years ago. Mu Lingtian had even died tragically while Mu Lingshi was disfigured. Qi Feng and Qi Lei had also...

She still did not know whether the Gu family was involved in shameful, shady business. Whatever it was, she definitely would not allow such a dangerous woman to get close to Qi Lei again!

She could not tell Qi Lei about the news!

...

A brief and perfect wedding and their honeymoon passed by in the blink of an eye. After a short weekend, the husband and wife continued their usual routine. They woke up for work together, had lunch together, and went home together in the evening. After the short enthusiasm faded, they returned to their calm and simple life from before.

Mu Yuchen could not bear to let Xiaye work too hard, so he made arrangements for the projects that she had been supervising previously. Now, she was just focused on the South River project. Of course, she seemed to be following Mu Yuchen everywhere!

After a long period of time, he seemed to be calling her up to his office for all sorts of work reasons, so the company employees finally found out about their relationship.

Even though the husband and wife were very low-profile, if they reached work, she would get down from the car first, and then when work ended, he would work till quite late. When he came over to fetch her, the entire office would be empty. Still, every time she got into the elevator, the employees would look at her ambiguously and oddly. Some glanced at her with envy, some with gasps of admiration. She was not quite used to all of this, yet this was all thanks to a certain someone.

Just like right now—

Xi Xiaye was working on a blueprint. With a pen in her hand, from time to time, she would mark something down. Suddenly, her phone rang, startling her. Without even looking up, she picked the phone up.

"Hello?"

"Director Xi, come to my office right away."

She already knew who it was before he finished. Without waiting for her answer, he hung up.

Xi Xiaye frowned. She held her hurting head with her fingers, then sighed after a while. She packed the blueprint up and walked out of the door.