Chapter 28 Where is My Wife?

The private plane arrived at the Saint Sea Manor the same day, all for delivering a dessert that wasn’t even particularly expensive.

However, Xia Yuan was not at the manor at that moment.

Butler Wang grabbed the pilot’s hand and asked, “What is Young Master busy with? Why isn’t he answering his phone?”

The pilot scratched his head, “Butler Wang, you’re asking the wrong person. I’m just here to fly the plane; I don’t know Young Master’s specific itinerary.”

Butler Wang had to release the pilot’s hand and try calling Yang Yi and Pei Jincheng, but neither could reach Qin Mohuai.

Yang Yi told Butler Wang, “It’s possible someone has tampered with Mohuai’s phone number, which is why we can’t get through to him.”

Who would have the ability to tamper with Qin Mohuai’s phone number? The answer was obvious.

Butler Wang suddenly thought of someone who might be able to bypass the old master and contact Young Master, but that person had already left the Qin family to start his own business.

That person was the youngest son of Old Master Qin, the Ninth Master of the Qin family, who had the same rebellious nature as Qin Mohuai and was only thirty-five.

Old Master Qin also forbade the Ninth Master from marrying the woman he loved, and the Ninth Master had turned against the Qin family for her, but she had mysteriously disappeared.

Yang Yi said, “Qin Mohai will be back in a few days; once he returns, all the problems will be solved. Don’t worry too much.”

Having such a tragic precedent, how could Butler Wang not worry?

He feared that Miss Xia might disappear mysteriously like that woman, and he also worried that Young Master would rebel against the Qin family and start his own business.

Although the Ninth Master was now thriving and his company, Deep Sea Group, was on par with the Qin Corporation, he had once searched the world for that woman, causing chaos and bloodshed, and had ended up looking like a ghost of his former self…

Butler Wang thought and thought, unable to come up with a better solution. He could only send the ice cream dessert to Xia Yuan and instructed the bodyguards to keep an eye on her in secret.

–

That evening, Xia Yuzhe returned home with a suitcase. His boss and manager had given him a long break, which was actually a way of sidelining him.

Old Master Qin was truly ruthless, showing no mercy at all.

Xia Yuan, burdened with worries, sat on the balcony, ruthlessly picking at the flowers.

The orchids’ green leaves were sharp as swords, layered thickly around the central, plump white blossoms. Xia Yuan tugged at the white petals, mumbling and cursing under her breath.

Xia Yi sat in a rattan chair behind her, wanting to say something but holding back.

The forty-something handsome father was favored by time; apart from the fine lines at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, his temperament and gaze resembled that of a bright and charming young man.

Xia Yi liked orchids. When Xia Yuan had just arrived, she thought her biological father was a rare gem, but after spending some time with Qin Mohuai, her views of her father changed.

Xia Yi wasn’t a fragile person who could be easily pushed over; though he seemed sunny and bright, he was actually quite dark. After entering middle age, while still dark, he had gained a sense of ease and amiability.

Xia Yi wasn’t afraid of the dark at all, but he had pretended to be scared in front of Liang Min for over twenty years, so she always brought him along wherever she went. If the lights went out at home, Liang Min’s first priority was to comfort Xia Yi, not the children.

“Xiao Yuan, I know you’re in a bad mood, but this pot of orchids is innocent,” Xia Yi said, lifting the pot and lightly tapping her forehead with his long, slender fingers.

Xia Yuan drooped her head, “Dad, I’m sorry; this time I’ve implicated you all.”

—

Xia Yi smiled with a clear and gentle voice, “In a family, we always owe each other something. As long as we work together, there’s no hurdle we can’t overcome.”

After Xia Yuzhe returned home, he didn’t waste any time. He could cook, so he took on the task of making dinner.

Liang Min was calculating the accounts. Although the two stores were halted, she had signed contracts with the renovation team, so they still had to pay for the labor even if the work was stopped.

With the small restaurant closed, the Xia family had lost their source of income and had to keep pouring money into the restaurant…

Xia Yuzhe handed several of his bank cards to his mother, saying, “I’ve made a bit of money these past two years. If we just budget wisely, our family of four can scrape by.”

Liang Min refused, “You just bought a house; the monthly mortgage is quite high. If you give us your bank cards, how will you pay your mortgage?”

“Just sitting around waiting to die means we’ll really just wait to die.”

“I’ve always wanted to work in a hotel and learn about hotel management. Now that I finally have the time, I plan to apply for a job as a cook or cleaner. There’s bound to be some income, and we’ll be able to get by.”

Liang Min’s appearance could only be described as plain, but her flexible and gentle character made her shine.

Xia Yi looked at her intently.

“Dear, I’ll go with you to apply for the cook and cleaning positions.”

Liang Min studied her husband’s face and chuckled, “If I were the HR, I would definitely make you the receptionist.”

Xia Yi laughed along, his demeanor growing even more ethereal and elusive, making it hard to grasp his true thoughts.

But there was no doubt he cherished Liang Min and would die for her.

Xia Yuan looked at her father and then at her mother. Outside, the wind and rain were tumultuous, but inside, their family was bathed in warm light and harmony. This feeling was truly wonderful.

After Xia Yuzhe finished cooking, he casually placed the dishes on the dining table. Seeing this, the perfectionist Xia Yi immediately moved to straighten the plates.

When the small restaurant was still open, some in the community had gossiped about Xia Yi living off his wife, as he relied on Liang Min for grocery shopping, cooking, and hard work.

But they didn’t know that Xia Yi had taken on the responsibility for the cleanliness of both the restaurant and their home, all due to his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As Xia Yuan watched her perfectionist father in action, she couldn’t help but think about the plot in the novel where the Xia couple died from gas poisoning.

With Xia Yi’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies and him taking care of the household chores, how could he possibly forget to check the gas?

—

Switch?

As long as Liang Min was okay, Xia Yi would be okay too. Perhaps Liang Min had become despondent about life, leading Xia Yi to decide to accompany his wife in death.

When Liang Min saw Kung Pao Chicken on the dining table, she chuckled, “Speaking of which, every time something major happens in our family, there’s always a dish of Kung Pao Chicken on the table.”

Xia Yuan asked curiously, “Why is that?”

Liang Min replied, “Because on the day your father and I decided to get married, we had this dish. At that time, we were poor and only ordered a Kung Pao Chicken and two bowls of white rice. After we finished, we decided to get married.”

Xia Yuzhe, who had been buried in his bowl, looked up and said, “Then when I want to marry someone in the future, I’ll make her Kung Pao Chicken too.”

The next day, Liang Min and Xia Yi set out to find jobs, and Xia Yuan also went out. She planned to look for a restaurant job and learn how to make cakes in the process.

She walked into a French restaurant for an interview, and the manager offered her a position on the spot.

“Manager Sun, I don’t speak French.”

“That’s okay; 99% of our customers are Chinese. You can communicate with the remaining 1% in English.”

That afternoon, Xia Yuan started working. Manager Sun initially thought she was a rich girl experiencing life, but he was surprised to find that Xia Yuan handled the plates with great skill, as if she had done it before.

The ‘Xia Yuan’ in the book had loving parents who took care of her and hadn’t suffered hardships. But she had been earning money for the family since she was young. She had not only served dishes in restaurants but also swept the streets, handed out flyers, and washed cars…

She had even envied the high daily wages on construction sites and wanted to help with moving bricks, but the contractor thought she was too weak and dismissed her as foolish.

—

A week later, Qin Mohuai returned to the Saint Sea Manor on a private jet.

The high-intensity work combined with insomnia had made him somewhat irritable, but his coldly handsome face was smiling because he could finally hold Xia Yuan and sleep peacefully.

But… where was his wife?

—