Chapter 12

The sky was just beginning to lighten, the distant horizon shrouded in a red glow, and the weather was gradually turning cooler.

“Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!” The Xia family servant came running to inform Xia Xue’s mother.

“It’s so early in the morning—I’m not even awake yet, and you’re calling me up already!”

“Madam, it’s serious this time. The master can’t come back for now, and he’s sent someone to deliver a message at the gate.”

Zhang Luomeng came out, still in her nightclothes, and saw it was Old Li, the family’s usual cargo driver and part-time steward. He was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

“Madam, the master can’t come back right now—you need to come with me to the docks to find this shipment!”

Zhang Luomeng thought Old Li’s words were disjointed. Why couldn’t the master come back?

“Wait a minute, I need to go back and change clothes first.”

Still, she was only wearing pajamas when she came out again. In all the years her husband had been going to sea, there had never been a time when he couldn’t come back—so why was the driver back instead, and the goods gone?

Zhang Luomeng had spent these years living in luxury at home, knowing nothing about business.

But desperate times called for desperate measures. She suddenly thought of her new son-in-law, who might be able to handle things, and had the driver take her to find Xia Xue.

Xia Xue had just stepped out of her place when Zhang Luomeng suddenly blocked her path. Xia Xue jumped in surprise, unable to believe her eyes—her mother was right there in front of her.

Before she could react, Zhang Luomeng barged straight inside. Luckily, Wang Xing was already up and washing his face; before he could step inside, the driver pulled him out directly.

“What’s going on?”

“No time to explain—come with me, I’ll tell you when we get there,” Zhang Luomeng said.

Meanwhile, Lin Wanting woke up to what promised to be a beautiful day, eagerly checking in with her system.

【System: Check-in successful. Surprise box randomly dropped～】

Lin Wanting didn’t dare expect much from the surprise box, afraid it would be empty. An empty box showing up in the house every day would be impossible to explain to Gu Qingqing!

【System: Dropping… loading…】

Sometimes Lin Wanting didn’t quite understand the system’s words, but she could roughly guess—like “loading” just meant the system was slow.

She was sipping warm water in front of her mirror when the box suddenly fell right on her head.

“Hey! It hit me!”

It landed right in front of the mirror. She opened it to find a key.

She picked it up and examined it closely. It wasn’t the study key—the study key was thicker, and this one was thin.

She suddenly thought—the front door key at home was also thin. Could this be the key to Lin Haifeng’s other apartment?

The one where he was keeping his illegitimate child?

As she pondered, Gu Qingqing knocked on the door. “Miss, Madam is gone!”

Lin Wanting stuffed the key into her pocket and ran out. “When did you realize she was missing?”

“Just now. I went to get Madam some food, and when I came back, she was gone.”

Lin Wanting guessed Mrs. Qiao couldn’t have gone far, and she sped up—thinking her mother might be trying to end her life. There was a river near the house.

But Gu Qingqing felt otherwise. “Miss, I think Madam went to find the master!”

Lin Wanting paused and thought—it was possible.

At the docks, Xia Xue and Wang Xing finally learned what had happened. Xia Xue was very anxious—the driver said the master had invested two-thirds of the family’s assets into this shipment.

Xia Xue’s eyes widened. Two-thirds of the assets? She hadn’t realized her father had that much power.

Wang Xing didn’t grasp what “two-thirds” meant. He just heard the goods were missing, and instead of being worried, he almost seemed to gloat.

“In this rain, the chances of finding them are slim.”

Zhang Luomeng was alarmed—if the goods couldn’t be found, it was a disaster. Indeed, without men at home, these women really couldn’t get things done.

“Wang Xing, what are you talking about?” Xia Xue shot him a look. If they found the goods, they could make a tidy profit and maybe even earn the family’s respect for him—a double win.

“I’m just stating the facts.”

At that moment, Xia Xue was only thinking about where the goods had gone. No one seemed to care whether the master—her father—was dead or alive.

The docks weren’t large, and on a rainy day there was hardly anyone around. They stood there like headless flies, not knowing where to start.

Suddenly, Zhang Luomeng had an idea. “Why don’t we ask your Uncle Lin for help? Maybe he can find the goods.”

Xia Xue panicked immediately—how could they ask Lin Haifeng? He was Lin Wanting’s father, and their families had always had a subtle rivalry.

Zhang Luomeng thought it was worth sacrificing a little to get back something big. Besides, Wang Xing clearly wasn’t useful—what did Xia Xue see in him?

“Mom, no way. Absolutely not.”

The driver looked hopeful—he had a family to feed too. If the goods weren’t found, half a year’s wages would be gone.

“Madam, better to use whatever connections we can. The master’s whereabouts are still unknown!”

Ignoring Xia Xue’s protests, Zhang Luomeng turned and headed with the driver to Lin Haifeng’s factory.

Meanwhile, Qiao Yilan had already arrived at the factory. Lin Haifeng was still asleep in his office. Qiao rarely visited—maybe twice a year—so the factory staff treated her with great respect, letting her pass unimpeded.

Seeing Lin Haifeng sleeping soundly, she walked right up and dumped a basin of cold water over his head.

“Old man! Old man! You’ve gone and put a green hat on me!”

Lin Haifeng woke up with a start, and faced with her actions, he had no rebuttal.

The workers outside could hear her voice clearly. They were shocked—their boss, who they thought worked tirelessly and practically lived at the factory, had another woman?

Lin Haifeng wiped his dripping hair with a towel. “Feel better now? If not, hit me again—I won’t fight back.”

“Tell me—where’s our money? Who have you been spending it on?”

Lin Haifeng couldn’t answer, and Lin Wanting, who had rushed to the factory, entered the office to see him drenched and with scratch marks on his face.

She thought to herself—this was good. At least her mother had vented some of her anger. Now it all depended on her father’s attitude.

Qiao Yilan’s actions were all for Lin Wanting’s sake. She wanted to leave her daughter some money. After all, with an illegitimate child out there, there might not be enough to go around.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Was it you who told her?”

“Don’t blame the girl—she was trying to protect you. It was Xia Xue who told me; otherwise, I’d still be in the dark.”

At that moment, Zhang Luomeng and the driver also arrived at the factory, but they were stopped at the gate.

“Wait here, I’ll let them know.”

Zhang Luomeng wasn’t willing to wait—she followed the security guard straight in.

Xia Xue hadn’t come along; she was stubbornly convinced that she and Wang Xing could find the shipment themselves.

Just as the three inside were silent, a knock came at the door.

“Boss, there’s a lady outside—”

Before the guard could finish, Madam Zhang Luomeng barged right in and saw Lin Haifeng’s bedraggled state.