Chapter 116

Chapter 116

On Monday, Beicheng welcomed its first snowfall of the winter. Xingyao Building was also officially completed that very day. Xia Wanzhi paid no attention to anything else-her only concerns were her Studio and the Sky Garden beside it.

The Sky Garden was Xie Qiyan’s private domain and was not open to the public.

Xia Wanzhi had always wondered what had motivated Xie Qiyan to acquire this building. She didn’t understand the minds of capitalists, so at first, she had simply assumed he’d done it for the money. After all, turning Xingyao Building into a shopping complex was a guaranteed profit.

But now, it seemed that building the Sky Garden was what he truly cared about most.

The place wasn’t open to the public. He had made it his own private space.

It was like an obsession.

He had to build a Sky Garden.

Just as she had once had to protect her Studio.

Xia Wanzhi knew he was hiding many things in his heart, and she knew his temperament too. If he wouldn’t say it, then she would ask him herself.

Xie Corporation wasn’t far from here. With Xia Wanzhi around, Xie Qiyan couldn’t help keeping her in mind-especially her frail, sickly health.

And because he was worried, he came over.

Before he could even ask after her, Xia Wanzhi brought up the Sky Garden.

Over the past few months, Xie Qiyan had taken meticulous care of her, and she hadn’t really fallen ill. But today, for some inexplicable reason, she seemed to have caught a slight cold. It was probably because of the snow and the wind.

Her voice was a little nasal, and Xie Qiyan frowned when he heard it. Remembering how in the past, every time she got sick, it would drag on for half a month, he reached out to test the temperature of her forehead. But Xia Wanzhi caught his hand and pulled it down.

“It’s just a little cold. I’m not going to get a fever.” Xia Wanzhi knew what he was worried about. She smiled at him to show she was in decent spirits, then continued pressing him. “Can’t you tell me about the garden?”

“It’s not that.” Xie Qiyan turned his hand over and clasped hers, then led her up and pushed open the door of the Studio, heading toward the newly built Sky Garden. “I was going to tell you sooner or later.”

The Sky Garden was still open to the wind on all sides and not completely finished yet. He only brought Xia Wanzhi to stand quietly outside, looking in through a glass door.

Over the past two days, the hired gardeners had been bringing in and planting many different varieties of flower seedlings. Now, the place already looked full of life. Once all the flowers bloomed in the future, this Sky Garden would probably become a paradise on earth.

The two of them stood side by side. Then Xie Qiyan suddenly moved behind Xia Wanzhi. As he rested his chin on the top of her head, he wrapped her entirely in his arms.

Xia Wanzhi wanted to turn around, but he lifted a hand and pinched her cheeks, stopping her from moving. “Don’t look at me.”

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

She could roughly guess that it had something to do with his mother.

Fine. If he didn’t want her to look, she wouldn’t.

Xia Wanzhi pressed her lips together, showing extraordinary tolerance toward the fragile Xie Qiyan.

Her hands were enveloped in his, and her body was covered by his embrace. Warmth flowed steadily into her, and Xia Wanzhi only felt cozy.

After a moment, she finally heard Xie Qiyan speak slowly.

“This Sky Garden was built for my great-grandmother and my mom.”

“My mom depended on her grandmother ever since she was little-that was my great-grandmother. Great-grandmother was a flower grower, and my mom was deeply influenced by her, so she loved flowers and plants too. When I was young, our family lived in a small town in Jiangnan. The house was simple, but the courtyard was spacious, and it was filled with flowers and plants.”

“My mom designed the entire courtyard. She was a landscape designer, and she was also my great-grandmother’s pride. When I was little, I heard them chatting. My mom promised she would design a Sky Garden for Great-grandmother. That had always been her wish.”

“But when I was five, not long after the New Year, Great-grandmother passed away.”

Xie Qiyan’s voice caught slightly. “Great-grandmother was very old. She passed away quietly in her sleep, without any warning.”

“A lot of bad things happened that year. Great-grandmother died, and my mom was heartbroken for a long time. She finally managed to get through it, but Xie Tianqi lied and said he was away on a business trip, then didn’t come back for several months. After that, my mom brought me to Beicheng. But I stayed in Beicheng, while she disappeared without a trace.”
Xie Qiyan stopped there. He circled the conversation back and explained, “It was a wish my mother never got to fulfill, so I want to fulfill it for her. All these years, I’ve never done anything for her. If she comes back to find me one day and sees this garden designed especially for her and Great-Grandmother, I think she’ll be happy.”

As for why he had chosen Xingyao Building, it was simply because it happened to be suitable.

Acquiring Xingyao Building had been part of a business plan to begin with. When he came to inspect the place, he unexpectedly found that both the view and the location were good, so on a whim, he had someone transform it into a Sky Garden.

Xia Wanzhi listened quietly. At some point, the hand Xie Qiyan had been holding had become the hand she was holding around his.

“There will be. That day will come.” Xia Wanzhi prayed, praying that the heavens would hear her.

Xie Qiyan only let out a soft laugh, his chin brushing against her soft hair. “I’ll find her.”

Soon.

He would definitely find Yao Qin.

Definitely.

Xia Wanzhi had already finished all of Yao Qin’s portraits. The work had become easier, but her heart felt heavier instead.

The year was almost over, and she did not particularly want to paint another one.

She hoped that what Xie Qiyan saw next year would not be a portrait of Yao Qin, but the real Yao Qin-alive, smiling, moving.

Xie Qiyan had only come over during his lunch break. Now that it was about time, he had to return to the company and continue working. Before leaving, still worried, he pressed his cheek against Xia Wanzhi’s face, confirming once more that her temperature was normal before he finally left in peace.

Xia Wanzhi repeatedly promised that she would not get a fever.

She knew her own body better than anyone. Every winter, she would catch colds one after another. She was already used to it.

This year was actually better than usual. It was already late December, and she had only gotten sick once.

“Zhi, medicine.” Zhuzi had prepared a packet of cold medicine and handed it to her.

Xia Wanzhi took it and gulped it down. She had not been busy these past two days, and now that she had some free time, she decided to go to the display room and sort through her old paintings.

The paintings had been well preserved, with only a thin layer of dust on them, but organizing them still took the entire afternoon, and she did not even finish.

In the blink of an eye, it was time to leave. Thinking that Xie Qiyan would be picking her up on his way home from work, she tidied up briefly.

Her phone showed an incoming call from Xie Qiyan. She thought he was calling to tell her to come downstairs, but to her surprise, the first thing he said was an apology. Then, in a low voice, he said he had to make a trip to Beicheng Mental Hospital.

Xia Wanzhi immediately said anxiously, “Take me with you.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.

Xia Wanzhi did not want him to bear it all alone. In her urgency, the words tumbled out. “Your mom will be my mom in the future too. What’s wrong with me looking for Mom with you?”

Even at a moment like this, Xie Qiyan actually laughed. “All right. I’ll come pick you up.”

After hanging up, Xia Wanzhi shot a glance at Zhuzi, who was snickering beside her.

“Zhi, is our Studio about to have a Boss’s Wife?” Zhuzi teased with a grin.

Xia Wanzhi gave her a reproachful look and ignored her.

She was the owner of the Studio, so didn’t that make Xie Qiyan the Boss’s Wife?

Just thinking about it made Zhuzi happy. She was already wondering when she would get to attend the wedding banquet.

On the way to the Mental Hospital, Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan sat in the back seat. Yu Fei drove, while Huo Yang sat in the passenger seat and reported on matters.

They were clearly going to see Hou Mengqiu, yet everything they discussed was about Hou Mengqiu’s missing son.

Xie Qiyan took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he said slowly, “It doesn’t matter whether Xie An has come back or not. Just keep an eye on this person. Pull some of our people away from Hou Mengqiu’s side and give him a chance to approach her.”

As long as they made contact, Xie Qiyan was not afraid of failing to get a hold over Hou Mengqiu.

Xie An was Hou Mengqiu’s weakness.

And he was also Xie Qiyan’s bargaining chip.