Chapter 135

The traits inherited from the other end of her bloodline had taken deep root in Xie Shiqing, completely impossible to remove.

Madam Xie truly didn’t want to admit her failure in family education, yet she had no choice but to accept the outcome. Disappointment filled her eyes.

She didn’t want to get involved, nor did she want to go home and face the two people consumed by self-interest. So she spent even more years away, traveling to various impoverished areas to carry out her charitable work.

On the day of the car accident, it was rare for Madam Xie to return home, and it was only because she was attending her birth mother's birthday banquet.

On such an occasion, the three of them were naturally supposed to attend together.

After the banquet ended, the accident occurred on the way back.

Some time ago, a severe thunderstorm had just hit, and many surveillance cameras had been destroyed by this force of nature. Major roads were being prioritized for equipment replacement, while the smaller roads with less traffic had to wait.

As luck would have it, the section of road where the accident took place was one where the surveillance happened to be broken and hadn’t yet been repaired.

The Le family’s driver voluntarily reported the incident to the police, claiming that he had caused the crash due to drunk driving. He also called for an ambulance, urging the medical staff to arrive quickly.

A drunk-driving accident was already considered serious, and with none of the involved parties able to take charge, the Head of the Zhong family volunteered to step up and manage all the follow-up matters.

No clues turned up during the investigation, and with the perpetrator actively confessing, the case was closed just like that.

Yet Qi Wan always had a knot in her heart.

After much hesitation, she finally voiced her thoughts:

【Although this case appears to be a pure accident, at the time of the crash, the sports car driven by the Le family’s driver was brand new.】

【That day, she had gone out with Zhong Zinuan. When going on a date with someone you like, wouldn’t you drive the new car yourself to show off? But instead, she waited until the date was over and had the driver bring the new car to pick her up. I just don’t think that fits her personality.】

【Le Xi was a flamboyant person, just like Zhong Zinuan.】

【The collision between the two cars killed two people on the spot, yet the Le family’s driver didn’t suffer any serious injuries—just a fracture and a concussion. Isn’t that suspicious?】

In Qi Wan’s heart, Madam Xie was nominally her sister, but emotionally, she was almost like a mother. Her passing had inflicted tremendous psychological trauma on Xie Shiqing, and the same was true for Qi Wan herself.

Rationally, she accepted the explanation that the case was closed. But emotionally, she just couldn’t believe that it was truly a pure accident.

Her grief had nowhere to go, no outlet to be released through. It just blindly swirled in her chest, stuck in her throat, rendering her speechless.

If only there had been someone to blame, a more fantastical explanation, a person onto whom she could pour her hatred—then she wouldn’t have felt so much pain.

Qi Wan covered her face and took a few deep, shaky breaths. When she finally lowered her hands, she had returned to her usual indifferent expression, eyes lowered as she tapped on the screen.

【These words are just the unwilling fantasies of my own mind, don’t take them seriously.】

【The car accident dealt an exceptionally heavy blow to Shiqing, even pushing her into a new abyss. She no longer trusted anyone, nor was she willing to invest in any feelings. We used to be able to have a few conversations, but after the accident, she became much more distant.】

【I suspect this is a kind of self-protective mechanism. Maybe she believes that as long as she doesn’t invest emotions, she won’t get hurt.】

It was a very reasonable guess, and logically sound. Just like someone who has been scalded by boiling water learns not to touch it recklessly again, or someone who has been burned by fire knows it’s dangerous and keeps away—these were instinctive forms of self-protection, keeping the body away from harm.

Xie Shiqing likely felt that she had poured her emotions into her mother, and her mother's death had caused her severe psychological torment. So she chose to completely seal away her inner self, locking all emotions high on a shelf—such a reaction was entirely predictable.

After all, she had always believed that emotions were useless.

Zhong Ning felt an immense pressure descend upon her.

A person who feared love, scorned love, and avoided love, had now voluntarily tied an unbreakable rope around her own neck and handed the other end to Zhong Ning, letting her become the one holding the reins.

To completely control someone’s thoughts and life—what a terrifying thing that was.

If she ever had even a hint of ill intent, Xie Shiqing would be shattered into pieces, beyond repair.

Fortunately—fortunately, it was her.

Although she didn’t want to praise herself, Zhong Ning couldn’t help but think this: fortunately, it was her.

Lunch break wasn’t even over yet when another message from Xie Shiqing came in.

The first was a photo—Pine Mushroom sitting on the floor, watching her yawn in bed.

Just one glance and Zhong Ning’s heart melted.

Puppies at that age really did grow day by day; they changed so fast.

She smiled as she typed,

【Why is Pine Mushroom here? Did she wake you up?】

Xie Shiqing’s voice message still carried traces of drowsiness. Her voice was soft,

【Yeah, she came looking for you.】

【She insisted on going out to play with you, kept pressing your name, and even brought the leash over. I told her you weren’t here, and she got angry.】

Xie Shiqing muttered in grievance,

【I want to go find you too, but I can’t either. I didn’t even say I was angry, and she’s already upset with me first.】

Zhong Ning held her phone, laughing so hard she almost fell over.

Pine Mushroom was an extremely smart little puppy. At home, there were those talking button toys, and she had already learned quite a few words.

Whenever she wanted food, snacks, or to go out and play, she would press the buttons. Only when she was really anxious would she actually bark.

It had been two days since Zhong Ning last saw Pine Mushroom, and she really did miss her.

【Give her some snacks to coax her. I’ll be home after work this afternoon, it won’t be long.】

Xie Shiqing: 【Why does she get snacks and I don’t?】

Zhong Ning: 【You’ll get some too, you’ll get some too. What do you want to eat, Shiqing? I’ll buy it for you after work, okay?】

In her heart, she really wanted to say, why are you jealous of a puppy? But this kind of Shiqing was very cute too.

If she actually said that out loud, a more outgoing person might pout and say something like “I don’t care, I don’t care,” but someone with a sensitive mind might overthink it—what if she genuinely started to believe her place wasn’t even as important as a dog’s?

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