His Beloved Treasure

The room grew increasingly quiet. Qin Mu stared at the photo, trying hard to conjure up the image of that bright, cheerful girl, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember.

Eventually, she lay down on the bed without recalling anything, a little annoyed.

Her memory, in certain moments, was actually quite good.

Though at times, it wasn’t so great.

Still, there were always some distinctive people who left vivid impressions on her, like the girl on the phone screen.

But now, she simply couldn’t remember exactly where she had seen her before.

She looked around seventeen or eighteen, her hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a white shirt—a proper, youthful girl exuding a strong sense of innocence.

Mu Yichen turned to look at her and noticed she was still deep in thought. He moved closer, placing both hands on her temples and rubbed firmly, ”Stop thinking about it, okay?”

Under his grip on her temples, Qin Mu found herself unable to continue pondering. She gave up on the idea altogether.

Mu Yichen’s pitch-black eagle eyes gazed at her, his tender stare making her feel as if she’d temporarily lost all memory.

The room was quietly intimate, warm, and filled with sentiment.

In the middle of the night, Qin Mu, after tossing and turning endlessly, finally sat up again. Her head felt like it was about to explode from all the thinking—it triggered a sense of familiarity, but she simply couldn’t recall any concrete details.

——

In the end, Qin Mingzhu’s mother was buried alone in a place with a pleasant view. Qin Haiming brought his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson to watch as her ashes were interred into the deep pit.

At this moment, Qin Haiming felt that, after death, one was nothing more than a handful of ash. In reality, many things didn’t matter anymore.

When a human dies, there really is no next life—it’s all just beautiful fantasies people construct for themselves. As for notions of this life and the next, he only wanted to spend whatever days he still had left on earth doing meaningful things. Everything else seemed trivial.

After Zhang Rujia’s passing, he abandoned every obsession he’d had about her. Both love and hate ceased to exist.

Qin Mingzhu still harbored resentment toward him, but he had already made his choice.

That day, Qin Mu was drafting designs in her office. She was aware that Zhang Rujia hadn’t been buried in the Qin Family cemetery. She reasoned to herself that the grudges between Zhang Rujia and her daughter would end from this day forth.

Because, at the end of the day, Qin Mingzhu was just an unexpected consequence—someone born by accident.

Two women who had suffered immensely over one man were both gone now. That tragic play from the previous generation had finally reached its curtain call.

Xiaomei came to deliver coffee. Qin Mu glanced up sharply, a sudden thought flashing through her mind, and she stopped her. ”Take a look at this photo.”

Xiaomei paused with a blank expression, then watched Qin Mu unlock her phone. On WeChat, there was an image of a very clean-cut young girl.

”Does she look familiar to you?”

Qin Mu thought about it for a moment, frowning as she asked her. She felt her forehead aching from how much she’d been furrowing her brows these past couple of days.

”Hmm...”

Xiaomei furrowed her brows too, took her phone into her palms, and carefully examined the image.

”She looks kind of familiar.”

She muttered to herself, her eyes narrowing almost instinctively.

Qin Mu tilted her head upward, gazing at her, waiting for some miracle to occur.

During the wait, Qin Mu’s bright, dark eyes quietly shimmered with flickers of light.

”Bian...”

”Bian Jingwen!”

Xiaomei held up a finger as she searched her memory, finally managing to call out the surname.

Qin Mu immediately confirmed the name.

Then, the two women stared wide-eyed at each other. ”Yes, that’s her! She’s the academic star who studied abroad and won first prize in several design competitions.”

Xiaomei nodded emphatically in agreement.

But Qin Mu’s enthusiasm didn’t match Xiaomei’s excitement. Because, according to Mu Yichen, this girl was the daughter of the person responsible for Qin Haiming’s car accident and hospitalization. And this girl was very likely Zhang Rujia’s biological daughter.

In her heart, Qin Mu felt a sharp jolt—a sound like a glass cup shattering on the ground, leaving no trace of suspense.

Her mind involuntarily recalled the words Zhang Rujia had said to her right before the incident.

She first called Mu Yichen, then drove to the Qin Family house before noon.

Qin Haiming hadn’t been feeling well these past couple of days and hadn’t gone into work. Qin Mingzhu and Wang Huanyu hadn’t left yet either.

When Qin Mu arrived, Qin Mingzhu was visibly displeased. ”What are you doing here?”

”I need to speak with your father.”

Qin Mu lifted her gaze at her, not bothering to take her attitude seriously.

Wang Huanyu, meanwhile, was coaxing his son to eat some fruit. Hearing Qin Mu’s voice, he turned his head to look—across the room divider, Qin Mu strode in.

”Qin Mu!”

”Where’s the boss?”

Qin Mu paused, turning her head to ask him.

”Resting in the room!”

Wang Huanyu replied reflexively, holding his toddler who was chewing vigorously on a small piece of orange.

Without delay, Qin Mu headed straight upstairs.