His Beloved Treasure

Qin Mingzhu watched as Qin Mu completely ignored her and immediately followed behind.

”Hey! What are you here for again? My mom wasn’t buried in our family’s cemetery. What else do you have to complain about?”

Qin Mingzhu questioned while chasing after her, nearly dying of anger from Qin Mu’s disregard.

Qin Mu didn’t respond to her, merely thinking that this girl was exceedingly naggy.

Qin Haiming had just finished a phone call and was about to read the newspaper inside the house when he heard the knocking at the door along with Qin Mingzhu’s nagging voice.

”It’s Qin Mu!”

Qin Mu spoke from outside the door, her sharp gaze signaling to Qin Mingzhu to be quiet.

Qin Mingzhu was silenced by Qin Mu’s stare, instantly stopping her chatter, but she stubbornly continued to glare at Qin Mu, as if expecting her to cause trouble that would give Qin Haiming a headache.

”Come in!”

Qin Haiming set aside the newspaper he had just picked up and, with noticeably aged eyes from the past few days, glanced at Qin Mu. ”Why are you here at this hour? Stay for lunch later.”

”I’m not here for lunch. The girl you asked Mu Yichen to investigate—I know her.”

Qin Mu informed him directly.

Qin Haiming’s raised gaze froze momentarily, unable to process the connection between this girl and Qin Mu.

Qin Mingzhu was even more confused upon hearing this. ”What girl?”

”How do you know her?”

After a brief pause, Qin Haiming asked her again.

”A while ago, she applied for a position at our studio. According to her, she’s a native of Rongcheng, moved to Italy with her parents as a child, and is an outstanding design graduate. Her background seems quite impressive as well.”

Qin Mu recalled the details vividly, especially since the girl had seemed overly eager to stand out.

Qin Haiming lowered his head again, his expression hidden from view, letting out a light sigh subconsciously.

”What are you two talking about? What girl? What design graduate? Dad, do you mean you have another daughter apart from us?”

Qin Mingzhu grew increasingly bewildered, her heart racing in fear.

Qin Mu stayed silent, simply glancing at her and thinking, ”Do you feel the two of us aren’t enough already?”

But if that girl truly was Zhang Rujia’s child, then Qin Mingzhu would technically gain an older sister.

Qin Mu wondered how Qin Mingzhu would feel once the truth came out.

”Do you still have her contact information?”

Qin Haiming asked.

”I didn’t think much of it at the time, so I didn’t keep her number.”

Qin Mu lowered her head but then suddenly thought of something: if that girl came looking for her back then, was it really for the interview, or had she come specifically for her?

If the girl had indeed come for her, what was the reason?

Could it be because she knew about her feud with Zhang Rujia?

Qin Mu reasoned that the first person that girl should have wanted to meet was Qin Mingzhu.

”What about her name?”

”Bian Jingwen!”

”Bian Jingwen?”

Qin Haiming furrowed his brow, carefully recalling that last name, and then nodded slightly.

”If everyone hasn’t finished talking yet, perhaps it would be better to continue the discussion over lunch at the dining room?”

Wang Huanyu soon appeared at the doorway, kindly suggesting as he stood outside looking in.

During lunch, Qin Haiming finally revealed the reason he wanted to investigate the girl. Qin Mingzhu reacted as if someone had stuffed an oversized egg into her mouth, her eyes almost popping out in shock.

”That’s impossible! My mom could never have had another daughter!”

Qin Mingzhu instantly argued, utterly in disbelief.

Wang Huanyu, noticing her edging towards hysteria, reached out to grasp her hand. ”Mrs. Wang, calm down.”

”Calm down? How can I calm down? They’re saying my mom had another child. My mom only ever had me, okay? Otherwise, why would she never have mentioned it to me at all?”

Qin Mingzhu set down her chopsticks firmly, staring seriously at Wang Huanyu as she debated the matter.

”But your mother, on her deathbed, left me a message to pass on to you: don’t seek revenge for her. Wouldn’t that count as a sort of warning?”

Qin Mu interjected after hearing Qin Mingzhu’s words.

Everyone looked up at her, completely stunned.

Qin Mu let out a thoughtful sigh, gently placed her chopsticks down, then gazed at Qin Mingzhu, repeating those words again before turning to look at Qin Haiming.

She had never wanted to tell him this, but as the last person to see Zhang Rujia alive, it felt like a responsibility—perhaps even an obligation—to share it.

”She said she truly loved you!”

Qin Mu finally revealed the words.

She saw Qin Haiming’s hand holding the chopsticks tremble, then lower his head. ”She said the hatred I carried for her should fade along with her death. She said she loved you. She said she didn’t want you to investigate and didn’t want you to seek revenge.”

The surroundings fell silent again, but Qin Mu picked up her chopsticks once more.