Aunt Liu was acting very strangely.
Ever since seeing Mr. Xiang, she had been off.
Xia Qingyu wasn't faring much better than Aunt Liu; she just stared blankly out the window, saying nothing.
"Qingyu, go ask the kitchen to prepare some hot milk," Xia Qingtian said, patting Xia Qingyu's shoulder. "Some pastries would be good too; I'm hungry."
"Okay." Xia Qingyu got up and walked out.
After seeing Xia Qingyu off, Xia Qingtian walked over and sat beside Aunt Liu, taking her hand. "Aunt Liu? Are you alright?"
"I..." Aunt Liu wanted to say she was fine, but the words wouldn't come out.
The sudden flood of memories unleashed her fear, unease, and loneliness. These negative emotions engulfed her, making it hard to breathe.
"Aunt Liu, it's alright, I'm here with you," Xia Qingtian said gently. "If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. When you feel a bit better, I'll take you shopping. We'll bring Qingyu along and max out my dad's card."
"Qingtian..." Aunt Liu finally reached out and embraced Xia Qingtian, weeping silently. After she had cried enough, she finally spoke, "He's Qingyu's father..."
Although she had suspected this possibility, hearing Aunt Liu mention it directly made Xia Qingtian's heart skip a beat.
"For so many years, I even thought he was dead. I..." Aunt Liu shook her head, her voice choked with emotion. "If only he had died long ago..."
It wasn't that she wished ill upon others, but that man was simply too dangerous.
He would eventually ruin her, ruin Qingyu... ruin everything that she and her daughter had now!
"Aunt Liu, it's alright, I'm here..." Xia Qingtian felt Aunt Liu's body trembling. She comforted her softly, "I'll protect you and Qingyu... Don't be afraid, I'm here..."
A door's length away, Xia Qingyu leaned her back against the door, holding the tray with milk and pastries. Her gaze was lowered, her eyes icy.
She had vaguely guessed Mr. Xiang's identity before.
Her impression of her father was hazy. She remembered that not long after her father left, her mother had moved with her, burning everything related to her father, including his photographs.
She was young then. She only remembered the edges of that family photo curling up, yellowing, blackening, as the flames consumed it, until everything burned to ash.
All that was in the past was sealed away in the furthest reaches of time, along with that fire and her mother's name, 【Liu Nuoran】.
Today, his sudden appearance seemed to have violently shattered that seal, repainting and redefining those faded old memories.
With the pungent smell of paint, it dissonantly occupied her thoughts.
Feigning ignorance, Xia Qingyu forced herself to curve her lips into a smile and entered the room carrying the tray.
Aunt Liu wasn't in good condition. Xia Qingtian drove Xia Qingyu and Li Xiaozhong to the competition that afternoon.
Before entering the venue, Xia Qingtian patted Xia Qingyu's back. "What happened today was just a minor incident. Don't let it affect your performance. You are my pride."
"Mm." Xia Qingyu looked at Xia Qingtian, her gaze gentle and full of gratitude.
"You too, do your best," Xia Qingtian said, patting Li Xiaozhong's shoulder.
"Okay." Although Li Xiaozhong didn't know what had happened, he knew that not asking what shouldn't be asked was the greatest respect for a friend.
After seeing Xia Qingyu and Li Xiaozhong into the venue, Xia Qingtian turned to leave, intending to head to the K&S exhibition booth. Just then, a black Rolls-Royce stopped in front of her.
The car window rolled down, revealing a refined, gentlemanly Asian face that smiled faintly at her.
"Mr. Xiang?" Seeing this man, Xia Qingtian felt a complex mix of emotions.
This was the person Gu Yaoyang had been looking for, but he was also Xia Qingyu's biological father.
Xia Qingtian felt as if she had also fallen into a predicament, like 【Liang Nan Suo Tian Jiao】.
"Miss Xia, would you be willing to chat?" Mr. Xiang's voice was gentle and magnetic. His eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses twinkled with a smile, making anyone who met his gaze unconsciously drawn in.
"I don't think we have anything to talk about." Xia Qingtian took a small step back.
"I think there's a lot, for example, Mobius, and Qingyu." Mr. Xiang finished speaking, and the car door opened. "Miss Xia, it won't take long."
Xia Qingtian took a deep breath before getting into the car.
The interior of the Rolls-Royce was as impeccable as always. The center console separated the front and rear seats. As soon as Xia Qingtian was seated, the car door closed, and the spacious rear cabin activated its soundproofing mode.
"I hope you don't dislike whiskey." Mr. Xiang smiled faintly, lightly touching the center console. A row of chilled, expensive liquors appeared.
"I don't drink." Xia Qingtian waved her hand.
"Then... Coke?" Mr. Xiang produced a bottle of ice-cold cola from behind the liquor bottles. "My private stash."
Hearing Mr. Xiang's words, Xia Qingtian chuckled softly.
Honestly, her first impression of Mr. Xiang was good.
Refined, gentlemanly, handsome, and now, it seemed, humorous.
He was someone people would gladly approach.
But Xia Qingtian knew that people like him were often the most dangerous.
Pouring a glass of cola for Xia Qingtian, Mr. Xiang said, "Thank you for looking after Qingyu."
"Qingyu is my sister, it's my duty," Xia Qingtian replied casually, taking the cola. "You don't need to thank me."
"Qingyu is my daughter, and no matter what, a thank you is in order." Mr. Xiang said, gently swirling his glass, his eyes fixed on Xia Qingtian as he formally added, "Thank you."
Xia Qingtian shrugged, clinking her glass against Mr. Xiang's. "Thank you for giving me such a wonderful sister." Xia Qingtian's tone was equally formal. "Thank you."
"Heh." Mr. Xiang let out a light laugh at Xia Qingtian's words. "You're much more interesting than your file indicated."
"A living person is always more vibrant than a few lines of text." Xia Qingtian wasn't surprised that Mr. Xiang had looked her up; what surprised her was his directness. "But speaking of which, I'm also very curious. How do they describe me in the file?"
"Beautiful, intelligent, talented," Mr. Xiang said, looking at Xia Qingtian. "Most of it is complimentary, very good, very outstanding."
He paused, then put down his glass and continued, "However, before Qingyu came to the Xia family, the description of you was quite ordinary. Your grades were good, but nothing extraordinary. It seems that all your praiseworthy achievements began to happen only after Qingyu arrived at the Xia family, after you stopped targeting her."
Xia Qingtian did not reply. Her smile remained unchanged as she lowered her gaze to the bubbles in her cup, mentally rolling her eyes.