“It’s my fault.” Qiao Yanze laughed hoarsely. “It’s my arrogance and self-righteousness that caused this. It’s also my selfishness in keeping you by my side that brought you so much pain that it exhausted all your patience with me.”
Towards the end, his tone was almost self-deprecating.
Li Yinian’s eyelashes trembled violently.
“It has nothing to do with you,” she said subconsciously. “It’s my fault for hiding it… Anyway, it’s too late to say this now.”
“Is it too late?” The man chuckled.
Li Yinian took a step back and broke free from his embrace. “I should go back to my room. You…”
She wanted to ask him never to see her again and not to disturb her life, but it seemed like there was no point even if she got his verbal guarantee.
Qiao Yanze seemed to know what she wanted to say.
He smirked. “I won’t give you any guarantees. I can only try my best. You might not believe it, but I want me to let it go more than you do. It’s just that this is far harder than I thought… much harder.”
If he could let go of this woman, he would not be hurt by her coldness or rejection.
Li Yinian listened in a daze. She didn’t expect her heart to still ache because of his words.
It was rare that she wasn’t completely numb yet.
“I understand.” She turned around and walked out.
The moment she walked out, her tears fell silently again.
Qiao Yanze watched her leave until she completely disappeared behind the door.
He closed his eyes.
…
The next morning, Qiao Yanze left Interlaken and returned to Yang City more than ten hours later.
This short vacation did not attract anyone’s attention.
pAn,Da-n0v e1,c
“I’ve got the results of the woman you asked me to investigate. I don’t know if it’s what you want.” Ji Shiting said calmly. “I just sent it to your email. Check it.”
Qiao Yanze rubbed his forehead. “Thank you.”
Ji Shiting paused and asked, “Are you okay?”
Although he sounded calm, he seemed to be suppressing something.
Qiao Yanze was very sharp. He held his breath for a moment before saying in a low voice, “Did you guess something?”
“No.” Ji Shiting’s tone was still calm. “However, if there’s anything you need help with, feel free to let me know. Also, I investigated this information myself. It hasn’t been handled by another person. Don’t worry.”
Even though Qiao Yanze was in low spirits, he couldn’t help laughing.
If Ji Shiting had not guessed something, why would he emphasize that this information had not been obtained by a second person?
However, he still accepted Ji Shiting’s kindness and snorted. “Don’t worry. I won’t be polite when I need you.”
Qiao Yanze returned to the Jade Spring Palace alone and turned on his computer, only to see the email from Ji Shiting. Seeing this woman’s photo, Qiao Yanze was immediately certain that she was Li Yinian’s biological mother.
Li Yinian was an orphan because Wen Yan had died after giving birth to her. Otherwise, with the breakup fee she had received from Qiao Fengnian, she would not have sent her daughter to the orphanage.
