But he didn’t recognize the woman in front of him—he simply found the situation too awkward.
Especially seeing the woman’s swollen, red eyes and the obvious five-finger mark on her face, as if he had inadvertently glimpsed her pain and humiliation, making his expression even more uncomfortable.
Lin Xiwei looked at him, equally stunned.
Having run into him several times, this was the first time she had clearly seen the man’s face.
Strong brow bones, thick eyebrows, sharp gaze, and a high, prominent nose bridge.
His deep, sculpted features seemed carved with a knife—fierce and striking, exuding an air of dominance and authority, as if he stood at the pinnacle of power, commanding respect.
What surprised Lin Xiwei was that she noticed the man’s sharp, dark eyes were tinged with red and moist.
As if… he had been crying too.
She couldn’t imagine that such a powerful, cold, and aloof man could also have sorrows, could also shed tears.
And also—staring at this face for too long, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu—thinking that her son Junjun bore a slight resemblance to him.
Lin Xiwei was so stunned she forgot to look away.
But Qin Jiamo only glanced at her before averting his gaze. He released his hand, and the door swung shut with a sound, startling the dazed woman back to her senses.
Qin Jiamo walked past her as if he hadn’t seen her at all, his tall, straight figure moving with steady, powerful strides.
Lin Xiwei caught a faint scent of cigarette smoke.
Yes—Qin Jiamo had been smoking outside the fire door just now.
He wasn’t a habitual smoker, but since his younger brother’s death, he would light one up whenever he felt particularly distressed.
Smoking was prohibited in the hospital, so he had hidden behind the fire door, where no one would be.
But he hadn’t expected to encounter such an awkward scene on his way back.
After Qin Jiamo left, the grief and depression weighing on Lin Xiwei’s heart were somewhat dispelled by the sudden interruption.
The man’s face still lingered in her mind, and she thought she must be going crazy—lately, she saw her son in everyone.
The firefighter who had sacrificed himself, the cold stranger…
She leaned against the wall and stood up, facing the direction of the wind, taking several deep breaths of cold air to pull herself together.
At the corner of the corridor, Qin Jiamo had already walked past, but for some reason, he turned back to look.
Seeing medical staff pass by, he called out to them.
“Mr. Qin, what can we do for you?”
“There’s a family member over there who seems emotionally unstable. Keep an eye on her.”
It turned out Qin Jiamo was worried Lin Xiwei might do something drastic—like jumping off the building.
After all, incidents like that happened in hospitals every year.
The medical staff nodded: “Understood. Thank you, Mr. Qin. I’ll go check on her.”
Qin Jiamo turned and walked away.
The medical staff headed toward the terrace at the end of the corridor.
But before they could reach her, Lin Xiwei had already pulled herself together, stepped out of the terrace, and headed back to the South Building.
Over the weekend, Lin Xiwei stayed at the hospital looking after her child.
Su Yunfan didn’t show up again—presumably he was openly spending time with Zhong Yurou and her daughter.
Lin Xiwei didn’t care.
Originally, she had been somewhat saddened by the breakdown of her marriage.
But in the face of her child’s illness, those things had become trivial matters.
On Monday, Lin Xiwei arrived at her new company as scheduled.
Quanyun Technology was a leading name in the IT industry. Though the work was demanding and stressful, the compensation was famously generous.
Lin Xiwei urgently needed money and treasured this job.
When she arrived at the company, she was surprised to find that the department manager was actually a senior alumnus from the same department, two years ahead of her.
“Lin Xiwei, it really is you! I was on a business trip last week and came back over the weekend to hear the department had hired a new person—and a beauty at that. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the profile!”
Feng Zheqian threw an arm around Lin Xiwei’s shoulder and turned to introduce her to everyone: “This new hire is my fellow alumna, Lin Xiwei—Tsinghua’s campus beauty and a talented scholar. Make sure you all look out for her.”
Everyone applauded in welcome, and someone teased, “Boss, are you sure you two are just alumni?”
“Cut it out! Don’t joke around—she’s ‘married young,’ and her kid’s already old enough to run errands.”
Feng Zheqian quickly clarified, also announcing Lin Xiwei’s marital status to nip any ideas the bachelors might have in the bud.
Lin Xiwei felt a bit awkward but still nodded and smiled politely.
Returning to the workforce after several years away, she was still somewhat out of her element.
Having a familiar face to look out for her put her mind at ease.
“Senior Brother Feng, I never expected to run into you at Quanyun either. Please take good care of me from now on.” Lin Xiwei had long known this capable senior.
Top students shared resources and often worked on projects under their advisors, so even across different cohorts, they became acquainted.
“Don’t worry—on my turf, you go all out.” Feng Zheqian was extremely generous and knew exactly what she was capable of.
After completing her onboarding, Lin Xiwei returned to her workstation.
The deputy manager quickly assigned her tasks.
With her energy focused on work, the pain in her heart was temporarily forgotten, and time seemed to fly by.
Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced over—it was Chu Qing. She had a pretty good idea what it was about.
“Hey, Qingqing.”
“Weiwei, don’t forget—today at 12:30, you’re meeting Lawyer Qin at Desheng Law Firm. Don’t be late, his time is very precious.”
Chu Qing knew her best friend was starting work today. Afraid she might get too busy and forget, she specifically called to remind her.
“Mm, I remember. I’m about to head out.”
After hanging up, Lin Xiwei took the work she had already completed, handed it to the deputy manager, explained her reason, and left half an hour early.
On the way, she specifically looked up “Qin Jiamo” on her phone.
There was an introduction of him online, but no photos.
However, on his personal encyclopedia page, there were two to three full pages of honorary titles, which left Lin Xiwei utterly astounded.
She suddenly understood why he had a threshold for taking divorce cases—only accepting cases involving the division of assets worth over five hundred million.
—With his status as a top-tier lawyer, even with such a high threshold, he must still have wealthy clients beating down his door.
Grateful, Lin Xiwei sent her best friend a WeChat message, saying she must treat her uncle to a meal to express her thanks whenever she had the chance, regardless of the outcome.
Chu Qing replied: No need, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.
Arriving at Desheng Law Firm, Lin Xiwei looked at the solemn and imposing building before her. It was the first time she knew a law firm could be built so luxuriously and grandly, and she couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement again.
“Miss Lin, right? Please wait a moment. I’ll go announce you.” The elegant and refined female secretary received Lin Xiwei, then turned and walked up the wooden staircase.
Lin Xiwei looked around at the surroundings. Seeing that everyone was still busy even at noon, it was clear how famous the law firm was and how numerous the cases were.
The secretary went upstairs and knocked on the office door.
“Lawyer Qin, the Miss Lin that Professor Chu recommended has arrived.”
Qin Jiamo was staring at his laptop, not even lifting his head: “Bring her in.”
“Alright.”
Secretary Fangfang went downstairs. “Miss Lin, please follow me.”
“Thank you.” Lin Xiwei stood up, straightened her attire, smoothed her hair, silently took a deep breath, and stepped onto the staircase.
“Miss Lin, please come in.” Fangfang knocked on the door, pushed open the wooden door, and stood at the entrance, gesturing.
Lin Xiwei nodded in thanks and stepped into the office, a polite and courteous smile on her face: “Lawyer Qin, hello, I’m Lin—”
Midway through her self-introduction, Lin Xiwei’s expression and her words both froze at the same time.