Upon hearing this, Chi Shaokang perked up: “Just say it, Yuhuan. As long as it’s not illegal or against the rules, I’ll do my utmost to help you achieve it.”
Previously, he had felt quite guilty toward Xia Yuhuan for bringing in people from the military hospital to draw Chi Yanzhou’s blood to confirm the truth about his poisoning. It made it seem as though he didn’t trust her at all.
However, out of caution and concern for Chi Yanzhou’s life and safety, he had proceeded with it.
When the test results came out, exactly as Xia Yuhuan had said, he felt deeply remorseful toward her.
If Xia Yuhuan truly had something she needed his help with, he could make up for some of his guilt, which would actually ease his mind.
Xia Yuhuan said, “I’d like to ask for your help in investigating the circumstances of my disappearance back then and my mother going out to look for me but ending up missing and deceased.”
“Why would you think of investigating this? Is there something wrong?” Chi Shaokang was taken aback and asked.
Of course, there was something wrong—she had been deliberately abandoned by Xia Jianyong; it was never a case of simply getting lost!
It was highly likely that Xia Jianyong was also responsible for her mother going out to search for her and ending up missing and deceased.
If that were truly the case, then Xia Jianyong was a murderer.
In that scenario, what she wanted wasn’t just to bring Xia Jianyong down from his position but to make him pay with his life for the original host’s mother!
However, whether it was her disappearance or the suspicious circumstances surrounding her mother’s death, these were things she had learned and inferred while reading the book—conclusions drawn from an omniscient perspective. Naturally, she couldn’t reveal this directly to Chi Shaokang.
Otherwise, Chi Shaokang would start to suspect that there was something off about her.
“Grandpa once told me that when he first saw me, I was squatting in one spot, not moving. He asked me where my family was, and I said I was waiting for my dad. That’s why he walked away.”
“But when he finished shopping and was about to leave, I was still in the same spot.”
“He was worried, so he took me to the police station, hoping they could help me find my parents. But at the time, I only felt safe with him and refused to stay. That’s why he left his home address and took me back with him.”
“Originally, he thought that if my family came looking for me, the police station could bring them to his home to take me back. But unexpectedly, once he brought me home, he ended up raising me for fifteen years.”
“It wasn’t until this year, when Xia Jianyong actively sought me out, that I was recognized and brought back to the Xia family,” Xia Yuhuan said.
Upon hearing this, Chi Shaokang immediately sensed something was amiss.
“If your grandpa left his information at the police station back then, then as long as someone was looking for you, they should have been able to find you. Unless no one was…”
Chi Shaokang paused mid-sentence.
After all, the search efforts by Xia Jianyong and Xia Qingqing back then had been quite extensive.
At the time, the couple had put everything aside and devoted all their energy to searching for Xia Yuhuan, yet they found no trace of her.
The police had said that with such a clean trail, it was highly likely Xia Yuhuan had been taken by human traffickers.
But according to what Xia Yuhuan said, if they had reported it to the police station, she should never have gone missing—she would definitely have been found!
“Do you remember anything about saying you were waiting for your family back then?”
“Do you know exactly which police station your grandpa left his information at?”
“After your grandpa adopted you, did you change your name?”
…
Chi Shaokang fired off several questions in a row, his expression serious.
Xia Yuhuan replied, “I never changed my name. Grandpa said that the name I told him back then was Xia Yuhuan, and it was registered at the police station.”
“After Grandpa brought me home, I developed a high fever and was too young to remember much about the past clearly.”
“After returning to the Xia family, perhaps stimulated by Xia Jianyong, I vaguely began recalling those early events and gained some impression of the past.”
“I’ve remembered everything Grandpa mentioned – it was indeed Xia Jianyong who took me to that place. He said he was going to buy me candy and told me to wait there for him.”
“But he never came back for me. That’s why Grandpa eventually brought me home.”
Chi Shaokang’s expression turned grave: “So you’re suggesting that Xia Jianyong intentionally abandoned you back then? And that all these years he actually knew where you were but deliberately didn’t come looking for you? It was only when he needed you for the substitute marriage that he went to retrieve you?”
If this were true, then there might really be something suspicious about how Xia Qingqing went out searching for Xia Yuhuan but unexpectedly disappeared, ultimately being declared dead.
Xia Qingqing’s death might even have been staged by Xia Jianyong himself!
If this were indeed the case, then Xia Jianyong would be a murderer!
Of course, Chi Shaokang didn’t voice this thought aloud, as it was merely speculation. Besides, telling Xia Yuhuan that her biological father might have killed her biological mother would be too cruel for her.
Xia Yuhuan nodded gently: “I do have such suspicions.”
Her admission shocked both Chi Shaokang and Zhang Xianya.
Xia Yuhuan smiled bitterly and said, “I know it’s not right to suspect my own biological father like this, but since I’ve returned, his attitude toward me hasn’t been what a biological father should have.”
“The way he looks at me is like he’s looking at some enemy or trash. Meanwhile, he treats Xia Zhuyu, his adopted daughter, exceptionally well – caring for her like she’s the apple of his eye.”
“And that Li Rouyue is also very strange. Even though Xia Zhuyu was adopted by Xia Jianyong, after marrying him, Li Rouyue treats her as if she were her own daughter. Their mother-daughter relationship is ten thousand times better than the one between me and Xia Jianyong.”
“Even if Li Rouyue is a good person and a good stepmother, isn’t she being excessively good? She couldn’t treat her own biological daughter better than this.”
“Moreover, after Li Rouyue married Xia Jianyong, she never had any children of her own, yet she doesn’t seem to care at all. She doesn’t even try to regulate her health to have another child for Xia Jianyong, instead focusing all her affection on Xia Zhuyu. These points are all too contrary to normal human behavior, too strange.”
Xia Yuhuan laid out each of these unusual details that people wouldn’t normally pay special attention to.
Neither Chi Shaokang nor Zhang Xianya were foolish – after hearing this, they quickly put the pieces together.
Not long after Xia Yuhuan disappeared, Xia Jianyong had adopted Xia Zhuyu.
And after Xia Qingqing died, Xia Jianyong married Li Rouyue.
Over the years, this family of three had become famous in the compound for their close relationship.
So close they seemed like a natural family.
Yet this family of three was actually formed through adoption and remarriage – not an original family unit.
For them to be this close, it was as if they were truly a family from the beginning!
If we assume they were indeed a real family from the start and work backwards, we arrive at a chilling conclusion.
Xia Jianyong had been unfaithful long ago, having an extramarital affair with Li Rouyue while still married. The two had their daughter Xia Zhuyu around the same time Xia Qingqing was pregnant.
To prevent his true love and her daughter from suffering, Xia Jianyong planned to have Xia Yuhuan go missing, then openly bring Xia Zhuyu into the public eye under the guise of adoption.
He then schemed to orchestrate Xia Qingqing’s disappearance and death while she was searching for her daughter, thereby eliminating his lawful wife.
After his wife’s death, he inherited her massive fortune and eventually married his mistress Li Rouyue at an opportune time. Using his deceased wife’s inheritance, he supported his mistress and her daughter, living a happy life with them.
The mere thought of this possibility sent chills down both their spines.
If this were truly the case, then Xia Jianyong’s actions would not only be despicable and chilling, but also violate laws and regulations—he would surely face severe punishment!
Xia Yuhuan naturally noticed the changing expressions and silent communication between the couple.
Feigning innocence and confusion, she softly spoke up.