“I’ve always felt their family of three was too harmonious for a blended family, while my disappearance back then and my mother’s mysterious death were too suspicious. That’s why I’ve been wanting to investigate this matter.”
“But it’s been over ten years, and I’m all alone in this. It’s really difficult to investigate, and I have no leads to speak of.”
“Most importantly, I’m afraid this might be directly related to Xia Jianyong. If I investigate recklessly, it might alert him before I even figure anything out.” At this point, Xia Yuhuan frowned deeply, her face full of worry.
“Since you said you’d be willing to help as long as it’s not illegal, I thought I’d swallow my pride and ask for your help in investigating this.”
“Of course, if you think I’m being too subjective, that this is all nonsense, or that it’s been too long to investigate properly, and you don’t want to help, that’s fine too. I can accept that.” Xia Yuhuan appeared completely open and honest.
She was telling the truth, but she was also testing the waters.
Testing whether Chi Shaokang would be willing to help.
Hearing this, Chi Shaokang spoke with a serious expression: “Xiaohuan, I meant what I said, and I won’t go back on my word. Don’t worry, leave this matter to me. I’ll definitely help you get to the bottom of it.”
“However, as you know, it really has been too long. The investigation will take time, so I can’t give you a specific timeline. But I promise I will uncover the truth for you.”
Overjoyed by his response, Xia Yuhuan said: “I have no requirements regarding time. As long as you can help me investigate this thoroughly and help me stop living in confusion, I’ll be satisfied.”
“Alright then. Write down the name of the police station where your grandfather left the address information back then. If you have any other clues, write those down for me too.” Chi Shaokang said immediately.
Xia Yuhuan agreed and wrote down the address for Chi Shaokang. She also included the name of the officer who had assisted her grandfather back then.
“Dad, I’ll leave this matter in your hands then.” Xia Yuhuan said.
“I’ll keep you updated if there’s any progress.”
“If possible, I’d prefer if we could avoid alerting my grandfather about this. I don’t want him to worry about me.”
“Don’t worry, I understand.”
Zhang Xianya couldn’t help but give Xia Yuhuan a hug.
“Xiaohuan, from now on we’ll be your real parents. If you have any problems, just talk to us. Don’t be polite with us, okay?”
Zhang Xianya’s heart ached at the thought that Xia Yuhuan might have been deliberately abandoned by her biological father, and that her biological mother’s death might have been caused by him too.
If their speculations turned out to be true, Xia Yuhuan would be truly pitiful.
Although father and daughter didn’t seem to get along now, not getting along was one thing, but becoming mortal enemies was another entirely.
No one could calmly accept that their biological father had killed their biological mother.
At this moment, Zhang Xianya even hoped that their assumptions were wrong and they were overthinking things.
Otherwise, how would Xia Yuhuan face her biological father when the time came?
“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Mom.” Xia Yuhuan smiled at her and said.
Outsourcing the investigation into her disappearance and her biological mother’s death brought Xia Yuhuan no psychological burden whatsoever.
She simply didn’t have the resources to investigate this matter on her own and could only rely on external help.
Utilizing all available resources at hand is also a form of one’s own capability.
Moreover, Chi Shaokang expects her to cure Chi Yanzhou. He helps her investigate the truth, while she helps him heal his son—this in itself is an exchange.
That evening, Xia Yuhuan massaged Chi Yanzhou while chattering away about the day’s events.
“Although your father has pinned his hopes of curing you on me, I’m still grateful that he agreed without hesitation to help me uncover the truth.”
“And I can genuinely feel that he truly cares about me and wants to help. Your father is really a good person.”
As she spoke, Xia Yuhuan let out a long sigh. “Speaking of which, I really envy you. You have such wonderful parents who love you. Unlike me—my biological father doesn’t care, and my mother loved me deeply, but she might have been harmed because of that love.”
“If the truth really turns out that way, I don’t even know how I’ll face my deceased biological mother.”
The man lying on the bed showed no movement, allowing Xia Yuhuan to turn him over and over.
After talking to herself for a while, Xia Yuhuan couldn’t help but sigh again. “Originally, marrying you was just a temporary measure. I thought that once I cured you, we’d get divorced, set you free, and each go our separate ways.”
“After all, you’ve never even met me, and suddenly you have a wife like me—it’s quite unfair to you.”
“But now, things have gotten more complicated. I’ve even grown fond of your parents. If we divorce later, what if I can’t bear to leave them?”
Xia Yuhuan frowned, feeling a headache coming on.
“I wonder if it’s possible to divorce you one moment and then ask your parents to be my godparents the next? Do you think they’d agree?”
“Maybe while you’re still unconscious, I’ll work hard to be good to them and make them like me. Then perhaps they’d be willing to have a daughter like me?”
“Hmm, this might actually work. I need to put in the effort.”
Muttering to herself, Xia Yuhuan finished massaging Chi Yanzhou and then lay down beside him, drifting off to sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, the seemingly unresponsive man lying next to her was actually teeming with thoughts.
Initially after his injury, Chi Yanzhou had lost all consciousness and fallen into a deep coma.
But recently, he’d discovered that his consciousness would occasionally resurface. During these moments, if someone was speaking or moving around him, he could hear and sense everything.
The problem was, he couldn’t speak or move, so no one knew his consciousness was awake.
Sometimes, hearing his parents’ worried conversations beside him, he desperately wanted to tell them that he was aware and that he could still be saved.
Yet, he had been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state, deemed beyond treatment.
Although his parents hadn’t given up on him and still had doctors regularly check his vital signs, without further medical intervention, he remained lying there with no hope of waking up.
During his conscious moments, he struggled to control his body, but it was useless.
He couldn’t even move a single finger.
Just when he thought he would never have a chance to wake up, Xia Yuhuan’s sudden appearance gave his despairing heart a glimmer of hope.
Chi Yanzhou knew she had come to him through a substitute marriage.
He naturally resented such feudal practices, yet lying unconscious and unable to resist, he clung desperately to the hope her presence brought. He vividly remembered the thrill and joy that surged through him when he first heard her say she could cure him.
Chi Yanzhou had already resolved that if he ever woke up, he would treat Xia Yuhuan well, build a life with her, and spend a lifetime repaying her for saving him.
But he never expected that before even regaining consciousness, he would hear his new wife declare she intended to divorce him once he recovered.
She even seemed to prefer his parents—her in-laws—over him, her newlywed husband.
Though he lay unconscious, unable to nurture any bond with her, being discarded felt like an inevitable outcome.
Yet this reality struck Chi Yanzhou hard.
His new bride had just entered his home, and before he could even get to know her, she was already planning to abandon him?
She had even schemed to demote him from husband to ex-husband, then to brother, while keeping him in the family.
Though they would remain relatives, Chi Yanzhou found this utterly unacceptable!
If he woke up, he would never let her whims run wild like this!
How could she downgrade him from husband to brother without even giving him a chance? Was he really that incompetent, that devoid of charm?