Qiao Xi froze for a moment before quickly covering her eyes and letting out a terrified scream.
The person inside the bathroom immediately reached out, grabbed the bathrobe hanging on the rack, and wrapped it around himself. The entire process took less than five seconds.
On top of that, Qiao Xi had been too startled to see clearly what was inside, much less notice any birthmark.
The bathroom door was kicked open.
With a dark expression on his face, Nangong He strode out.
“I’m the one who got peeked at, so why are you screaming? Shouldn’t I be the one yelling instead?” His face was icy cold, and every word he spoke was sharp and frigid.
“What kind of person did I hire as my contract wife? Some street hooligan?”
Finally snapping out of her shock, Qiao Xi awkwardly fixed her hair and used the nearby furniture to steady herself as she stood up.
“I never said you couldn’t scream. If you want to scream, go ahead anytime,” she replied, pretending to stay calm.
Nangong He shot her a cold glance, grabbed her clothes, and forcibly dragged her out of the bathroom into the living room.
“You stay up in the middle of the night, hiding around while I’m taking a shower—what exactly are you trying to do?” he asked in a low voice. “If you don’t explain yourself clearly, then get out of this villa. Our contract ends here.”
His expression was terrible, and it didn’t look fake at all. It was the genuine anger of someone whose privacy had been violated.
Qiao Xi suddenly regretted her muddled thinking. How had she come up with such a terrible idea?
Her younger brother’s life was still hanging in this man’s hands. She absolutely could not destroy their relationship completely.
Taking a deep breath, Qiao Xi raised her head as though throwing caution to the wind.
“I saw a birthmark on your waist. I was curious because it looked strangely familiar. Can you let me see it?”
A peculiar look flashed through Nangong He’s eyes as he frowned.
“You went through all this trouble over something so trivial?”
“Please.” Her expression was pleading, but her tone carried an undeniable determination.
Nangong He slowly untied the belt of his bathrobe and slightly turned his body, revealing the birthmark on his waist.
He loosened the robe painfully slowly, and Qiao Xi’s breathing unconsciously quickened. She swallowed several times uncontrollably.
If she truly had ulterior motives, even she would think she looked like some shameless pervert peeping on an innocent girl.
The birthmark was fully revealed.
She hadn’t seen wrong—it was a butterfly with outstretched wings, exactly the same as Xiao Ze’s!
She immediately grabbed Nangong He’s arm and asked excitedly, “Can I ask you something? Besides Xiao Chuyin, have you ever been with another woman before? Do you have a three-year-old illegitimate son?”
Caught off guard by her sudden movement, Nangong He took a sharp step backward and shook her off.
Qiao Xi still wore that hopeful expression, her eyes fixed on him without moving an inch.
Lowering his voice, Nangong He said word by word, “Do you think everyone has a colorful romantic history like you do?”
“Ever since I returned to the country, I’ve been busy with work. Aside from Xiao Chuyin… there hasn’t been any other woman.”
“An illegitimate son? Are you questioning me, or insulting me?”
His voice was exceptionally cold, each word stabbing toward her like a knife.
The joy swelling inside Qiao Xi instantly deflated, as if pierced by a sharp blade.
Still unwilling to give up, she asked, “Are you telling the truth?”
“What relationship do we even have that I’d need to lie to you about my love life?” Nangong He replied coldly. Without another word, he turned and left.
Even though it had been proven false, Qiao Xi still felt an indescribable sense of disappointment.
After returning to her room, she made a phone call.
A sweet female voice soon answered, though it sounded somewhat surprised.
“Xiao Xi? Why are you calling so late? I heard that you and Nangong He…”
“Yaya, I’ll explain those things later. I found out that Nangong He has the exact same birthmark as Xiao Ze,” Qiao Xi said in a low, serious voice.
Miao Ya gasped.
“So you suspect Nangong He is Xiao Ze’s father?”
Miao Ya was her best friend. Three years ago, when Qiao Xi brought Xiao Ze back, she was afraid the Qiao family would abandon him, so she had no choice but to entrust him to Miao Ya’s care.
Qiao Xi sent them money every month as child support for Xiao Ze.
Although Miao Ya’s family wasn’t wealthy, they treated Xiao Ze like their own child and had never neglected him.
“He’s about the same age as Sister Yanyan, and it seems like he’s secretly searching for someone too. Maybe… he was involved with Sister Yanyan behind Xiao Chuyin’s back. Wouldn’t that make Xiao Ze his illegitimate son?”
Qiao Xi’s voice grew even lower, her expression increasingly serious.
Back then, the kidnapping had been an accident. She and that woman hadn’t even exchanged full names. She only knew her nickname was Yanyan.
“Have you spent so many years searching that you’re starting to lose it?” Miao Ya sighed softly. “At that time, Nangong He was studying abroad. He wouldn’t have done something like that.”
Qiao Xi’s expression stiffened briefly, but she still refused to give up.
“But the birthmark! How many perfectly identical birthmarks can there be in this world?”