Xiao Jiu missed his mother dearly and could not stop himself from hugging her.

Qin Shu missed her son as much as he missed her, and her heart melted when he rushed to hug her. She and Xiao Jiu were very close, and their bond was unbreakable.

“Mommy missed you too,” she said as she returned Xiao Jiu’s hug, a gentle smile lighting up her face.

With her back towards her husband, Qin Shu did not see the sullen look he wore as Xiao Jiu stole all her attention.

Xiao Jiu, on the other hand, was more than happy to rub it in his father’s face, smirking smugly over his mother’s shoulder.

The look his son shot him was so infuriating that Fu Tingyu had to wrestle the urge to toss him aside. It was a losing battle.

Still, he managed by telling himself that he could endure, if only for a short while. After all, his wife had not seen their son in a few days, and he did not want to upset her.

“Mommy, which uncle took you out to play? He didn’t even bring me to play…” Xiao Jiu whimpered, pouting in displeasure.

“It was your Uncle Chao Yan. He wanted to say goodbye to Mommy.” Merely mentioning Chao Yan was enough to pain her. Chao Yan had wanted to part on good terms, but she ruined it all by treating him as she would an enemy and not a friend.

Xiao Jiu quite liked him. His Uncle Chao Yan was blind and always had a piece of white gauze covering most of his face. Xiao Jiu did not even know what he really looked like underneath.

“Where is Uncle Chao Yan going? Has he recovered his sight?”

“I don’t know where he is going, but I know he hasn’t recovered his sight. It’ll take time for him to see again,” Qin Shu answered, stressing the last bit. She would hold on to that belief. That was all she could do.

“Uncle Chao Yan will definitely recover his sight! I want to see what he looks like under the gauze. I’ll bring President Ba along the next time we see him; President Ba seems to like Uncle Chao Yan very much.”

Xiao Jiu’s observation puzzled her. “How do you know President Ba likes your Uncle Chao Yan?”

She could not remember President Ba ever having much contact with Chao Yan, so she had no clue how President Ba could be close to Chao Yan. Then again, President Ba had the uncanny ability to track Chao Yan’s scent, and she had lost count of the number of times he had found him in the past.

“President Ba had a lot of fun with Chao Yan the last time we stayed in his manor. I saw them playing with each other when I went to the toilet late one night. President Ba only takes the initiative to play with someone when he likes them.”

Xiao Jiu grew up with President Ba and knew the cat’s personality well. Only those President Ba knew and liked could approach him and vice versa.

Qin Shu nodded in agreement. She, too, knew President Ba’s temperament. It was just that she had never seen President Ba go to look for Chao Yan alone. There was no need for Xiao Jiu to lie over something like this, which meant it was probably the truth.

Just then, Ling’er walked out of the house. She began to tear up when she saw her daughter finally return.

Before, she had not remembered the past, so even if she knew that Qin Shu was her daughter, it did not evoke a huge reaction. She had just felt surprised and joyful at having a daughter all grown up.

Now that she had regained her memory, the impact was completely different.

Qin Shu was thirteen, barely more than a child when she disappeared from her life. How many years had it been since then?

How her daughter had managed all these years without her was something she could not imagine.

Was she bullied?

Was she ill-treated?

She would never truly know since she had not been there with her daughter on that journey.

It was one of the reasons she despised Feng Jiuxiao. He stole the precious time she should have had with her daughter out of his selfish conceit.

She suppressed her excitement and called out, “Xiao Bao.”

Qin Shu looked up at her mother. She noticed the puffy redness around her mother’s eyes and immediately released Xiao Jiu, asking worriedly, “Mother, what happened to you? Are you alright?”

Ling’er pulled her daughter into her arms. It had been too long since she had held her daughter like this. Her little girl had grown up and was now a mother herself… It caused a myriad of emotions to fill her heart.

“I’m fine. I’m just happy to see you back.”

Qin Shu knew her mother must have been frightened after vanishing for so many days, so she explained, “Mother, I’m alright. I’m sorry I caused you to worry. A friend of mine took me out to have some fun. We ate, drank and fooled around; it was nothing serious. I’m fine. Really.”

“Your friend left a note. I was just a little worried, that’s all. It’s good that you’re alright,” Ling’er said.

Ling’er hid how she had recovered her memories so well that Qin Shu did not notice anything amiss. Not seeing her father around, Qin Shu asked, “Mother, is Father in the study?”

Ling’er nodded: “He just finished a meeting and went to the study. Is there anything you need from him?”

“Then I’ll go to the study first. I have something to ask him.”

Knowing that Feng Jiuxiao was in the study, Qin Shu could not wait to ask him to help her.

Qin Shu headed to the study immediately after.

Fu Tingyu guessed the reason for Qin Shu’s hurry was that she wanted Feng Jiuxiao to restore her memory. Like his wife, he, too, was interested to know how she and Chao Yan were related.

At the same time, he could not help but fear what her memories would reveal. Would it affect their relationship?

Nothing was harder to repay than a debt of gratitude.

If Qin Shu were made to believe that she owed a debt of gratitude to Chao Yan, it would be better if she did not recover her memories.

As much as he wanted to stop her, he could not. He only prayed that his father-in-law would see things his way.

Ling’er watched her daughter depart hurriedly. It seemed she had something urgent she needed to discuss with Feng Jiuxiao. Quietly, she turned to Fu Tingyu and asked, “What is it that Xiao Bao needs from her father?”

“It has to do with Chao Yan; she wants her father to restore the rest of her memories.” Fu Tingyu briefly recounted what transpired, apprising his mother-in-law of the situation.

Ling’er’s delicate brows furrowed upon listening to her son-in-law’s account of events. She had never met Chao Yan before, but it was not hard for her to fill in the rest.

Chao Yan was an extreme character. On the one hand, he was secretive, a person who kept his cards close to his chest, and on the other, he was whimsical, someone who made all kinds of requests for seemingly inexplicable reasons. He was the kind of person who had two sides to himself.

For someone blind like him to wander off alone… She did not want to imagine what could have happened to him. The open plains were vast and crueller than one would expect. A person caught unawares would easily lose their life.

To owe a debt of gratitude to a person of his nature would not be something her daughter could repay without great difficulty.

…

Qin Shu went straight to the study. The door was shut, indicating that Feng Jiuxiao was busy.

She knocked and heard a familiar cold voice. “Come in.”

When Qin Shu entered, she saw her father at his desk. He was dressed in his white presidential garb. She stopped before his desk, sizing him up.

Feng Jiuxiao looked up from the piece of draft legislation he was studying and eyed Qin Shu silently. She stood before him but seemed hesitant, almost as if she was not sure how to begin. He could not help but wonder what had driven her to seek him so soon after she returned from her travels.

“What’s the matter? Why are you so flustered?”

Qin Shu was used to her father’s frigid countenance that had not changed since she first met him. Perhaps others would feel fear when seeing him, but she did not. Those he favoured did not need to fear him.

“Father, I need your help with something.”

Feng Jiuxiao: “Tell me about it.”

Qin Shu did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: “I need your help recovering the rest of my memories.”

Feng Jiuxiao immediately rejected her. “No.”

Qin Shu did not expect her father to reject her, and she grew anxious. Propping her hands on his desk, she demanded unhappily, “Why not? You’re so strong. Why can’t you help me recover my memories?”

“No means no. Why are there so many whys?” Feng Jiuxiao answered without raising his head.

His voice was still as cold as ever. He returned to the piece of draft legislation as if that was that.

Qin Shu frowned. Feng Jiuxiao had not changed over the years. He was cold, aloof, and unbending. Nothing seemed to shake him.

Her gaze fell on the piece of draft legislation he was reading and snatched it out of his hands. He glared at her father, asking, “Do you think so little of me that even a crummy piece of paper is of greater importance than I am?”

Qin Shu’s words and actions were projected on a screen and transmitted to the president’s secretaries on the other side.

They were stunned by the young woman’s audacity. How could she speak to the President in such a manner?

Everyone began sizing up the young woman, each having thoughts about who she could be. She was not old, probably a young adult. Only so many people fit her profile, and soon they realised who she was to the President.

In all his years, no one had dared behave in such an unruly manner before him. Xiao Bao was the exception.

While on Mount Qi, she would often throw tantrums if he did not pay enough attention to her, and in her frustrations, she would snatch whatever he had in his hands.

Now here she was, an adult, and still behaving as she did when she was a child, running her mouth and acting up because she could not have her way.

Feng Jiuxiao rarely explained himself, but he decided to do so to prevent the situation from escalating, “You are my daughter. Of course, your matters are important to me. What you want, however, isn’t something I can agree to.”

The speculating secretaries and staff of the Home Office quietened upon hearing the President’s words. They had long since heard that he had a daughter and that she was quite beautiful. Rumours had run rampant recently, but now that they had seen her true face… they could not mask their surprise.

How did the President, who had never married, suddenly produce a daughter of her age?

Qin Shu knew what her father was doing. Deflecting and distracting were a few of his favourite tactics to use when he wanted to avoid talking about a particular subject.

“Why not? You say my matters are important, but you’re not willing to help when I ask you for it. What then is important to you? This?” She shook the document in her hand angrily.

Feng Jiuxiao was unphased by his daughter’s outburst. “I’ll help you with anything you want, except recovering your memory. This, I promise you.”

Qin Shu: “I don’t need your help for anything else! I just want you to restore my memories.”

What did she lack?

Money? Power?

Feng Jiuxiao rubbed his nose bridge, tired of his daughter’s persistence. Qin Shu realised something was off when her father turned off a switch. She turned around and happened to see the screen flash before disappearing.

… Had a bunch of middle-aged men seen her throwing a tantrum?

“A perfect family. Don’t you want it?” Feng Jiuxiao interrupted.

Qin Shu eyed her father suspiciously. “Don’t I already have one? You and Mother are getting married, and the wedding is approaching. It’s perfect.”

Feng Jiuxiao sighed to himself. “Ling’er wants to go back to Jiangcheng with you.”

Qin Shu was taken aback. “Why? What is she going to do after the marriage? Fly between Jiangcheng and Feng Yi?”

Feng Jiuxiao: “Mm.”

“What does that have to do with me recovering my memory? Why can’t you help me?”

Qin Shu was sure her father was hiding something. Otherwise, why would he not be willing to help her recover her memory?

She tried phrasing herself differently, sometimes, asking, and at others, demanding answers from Feng Jiuxiao, but to no avail. Her failures frustrated her. Meanwhile, her father remained a picture of calm, effortlessly side-stepping questions he found too inconvenient to answer while giving her the silent treatment for questions he had already heard.

“There’s no reason.”

Qin Shu thought there had to be some important reason for his continued refusals, but when her father said those few words, she wanted to flip his table in sheer anger.

“I’m not your daughter,” she cried hatefully.

Anger crept into Feng Jiuxiao’s voice: “Nonsense.”

“I’m not talking nonsense. If I were your daughter, you would help me, but you won’t help me. I’m going to bring Mother and Xiao Jiu back to Jiangcheng now.”

After saying that, Qin Shu turned around and left. It would not take much for her father to restore her memories, but he was simply unwilling to help.

Feng Jiuxiao stood up, his cold voice resounding clear and crisp. “Stop.”

Qin Shu stopped in her tracks but did not turn around to look at him.

Feng Jiuxiao stepped around his desk and stopped in front of her. Qin Shu turned away, refusing to look at him.

Feng Jiuxiao’s expression darkened as he reminded her: “You are not allowed to say such words ever again.”

Earlier, she had spoken out of anger. She glared at her father, dissatisfaction lacing her words, “You erased my memories; you should take responsibility and restore them.”

“Restoring your memory is out of the question,” Feng Jiuxiao declared.

Qin Shu stared at Feng Jiuxiao for a while and saw that he was determined not to help her restore her memory.

“No matter what, there must be a reason you erased my memories and sealed my martial strength. Shouldn’t you give me an explanation, Father?” She demanded.

Feng Jiuxiao replied: “I’m doing this for your own good.”

Qin Shu could not help but roll her eyes, “Your so-called ‘own good’ is self-righteous. Are you sure it’s for my good and not yours?”

“You and Mother are the same. You erased my memories and sealed my martial strength. You will never be able to understand what kind of life I have had to live.”

“I know my relationship with Chao Yan isn’t as shallow as it appears, yet you insist you’re doing this for my good? How does concealing the truth help me?”

“I don’t remember anything about him, but I know I should,” she cried. She was tired of hearing her father say it was for her own good.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to rein in her temper.

“Since you’re unwilling to restore my memories, I’ll think of a way myself. Father isn’t the only one in this world able to restore a person’s memories.”

After saying this, Qin Shu walked out without looking back.

Just as she walked out of the study, she saw Ling’er standing outside the door. Her eyes were slightly red, and there were tears in her eyes. She must have heard what she had said earlier.

She hurriedly went to hold her mother’s hand and explained, “Mother, I didn’t mean what I said. I spoke out of anger; I’m sorry.”

Ling’er took a step forward and held her daughter in her arms. She had been trying to hold it in, but in the end, she could not hold back the tears that fell from her eyes, “Xiao Bao, it’s all your Mother’s fault for making you suffer so much. I was too selfish at that time. I didn’t think of you, and I didn’t think of what would happen when I left you in Jiangcheng and at the hands of the Qin family.”

Even if Qin Shu did not say anything, Ling’er knew that her daughter’s life had not been easy.

Feng Jiuxiao stood less than two meters away from the door of the study and looked at the mother and daughter hugging each other. He knew why Ling’er hated him so much. Not only did she deceive him, but also Xiao Bao.

Ling’er should still have feelings for him, but she wanted to leave.

Qin Shu suddenly realised something, and she was a little surprised. “Mother… You remember?”

Ling’er nodded. “Mm, I recovered it on the day you left.”

“Then you and Father…” Qin Shu turned to look at Feng Jiuxiao. He was as expressionless as ever. Her mother could not possibly have forgiven her father so easily; otherwise, her father would not look the way he did.

Feng Jiuxiao stood still and looked at Ling’er, who felt guilty. His heart ached. He felt the weight of his actions and was overcome by guilt. Everything had happened because of him.