That same day, the psychiatric expert conducted a one-hour psychological therapy session for her grandmother.
Afterward, Qin Yuhe asked about her grandmother's condition, "What is the probability of her returning to normal?"
The expert replied, "The patient has a very heavy psychological burden. Under the current circumstances, there is only a forty percent chance."
The expert added, "Mental illness requires mental medicine. Whoever tied the bell must untie it. The grandmother's obsession is the missing child. If that child can be found, the patient's psychological illness will naturally be cured."
Qin Yuhe turned to look at Song Xinya. "That child..."
Song Xinya said, "She is my younger sister, Song Tingyou, a twin to Xiaoye. When she was little, she went out to play with my grandmother and got lost. If she is still alive, she would be seventeen this year and starting her senior year of high school after the summer break."
"I have been looking for her ever since she went missing. I hired many private detectives, but we never found her."
This country has a population of 1.4 billion. Finding someone in this vast sea of humanity is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Furthermore, her sister might not even be in the country anymore. She could have been trafficked abroad, or perhaps she was already...
Song Xinya did not dare to think any further.
Just the thought of the most tragic scenario made her feel as if she had plunged into an ice cave, her heart pierced by thousands of icicles simultaneously.
As Song Xinya trembled with cold, Qin Yuhe grasped both of her hands in his. His warm body temperature seeped through her skin into her body, dense and continuous like an endless warm current, flowing all the way to her heart.
He looked at her and said, "Mrs. Qin, I will help you find your sister."
Song Xinya suddenly felt a sting in her nose, and her eyes grew red.
She lowered her eyes to hide her emotions, her thick, long eyelashes covering her reddened eyes.
She did not like to expose her vulnerability to others, nor was she used to crying in front of people.
After her mother passed away, there was a time she suffered a grievance outside and cried in front of her father, Song Xuanli. Her father looked at her with cold, disgusted eyes. "Are you missing hands or legs? If others bully you, bully them back. You are weak and incompetent, yet you still have the nerve to cry in front of me. You are a disgrace to me. Get out."
From then on, Song Xinya never cried in front of Song Xuanli again.
As for Li Cuirou and Zhang Yingying, seeing Song Xinya sad would only make them happier.
Her upbringing had made Song Xinya accustomed to wearing a mask of strength to protect herself. Sometimes, having worn the mask for so long, she even forgot that she too needed care and affection.
This also caused her first reaction to others' kindness to be not joy, but a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.
A warm palm rested on the back of Song Xinya's head as Qin Yuhe pulled her into his embrace.
His other hand gently patted her back, his palm radiating a tender warmth that dispelled her helplessness and coldness, soothing her body and mind.
"Mrs. Qin, you have me now."
Song Xinya wanted to reach out and hug him, and she did exactly that, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Her fair, slender arms coiled around his waist, her soft fingers naturally gripping his lower back.
She was so soft. When she pressed against him, he couldn't feel her bones at all.
Her face rested against his chest, the hot breath from her lips brushing over his chest like a feather, stirring up waves of a ticklish sensation.
Qin Yuhe felt that Song Xinya was like a soft, fragrant rose, her body made of rose petals, even her bones feeling soft and yielding.
She truly lived up to the phrase, delicate and soft.
Every time he held her, he felt this profound realization.
Song Xinya gathered her emotions, her cheek still resting against his chest, and asked, "Mr. Qin, why are you doing so much for me?"
A vague sense of anticipation flashed across her heart.
Even if a woman's marriage partner was someone she had dated for years, he might not be willing to do so much for her.
Qin Yuhe replied, "There is a duty of assistance in marital obligations. Spouses should help and support each other. As my wife, since you have encountered difficulties, I believe I should help you."
If he didn't help her, who else would?
Rely on her father? Qin Yuhe could tell that her father was the equivalent of rounding 0.1—basically zero.
That vague anticipation burst like a soap bubble, leaving a sticky dampness in Song Xinya's heart.
She didn't hear the answer she most wanted to hear.
But it didn't seem to matter much.
She said to him, "Mr. Qin, you are a very good marriage partner."
Taking it as a compliment, Qin Yuhe replied, "You are too."
The corridor was long and quiet, the clean floor reflecting scattered light and shadows as the two embraced each other.
Song Xinya's back was beautiful; her pale yellow shirt was tucked into tight jeans, showing off a very slender waist and full, perfectly shaped curves that stood out beautifully.
Both she and Qin Yuhe were tall with long legs, and both possessed top-tier good looks. The sight of them hugging each other was incredibly pleasing to the eye.
This picturesque scene did not last long before Qin Yuhe's phone rang.
A government official's secretary was calling, urging him to return for a joint political and business conference.
Qin Yuhe did not plan to stay any longer and said, "I have some work matters to attend to."
Song Xinya did not ask him to stay. She released her hold on his strong waist, took a step back, and waved at him. "Goodbye, President Qin."
The way she called him President Qin made it sound as if he were her boss.
Qin Yuhe said, "Call me if anything comes up."
Song Xinya replied, "Okay, President Qin."
Qin Yuhe gave Song Xinya a deep look. "Mhm..."
The moment his tall figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Song Xinya saw him raise his phone and make a call: "Help me find someone. Song Tingyou, seventeen years old..."
He said he would help her find her sister, and he immediately acted on it.
Even if he didn't love her, spending a lifetime treating each other with such mutual respect didn't seem... too bad, right?
Was it?
...
At noon, Song Xinya received a phone call.
"Hello, is this Miss Song Xinya?"
"Speaking."
"Hello, Miss Song. This is the education technology company under the Qin Group. You submitted a resume to us previously. Are you available to come to our company for an interview this afternoon?"
A look of joy appeared in Song Xinya's eyes. "I am available!"
The caller gave her the interview location and room number.
After saying goodbye to her grandmother, Song Xinya led Song Tingye back home.
She went up to the second floor, applied a fresh, light makeup look, and changed into formal attire—a white shirt and black suit trousers.
The burn on the top of her foot hadn't healed yet, and wearing high heels would rub against it and cause pain.
She wrapped a bandage around the wound a few times. When she slipped her foot back into the high heels, it didn't feel as painful anymore.
Carrying her resume, Song Xinya headed out, not forgetting to swing by Song Tingye's room to push her younger brother to study.
"This afternoon, besides finishing five sets of test papers, you also need to practice your terrible handwriting. Copy the copybook and write a hundred pages."
Song Tingye nearly spat out his soda. "Sis, even pushing a kid to study doesn't work like this. A hundred pages? My hand will be completely ruined."
Song Xinya replied, "It's fine if you can't finish. You just won't get to eat beef tonight."
Song Tingye: No, I want to eat it.
Song Xinya: Five sets of mock exams, plus a hundred pages of handwriting practice. If you don't finish, forget about eating beef, you won't even get to eat cattle feed.
Song Tingye: Sis, let's not resort to threats. Can't you be a little nicer to your one and only brother? Like, find something fun for me to do.
Song Xinya: Your handwriting looks like chicken scratch and you still want to have fun? Why don't you go find some enemies to fight?
Song Tingye: I don't look for enemies, I just fight them.
Song Xinya: The era of hand-to-hand combat and bayonets is long gone. Now it's all high-tech information warfare, relying on satellites, drones, and real-time data links. What you need is brains and knowledge. If you want to fight the enemy, study hard and arm your mind first.
Song Tingye: Sis, you really live up to being a lecturer. You sure know how to yap.
Song Xinya: Thanks for the compliment, little bro. You're pretty good at running your mouth too.
Song Tingye resentfully picked up his pen and began practicing his characters: Fine, I'll write! If only for the sake of eating beef, I will write!
...
Song Xinya arrived at the interview location.
The core business of the Qin Group was finance; the education and training division was essentially an afterthought within the massive conglomerate.
She had assumed this subsidiary company would be shoved into some obscure, forgotten corner, but unexpectedly, it was located right inside the Qin Group's main headquarters building.
If she passed this interview, Qin Yuhe would not only be her boss, but they would also be working in the exact same building.
Which meant the two of them would be seeing each other every single day.
