Chapter Seventy-Nine: Losing the Woman He Loved Most

Around six in the evening, Shen Yanlie drove Mai Xijun to a hotel. As for what they were there to do, or whom they were supposed to meet, Mai Xijun didn’t know exactly.

In the grand lobby of the Haoli Hotel, the moment Shen Yanlie appeared, countless eyes instantly settled upon him. Shen Yanlie, however, seemed perfectly calm, even enjoying the attention. A few security guards nodded and greeted him, “Good evening, Mr. Shen.”

“Where’s Mr. Ye?” Shen Yanlie asked the receptionist who had just walked over to him.

“Mr. Ye had to step out for a while. He asked me to let you know that if you arrived before he returned, you could wait for him in his office upstairs,” the woman replied respectfully, her manner graceful and poised, though her heart was already pounding erratically.

Shen Yanlie was dazzling; this was a fact no one could deny. No matter the time or place, his presence was always a striking sight, whether in the lift of his hand or the turn of his heel.

Mai Xijun and Shen Yanlie were led upstairs to the president’s office. The receptionist poured them each a cup of tea before quietly slipping away.

Mai Xijun wanted to ask what was going on, but felt she had little standing to do so. She simply chose to remain silent, awaiting Shen Yanlie’s instructions. Still, she couldn’t help but occasionally observe everything around her.

Haoli was one of the city’s most prestigious hotels. Given Shen Yanlie’s status in the business world, it was natural that he would have connections here. And though he claimed they were here for a business negotiation, Mai Xijun could tell that wasn’t the whole truth. To be ushered directly into the president’s office to wait—Shen Yanlie’s relationship with the hotel’s owner was clearly more than superficial.

Perhaps, in fact, they were here for something entirely unrelated to business dealings, for when they left the company, Shen Yanlie hadn’t brought any documents or prepared any materials.

At that moment, the office door opened. A tall man stood in the doorway. Mai Xijun instinctively set down her teacup, both out of courtesy and respect.

“Have you found Sister Mu?” Shen Yanlie was the first to rise. Mai Xijun hurried to stand beside him.

The man shook his head slightly. He was tall and powerfully built, dressed in a black suit—by all rights, he should have been vigorous and full of spirit. Yet now, his eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

“I’ve completely sealed off all avenues of information, and started a thorough search across dozens of kilometers. I hope we hear something soon.” In this moment, Shen Yanlie’s demeanor was grave; every word he spoke carried a weight absent in his usual cold, arrogant, and unruly manner in front of Mai Xijun—instead, there was an unspoken seriousness, a heaviness.

“We’ve searched everywhere we could, gone to every possible place. But she’s nowhere to be found…” The man gave a bitter smile, the corners of his lips tinged with sorrow. It was a sight that made one’s heart ache. He stood about six foot two, appearing around thirty years old—the prime of his life—yet he looked like a flower struck by frost, his handsome face lined with worry and his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

“You have to believe she’s still alive somewhere in this world. Even if only for Xiaonan’s sake, she would keep herself alive, so that Xiaonan wouldn’t have to grow up motherless and alone.” Shen Yanlie’s tone was rich and resonant, carrying such depth that Mai Xijun couldn’t help but look at him anew.

Shen Yanlie, with all his facets—mercurial and unpredictable—seemed to reveal a new side to her with every discovery, deepening her understanding and curiosity about him. What kind of man was he? Sorrowful, wild, proud, unrestrained, cold, ruthless, or perhaps passionate, persistent, even cruel…so many sides, and she had yet to understand even a fraction. But Mai Xijun knew: the more you understand, the more you love. And the more you love, the more you seek to understand…

As Mai Xijun observed Shen Yanlie, her thoughts swirling, she suddenly heard the faint sound of sobbing.

Frowning, she followed the sound. The tall man was now seated at the desk, his long arms propped on its surface, his face buried deep in the crook of his arm. Only his dark hair was visible; the rest, Mai Xijun could no longer see.

Such an exceptional man, yet at this moment, he seemed to have retreated into a world of his own, a world where only he existed, spinning and dancing with memories—so sad, so full of pain.

Clearly, Shen Yanlie lifted his head slightly, as if to wipe away the tears in his eyes. Before Mai Xijun could make sense of what was happening, the office door opened again. Another man entered, and Shen Yanlie’s expression darkened as their eyes met briefly. The man was holding a child, who wriggled free from his arms.

“Daddy!” The little girl’s bright eyes brimmed with tears as she ran swiftly toward the man at the desk.

The man did not immediately pick her up. Instead, he lingered in his thoughts for a long moment. When the girl reached out to wipe away the tears on his cheek, he could no longer hold back—he broke down and wept, pulling the little girl tightly into his embrace.

“Xiaonan, Xiaonan…” Ye Fanyu’s voice was hoarse as he called his daughter’s name, each word wrung from him as if tearing his heart apart.

“Daddy, don’t cry. If you cry, Xiaonan will be sad too… Daddy, look at me, I’m right here. I’ll help you find mommy. I won’t leave your side. You’re not searching for mommy alone—I’ll help you, Daddy, I’ll stay with you…”

A few words, neither long nor short, yet they left Mai Xijun’s throat aching with dryness, as if something hard were lodged there, painfully and unrelentingly.

When Mai Xijun glanced at Shen Yanlie, she saw his eyes were red.

She didn’t know what had happened, but the scene before her filled her with sorrow.

There were several people in the room, yet the man at the desk wept unabashedly, as if finally releasing days of suppressed anguish, his cries echoing with a force that shook the soul.

Now, in the ears of Mai Xijun and Shen Yanlie, only the sound of Ye Fanyu clutching Ye Xiaonan and weeping remained. Xiaonan cried because she could not find the mother who loved her most; Ye Fanyu cried because he had lost the woman he loved above all others…