Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

She observed his reaction intently as she asked this question.

Hence, she did not miss that flash of gloomy hesitation across his eyes after the question.

He pursed his lips tightly and said after a pause, “She’s an orphan.”

Weren’t there scores of orphans in the world?! But to bring a 14-year-old orphan home, there must have been something special about her!

Qiao Lian was compelled to pursue the matter, yet Shen Liangchuan suddenly threw aside the blanket and sat up. “Why don’t you go to sleep first? I just remembered there’s some unfinished business I have to attend to.”

Qiao Lian was stunned.

She widened her eyes and watched with bewilderment as he got up without a warning and left the room.

Like a gust of wind, his back view disappeared through the door.

She stared blankly into the air for a moment and could not react until, a short time after, she heard the door shut.

What business warranted such an abrupt reaction?

And why had he declined to speak about Song Yuanxi’s background?

Could there be… something wrong with Song Yuanxi?

She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling.

An 18-year-old boy bringing home a 14-year-old orphan girl to look after like a family member, and even spending a large sum of money sending her to study overseas.

A situation like this could only mean one thing…

At once, her pupils shrank and she scrambled down the bed. She walked out of the master bedroom and quietly made her way to the study.

Without knocking on the study door, she very carefully pushed it open a crack and looked in through the thin slit. She saw Shen Liangchuan standing on the balcony smoking. He was still in his pajamas.

She walked into the room.

The sound of her entering caused Shen Liangchuan to turn around.

She halted. For reasons unknown to her, she saw an expression of deep resentment on his face in that moment.

However, the feeling was fleeting and it was gone in a flash. Shen Liangchuan had realized the source of the sound and walked to her.

A thick whiff of cigarette smoke filled the room as the balcony door was pushed open.

Qiao Lian anxiously grasped his hand. Realizing it was freezing, she immediately nagged, “If you want to smoke, just do it in the room. You shouldn’t have stood in the freezing wind wearing these thin pajamas. What if you fell sick?”

Listening as she nagged, the coldness in his expression seemed to gradually fade away.

He clenched his jaw and slowly eased up as she led him to the sofa and sat him down. Then she served him a cup of hot water and draped a woolen blanket over him.

Seeing her fussing over him, he eventually spoke, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

There had to be a reason why she had come to the study at this late hour.

Qiao Lian glanced at him and said, “I suddenly thought of something, that’s why I came over. And fortunately so. If I hadn’t come over, would you be standing out in the cold all night?

Changing the topic, Shen Liangchuan asked, “Why are you here looking for me?”

Qiao Lian’s eyes sparkled as they looked at Shen Liangchuan. “Even if you’re not telling me who Song Yuanxi is, I think I’ve guessed correctly!”

On hearing this, Shen Liangchuan’s body tensed up.

He looked at her sharply, but there was also anxiety in his eyes. “Who?”

Qiao Lian did not seem to notice his expression at all and continued, “Is she your father’s illegitimate daughter?”

That must have been why he hadn’t even told Xia Yehua about it. He was probably worried that his mother would be upset if she found out.

Qiao Lian felt that this guess was as close to the truth as it could get