She suddenly had a thought!
Could it be Jin Yichen’s mother!
That’s the most reasonable explanation!
If it were Jin Yichen’s forr lover, the age wouldn’t match!
Because that Xiao Nie said the painting was given to his mother by an old acquaintance!
Su Ye! The person in the painting is Su Ye! But why would Su Ye’s painting end up in Nie Xiuwei’s mother’s hands?
Was the painting created by Leng Qiankai?
Then what’s the connection between Leng Qiankai and Nie Xiuwei’s mother?
Mrs. Leng felt her heart pounding like thunder, her legs weak, but she forced herself to stay composed, turned around, and walked back again.
Leng Qiankai waited for Mrs. Leng to leave before turning his deep gaze toward Nie Xiuwei. "Xiao Nie! You said this painting was gifted to your mother by an old acquaintance. Can I ask who it was that gave it to her?"
He thought it might just be a coincidence!
That his painting might have simply been stolen and gifted to Nie Xiuwei’s mother, with no direct connection to them!
Nie Xiuwei shook his head. "I’m not sure about that! This painting has been hanging in our ho for as long as I can rember. It’s been many years!"
A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes!
Leng Qiankai really knows how to keep things hidden!
"I see! Actually, there were too many people around earlier, so I didn’t ntion this, but this painting is one of my works from when I was younger!"
Nie Xiuwei’s face showed utter shock! "What?"
"Leng Qiankai! You!" Mrs. Leng, who had originally left, suddenly pushed the door open forcefully and stord in, her face full of rage!
Mrs. Leng had been suspicious earlier, noting how several people’s expressions seed unnatural and how Nie Xiuwei harbored such hostility toward her!
Her intuition told her that sothing was wrong with this painting!
And now it turns out that there really was a big problem!
It’s exactly as she had guessed: the painting was indeed Leng Qiankai’s work, aning he must have gifted it to Nie Xiuwei’s mother?
What kind of relationship did they have to warrant such a gift?
Leng Qiankai instinctively stood up, his face changing when he saw Ouyang Yan’s blazing red eyes. The words he had been about to say remained unsaid as she charged in.
But this matter was sothing he couldn’t explain to her in detail now; anything about Su Ye was a minefield for the two of them.
If she found out not only that this was his painting, but also that the person depicted was Su Ye, the ensuing family feud would be relentless and escalate even further!
Leng Qiankai expressed his displeasure: "Ouyang Yan! How could you stoop so low as to eavesdrop on others!
Nie Xiuwei’s lips curled into a smug smile. He just needed to sow chaos between them, so he could sit back and enjoy the spectacle.
It was like a cat playing with a mouse—not devouring it outright, but teasing it over and over again.
Once they completely turned against each other, entering the Leng Family’s gates would be much easier for him.
Mrs. Leng loudly questioned, "Eavesdrop? I never even intended to eavesdrop. It’s just that you were talking so loudly! I ca back to fetch sothing and accidentally overheard.
I’m truly glad I heard this, otherwise you’d still be treating like a fool, wouldn’t you?"
She glared bitterly at Leng Qiankai, who had let her down so much!
It’s often said that n are like cats with wandering paws, and so of her friends’ husbands had indeed indulged in reckless affairs outside their marriages.
But Leng Qiankai had always given her the impression of being soone who held himself to high moral standards—never revealing improper behavior in all these years.
That’s why, when it ca to Su Ye, she could be magnanimous and let the matter rest. The dead were gone; what was the point of fighting over a dead person?
In the end, wasn’t it still her who was spending her life with him?
Besides, they had children together, and while their relationship wasn’t without flaws, overall, she felt content.
But today, reality gave her a resounding slap across the face!
She’d thought about it that day—why would soone as aloof as Leng Qiankai treat a young man with such courtesy?
This was the reason!
Leng Qiankai hastily explained, "Xiao Yan, you didn’t give a chance to finish speaking! Look, let be honest with you, this painting was one I created many years ago. However, it was stolen and I searched for it for a long ti without success.
That’s why I was so shocked when Xiao Nie presented it today! Keeping him here was simply to ask if he knew who gave this painting to his mother.
And then you barged in!"
"You’re lying!"
"Impossible!"
Mrs. Leng and Nie Xiuwei shouted in unison, both clearly disbelieving his explanation.
Leng Qiankai ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I have no reason to lie!"
"No reason? How could you have no reason? If you had lost a painting, how co I’ve never heard of it before?" This was pure theatrics to her!
Mrs. Leng felt she had completely misunderstood Leng Qiankai as a person.
How could he dare to co up with such an excuse so easily?
Leng Qiankai truly felt at a loss for words. When the painting was stolen, it was his portrayal of his first love; how could he possibly have told Ouyang Yan?
Nie Xiuwei said seriously, "Master Leng! I’ve always admired and respected your talent and character, but I didn’t expect you to fabricate such a story.
This painting has been in our ho since I was very young, and my mother cherished it greatly! Are you suggesting my late mother was capable of theft? I won’t allow such an accusation to tarnish her mory!"
Leng Qiankai grew anxious upon hearing that his mother had passed away. "I’m not saying your mother stole it. But as you said, it was gifted to her, so perhaps the person who gifted it was the one who stole it from ! Yet you can’t provide any leads!
So, this matter is quite unclear!"
Nie Xiuwei was overwheld with resentnt. "How could I provide leads? My mother has already passed away; even if I wanted to ask her, I couldn’t. But Master Leng, did you truly lose this painting, or did you gift it to my mother?"
Leng Qiankai felt as if his head would explode. Why had this turned into such a conclusion?
"Why would I possibly gift it to your mother? I don’t even know who your mother is! And when the painting was stolen, I reported it to the authorities. If you want to investigate, there are ways to uncover the truth!"
Nie Xiuwei looked deeply at Leng Qiankai, uncertain of his intentions.
If what he said was true, then how did his mother co to possess the painting?
He shook his head. Impossible!
There must be sothing he didn’t know about!
He decided to take a gamble. "My mother’s na was Wei Zi!"
Leng Qiankai’s expression revealed a trace of confusion, and he murmured, "Wei Zi! This na sounds familiar!"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he looked at the painting. "I rember now—I had an assistant nad Wei Zi back then! She later resigned! I wonder if she could be your mother!"
It had been so long ago that, if not for so morable events linked to that Wei Zi, he might not have recalled anything at all.
Nie Xiuwei quickly pulled out his wallet and showed a photo from it. "This is my mother!"
Leng Qiankai carefully examined the photograph, which seed to have been taken many years earlier. A woman was holding a little boy, smiling at the cara—but her smile carried an indescribable oddity.
"It seems so! But it’s been so long that I can’t rember clearly!" (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, we welco you to vote for it on Qidian using recomndation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is our greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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