The morning light was faint, and Shang Yu woke up leisurely.
His deep black eyes were blurred with sleepiness, and he instinctively turned his head to look beside him, only to find the bed empty.
His pupils contracted, and all his senses gathered in an instant.
The man rolled out of bed; both the bathroom and the walk-in closet lights were off. Li Qiao was not there.
Shang Yu casually picked up his robe and strode out of the bedroom.
In the dining room, Li Qiao was making milk. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned her head, only for the man’s warm chest to press against her back, "Hungry?"
Li Qiao stirred the milk, nodding with a faint smile, "Mhm, I felt like having so milk."
Shang Yu examined her closely, and seeing her complexion normal, he bent down to kiss her ear, "Rember to call next ti."
Li Qiao looked up at him, her smile slightly retracting as she saw the faint blue at the bottom of his eyes, "I’ll have a glass of milk and then co up. Will you sleep with a little more?"
"Okay."
...
At nine-thirty in the morning, Li Qiao and Shang Yu finished breakfast and set off for her grandfather’s house.
Arriving at Palm Residence, the butler was already waiting expectantly at the door.
Once inside, Elder Ming Duan Jingming was pacing back and forth in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
Upon seeing Li Qiao, he imdiately put on a stern face and feigned anger, "You stinker, how long has it been since you’ve co to see ?"
Before Li Qiao could speak, Shang Yu, with his arm around her shoulder, greeted respectfully, "Grandfather, she hasn’t been feeling well recently."
Duan Jingming’s gaze froze, and he rubbed his hands together, examining Li Qiao, "What’s wrong with you? Have you been to the hospital? Let have a look."
Li Qiao glanced at Shang Yu and then, with a smile, stepped forward and supported Elder Ming’s arm as they headed to the living room, "Grandfather, I’m fine now, all better."
"Really better?" Elder Ming’s sowhat murky eyes fell on Li Qiao’s face, filled with distress, "What do you an better? Look how thin your face has beco."
Once the group reached the living room, Duan Jingming quickly arranged for the butler to prepare fruits and pastries.
Li Qiao chatted with Elder Ming about family matters but didn’t ntion anything about the inheritance court proceedings.
Elder Ming didn’t want the younger generation to worry, always purposefully avoiding talk of family matters.
Soon, Luoyu entered from outside, nodding slightly to Elder Ming before bending down to whisper a few words into Shang Yu’s ear.
The man narrowed his eyes, his voice calm and deep, "When did this happen?"
"It must have been the wee hours back ho."
Shang Yu, with a tightness at the corners of his lips, greeted Elder Ming and then took Luoyu to the side hall.
Li Qiao’s eyes flickered, and a aningful smile appeared on her lips.
"Qiaoqiao, co over here with ," Duan Jingming glanced in the direction of the side hall, then pushed himself up using the armrests.
Li Qiao, thinking of sothing but without asking more, followed Elder Ming to his bedroom.
In the ancient-looking bedroom, a screen stood at the head of the bed, given by Shang Yu for Elder Ming’s grand birthday—an old sandalwood piece.
Elder Ming patted Li Qiao’s shoulder, then walked over to his bed, lifted the quilt, and took out a light blue plastic docunt bag from underneath.
The bag was sowhat worn and seed very old.
After restoring the quilt to its original state, Elder Ming handed the docunt bag to Li Qiao, "Girl, take a look inside."
Li Qiao took it, thinking it might contain sothing from Jing Yilan wrapped in swaddling clothes, but upon opening it, she found the property deed to Palm Residence and a storage receipt from South Sea Private Bank.
The storage receipt bore her na and was dated twenty-two years earlier, just half a month after she was born.
Duan Jingming sat her down and his gaze, lost in mories, gradually beca prolonged and distant.
Through the explanation of her grandfather, Li Qiao had a general understanding of the whole story.
Duan Jingming said, "I originally thought that if you never knew about your own heritage, then I wouldn’t give you this storage receipt.
It was your grandmother who found those items, a few thin slices of small glass sewn into the interlayer of your baby quilt. Your grandmother and I had no idea what they were."
The old man patted his thigh, took a breath, and continued, "Xiao Yuan asked about it a couple of days ago, and I guessed that you might have discovered your ancestry. Qiaoqiao, no matter who your biological parents are, Xiao Yuan and Guangming have truly cherished you as their own daughter over the years, you..."
"I know." Li Qiao clutched the handwritten storage receipt, her emotions exceptionally complex.
Duan Jingming relaxed his brow and his face revealed a trace of relief, "I thought I would take this secret to my grave, but now it’s good this way, it relieves one of my worries."
Li Qiao looked at Duan Jingming and pursed her lips, "Thank you, Grandpa."
"What are you thanking for?" The old man patted her shoulder, his eyes still full of concern, "This originally belongs to you, and since it was sewn into your baby quilt, I reckon it must be a very important secret."
As he spoke, he leaned towards the tea table, his eyes gleaming with excitent as he joked, "What do you think, could it be a treasure map or sothing? When I was young, I loved movies about adventure and treasure hunting. Maybe those pieces of glass are the coordinates of a treasure map."
Li Qiao: "..."
Duan Jingming talked to himself and then burst into laughter, "Hahaha, I’m just teasing you. Really, if it were a treasure map, those pieces of glass wouldn’t be big enough to draw it."
Li Qiao rubbed her forehead and compliantly responded, "You’re right."
After the joke, Duan Jingming added seriously, "Qiaoqiao, no matter what, be careful."
"Don’t worry, Grandpa, I will."
Li Qiao and Shang Yu joined the old man for lunch, and around one-thirty in the afternoon, they prepared to leave.
The butler helped the old man see them to the door, and despite the biting cold wind, Duan Jingming’s face was full of joy.
"Go, call the driver, I want to go to the mall."
The butler was surprised and glanced at his watch, "It’s ti for your nap."
"Who wants to sleep? I can’t sleep right now. Hurry up and call the driver," Duan Jingming instructed as he walked back, still justifying himself, "Which South Sea mall sells baby products? Look it up; we need to go to the most upscale baby products store."
...
In the car, Li Qiao handed Shang Yu the bank storage receipt, "Grandfather gave this to ."
The man’s slender, well-proportioned fingers took it and glanced at it before looking up slightly, "The headquarters of South Sea Private Bank?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Li Qiao raised an eyebrow; she rembered that South Sea Private Bank had always been around and its location was on South City Old Street.
At that mont, Shang Yu curled his lips and passed it to Luoyu in the front seat, "Fetch it when you have ti."
Li Qiao blinked, "Is my presence not required?"
It seed that these private safe deposit receipts and storage orders generally required the person themselves to handle the retrieval.
Luoyu turned around, took the storage receipt, and with a smile, he explained, "South Sea Private Bank was acquired by the boss a few years ago."
Li Qiao: "..."
Turns out it was a family business.
Shang Yu watched Li Qiao’s dawning realization and narrowed his eyes, "Haven’t you checked the shared assets list?"
"I have, but I didn’t notice."
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