Huo Yi's Mother Goes Missing

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Lin Meng lay in bed with the air conditioning on when her phone buzzed with a few more messages.

Huo Yi had sent her more cocktail photos. The drinks Huo Yi mixed were vividly colored—some even looked like rainbows.

Before she met Huo Yi, Lin Meng hadn’t known egg whites and cream could go into cocktails. Huo Yi kept trying to tempt her into having a drink, promising that if she got drunk, she’d make sure she got home safely.

Getting drunk was unsafe by definition, so Lin Meng certainly wasn’t going to risk it. Every time Huo Yi sent photos, she politely declined.

Huo Yi’s cocktails were beautiful, but looking was enough.

Each time, Huo Yi came away disappointed. It would have been a lie to say otherwise.

She knew that the more enthusiastic she appeared, the more scared Lin Meng would become. Lin Meng had never opened her heart to anyone. If Huo Yi went to Xia Island to find Su Yutang now, even Su Yutang probably couldn’t tell her anything about Lin Meng’s life or family background.

The more guarded Lin Meng was, the more Huo Yi couldn’t resist digging into her, until she had studied her completely.

Recently, she’d heard that Yun Huaizhu had some free time. The old company Madam Yun left her was nearly empty of staff, yet she still had the leisure to hang around Lin Meng every day. How carefree.

…

Summer was approaching. What kind of surprise could tug at the heartstrings of a little lamb in such an ordinary summer?

Probably an extreme contrast.

Imagine flying to a ski resort at the foot of the Alps in the sweltering heat for a romantic ski trip. Even the most tightly shut heart would open just a tiny crack.

Huo Yi couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. Just as she was about to check her upcoming schedule, the nanny who had raised her since childhood suddenly knocked on her bedroom door: “Young Miss, the Madam and the Missus are back.”

Huo Yi’s brows furrowed at the news.

Those two had been traveling the world ever since they’d gradually shed their burdens and dumped most of the conglomerate on her. These busybodies posted lovey-dovey photos on Instagram every day; their daughter might as well have been picked out of a trash can. They didn’t even ask after her when she was sick. Why were they back now?

Huo Yi went downstairs in a champagne-colored nightgown that shimmered softly. Her steps were slightly hurried as she descended the brown wooden spiral staircase.

But the moment she reached the living room, she was greeted by a headache-inducing sight—

A woman with brown hair, impossibly delicate, sat on one end of the sofa, dabbing at her tears.

On the other end of the three-and-a-half-meter sofa sat a woman with long, straight black hair. Her sunglasses were still perched on her head, and she was wearing a floral vacation shirt. The two looked like they’d just come back from an island, yet the atmosphere between them was strange.

As Huo Yi stood frozen, the delicate-looking woman caught sight of her and immediately sprang up from the sofa, choking back sobs as she ran toward her. “Baby, your mommy bullied me! She went out all night with another woman. If I hadn’t found out myself, she never would’ve told me. Your mommy is going to cheat!”

The woman at the end of the sofa frowned deeply, her face dark as she looked at Huo Yi. “Huo Yi, don’t listen to your mom. She’s just being unreasonable.”

The small, bird-like woman clinging to Huo Yi and crying nonstop suddenly whipped her head around to glare at the other woman. “How am I being unreasonable? You went out drinking with someone without my permission! If the front desk hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known you’d left. What, am I too old for you now? Is that why you’re going after someone young and pretty? You don’t love me anymore. You want a divorce, don’t you?”

“...”

Huo Yi looked at the scene before her and sighed.

The two people arguing in front of her were her two mothers.

Her omega mother, Tan Qixia, had been one of Jing City’s top heiresses over twenty years ago. She and her alpha mother, Huo Rui’an, had locked eyes at a single banquet.

Even more incredible, their pheromone compatibility was ninety percent—a true fated pair.

With compatibility that high and family backgrounds that matched, they married without a single obstacle.

After the wedding, they lived in such wedded bliss that others envied them. The following year, they had their only daughter—Huo Yi.

These two had seemed perfectly fine when they dumped their mess on her and went off to travel the world. Why had they come back like this?

Huo Rui’an’s face was dark; clearly, Tan Qixia had already nagged her the whole way home. She spoke as if sulking. “If that’s what you think, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Tan Qixia cried even harder at that, grabbing Huo Yi’s arm and sobbing pitifully. “See? Your mommy doesn’t love me anymore. I can’t live like this another day. I want a divorce!”

Huo Yi’s expression turned awkward. Were these two really going to divorce at their age?

As their daughter, she naturally had to do her utmost to talk these two hotheads down. She pulled the bird-like Tan Qixia into her arms and gently soothed her. “Mom, maybe there’s a misunderstanding. Mommy probably just went out for a drink on a whim in the middle of the night. She drank too much and forgot to come back. She definitely doesn’t want to divorce you.”

Tan Qixia looked incredulous. She pushed Huo Yi away. “You... you’re on your mommy’s side! If she hadn’t done something guilty, why didn’t she tell me from the start? I wasn’t even asleep yet! How despicable! I want a divorce. I don’t want you two anymore!”

With that, Tan Qixia ran outside, crying. Huo Yi quickly ordered someone to follow her, afraid something might happen.

Once the crying in the villa finally faded, Huo Yi let out a helpless sigh. She walked over to the sulking Huo Rui’an and sat down beside her. “What’s going on with you two now?”

Huo Rui’an was still fuming. “Your mother is being unreasonable. I explained I went out with a friend, and I didn’t even drink much—just a few glasses. When I woke up back at the hotel, she found a woman’s business card in my pocket and started crying and shouting that I don’t love her anymore, even demanding a divorce. What was I supposed to do?”

Huo Yi caught the key detail. “A woman’s business card? Who was she?”

Seeing even her own daughter look suspicious, Huo Rui’an felt a pang of hurt.

She really had been wronged—and she was innocent!

Huo Yi narrowed her eyes with a helpless smile. “I’m not trying to gang up on you—I just want to help you clear up the misunderstanding with Mom. You have to tell me who that woman was.”

Huo Rui’an heard the question, and despite being in her forties, her cheeks inexplicably flushed. Perhaps embarrassed by her own shy expression, she quietly patted the back of Huo Yi’s hand, signaling her to lean in.

Huo Yi complied, bringing her ear close, and Huo Rui’an whispered the reason into it.

Huo Yi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? It’s because of that?”

Huo Rui’an nodded silently, her cheeks burning.

Huo Yi grew even more confused, her brows knitting together. “Then just tell Mom directly. That way, the misunderstanding between you two would clear up right away.”

Huo Rui’an said hurriedly, “I can’t! If I tell her, there’s no surprise left. We’ve been together over twenty years. She can usually guess the surprises I plan for her. If this gets out, we won’t even have that last bit of middle-aged passion left, will we?”

Huo Yi was speechless.

Actually, what Huo Yi really wanted to say was that if they couldn’t even clear up a misunderstanding in time, not only would the surprise be ruined—the marriage would soon be over too.

Forget it...

Huo Yi let out another deep sigh. “I don’t care about your angsty romance with Mom, but you have to explain it to her clearly. Don’t let it actually end in divorce—Grandma will definitely fly back from abroad to settle scores with you.”

Huo Rui’an nervously rubbed her fingers. “I know... but aside from the surprise part, I’ve explained everything to her. She just won’t listen...”

Huo Yi suddenly felt a headache coming on. When she was little, she’d watched these two show off their love every day and leave her to the side. Now she had to watch them fight over divorce.

She really couldn’t take it anymore.

…

Lin Meng felt a little dizzy from the air conditioning, so she went downstairs to the convenience store outside her neighborhood to buy ice pops and fruit. Yun Huaizhu didn’t seem very busy lately; she came over three times a week, and one night she’d even slept at Lin Meng’s place.

When Yun Huaizhu helped her move, she’d also replaced the bed in the new apartment. It was huge—taking up a third of the bedroom. Lin Meng knew Yun Huaizhu was under a lot of pressure. She had few friends, and her family had gradually left her, so she sought a bit of peace at Lin Meng’s place.

Lin Meng considered Yun Huaizhu her best friend, so she was happy to let her stay over.

Yun Huaizhu had helped her so much. At least here, she could sleep peacefully, without insomnia.

As for Tang Xiaoman... she could tell Yun Huaizhu didn’t seem to like Xiaoman much. But Xiaoman had also helped her a lot with the apartment search.

Out of guilt, Lin Meng bought Tang Xiaoman a lot of practical things—rice, oil, eggs, beef, and the like. More importantly, she spent a whole week helping Tang Xiaoman make PowerPoint presentations. Tang Xiaoman felt like she was back in elementary school.

Lin Meng only meant to thank Tang Xiaoman, but to Tang Xiaoman, it looked like affection.

Yet every time she tried to get close to Lin Meng, Lin Meng kept her distance, as if there were something terrifying about her.

Oh, right—Huo Yi seemed to have mailed her two bottles of red wine. She searched online but couldn’t find them, so she took a photo and asked the omniscient netizens. Someone said each bottle was worth over a hundred thousand yuan and even privately messaged her asking if she wanted to sell them.

Lin Meng was so startled she immediately logged out of her account, then carefully wrapped the wine, afraid it might get bumped. Next time Huo Yi came, she’d have Huo Yi take the two bottles back. She really didn’t dare carry something so expensive around.

Just as Lin Meng was slowly walking home with a bag full of fruit and ice pops, she suddenly spotted a woman in a floral shirt curled up under a locust tree.

What was wrong with her? She looked like she was in a lot of pain.

Lin Meng suddenly remembered that Yun Huaizhu had been like this during her first differentiation. Only, she couldn’t sense whether this woman was an omega or an alpha.

She was only ten steps away from the woman, and the devil and angel on her shoulders began to argue again.

Devil: “This isn’t your business. Go home. Wouldn’t eating ice pops and binge-watching shows be better?”

Angel: “But... she looks like she’s suffering. If she doesn’t have suppressants on her, she could be in danger in this heat, right?”

Devil: “What’s it to you? Haven’t you learned your lesson about sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

Angel: “Waah... but going into heat without suppressants is already pitiful. If she gets heatstroke on top of that, she could die! She looks so pitiful sitting there alone...”

By the time Lin Meng finished thinking, her legs had already carried her past the woman. But before she’d gone more than a few steps, her body turned on its own, and then she was running toward the woman without hesitation.

The woman really was trembling. The moment Lin Meng touched her arm, she felt a scorching heat. She quickly patted the woman’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

The woman raised her head shakily. She seemed to have been crying not long ago; her pitiful, helpless look reminded Lin Meng of the first time she’d seen Yun Huaizhu.

Something seemed to strike Lin Meng’s heart. The woman’s delicate, clear features were like a sudden waft of locust blossom fragrance in the sweltering heat.

Lin Meng truly couldn’t bear to see a beauty suffer. She kicked her inner devil aside and quickly touched the woman with her arm, still cool from picking out ice pops. “Are you okay? I still have leftover suppressants from last time. It’s too dangerous for you out here. My apartment is in the neighborhood just ahead—if you don’t mind, come rest at my place for a bit?”

A glimmer of light flickered in the woman’s eyes.

…

It had now been five hours since Tan Qixia went missing. When Huo Yi saw Tan Qixia run out of the villa, she’d quickly sent someone to follow her. But Tan Qixia had run out and gotten directly onto a bus. The person following her couldn’t get on in time, and Tan Qixia was lost.

Fortunately, the person remembered which bus route Tan Qixia had taken. Huo Rui’an frantically drove from stop to stop searching. But she’d already reached the route’s final stop, and there was still no sign of Tan Qixia.

That fool. Her delicate young-lady temper hadn’t changed at all. She’d run out without her wallet or phone, with only a few coins in her pocket left over from a game they’d played on the beach.

What if she’d been abducted?

…

Meanwhile, in Lin Meng’s rented apartment, cool air conditioning blew across Tan Qixia’s face. After using the suppressant the young girl had handed her, she instantly felt much better.

The girl had let her lie on the sofa under the AC and thoughtfully poured her some water.

Soon, Lin Meng came out carrying a freshly cut fruit platter. She’d bought mostly inexpensive fruits; the only slightly pricier items were probably the lychees and jackfruit. She placed the platter in front of the woman and said, a little embarrassed, “Miss, I don’t have anything fancy to offer. These are the fruits I just bought—very fresh. Please try some.”

Tan Qixia had recovered enough by now. Hearing the girl’s form of address, her face bloomed like a flower. “Sweetie, you’re so sweet. But how could I deserve to be called ‘Miss’? My daughter is about your age.”

Lin Meng was stunned. “Ah?!”

Tan Qixia’s smile widened at her reaction. She nodded. “That’s right. My daughter is twenty-one this year. You should be about the same, right?”

Lin Meng instantly began to doubt the world she was in. Did a day only have twelve hours here? How could this woman have such a grown daughter and still look so young?

Did all beauties age at a discount—forty looking twenty?

When Lin Meng had looked closely earlier, she’d noticed the woman’s contours were soft and firm; only when she smiled could you tell she had some years on her. But at the time, Lin Meng had thought she couldn’t be much older than herself, so she’d decided to call her “Miss.”

Now that joke had blown up in her face!

Lin Meng’s face burned red with embarrassment. She wished she could crawl into a hole.

Tan Qixia found the girl so adorable she almost wanted to introduce her to her own daughter.

She tasted a piece of the fruit the girl had cut. Though they were common fruits, they tasted incredibly sweet to her.

Lin Meng stood frozen for a long moment before finally walking over. “Then... should I call you Miss or...”

Tan Qixia covered her mouth and laughed. “Thank you for calling me Miss, but I can’t be that shameless. Just call me Auntie—after all, my daughter is about your age.”

Lin Meng lowered her head, blushing. “Um... Auntie, why were you at the intersection? In this heat, and you were in your heat cycle—it’s really dangerous.”

Tan Qixia’s smile gradually gave way to grievance. “I had a fight with my wife. I suspect she’s cheating and doesn’t love me anymore. I told her I wanted a divorce and ran out in a fit of anger...”

After Tan Qixia ran out, she noticed someone following her and, in a surge of anger, randomly boarded a bus. She still had a few coins in her pocket—just enough to ride to the end of the line.

When she was angry, she didn’t want to see Huo Rui’an or Huo Yi. She wanted to be alone and clear her head.

So she’d unknowingly ridden to the last stop. But when she got off, she realized her wallet and phone were still in Huo Rui’an’s car.

At that point, she was still furious and couldn’t bring herself to borrow a phone to call Huo Rui’an for help. In her agitation, she’d sat under that tree and cried silently. But the more she cried, the worse she felt. If the young girl hadn’t reminded her, she wouldn’t have realized her heat had come.

Lin Meng felt like she’d just stumbled onto a massive dramatic scoop.

Divorcing when your daughter is already twenty-one?

No way!

Lin Meng quickly tried to dissuade her. “Auntie, maybe there’s a misunderstanding between you and your wife. You two should sit down and talk it through. You have such a grown daughter, and your marriage has lasted over twenty years—you must be reluctant to give it up. You’re not at a dead end yet. You said yourself it’s just suspicion. Maybe...”

Tan Qixia’s eyes reddened with grievance again. “I know... but after twenty-plus years of marriage, I feel like she might think there’s no passion left between us. When people are in love, they secrete some magical hormone that makes them feel like they can’t live without each other, like they’d die for love. But I’m getting older. Everything feels bittersweet... I can’t seem to find the passion we had when we were young anymore.”

Lin Meng: “???”

Excuse me, how can you say that with a face like that?

Tan Qixia quickly stopped her tears and looked up at the girl with a gentle smile. “Alright, let’s not talk about her. By the way, sweetie, I haven’t asked your name yet.”

Lin Meng was slightly taken aback.

This woman was really open and warm. She’d been calling her “sweetie” from the start—no one had ever called her that growing up.

Lin Meng lowered her head shyly. “Th-thank you, Auntie. My surname is Lin. My name is Lin Meng.”

Tan Qixia’s face lit up with pleasant surprise. “Oh my, what a cute name! How old are you?”

Lin Meng suddenly felt something was off, but this beautiful auntie was so warm and seemed genuinely nice.

She hesitated, then answered, “Twenty-four.”

Tan Qixia’s eyes brightened. “Oh, what a coincidence! Our baby is twenty-one this year. There’s a saying—a girl three years older is like a gold brick. Our baby is a little money-grubber. If you and our baby...”

Lin Meng’s sense of foreboding came true. She hurriedly interrupted. “Auntie, I don’t have any plans to date right now.”

Seeing she’d been too eager and scared the girl, Tan Qixia said, “It’s okay, you can just meet first. My daughter isn’t exactly outstanding, but she’s decent-looking and has a bit of money.”

Lin Meng felt her world starting to spin. She’d only saved someone on the roadside out of some misguided saintly impulse. Was this karma for meddling in others’ fates?

Just as she wished she could faint on the spot, a frantic knock came at her apartment door—so forceful it seemed like the person wanted to smash it down.

Lin Meng jolted in fright. If she’d been home alone and heard such an unfriendly knock, she definitely wouldn’t have dared answer. But with the auntie there for company, she mustered her courage and walked over.

Tan Qixia stood up too, indignant. “Who is it? So ill-mannered!”

With Tan Qixia’s words giving her some confidence, Lin Meng opened the door. A figure flashed past, shoving the door open with great force, and she was caught off guard, pushed aside by the door’s momentum. Just as she thought she’d hit the door frame, she was caught by a warm body.

Lin Meng slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the person. She exclaimed in shock, “Yi-yi?”

Huo Yi’s expression was stern as she looked into the apartment. Huo Rui’an ran inside, saw Tan Qixia, and tears instantly rolled down her face. She clutched Tan Qixia tightly. “How could you just run off like that? You forgot your phone and wallet. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find you. Do you know I was worried sick?!”

Tan Qixia felt like she was being squeezed breathless. She tried to pry Huo Rui’an’s arms off. “Let go. Weren’t you going to divorce me? Why did you come looking for me?”

Huo Rui’an cried with utter grievance. “No divorce! I’m not divorcing! In this lifetime, I’ll only be widowed—I will never divorce!”

Huo Yi let out a headache-ridden sigh. “Mommy, just explain that thing to Mom already. I really don’t have time to play along with your drama.”

Only then did Huo Rui’an hurriedly pull a gift box from her jacket pocket. With trembling hands, she opened it, revealing a pink diamond ring.

Tan Qixia was confused. “This is?”

Huo Rui’an lowered her head and mumbled quietly, “This... is the gift I prepared for our twenty-second wedding anniversary.”

Tan Qixia’s eyes flickered with surprise. “So that day...”

Huo Rui’an gritted her teeth, then revealed the “surprise” ahead of time. “That person was an event planner. I originally planned to give you a night of fireworks over the sea and this ring... together as a gift on our twenty-second anniversary.”