To focus fully on the investigation, Gu Yan took on part of Qi Xi’s workload so she could free up time to gather evidence.
Determined not to waste his effort, Qi Xi didn’t let a single minute go by unused.
She already had a rough plan in mind.
Qi Xi logged into Weibo and pulled up the profile of “Trickling Stream.” Sure enough, Wang Juan had accompanied Qi Ruiming on this business trip too, and was busy crafting her image as a successful, hardworking lawyer on social media—
A post about being on yet another flight this month, joking about becoming a frequent flyer.
For authenticity, the woman had even tagged her location at Rong City Airport.
Perfect.
Qi Xi had never been so grateful for social media in her life.
Fortunately, with Qi Ruiming and Wang Juan both out of the city, there was no risk of either of them suddenly catching on and interfering with Qi Xi’s evidence-gathering. So she made the most of this window to get everything done.
She headed straight to the Ruiming firm, claiming she was meeting a client nearby, and arranged to take Sister Li out to lunch.
“Sister Li, that time it poured rain and you gave me a towel to dry off—if you hadn’t, I probably would’ve gotten sick. Since I happen to be nearby today for work, I really wanted to treat you to a meal to say thanks.”
With that excuse from before, Sister Li didn’t suspect a thing, laughing it off and saying it was nothing.
Sister Li was a longtime employee at the firm, someone who’d practically watched Qi Xi grow up, and she’d always felt a natural warmth toward her. Over the meal, Sister Li mentioned she’d been worrying about her son’s upcoming college entrance exams and choice of major. Drawing on her own experience, Qi Xi offered plenty of advice, and the two quickly grew closer.
Seeing the moment was right, Qi Xi shifted the conversation. “Oh, Sister Li, at my mom’s last birthday party, my dad put together this really elaborate celebration, and he said a lawyer from the firm helped arrange it. I heard it was Lawyer Wang Juan? Is that right?”
Since Qi Ruiming had managed to hide this from his own wife for ten years without her ever noticing, Qi Xi guessed that his relationship with Wang Juan must be kept strictly confidential from everyone else too—otherwise, word would have gotten out eventually, and her mother would have heard about the affair long ago.
The moment the question left her lips, Qi Xi watched Sister Li’s expression closely. Sure enough, there wasn’t a flicker of change on her face, no hint of evasion in her eyes, not even a moment of awkwardness, surprise, or hesitation. She clearly had no idea about the true nature of the relationship between Qi Ruiming and Wang Juan.
So Sister Li answered without a hint of suspicion, nodding readily. “Yes, it was Wang Juan—she arranged everything. Even that bag for your mom’s birthday, your dad had her pick it out. He kept praising how capable she was.”
Sister Li said it without a second thought, but hearing it, Qi Xi could barely contain her fury.
Not only had Qi Ruiming had Wang Juan arrange his wife’s birthday party, he’d even had that vile woman pick out the Coach bag!
And she had the nerve! Carrying a Hermès bag herself, while graciously picking out a Coach bag for Qi Xi’s mother?
Unbelievable.
Taking advantage of Fengling International School’s Monday-through-Friday boarding policy, Wang Juan had it easy with her son—she didn’t have to look after him day-to-day, and Qi Ruiming covered the exorbitant tuition. All she had to do was stay beautiful, ask Qi Ruiming for money, and tag along wherever he traveled to enjoy the sights, all while cultivating an image on Weibo as an independent, successful career woman. She really had every advantage handed to her.
Swallowing her disgust, Qi Xi put on a smile. “She really does have great taste—my mom was so happy. My dad told me it was a lawyer from the firm who arranged it, and she’s been wanting to say thank you. My mom kept insisting I bring Lawyer Wang a small gift, but my dad absolutely refused, saying it would look bad if other colleagues at the firm saw it—like Lawyer Wang had some special personal connection with the boss’s family, which wouldn’t be good for her reputation.”
Qi Xi put on a show of grumbling about her father, muttering, “Otherwise I would’ve just come by the firm to thank Lawyer Wang in person. Now I don’t even know how I’m going to explain this to my mom next time I see her.”
Sister Li nodded knowingly. “Ah, that’s just how careful our Lawyer Qi is about these things. Honestly, most of the colleagues at the firm have been here a long time—we practically feel like family after a while. Having some personal rapport isn’t unusual at all.”
Qi Xi frowned, putting on an exasperated expression. “Exactly! My dad’s just so stubborn about it!”
Then she pivoted. “So, Sister Li, could you get me Lawyer Wang’s home address? I’ll have something delivered to her, and send her a private message to invite her to dinner sometime to say thanks—that way my dad won’t even have to know.”
Sister Li, being a warm and helpful person, and with the boss’s daughter sitting right across from her, didn’t doubt it for a second. She nodded immediately. “No problem, give me a moment—I’ll check the HR files when I get back and send you her address.”
Qi Xi gave her first genuinely sincere smile of the meal, feeling a wave of relief. She chatted with Sister Li a bit more about other things before saying goodbye.
Not long after, on her way back, she received a message from Sister Li.
Unit 403, Building 6, Xiangcheng Garden.
Sure enough, Wang Juan’s current address matched exactly the compound Qi Xi had narrowed down earlier.
But this time, Qi Xi now had Wang Juan’s precise address, along with her phone number.
She hurried back to the firm and immediately shared her findings with Gu Yan, handing over Wang Juan’s phone number.
With Wang Juan’s address confirmed, the next step was to verify that the property was actually registered under Wang Juan’s name, rather than simply rented.
Gu Yan found an empty conference room and dialed Wang Juan’s number right away. “Hello, is this Ms. Wang Juan, resident of Unit 403, Building 6, Xiangcheng Garden?”
Gu Yan had it on speakerphone. Sure enough, Wang Juan’s voice on the other end sounded confused. “What is this about? Who are you?”
“Hello, I saw your property listed on a real estate agency’s website earlier, and I’m very interested in buying it. I got your contact information through some private channels, and I was hoping we could deal directly without going through an agent…”
Wang Juan sounded impatient. “I’m not selling! I don’t know where you got my number, but I’ve never worked with any agency to sell this place…”
“So are you the actual owner? Or are you just renting? If you’re renting, could you give me the owner’s contact information?”
Gu Yan’s persistence clearly irritated Wang Juan. “Are you not understanding me? I already told you I’m not selling! Of course I’m the owner! The property’s not for sale! Keep bothering me and I’ll call the police!”
She hung up angrily right after saying that.
Gu Yan let out a breath of relief, stopped the recording, saved it, and sent it to Qi Xi. Then he glanced at her. “Confirmed. The property’s registered under her name.”
Given Wang Juan’s background and work history, there was no way she could have afforded this property on her own — which meant, without question, that Qi Ruiming had bought it for her using marital assets.
Qi Xi organized all the evidence, sorting it carefully by category.
By now it was nearly the end of the workday. Without wasting a moment, she headed straight to the hotel gym and pool where her mother had gone for her spa appointment.
Seeing she wasn’t a gym member and was a new face, a sales associate quickly approached with enthusiasm. “Hi there, is there something I can help you with?”
“Oh, my little brother wants to sign up for swim lessons, and since I happened to be free, I thought I’d come check out the pool.”
Hearing there was potential business, the associate’s enthusiasm only grew. “You’ve come to the right place! We’re actually running a promotion right now, discounts on swim class packages. How old is your brother? Would he be interested in one-on-one private lessons?”
“My brother’s ten, still in elementary school.” Qi Xi put on a hesitant expression. “Isn’t that a bit young to start swimming?”
“Not at all! We actually have quite a few boys his age here!”
As she spoke, the associate led Qi Xi toward the pool area. “Why don’t you change into some slippers, and I’ll show you around the pool. It’s temperature-controlled, disinfected daily — actually, it happens to be disinfection time right now, so there are no other clients around. I can give you a full tour. We maintain this place really well.”
Qi Xi pretended to look around, asking a few questions, putting on a convincing show of genuine interest, before letting a flicker of hesitation cross her face. “But my brother’s school is pretty far from here. He boards during the week and can only come home on weekends, and his weekends are already packed with other activities. There’s just no time…”
“Oh come on, with how developed the transportation is across Rong City, how far could it really be? Which school does your brother go to?”
“Fengling International School.”
At that, the associate immediately chimed in. “Then you don’t need to worry at all! Funny enough, we actually have a boy from that exact school taking private swim lessons here.” She tapped her forehead as if something had just occurred to her. “Come to think of it, he’s the same age as your brother too — ten years old! He boards as well, but apparently he’s able to get excused from school without any trouble. He comes in one evening a week for a private one-on-one lesson.”
The associate went on eagerly. “It’s true that Fengling International is a bit far from our hotel, but our coaches are really excellent, so the boy’s father came to check the place out once and decided on the spot to have his son’s swim lessons here.”
Well, of course he did.
After all, Qi Ruiming, desperate as he was for his son, couldn’t openly visit him without risking exposure. He must have been aching to see the boy, but to avoid drawing suspicion, he could only sneak in visits under the cover of accompanying Xi Wen to her spa appointments.
So no matter how mediocre the hotel’s swim instructor might be, Qi Ruiming would always keep his son’s lessons scheduled here — the swimming was secondary; seeing his precious son was what mattered.
Qi Xi kept her expression carefully neutral, letting only a well-timed flicker of surprise show. “Oh really? What’s his name? Maybe he and my brother are classmates — I should mention it to him right away. He’s not too enthusiastic about sports like swimming, but he has a bit of asthma, so our family’s hoping swimming might help improve his health.”
She added, “If he knew a classmate was already learning here, he might actually be willing to come!”
Eager to close the sale, and hearing that Qi Xi’s “brother” attended this elite international school, the associate saw another big client and answered readily. “The boy’s name is Wang Qiliang!”
“Oh, surname Wang — my brother has a few classmates with that surname too. How do you write Qiliang?”
Without much thought, the associate explained the characters — the same “Qi” as in “neat and orderly,” and “Liang” as in “bright.” “Let me think… he’s in Class 2A at Fengling International. He signed up with us originally, went with the one-on-one private lessons, and it’s worked out really well — he’s almost fully learned to swim now…”
Wang Qiliang.
From the name alone, Qi Xi could be certain this was without a doubt Qi Ruiming and Wang Juan’s illegitimate son — because it bore all the hallmarks of Qi Ruiming’s naming style. He liked to embed both parents’ surnames into a child’s name, lazily dressing it up as some symbol of the parents’ love.
For instance, the “Xi” in Qi Xi’s own name came from a homophone of her mother Xi Wen’s surname character.
Except where Qi Xi had once loved her own name, hearing the name Wang Qiliang now filled her with revulsion.
The light of Wang Juan and Qi Ruiming’s lives?
How utterly shameless.
Qi Xi’s heart burned with fury and hatred — the name itself felt like some cruel, dark joke.
Inside, she seethed with cold contempt, but outwardly she kept her composure perfectly, showing nothing but a touch of feigned disappointment. “Oh, Class A — what a shame, not the same class as my brother then.”
She asked the associate a few more questions about class packages and private lessons, exchanged WeChat contacts with her, and then took her leave.
Good. For now, the enemy stood in the light, while she remained in the shadows.
With that, Qi Xi had essentially pieced together the full picture of Wang Juan and the illegitimate child’s situation.
Qi Ruiming and Wang Juan, that shameless pair, still had two more days before returning to Rong City. Qi Xi was confident that would be more than enough time for her, Gu Yan, and her mother to sit down together, connect all the evidence, comb through every lead for additional financial trails, and compile a full list — and enough time, too, for Qi Xi to think through exactly how she wanted to deal with this disgraceful, shameless pair.
In the past, whenever Qi Ruiming watched a TV drama, he’d always sneer at any scene where a woman cried or made a scene emotionally. Qi Xi still remembered exactly what he used to say —
Women were useless, he’d say — all they knew how to do was cry, throw tantrums, and threaten dramatics, with no real ability to speak of. What good did crying do, anyway?
Right. What good did crying do?
Within the gendered constraints society placed on women, gentleness and forbearance were treated as virtues, while women who competed alongside men were seen as unlikeable, or dismissed with disparaging labels like “too ambitious” — as if winning was naturally a man’s pursuit, while a woman wanting to win was some kind of transgression.
But did women need men’s approval?
Was a woman’s worth defined by being liked by the opposite sex?
Were women not allowed to win?
Men who pushed women aside, men like Qi Ruiming who favored sons over daughters — weren’t they doing it, perhaps, precisely to eliminate the threat posed by competing against capable women?
He was a man, sure, but in the legal profession, could he even measure up to a tenth of Gu Xuehan’s ability? He loudly proclaimed that only men could truly shine in law, while in reality he was nothing more than a third-rate lawyer himself. Qi Xi herself had personally met no fewer than ten female lawyers more capable than Qi Ruiming.
The idea that men found it easier to achieve success in certain fields was probably nothing more than men flattering themselves — a convenient lie used to brainwash women into stepping back from the competition!
Qi Xi’s diligence and her drive to be the best had always been criticized by Qi Ruiming as excessive competitiveness, and he’d predicted that such a personality would never bring her happiness — that women shouldn’t be so forceful.
But it was only now, in this moment, that Qi Xi truly, wholeheartedly rejected everything Qi Ruiming believed.
Precisely because she was a woman, she needed to be strong — needed to be forceful, to advance, to fight for what she wanted, to compete without holding back.