Chapter Forty-One: Found

On the third floor of the conservatory, Feng Qingquan’s fair fingers held an exquisite watering can, carefully tending to the blossoms. He then took a soft cloth from the maid’s hands, gently wiping the leaves.

Beneath the cloth stood a lush pot of violets.

A faint smile lingered on Feng Qingquan’s face, but it was distant and detached.

“What has she been up to these days?” he asked leisurely, continuing to clean the green leaves with meticulous care.

“Master, Miss Lan spent her first few days wandering all around the Lakeside Pavilion. Afterwards, she moved out of the Pink Heart bedroom and settled in the Violet Enchantress room. Since then, she often sits alone by the window, gazing out at the lake in a daze,” the maid replied respectfully, her head bowed.

Lost in thought? Feng Qingquan’s lips curled into a cold, indifferent smile, and he said no more. The maid stood quietly by his side, waiting for further instructions.

He wondered how that fellow was doing now—surely anxious. Others might be fooled into thinking he didn’t care about Lan Yingyue, but Feng Qingquan knew all too well: whenever she was involved, that man became like a lion whose possessions had been stolen, ready to fight with all his might.

Let’s see how long it takes him to find this place.

He set down the watering can and cloth, washed his hands in the silver basin held by the maid, then took the handkerchief she offered to dry the water from his fingers.

He rose and headed upstairs, pausing at the turn of the staircase.

“Darling, what has he done since learning of this?” he asked.

“He secretly hurried to Rome and mobilized the underground city’s people to search for Miss,” the maid answered.

Feng Qingquan’s lips twitched into a mischievous smile. Quietly, is it? I’d like to see just how quietly you can find me.

In the seventh-floor violet bedroom, Yingyue lay quietly on the wide European princess bed. The pillars surrounding her were carved with intricate rings, topped with four little angels cradling violet sashes that draped to the floor. At the head of the bed hung a wooden carving of heaven.

Yingyue placed the back of her hand over her eyes, shielding herself from the harsh light. She wondered who would find her and lead her away from this place. A strand of golden memory drifted through her mind, her eyes stinging with emotion.

No, let it be Xi—let Xi come take her away. Or perhaps Yu could, too. As long as it’s not him, for he abandoned her, didn’t he?

Yet why, whenever she thought of his abandonment, did her heart ache so intensely? She shook her head gently, trying to dispel his presence from her thoughts.

Inside a study in a Roman manor

The spacious study was bare, containing only a desk, a chair, a computer, and a telephone. The walls were pristine and white, unadorned.

The young master, dressed in black, sat behind the desk. Sunlight streamed in from the window behind him, casting a quiet glow across his slender back. The shadows hid his expression, but in his pale hands he held a picture frame, his long fingers lingering lovingly over the photograph.

Bathed in sunlight, the girl’s bright smile shone from the picture, her violet eyes captivating the soul. Innocent as a child, her curved brows and gentle gaze seemed to look beyond all things.

His slender, fair fingers traced over her softly curved cherry lips again and again, as if, by doing so, she might appear before him.

A deep gaze lingered on the photograph; he brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss upon it.

Knock, knock—someone tapped at the door. Startled, the dark figure placed the photo into a drawer, entering a string of numbers along the upper edge.

“Come in.”

A man robed in black entered, his mood unmistakably good, despite his efforts to restrain it.

“Master, we’ve found news of Miss.”