"What? You weren't together?"
The mother-in-law was instantly alarmed. Xia Yuqing hadn't come home that afternoon, and she had assumed she was busy with work with Song Qiao. She hadn't expected Song Qiao to be unaware of the situation.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll go to the company and look for her. Yuqing might be working overtime."
Song Qiao suppressed his inner panic and reassured his mother-in-law.
"Xiao Song, Yuqing is probably still angry with you, which is why she's deliberately not coming home today. I think you've been getting too close to that Yuan Jianan."
The mother-in-law seemed to recall something and her expression turned cold towards Song Qiao.
"Go find her quickly! If you can't find my daughter, I'm not done with you."
The mother-in-law, blinded by rage, began to scold Song Qiao.
Song Qiao couldn't be bothered to argue. He grabbed his car keys and rushed out of the house, driving to the company to look for Xia Yuqing.
Upon arriving at the company, Song Qiao waved down a security guard to inquire about the situation.
"Boss, everyone in the company left long ago."
The security guard, seeing the anxious boss, replied cautiously.
"What?"
Song Qiao's heart leaped at the news. He quickly took out his phone and dialed Xia Yuqing's number.
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.
Song Qiao immediately panicked and sprinted into the company building.
As he ran, he called Xia Yuqing's colleagues.
He received the same answer from everyone: they hadn't seen Xia Yuqing before leaving work.
This made Song Qiao even more suspicious that Xia Yuqing might have encountered trouble, perhaps even being plotted against by someone.
"Wife."
Song Qiao raced to the second floor, to his wife's office, and pushed the door open.
The office was empty, not a soul in sight.
Song Qiao frantically turned on the lights for the entire floor and began a desperate search.
After more than ten minutes, he found nothing.
Panic caused his whole body to tremble, and he could barely hold his phone.
...
Xia Yuqing had been unconscious in the restroom for about four to five hours.
When she woke up, she found herself still trapped and started to panic.
She had a high fever and was shivering uncontrollably.
After trying to use her phone to call for help again without success, she had no choice but to try and save herself.
Though weak, she mustered all her strength and began to ram the restroom stall door.
Fortunately, the stall door wasn't particularly sturdy.
After about twenty minutes, the door began to loosen.
However, Xia Yuqing was already exhausted, collapsing onto the floor.
"Yuqing, Yuqing."
Song Qiao was searching on the first floor, repeatedly calling out his wife's name.
"Bang."
Just then, a loud noise came from the restroom on the second floor.
Xia Yuqing, with her last ounce of strength, finally broke through the wooden partition.
"Wife."
Song Qiao exclaimed and rushed towards the second floor.
The moment Xia Yuqing broke through the partition, her body was thrown forward by the momentum. The intense pain that surged through her caused her to lose consciousness again.
In her last conscious moment, she dimly saw Song Qiao rushing towards her.
At her moment of greatest need, her husband was not by her side. Having grown dependent on Song Qiao, she felt a pang of resentment towards him.
"Yuqing!"
Song Qiao rushed upstairs and saw his wife, soaked and unconscious on the floor. He panicked.
He quickly rushed to her, cradling her in his arms, and calling her name.
Due to the cold water, Xia Yuqing was experiencing a shock reaction. Her skin was burning hot, yet she was shivering violently.
Seeing this, Song Qiao didn't dare to hesitate. He immediately carried his wife downstairs and rushed her to the nearest hospital.
Fortunately, because she was discovered in time, Xia Yuqing received prompt treatment. By the next morning, her fever had subsided, and she slowly regained consciousness.
Song Qiao, with red-rimmed eyes, had stayed by his wife's side all night. Seeing her awake, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Yuqing, you're awake. Do you feel unwell anywhere? What happened last night? How did you end up fainting in the restroom?"
Seeing that his wife was out of danger, Song Qiao eagerly asked about what had happened.
Xia Yuqing shook her head with difficulty, casting a disappointed glance at Song Qiao. She had struggled all night, and Song Qiao hadn't appeared, which made her feel deeply upset.
"I'm fine. I think a colleague deliberately plotted against me and locked me in the toilet stall."
Xia Yuqing hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell Song Qiao the truth.
After all, the culprit was lurking within their company, and it was best to deal with them as soon as possible.
"What?"
Although Song Qiao had suspected something, hearing it confirmed by his wife made him unable to contain his anger.
"Xiao Song, I'm not trying to nag, but what exactly were you doing?"
"If you had come home on time last night, perhaps this wouldn't have happened."
The mother-in-law snorted from the side and couldn't help but scold Song Qiao.
"It's all my fault. I didn't expect something like this to happen."
Song Qiao nodded guiltily, looking at his wife with a face full of apology.
It was indeed his carelessness that led to this situation. If he had known beforehand, he would never have attended that party last night.
"Wife, don't worry. I will definitely find the person responsible and make them pay."
Song Qiao sat beside her, lost in thought for a long time, before his killing intent finally surfaced.
"No, you absolutely must not act impulsively."
"I'm fine now. Let's just let this matter pass for now."
Xia Yuqing knew her husband's temper and immediately grew anxious.
Song Qiao's bottom line had always been his family. In the past, Duan Kun and Director Li, who had wronged him, had both faced severe retaliation.
Now that someone had done such a thing, especially within their own company, once Song Qiao discovered who it was, he would never let them off easily.
"How can that be? Wouldn't that mean you've been bullied for nothing? Wife, don't worry, I will never do anything that breaks the law."
"Besides, our company absolutely cannot tolerate someone with such a malicious heart!"
Song Qiao completely disregarded his wife's plea and said indignantly.
"Wife, do you have any suspects? Tell me, and I'll start investigating them."
Xia Yuqing hesitated for a moment, shook her head, and was about to refuse when a familiar figure appeared at the door.
It was Song Qiao's old classmate, Yuan Jianan.