I've never seen such competition for favor.
And it's with one's own elderly father, half in the grave already.
Old Master Zhao was extremely embarrassed and changed the subject:
"Is your mother named Meng Lianxin?"
Zhao Yunzhou curved his lips into a smirk, replying with a rebellious air:
"Yes, she is. Why? Did you sleep with other young maids?"
Old Master Zhao rubbed his nose. Sometimes blood ties are just like that; they hadn't even done a paternity test yet.
But at the first sight of Zhao Yunzhou, he had a premonition deep down.
This was that child.
The child whose existence he never knew.
"Yunzhou, I know you must hate me, but I truly had no idea you existed for the past twenty years."
"Your mother took care of me for nearly ten years. She was my nurse, also what they called a maid."
"Due to some special reasons, your mother had great difficulty conceiving; it was almost impossible for her to have a child. So after she disappeared, I didn't think in that direction."
Zhao Yunzhou scoffed, a mocking twist to his lips.
"Old man, I'm not here today to reminisce about father-son feelings. I'm here to claim the inheritance."
"Oh, right, you'd better call someone in quickly to do the paternity test first."
"Otherwise, this all sounds rather improper."
Old Master Zhao held a high status and had his own dedicated medical team. Soon, people were sent in to take samples from both of them.
He also instructed:
"Once the results are out, hand the report directly to me personally. If my daughters or sons-in-law try to get involved, refuse and tell me immediately."
After the medical staff left,
Zhao Yunzhou also prepared to leave. The test results wouldn't come out that quickly.
Seeing him stand up, Old Master Zhao quickly said excitedly:
"Why are you leaving in such a hurry?"
Zhao Yunzhou didn't even look at him, saying:
"Why not? Should I stay here and keep you company through the night? No need."
He pointed at the crowd of figures outside the hospital room.
"They are all eager to compete, to show off. Better leave the opportunity to them."
Hearing this, Old Master Zhao felt somewhat unwilling and said:
"Are you so sure that if the test results prove you're my son, I will definitely hand all the property over to you?"
Zhao Yunzhou didn't turn his head as he replied, "Yes, because this is what you owe me and my mother."
Once they left the room, Old Master Zhao's relatives swarmed around, surrounding them.
Among them, someone with sharp eyes recognized Xia Liuyue's identity and couldn't help saying:
"Young Mrs. Du, so it's you. I thought you looked familiar just now."
"The banquet is over. Why aren't you going home with Du Jiashu, instead coming here to meddle in our family affairs?"
"That's right, that's right. What's your relationship with this bastard?"
Facing their hostile stares, Xia Liuyue hooked her lips into a light smile.
"How could tonight's banquet compare to the drama here now?"
"My little brother brought me to watch a good show, and it truly is a good show."
"The louder you shout, the worse your impression will be with the old master."
"Keep cursing, go on."
The group immediately fell silent.
Zhao Yunzhou clearly wasn't afraid of them, yet in front of Xia Liuyue, he still put on an act, saying in a deliberately pitiful tone:
"Sister, they all want to bully me."
Xia Liuyue tilted her head slightly, glancing at him, and said, "Don't worry, they wouldn't dare."
Everyone could only watch them leave, not daring to utter half a curse, afraid the old master inside might hear.
Especially the daughters and sons-in-law, who felt even more guilty.
Deep down, they actually knew Zhao Yunzhou was very likely the old master's illegitimate child. After all, they were the ones who had that little maid driven away back then, using some underhanded methods.
...
"You're not really here for the Zhao family's property, are you?"
Xia Liuyue asked as she walked, looking at the man beside her.
With refined features, a pair of sparkling peach-blossom eyes, yet inexplicably carrying a hint of sorrow about him.
"Who says? Sister, I love money the most," Zhao Yunzhou said with a smile, curving his lips.
Xia Liuyue shook her head with a faint smile. "That black Lincoln we were sitting in earlier..."
Zhao Yunzhou interrupted, "I'm a professional con artist. That was rented."
Xia Liuyue met his gaze.
Yet she stated with great certainty:
"I've investigated you. Your background is quite complex, so I suspect the assets you've accumulated are probably no less than the Zhao family's."
"You're here for vindication."
"Becoming Tang Yinyao's junior 'Meng Xiang' was to get close to Yan Hechuan through her, to gain entry into the Zhao family's circle."
"So, back then, your mother must have ended up overseas. The orphanage you mentioned was abroad. You have no domestic educational background."
"The identity 'Meng Xiang' also takes the 'Meng' from your mother's surname."
Zhao Yunzhou blinked his eyes innocently.
"Sister, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Xia Liuyue glared at him. This little fox with eight hundred schemes up his sleeve, still pretending.
She pinched the flesh on his cheek, saying:
"It seems our cooperation is ending early. You can't continue being Meng Xiang anymore."
Zhao Yunzhou said with a serious face, "As long as sister wants me to be, I can always be."
Xia Liuyue hooked her lips. "No, he's already found out."
She raised her hand to point at a tall black figure not far away.
It was Yan Hechuan, with Assistant Chen, entering the hospital lobby from another corridor.
As if sensing something,
Yan Hechuan, despite being blind, lifted his head and turned slightly towards their direction.
The two groups were about ten meters apart.
If she had wanted to escape, Xia Liuyue only needed to turn around to get away smoothly.
But she didn't. Instead, she said to Zhao Yunzhou beside her:
"Come on, junior brother, let's go see if my fiancé needs any help."
Zhao Yunzhou's peach-blossom eyes flashed with astonishment.
What did the rich lady sister mean by this?
It's only been a week, and she's revealing it so soon?
But Xia Liuyue had already started walking towards Yan Hechuan. Zhao Yunzhou quickly hurried to catch up.
They finally stopped when they were about five or six steps away.
Assistant Chen's pupils trembled violently. Seeing the newcomers, he unconsciously halted his steps. Sensing the change in footsteps, Yan Hechuan beside him frowned slightly.
"What's wrong, Assistant Chen?"
"Why have we stopped?"
Assistant Chen met Xia Liuyue's smiling eyes and the panting classmate Meng who had hurried up behind her.
His mind was a mess for a moment.
He didn't know how to phrase it.
"It's... it's Young Mrs. Du and classmate Meng Xiang."
Ten minutes ago, they had indeed intended to check the surveillance footage.
With the Yan family's influence locally, it should have been smooth sailing. But just before viewing the footage, Yan Hechuan voluntarily gave up.
He himself didn't know why.
"Forget it, let's leave, Assistant Chen," Yan Hechuan said, his lips pressed into a tight line, as if he had finally made a decision after much internal struggle.
