Chapter 59

How did things end up like this?
Qiao Zhenzhen looked around the carefully arranged living room and couldn't help but sigh.
An hour earlier, Old Master Chi had come in alongside her grandfather; the moment he saw Chi Shen his eyes reddened, and her grandfather had led him into the study, where he'd stayed until now.
And now she, her mother, her uncle, and Chi Shen sat in the living room staring at one another, the atmosphere oddly heavy.
After who knows how long, Qiao Zhenzhen gently poked Qin Jing beside her. "Mom, do you want to go see them?"
Qin Jing snapped back. "Hm?"
"...What are you thinking?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked, a little speechless.
Qin Jing cleared her throat and, deep in thought, glanced at Chi Shen. "It's nothing. I'm wondering if there might be a possibility..."
"A possibility of what?" Qiao Zhenzhen leaned in, curious.
Qin Jing lightly pushed her face away. After thinking for a long time she made up her mind and, with a serious look, walked toward the study. "All three of you behave. Don't go anywhere until I come out."
"...I'm over thirty, why do I have to sit here and get lectured with those two?" Qin Zhao complained helplessly.
Qiao Zhenzhen shot him a sideways look. "Why don't you argue with her to her face?"
"I'm afraid of her," Qin Zhao admitted, bluntly.
Qiao Zhenzhen laughed at him, then turned and saw Chi Shen lost in thought. After a moment she asked, "What's wrong?"
"...Nothing," Chi Shen said, looking at her. After hesitating he asked, "I feel like I've seen him before."
"Who? Old Master Chi?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked at once.
Chi Shen said nothing.
"You mentioned him before too, though that was about his family's restaurant. How did I answer... Oh, he's often on television. Maybe you've seen him on TV."
In her previous life Qiao Zhenzhen had been thrown into chaos by Zhao Lianqiao and had broken away from the original plot at eighteen. After being reborn she reread the original and knew the Chi Corporation would be where the male lead made his mark, so she never connected it to Chi Shen.
Qin Zhao, after thinking for a long time, felt something was off. "Old Master Chi got emotional the moment he saw Chi Shen. Could they have known each other before?"
"I don't know," Chi Shen answered.
On hearing this, Qin Zhao casually glanced at him, then suddenly realized something. He got up from the table, went over to Chi Shen, crouched down, and scrutinized his face.
"...Hey, you're too close," Qiao Zhenzhen complained.
Qin Zhao looked solemn. "Shh."
Qiao Zhenzhen frowned but settled down.
Qin Zhao stared at Chi Shen for nearly a minute and suddenly exclaimed, "I thought so, no wonder Old Master Chi was so upset."
"What's going on?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked immediately.
Qin Zhao returned to the table. "I don't see the Chi family much, so I might be wrong, but Chi Shen looks a bit like Chi Li."
"Chi Li?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked, curious.
"He was the old man's only son; he died in a car accident over ten years ago," Qin Zhao said, sighing. "The old man is really pitiful. When his daughter‑in‑law was pregnant his son had that accident. The daughter‑in‑law gave birth but later died of depression. He was left with a grandson, and the two relied on each other, until the grandson was three and was kidnapped by traffickers."
Qiao Zhenzhen was stunned. "Traffickers?"
She hadn't known that. In the original text Chi Cheng was more like background, his family history barely mentioned. Qiao Zhenzhen only knew that when he appeared he was childless and alone; she didn't know the specifics.
"If that child had survived and grown up safely, he'd be about your age now," Qin Zhao said regretfully.
Qiao's heart suddenly quickened. She swallowed and, cautiously, asked, "Is it possible... that Chi Shen is the grandson who was kidnapped?"
Qin Zhao was taken aback and let out a nervous laugh. "How could that be? Isn't Chi Shen a kid from the countryside near the city? He has parents, how could he be the old man's grandson?"
Qiao Zhenzhen forced a laugh, then realized she hadn't mentioned the crucial detail. "...Chi Shen isn't the biological son of the people who raised him."
Qin Zhao: "..."
In the study, Chi Cheng was completely stunned by Qin Jing's words.
"We can't speculate about this. Are you sure?" Qin Sheng asked seriously.
Qin Jing sighed. "I wouldn't say such a thing in front of Uncle Chi if it weren't true. Zhenzhen told me herself, she said the couple even admitted it in front of their homeroom teacher: Chi Shen is not their biological child."
"Chi Shen... you say that child has the surname Chi?" Chi Cheng felt his heart sink. "Do you know what those two are called?"
"I don't know that; you'd have to ask Shen Shen," Qin Jing frowned. "Should I call him in?"
"No, don't rush..." Chi Cheng, usually steady as a rock, was uncharacteristically nervous. "Give me a moment."
"If that doesn't work, ask Zhenzhen. That girl knows Chi Shen pretty well; she was the one who exposed the non‑biological thing, she probably knows who the couple are," Qin Jing backpedaled.
Chi Cheng thought for a moment, nodded with reddened eyes. "Sorry to trouble you."
So Qiao Zhenzhen was called in.
Thinking the man before her might be Chi Shen's grandfather, Qiao Zhenzhen felt unusually nervous. "Hello, Grandpa Chi."
"Child, good child. Grandpa wants to ask you something," Chi Cheng hurried forward, leaning on his cane. "Do you know the names of Chi Shen's current parents?"
"One is called Liu Guifang, the other..." Qiao Zhenzhen remembered the bald man had given his name yesterday, but she couldn't recall it at once.
When Chi Cheng heard Liu Guifang’s name he was already agitated. “Who is it, was his name Chi Qiang?”
“Yes, yes, that’s him, Chi Qiang.” Qiao Zhenzhen hurriedly nodded.
Chi Cheng suddenly flew into a rage. “That bastard! That bastard!”
His face went red and his breathing grew uneven. Qin Sheng and Qin Jing quickly helped him sit down. Qin Jing shot Qiao Zhenzhen a look, signaling her to step outside first.
Qiao Zhenzhen stayed where she was. “Grandpa Chi, you know Chi Qiang?”
Chi Cheng took a long time to steady himself before he ground out, “I know him. He and his wife were considered fairly close kin to the Chi family; they worked for us about ten-odd years ago, but they stole things and I threw them out. After that we lost contact, and a year later…my Jingchen disappeared.”
Because they had left early and never come back, when his grandson went missing he hadn’t thought of them.
Qiao Zhenzhen looked at him steadily. “So…Chi Shen might be your grandson?” She paused for a beat. “When I went to eat at the restaurant owned by your company with Chi Shen earlier, he said the place felt familiar. Seeing you today he also said you seemed familiar. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
Chi Cheng dabbed at his eyes; his fingers were trembling. He wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
“This is not something to take lightly, we should do a paternity test,” Qin Jing said to smooth things over.
Qiao Zhenzhen nodded. “Of course. We should do the test first.”
“No time to waste, let’s go now,” Qin Sheng stood up. “I have a friend who can handle it. We’ll get tested now and wait on-site for the results.”
“I’ll ask Chi Shen what he thinks,” Qiao Zhenzhen said.
Chi Cheng hesitated. “Yes, yes, ask him what he wants.”
Qiao Zhenzhen nodded and went straight out.
Outside the study, Chi Shen had been standing there without her noticing. They almost collided; after a stunned moment she closed the door and whispered, “Did you hear everything?”
Chi Shen shook his head slightly. “The soundproofing’s good.”
Qiao Zhenzhen laughed at that short answer, then realized it wasn’t a time to be amused. She cleared her throat. “Old Mr. Chi wants to do a paternity test with you. How do you feel about that?”
Chi Shen was silent.
Qiao Zhenzhen stepped closer, worry in her voice as she took his hand. “You don’t want to do it?”
“Do you want me to do it?” he asked in return.
Qiao Zhenzhen was taken aback for a moment. “Do you want me to be honest? I… I do want it. It’s just a blood draw; if it’s not true it won’t harm you, and if it is, you’ll have another family member in this world. I think that would be wonderful.”
Chi Shen looked at her intently, at the way she kept lifting her face, and the knot in his chest that had tightened the moment Old Mr. Chi walked in finally began to loosen.
“All right, then. Let’s do it.”
With Chi Shen’s consent, everyone rushed to the hospital. After the blood was drawn, the long wait began.
Qiao Zhenzhen sat beside Chi Shen, speaking quietly to him. He listened carefully, though his attention kept drifting to the old gentleman across from them.
He had been staring at him for a long time.
The test was taking too long and Chi Cheng finally couldn’t bear it; he stood and walked out. As soon as he did, Qin Sheng followed. Chi Shen looked up at their retreating backs and only after a long while let his eyes fall.
“It’s okay,” Qiao Zhenzhen said, gripping his cold hand.
Chi Shen’s lips lifted; he interlaced his fingers with hers and drew warmth from her palm.
Outside the waiting area, Chi Cheng looked as if he had aged ten years. “Old Qin,” he said, “what if it isn’t, what should we do?”
“It won’t be,” Qin Sheng comforted him. “I’m confident.”
“You don’t understand,” Chi Cheng sighed. “Since Jingchen disappeared, people have come every year claiming to be him, and none of them were.” He had spent so many years in disappointment that he no longer dared to believe.
“This time is different,” Qin Sheng said. In past years, those who came to see Chi Cheng, well, maybe not a hundred percent, but ninety-nine percent, were after his money. This time was different: they’d come looking for Chi Shen themselves.
Chi Cheng nodded. “Let’s hope so.”
Seconds ticked by and the group returned to their seats, silent as they waited for the results.
After a long while, the results finally came.
The paper was still warm from the printer in Chi Cheng’s hands; it felt like a thousand pounds. In the end he didn’t have the courage to open it. “Old Qin, help me…”
Qin Sheng took it with a helpless sigh and began to flip through the pages; the corridor rang with the sound. A minute later, looking at the final sheet, his eyes reddened for his old friend.
Seeing his expression, Chi Cheng’s heart sank. He forced a weak laugh. “It doesn’t matter, it’s probably nothing…”
“Old Chi, you’ve found your grandson,” Qin Sheng choked out.
Chi Cheng was stunned, snatched the report and read. When he saw the words “existence of a blood relationship” he could no longer restrain himself, he and Qin Sheng collapsed into each other, crying.
Chi Shen watched the scene helplessly. Qiao Zhenzhen silently took his hand.