Page 2

The little assistant froze for a moment, then blinked and said, "I suppose that's true."

In that instant, the little assistant felt as though some filter had shattered. Looking at Ye Mingzhao again, he no longer found him pitiable. Instead, he found him detestable in the way of someone benefiting from privilege.

When Ye Mingzhao returned to the Ye family home, Madam Ye was pacing restlessly around the living room. Seeing him come back, she visibly froze. "Zhaozhao, why are you back at this hour? Did something happen at the company?"

"The company is fine. I was worried you'd be unable to sit still at home alone, Mom, so I came back to keep you company." Ye Mingzhao pinched the kraft paper envelope in his hand, lowering his eyes. His thick, curled lashes trembled like the fluttering wings of a butterfly.

Madam Ye paused, then took a deep breath. She stepped forward, took Ye Mingzhao's hand, and led him to the sofa. "I knew it. Our Zhaozhao is the most sensible. I also believe that you and Mingyi will get along well."

With some emotion, Madam Ye stroked the back of Ye Mingzhao's head. This child, whom she had personally carried home from the orphanage, had been as frail as a kitten when he first came to the Ye family. Now, he had grown into a handsome and outstanding young man.

She wondered what her biological son looked like now.

Madam Ye looked dazed. Her gaze seemed to rest on Ye Mingzhao's face, yet her eyes were vacant and lost. It was obvious that she was looking at someone else through him.

Ye Mingzhao clasped Madam Ye's hand in return and said gently, "Please don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Madam Ye hurriedly said, cutting in. She hesitated before asking, "What exactly has Mingyi become like? Earlier, we received a call from the Southern Provincial Public Security Department. They said a child's DNA matched the samples your father and I had stored in the DNA database for missing-person searches. That child is twenty this year too, and he was taken to the police station for getting into a fight... Why would he fight with someone? How has he lived all these years? Has he been having a very hard life?"

Madam Ye's feelings were complicated. She did not even know what she was thinking. She was terrified.

Ye Mingzhao handed the kraft paper envelope to Madam Ye and said mildly, "I hired a private detective to investigate Chu Hengyi."

Chu Hengyi was Ye Mingyi, the third young master of the Ye family who had gone missing.

As soon as those words were spoken, Madam Ye was utterly stunned. "What?"

Ye Mingzhao's eyes curved as he smiled at Madam Ye. He had peach blossom eyes that looked affectionate even when he was not smiling; when he did smile, they became even more deeply tender. "I was also curious about how he has lived all these years. Dad and Eldest Brother flew to Southern Province by private jet the day before yesterday, but they still couldn't bring him back today. I thought something must have happened, so I hired a private detective to investigate Chu Hengyi, as well as the Chu family that adopted him back then."

What Ye Mingzhao did not say was that, according to the original novel's plot, this private detective would soon be won over by the reborn Chu Hengyi. From then on, he would serve Chu Hengyi with utter devotion, charging into battle for him. He would even disregard professional ethics and hand over all the evidence that Ye Mingzhao had hired a private detective to investigate Chu Hengyi. This evidence would also become an important weapon for Chu Hengyi to expose Ye Mingzhao's malicious intentions.

Madam Ye stared at Ye Mingzhao in growing shock. It took her a while to find her voice. "You did the right thing. What did you find out?"

"The other party hasn't compiled the specific information into a written report for me yet. I only know that eighteen years ago, the Chu family found a child and named him Chu Hengyi—combined with the information provided by the police, that child should be Ye Mingyi. The Chu family isn't well-off. After Chu Jianguo and his wife were laid off, they opened a steamed bun shop in a town outside Su City, Southern Province. The Chu family has two children. Their adopted son, Chu Hengyi, stopped studying after graduating middle school and worked odd jobs everywhere to support his younger brother's schooling. To make money, he even competed in underground boxing matches. Their biological son, Chu Qingyi, has excellent grades and is currently studying finance at New Sea University. He's a junior, one year below me."

"Is that so?" It was Madam Ye's first time hearing definite news about her son. When she learned that Chu Hengyi had gone to work without even attending high school, she could not help feeling melancholy.

All three children of the Ye family, including the adopted Ye Mingzhao, were outstanding graduates of prestigious universities. Yet her third son had not even gone to high school. At such a young age, he had already needed to work and support his family. Madam Ye felt both heartache and sorrow, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.

Ye Mingzhao suddenly sighed. "I know that Mom and Dad never gave up searching for him all these years. If the Chu family had chosen to call the police the moment they found the child, perhaps..."

Before Ye Mingzhao finished speaking, he changed the subject. "No matter what, the Chu family raised Chu Hengyi. I want to repay them."

As he spoke, Ye Mingzhao opened the kraft paper envelope and took out the property deed inside, along with various stock and fund purchase contracts.

"What are you doing?" Madam Ye looked at Ye Mingzhao, shocked and confused.

Ye Mingzhao said, "I plan to transfer the apartment in the city center to the Chu family."

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from outside. The gardener, who was trimming the lawn, called out in delight, "Sir and the eldest young master are back."

A moment later, a burst of disorderly footsteps approached from afar, and the front door was pushed open from outside.

Chairman Ye and Eldest Brother Ye entered, flanking a young man nearly six feet three inches tall. His face was cold and stern, his shoulders broad and waist narrow, and a wound above his brow had yet to heal.

He wore a black T-shirt on his upper body, faintly outlining the solid lines of his chest and abdomen. The exposed arms were corded with veins, his fists hanging at his sides, the protruding knuckles brimming with strength. The fierce, wild aura rolling off him made Ye Mingzhao pause slightly. He suddenly understood why the Ye Mingzhao in the original novel had always been able to frame Chu Hengyi so easily.

At the same time Ye Mingzhao was discreetly studying Chu Hengyi, Chu Hengyi seemed to sense it and abruptly turned his head to look over.

Chu Hengyi's eyes were sharply shaped. The color of his pupils resembled that of the Ye family—they were a light amber, gleaming gold in the sunlight like the vertical pupils of a wild beast. When those eyes, thick with killing intent, locked onto Ye Mingzhao, Ye Mingzhao suddenly felt as though a heavy stench of blood had washed over him.

The surroundings fell into dead silence. Everyone sensed Chu Hengyi's displeasure and hostility.

Ye Mingzhao smiled faintly and was the first to break the oppressive atmosphere. "Welcome home."

He said, "I'm Ye Mingzhao."

Chapter 2

A pair of bronze hands clamped down hard on Ye Mingzhao's right hand. Watching Ye Mingzhao frown in pain and let out a soft hiss, Chu Hengyi released him expressionlessly. "It seems you aren't as welcoming as you claimed."

Ye Mingzhao maintained his composed smile, hiding his slightly reddened, even bruised right hand behind his back—but under everyone's watchful eyes, no matter how casual his movement was, it was plainly exposed to all.

Chu Hengyi stared in disbelief at the hand that had rapidly reddened and swollen. If he had not known that this hand could crush a coffee cup with ease, even he would have suspected that he had gone too far just now!

Chairman Ye and Madam Ye frowned at the same time. Eldest Brother Ye could not help saying, "Zhaozhao was adopted from an orphanage after you went missing. Though he isn't blood-related to the Ye family, he has lived with us for so many years. He has long been part of this family. Mingyi, I hope you—"

Chu Hengyi's face remained expressionless as he interrupted Ye Mingchen in a stiff voice. "My name is Chu Hengyi!"

Eldest Brother Ye choked slightly. Madam Ye hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter what you're called. As long as you've come back, that's all that matters."

As she spoke, Madam Ye walked forward with reddened eyes. She wanted to embrace Chu Hengyi, but did not dare to. She could only stand frozen where she was and mutter, "How have you been all these years?"

There was not the slightest trace of emotion on Chu Hengyi's face. His gaze swept over the faces of the Ye family one by one before finally settling on Ye Mingzhao's two ink-black eyes.

Those eyes were as bright and deep as they had been in his memories. No matter how clear and radiant, how gentle as water the smile on his face appeared, it could never dissolve those two dense spots of ink.