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This change was still necessary for Ye Mingzhao. He had no desire to let his birthday be ruined by a pack of disgusting schemers.

Ye Mingzhao closed the script, rose with a smile, and flashed a brilliant grin at the reporters swarming toward him.

Thus, a good strategist sought advantage from circumstances rather than blaming Heaven. [Note]

Chapter 31

"Dad, have you seen the news—"

Ye Mingxi burst through the door to the chairman's office and saw Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen sitting on the sofa, watching television.

On the high-definition LCD screen, Ye Mingzhao, surrounded by reporters, smiled radiantly at the cameras and said unhurriedly, "I've also noticed the rumors circulating outside. If the person who leaked this information truly has clues about my biological parents, or if my biological parents themselves come to claim me, then I think everyone should conduct a paternity test first before drawing any conclusions."

A reporter asked on the spot, "If the person who revealed this really knows something about your biological parents, or if your biological parents come looking for you and want to acknowledge you, what will you do? Will you acknowledge them?"

"Do you still resent them for abandoning you back then? Do you think they might have had some unavoidable hardship when they abandoned you? If they truly had their reasons, would you forgive them for abandoning you?"

"Would you think your biological parents are only seeking you out now because they want money from you?"

Faced with the reporters' relentless questions, Ye Mingzhao smiled faintly. "Before I have confirmed information, I'm not in the habit of making assumptions."

"Then do you think the appearance of your biological parents will affect your relationship with your adoptive parents and their family?"

At that, Ye Mingzhao's expression turned solemn. "No."

He looked straight into the camera. Beneath the camera flashes, his clear black-and-white eyes shone brilliantly, dazzling like stars twinkling in a summer night sky.

Amid the low buzz of voices around him, Ye Mingzhao answered briefly and firmly, "No matter what happens, it will not affect the relationship between me and my family."

The reporters keenly caught the implication in Ye Mingzhao's words. "Do you mean that you only acknowledge your adoptive parents' family as your family?"

"Of course." Seemingly thinking of something, Ye Mingzhao smiled sincerely. "They adopted me from the orphanage, gave me a complete family, raised me, educated me, stayed with me when I was sick and needed injections or medicine, and applauded and celebrated when I received honors. They have been by my side through every low point and every shining moment in my short life. If that isn't family, then what is?"

"He really knows how to talk!"

In the chairman's office of Zhou Group, Zhou Yueze watched Ye Mingzhao speaking eloquently before the cameras with a mocking expression. He gave a cold snort, unable to name the feeling in his heart. "...What a silver tongue."

He had thought that upon suddenly hearing news of his biological parents, Ye Mingzhao would surely panic—at the very least, he should have shown some reaction appropriate for someone his age.

Yet Ye Mingzhao had remained as flawless as ever.

Watching Ye Mingzhao remain calm and composed even under the media's siege, Zhou Yueze let out a soft breath. "If I'd known this would be his reaction, we should've had that woman go directly to the set to find him today!"

"What reaction he has isn't important," Zhou Heting said casually as he turned off the television. "What matters is how the Ye family reacts."

Zhou Yueze said, "What if the Ye family doesn't care about Ye Mingzhao's biological parents, or just wants to pay them off?"

The reason they had gone to such lengths to find Ye Mingzhao's biological parents was to use those two people to drive a wedge between Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family.

But first Ye Linyuan had transferred 1% of his Ye Group shares to Ye Mingzhao, and then Ye Mingzhao had openly declared before countless reporters that he only recognized his adoptive parents' family. Both actions had exceeded Zhou Yueze's expectations. He had begun to lose confidence, feeling that even after all the effort he had put into finding Ye Mingzhao's biological parents, they might not be able to create any discord at all.

Zhou Heting glanced at his son and smiled faintly. "How much use a chess piece can be depends on where you place it."

Two months later, the five members of the Ye family appeared once again at the filming set of Beggar Prince.

On a late autumn night, the manor villa in the outskirts of Xinhai was bleak and desolate. The actors and crew, who had just gotten hold of some juicy gossip, busied themselves under the pretense of working while secretly pricking up their ears and covertly sizing up the Ye family members who had come to visit the set.

"Today's news must have troubled you a lot, right?" Mrs. Ye poured the cooked sweet soup into a bowl and handed it to Ye Mingzhao, who sat across from her, with a kindly smile. "Has filming been hard lately? You've gotten thinner."

Ye Mingzhao took the sweet soup and eagerly drank more than half the bowl before replying with a smile, "Filming doesn't make me feel tired. I'm actually enjoying it. But the news that came out this morning really has been rather troubling."

Ye Mingzhao paused, then drained the remaining sweet soup in one gulp. "Mom's sweet soup is still the best."

"If you like it, drink more." Mrs. Ye chuckled softly and poured him another half bowl. Then she said slowly, "Actually, we're also curious about what the people who heartlessly abandoned you back then look like."

The moment those words left her mouth, the air in the lounge abruptly fell silent.

Mrs. Ye patted the back of Ye Mingzhao's hand. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, our family will stand by your side."

Before she had even finished speaking, the most impatient of them, second brother Ye Mingxi, blurted out, "That's right! So what if your biological parents come looking for you? If they dare try to cause trouble for you, our Ye family isn't easy to mess with. And if they're after money, that's even easier to handle."

Eldest brother Ye Mingchen also stated reservedly, "We've already sent people to contact the person who leaked the information. No matter what their purpose is, as long as they don't go too far, we can sit down and talk."

Chairman Ye said nothing, but his attitude was clear. He plainly approved of the way his family intended to handle the matter.

The only one who had not voiced an opinion was Chu Hengyi, who had only recently returned to the Ye family. With his arms folded, he leaned against the lounge doorway, coldly observing the affectionate family with a thoughtful expression.

Ye Mingzhao lowered his eyes and used the motion of drinking soup to hide the slight redness in them. Yet everyone noticed the tears silently falling into the sweet soup, as well as his Adam's apple repeatedly bobbing as he swallowed.

In that instant, everyone's heart ached for him.

Mrs. Ye's eyes stung, and scenes of herself bringing little Ye Mingzhao home to the Ye family surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.

Eighteen years ago, after their youngest son was abducted, Mrs. Ye and Chairman Ye had suffered a devastating blow. At their psychologist's suggestion, they chose to adopt a child the same age as Ye Mingyi from an orphanage in order to ease their grief.

The director then recommended Ye Mingzhao to them. Though Ye Mingzhao was already three years old at the time, he was much smaller than children his age. The director explained that this was because Ye Mingzhao had been found by a scavenger in a garbage dump on a winter night.

The person who found the child immediately called the police, and the police took the feverish infant to the hospital. The doctor said that the child had only just turned one month old. To be abandoned in the snow in the middle of the night at such a young age and not freeze to death meant he was extremely fortunate.

Yet even though his life had been saved, the ordeal had left lasting health problems. During the more than two years he had spent in the orphanage, Ye Mingzhao had been sick on and off. So although he had been pretty and adorable since childhood, bright and obedient, and even a boy, no one had dared adopt him. One reason was that treating his illnesses cost too much money; another was the fear that even after spending all that money, they still might not be able to raise him.

It was not until Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye came to the orphanage that the director immediately entrusted the child to the wealthy and influential couple.

For the first three years after Ye Mingzhao was brought into the Ye family, he had practically grown up steeped in medicine. So when Ye Mingzhao told the reporters that the Ye family had accompanied him through injections and medicine when he was ill, it was actually far more than that. Mrs. Ye had stayed by Ye Mingzhao's side almost without sleep through the nights. She had devoted all her attention to Ye Mingzhao, as though she truly regarded this ill-fated child as her own flesh and blood.