Your Father Is Huo Zhenyun

While Father Zhou and Zhou Jingxuan were talking, they failed to notice how twisted the expressions of their mother-in-law and grandmother had become.

So Huo Zhenyun was ill. Huo Xi must have been the first to receive news that something was wrong with Huo Zhenyun's health. No wonder he had made a move against Huo Zhenyun's people.

No wonder Huo Xi's mother had suddenly begun spending so extravagantly. The families close to Huo Xi had also practically put their good relationship with him on display.

Shi Ruyan set down her chopsticks. She felt that the time had come. They could not wait any longer. She had originally wanted to wait for an appropriate opportunity.

But who knew when the right opportunity would come? Before it arrived, Huo Zhenyun might die first.

Shi Ruyan looked at her daughter, Shi Pei, and finally spoke. "Pei'er, I've never told you who your father is, have I? Do you want to know?"

Shi Pei and the Zhou father and son were all stunned. Why had this topic suddenly come up in the middle of a perfectly good meal?

However, Father Zhou did not stop her. After all, his mother-in-law had helped him scheme quite a bit before he became the head of the Zhou Household. He still respected her.

"Who is my father? Mom, I asked you before, but you never told me. Why do you suddenly want to tell me today?" Shi Pei was curious, but she also found it strange. Why was she bringing it up so suddenly?

"Your father is Huo Zhenyun. You are his daughter, and Jingxuan is his grandson." The moment Shi Ruyan finished speaking, everyone at the dining table was shocked.

Shen Keke was thrilled. If Jingxuan was a member of the Huo Household, wouldn't he be entitled to a share of everything the Huo Household had?

Father Zhou and Zhou Jingxuan were excited as well. This was the Huo Household. The value that came with such an identity was anything but ordinary.

Only Shi Pei's expression stiffened. "Mom, are you joking? I'm Huo Zhenyun's daughter, so doesn't that make you a mistress? That Huo Zhang is only a few months older than me. Doesn't that make me an illegitimate daughter?"

She had always despised mistresses and illegitimate sons and daughters the most. Yet she herself was actually an illegitimate daughter. How was she supposed to accept that?

Shi Ruyan slammed her hand on the table and roared, "I am not! That woman from the White Household, Bai Shuang, is the mistress. I was your father's first love. If she hadn't appeared, I should have been the mistress of the Huo Household."

"Likewise, Huo Zhang's position should have been yours, and Huo Xi's position should have belonged to Jingxuan. Your father loved me, not Bai Shuang."

But she was younger than Huo Zhang. If she had been older than him, she could at least have used that excuse to comfort herself. Being younger than Huo Zhang proved that she had been conceived from Huo Zhenyun's affair with her mother after his marriage.

How was she supposed to accept that? If she had known since childhood, she naturally would not have felt so upset. But she had only found out at this age. How could she face anyone in the future?

Thinking of all the times she had fiercely cursed mistresses and illegitimate children in front of those wealthy ladies, she now felt as though every word was a slap across her own face.

"Auntie was overwhelmed by her feelings and made a mistake for a moment. That's normal. You can't blame Grandma for this. Besides, it must have been an accident back then. As Grandma's daughter, don't you believe her?"

"If Auntie is worried about her reputation, the Huo Patriarch will definitely make proper arrangements. No one will dare give Auntie any attitude." Shen Keke tried to persuade Shi Pei.

Shi Ruyan snorted. "You're not even as composed and clever as Keke. I already told you, your father and I were true love. What are you afraid of?"

"You haven't forgotten what happened when you went to the Shen Household last time, have you? With just one word from Huo Xi, Keke couldn't even leave the house for so long, nor could she make friends with anyone from a wealthy family."

"If you had the same power as Huo Xi, would you still have to respond even at your age when you knew he wasn't saying anything nice? Would you still not dare say a word after being humiliated like that?"

That was right. If she had Huo Xi's power, she would not be the one forced to respond and apologize.

Perhaps because Huo Zhang had not seemed any different because of his status in the Huo Household, she had never felt there was anything particularly good about being Huo Zhenyun's daughter.

But upon thinking it over carefully, wasn't that simply because Huo Zhang was useless? Real members of the Huo Household were like Huo Xi—surrounded by admiration, with everyone flattering and currying favor with him.

She would gain far more than she could as the mistress of the Zhou Household. In the eyes of ordinary people, the Zhou Household was also a prominent family in A City, seemingly no different from the Shen Household, the Su Household, and the other families.

But there were differences, and they could be seen from their business partners alone. The Shen Household and the Su Household mostly worked with families in this city or other cities that were on their level, or even better families such as the Huo Household.

The Zhou Household's partners, on the other hand, were basically families beneath them. They rarely worked with those on their level, much less those above them. Looking further ahead, their future development would probably not measure up to the Shen Household's either.

Not only did the Shen Household have Shen Yu, who was skilled in business, but he was also friends with Huo Xi. Their second son was with Lu Shao of the Lu Household as well. That alone put them far ahead. And the Shen Household still had three unmarried sons, meaning they would have three more in-laws in the future.

As for the Zhou Household, they only had Zhou Jingxuan. And the family background of Zhou Jingxuan's partner was poor. They might not truly be able to swallow up the Shen Household, so unless some outstanding project came along, how could they continue maintaining their prosperity?

She refused to become the mistress of a declining family. That was why she had supported her husband and son's idea of annexing the Shen Household so strongly.

Shi Pei calmed down before speaking. "Then what do you plan to do, Mom? Can you get the Huo Patriarch to acknowledge me?"

Seeing that her daughter had calmed down, Shi Ruyan said approvingly, "It's good that you've thought it through. Don't worry. I'll definitely make Huo Zhenyun acknowledge you. He knows I have a child, and after all these years, he'll surely cherish you when you appear."

Naturally, she did not mention that she had deliberately left behind the pregnancy test report back then. She merely indicated that Huo Zhenyun had always known of this child's existence.

Huo Zhenyun was sick, and she still had feelings for him. She had simply been unwilling to disturb him before. Now, going to see him because she was truly worried was entirely reasonable.

After thinking it over, she told Father Zhou to accompany her abroad in a few days. It would be better for her daughter and grandson to meet him afterward. Otherwise, deliberately taking them along would make it seem as though they were only seeking recognition because they feared he was about to die.

That day, Huo Zhenyun was taking a walk in the garden while chatting with Butler Zheng behind him. "Has Huo Zhang returned to the hotel?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, Huo Zhenyun immediately said, "Don't let him into my room the next time he comes." After a while, he asked again, "How are the arrangements for returning home coming along?"

Upon learning that everything was nearly ready, Huo Zhenyun instructed, "After we return home, stay there for a while and hold the birthday banquet. Then find another sanatorium. The management at this one isn't very good, and I'm tired of the scenery here anyway."

"Is Huo Corporation's stock market situation still in turmoil?" Butler Zheng answered Huo Zhenyun's question, "Yes. Shall you step in to quell the rumors, sir?"

"No. Don't interfere. Let Huo Xi learn a lesson. He casually went after people who used to work for me. He's far too arrogant."

After saying this, Huo Zhenyun continued walking. Only after walking for a while longer did he head back with Butler Zheng. Just as they were about to reach the courtyard where he was recuperating, he suddenly heard someone fall.

When he turned around, he saw Shi Ruyan lying on the ground. Without nearly any thought, Huo Zhenyun rushed over to help her up and asked excitedly, "Ru Yan, why are you here? Did you come specifically to see me?"

He had never expected to see Ru Yan again. He had been searching for her, but he had never found her. So he had guessed that she had changed her name and concealed her identity to keep him from finding her. Yet now, he had actually seen her once more.