Chapter 22

He was still furious. He wasn't about to listen to anyone's advice, and he didn't even notice the frightened look on the girl's face beside him.

It was easier to see things clearly from the sidelines. Shen Luoluo, who had been watching the drama unfold, sensed that something was wrong.

[So he really brought her home without a DNA test?]

[I know he's hurting, but isn't he letting his feelings run away with him? How is this any different from Shen Xiche bringing his "girlfriend" with a big dick home?]

[No wonder he's the second son. That spot wasn't assigned at random.]

"Cough, cough..." Shen Xiche choked on his water and coughed so hard he could barely breathe.

Why drag me into it? Don't I have any dignity left? Great. Now even more people know about that glorious episode of mine!

Sure enough, someone in the crowd started snickering. Shen Jiayan was one of them.

Shen Luoluo heard him coughing too. [No way. Is this some kind of sixth sense? Did he realize I was talking about him in my head?]

Shen Xiche: ...

What do you think?

[Never mind. The intel matters more.]

[Let me see—]

Shen Luoluo reopened the Intelligence System.

Only then did Zhao Jin notice the voice that had appeared out of nowhere in his mind. Who was speaking?

While he was still wondering, the voice sounded again—

[Whoa! The old man's still got it. How did he know this girl isn't Second Uncle's biological daughter?]

What?

The sudden reversal left everyone stunned.

Zhao Jin froze too.

Only Zhou Mei smiled. She walked forward slowly. "Zhao Jin, you brought someone of unknown origins home without a DNA test? Weren't you afraid she might not be your daughter?"

"Besides, what's wrong with getting a DNA test? It won't take long! Why are you so against it? Do you not want to know, or are you too scared to face the truth?" Zhou Mei's words cut straight to the point. "You're afraid the test will prove she isn't your daughter, and you won't be able to bear it!"

The dining room fell silent. Zhao Huizhen couldn't help trying to persuade him too. "Second Brother, this isn't personal. A DNA test would put everyone's mind at ease."

Others might not know, but Zhao Huizhen did: if Luoluo said the girl wasn't his daughter, then she wasn't. Zhao Huizhen didn't want her brother to keep living a lie.

"He wouldn't dare get tested!" Zhou Mei sneered. "If he did, he might lose the hope he finally found. He can't bear that!"

"I say there's no Tingting at all. There are only this girl's lies!"

[No, no, no! You're wrong too. Tingting does exist!]

[Tingting is someone else entirely!]

After several reversals, everyone had begun to recognize the pattern. They were getting better at taking the surprises in stride.

They waited quietly for Shen Luoluo to continue.

Impossible! Zhou Mei alone refused to believe it. There can't really be a daughter born out of wedlock! Don't say another word! Shut up! She tried to step forward, but Zhao Jin and Zhao Yu grabbed her and covered her mouth.

Everyone waited intently. No one noticed the smile slowly spreading across the face of Zhao Jin's son, Zhao Yu, who had looked so miserable moments ago.

[Those keepsakes, and everything the girl knows about him and his first love—her friend told her all of it. She's just pretending to be his daughter!]

[The real Tingting is this girl's best friend. Poor thing doesn't even know someone else has claimed her dad!]

Zhao Jin's chest tightened. He stared at the girl beside him in disbelief. Was it true? Was the voice in his head right—was the person before him really not his daughter? But the week they had spent together had been so happy...

If this girl wasn't his daughter, where was his real daughter?

Suddenly, the girl dropped to her knees before Zhao Jin with a thud.

◎The person he loved became his father's lover.◎

The girl dropped to her knees before Zhao Jin with a thud. "I'm sorry. I lied to you. I'm not your biological daughter!"

Everyone was stunned again. So she really wasn't his daughter! Had the pressure finally made her confess?

"Your biological daughter is someone else. She's my good friend. Her name is Su Huaiyu." The girl spoke through tears. When the old man had demanded a DNA test, she had known she couldn't keep up the lie. But when the man she had called Dad for a week defended her, she had seen a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe—

Maybe she wouldn't be found out, and she could go on being his daughter!

Then she had seen him hesitate. She had seen the doubt in his eyes when he looked at her, and she knew she couldn't hide it any longer. Better to admit her mistake herself than wait to be exposed.

"Su Huaiyu." Zhao Jin repeated the name. Did it come from the saying about holding precious jade close? His eyes reddened. So she hadn't hated him after all!

"I'm sorry. I lied to you." The girl knocked her forehead against the floor twice, still crying. "Huaiyu is your biological daughter. When her grandmother fell ill, she told Huaiyu that you were her father and asked her to come find you. But Huaiyu had to care for her sick grandmother and couldn't come. She knew I was studying here, so she gave me the keepsakes, told me everything, and asked me to find you."

"When I found you, I meant to tell you the truth. But when you saw the keepsakes, you held me and cried. I thought I'd wait until you felt better. Then you took me out to eat and bought me things. You talked with me and cared for me like a father—better than my own father ever did."

The girl was crying so hard that tears and mucus ran down her face.

"Since my dad died, it's been so long since anyone cared for me like that. So I selfishly thought I could have a few more days with you. Just a few days would be enough! But you were so good to me that I couldn't bear to give it up. After that, I was too scared to tell you. I was afraid you'd hate me..." And so she had put it off until now.

"I'm sorry! I know I was wrong. I'm sorry! You can scold me or hit me. I won't complain!"