Chapter 22

He was too angry to listen to advice. He did not even notice the fear on the face of the girl standing beside him.

It was easier to see clearly from the sidelines. Shen Luoluo, who had been watching the drama unfold, sensed 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 get the better of him? How is this any different from Shen Xiche bringing his well-endowed "girlfriend" home?

I guess there's a reason he's number two.

"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 my glorious exploits!

Sure enough, a few people in the crowd began to snicker. Shen Jiayan was one of them.

Shen Luoluo heard him coughing too. No way. Can he somehow sense that I'm talking about him in my head?

Shen Xiche: ...

What do you think?

Never mind. The intelligence matters more.

Let's see—

Shen Luoluo opened the Intelligence System again.

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

As he puzzled over it, the voice sounded again—

Whoa! The old man really knows his stuff. He actually knows this girl isn't my second uncle's biological daughter!

What was going on?

The sudden twist stunned everyone into silence.

Zhao Jin froze too.

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

"And what's wrong with getting a DNA test? It won't take long! Why are you so set against it? Do you not want to know, or are you afraid to face the truth?" Zhou Mei pressed every word home. "I think you're scared—scared the test will prove she isn't your daughter, and you won't be able to take it!"

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

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

"He wouldn't dare get tested!" Zhou Mei sneered. "If he did, that little hope he finally found would be gone! He can't bear that!"

"As far as I'm concerned, there is no Tingting. There are only this girl's lies!"

No, no, no! You've got it wrong too. Tingting does exist!

The real Tingting is someone else!

After several twists already, everyone had begun to recognize the pattern. They were getting better at taking it in stride.

They waited quietly for Shen Luoluo to continue.

Impossible! Zhou Mei alone refused to believe it. There can't really be an illegitimate daughter! Stop talking! Shut up! She was about to step forward when Zhao Jin and Zhao Yu grabbed her and covered her mouth.

Everyone was listening intently. No one noticed the smile slowly spreading across Zhao Jin's son Zhao Yu's face, which had been full of sorrow moments before.

The girl only knew about their keepsakes and everything that happened between him and his first love because her friend told her. She's just pretending to be someone else!

The real Tingting is this girl's good friend. The poor girl still has no idea someone else has claimed her father!

Zhao Jin's heart jolted. He looked at the girl beside him in disbelief. Was it true? Was the voice in his head right that she was not his biological daughter? But the week they had spent together had been so happy...

If she was not his daughter, where was his real daughter?

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

The person she loved had become her 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 was not 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. In truth, the moment the old man called for a DNA test, she knew she could no longer hide it. But when the man she had called Dad for a week stood up for her, she saw a glimmer of hope. What if I get away with it?

If no one finds out, I can keep being his daughter!

Then she saw his hesitation and the doubt in his eyes when he looked at her. She knew she could not hide it anymore. It was better to admit what she had done than wait to be exposed.

"Su Huaiyu." Zhao Jin repeated the name. Was it a reference to "holding fine jade close"? His eyes reddened. So she had not 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 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 the stories, and asked me to find you."

"When I found you, I meant to tell you everything. But you held me and cried when you saw the keepsakes, so I thought I'd wait until you felt better. Then you took me out to eat, bought me things, talked with me, and looked after me like a father. You treated me even better than my own dad did."

The girl cried so hard she could barely get the words out.

"Since my dad died, it's been so long since I felt loved like that. So I selfishly thought that, after all this time, 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 let go. After that, I didn't dare tell you. I was afraid you'd hate me for it..." And so she had put it off until now.

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