Chapter 144: 144: Ah Fang’s Paternity Test (Second Update)

Luo Qinghe poured a cup of tea, seven-tenths full, and handed it to the woman opposite him, “Is her mouth tight?”

The woman propped herself up and sat up, laughing, “Rest assured, it is.”

Luo Qinghe poured another cup, took a small sip, and asked casually, “What about your thorn in the side, did you get rid of it?”

“Fights of cornered beasts always involve some struggle.” She took a bronze hairpin and casually pinned her hair up at the back of her head, “Let’s not talk about that.” She looked at Luo Qinghe, smiling faintly. With her hair up, her forehead was exposed, her features tidy and clean, “Are you interested in my goods?”

Luo Qinghe shook his head, adding some water to the teapot, “We Luo family don’t touch that stuff.”

The woman smiled cryptically, “Is there anything you don’t touch?”

...

It’s not about not touching, but not handling it himself.

Luo Qinghe smiled without saying a word.

The woman opposite him was dressed simply, with only lipstick and her eyebrows done, resembling a girl fresh out of school, “That professional errand runner, do you have a grudge against her?”

Luo Qinghe didn’t go into detail but said simply, “Too troublesome.”

“Let’s cooperate for once, and I’ll give you a piece of advice.” The woman finished the tea in her cup, stood up, and her tight black jeans outlined her slender figure. She got dressed in her jacket and scarf, “To be a top runner in the industry, she must not be easy to handle. Even FOR’s lot can’t hold her down; you definitely can’t beat her with brute force. You might as well start by finding her weaknesses.”

Having said that, she left the private room, passed through the corridor, and bumped into an acquaintance at the corner.

Her scarf fell to the ground, and as she lifted her head, she was astonished, “Bai Yang, it’s you.”

Wen Baiyang picked up the scarf from the ground and returned it to her, then took out paper and a pen from his bag, writing, “Long time no see, Sister Zixi.”

Zhang Zixi looked at her for a while before searching for a pen.

Wen Baiyang wrote another sentence in the notebook and showed it to her, “I can read lips.”

“I see.”

She stopped searching for a pen and handed Wen Baiyang a business card, “Call me when you’re free.”

Wen Baiyang took the business card without saying anything.

She said she had another matter to attend to and had to leave first, “Oh, by the way.” She turned around, her eyes always carrying a faint smile, “Are you together with Nanchu?”

Wen Baiyang’s eyes were puzzled, not understanding why she would ask such a question.

Zhang Zixi smiled playfully, “Not together, huh.” She waved her hand and left first.

Not together, then.

What was that about back then?

Back then, when she and Qiao Nanchu were still studying at the police academy, Qiao Nanchu was very famous in the school, not only because of his family background but also because he was outstanding. She was also very famous, but purely because of her beauty.

At a fighting competition, she fell in love with him at first sight. In the beginning, she also shyly hesitated but couldn’t help it; she liked him, and since he didn’t like her, she had to take the initiative. She couldn’t remember how long she pursued him; he was always lukewarm to her.

Then one day, all of a sudden.

He asked casually, “Do you want to date me?”

She was dumbfounded for a long time before nodding, “Yes.”

He asked again, “Can you cook?”

“Yes.”

They were standing under the shade of a tree; he was looking distractedly at a basketball court in the distance, asking absent-mindedly, “And laundry?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” He thought for quite some time before turning his distant gaze back to her, “Can you stay out?”

A girl with a first love, asked like this, would naturally be shy. She had a strict upbringing, and staying out wasn’t allowed, but thinking it was him, she still nodded, “…Yes.”

“That’s settled then, let’s date.” He wrote down an address for her, “Move in here tomorrow.”

At that time, she thought he wanted to live with her.

After going there, she met a girl who couldn’t speak or hear.

Back then, Wen Baiyang was only fourteen, having just arrived in the Imperial City from Da Mai Mountain, the redness of the high plateau still clear on her face.

In the most eastern part of Fusheng Bamboo Garden was the VIP room, with its doors tightly shut. A waiter came to deliver tea but was stopped by the secretary guarding the door.

The secretary brought the tea inside and then came out, continuing to stand guard at the door.

“What’s the result?”

Inside were Tang Xiang and her guest.

The man wore boxy glasses, was in his fifties with half-white hair. He pushed the envelope towards her, saying, “No parental relationship.”

Both expected and unexpected, Tang Xiang pondered for a moment then reaffirmed with him, “Non of those people are related?”

The man nodded, “And, this person has an abnormal chromosome.”

An abnormal chromosome…

Tang Xiang immediately asked, “Which one?”

“The abnormality is on chromosome 6.”

Just happen to be chromosome 6.

The adopted son of the Luo family also had an abnormality on chromosome 6.

“The gene loci are also odd, but for more precise details, we need to conduct a more intricate genetic test.”

Outside.

Luo Qinghe walked down the corridor and noticed a familiar figure opposite him; then he suddenly stopped and asked, “Is that Tang Xiang’s secretary?”

Shen Yue replied, “Yes.”

“Go see what she’s doing.”

Shen Yue understood the task and walked over.

Tang Xiang’s secretary stopped him, saying that an important matter was being discussed inside. Luo Qinghe gave a suggestive look, and Shen Yue didn’t care about the obstruction and directly pushed open the door.

“The project budget I—”

The conversation inside was cut off halfway when Tang Xiang looked up angrily and lost his temper, “Don’t you know how to knock? Have all manners gone to the dogs?”

Luo Qinghe had already come over. With the door wide open, she peeked inside and said, “Isn’t this meant to be a surprise? Just a family joke, why blow up over it?” A smile played at the corner of Luo Qinghe’s eyes as she noticed the other person in the room, “President Wang is here too.”

That was President Wang from Zhang Lin Building Materials.

Portly President Wang got up from his chair, with a very round face and mung bean eyes, and greeted her warmly, “We were just discussing a project with your Luo Family. Would Younger Luo like to listen in?”

Luo Qinghe smiled, “No thanks, I won’t interfere with Tang Xiang’s projects.” She flicked her hair and moved towards the door, “Please, continue.”

Tang Xiang called out to her, “Wait a moment.”

Luo Qinghe leaned against the doorframe, calmly waiting for her to continue.

Tang Xiang was seated, still holding a teacup. She raised her eyelids slightly, her gaze serene and unwavering as she looked at Luo Qinghe, “Aren’t you going to apologize before leaving?”

Ever since Luo Qinghe took over the household, she was regarded with the utmost respect by the Luo Family and its business. The only exception was Tang Xiang. The old master trusted Tang Xiang, willing to let her manage half of his empire. Even so, as an outsider, she never once considered this Younger Luo a figure of importance.

Luo Qinghe, with her arms crossed, dropped her smile and said, “Sorry for the disturbance.”

“Remember your manners in the future.”

With that, Tang Xiang closed the door.

After there was no more noise outside, Tang Xiang sat back down and personally poured a cup of tea for him, “Thank you, President Wang.”

President Wang waved his hand, “What’s there to thank for? It was no trouble at all.”

After President Wang left, the person hiding in the bathroom finally came out.

Tang Xiang then continued the conversation that was interrupted, “Dr. Qiu, please keep this a secret.”

“I understand.”

The weather was nice today; the sun was warm. Zhou Xufang had set up her stall and was not installing screen protectors today; she was selling hot water bottles instead. Around nine, Jiang Zhi gave her a call.

She happily picked up, “Jiang Zhi.”

“Are you packing up yet?”

“Yep.”

Jiang Zhi said, “I’ll come to pick you up.”

She declined, not wanting to hold him up, “Don’t you have a premiere?” Jiang Zhi was supposed to join her at the stall, but he had a premiere at eight.

A director cannot be absent.

Director Jiang said, “I can leave early.”

Leaving early didn’t mean being absent.

Zhou Xufang thought it was acceptable, “Then I’ll wait for you.”

Jiang Zhi spoke with her for a while before hanging up. At this time, under the big bridge, there were many night snack stalls, and the park across the street was filled with people doing square dancing. The music was loud enough to hear from a street away, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhou Xufang had good hearing and heard crying from a distance; it was coming from an alley, a child crying.

She went over, “Why are you crying?”

The three or four-year-old child was plump, fair-skinned, and tender, looking like a custard bun, and the little custard bun cried, “I dropped my candy.”

The little custard bun was adorable.

Zhou Xufang gave him a pack of cotton candy.

The little custard bun immediately grinned, “Thank you, sister.”

Zhou Xufang wanted to pinch his chubby cheeks, “Where’s your mom?”

In a milky voice, he said, “Mommy is dancing.”

I see… Zhou Xufang poked his soft little face, “Go to mommy, don’t wander off alone, or the bad people will take you away.”

The little custard bun agreed and hopped away joyfully.

So cute.

She thought she would like to have a little chubby kid like that with Jiang Zhi… She shook her head, what was she thinking! Shameless! She was a bit hungry and wanted to eat a custard bun…

Just then, someone abruptly ran into her at the corner.

She didn’t budge, while the person who bumped her was bounced off, fell to the ground, and gasped for air.

“I’m sorry.”

Zhou Xufang apologized and approached to ask, “Did I hurt you?”

It was a man.

He suddenly lifted his head and grabbed Zhou Xufang’s arm, his voice desperate, “Help me!”

It was then that Zhou Xufang saw his face, with an injury on his forehead and sweat pouring down.

“Help with what?”

He held his abdomen with one hand and frequently looked back. The sweat on his head kept rolling down, and his breaths grew more labored. After a frantic glance around, he pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket and shoved it into her hand.

He said, “My name is 0893.”

After saying that, he got up and ran off without looking back, desperate to escape.