“Xuning, do you even think that it is possible? That town is so small, and you’ve already asked so many people. They all said that Ye Linlang’s dead. I would doubt it too had one person told me so, but various people had said the same thing. It’s impossible for all of them to lie to us.”
Xie Xuning slid down the wall and sat on the ground limply.
‘Linlang… Linlang… Where could you possibly be?’
It wasn’t necessarily the truth even if that’s what everyone claims.
There’s still a possibility that it’s a lie…
‘Linlang… Linlang… Where were you? Could you tell me what happened back then?’ he mused.
“Xuning, I know that it’s difficult for you to accept this, but look at it from another perspective. Close to 20 years had passed since that fateful event, and it’s extremely difficult for us to uncover the truth behind what happened back then. Besides, if the ashes weren’t Ye Linlang’s, then whose could it be?”
Xie Xuning had no explanation for these questions.
As this thought crossed his mind, he struck himself on the cheek.
He hated himself for being such a stickler for the rules back then.
“Why did I return to the group at the very first available opportunity? I should have visited Linlang first. I could have…”
There was a time-lapse of nine months, and he was utterly clueless about everything that had happened during that period.
Actually, it was more than nine months. There was a time-lapse of close to one year. Almost one year had passed since the time that he was dispatched for his mission until the time when he went to look for Linlang in the town of Jiameng.
‘What happened during this period?’ Xie Xuning wondered.
“Xuning, so what if you went to find her back then? Don’t you remember that I was the first one to seek her out?”
Xie Xuning could barely control his emotions, and, for a moment, he felt like he would do anything to return to the time before she had met with a mishap and stayed by her side.
“Yes, you’re right. You were the first to seek her out,” Xie Xuning acknowledged. Having slightly calmed down, he steadied himself before he said to Qie Wang, “I want to conduct a paternity test.”
“A paternity test? Whose?” Qie Wang asked.
“Mine,” Xie Xuning replied.
“Who is the other party in question?” Qie Wang inquired. He found this odd.
‘Why would Xie Xuning want to take a paternity test out of the blue? He couldn’t possibly have an illegitimate child, could he?’ Qie Wang mused.
Qie Wang felt like he would be quite delighted if that was the case, for at least it would show that he had moved on from Ye Linlang.
As Xie Xuning gestured for Qie Wang to follow after him, he elaborated, “There’s a young lady who’s quite similar to Linlang. I can’t quite put a finger on why I would find them similar, but it’s just a feeling that I get. I want to take a paternity test with her. What if she’s really my daughter?”
Qie Wang let out a helpless sigh and couldn’t help but wonder if Xie Xuning had truly gone mad.
“Xuning, please use your brain and think about this. Do you think that such great coincidences truly exist in this world? You’ve only just found out that there’s something fishy about the ashes, and now, you find a young lady who resembles your wife? Xuning, I know that it’s difficult for you to get over Linlang, but I genuinely hope that you could eventually walk out from your grief and sorrow.”
Qie Wang truly wished that Xie Xuning would not get his hopes up high, for the higher his expectations were, the harder it would be for him to bear had they turned out badly.
“Qie Wang, help me out. She’s currently in your hospital. Extract blood from her and send it for testing. That’s not too difficult, isn’t it?”
Qie Wang ultimately caved in.
After he made his way to the ward with Xie Xuning and saw Ye Tianxin for the first time, he, too, shared the same absurd sentiments as Xie Xuning.
‘She really resembles Ye Linlang. No wonder Xie Xuning would want to have a paternity test,’ Qie Wang thought.
“Uncle Qie,” Li Qingcang greeted.
Qie Wang casually cooked up an excuse and informed them, “The nurse needs to draw some blood from her to check on her hemoglobin.
