Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I said we’re not related to each other at all. I don’t wish to know about the rest.” Xu Youran ended the call right away.
Just after she hung up, she received another call from Mr. Jin.
Instead of answering the call, she decided to just switch off her mobile phone.
Mr. Jin was disappointed at how adamant she was.
However, he was still very certain that she was his daughter, solely because she resembled her mother greatly.
Mr. Jin thought that making a trip to the Xu family home would be a better way to verify her identity. Besides, it would be difficult to get a sample of her hair.
Mr. Jin’s purpose for telling her about her mother’s grave was because he felt guilty toward them both and wanted her to visit her mother’s grave.
To his disappointment, she actually turned him down.
After much consideration, Mr. Jin decided to drive to the Xu family mansion.
His sudden visit had caught Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu by surprise.
“What brings you here, Mr. Jin?”
“May I have a look at Youran’s childhood photos?” Mr. Jin requested.
Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu looked at each other in puzzlement, bewildered by Mr. Jin’s peculiar request.
“Why do you want to see the photos of Youran when she was young?” Madam Xu asked in confusion.
“Here’s what happened. I had a daughter who went missing when she was 12 years old. I’ve been feeling very guilty toward her and her mother. I’ve never tried looking for her before either. However, my family members have been telling me that Youran is that daughter of mine who went missing. Youran had also looked me up previously, claiming that she was my long-lost daughter. But all of a sudden, she refused to acknowledge me again. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu, please don’t be mistaken. I’m not trying to acknowledge her again. I merely want to find out if it’s true that she’s my daughter,” Mr. Jin explained truthfully.
Madam Xu guffawed and said, “Mr. Jin, we can show you photos of her when she was younger. But we’re very certain that she’s our biological daughter, not yours. That’s because we’ve run a DNA test before when we found her again years ago.”
“May I take a look at the photos?” Mr. Jin insisted.
“Alright, give me a moment. I’ll go bring it here for you.”
“Thank you, Madam.”
“No problem.” Madam Xu stood up and walked towards her bedroom.
“Did your daughter go missing when she was 12 years old? How did she go missing?” Military Commander Xu asked.
“I feel so ashamed and guilty to talk about this, but she was my illegitimate daughter. We maltreated her in the past and she ran away from home. In hindsight, I’ve really failed to perform my duty as her father. I’m really guilty for letting her and her mother down, and I’d like to make it up to her in whichever way I can,” Mr. Jin explained, filled with regret.
Military Commander Xu gave a nod of understanding and said, “I lost my daughter shortly after she was born too. We only managed to find her again much later. After we found her, we got a DNA test done, and it’s confirmed that she’s indeed our daughter.”
Mr. Jin was even more perplexed upon hearing Military Commander Xu’s words but still refused to leave before seeing the photos for himself.
Madam Xu returned with a photo album and sat down smilingly. “This entire album consists of photos of Youran when she was younger.”
To be exact, they were photos taken after they found Xu Youran again and brought her back home.
She handed the photo album to Mr. Jin, who quickly opened it to flip through the pages.
After taking a look at the photos, he stared at Madam Xu in astonishment and said, “Madam, she’s indeed my daughter.”
Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu’s jaws dropped in shock and confusion.
Mr. Jin whipped out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Madam Xu. “Look.”
Madam Xu took the photo from his hands, only to find that the girl in the photo looked identical to Xu Youran. She frantically passed it to her husband so he could take a look.
“This is the only photo I have of her. It was taken on the year that she went missing.” Mr. Jin continued to flip through the photo album and realized that she was really his daughter.
Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu were flabbergasted.
“What’s going on? I remember clearly that the DNA test proved that she was our biological daughter. How did it…” Madam Xu exclaimed in bewilderment as her temples began to throb vigorously.
Mr. Jin closed the photo album and handed it back to Madam Xu. “How about we carry out another DNA test without informing her, Military Commander and Madam Xu?”
The couple felt strongly that it was necessary to do so.
“Sure.”
Madam Xu was ill at ease after Mr. Jin left.
A deafening silence filled the air in the living room.
With a sullen expression on his face, Military Commander Xu said to his wife beside him, “You shall take care of obtaining a sample of Youran’s hair. We’ll get the test done together tomorrow.”
“Alright. But, what if Youran turns out to really not be our daughter? What are we supposed to do then?”
“If she isn’t our daughter, there’s no need to let her stay in this family anymore,” Military Commander Xu answered without hesitation.
“If she’s not our daughter, just what went wrong with the DNA test back then? I’m really starting to sense something amiss the more I think about it,” Madam Xu said with a heavy heart.
“Why do you say so?”
“Look how much Xu Yang and Xu Cai take after you and me, whereas Youran doesn’t resemble us at all. Furthermore, I’ve sought help from the Reverend and asked him to tell me about Youran’s fortune. However, his description did not match Youran’s traits at all. The Reverend enjoys high prestige and is known for his extremely accurate readings. Thus, there’s no way that there’ll be such a huge difference. The girl in the photo Mr. Jin showed us earlier is indeed Youran. It’s very unlikely that she has a doppelganger. The more I think about it, the more I’m getting the chills.”
“Don’t let Youran find out about this. Keep it from her for the time being. We’ll discuss what to do next after the DNA test results are out. Maybe they just look really alike. This time, let’s run the test a few more times,” Military Commander Xu instructed.
“Okay, we’ll go with your plan. I’ll call Youran now,” said Madam Xu as she took out her mobile phone.
However, Xu Youran’s mobile phone was switched off.
Madam Xu proceeded to call Xu Youran multiple times throughout the day and only managed to get through to her in the evening.
Upon hearing that it was an urgent matter, Xu Youran immediately returned to the Xu family mansion.
“Mother, what’s the urgent matter?”
“Take a seat first,” Madam Xu said gently like her usual soft-spoken self.
She sat down beside Madam Xu and asked eagerly, “Just what is the matter? Tell me, quick.”
“I heard from your father that the government is going to take severe measures against high-ranking civil officers who abuse their authority, so I gave you a call immediately to warn you. Youran, you’d really better not get yourself into any trouble again.”
“Didn’t I already say that I’ll be turning over a new leaf? Why don’t you trust me at all, Mother?” Xu Youran retorted. Contrary to her expectations, it was not as much of an urgent matter as she thought.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that you’ve repeated the same mistake over and over again.”
She raised her hand and said, “Mother, I promise I won’t do it again. Rest assured.”
Staring at her hair, Madam Xu said, “You’re only 29 years old. Why have you got white hairs already? Let Mother pluck them out for you.”
Xu Youran hurriedly moved her head towards her mother and said, “Hurry and pluck them out.”
Madam Xu took the chance to pluck a few strands of hair from Xu Youran’s scalp.
She pretended to cast the hair away without showing it to Xu Youran. “It’s done.”
“Mother, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get going now.”
“Bear my words in mind.”
“Okay, got it.”
After she vanished from the entrance, Madam Xu opened her palm on which lay the few strands of Xu Youran’s hair.
Madam Xu was overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty while staring at the strands of hair.
