Vol. 1 - Chapter 82 - Mislead
After a hearty meal, HuMing began to think that accepting Ye QiuXue's tutoring might not be such a bad idea. Besides, Ye QiuXue had mentioned that there would be a school-wide monthly exam soon. If his grades improved significantly, she would give him additional rewards.
As night fell, HuMing personally saw Ye QiuXue back to her home. They had also agreed to visit the orphanage together on the weekend and had decided what to bring along.
Watching Ye QiuXue turn on the lights and go inside, HuMing stood downstairs, waving goodbye to her through the window. However, instead of heading home right away, he went to the hospital.
At the hospital, HuMing took out a forged ID and several strands of hair from his pocket for analysis.
Got it! Here's the updated translation:
As for how those few strands of hair ended up in his possession, he had plucked them off while in contact with Lu GuiFang earlier.
In truth, HuMing had always felt confused about the original's identity. When he saw Zhao Wei and Lu GuiFang, he couldn't sense any resemblance between them and the original. Moreover, he harbored a genuine disdain for those two.
Because of this, HuMing chose to verify their relationship in this manner. However, even if the results confirmed that the original was their child, HuMing would change it.
It wasn't for any other reason; It was just that those two brainless fools had been turned into puppets by Han ShuYi. Why would he be foolish enough to leave any evidence behind?
The results would take a few days to come in. HuMing tidied himself up and turned to head back home.
Meanwhile, inside the Han family's villa:
Zhou WenLi was holding her phone, which displayed photos of HuMing with Zhao Wei and his wife. HuMing's face showed no emotion, while the Zhao couple appeared submissive as if begging for HuMing's forgiveness.
As she looked at the series of photos, Zhou WenLi pressed her lips together, lost in thought.
"WenLi, why are you not resting yet?"
A voice came from the staircase. Han LiTian, dressed in his pajamas, walked down from upstairs.
Seeing his wife, still in casual clothes, sitting on the sofa, Han LiTian felt curious.
Zhou WenLi handed her phone to Han LiTian and said,
"I don't know who sent these photos to my phone. What do you think the intention behind them is?"
Han LiTian looked at the photos with some surprise. He had assumed that after being detained for a while, the Zhao couple would stop bothering HuMing. He hadn't expected them to approach HuMing again!
Given what they had done before, how could HuMing possibly forgive them?
What concerned Han LiTian, even more was that while Zhou WenLi didn't know who had sent her the photos, the sender knew her phone number, indicating that it was likely someone familiar.
What could their intention be?
Han LiTian remained silent, and seeing her husband's reaction, Zhou WenLi continued,
"I've heard about the last time incident. But as parents, who don't want the best for their child? I understand their deep feelings for ShuYi, but after being detained for a while, they should realize their mistakes. Otherwise, why would they have personally gone to HuMing to apologize?"
Zhou WenLi pointed to the photos, noting the stark contrast in the images.
"We've raised HuMing for over a decade, and of course, we've feelings for him. But he's still someone else's child. If he didn't have parents, that would be one thing, but the reality is, he does have parents. We can't just refuse to return him to them. If they fuss about it outside, it wouldn't be good for the Han family."
This time, Zhou WenLi seemed unusually calm. She had given serious thought to the situation between HuMing and Han ShuYi.
If HuMing wanted to stay, then let him stay. It wouldn't make a huge difference to the Han family.
But now, after seeing these photos, she found herself wavering.
Seeing the two in the photos bowing and apologizing to their own child, Zhou WenLi felt a swirl of mixed emotions.
This matter indeed needed a resolution.
"WenLi, how many years have we been together?"
"... If you count from when we started dating, it's been eighteen years."
"Now I'm wondering if, over these eighteen years, I've protected you too well."
Han LiTian placed the phone back on the table. If he hadn't encountered HuMing's maid on the way back to his room, who had informed him that his wife was troubled downstairs, he might have brushed it off.
He sighed helplessly, as he looked at his wife's puzzled expression and continued,
"They're not targeting HuMing, but ShuYi."
"Huh? But ShuYi isn't in these photos!"
"The photos exposed last time didn't include ShuYi either. Did that have any impact on him?"
"Well..."
Since the incident at the last banquet, Zhou WenLi had heard people saying that ShuYi had a 'good father-in-law'.
The trouble his father-in-law caused during the engagement announcement had no doubt tarnished the Han family's reputation.
If not for the significant compensation Lee Tian offered, the engagement would have already been canceled by now.
Hearing her husband's words, Zhou WenLi suddenly realized that the person behind those actions wasn't aiming to target the Lee family or anyone else but rather to embarrass ShuYi!
Now that ShuYi had returned to the Han family, and with HuMing's near-injury widely known, what would people say if HuMing were to return to his biological parents at this time?
They might claim that ShuYi couldn't tolerate someone without a blood relationship in the family.
But her son was not that kind of person!
Thinking about this, Zhou WenLi felt a chill. It seemed she had almost made a mistake that could ruin her son!
Seeing the change in his wife's expression, Han LiTian sighed.
Earlier, when he encountered the maid Kang Xin in the hallway, she mentioned how people viewed HuMing and ShuYi since their return from the banquet.
Han LiTian couldn't shake the feeling that Kang Xin seemed to place particular emphasis on the word "banquet".
This led Han LiTian to connect it with the person who had caused trouble at the banquet.
'Who is targeting the Han family?'
Han LiTian narrowed his eyes, falling into deep contemplation.
...
Han ShuYi hid in the corner, watching the two in the hall.
He had overheard their entire conversation clearly. However, his brows were furrowed, and his expression was grim.
ShuYi had arranged for the photos to be anonymously sent to his mother, intending to persuade her to let HuMing return to the couple. But he hadn't expected his father to connect the incident with the mysterious person from the banquet!
If he could, he would also like to know who that person was!
Now that his plan seemed to have failed to its core, he would need to find another opportunity.
His eyes darkened, and his hatred grew more intense.
Unbeknownst to him, a figure quietly slipped away from not far behind him.