Chapter 22: The Forged Paternity Test

In Yuncheng, Qin Mu waited anxiously outside the paternity testing laboratory.

When Li Fei emerged with the results, he glanced at the document, his expression one of utter disbelief. "Mr. Qin, the results are in. But I didn't mix up the hair samples. Could it be that the hair wasn't Youyou's? How could it possibly come back like this?"

Qin Mu hurriedly snatched the document. The words "Not a biological match" struck his heart like a blow. "It’s not possible. Youyou isn't my daughter?"

Li Fei continued to rack his brain. "That’s impossible. I plucked that hair myself when I touched Youyou’s head. And I watched as your hair was pulled, too. How could there be an error?"

Qin Mu closed his eyes, his heart aching violently. The love and hatred he felt for Jiang Li collided within him, leaving his mind blank. He didn't know whether to suffer from the thought that Jiang Li had betrayed him to have another man's child, or to grieve the loss of little Youyou. In a fit of torment, he crumpled the paternity test into a ball and hurled it into the trash before walking away without looking back.

A conflicted and uneasy Li Fei followed him.

Hidden in a corner, Jiang Xue stepped out with a triumphant gait. "Want to know the truth? Not a chance. Do you really think I’d let you find out?" A smug smirk played on her lips. She took a card from her bag and handed it to a doctor. "Well done. Make sure this fake paternity test stays buried forever. And clear away all the specific records of Jiang Li’s labor from back then. If he finds out, you’re all finished."

The middle-aged woman, wearing a mask and a white lab coat, nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Jiang. We will handle it perfectly. You won't have to give it another thought."

Jiang Xue nodded and walked away, her heels clicking triumphantly.

Meanwhile, Qin Mu stumbled into his son’s hospital room, unable to find peace. If Youyou wasn't his daughter, was she Chen Shaojie’s? Or perhaps she belonged to the man who had taken Jiang Li’s innocence at the hotel that night?

"Mr. Qin, the timeline of when Chen Shaojie and Miss Jiang Li met does not match the date of Youyou’s birth. It is impossible for Youyou to be Chen Shaojie’s biological daughter."

Qin Mu looked at the investigation report Li Fei handed him, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. Then it had to be the man from that night. It must be. Qin Mu felt a wave of regret; he had been so consumed by anger at the time that he had failed to investigate who that man was, and by the time he tried, the surveillance footage had already been destroyed.

But Youyou’s birth date was September 19th, while Jinchen’s was October 19th—a full month apart. Jiang Xue had been pregnant at the same time; logically, their due dates shouldn't have been a month apart.

Seeing Qin Mu’s confusion, Li Fei handed over another report. "According to the hospital’s investigation, Jiang Li had fallen and suffered some bleeding. Youyou was a premature baby."

Qin Mu nodded. "Right, that explains it. Youyou is the daughter of Jiang Li and that man from the hotel. Ha, I knew it. That woman is rotten to the core. She actually tried to trick me into believing Youyou was my daughter. She is truly vicious."

Li Fei opened his mouth, hesitating. Seeing Qin Mu lost in thought, he finally spoke. "We went to find Ms. Xie Yun, but she is no longer at the mental institution. It’s as if Jiang Li, her, and Chen Shaojie have all vanished into thin air."

Qin Mu let out a cold laugh. "Trying to run, just like four years ago? Not a chance! Jiang Li, you killed my father and stole my heart. I will never let you get away with this."

"Achoo!" Jiang Li felt as if someone were cursing her. She looked around; aside from her four bodyguards, Chen Shaojie had not yet been delivered. The vast factory floor was empty. She kept her face hidden behind a black mask, a baseball cap, and sunglasses.

"What do you want? Let me go! I’m a manager at the Jiang Group, the richest company in Jiangcheng. Let me tell you, General Manager Jiang Zhentao is my godfather. If you touch me, don't you want to live?" Chen Shaojie shouted as he was shoved onto the dusty floor by two thugs.

After being dragged across the floor, he was lifted up, his dirty face shoved toward Jiang Li. Jiang Li, arms crossed and burning with rage, stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. The sound was crisp.

"Chen Shaojie, you’re quite good at name-dropping, claiming to be Jiang Jintao’s godson. Very good, indeed!"

Chen Shaojie looked at the woman in the black tracksuit and sunglasses; she felt strangely familiar.

"Pick him up!" The two bodyguards hauled him to his feet. "Get me a chair."

Once the chair was brought over, Jiang Li stepped onto it. She turned her ring so the diamond faced outward. It was a ring she had bought during her fake marriage to Chen Shaojie; even though it was fake, she had kept wearing it to signal that she was married. She clenched her fist, her eyes filled with malice.

She threw a punch directly at Chen Shaojie’s eye. "Ah! Who the hell are you? We have no grudge, how dare you hit me! Do you know who I am?"

Jiang Li threw another punch, leaving Chen Shaojie with two black eyes. He was now furious. "You! If you have the guts, give me your name! I’m not done with you!"

Jiang Li gestured to the scarred man. All four bodyguards stepped forward, and the six of them swarmed him.

"Give you my name? Chen Shaojie, you piece of trash, you’ve done every evil thing imaginable!"

They beat and kicked him until his face was swollen and bruised, unrecognizable—it was hard to tell if he was even human anymore. Jiang Li, still feeling that the beating wasn't enough to vent her hatred, slapped him a few more times until his face looked like a bloated pig's head.

She grabbed his chin and said, "If you find Youyou, I’ll let you live. If you can't find that little girl, you die! You have three days. If you haven't found her by then, I’m confiscating that 11 million, and I’ll make sure you cough up every cent you swindled from those houses. I’ll make you destitute."

Chen Shaojie tilted his swollen, pig-like face upward. "You... who are you? Do you have any idea who I have backing me?"

Jiang Li stepped back. A bodyguard handed her a wet wipe. She took it and wiped her hands vigorously. She was on the verge of madness. Her daughter was still missing, and it was all because of this man—all because of him.

The scarred man stepped forward and lifted Chen Shaojie by the collar. "Do you think our Miss is afraid of Jiang Jintao? Huh? Tell me, what did you do to that girl, Youyou? Speak!"

Chen Shaojie, in too much pain to see clearly, lay on the ground, his face upturned. "I... Youyou is my daughter! Don't go too far!"

Jiang Li gritted her teeth. "Beat him! Keep beating him until he talks!"

After another flurry of blows, Chen Shaojie hurriedly begged for mercy. "Stop! I don't want to die! I’ll talk! I don't know where the girl was taken! I really don't! I only know she’s dead. She never made it off the operating table after the kidney donation."