The result of the DNA test showed that Lin Xinyan and Wen Xian were 99.99% biologically related. In other words, they were mother and daughter.
Since Wen Qing and Li Jing weren’t aware that Lin Xinyan had swapped her set of cutleries with Zong Jinghao’s set of cutleries back then, they thought the result of the DNA test belonged to Zong Jinghao and Wen Xian.
In short, Wen Qing misperceived Zong Jinghao as Wen Xian’s son and no longer doubted his identity.
His only concerns were Lin Xinyan and Cheng Yuxiu’s relationship because Li Jing used to bring it up in front of him some time ago.
Wen Qing was determined to take good care of Zong Jinghao, but he couldn’t bear the fact that his wife was closely affiliated with Cheng Yuxiu.
In short, Wen Qing was certain that Wen Xian had given birth to Zong Jinghao because the ones who had collected the samples and carried out the DNA test were his most trusted aides.
Hence, he had faith in the result he had obtained.
Little did he know that Lin Xinyan had swapped the cutleries of Zong Jinghao with her set of cutleries because she had been aware of Wen Qing’s plan all along.
Lin Xinyan had decided to swap her set of cutleries with those of Zong Jinghao because she was certain the DNA test would be carried out against someone alive since Wen Xian had passed on.
She thought they had collected Zong Jinghao’s sample to compare it against those of Cheng Yuxiu. Since Cheng Yuxiu and Zong Jinghao were biologically related, Wen Qing would figure out their relationship once he got his hands on their DNA samples.
Aware of Wen Qing’s plan, Lin Xinyan made up her mind and swapped the cutleries in the nick of time. She didn’t want him to figure out Zong Jinghao was Cheng Yuxiu’s son.
Lin Xinyan’s seemingly flawless plan had deviated because they had compared it against the late Wen Xian’s DNA sample. In the end, they thought Zong Jinghao was biologically related to Wen Xian.
Little did they know that they had verified the fact Lin Xinyan and Wen Xian were biologically related to one another instead.
Meanwhile, Lin Xinyan wasn’t aware that her collected DNA sample had been compared against the late Wen Xian’s DNA sample.
In short, none of them was aware of the mistakes.
Wen Qing was certain Zong Jinghao was Wen Xian’s son. Thus, he held a grudge against Lin Xinyan because she was closely affiliated with the mistress who had driven Wen Xian and her husband apart.
He disliked Lin Xinyan because he deemed her ludicrous; he didn’t want her to be by Zong Jinghao’s side.
Lately, he found another better candidate to be Zong Jinghao’s spouse and made up his mind to drive Zong Jinghao and Lin Xinyan apart from one another.
The candidate he had in mind was his colleague’s daughter. He had been by her side ever since she was young. Due to her flawless appearance, personality, and family background, he deemed her worthy of Zong Jinghao.
He had requested Zong Jinghao to retrieve a folder on his behalf because he wanted him to get in touch with the daughter of his colleague.
Zong Jinghao had never once announced his marriage with Lin Xinyan in front of others. Thus, he had always been known as a bachelor.
Apart from his curious staff, no one was aware that he was married since they didn’t have a formal wedding ceremony, neither did they announce their relationship beforehand.
All along, the public had considered Zong Jinghao to be the most exceptional bachelor available.
He was the best candidate as the son-in-law of those from the upper echelon.
Although Wen Qing’s colleague from the Chen family wasn’t from the upper echelon, his family wielded great influences within the hierarchal system.
In fact, the Chen family was superior to the Wen family.
Wen Qing had never once focused on his own benefits. Zong Jinghao was his sole concern. If Zong Jinghao was able to get married to the daughter of the Chen family, he would have a bright future ahead of him.
Everything about his colleague’s daughter was great. She was a brilliant and exceptional young woman. Most importantly, she wasn’t closely affiliated with Cheng Yuxiu, unlike Lin Xinyan.
Li Jing had dropped by Lin Xinyan’s clothing store because of Wen Qing’s plan.
When Li Jing dropped by Lin Xinyan’s place to bring her out, Wen Qing had asked Zong Jinghao and Chen Shihan to join him for lunch.
Their ultimate goal was to create conflict amongst Zong Jinghao and Lin Xinyan, driving them apart from one another.
Wen Qing instructed Li Jing to bring Lin Xinyan over to a certain venue. He would bring Zong Jinghao and Chen Shihan over as well. Once Lin Xinyan reached the place, Wen Qing would leave Zong Jinghao and Chen Shihan alone. He was certain he would be able to drive them apart as long as she witnessed and misperceived the sort of relationship Zong Jinghao had with Chen Shihan.
However, Li Jing couldn’t make up her mind. She avoided Lin Xinyan’s gaze and rebutted, “I’m getting old. I don’t think I should put on such an outfit anymore.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t worry, okay? I’ll send the outfit to you once it’s ready!” Lin Xinyan assured Li Jing with a bright grin.
Instead of flattering, she had made up her mind to treat Li Jing and Wen Qing courteously, as though they were part of her family because they had been taking great care of Zong Jinghao all along.
After all, she was in no position to judge an incident that had occurred in the past.
Let bygones be bygones. Things are great as it is, right?
Cheng Yuxiu and Zong Qifeng had always been trying their best to keep things as it was.
All of a sudden, an odd expression could be detected on Li Jing’s face. She held on to Lin Xinyan’s hand and stuttered because she couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence, “Y-You…”
In the end, Li Jing heaved a long sigh and pondered, “Are you aware of Jinghao and Cheng Yuxiu’s relationship?”
“Yes.” Lin Xinyan tensed up abruptly and nodded.
“If you’re aware of their relationship, why are you keeping in touch with her?”
Li Jing had grown fond of Lin Xinyan because – apart from her relationship with Cheng Yuxiu – the young woman had never once let her down.
She would never drive Lin Xinyan and Zong Jinghao apart if it weren’t because of the grudge her husband held against Cheng Yuxiu.
In the meantime, Lin Xinyan grew anxious deep down because she thought they had figured out the truth.
She tried her best to put on a calm front and replied, “We’re not really close…”
Expressing her frustration, Li Jing heaved a long sigh yet again. If she had not run into Cheng Yuxiu and Lin Xinyan spending time together, she would have bought into her words.
She shared the truth with Lin Xinyan in a serious manner, “Jinghao is Wen Xian’s son. He’s the sole successor of the Zong family. I believe I don’t have to explain the role he plays, right? He’s Wen Qing’s only nephew and the only son to Wen Qing’s biological sister. Hence, we will definitely take good care of him, but it’s not the same when it comes to you…”
Lin Xinyan was one of the Lin family. However, the Lin family had been wiped out of existence for quite some time. She was the only one left. Therefore, she couldn’t rely on her family in any way.
Wen Qing and Li Jing perceived Lin Xinyan indirectly betraying Zong Jinghao because she insisted on keeping in touch with Cheng Yuxiu.
That was the thing that disappointed Li Jing and Wen Qing the most.
If she’s aware of the potential consequences of her actions, she would never have kept in touch with Cheng Yuxiu.
A heavyweight had been lifted off Lin Xinyan’s shoulders upon hearing Li Jing’s reply. Judging by her words, they seemed to have ascertained the fact Wen Xian was the one who had given birth to Zong Jinghao.
Nothing else seemed to matter as long as she could prevent Wen Qing from figuring out the truth.
“Yes…” Lin Xinyan could vaguely figure out the meaning behind Li Jing’s words.
Li Jing made it clear Zong Jinghao was of a crucial existence, whereas she was but a trivial existence.
Since the Lin family had fallen, Zong Jinghao was the only one Lin Xinyan had. Without Zong Jinghao, she would be a nobody.
Although she had figured out the meaning behind Li Jing’s words, she failed to comprehend the goal of her visit.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to leave because I have to tend to something else. I’ll buy you a meal again in the future, okay?”
She was aware of the potential consequences in store for her if Wen Qing was angry. Nevertheless, Li Jing couldn’t bring herself to deceive Li Xinyan because she didn’t want to drive them apart.
Lin Xinyan could not stop her in time because Li Jing left immediately after she finished her sentence. She felt as though Li Jing had dropped by for something else instead of a simple lunch session together.
All of a sudden, she detected a strong sense of insecurity and had a hard time breathing because she couldn’t figure out if Li Jing had achieved her goal or not.
She held on to her chest and stood by the entrance of her store, staring at the bustling street while recalling the conversation she had with Li Jing.
Everything is fine, right? Our conversation merely lasted a few minutes. She can’t possibly tell something is wrong, right?
Even though everything seemed to be fine, Lin Xinyan felt insecure deep down.
It had not even been a year since she made her way back, but a lot of things had occurred over the past few months.
Most of the incidents, including the good, the bad, and the weird ones, had revolved around her.
Lin Xinyan closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down.
In the awfully quiet space, she could hear her heart racing.
Suddenly, she detected a pair of warm hands surrounding her from behind. She opened her eyes and turned around instantly.
