Jiang Yuheng had been taken for a paternity test by his father when he was eight years old.
For reasons unknown, one day when he came home, his father—whom he both admired and feared—suddenly had him taken to a strange place.
It looked like a hospital, but not quite. Someone pulled out his hair. At that time, Jiang Yuheng didn’t understand, but when he got home and saw his mother crying, threatening to jump off a building, he realized what had happened.
—His father thought he wasn’t his biological child.
At that moment, Jiang Yuheng’s first reaction wasn’t shock or sadness but overwhelming fear.
In his eyes, Jiang Shenghai had never been wrong. If this were true, he and his mother would undoubtedly be kicked out.
At the time, Chu Tingyun was thoroughly enjoying himself, coldly mocking and ridiculing their father, saying he finally got what he deserved—raising a bastard for so many years after being cuckolded by his mistress.
Jiang Yuheng’s face burned with shame, but he didn’t dare say a word in rebuttal. He spent every day hiding in his room, staring at photos of Jiang Shenghai when he was younger, comparing them with his reflection in the mirror, desperately searching for any resemblance between them.
But there was none.
Not a single bit.
But Jiang Yuheng quickly consoled himself: Chu Tingyun didn’t look like their father either, did he?
His sister, on the other hand, did bear a slight resemblance to their father, so if she was their father’s child, then he must be too…
He kept finding ways to comfort himself, enduring two sleepless nights filled with nightmares of being disowned by Jiang Shenghai.
Fortunately, the final result came out.
He was indeed a Jiang, his father’s bloodline.
Jiang Yuheng felt as if he had been saved from drowning at the very last second. The terror and relief coursing through his body made him tremble uncontrollably.
Afterward,
Jiang Yuheng couldn’t help but feel a growing resentment.
He resented his father, and he resented Chu Tingyun even more.
For so many years, he had believed that his father should feel immensely guilty towards him, thinking that Jiang Shenghai owed him countless apologies.
His father had doubted him and caused him so much emotional pain. Didn’t that merit tenfold, even a hundredfold, compensation?
As for Chu Tingyun…
Jiang Yuheng’s hatred for him only deepened.
Clearly, it’s his mother who is currently Mrs. Jiang, and he is the legitimate child born after his parents’ marriage, so he should be the most rightful heir of the Jiang family.
What is Chu Tingyun?
Just a product of Jiang Shenghai’s youthful impulsiveness.
His maternal family is ordinary, without any foundational support, and absurdly thinks of becoming an athlete. After returning to the country for several years, he couldn’t even speak Chinese. What qualification does such a person have to compete with him?
Since childhood, Jiang Yuheng has always thought this way.
—Until today.
Until just now, he heard his mother say that he is not Jiang Shenghai’s biological son. The paternity test from back then was done using Chu Tingyun’s hair instead of his own to test against Jiang Shenghai’s.
The result, of course, showed them as biological father and son.
Because Chu Tingyun and Jiang Shenghai are indeed biological father and son!
This kind of scheme seems to have succeeded, appears to have deceived everyone.
But in reality, it only further proved that Chu Tingyun, as the sole heir, was unquestionable, and delivered a harsh slap to Jiang Yuheng’s face.
Chu Tingyun’s words back then were completely right—
The scumbag father finally got his comeuppance, the mistress put a green hat on him, and he foolishly raised a love child for so many years.
How ridiculous…
It’s just too ridiculous!!
Jiang Yuheng could not accept this.
All these years… he had been living comfortably by stealing a strand of Chu Tingyun’s hair.
Shock, anger, resentment, fear, panic… countless emotions rubbed against Jiang Yuheng’s heart like a metal brush, leaving it bloodied.
But after hearing this secret at the door, he didn’t even have the courage to confront his mother.
He could only sneak away like a thief, anxious and fearful, fleeing in a hurry.
He didn’t even dare return to the Jiang family and went to the apartment he had bought outside, first kicking out the mistress he was keeping there, then angrily smashing everything he could get his hands on.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
He vented in the room, screaming, howling, desperately smashing things.
This was probably the most terrified and out of control Jiang Yuheng had ever been.
After venting, he sat among the debris, exhausted, finally managing to calm himself down and made a phone call.
Jiang Yuheng ordered someone to investigate all of Chen Wanqing’s exes and all the men she had been close to.
At this moment, besides fear and shame, Jiang Yuheng couldn’t help but feel resentment towards his biological mother, Chen Wanqing.
He resented her for not being able to hold Jiang Shenghai’s heart all these years, resented her for getting involved with other men.
He resented that since she wanted to keep it a secret, she should have done it more discreetly, kept her hands cleaner, instead of being caught at such a critical moment.
Even… since she had known all along that he wasn’t her biological son, why didn’t she get rid of Chu Tingyun earlier, letting the other party grow to this extent instead?
“Damn it!!!”
He couldn’t help but punch the ground in anger, his hands covered in blood.
Even so, the next day, Jiang Yuheng still went to work at the company, impeccably dressed, appearing as if nothing had happened.
He worked through the day as usual, until around five in the afternoon when he went to meet Jiang Shenghai.
Jiang Yuheng planned to probe the other party. However, when he arrived, Chu Tingyun was already inside.
The two seemed to have had a huge argument again.
But this time, Jiang Yuheng didn’t overhear much, as the office door was suddenly pushed open from the inside with a bang.
Bang!
Chu Tingyun came out, and upon seeing Jiang Yuheng, his eyes instantly turned to disgust, as if he had seen something dirty.
But he didn’t say anything, directly ignoring Jiang Yuheng as if he were air, striding away.
Jiang Yuheng had long been accustomed to such looks and attitudes; he hated Chu Tingyun’s high-and-mighty, aloof demeanor the most.
But now, he could no longer face that gaze with the same confidence as before.
Jiang Yuheng took a deep breath, composed his expression, and pushed the door open.
Upon entering, he saw Jiang Shenghai taking medicine.
He was only in his fifties, still in his prime for leading the company, but since three years ago, when he was angered by Chu Tingyun and had a heart attack, he had been hospitalized for three months and had a stent placed, causing his health to deteriorate in recent years. Even the hair at his temples had started to turn gray.
Jiang Yuheng didn’t speak as he entered, unable to stop staring at Jiang Shenghai’s face. After a long time, he noticed that he didn’t resemble this man at all.
Jiang Shenghai noticed his strange gaze and casually put the medicine bottle in a drawer, asking,
“What’s the matter?”
“Dad…”
As soon as he spoke, Jiang Shenghai suddenly lifted his eyelids and glanced at Jiang Yuheng.
That look was very imposing, and in the next second, Jiang Yuheng immediately changed his words.
“—Chairman Jiang.”
In the company, they addressed him by his title.
Actually, years ago, when Jiang Yuheng first joined the company, Jiang Shenghai established this rule.
But today, he didn’t know why… he made a mistake.
This title made Jiang Yuheng feel as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water from head to toe. Jiang Shenghai already didn’t like his son that much; if he discovered he wasn’t his biological son…
Anxiety, panic, fear, and resentment all mixed together, causing a momentary blankness in Jiang Yuheng’s mind.
But he quickly calmed down and began to discuss business.
“Since the matters with Director Zhang and Director Li have come out, the company’s stock has dropped quite a bit, and the He family seems very dissatisfied. This morning, He Cheng even called me…”
Jiang Yuheng carefully avoided mentioning Chu Tingyun but implied criticism in every word.
After all, that person was far too obvious. First, he blocked all of Chen’s projects, then directly targeted two directors within his own group, while the Chen family and He family both faced crises simultaneously.
Anyone with a bit of sense would connect these events. Not to mention Jiang Shenghai, an old fox seasoned in business.
He knew very well what his eldest son was doing and what he intended to do.
Skillful, decisive, but lacking in patience.
Still young and needing experience.
Jiang Shenghai casually evaluated in his mind. He then took a sip of tea and simply said,
“This isn’t your concern; just focus on getting your own projects done.”
Clearly, he didn’t want Jiang Yuheng to intervene, even giving him a bit of a warning.
“…”
Jiang Yuheng clenched his fists tightly, swallowing down all the excuses he had prepared, but still managed to put on a compliant smile.
“I just wanted to ask a question out of concern; since Chairman Jiang knows what he’s doing, that’s all the better.”
“I mainly came to discuss a few issues with the projects…”
“…”
Half an hour later, Jiang Yuheng left the office, returning empty-handed.
But it wasn’t entirely futile; at least he confirmed that Jiang Shenghai had no suspicions about his background.
What was urgent now was to handle the matter with Zhang Xingzhou and salvage the crisis with the Chen family. From now on, he would no longer seek Jiang Shenghai’s trust and affection.
Jiang Yuheng realized he needed to prepare an emergency plan for the worst-case scenario, such as if his background were exposed, Jiang Shenghai might not only kick him and his mother out but might also retaliate against the Chen family without hesitation.
At that point, he would truly have nothing left.
At this moment, Jiang Yuheng finally realized that the exposure of his background was merely a surface crisis, while the real danger came from Jiang Shenghai himself.
He took a deep breath and called Chen Tengxiao. While waiting for the call to connect, Jiang Yuheng glanced through the floor-to-ceiling window and saw a familiar Lamborghini parked at the company entrance.
Soon after, Chu Tingyun got into the car.
The driver’s seat wasn’t occupied by a chauffeur, but by Yan Xun.
Recently, he had been picking up Chu Tingyun from work almost every day. Normally, he wouldn’t be this conspicuous, but recent events were special.
Yan Xun pressed Chu Tingyun’s face when he leaned over and reminded him,
“Seatbelt.”
“Oh.”
Chu Tingyun, wanting to kiss his little husband but unable to, could only buckle his seatbelt first.
Alright, safe driving.
He could kiss him when they got home.
After the man secured his seatbelt, Yan Xun started the car and drove smoothly.
Even in such an ostentatious vehicle, Chu Tingyun felt that his little husband could drive with an air of steadiness.
“Not bad; looks like your driving school instructor did a good job.”
“…Mm.”
In reality, Yan Xun had regained his memory not long after enrolling in driving school, but to maintain his amnesiac persona, he had gone back for a few more lessons.
“Did you argue with that person again?”
Yan Xun noticed that Chu Tingyun always seemed particularly irritable and fatigued after arguing with Jiang Shenghai.
“Hmm?”
Chu Tingyun lazily hummed in response.
“I just scolded him a bit, told him he was getting old and timid.”
Yan Xun frowned slightly: “You’ve been making too many moves lately.”
After all, Chu Tingyun is still the president of the Jiang Group, so targeting the internal faction like this is very dangerous.
Moreover, he is also worried whether the Chen family will use any means to threaten Chu Tingyun’s life again.
“It’s necessary.”
Chu Tingyun gently exhaled.
“If the Jiang family completely cuts off all ties with Hongyuan Real Estate, the losses will be catastrophic, almost equivalent to skinning alive.”
“And what I’m doing now is to quickly drag the Chen family into the water, so that even if the old man wants to save them, there’s a chance he’ll get dragged down and drown with them.”
“Skinning alive and drowning—anyone with sense knows how to choose.”
However, what Chu Tingyun didn’t say was that the Chen family hadn’t reached that point yet. If Jiang Shenghai truly wanted to save them, it wouldn’t be extremely difficult.
He just needed to act decisively, first swiftly cutting Chu Tingyun’s position as president, then establishing new funding channels through other companies, and using other business tactics, it wouldn’t be impossible to save them.
But Jiang Shenghai was still hesitating; this old fox was weighing the pros and cons, assessing the current value of Hongyuan Real Estate with the coldest and most businesslike eyes.
So Chu Tingyun had no intention of hiding his actions; he was making them loud and clear, without any concealment, and striking hard for a quick resolution.
Yan Xun was taken aback but quickly understood Chu Tingyun’s plan.
From the beginning, the other party’s thoughts and objectives were clear—
He wasn’t trying to wrestle with Jiang Shenghai or seize power; he wanted to shift the value scale in Jiang Shenghai’s heart completely toward himself, thus forcing the old fox to take action.
Chu Tingyun was now exhausting all efforts, pushing the Chen family down, but they were still a hundred-legged insect, not easily dead, and there was still room for struggle.
But once Jiang Shenghai acted, it would be completely different.
As the absolute majority shareholder and actual decision-maker of the Jiang Group, Jiang Shenghai was an insurmountable mountain for Chu Tingyun when dealing with the Chen family.
In that case, it was better to have this mountain stand behind him, turning from a blocker into an unshakable support.
As long as Jiang Shenghai decided to sever ties with the Chen family, the name Hongyuan Real Estate would soon be erased cleanly. And the Chen family would have no chance to turn over again.
This was the most convenient, time-saving, and labor-saving way.
Even if the Jiang family suffered losses, it would hurt Jiang Shenghai; even if he lost the so-called position of president in the future, Chu Tingyun would still applaud.
At that point, he could start settling old scores without any worries.
One by one, according to the Criminal Law.
“Back then, your car accident might also have been the work of those guys.”
Even if there were no obvious traces now, Chu Tingyun insisted on believing this.
Yan Xun had also recalled it countless times, but the accident happened too quickly, and he couldn’t find any abnormalities; he only asked,
“Besides the car condition, was my call log checked at that time?”
“Checked.”
Chu Tingyun certainly wouldn’t miss these details,
“You received several telemarketing calls, one of which was shortly before the accident.”
That’s why the traffic police determined it was the driver’s own responsibility.
“…”
Yan Xun didn’t speak.
It seemed the other party had erased the traces well; even if he said he had been threatened now, it would be impossible to verify.
Yan Xun didn’t continue the topic of the car accident but indicated for Chu Tingyun to look at the file bag on the back seat.
“I hired a private detective to check Chen Wanqing’s recent whereabouts and found some interesting things.”
Ever since Li Rong was discovered, Chen Tengxiao had spent heavily hiring bodyguards to follow him everywhere, making it difficult to find anything.
But Chen Wanqing was different; she had always been a pampered lady and was a crucial connection between the Jiang and Chen families.
In Yan Xun’s view, this was a great entry point.
“Private detective?”
Chu Tingyun picked up the file, surprised.
“I didn’t expect our upright and kind Yan Xun would do such a thing. By the way, those photos of Chen Tengxiao weren’t taken by you, right?”
Yan Xun: “…They were taken by Li Rong.”
“Oh, that’s good. You should watch less of that dirty stuff, don’t learn from him and start taking strange photos or videos.”
Yan Xun: “…”
Who was the one taking strange photos and videos back then?!
Yan Xun gained a new understanding of Chu Tingyun’s shamelessness and double standards.
He forcefully ignored Chu Tingyun’s words and continued:
“Yesterday, she hurriedly left the Chen family and went to a beauty salon.”
“What’s interesting is that she spent over a million there, and the owner of that beauty salon took a flight abroad that same night.”
Chu Tingyun opened the file bag and looked at several photos of a man along with some simple information.
The owner of the beauty salon was named Wei Zhen; he was noted to be forty-six years old, but in the photo, he looked very well-kept and, due to his appearance and attire, looked like he was in his thirties.
“When the family faced trouble, Chen Wanqing rushed home to cry, then immediately went to the beauty salon to get a facelift. It’s just too funny.”
Chu Tingyun certainly understood that Yan Xun meant this man might have something to do with it, but he couldn’t help but mock,
“He looks good, quite a pretty boy. Maybe this guy could try hard and put a green hat on the old man.”
Yan Xun had already gotten used to Chu Tingyun’s unique mockery of the Jiang family.
“This person has some relation to Zhang Xingzhou; he seems to be a distant relative.”
“Oh?”
This linked up.
“But something still feels off.”
Chu Tingyun frowned.
“Whether it’s the Chen family trying to target you or me, the actual executor wouldn’t be Chen Wanqing.”
She was a woman of false strength; when faced with problems, she would only cry. In matters that required covering tracks, the Chen father and son wouldn’t let her handle it.
But it was clear that this Wei Zhen had some issues.
Chu Tingyun took a photo and sent it to a trusted aide at the American branch, asking them to investigate it. If that didn’t work, he would find a few local tough guys to scare him.
He wanted to see what Chen Wanqing and this pretty boy were up to.
As they chatted back and forth, they unknowingly arrived home.
After Chu Tingyun completed his home cleaning, he immediately went to hug his cat son.
Having suddenly awakened his paternal instincts recently, now President Chu was smitten with their baby.
As for Yan Xun, he was about to settle old scores.
“Chu Tingyun, give me your phone.”
“On the table, get it yourself.”
President Chu was busy being sticky with his cat son, enjoying parent-child time.
Yan Xun picked up Chu Tingyun’s work phone, entering the password to unlock it while asking:
“What about the other one?”
“?”
At that moment, Chu Tingyun finally realized something strange.
“What do you need my phone for?”
Yan Xun, without flushing or skipping a beat, said matter-of-factly:
“—To check on you.”
Chu Tingyun: “…???!!”
He put the cat down and scrutinized Yan Xun from head to toe for a while, somewhat doubting if the other was the real deal today.
Seeing the man standing there frozen, Yan Xun raised an eyebrow and asked:
“What’s wrong, are you feeling guilty?”
“Of course not!”
Chu Tingyun wished Yan Xun would check on him every day.
In the past, he had been suspicious, fearing Yan Xun liked someone else, so he often checked on him; but now Chu Tingyun switched roles, confirming that his little husband was crazy about him, which led to this request.
So not only did he not feel his privacy was invaded, but he was also extremely happy.
“Come on, check! Feel free to check!”
President Chu was completely at ease and just waited to see Yan Xun’s expression after the check.
“Can I check on the computer?”
“Sure, look however you want!”
Chu Tingyun immediately pulled Yan Xun toward the study.
Thus, for the next hour, Yan Xun began to check both of Chu Tingyun’s phones and his computer.
He wasn’t doubting that Chu Tingyun had something going on with someone else; he was looking for the footage from when Chu Tingyun was at the snow mountain villa.
The other had always said he deleted it, but after losing his memory, Yan Xun found a clip in his cloud storage.
It was obvious that it was definitely placed there by Chu Tingyun.
In fact, the other even set their wedding anniversary as the password, tricking the amnesiac version of himself.
—A liar!
Yan Xun was genuinely angry.
He felt that today he had to find it out and teach Chu Tingyun a lesson.
However, before finding the video, Yan Xun discovered that Chu Tingyun’s private WeChat only had him added as a contact, and there had never been any personal messages in his work WeChat.
“…?”
So this guy wasn’t living a colorful life in reality, but was intentionally showing only for him to see?
If that were the case, Yan Xun couldn’t help but speculate—
Then during those days when the other was hospitalized for the New Year, the Moments he posted weren’t also meant for him to see, right?
At the time, he thought Chu Tingyun was really pretentious and strange, posting seven or eight updates a day when he was sick.
But now Yan Xun finally understood; perhaps at that time, Chu Tingyun just wanted to attract his attention.
“…”
This person is really childish.
But now, being “amnesiac,” he couldn’t delve into such distant matters.
So Yan Xun didn’t mention the previous things and continued searching.
Chu Tingyun watched him check, feeling no guilt at all. But soon, when he saw Yan Xun find a familiar hidden file, he became a little anxious.
Chu Tingyun: “…!!!”
How did he forget about this!
But before he figured out how to stop it, Yan Xun had already quickly entered the password to open it.
Yan Xun: “…”
He had only been trying it out; who knew the password was really the wedding anniversary.
Really… unbelievable.
The file opened, and it was filled with video recordings.
Although the video cover was all black and the names were a string of garbled characters, both of them knew exactly what was inside.
Yan Xun didn’t click on it; he just looked up at Chu Tingyun and said,
“I think I had a similar video in my cloud storage before.”
He didn’t say the rest.
Chu Tingyun stiffened for a moment, slowly realizing the real purpose of Yan Xun’s so-called check-up today.
—He was looking for this.
Chu Tingyun didn’t speak for a long time, only nervously observing Yan Xun’s expression, but he couldn’t see anything.
At least he wasn’t angry.
…That means he didn’t remember.
Chu Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief and started to think fast.
“Um, right. It’s something we recorded before.”
“…We recorded it?”
Yan Xun raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged.
“But I don’t think I would record this.”
“What I mean is, I recorded it. But it was with you.”
Chu Tingyun quickly calmed down; he knew Yan Xun cared about this.
When Yan Xun first discovered he was recorded, he got so angry he said he would never have anything to do with him again. Later, before they got married, Yan Xun repeatedly asked him if the video was deleted.
Chu Tingyun had certainly deleted it.
So now he told Yan Xun:
“But don’t worry, you can’t see yourself in it.”
Saying this, he even opened a few to show his little husband, but unexpectedly, the latter immediately hit mute and closed it.
“Chu Tingyun… what are you thinking?”
Yan Xun couldn’t understand at all.
If Chu Tingyun recorded such videos not to threaten him, then why record them?
Moreover, what he meant by deleting it actually referred to cutting out all parts involving Yan Xun, leaving only himself.
What a strange operation???
Yan Xun couldn’t figure it out:
“So every time you watch it, you’re… watching yourself?”
Chu Tingyun thought for a long time and seemed to find an answer.
“Sort of, but not really.”
He leaned over, resting on the armrest of Yan Xun’s chair, kneeling on one knee between his legs, and in that posture, he leaned closer to Yan Xun and whispered:
“The video only shows me, so only I can ‘see’ you.”
“…”
So he really wasn’t trying to threaten him; he just purely liked to record.
At this moment, Yan Xun couldn’t dare to think about how many times Chu Tingyun had watched these recordings over the past three years, what he was thinking, and what he was doing while watching.
In any case, today, Yan Xun once again gained a new understanding of Chu Tingyun’s abnormality.
