Chapter 78: Cleaning Up the Evidence

“Did Fu Huaizhou find me?” Ruan Li asked, suspecting that the Shi family and Fu Huaizhou were in cahoots. Their relationship wasn’t particularly close, so why would anyone go to such lengths to find her across borders?

Especially Shi Mu, who rarely stayed in the country. She had only seen him a few times, and always by Fu Huaizhou’s side.

Ruan Li’s hands, trapped in Shi Mu’s embrace, flailed awkwardly for a moment before she spoke, embarrassed, “Maybe you should let me go first?”

Shi Mu snapped out of his daze, realizing his hug was a bit abrupt. He quickly released her. Only when he saw her standing there, safe and sound, did the tension in his brows ease.

“I should introduce myself properly.” Shi Mu’s expression grew serious, and there was a glimmer of moisture at the corners of his eyes. “I’m Shi Mu, your older brother.”

Ruan Li rubbed her eyes a few times, confirming that the person in front of her was not a hallucination. She chuckled, “Is this some new trick you and Fu Huaizhou came up with? It’s a bit too far-fetched.”

Shi Mu shook his head slowly, “This isn’t a joke. Our family has been searching for over twenty years.”

Ruan Li stared at him, finding it hard to believe, but his expression seemed genuine. She pointed at herself, “Me? Related to you? But I’m not from Jing City. The orphanage director told me I was abandoned out of town and brought back to Jing City.”

Shi Mu knew it was a lot to process. He glanced inside her house politely. “Can we talk inside?”

Ruan Li nodded and stepped aside to let him in.

“The Shi family isn’t originally from Jing City,” Shi Mu began, recounting the story. “Our family business has mostly been abroad. The year my parents had my younger sister, mercenaries hired by rival families attacked during her full-month celebration. There were deaths and injuries, and when we returned to the room, you were already gone.”

Shi Mu’s voice trembled as he recalled the invasion and attack. “Since then, our family has been searching for you. But as time went on and the situation grew more complex, the trail went cold when it reached the mainland. So, our family shifted its business to the domestic market to continue the search.”

He paused, voice heavy. “Our parents grew old. Because of that attack, their health deteriorated, and they eventually passed away. Those who remained knew little about you, and hope faded over time.”

Ruan Li felt like she was listening to a novel plot, stunned. She searched Shi Mu’s face for any sign of resemblance, but apart from both of them being good-looking, there wasn’t much to go on.

Shi Mu knew it would take time for her to accept this. Luckily, they had plenty of time now.

“Here’s a DNA test,” he said, pulling out some documents from his bag. “It’s a match for you, me, and Shi Xun. We even compared it with a preserved sample from our parents.”

Ruan Li took the documents, scanning the final page for the result. It confirmed the match. Her mind swirled, struggling to process that she suddenly had a biological family. And not just any family the Shi family in Jing City, with Shi Xun, someone she had known for years, as her sibling.

She stayed silent for a long time, then whispered, “I need some time to process this.”

“Of course.” Shi Mu looked at her face, so striking and beautiful. Their family had mixed heritage, so they were known for their remarkable looks.

“Why did you suddenly decide to do a DNA test with my sample?” Ruan Li asked. Most people in Jing City didn’t know she was a fake heiress, but the Shi family probably did.

Shi Mu hesitated, a bit sheepish. He touched his nose. “Since I’m rarely in Jing City, I didn’t know you well. Shi Xun was just a child when you were taken, so it’s impossible for him to always recognize such things.”

“Actually, it was Fu Huaizhou…” Shi Mu finally revealed the crucial point. “He had been investigating your background for some time, traveling out of town several times. His findings overlapped with our old leads, and since your age matched, I requested a sample from him to conduct the DNA test.”

“Fu Huaizhou?” Ruan Li remembered how he had been leaving early and coming back late, rarely at the office. It turned out he had been digging into her past.

“So, he knows about this?” she asked.

Shi Mu shook his head. “I didn’t tell him. You two are fighting, aren’t you? Why would I tell him? I only said I had some contacts to help with the search, and he didn’t know about our family’s history.”

Although Shi Mu didn’t know the specifics of Ruan Li and Fu Huaizhou’s fallout, he couldn’t help but feel possessive now. Before, he had naturally sided with his old friend, Fu Huaizhou. But now that Ruan Li was confirmed to be his sister, he felt an overwhelming desire to protect her, to make up for the lost years. There was no way he was going to give her back to Fu Huaizhou.

“That’s good.” Ruan Li observed the refined and gentle face of the man before her, still feeling like she was in a dream.

“Wouldn’t you like a hug?” Shi Mu’s voice was unsteady. After so many years of searching, they had finally been reunited. It was as if fate had taken pity and granted them this moment.

Ruan Li felt a pull and lightly hugged Shi Mu. As she inhaled the faint scent of cool wood on him, she felt unexpectedly comforted.

“We won’t be separated again,” Shi Mu said softly, patting her shoulder. “It’s a relief. A real relief.”

Embraced by him, Ruan Li felt a long-buried, family-shaped void in her heart begin to fill. Her eyes stung.

“Brother?” she said tentatively.

“Yes,” Shi Mu replied gently.

Even though their separation had been painful and abrupt, the instant they were brought together by fate made all the intervening agony seem forgivable.

After a brief moment of comfort, Shi Mu looked around the cozy but insecure house. He started gathering her things.

“You can’t stay here. Fu Huaizhou’s people will find this place soon.”

Ruan Li remembered why she had left in the first place. Even if she knew the reasons behind Fu Huaizhou’s recent behavior, she was still hurt by his coldness and avoidance, by his making decisions without discussing them with her.

This punishment wasn’t over yet. She recalled the little “surprise” she had left in the cat’s bed back home if Fu Huaizhou remembered her words, he would have already found it.

She intended to make him even more desperate.

“Where are we going?” Ruan Li asked, her gaze following her newly-found brother as if she had suddenly found an anchor.

“Come with me. My people will erase any traces you left behind. Fu Huaizhou won’t find you as easily next time.”