Chapter 72

The fact that it was Yang Yunran’s biological mother, not his adoptive mother, who needed lung cancer surgery was something Jiang Yi learned from Professor Chen.

He took Yang Yunran’s brain CT scans to Professor Chen’s research institute.

“Jiang Yi, sit,” Professor Chen said, still wearing his white coat in his office. He felt a bit regretful that Jiang Yi was no longer part of his research institute.

However, he wasn’t one to force people, and besides, Jiang Yi was still continuing his research on non-biological transplants and cell regeneration, which made him feel gratified.

Professor Chen asked, “Yesterday on the phone, you said you wanted the medical files from the car accident when the baby was young. Is there a problem?”

“Do you know that Yang Yunran has been experiencing traumatic amnesia?” Jiang Yi took out the scans. “It’s been about half a month since I discovered it, and there haven’t been any similar episodes recently. However, through probing, I found that his previous memory loss is quite severe. I suspect it is due to the car accident when he was young.”

Professor Chen’s expression became serious as he took the brain CT scans and asked, “When did this happen? He never mentioned it!”

Jiang Yi replied, “According to him, it started at the end of last year.”

Professor Chen stared at the scans, looking a bit astonished, and suddenly recalled, “Around that time, his personality did change a bit. He dyed his blonde hair back to black and told me he wanted to turn over a new leaf and become a better person. He even started studying seriously. To be honest, the baby did become much more well-behaved over the past year.”

Jiang Yi nodded, knowing that Yang Yunran had indeed become more obedient. He asked, “I would like to know if he had similar issues when he was younger?”

“When he was younger?” Professor Chen frowned. “After the car accident, he did exhibit similar symptoms for a while. He had just undergone surgery and had a concussion, leading to a tendency to scream, an unstable personality, and reluctance to speak. Because he was so young, his ability to express himself was limited, so we thought it was due to the concussion.”

Jiang Yi asked, “Was there a change in his temperament before and after the accident?”

Professor Chen nodded, “Yes, as I mentioned, his personality became unstable. He wouldn’t speak but would often scream. His mother cried every day, and when she cried, the baby would hide. We thought it was all due to the car accident. Before the accident, he was obedient, sensible, and very smart. Here are his medical records from when he was young. Take a look.”

Professor Chen handed over the records.

Recalling those times, Professor Chen remembered how Chen Fangru’s hair fell out daily due to the child’s personality changes, leaving her depressed. Professor Chen, who had been the one driving when the accident occurred, felt indescribable guilt and often apologized to his sister and her husband, saying, “I’m sorry for what happened to you and the child.”

He took the child back and cared for him meticulously for a while.

Jiang Yi read through Yang Yunran’s medical records for a long time before looking up and explaining, “I have reviewed all relevant literature. The first time Yang Yunran’s personality changed was due to the car accident and surgery, which caused traumatic brain injury and psychological trauma. The recent episode might be influenced by the early car accident, or it could be due to some other unknown event, resulting in a stress disorder that affected his memory. I personally suspect that the appearance of Zhao Youmo and the revelation of his true identity triggered this change.”

Professor Chen was shocked, “Ah!”

He suddenly understood, “Yes, that must be it. Back then, he mentioned Zhao Youmo in a phone call, implying their relationship and hinting that Zhao Youmo looked like his father. He knew the truth and feared being abandoned, so… so he suddenly changed his personality, did strange things like sending me Zhao Youmo’s hair, refusing his father’s credit card, and even insisted on paying for the fuel costs for the plane. He didn’t want my offer of an artificial eye, instead wanting to pay for it himself… It was as if he wanted to sever all ties and repay every debt.”

Thinking of all the harm this had caused Yang Yunran, Professor Chen was stunned for a long time before sighing heavily.

Jiang Yi also recalled Yang Yunran’s emotional changes after returning to China and said, “So when he returns to China, I will take him for a full-body checkup.”

Professor Chen asked, “When he returns to China? Has he gone abroad?”

Jiang Yi replied, “You didn’t know?”

Professor Chen said, “I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me. How did you find out?”

Jiang Yi answered, “Oh.”

Professor Chen, feeling displeased, asked, “Where did he go abroad?”

Jiang Yi frowned slightly. Yang Yunran had mentioned his mother’s surgery, and since his mother was Professor Chen’s sister, how could Professor Chen not know?

“He went to Canada,” Jiang Yi said, observing Professor Chen’s expression.

“Oh—I see. Canada, he’s in Toronto,” Professor Chen said, rubbing his temples. “His biological mother is ill and awaiting surgery there. His father came to me earlier, worried that the child would be resistant, and asked me to talk to him. I tried once, but the baby said he was too busy with work and couldn’t leave. I didn’t expect he would go without telling me… Jiang Yi, what is your relationship with him now? Do you know everything, even things I don’t?”

Jiang Yi casually replied, “We’re in a romantic relationship.” Then he added, “So it was his biological mother who was ill…”

Jiang Yi understood.

A few days ago, when he called, Yang Yunran had said his mother’s surgery was successful. It was late, and Yang Yunran, perhaps a bit disoriented, had mumbled some things that sounded like strange ramblings.

He said he was very lucky and happy to see his mother again.

He said his mother was doing well, living the life he had always dreamed of giving her. The sunshine in Toronto had been wonderful lately, and they had gone to the park to fly kites together.

Yang Yunran is going back to China tomorrow. Remembering the pressure and the recent public scrutiny he had been under, Jiang Yi called him proactively.

“What time and date should I book the flight for you? I’ll get you a first-class ticket.”

It was morning, and Yang Yunran, pulling open the curtains, replied, “No need. My dad said he’s made arrangements for me to return to work first.”

Jiang Yi asked, “By yourself?”

Yang Yunran replied, “Me and Doudou.” Doudou had come to see him a few days ago.

Jiang Yi asked, “What about your family?”

“My mom just finished her surgery and can’t travel yet. She needs at least half a month before she can fly. My dad is staying here to take care of her, so I’m returning alone.” Yang Yunran wanted to stay a few more days to accompany Yang Wanyu, but he had to work. Besides, Yang Wanyu had said, “Mom will be back next month. The company has factories in Beijing and Changsha, so it will be convenient to visit you.”

Jiang Yi glanced at the calendar. “I only have a break during the National Day holiday. Are you coming back to Beijing?”

Yang Yunran said, “I don’t know how my dad’s secretary arranged the route. I haven’t asked yet, but I think there will be a layover.”

Jiang Yi paused and said, “I have weekends off. I can come to see you.”

Yang Yunran replied, “No need.”

“No need?” Jiang Yi questioned, frowning. “Don’t you want to see me?”

Yang Yunran said, “How could I not want to see you! I just meant… National Day is only a few days away! If you come for the weekend, then return to work for a week and come again at the end of the month, it will be too tiring.”

The two chatted about trivial matters for a while. Yang Yunran said he needed to help his mother cook and told Jiang Yi to get some sleep.

To spend more time with Yang Wanyu, Yang Yunran stayed in Toronto for half a day longer. Before leaving, Xu Xing had a driver take him to visit a renowned singer.

“Dad saw online that you like Williams’ songs. It happens that he lives in Toronto, so I pulled some strings and arranged for you to visit his home today.”

Yang Yunran was initially puzzled, but Doudou reminded him, “Two years ago, on a show, you mentioned it.”

Yang Yunran checked a clip and saw that the original him had indeed said, “I really like his songs!” when one of Williams’ songs was played.

In this timeline, Williams was indeed a legendary international superstar with a massive global fan base. Yang Yunran listened to his music for a while and found it refreshing.

Xu Xing took Yang Yunran to Williams’ home, where they spent half a day. The superstar, nearly fifty, was lounging by the pool in a leopard print robe, gold rings, and sunglasses.

He was courteous and enthusiastic towards Xu Xing, giving Yang Yunran a big hug, thinking he was a fan.

Until Xu Xing boasted, “My son is also a famous singer in China with sixty million followers online. He has written many popular songs in China.”

The sixty million referred to his total followers across all platforms.

Yang Yunran was embarrassed. “Dad, don’t exaggerate!”

Williams looked surprised. Without his manager nearby and not recognizing Yang Yunran, he could only say, “It’s amazing to have such fame at such a young age. When I was your age, I was still sending out resumes and demo tapes, getting discouraged to the point of working as a real estate agent for a while.”

Despite his social anxiety, Yang Yunran, appreciating Williams’ music, talked with him about their shared passion. They had a great conversation, followed each other on Instagram, and then Yang Yunran left. Xu Xing reluctantly took him to the airport.

Yang Yunran stood in the terminal and saw a conspicuously painted large jet, starkly different from the white-colored planes around it, adorned with various airline logos.

The aircraft was entirely in a sea-blue color scheme, with one side printed with Yang Yunran’s English name, the other with his Chinese name, and a cute Samoyed dog image. Xu Xing’s secretary introduced, “Young Master, this is the Bombardier Global 7500. The chairman specially ordered this latest model with a custom exterior paint job just completed. Your name is also on it, so no need to worry about it looking like the smaller Gulfstreams outside.”

Doudou’s jaw dropped, “This… this… Brother Ran, this is too…”

There were many Chinese in Toronto, and seeing a plane completely different, sea-blue with a Samoyed motif, in the terminal caused exclamations of “Wow!” People pulled out their phones to take photos, zooming in to read, “Is that Chinese character on the plane? Yang… You… Ran? Who’s this super rich guy?”

“Oh! Yang Yunran, I remember now. Isn’t he that failed star who’s a rich second-generation? This must be someone with the same name, right?”

Yang Yunran, who had seen a lot of the world, was momentarily speechless. Just the thought of his name soaring across the Pacific made him feel awkward. “Dad, I thought it was a Gulfstream… This must be very expensive in fuel costs.”

“I said I would give you the best of everything. Do you think Dad would lie to you?” Xu Xing, obviously a firm and straightforward person, was relatively gentle towards Yang Yunran. He guided him towards boarding, with the entire crew present, including a dozen handsome pilots of diverse ethnicities and nationalities, lifting spirits. However, there wasn’t a single female flight attendant among them.

Xu Xing casually glanced around, looking somewhat uncomfortable. He furrowed his brow, checked the time, and said, “I’ll be heading down in two minutes. Nannan, let Secretary Gao accompany you on this flight. You’ll have internet access throughout, and you can contact me anytime. You mentioned stopping in Beijing, and the itinerary is arranged accordingly. After you arrive, you’ll be meeting that person?”

Yang Yunran nodded.

Doudou had already discreetly started taking photos with his phone, his face full of excitement. He whispered to Yang Yunran, “Brother Ran, is our flight crew even legitimate?”

Yang Yunran was equally puzzled by the dozen male pilots on the plane.

Once Xu Xing disembarked, Yang Yunran turned to the secretary who often accompanied Xu Xing and asked, “What’s going on with all these… this crew seems really strange.”

Xu Xing had intentionally selected pilots of different ethnicities, appearances, and even temperaments to cater to Yang Yunran’s preferences. Secretary Gao replied, “Strange? Young Master, it was Chairman’s orders. He instructed me to arrange it this way, considering your preferences. Is everything arranged to your satisfaction?”