“You mean… the boss behind Tinglan Garden?” Chu Moxuan looked up sharply at him.

“Pretty much. Even if it’s not them directly, they’ve definitely got something to do with it.”

Chu Moxuan clicked his tongue. “What’s this boss even after? Isn’t taking the money enough? Selling a house and doing a background check? And their intel network is way too extensive.”

“Maybe the property holds some special meaning to them, so they don’t want it tainted,” Gu Shilin spun the pen in his hand casually as he spoke.

Chu Moxuan didn’t buy it. “What kind of special meaning could it have? Not making money when you could is just dumb.”

…

The next morning, Luo Yunyan finished washing up and headed downstairs. She grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and started chugging.

Sitting on the sofa, she recalled the information she had uncovered before.

The Luo family lost their youngest daughter fifteen years ago. It wasn’t exactly a secret in elite circles.

Both the Luo and Su families had been searching all these years.

Luo Chenfeng and Su Wanru were known in their social circle as the model couple.

Ever since Luo Chenfeng handed over the family business to Luo Yunzhe, he and Su Wanru had been inseparable, traveling the world year after year, looking for their missing daughter.

If you reached out to either one of them, the other was bound to show up too—maybe even bringing the whole family along.

The eldest son, Luo Yunzhe, fit the classic domineering CEO persona: calm, composed, with emotions hidden beneath the surface.

The second son, Luo Yunxi, was the top star in the Chinese entertainment industry—winner of the three major acting awards by age 22, loud, sharp-tongued, and always followed by cameras.

As for the youngest, Luo Yanyi? Her fraternal twin brother. Still a student. What’s the point of contacting him? To give him a lecture?

Then there were four elders, uncles and aunts, cousins—both direct and extended.

Just thinking about this huge family web gave Luo Yunyan a headache.

So, all things considered, meeting Luo Yunzhe first seemed the most reliable. As for the others… tch, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.

As for how the meeting would go, she didn’t care for now. The longer she could enjoy some peace, the better.

Having made up her mind, Luo Yunyan dialed the private number she had found—Luo Yunzhe’s personal line.

…

At that moment, in the president’s office of the Luo Corporation.

Special Assistant Zhang was reporting progress to Luo Yunzhe.

“Boss, the resort project in Haishi has already broken ground, expected to finish by the end of next year. The land auction in the capital suburbs is scheduled for next Wednesday. Also, Bruce still refuses to budge, so you might need to head to Europe this weekend. As for the branch office…”

Just then, Luo Yunzhe’s personal phone rang, and Assistant Zhang paused.

Luo Yunzhe glanced at the screen. An unfamiliar number, no caller ID. His brows furrowed slightly.

But remembering that his phone automatically blocks spam calls, and that very few people even knew this number, he answered.

“Hello?”

A cool and clear female voice came through: “Hi, I’m Luo Yunyan.”

Whatever she said next, Assistant Zhang didn’t catch, but he saw his boss suddenly leap to his feet, knocking the papers off the desk in the process.

“What did you say your name was?!” Luo Yunzhe was visibly shaken.

But then he recalled how many people had shown up over the years claiming to be his sister—some even went as far as getting plastic surgery to resemble her, just to cling to the Luo family’s power. But every time, the paternity test exposed them as frauds.

Like a bucket of cold water dousing his moment of hope, his excitement quickly faded.

A bit self-deprecatingly, he thought—how could the sister they hadn’t found in over a decade just suddenly show up at the door?

Then he heard a soft sigh on the other end.

“My name is Luo Yunyan. According to the information I’ve found, I’m very likely the sister you lost fifteen years ago. When would you be available to come with me for a paternity test?”

“…Alright. Where are you? I’ll come find you now.” Luo Yunzhe hesitated briefly, then agreed.

If she could get hold of his personal number, then whether she was really his sister or someone playing dirty tricks—it would be clear once they met.

After all, he had done so many paternity tests over the years—what’s one more?

What if…? A trace of hope flickered in Luo Yunzhe’s eyes.

“No need. Let’s meet in half an hour at the entrance of Luo Corporation’s private hospital.”

Once she received a firm answer, Luo Yunyan hung up and drove off in her little black car.

Just as she pulled out of the villa gate, a black Maybach rolled out from the opposite villa.

Luo Yunyan didn’t pay it any mind and continued driving.

In the Maybach, Chu Moxuan had his face pressed to the window, watching Luo Yunyan’s car.

“Damn! La Voiture Noire! The one and only Bugatti La Voiture Noire in the world! That’s insane! I wanna touch it! Hell, if I got to drive it, I’d hand over my soul!”

Gu Shilin didn’t respond. He’d been busy reading files on his laptop, only noticing a car had driven by, but not caring about what kind.

It really wasn’t because he didn’t own one, definitely not!

Chu Moxuan kept rambling to himself, “No wonder she’s the boss of Tinglan Garden. Tsk tsk, if nothing else, that financial power…”

——————

Half an hour later, outside Luo Corporation’s private hospital.

“Boss, do you really think she’s the young miss?” Zhang the assistant glanced back from the driver’s seat at Luo Yunzhe.

The Zhang family had served the Luo family for three generations. He grew up with Luo Yunzhe—they were both subordinates and brothers.

So he was much more casual in private than others would be.

Luo Yunzhe closed his eyes briefly. “We’ll know after a paternity test.”

Even if she wasn’t, they wouldn’t stop searching.

All these years, despite constant disappointment, they never gave up on any lead.

Whenever they heard of a girl who resembled her in any city, no matter how busy they were, some family member would personally go check.

Just then, Luo Yunyan walked up, having just parked her car, and knocked on the car window beside Luo Yunzhe.

He rolled down the window, about to ask what was going on, but as soon as he saw the girl’s face, he froze.

When he didn’t respond, Luo Yunyan had to speak first. “Sorry, there was a bit of traffic. I’m two minutes late.”

“N-No problem!” Luo Yunzhe fumbled with the door and got out to stand in front of her.

So similar—too similar.

The girl in front of him, wearing a white t-shirt and cargo pants, looked exactly like their mother when she was young.

Luo Yunzhe prided himself on being a steadfast materialist, only believing in what he could see and prove.

Not showing emotion was lesson one when Grandpa began grooming him as the future head of the family.

Normally, when faced with people claiming to be his sister, he remained calm and polite but distant—straight to the test, no fuss.

But the moment he saw Luo Yunyan, a voice in his head whispered:

This is her. This is your sister.

At that moment, he was no better than some awkward teenage boy.

“You… um, was it you who called me earlier?” His fingers curled unconsciously, clearly flustered.

Luo Yunyan gave him a look like he was an idiot. “Yeah, that was me. So, shall we go in now?”

Luo Yunzhe caught the meaning in her look and coughed awkwardly to cover it. “Yes, y-yeah. Let’s go.”

Tch, the data never mentioned that Luo Yunzhe was a stutterer…

Luo Yunyan took the lead into the hospital, with Luo Yunzhe trailing closely beside her.

Assistant Zhang followed with a bitter smile.

The three of them headed straight for the genetics department. When the department head saw them, he rushed to greet them.

“President Luo, you’re here today for…?”

“A paternity test. As fast as possible.” Luo Yunzhe didn’t hesitate and immediately plucked a strand of hair to hand over.

Luo Yunyan couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her mouth but followed suit and pulled one of her own.

“Right away! I’ll get on it.” The department head took the samples and sealed them in specimen bags, personally preparing to run the test.

The girl looked so much like Madam Luo. Let this one be real, please. They’d done so many of these tests already.

Back when he was just a physician, he’d already been handling these tests for the Luo family. Now he was the department head—and still doing them.

——————————

“It’ll take about three hours for the results. Are you hungry? Should we go get something to eat?” After a moment of hesitation, Luo Yunzhe turned to the girl beside him.

Luo Yunyan nodded. “Let’s go, then.”

“Zhang Yi, keep an eye on things. I’ll bring you some takeout.” With that, Luo Yunzhe left with Luo Yunyan.

“Yes, boss.”

Poor hospital director—he had just heard the big boss was here and had sprinted down in a panic, wig all askew, only to find the boss already gone.

Damn! So pissed! Now I have to fix my wig again!

In the elevator, Luo Yunzhe asked carefully, “What do you want to eat? The restaurant next door has Luo Corporation investment—braised short ribs there aren’t bad. Want to settle for that?”

Luo Yunyan froze briefly. She did like braised short ribs. She had forced the chef at Ruyi Pavilion to tweak the recipe countless times before it finally passed her standards.

Snapping back to her senses, she nodded. “Alright.”

Once they were in a private room at the restaurant, Luo Yunzhe handed her the menu. “See what you want to eat?”

“Braised short ribs and sweet and sour pork. You decide the rest.” She pushed the menu back to him.

Noticing her gaze lingered several times on the braised prawns, Luo Yunzhe added it, plus a few more dishes.

Luo Yunyan glanced up at him with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

“If you want it, just order it. I’ll peel them for you,” Luo Yunzhe said with a small smile, reading her thoughts.

“Thanks.”

Just then, the waiter asked, “Do either of you have dietary restrictions? Like green onions or cilantro?”

“No green onions.”

“No scallions.”

They answered in unison, then looked at each other. Luo Yunyan was the first to glance away, a bit awkwardly.

As a child, his sister loved shrimp and sweet-and-sour dishes, but hated peeling shells. She’d always sweet-talk her brothers into doing it for her.

As for scallions? They were practically banned at the Luo family dinner table.

Luo Yunzhe’s confidence grew.

After the waiter left, Luo Yunzhe hesitated, then asked, “How did you find me? And how did you get my private number?”

“I had someone look it up.”

Her people were competent, after all.

But when Luo Yunzhe heard that, his imagination took off: a poor little girl, working herself to the bone washing dishes, saving up every cent to hire a top-tier private investigator—because no average one could pull this off—finally finding her family after all these years. How heartbreaking…

Luo Yunyan: Thanks, took five minutes. Didn’t cost a cent.

“…And all these years, where have you been? Were you adopted? Have you been okay?”

(End of Chapter)