Chapter 51

Zhao Youmo arrived still dressed in professional attire. Professor Chen personally extracted tissue from Zhao Youmo’s scalp, saying, “Take this for analysis.” Zhao Youmo furrowed his brow and asked, “Professor Chen, it feels like you’re conducting some kind of experiment on me. Is there something special about my DNA?”

“Xiao Zhao, you’re overthinking it. Our institute wouldn’t deceive you,” Professor Chen reassured him, looking at his face. The resemblance to Yang Liming and shades of Chen Fangru were striking. It turned out this was his own nephew from outside the family…

Though Professor Chen was unfamiliar with him, there was a familial closeness from blood ties. He friendly added Zhao Youmo on WeChat, saying, “Perhaps by the end of this month… the analysis will yield results.”

“So soon?! Have you found my parents?!” Zhao Youmo exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s just a suspicion, not confirmed yet. That’s why we troubled you to come again. How about this, Are you free? Come out with me for some tea, we’ll sit down and talk slowly,” Professor Chen suggested.

Despite Zhao Youmo’s suspicions, he couldn’t fathom any ill intentions from such a renowned genetic professor. Thus, somewhat bewilderingly, he agreed. Moreover, the professor’s gaze held goodwill, something Zhao could discern.

“Who is this?” Chen Fangru took the photo and looked down for a while. “It looks a bit familiar.”

“He’s a student supported by your husband’s education foundation, named Zhao Youmo.”

Professor Chen looked at the whole family photo on the wall, where there were ten people, including himself. Thirteen-year-old Yang Yuran stood in the center, with delicate features and dressed like a little prince, but he was lacking in confidence due to his prosthetic eye, so he didn’t face the camera.

Professor Chen was slightly distracted, pointing to the family photo and asking, “Who does he look like?”

“This student, who does he resemble?” Chen Fangru was puzzled, staring at the family photo for a long time. Then suddenly she realized, “He looks like my husband! Brother, did you bring this photo here on purpose to say that old Yang cheated and this is his illegitimate child?!”

“No, no,” Seeing Chen Fangru about to explode, Professor Chen quickly explained, “Old Yang did not betray you! This is your child!”

“…What do you mean?” Chen Fangru was bewildered.

Professor Chen hurriedly took out the DNA report and said, “This is what I recently found. He looks like both of you, and his DNA matches yours and your husband’s. Zhao Youmo is in Beijing. If you don’t believe me, you can meet him.”

Chen Fangru looked down at the report. Knowing her brother wasn’t one to joke around, though she found it absurd, she still questioned, “I only gave birth to one child. When did I have another one? I carried him for ten months. How could I not know?”

“Two children…” Professor Chen squeezed his hands tightly, his skin turning deep purple from the pressure. “It seems there was a mix-up at the hospital. Yang Yuran… is not your and Old Yang’s child. I’ve verified this repeatedly through DNA.”

Chen Fangru’s fingers trembled suddenly.

—

At the end of June, amidst the scorching heat of Beijing, a Gulfstream jet with “Roy” printed in pure black English slowly descended onto the airport runway.

Yang Yuran held Harry’s hand as they disembarked. The person there to pick him up was Chen Fangru’s secretary, someone Yang Yuran didn’t recognize, but Chen Fangru had sent him a message beforehand.

Yang Yuran asked, “Where’s Mom?”

The secretary replied, “Madam has a very important meeting today.”

“Oh.” Yang Yuran didn’t pay much attention, though he already had a vague sense in his heart. After all, in the conversation with Professor Chen a couple of days ago, Professor Chen had already delicately hinted at the truth.

He asked, “Baby, what if Dad and Mom aren’t the Dad and Mom you imagined?”

Over the phone, Yang Yuran said, “Did you receive Zhao Youmo’s hair? Uncle, did you check if he’s really my dad’s child?”

Professor Chen hesitated, “Let’s talk about it when you come back to China.”

That was as good as a confirmation.

So Yang Yuran had already instructed Zhou Kai to find him a place to live as quickly as possible.

“Not too big, not too luxurious, just convenient transportation, maybe a small apartment no more than fifty square meters.”

Yang Yuran left most of his things in the house in Boston, taking only what belonged to him. Such as the clothes Jiang Yi gave him, the large fluffy toy he won at the amusement park with Jiang Yi, his stuffed camel, unfinished chocolate, the concert T-shirt similar to Jiang Yi’s, the hat and gloves Jiang Yi bought him… His mom also gave him a custom-made tuxedo, but Yang Yuran never wore it. Seeing how Zhao Youmo and he had similar builds, he figured Zhao Youmo could wear it and didn’t take it with him.

And Yang Yunran found that everything he could take with him was somehow connected to Jiang Yi. Perhaps he was about to lose Jiang Yi as well.

Yang Yunran sat in the car, holding the dog, silently enduring the bumps in the road.

The driver turned into a villa community along the canal bank and stopped in front of a brown standalone house.

Yang Yunran got out of the car. The driver was about to unload his luggage when Yang Yunran said, “No need, please wait a bit longer before taking me somewhere else.”

The luggage being pushed in and out looked quite messy.

He didn’t want it to be like this.

Yang Yunran led the dog into the villa. Yang Liming was home, but Chen Fangru and Uncle were not.

At this moment, Professor Chen took Chen Fangru to the vicinity of the company’s employee dormitories. He pointed to Chen Fangru and said, “Fangru, that’s Youmo.”

Chen Fangru covered her mouth, staring at the young man in disbelief.

She had known about this for two days now, during which she couldn’t eat or sleep. Through the DNA test report Professor Chen had presented, Chen Fangru knew for sure that Yang Yunran was not her and Old Yang’s biological child—Zhao Youmo was!

Her emotions were incredibly complex. She investigated his background and discovered that Zhao Youmo had been Yang Yunran’s “follower” since high school. Due to Zhao Youmo’s favorable impression of Old Yang, after reviewing his information, the assistant arranged for him to accompany Yang Yunran to the United States for his studies.

Through the car window, Chen Fangru saw Zhao Youmo just finishing work, carrying a takeout of wontons in his hand. He hurried along, looking like a working-class person, dressed in a somewhat fitted but cheap suit. His face was thin, reminiscent of Yang Liming in his youth.

Seeing this scene, the sharp contrast between the pampered Yunran, who had been raised in comfort and only ate farm-grown food, caused Chen Fangru unbearable heartache. She was about to get out of the car when Professor Chen firmly grasped her wrist.

“If you go over now, he’ll know you’re the wife of a conglomerate, that you’ve been to the foundation, that you’ve met him. He also knows you’re Yang Yunran’s mother.”

Chen Fangru collapsed, saying, “How could this mistake happen?! Was it negligence at the hospital, or was it deliberate by someone?! At that time, Old Yang had many business rivals. Could it have been them…?”

“The reason… is no longer clear. I’ve contacted the nurses from back then. Because it’s been too many years, it’s not something I can uncover at once,” Professor Chen said.

“What about Yang Yang? Whose child is Yang Yang?” Chen Fangru asked.

“It’s likely a nurse named Yang Xue. The DNA hasn’t been checked yet, but she’s the only one whose son went missing when he was young,” Professor Chen handed her a list. “I’ve sent someone to visit her hometown. She changed her name and is now called Yang Wanyu. She’s the founder of a domestic skincare brand, a very successful female entrepreneur.”

“She swapped the children. Why would she take away my child?! Why did she let him be abducted?! Why did she let him live like this all these years… wearing those clothes, eating that kind of food… living in a place like a rat hole.” Chen Fangru was rambling, her breathing rapid. She received another message from her secretary on her phone, saying, “Young Master’s private plane has landed.”

Chen Fangru’s tone was pained: “Youmo is studying in the United States. What is he studying? How did he return to China? But his grades are very good, how can he have no books to read… Yang Yunran is obviously not smart, his grades are so poor, yet he has books to study…”

Yang Yunran was raised by her since childhood.

His temper wasn’t great.

Actually, everything was fine before he turned three. That year, Chen Fangzhou drove out with the child and had an accident. This resulted in Yang Yunran’s eye being injured and undergoing complete eye removal surgery.

His personality completely changed after the surgery.

The whole family spoiled him a lot. Homosexual? Bullied classmates? It didn’t matter, the whole family tolerated it and helped clean up after him.

However the child was slow and did poorly in school. He didn’t seem like her and her husband’s child at all.

She suspected it was a genetic mutation and regretted pampering him too much when he was young. Now everything made sense…

Chen Fangru looked up: “I want to give him the best life. Brother, unlock the car.”

Chen Fangru insisted on getting out of the car to find her biological son. Chen Fangzhou couldn’t refuse and could only open the car door and accompany her out of the car.

Zhao Youmo shared a three-bedroom dormitory. Professor Chen called him and asked him to come down: “I am Chen Fangzhou. Zhao Youmo, there is someone I want you to meet.”

Zhao Youmo quickly came down. Perhaps he had guessed something in his heart. When he saw Chen Fangru, he didn’t recognize her. But sensing she was a family member, he looked to Chen Fangzhou for confirmation.

Professor Chen nodded to him.

He pinched his brow: “Youmo, this is… my sister, your biological mother, she is called Chen Fangru.”

Zhao Youmo couldn’t believe it, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Chen Fangru was dressed elegantly, wearing a high-end suit, standing awkwardly next to the dumpster in the residential area, already in tears.

Professor Chen said with a complex expression: “There are many people in the neighborhood. It’s better to talk in the car.”

He did not join them, watching his sister and biological nephew get into the car, and stand under a tree checking his phone. He learned that Yang Yunran had already arrived home, and Yang Liming was also there.

But Yang Liming didn’t know what had happened yet, chatting with the child.

They were discussing the blind date partner for his son.

Because Yang Liming cared too much about his marriage, it made Yang Yunran feel immense pressure. Unable to bear it, he said, “I’m not dating Miss Xu. My current partner is a boy. I can’t date girls.”

Yang Liming frowned, saying, “What do you mean?”

Yang Yunran lowered his head and took out Yang Liming’s spare card and allowance card: “I earn money myself, Dad. Everything for plane fuel is in here. I haven’t spent a penny of the allowance you gave me.”

Yang Liming switched from speaking Mandarin to dialect, standing up and saying, “Yang Yunran, what are you trying to do? Come out and cut ties with me?”

“Not like that… Dad, our relationship doesn’t need to be cut off,” Yang Yunran said quietly. “Wait for Uncle to come back and let him explain to you. I’m sorry, Dad… maybe I don’t deserve to call you that. Thank you for raising me all these years.”

Yang Liming was still confused, thinking he was planning to leave home and sever ties. He slammed the table, “Got wings now, huh? Making your own money, huh? Fine, go ahead! Once you leave, let’s see who buys you a private jet, who buys you a house! Who finds you a wife! Who sorts out all that junk in your entertainment circle!”

Yang Liming angrily threw down his card, and Yang Yunran weakly apologized, unsure of how to explain. He turned his head and called out “Harry,” then led the dog away from the villa. His figure was slender, solitary, yet resolute and stubborn.