Chapter 3

Shang Zhiyi racked her brain but couldn’t imagine what her biological parents looked like. She lay in bed, unable to sleep, and turned over to face away from the window. The vague outlines of her biological parents kept creeping into her mind.

For lunch, her father ordered a portion of pork liver for her and even specially ordered chicken soup with floating red dates and goji berries. She had never liked chicken soup or eaten chicken since she was a child, but her father insisted she drink two bowls.

Perhaps because she was too full, she couldn’t sleep well during her nap, tossing and turning without feeling sleepy.

On the bedside table, her mother had bought her green tangerines, and the paternity test report was pressed under the bag of green tangerines. Since her parents entered the hospital room, they hadn’t mentioned the test results at all.

She glanced at the paternity test report several times but ultimately didn’t have the courage to look through it.

She heard footsteps approaching the bed, and then a shadow sat down. Shang Zhiyi smelled a hint of tobacco. Her father didn’t smoke, but whenever he had a bit of a tobacco smell on him, it was particularly pungent.

She guessed her father had something to say to her, so she opened her eyes.

Her father’s stubble had grown out, and he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. It was rare to see him looking unkempt.

For a moment, they were both silent.

Shang Zhiyi was the first to speak, ‘Where’s mom?’

Shang Tongxu: ‘She’s downstairs in the car, catching up on sleep.’

‘You should take mom home, and both of you should get some proper rest.’

‘I’m not tired.’

Shang Tongxu was pondering how to start the conversation.

Shang Zhiyi rummaged through the food bag and took out a green tangerine, placing it in her father’s hand. Holding something in her hand might help conceal some of her emotions, making her feel less helpless.

‘Dad, could you peel an orange for me?’

As Shang Tongxu peeled the green tangerine, he casually asked, ‘Zhiyi, you’ve seen the test report, haven’t you?'”

“Without waiting for his daughter to answer, he continued, ‘You see, we do have a father-daughter fate. You were supposed to be born in Shanghai, but you were born prematurely on Hong Kong Island, and then we met, and you became my daughter. I’ve been wondering why our father-daughter bond is so short, only twenty years.’

He looked down, peeling the tangerine, with its unique fresh scent filling the space between him and his daughter.

For many years afterward, whenever he peeled a tangerine, he felt that the taste was somehow wrong.

A moment of silence.

Shang Tongxu’s fingertips still held the faint bitter fragrance of the tangerine peel, and so did his heart, as he continued, ‘After thinking for a long time, I realized that my training of you has been complete. In the rest of your life, other benefactors should appear. Sometimes, we can’t defy fate. For example, I knew you had a weak constitution since childhood. That day, it was as if I was possessed, insisting that you donate blood.’

Regret?

Yes, there was regret.

Shang Zhiyi wiped the tears from her chin with a tissue.

‘Dad, have you contacted them?’

Shang Tongxu did not dare to look up and nodded slightly, ‘Your biological parents are Xu Xiangyi and his wife. They are on their way to Beijing and will arrive in the evening.’

At first, Xu Xiangyi adamantly denied the possibility of a mix-up. He had arranged everything himself, from the doctors to the nurses, so a mix-up was impossible.

But when Xu Xiangyi saw a few photos of Zhiyi, he immediately changed his mind. From Zhiyi’s features, he could see both his own past and his wife’s appearance when she was younger.

‘You can search online for pictures of your biological mother. The couple often attends events together.’

Shang Zhiyi stared blankly at the bedside cabinet, unable to process the explosive news.

The hospital room door opened, and a nurse came to inform her that she was being moved to a different room.

When asked, she learned it was Xu Xiangyi’s arrangement, moving her from a regular ward to a VIP suite. The visual impact was like moving from a forty-square-meter old apartment to a two-hundred-square-meter luxury flat.

Initially, she was reluctant to move, but after her father’s consideration, he said, ‘Let’s move. When everyone comes, it will disturb the rest of the person in the next bed and won’t be convenient for discussing things.’

Around seven in the evening, a grand procession appeared in her VIP room.

Shang Zhiyi saw the two people leading the group, feeling a mix of emotions. She touched the side button of her phone, hurriedly locking the screen, which was displaying photos of Xu Xiangyi and Mrs. Xu in the financial news.

In person, she found that the couple did not photograph well.

The man who might be her biological father had a gentle and smiling face, looking refined and approachable. But after years of navigating the business world, his inherent aura of authority could not be hidden.

And the woman beside him, whose actual age was hard to guess, exuded an effortless elegance and sharpness.

She was Mrs. Xu, her biological mother.

The moment she saw Mrs. Xu, she felt that even the paternity test was unnecessary.

In the room, amidst various greetings, she felt as if her world had been muted, only seeing people’s mouths moving.

Shifting her gaze slightly, she saw a girl about her age, with a delicate, fair complexion and outstanding demeanor. The cold-colored dress she wore made her seem distant.

Her father said the girl’s name was Xu Ningwei.

Xu Ningwei and her father truly resembled each other, showing about fifty to sixty percent similarity.

At this moment, Shang Tongxu guided Xu Xiangyi and Mrs. Xu to the bedside.

‘Zhiyi, this is…’ How should he address them? Shang Tongxu suddenly felt unsure, not having done the paternity test yet; it felt awkward to call them father and mother directly.

Xu Xiangyi looked at the person in the bed, so sad that he couldn’t speak.

There was no need for a paternity test anymore.

Shang Zhiyi was less than thirty centimeters from the two people by the bed, but it felt like a twenty-year distance that could not be crossed.

‘Please sit down,’ she said dryly.

Xu Xiangyi grasped his daughter’s hand: ‘I will thoroughly review how I failed to keep an eye on you back then.’

Beside them, He Yian had red-rimmed eyes, looking out the window. It was particularly hard for her to have raised a daughter with great difficulty, including a tough delivery, only to be told that the daughter she had cared for was not biologically hers.

She had poured nearly all her patience and energy into Xu Ningwei over the years, except for work hours.

Ningwei had been pampered since childhood, spoiled yet thoughtful.

But that morning, fate played a cruel joke on her, revealing that the daughter she had raised was not her own.

How could she sever ties with a child she had raised for twenty years?

And how could she make up for her biological daughter, whom she had never held or developed any bond with?

Xu Xiangyi furrowed his brow and carefully checked the warmth of Zhiyi’s hand: ‘Why is it so hot?’

He Yian, feeling the need to connect with Zhiyi, used this opportunity to feel her forehead: ‘It’s also hot. You have a fever.’

She rang the nurse’s bell.

Standing quietly by the window, Xu Ningwei watched the happy family by the bed, feeling a tightness in her chest and her eyes burning with discomfort.

‘Ningwei, would you like something to drink?’ Shang Tongxu, holding two bottles of drinks, asked nervously.

Xu Ningwei shook her head and walked towards the door.

‘Ningwei, where are you going?’ Shang Tongxu asked urgently.

His call made He Yian turn around and realize she had overlooked the other daughter.

‘Ningwei!’ she chased after her.

In the corridor outside, Xu Ningwei stopped.

Her heart ached, but she couldn’t express it. She couldn’t tell her mother that she couldn’t bear seeing them so concerned about someone else.

He Yian, understanding her daughter’s frustration from a single glance, said, ‘Adults can’t accept it all at once, let alone you.’

Xu Ningwei’s eyes brimmed with tears. After holding them back on the flight from Shanghai to Beijing, she couldn’t control them anymore, and they streamed down her face.

She had been there when her father received that phone call in the morning. If she hadn’t been there, her parents would likely have tried to hide the truth from her. But fate had revealed that she was the child who had been mixed up.

He Yian wiped her daughter’s tears: “Don’t cry.”

Xu Ningwei felt a tightness in her chest, not wanting to face the unfamiliar relatives or everything else. She had heard there was also a younger sister, five years old.

“Mom, I’m going to stay in New York for a few days.”

“Alright, take some time to clear your mind. Your brother…”

“I’m not looking for my brother, just want to be alone for a few days.” She still had a biological brother, but not anymore, not at this moment.

He Yian stayed outside with her daughter for nearly half an hour, until Ningwei had calmed down and showed no traces of crying, before returning to the hospital room.

On the bed, Shang Zhiyi was being physically cooled down; her temperature had been measured at 38.2°C earlier.

She couldn’t endure it, and by late night, her fever had reached nearly 40°C. After receiving some IV fluids, she fell into a dazed sleep.

She slept long enough to wake up at eleven-thirty the next morning.

The hospital room was unusually quiet, with only Shang Tongxu keeping vigil. Exhausted, he had fallen asleep by the bedside.

“Dad.”

Shang Tongxu, not in a deep sleep, jolted awake: “You’re awake?”

“Please sleep on the bed instead of crouching by the bed. It’s uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine. Your mother has gone to your grandmother’s house.” Such a big matter couldn’t be kept from the elderly parents.

Shang Tongxu adjusted the bed, poured a glass of warm water for his daughter, and referred to Xu Xiangyi and his wife as “Xu Dad” and “Xu Mom” for now: “Your Xu Dad and Xu Mom took Ningwei out for a meal. This afternoon, they will take her directly to the airport. Ningwei wants to clear her mind in New York.”

Shang Zhiyi nodded, still feeling as if her biological parents were a dream, everything felt unreal.

Putting down the glass, she got out of bed to freshen up.

After catching up on sleep for over ten hours, she finally felt revived.

After washing up, Shang Tongxu prepared a glass of freshly squeezed juice for her.

Shang Zhiyi sat back on the bed, hugging her knees with one hand and absentmindedly sipping the juice with the other.

Shang Tongxu sat at the bedside. Even though he was reluctant, some things had to be faced. The previous night, Xu Xiangyi had arranged for samples to be taken from everyone on-site, and the paternity test results would likely be out soon.

“Once the results are out, Xu Xiangyi will definitely want to bring you home.”

Shang Zhiyi, unaware of the discussions among the adults that morning, asked: “Have you all decided?”

“Not officially discussed yet,” Shang Tongxu continued, “Ningwei will likely stay there. It seems Xu Xiangyi and his wife are reluctant to part with her. We will go with Ningwei’s wishes.” He naturally hoped his biological daughter would return, but if Ningwei didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force it, respecting the child’s wishes. Similarly, he was reluctant to part with his adopted daughter, but the economic disparity between the families was immense: “Take good care of yourself once you’re over there.”

Shang Zhiyi, hearing that the families wouldn’t be going their separate ways, said without hesitation: “If Xu Ningwei stays in the original family, then I’ll stay in the original family.”

“This child, are you silly? Why stay with us?” Shang Tongxu hurried to explain, “I’m not rushing you. I’d love for you to stay. But do you know how wealthy Xu Xiangyi is? The resources your biological parents can provide…”

Shang Zhiyi interrupted her father: “I know.”

“You know and you’re still stubborn.”

“It’s not stubborn. I’m an adult now, not a ten or eight-year-old. I need a guardian. If I don’t go back home, I’ll still interact with them.”

Shang Tongxu pleaded: “It won’t be the same. You have no emotional bond with them. If you don’t go back and quickly build one, what can you expect? Resources given with affection and those given without are completely different. Zhiyi, don’t underestimate human nature or feelings. If blood ties were all that mattered, where would the saying ‘nurtured kindness outweighs biological bonds’ come from?”

Shang Zhiyi understood everything, but only said one thing: “Dad, you don’t understand.”

If her biological parents weren’t the firm and only choice, she wouldn’t be happy even if she went back. It was better not to develop feelings or dependencies towards her parents from the start.

She had attended an international school, lived in a large flat. Though her family wasn’t exceedingly wealthy, they were well-off. Yet, she wasn’t happy. Her hope that her mother would show less favoritism towards her sister and share some maternal love had become an obsession. Such pain could only be understood by those who experienced it, and her father wouldn’t understand.

Meeting Xu Ningwei yesterday and spending a brief night together, the two families had shared their children’s personalities and some “fun stories” of their upbringing. The so-called fun stories were actually the truest aspects of their personalities.

Xu Xiangyi didn’t hide his thoughts: “Ningwei has been spoiled by us and is a bit willful.”

He Yian indulgently said: “Not just a bit; sometimes she’s so willful that I can’t manage her.”

She used to think her sister was too willful, but compared to Xu Ningwei, her sister’s willfulness seemed minor. If she returned to her biological parents now, she could already imagine the chaos of living under the same roof as Xu Ningwei over time.

She didn’t want to live that way.

Money was important, but living a relaxed and happy life was more important to her; some choices had to be made.

As for the resources and inheritance from her biological parents, she would leave it to fate.

If it wasn’t meant to be, no amount of struggle would make it happen, just like how she, even if she were Xu Xiangyi’s biological child, still didn’t grow up by their side.

At five in the afternoon, the test results were out: she was indeed Xu Xiangyi’s biological daughter.

At the airport, Xu Ningwei was about to go through security.

Xu Xiangyi answered a call without avoiding his adopted daughter, and was informed that Zhiyi was their child.

Ningwei’s tears flowed like they were free, continuously falling.

He Yian took out four or five tissues from her bag, and only then did her daughter’s tears stop. “Your makeup is all ruined.”

Xu Ningwei took a deep breath to calm down, “I’m fine. Crying feels better.”

Xu Xiangyi hung up the phone and gently rubbed the back of Ningwei’s head, saying nothing.

Tears still clung to Xu Ningwei’s lashes. “I’ll be back after the concert.” She hugged He Yian tightly, then her father, “I love you both.”

After watching Xu Ningwei go through security, Xu Xiangyi, still uneasy, called a younger acquaintance who lived in Manhattan on the way back.

It was still early morning in Manhattan, and Jiang Sixun was on the treadmill, his black sports T-shirt soaked through and clinging to his body, clearly showing his abdominal muscles.

He wasn’t particularly fond of exercise, but his excess energy required him to release it through intense workouts.

When the phone rang, he had just run nearly ten kilometers, enough for the moment, and got off the treadmill.

“Uncle Xu, what’s up?”

The phone was on speaker mode as he opened a bottle of water and tilted his head back slightly to drink, with sweat droplets running down his chin along his prominent Adam’s apple.

Xu Xiangyi briefly explained the situation about the baby switch and that Ningwei had gone to New York.

“She might not know how to face our family and doesn’t even want to see her brother. She said she’s going to a concert to clear her mind. Your aunt and I are worried about her. She usually trusts you the most and is willing to talk to you about anything. I’d like to ask if you could find some time to talk to her and help her sort things out.”

Hearing about the baby switch, Jiang Sixun was shocked but didn’t say much, agreeing: “No problem.”

After a flight of over ten hours, Xu Ningwei received a message from Jiang Sixun upon landing that he would pick her up.

Their families were long-time friends, and Jiang Sixun was of the same age as her brother, having seen her grow up. Given her special situation today, he personally came to pick her up.

In the crowd, the man in a dark blue shirt was strikingly handsome and tall, making him very noticeable.

His driver stepped forward to take her suitcase.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked.

“I ate on the plane.”

Once they were in the car, Jiang Sixun asked directly: “What kind of seat would you like for the concert?”

Xu Ningwei preferred to confide in him when she was feeling down because he never asked unnecessary questions and didn’t lecture like elders.

“Anything,” she said honestly. “I wasn’t planning to see the New York show. I wanted to go to the London show with my boyfriend.”

Jiang Sixun glanced at her: “In a relationship?”

“Yes. He’s a high school classmate, and we went to the same university. But I haven’t told my parents about him yet.”

Originally, she had a full schedule with her boyfriend for the summer, but with Shang Zhiyi’s appearance, she lost interest in those plans, and everything fell through.

Now that the paternity test results were out, she hadn’t dared to ask her father about his plans, whether they would bring Shang Zhiyi home.

If so, when would they do it?

She wasn’t prepared at all.