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“Does it matter if I realize it or not?” Lin Zhiwei shouted angrily. “If it were you, would you not care?”
“Of course, I would care…” Lin Qingyou stared directly into Lin Zhiwei’s eyes and said sharply, “Back then, did my mother ever hide this from you? Did you know from the beginning, or did you suddenly find out and feel betrayed?”
“How could your mother deceive him?” Xiao Yutian interjected. “I was the one who did this.”
At the time, Lin Zhiwei’s behavior had deeply disappointed him.
There was no way he could accept his daughter marrying a man like that.
But Xiao Ya was determined to marry Lin Zhiwei.
In a fit of anger, Xiao Yutian took extreme measures.
The son-in-law he had his eyes on was Jimo Sheng, so he drugged both Jimo Sheng and Xiao Ya and locked them in the same room.
After the incident, Jimo Sheng was furious, severing ties with him. For decades, they never interacted again.
Xiao Ya was even more heartbroken and immediately wanted to cut ties with him.
It wasn’t that he forced Xiao Ya out of the Xiao family.
It was Xiao Ya who insisted on severing their relationship.
Because of this, she was utterly disappointed in him and completely disgusted.
“Xiao Yutian, you make me sick…”
“Xiao Yutian, from today on, you are no longer my father.”
“I told you, I did it for your own good… A man like Lin Zhiwei doesn’t deserve you. If you stay with him, you’ll have no future.”
“Then who does deserve me? Jimo Sheng? Is he really suitable for me, or is he just a good match for the Xiao family?”
“You… What’s wrong with Jimo Sheng? He has noble status, outstanding character, and a great sense of humor. If you marry him, I can rest easy for the rest of my life.”
“Sounds great… But if Jimo Sheng were not a prince, just a penniless beggar, would you still want me to marry him?”
“But he isn’t a beggar! He has wealth, power, and integrity. The real beggar here is Lin Zhiwei! He has no money, no status, and not even a decent character. Why are you so obsessed with this trash?”
“Xiao Yutian, the more you insult Lin Zhiwei, the more you try to belittle him, the more I want to protect him…”
“You…” Xiao Yutian raised his hand, about to slap Xiao Ya, but when he saw the defiant look in her eyes, he hesitated. “You unfilial daughter… You’re so stubborn!”
“Who’s really the stubborn one? Ever since I was a child, because I wasn’t a son but just a daughter, I worked ten, even a hundred times harder to become the best. Just to prove to you that daughters can be just as outstanding as sons.”
“But you? You never acknowledged my efforts, never saw my achievements. Just because I was born a girl, you dismissed everything I did…”
“I never wanted to be a noble heiress. I loved medicine, I wanted to study medicine. The Xiao family has the best medical knowledge, and you are the best teacher. But as your daughter, you not only refused to teach me but guarded the knowledge as if I were a thief!”
“That is the Xiao family’s ancestral rule—passed to men, not women. I cannot disobey our ancestors’ decree.”
“Then I won’t be a part of the Xiao family anymore!”
Xiao Ya declared resolutely, “Xiao Yutian, from this day forward, I am not your daughter! The Xiao family has nothing to do with me, and neither do you!”
“So, you no longer have the right to interfere in my life! From now on, I will study medicine if I want to. I will marry whoever I choose.”
“You’re insane…”
“I’m insane because you drove me to it.”
Xiao Yutian’s forehead veins bulged with anger as he roared, “Lin Zhiwei is downstairs. He has seen and heard everything. Do you think he will still marry you?”
“What if he’s willing?”
Xiao Ya’s voice trembled slightly, but her determination remained unshaken.
“He won’t! No man would accept this!”
“The more powerless a man is, the stronger his pride becomes. But the stronger his pride, the more insecure and self-conscious he is…”
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind.
“I’m willing.”
Xiao Ya spun around and saw Lin Zhiwei standing there quietly.
It was early morning. The sunlight fell on him, outlining a golden silhouette that made him appear even more gentle and affectionate.
He smiled softly, his eyes full of warmth as he walked toward Xiao Ya.
When he reached her, he gently extended his right hand, carefully taking her trembling hand in his. His eyes reflected nothing but deep love.
“Xiao Ya, you know that my greatest wish has always been to marry you.”
“From the first time you came to my small restaurant to eat, I fell in love with you—hopelessly and irreversibly.”
“During this time, I have endured unimaginable humiliation and suffering… But my love for you has never wavered for even a second.”
“As long as you are willing to marry me, no matter what, I will marry you.”
Lin Zhiwei declared his love passionately.
“But…”
“No buts.” Lin Zhiwei interrupted her, his voice firm yet tender. “I don’t care… As long as the person you love is me, as long as your heart belongs entirely to me, then nothing else matters.”
Overcome with emotion, Xiao Ya threw herself into Lin Zhiwei’s arms. “Then let’s get married right now. Immediately.”
“Okay…”
—
“So…” Lin Qingyou fixed her gaze on Lin Zhiwei. “You knew all along. It wasn’t my mother who hid the truth from you or deceived you. It was you who lied to my mother, pretending that you didn’t care.”
“Later, when my mother became pregnant with me, you must have suspected that I wasn’t your daughter, didn’t you?”
“So what if I did?” Lin Zhiwei shouted in both anger and humiliation. “After what happened, wasn’t it normal for me to have doubts?”
“Of course, it’s normal to doubt…” Lin Qingyou said. “But if you had doubts, you could have verified them! You should have verified them!”
“A DNA test between you and me isn’t difficult, is it?”
“If you were worried about my mother’s feelings, if you didn’t want to ruin the image you built in front of her, you could have done it in secret!”
Lin Qingyou suddenly yanked a few strands of her own hair. “All it takes is a few strands of my hair and yours.”
“But you never did it, did you?” Lin Qingyou said with certainty. “All these years, you never once did a DNA test with me, right?”
“I didn’t do it because I respected your mother! I trusted her! I loved her!”
“You’re fooling even yourself. The truth is, deep down, you already believed I wasn’t your biological daughter. That’s why you were too afraid to do a DNA test—because you feared facing the undeniable truth.”
“Shut up!”
“If you’re so sure, let’s do a DNA test now.” Lin Qingyou gave a desolate smile and extended her hand toward Lin Zhiwei. “Give me your hair…”