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A dull ache throbbed at the back of his neck.
Rubbing the sore spot, Xia Liu slowly took in his surroundings.
He was still inside his own car, but outside loomed the familiar high-rises of the city, and in the distance, the Pearl Tower glittered.
Had he… returned to Hucheng?
He clearly remembered just leaving the village—then for some reason, everything went black.
Right! Xiao Qi!
Where was Xiao Qi?
Turning his head anxiously, Xia Liu finally spotted Xia Zhuozhuo outside the car.
She was speaking with a young man whose head was covered in tight curls, like instant noodles.
“Boss, the test results are out.”
“How is it?”
The curly-haired youth handed her a report. “Better if you read it yourself…”
Xia Zhuozhuo’s brows furrowed, though she already had a faint guess.
She took the document and flipped straight to the conclusion page.
[After analysis of DNA samples from Party A and Party B, the results support that Party A and Party B are siblings.]
Snap—
She closed the report, her face shifting into a complicated expression.
All along, she had believed herself an orphan.
And even if she wasn’t, she had always thought she’d been abandoned by her parents.
So over the years, even after gaining extraordinary power, she had never sought them out.
Those who had cast her aside were not worth searching for.
Now that she knew her origins weren’t what she had always believed, her heart was inevitably tangled with emotions.
But she wasn’t ready—not yet—to live together with her family.
After so many years, she had long grown accustomed to being with her own subordinates.
The curly-haired youth studied the expression on Xia Zhuozhuo’s face and asked, “Will you be returning to the Xia family? I’ve already looked into it—aside from you, there are six sons and one adopted daughter. The family situation is a bit complicated.”
Xia Zhuozhuo shoved the report back into his hands.
“No matter what, I should at least go take a look.”
The curly-haired youth beamed, nodding eagerly.
“That’s perfect. We were already planning to move our headquarters to Hucheng this year. With you officially recognized as a Hucheng resident, it’ll make everything far more convenient.”
Xia Zhuozhuo gave him a cool glance.
“So you’d planned all along to talk me into acknowledging my kin, hadn’t you?”
Scratching his head, he gave a sheepish chuckle. “Hehe, well… it’s the only way. Kyoto’s market has been devastated—some crushed, some destroyed. They strike from the shadows while we’re exposed in the open. We don’t even know who they are, yet we’ve suffered such heavy losses. That’s why we have to relocate.”
“Go inform the brothers. Be ready to move at any time.”
“Yes, Boss!”
The curly-haired youth acknowledged the order and was just about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.
“Boss, while you were away yesterday, someone placed a large order with our Dark Division. It’s to treat an illness for a family here in Hucheng. Since you’re already in the city, why don’t you take this one?”
“How much are they offering?”
“They said as long as the person is cured, we can name whatever price we want.”
Xia Zhuozhuo arched a brow.
“Fine. Then we’ll use this case to make our name known in Hucheng.”
The moment the words left her lips, movement sounded from the car.
Xia Zhuozhuo waved her hand, and the curly-haired youth immediately turned and left.
A second later, Xia Liu walked over, craning his neck to watch the direction the youth had gone.
“Xiao Qi, who was that?”
“I hired a driver. He’s the one who brought the car into Hucheng.”
“Oh, oh.” Xia Liu didn’t doubt her explanation. Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “I don’t know why, but my neck really hurts…”
“You must have dozed off in the car for too long. Probably just a stiff neck.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Xia Liu still felt something wasn’t quite right.
But each time he tried to recall, the pain in his neck flared again. In the end, he let it go.
What mattered most was that Xiao Qi had returned.
“Xiao Qi, I’ll take you home! Father and Mother must be waiting for news.”
“Mm. Let’s go.”
Xia Zhuozhuo did not object, and this time she didn’t take the driver’s seat. Instead, she allowed Xia Liu to drive.
Finally, Xia Liu regained a bit of male confidence. He held the wheel steadily, guiding the car toward the Xia family estate at an unhurried pace.
He had wanted to show off some driving skill in front of Xia Zhuozhuo, but the traffic in Hucheng was relentless—congestion every few steps, a red light at every block. There was no chance to speed.
Over an hour later, the car finally rolled into a sprawling manor.
Xia Zhuozhuo surveyed the luxurious estate and began to believe Xia Liu’s claim that the Xia family was truly the wealthiest in Hucheng.
With the identity of being the daughter of the richest family, relocating the Dark Division’s headquarters to Hucheng would indeed be far more convenient.
Yet as soon as she stepped out of the car, she noticed many servants carrying luggage and filing out.
Xia Liu grabbed one of them at once. “Old Chen, where are you going?”
Recognizing him, the man quickly greeted, “Sixth Young Master,” before answering, “You’ve been away these past two days, Young Master. A great misfortune has struck the family…”
Under his explanation, Xia Zhuozhuo pieced together the situation.
Father Xia, once the richest man in Hucheng, had been implicated in a financial case and taken away by the authorities.
Now he, along with the Xia family’s eldest and second sons, was under investigation.
The Xia Corporation had suffered a devastating blow as a result, and even the servants were being dismissed one after another.
They had just collected their wages and were preparing to leave.
Xia Liu stood stunned in place, unable for a moment to process this crushing news.
It was Xia Zhuozhuo who tugged lightly at his sleeve.
“Let’s go in and see first.”
Only then did Xia Liu come back to himself, his face caught between a grimace and a laugh as he dazedly led Xia Zhuozhuo inside.
The moment they entered the grand hall, they saw a slender young girl kneeling before a richly dressed Madam.
“Mother, I’m sorry. I had no choice…”
“Father and the Brothers are all in trouble. If I don’t cut ties with this family, the Si family will never agree to marry me.”
“But don’t worry. The severance of parent-child relations is only on the surface. Once I marry into the Du family, if the family ever lacks anything, I can still help and provide support…”
The Madam closed her eyes, her expression steeped in disappointment.
The family’s misfortune this time had not come without reason. On one hand, they intended to use the incident to lie low and gather strength.
On the other, it was meant as a trial, to temper the children’s ability to handle crises.
But never had she imagined that the foster daughter she had carefully raised for over twenty years would choose to abandon the Xia family at the first sign of trouble.
Even the dismissed servants, only moments ago, had expressed their reluctance to leave, saying they would return whenever needed.
But this daughter…
Just as the Madam was about to speak, Xia Liu suddenly rushed forward, raising his hand and delivering a resounding slap across the girl’s face.
The girl instinctively clutched her stinging cheek, staring at Xia Liu in shock.
“Sixth Brother… you hit me?”
Xia Liu glared icily at Xia Liuli.
“So what if I hit you? You make it sound so noble, but isn’t it just because you know our Xia family has fallen and you don’t want to be dragged down with us?”
“You—”
“Shut up! Go play your role as Young Madam of the Du family. From now on, our Xia family and you will walk separate paths. We’ll have nothing more to do with each other!”
Xia Liuli glanced at Xia Liu, then at Madam Xia who still sat with her eyes closed, silent. Suddenly, she let out a derisive laugh and rose from the floor.
“Fine. Remember, it was you who said it. You’re the ones severing ties with me, not me abandoning you.”
As she spoke, she held up the paper in her hand.
“Sign it! From now on, whether you live or die, it has nothing to do with me!”
Before Madam Xia could even move, Xia Liu snatched the severance document and swiftly signed his name—Xia Huai Jin.
“Signed. Now get out!”