Early the next morning, while Meng Huaishan was still fast asleep, he was roused by a phone call from Duan Yiheng. Just as he was about to curse, Duan Yiheng spoke in a cold, flat tone: "Help me look into Duan Zheng's illegitimate daughter." Meng Huaishan's grogginess vanished instantly. "What did you say?"
Meng Huaishan couldn't believe his ears. "Your dad fathered a child out of wedlock?" Duan Yiheng replied, "Right now, it's just a suspicion. I need you to help me dig up everything you can on this little girl—and while you're at it, collect a sample from her so I can run a paternity test against Duan Zheng and Ke Yu."
Meng Huaishan asked, "How old is the kid?" Duan Yiheng answered, "I'm not entirely sure; judging by Lin Xi's description, she's about five or six." Meng Huaishan muttered, "A little sister twenty-odd years his junior... I honestly don't know what the hell to say."
Duan Yiheng chuckled; he couldn't care less. The one who ought to be blowing a fuse was Duan Mingxuan. Duan Mingxuan had enjoyed Duan Zheng's undivided favor from the very beginning; if a little sister suddenly popped up out of nowhere, wouldn't he go absolutely ballistic?
"Don't have the paternity test done in City B—Ke Yu's people are definitely keeping an eye on me. I want the results in a week." Meng Huaishan grumbled, "You sure know how to make things difficult. The testing itself is fast enough, but I still have to find someone to go collect the sample, don't I?" Duan Yiheng replied:
"You just need to handle the girl—Angela. That's the name she goes by, though it's probably not her real one. She's staying at the Tianhong Residence. That's all I know for now." Meng Huaishan was speechless. *He knows absolutely nothing, yet he expects me to investigate this?*
Still groggy with sleep, Lin Xi heard Duan Yiheng hang up the phone. She smiled and teased him, "Look at how you've enslaved Brother Meng; his temper has gotten so short." Duan Yiheng smiled back, gently stroking the side of her neck with his fingertips. "He just suffers from a bad case of 'morning grumpiness.'" "Well, *I* have a pretty bad case of morning grumpiness, too."
Lin Xi swatted away the hand wandering over her neck. "Get off me; I need to get up." The warmer the weather became, the earlier Lin Xi tended to rise. It was only six-thirty in the morning right now, and Lin Xi didn't have to be at work until nine. Duan Yiheng's gaze darkened as he tightened his grip around her waist, refusing to let her move. "We have plenty of time."
Lin Xi had been with him for a long time; the moment she saw the shift in his eyes, she knew she was in trouble. Under the intense scrutiny of those deep, dark eyes, her heart began to pound uncontrollably. "But... I still have to go to work." Her refusal wasn't exactly firm; seizing upon the hesitant lilt at the end of her voice, Duan Yiheng pressed himself against her.
Lin Xi tilted her head, allowing his breath to caress her neck. Her clothes were thin—as was her skin—making Lin Xi look less like a person and more like a piece of pink jelly. Duan Yiheng took a bite, and she seemed to melt instantly.
For the first time in recorded history, Lin Xi arrived at work past nine o'clock; inwardly, she cursed Duan Yiheng up, down, and sideways several times over. Throughout the entire day, she wore a perpetually stony expression—anyone who didn't know better would have assumed she was Duan Yiheng's superior. Needless to say, Duan Yiheng didn't dare utter another word.
After get off work, Lin Xi practically sprinted toward home, only to have her path blocked at the park's main entrance by an elderly woman who had suddenly rushed out. Lin Xi slammed on the brakes; before she could even step out of the car, the old woman approached and tapped on her window.
Fearing she was dealing with a professional scammer staging an accident, Lin Xi was just about to dial the police when she noticed the old woman holding up a palm-sized slip of paper bearing the name "Chen Liangyi." Lin Xi paused in surprise, then rolled down her window: "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Chen Liangyi. She works right here at this big company—I hear she's even been promoted to manager!" The old woman beamed with pride. Lin Xi asked again, "You are Manager Chen's..." "I'm her mother!"
The old woman declared. "That wretched girl! She won't pick up when I call her, so I had no choice but to come to the company to find her." Lin Xi looked her up and down. "What do you want with her?" The old woman replied, "What else would I want? Money, of course."
Lin Xi frowned. Although she had no fondness for Chen Liangyi, she felt even less goodwill toward the woman standing before her who claimed to be Chen Liangyi's mother.
It was true that she intended to take Chen Liangyi down, but that didn't involve dragging her family into it; nor did Lin Xi have any desire to humiliate Chen Liangyi by attacking her pride in such a crude manner. "There's a research and development center inside," Lin Xi warned her. "A lot of the work here is classified."
She tried to scare her off: "If you get any closer, they'll arrest you." The old woman instinctively took two steps back, though her expression still betrayed a lack of belief. Lin Xi pointed across the street:
"I advise you to wait over there. If you make a scene and barge across, the security guards won't care whose parent you are; they'll simply detain you and call the police." The old woman was clearly intimidated; she headed across the street, glancing back over her shoulder every few steps. Only then did Lin Xi drive away.
As May arrived, the weather began to warm up. Lin Xi's work attire became much lighter and airier—no longer confined to drab blacks, whites, and grays. Seeing this every day never failed to significantly lift Duan Yiheng's spirits.
He took a sip of his coffee just as his phone buzzed on the desk. Meng Huaishan hadn't been particularly efficient; it had taken him a full week to obtain the young girl's sample. Duan Yiheng picked up his phone and replied: "Mail it ASAP." Meng Huaishan responded: "Seven days."
"One more thing: Lin Xiaoying's detailed background profile has been sent to your email. It turns out she has a connection to Ke Yu." Duan Yiheng shared this information with Lin Xi. With a five-day holiday for Labor Day approaching, this news made the wait feel agonizingly long for Lin Xi—as if every day were an eternity.
She wasn't sure what kind of outcome she was hoping for; even though the matter technically had nothing to do with her, the suspense of waiting was sheer torture. Duan Yiheng tapped her lightly on the head: "Maybe I shouldn't have told you after all." Lin Xi threw herself into his arms: "What did the email say?" Duan Yiheng replied:
"Lin Xiaoying used to be a student sponsored by Ke Yu." "A sponsored student?" Lin Xi blinked in surprise. "Then why didn't that turn up in the investigation earlier? Logically speaking—whether through a foundation or a specific scholarship fund—there should be records, right?" Duan Yiheng explained:
"It was a private sponsorship; no one else knew about it." Lin Xi gave a skeptical huff: "So, what exactly was Ke Yu's angle?" Duan Yiheng smiled: "Silly girl—it was the 'honey trap' strategy, of course." "Well, in that case, she certainly played the worst possible hand," Lin Xi couldn't help but quip. Duan Yiheng chuckled:
"Like I said, most men wouldn't be able to resist." Lin Xi shot him a sidelong glance: "Lin Xiaoying is undeniably beautiful—even I, a woman, felt my heart skip a beat when I saw her. So tell me: what was your first impression of her?" Duan Yiheng simply smiled and remained silent. Growing impatient, Lin Xi grabbed his shoulders and gave him a shake:
"Come on, tell me!" "I've certainly seen women wilder and prettier than her," Duan Yiheng said. "To me, she means absolutely nothing." His gaze swept past everyone else, lingering only on Lin Xi. Lin Xi wrapped her arms around Duan Yiheng's neck and nuzzled against him.
Duan Yiheng held her close, his hand resting against her back, and said, "If you're really that bored, how about we stay at 'North District No. 1' for a few days?" Lin Xi loved that place, so she nodded immediately. North District No. 1 offered every form of entertainment imaginable; Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng ended up staying there for three days.
On the afternoon of their return trip—while they were still in the car—Duan Yiheng's phone rang. Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat; she suspected it was the report from the paternity test. Meng Huaishan spoke at length on the other end of the line, though Lin Xi couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Once the call ended, Lin Xi turned toward Duan Yiheng and asked:
"Was that Brother Meng? Are the results back?" Duan Yiheng looked at her and nodded. "The results are in; they're currently being sent by mail." Lin Xi asked, "Will we receive them tomorrow?" Since tomorrow marked the final day of the holiday, she then asked Duan Yiheng, "Where are they being sent?"
"To your place," Duan Yiheng replied. "It wouldn't be convenient to have them sent to the family home." Lin Xi's heart suddenly leaped into her throat.