Chapter 61: Mom Loves Taking Photos So Much, How Come…

Ming Jiayao went to Xu Wenrui’s room.

But—

In fact, he only knew where her room was and had never actually entered it.

Because Xu Wenrui despised Ming Jiayao.

She was extremely irritable and moody.

She would fly into a rage upon seeing Ming Jiayao smile;

She would become furious when Ming Jiayao spoke with others;

She would even become incensed when Ming Jiayao called her “Mom,” directly kicking him!

As a child, Ming Jiayao would feel terrified,

He attributed his mother’s aversion and hatred to himself.

He believed it must be because he wasn’t good enough,

For example, Chen Shuojie attended a prestigious school and could produce impressive report cards that made Chen Shen proud;

But he had always stayed in the old mansion, receiving customized private elite education, so Mom had nothing to show off.

For example, perhaps Mom didn’t like boys and preferred girls.

And also…

Ming Jiayao was always considerate, finding various excuses for Mom.

In short,

It definitely wasn’t that Mom didn’t love him; she was just angry with him.

In this world, how could there be a mother who doesn’t love her child?

Especially since he was Mom’s only child.

But now, Ming Jiayao finally realized,

There was another possibility—he simply wasn’t Xu Wenrui’s child!

A proud young lady from a wealthy family, perhaps due to her husband’s infertility, had no choice but to adopt a child of unknown origin…

How could she possibly like someone else’s child for no reason?

This perfectly explained why Xu Wenrui hated him so much.

Standing at the door of Xu Wenrui’s room, Ming Jiayao felt a chill in his heart.

He surveyed the furnishings in the room.

It had to be said,

Xu Wenrui had always maintained a girlish innocence.

The room of a middle-aged woman over forty was decorated mainly in pink.

The window was adorned with a curtain of twinkling star-shaped lights,

The curtains were made of white sheer fabric with lace,

The large bed was a white European-style luxurious bed with posts, the bed frame was also pink, and hanging in front of the bed was a dreamcatcher woven from pink feathers…

On a nearby snow-white wall, there was a photo wall.

At the foot of the wall, various plush toys were piled up…

Ming Jiayao walked to the wall and began to examine it carefully.

It had to be said,

The photos on this wall were almost a record of Xu Wenrui’s growth.

She was indeed very cute as a child, proud and beautiful.

But, in a few photos, another quiet and melancholic young girl appeared.

Ming Jiayao didn’t know who that girl was,

But judging from her age and appearance—the girl should be his late aunt, Xu Wenli.

In the photos, Xu Wenrui slowly grew up,

The people in her photos became more and more numerous…

Soon, Ming Jiayao recognized two people in the photos.

One was the young Ming Zhixuan,

The other was the young Chen Shen.

Occasionally, Xu Wenli also appeared.

This proved that their fathers were actually childhood friends and close companions.

Ming Jiayao stared at the photo of Ming Zhixuan for a long, long time.

For some reason,

Although Ming Zhixuan in the photo was still young, he was handsome and dignified, always giving off an air of noble serenity;

This was a quality that the current Ming Zhixuan lacked.

The current Ming Zhixuan was cowardly, irritable, hunched, and had a greasy, decadent, and weathered look from overindulgence.

Ming Jiayao’s gaze continued to wander across the photo wall.

He suddenly noticed a very interesting phenomenon—whenever the young girl Xu Wenli was present, the gazes of the young Ming Zhixuan and the young Chen Shen would involuntarily follow her.

One photo in particular captured this perfectly:

The young girl Xu Wenrui stood in the center, striking a proud pose as if declaring, “I am the most beautiful in the world.”

Ming Zhixuan sat leisurely on a nearby chair,

while Chen Shen stood behind Xu Wenrui.

In the distance, the teenage girl Xu Wenli was likely not part of the photographer’s intended composition. The vibrant and beautiful girl was laughing as she ran toward a certain direction, her ponytail tied at the back of her head swaying high in the air—

Thus, the young Chen Shen turned his head to watch Xu Wenli laugh, his handsome face wearing a shy expression.

The young Ming Zhixuan maintained his usual calm and composed demeanor. Although he wasn’t looking directly at the girl, his gaze… was likely fixed on the direction she was heading.

Ming Jiayao stared at this photo, lost in thought.

He continued to look at the other photos.

The people in the photos were gradually growing up.

Xu Wenrui slowly took on the appearance of a young woman, exuding an increasingly sophisticated and elegant aura.

She was always dressed in expensive haute couture,

her overly youthful face adorned with heavy makeup that didn’t quite suit her.

Her expression was proud, and her movements and poses always seemed to showcase her various accessories and jewelry.

As they grew older, Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli gradually disappeared from Xu Wenrui’s photos.

The proportion of photos remained roughly the same: over eighty percent were solo shots of Xu Wenrui, while the remaining twenty percent were group photos, with Xu Wenrui invariably standing in the center.

However, in those twenty percent of photos,

there was no doubt that Chen Shen was the one who accompanied Xu Wenrui the most.

Ming Jiayao continued to stare intently at the photo wall, examining it carefully.

It seemed that as Xu Wenrui grew older, she no longer enjoyed spending time with Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli, which explained why their appearances became increasingly rare.

Still, their figures could be found in a few group photos.

Ming Jiayao stared for a long time at the grown-up versions of Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli, his confusion growing deeper and deeper.

Until—

“Jiayao, the noodles are ready. Come downstairs and eat.” Mrs. Xu’s voice came from the doorway.

Ming Jiayao turned around and saw the anxious Mrs. Xu.

“Alright!” Ming Jiayao grinned.

He walked out of Xu Wenrui’s room empty-handed,

and Mrs. Xu, sensing something was amiss, didn’t dare to ask.

Only after Ming Jiayao had gone downstairs did she nervously glance around Xu Wenrui’s room, gently close the door, and follow him down.

Ming Jiayao sat at the dining table, slurping his noodles.

The noodles tasted decent,

but they weren’t as good as his own cooking.

Still, because it was late at night and he was hungry, he found them quite satisfying.

Mrs. Xu sat beside him, watching Ming Jiayao… hesitating several times as if wanting to say something but holding back.

Ming Jiayao pretended not to notice.

He slurped down the noodles in big mouthfuls, then smiled and said, “Auntie, your cooking is really good! Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll… be going now.”

As he spoke, Ming Jiayao stood up.

Mrs. Xu asked, “Jiayao, I’ve already spoken to your mother. She said…”

At this point, she seemed to be struggling with whether to expose the fact that “your mother never actually asked you to fetch anything from her room” in front of Ming Jiayao.

But Ming Jiayao didn’t care about Mrs. Xu’s words,

He smiled and asked Mrs. Xu, “Auntie, earlier in my mother’s room, I saw that photo wall… So my mother was so beautiful back then!”

Mrs. Xu stammered, “Uh, ah… yes, yes.”

Ming Jiayao continued, “But Auntie, there’s one thing I don’t quite understand.”

“Huh?” Mrs. Xu made a puzzled sound.

Ming Jiayao asked word by word, “Since my mother loved taking photos so much, why didn’t I see a single one… of her with a pregnant belly?”

Mrs. Xu’s mouth fell open.

Ming Jiayao smiled slightly, “Alright, it’s very late now, I should go. Goodbye, Auntie. Good night.”

He turned and left.

Mrs. Xu stared blankly as Ming Jiayao walked away.

The words he said as he left

caused her face to gradually turn deathly pale.

At this moment, Ming Jiayao really wanted to go find Bai Yuanzhi.

—He might not be Ming Zhixuan’s child,

He definitely wasn’t Xu Wenrui’s child…

This looming, terrifying nightmare made Ming Jiayao feel cold all over.

It also made him feel weak and miserable.

He wanted to stay by Bai Yuanzhi’s side, to draw strength from the intense energy she radiated.

Since he thought so,

then he would do just that.

Ming Jiayao had Ah Jiu call Sister Cai and Ah Bin.

Sister Cai replied, “Miss went to night school, Mr. Chen is spacing out. He asked me to make some late-night snacks, saying he’ll wait for Miss to come back from class to eat together.”

Ah Bin replied, “Mr. Chen asked me to pick up Miss, I’m waiting outside the night school for her class to end.”

Ming Jiayao fell silent.

He did want to be considerate of Bai Yuanzhi.

But why should Chen Shuojie have it easy?!

So, Ming Jiayao instructed Ah Jiu, “Think of a way to make Xu Wenrui keep Chen Shuojie occupied.”

He had to see Bai Yuanzhi tonight!

A few minutes later,

Xu Wenrui, who had been deliberately fed a “secret” by someone with an agenda, furiously called Chen Shuojie, “Shuojie, I’ve already heard… Are you living with that northern girl surnamed Bai now?”

Chen Shuojie was stunned for a moment, gritting his teeth in anger.

—Who the hell had so much free time to tell this crazy woman Xu Wenrui this news?

“That’s not true, don’t listen to nonsense,” Chen Shuojie evaded.

Xu Wenrui, “Don’t try to fool me! Shuojie, come to the hospital! I’m hospitalized, you come keep me company tonight. As long as you’re with me, I’ll believe you’re not living with that woman!”

Chen Shuojie frowned, “Aunt, enough! I’m just your nephew, not your son! Keeping company like this shouldn’t fall to me!”

Xu Wenrui screamed on the other end of the phone, “So what? Shuojie, you know how I’ve treated you! Anyway, if you don’t come take care of me tonight, then I’ll… come find you! I want to see for myself if you’re really living with that northern girl!”

Chen Shuojie was furious.

But he also knew that Xu Wenrui was so arrogant and unreasonable.

If he didn’t go to the hospital,

and Xu Wenrui really found Bai Yuanzhi’s home, it would bring endless trouble for Bai Yuanzhi in the future.

Thinking this, Chen Shuojie had no choice but to instruct Sister Cai, “When Miss comes back later, make sure she finishes the red date and longan soup.”

Sister Cai acknowledged.

Chen Shuojie hurriedly left for the hospital.

Sister Cai pressed against the window, watching Chen Shuojie’s black Mercedes-Benz leave the building, then quickly sent a message to Ah Jiu.

Just like that, Ming Jiayao first returned to his large apartment to change clothes, then rode his heavy-duty motorcycle to the night school to pick someone up.

The moment Bai Yuanzhi saw Ming Jiayao—she was absolutely delighted!

Then she began to feel uneasy.

Because, given Chen Shuojie’s controlling nature, even if he didn’t come to pick her up himself, he would definitely send Ah Bin to fetch her.

So Bai Yuanzhi looked left and right…

She was searching for that black Mercedes-Benz.

Ming Jiayao pretended not to notice, smiling and raising his hand, “Sister! I’m over here!”

Several girls around Bai Yuanzhi giggled and said:

“Wow, Ah Zhi, is that your boyfriend? He’s so handsome!”

“Wow… your boyfriend’s motorcycle is so cool!”

“Ah Zhi, your boyfriend has such long legs…”

…

The girls gradually dispersed in small groups.

Bai Yuanzhi flushed bright red.

Ming Jiayao looked at her with a smile and pointed to a nearby convenience store.

Bai Yuanzhi: ???

Ming Jiayao grinned and said, “Call Sister Sier to let her know, just say tonight—”

He paused before continuing, “…tonight you’re not going back!”

Bai Yuanzhi’s already flushed face turned even redder in an instant.

She scanned her surroundings once more, confirming that Chen Shuojie’s car wasn’t there and neither was Ah Bin,

then hurried to the convenience store to pay for a call home.

Zhou Sier told Bai Yuanzhi, “Sister Cai just brought over some late-night snacks. She said Mr. Chen has urgent matters to attend to and won’t be back, so she asked me to make sure you eat the snacks!”

Bai Yuanzhi then mentioned that she had something to do that night and wouldn’t be returning home.

Zhou Sier grew anxious, “Huh? You’re not coming home tonight? Why? Ah Zhi, don’t be like this. No matter how late it is, you should come back. I’m worried it’s not safe outside if it gets too late…”

Bai Yuanzhi reassured her older sister a few times, hung up the phone, and ran back to Ming Jiayao’s side.

Ming Jiayao smiled as he took out the pink helmet, personally helped her put it on, then supported her with one hand as she climbed onto the back seat of the motorcycle.

He started the engine.

The heavy-duty motorcycle roared to life with a thunderous growl and shot forward at an astonishing speed!

Leaving behind a trail of envious glances.

This time, Ming Jiayao took Bai Yuanzhi to Qingyigang.

However, the place Ming Jiayao brought Bai Yuanzhi to was Qingling Peak.

Standing atop Qingling Peak and looking down,

they could see the brilliantly lit Qingyigang port.

It was quite spectacular.

Bai Yuanzhi asked Ming Jiayao, “Where’s your territory?”

Ming Jiayao let out a laugh.

—Qingyigang was where his grandfather, Ming Jingxing, had built his fortune.

Over the years, his grandfather had already taken control of nine major ports in Hong Kong City.

At the moment, he couldn’t catch up from behind.

The only way to take Qingyigang was through inheritance.

“I’ll keep working hard,” Ming Jiayao said earnestly.

Bai Yuanzhi also remarked, “I heard Qingyigang is the Ming Family’s business… They’ve been operating it for many years! A Yao, sometimes, you need to set aside effort and talent for a moment. What matters most is whether the direction you’re heading in is right.”

“If the direction is wrong, ten years of hard work will be wasted!” Bai Yuanzhi advised him tactfully.

Ming Jiayao deeply agreed.

“After what you told me last time, I’ve already thought about it,” he said seriously. “My friends and I plan to leave Hong Kong City and explore Southeast Asia.”

“As you said, the pie in Hong Kong City has already been clearly divided among the wealthy.”

“If I try to force my way in, first, I lack seniority, and second, I have no solid foundation.”

“Going to Southeast Asia… might be better,” Ming Jiayao said.

Currently, he was proceeding according to this plan.

It seemed his luck was holding.

The bidding for the first outer harbor had already been secured.

At present, the Rong Fu Ji project was also set to bring in a considerable sum.

Once he had a bit more time to stabilize things,

he would find a way to secure another port!

Oddly enough, Ming Jiayao hadn’t actually intended to discuss these matters with her.

His mood was quite gloomy, and he didn’t want to bring up heavy topics.

But as they talked,

the conversation inevitably drifted toward business matters.

Still, as long as he was with Ah Zhi, he was happy no matter what they discussed.

Bai Yuanzhi asked in surprise, “You’re going to East Asia?”

—Even now, while he was still in Hong Kong City, they often couldn’t see each other.

If he went to Southeast Asia…

But Bai Yuanzhi also felt that both she and A Yao were still too young.

This was the age to work hard and build a future; confining themselves to just one place

wasn’t ideal.

So she quickly changed her mind. “As long as it’s good for your career, it’s fine…”

“But is it safe out there?” Bai Yuanzhi asked with concern.

Ming Jiayao nodded solemnly and said earnestly, “Don’t worry.”

Bai Yuanzhi: …

For some inexplicable reason, her face flushed slightly.