Chapter 62: Origins (Part 1)

After leaving Qingling Peak, Ming Jiayao first sent Bai Yuanzhi home before returning to the old mansion.

It was already past midnight, and Ming Jiayao couldn’t sleep.

He stood on the terrace, looking down.

The bright streetlights in the coastal estate illuminated the vast courtyard in every detail.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks in the distance reminded him of… the day he first met Bai Yuanzhi.

That day, he had been pushed into the sea by his “biological mother,” Xu Wenrui.

Then—

As he fell into the sea, Ming Jiayao seemed to awaken strange memories.

But those memories were dreamlike and illusory, growing fainter with each passing day.

Many things, many details, Ming Jiayao had gradually forgotten.

But he remembered,

in his near-death state, he seemed to have glimpsed another life—the events that unfolded after he drowned:

Ah Wu, Ah Qi, and Ah Jiu, seeking revenge for him, tried every means to assassinate Xu Wenrui, only to be suppressed by Ming Jingxing. Ah Wu and Ah Jiu died tragically, while the other companions lived in destitution until they succumbed to poverty and illness;

Ming Jingxing was poisoned to death by Ming Zhixuan;

Ming Zhixuan was infertile, and in the end, Chen Shuojie became the heir to the Ming Family…

Ming Jiayao leaned against the railing, lost in thought.

On this matter, he had never doubted Chen Shuojie.

After all—

Chen Shuojie was a congenital eunuch and would have no descendants.

So, most of these events could only have been orchestrated by Xu Wenrui, Ming Zhixuan, and Chen Shen working together.

But—

Ming Jiayao was filled with resentment.

Intense hatred had initially clouded his ability to think calmly.

He wished he could confront Xu Wenrui directly with her medical records!

Fortunately, spending time with Bai Yuanzhi earlier had slowly restored his composure.

Ming Jiayao understood clearly in his heart.

—Ming Jingxing was the head of the Ming Family.

Whether Xu Wenrui was truly his biological mother or not,

unless Ming Jingxing gave his approval or tacit consent,

Xu Wenrui could never have pulled off such a deception.

So the question arose:

Under what circumstances would Ming Jingxing agree to Ming Jiayao’s existence?

From the medical arrangements of the Ming Family’s four members, it was clear that Ming Jingxing cared more about Ming Jiayao;

yet for years, Ming Jingxing had treated him with extreme indifference and neglect.

But when it came to the treatment he, Ming Zhixuan, and Xu Wenrui received in the Ming Family…

Yes, all three of them—Ming Jiayao, Ming Zhixuan, and Xu Wenrui—enjoyed the Ming Family’s trust fund.

But the three of them received an equal monthly allowance of 200,000 yuan.

This amount…

might seem like an unimaginable fortune to an ordinary family.

For Ming Jiayao, it was more than enough.

After all, Ming Jiayao was still a minor!

But for Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui, this amount was far from sufficient.

In addition, Ming Jiayao received an extra 200,000 yuan each month, specially allocated by Ming Jingxing.

This was something Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui did not have.

It made Xu Wenrui green with envy, and she would often shamelessly come to Ming Jiayao for money.

From this perspective, it seemed Ming Jingxing cared more about Ming Jiayao.

So, in Ming Jingxing’s heart, who was closer, and who was more distant?

Ming Jiayao decided to find out.

Before dawn,

standing on the terrace, Ming Jiayao saw Ming Jingxing already up and exercising.

Ming Jiayao pursed his lips and went downstairs.

“Good morning, Grandpa,” Ming Jiayao greeted Ming Jingxing with a smile.

Ming Jingxing glanced at Ming Jiayao, ignored him, and continued his slow jog in the garden.

Ming Jiayao joined in, jogging slowly alongside Ming Jingxing.

When the grandfather and grandson reached the railing at the seaside cliff together,

Ming Jiayao pointed at the newly renovated railing and spoke up, “Earlier this year… when I fell into the sea, it was actually Mommy who pushed me in!”

Ming Jingxing visibly stiffened.

Ming Jiayao said with a grin, “Grandpa, you almost lost your grandson.”

Ming Jingxing remained silent for a moment before replying, “That’s because you were too foolish.”

After a pause, Ming Jingxing added, “That way, you’ll remember—women are beautiful yet foolish, greedy, and hypocritical creatures.”

Hearing this, Ming Jiayao understood:

In his grandfather’s eyes, a grandson was dear, while a daughter-in-law was distant.

So, in his grandfather’s eyes, who was dearer—the son or the grandson?

It wasn’t that Ming Jiayao wanted to compete for favor.

Rather, the secret hinted at by Xu Wenrui—that “Ming Zhixuan might be infertile”—was too heavy a burden.

So Ming Jiayao asked his grandfather again, “If women are all beautiful yet foolish, greedy, and hypocritical creatures, then Grandpa, why did you marry Grandma and have Daddy?”

Ming Jingxing shot Ming Jiayao a cold glance.

Ming Jiayao, undeterred, pressed on, “If women are all beautiful yet foolish, greedy, and hypocritical creatures, then Grandpa, why did you agree to Daddy and Mommy’s marriage?”

“Is it because Grandma was a good woman, but Mommy isn’t, right?”

“Grandpa, it was you who misjudged and insisted on making Daddy marry Mommy, right?”

Ming Jiayao fired off several “right?” questions, provoking Ming Jingxing until his face turned ashen.

However, Ming Jiayao had no intention of letting it go lightly—

So he continued, “By the way, Grandpa, is it because Mommy hates you that she tried to murder me again and again? Why does she hate you? Is it because their marriage was entirely arranged by you, and there was no affection between them, right?”

“So Mommy hates me to death…”

“Grandpa, why didn’t Daddy resist?” Ming Jiayao asked curiously.

Ming Jingxing was already breathing heavily.

Ming Jiayao smiled faintly.

The old man was angry?

That was a good thing.

When people are angry, they tend to polarize.

Either extremely calm or extremely furious.

The former is often a state of calm frenzy that emerges only in life-or-death situations,

But Ming Jiayao believed

that his deliberate provocation of Ming Jingxing should fall into the latter category.

Sure enough, Ming Jingxing said coldly, “You can go ask your father yourself.”

As he spoke,

Ming Jingxing stared intently at Ming Jiayao, his eyes half-closed, suppressing his anger;

Yet the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up, carrying an indescribable… mockery and disdain.

Most importantly, Ming Jingxing exuded a malicious aura of “go ahead and ask, I’ll be waiting to watch your drama.”

Ming Jiayao followed up with another question, “Then can I also go ask Mommy why she insists on killing me?”

Ming Jingxing sneered, “Go ahead!”

Suppressing the storm raging in his heart, Ming Jiayao replied with a smile, “Alright, thank you, Grandpa.”

With that, he turned to leave.

“Stop,” Ming Jingxing called out to Ming Jiayao.

Ming Jiayao turned back and looked at the old man.

Ming Jingxing asked, “What are you thanking me for?”

Ming Jiayao also revealed a mischievous smile, “Thank you, Grandpa, for giving me confidence! Since Grandpa just backed me up, I won’t be afraid when I go ask Dad and Mom!”

Ming Jingxing’s expression… shifted several times.

He seemed to be analyzing why Ming Jiayao was doing this,

but in the end, he scoffed and ignored Ming Jiayao, resuming his jog.

Ming Jiayao strode away.

Ming Jiayao went to St. Maria Hospital.

As soon as he arrived,

Xu Wenrui immediately said to him, “Ming Jiayao, write me a check for five hundred thousand…”

Ming Jiayao waved his hand at Xu Wenrui, “Your matter can wait.”

Xu Wenrui: …

Ming Jiayao turned to ask Ming Zhixuan, “Dad, I want to ask you a question.”

“What question?”

Ming Jiayao asked word by word, “Do you love my mom?”

As soon as these words were spoken—

Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui both froze.

After a long pause, Ming Zhixuan stammered, “You, you… why are you suddenly asking this? I, I and your mom are already an old married couple.”

Ming Jiayao nodded repeatedly, “Right, right, right! Dad, you must really love Mom! Otherwise, even though she beat you up like this, you just have to take it, right?”

“Who made Mom your true love?”

“Who made you insist on marrying her?”

“Dad, isn’t that right?” Ming Jiayao fired off a series of soul-searching questions.

Ming Zhixuan stood there dumbfounded, his mouth agape.

Beside him, Xu Wenrui wore a gleeful expression.

Ming Jiayao turned to look at Xu Wenrui.

“Mom, I think the most successful thing you’ve done in your life is marrying my dad.”

“Uncle and Aunt must be happiest about kicking you out of the family, right? At least someone is covering for you, so they don’t have to deal with your messes anymore, right?”

“Mom, you’re counting on Dad to unconditionally treat you well, no matter what trouble you cause… like cheating on my dad, or personally trying to murder me, or hiring people to harm me multiple times…”

“But you know, no matter what, my dad won’t blame you because he loves you too much, right?” Ming Jiayao continued.

Xu Wenrui was speechless.

Beside her, Ming Zhixuan looked shocked.

“What on earth are you talking about?” Ming Zhixuan asked with difficulty, “Jiayao, you said your mom…”

Ming Jiayao smiled, “Dad, what are you pretending for?”

“At the beginning of the year, when I fell into the sea, it was her who pushed me off the cliff! She wanted to kill me… and it wasn’t the first time she’s done this. You’re her husband, and you love her so much—how could you not know?”

Ming Zhixuan said in shock, “I don’t…”

He truly didn’t know.

He hadn’t paid any attention, thinking his son’s fall into the sea was just an accident.

Ming Jiayao laughed, “Dad, are you saying you really didn’t know?”

“If you truly didn’t know…” Ming Jiayao said with a cold, humorless smile, word by word, “then, Dad, you need to reflect—”

“Such a big thing, and you didn’t know?”

“Is it because you are the most irrelevant person in this family?” Ming Jiayao asked softly, “Even though you’re Grandpa’s biological son, why am I the first-in-line heir Grandpa designated?”

“Daddy, not only did Grandpa force you to marry a shrew, but he also stripped you of your heir status… Could it possibly be because you’re not actually Grandpa’s biological son?”

Ming Jiayao began sowing discord.

Upon hearing this, Ming Zhixuan’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

And—

Xu Wenrui, who usually exploded like a firecracker at the slightest provocation, now maintained an eerie, absolute silence.

Ming Jiayao looked at Ming Zhixuan, then at Xu Wenrui, and smiled. “Daddy, Mommy, you two rest well. Grandpa is waiting for me… I’m going to attend Rong Fu Ji’s financing conference with Grandpa.”

Reaching the door of the hospital room, Ming Jiayao paused, turned back to look at Xu Wenrui, and added, “Oh, and Mommy, please don’t ask me for money anymore. I won’t give you a single cent from now on.”

After a brief pause, Ming Jiayao smiled again. “If you’re short on money, you can go ask Chen Shuojie for it. You two are quite close; he’ll definitely give it to you.”

With that, Ming Jiayao strode away.

But—

Ming Jiayao didn’t actually leave.

He went to the adjacent hospital room.

Ah Jiu had been waiting there for quite some time.

Seeing Ming Jiayao enter,

Ah Jiu immediately took off the earpiece he was wearing and handed it to Ming Jiayao.

“Can you hear clearly?”

“Very clearly.”

Yes, Ming Jiayao had obtained surveillance equipment, paid off Ming Zhixuan’s assistant, and planted the devices in the adjacent room where Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui were staying.

Now,

let him listen to what they were really saying.

And in the adjacent room—

Ming Zhixuan jumped out of bed, ran barefoot to the door, peered outside to confirm Ming Jiayao had left, then closed the door and locked it securely before turning to ask Xu Wenrui, “How does he know? Did he guess, or…”

Listening from the next room, Ming Jiayao’s heart pounded like a drum!

So?

He had guessed correctly?!

But he had blurted out a lot of nonsense all at once.

When Ming Zhixuan said he guessed right, which part was he referring to?

—Was it that Ming Zhixuan was an outsider in the family?

—That Ming Zhixuan was forced to marry Xu Wenrui?

—Or that Xu Wenrui had really cuckolded Ming Zhixuan?

—Or perhaps, that Ming Zhixuan wasn’t actually Ming Jingxing’s biological son???

Ming Jiayao held his breath, focusing intently on the surveillance.

In the adjacent room, Xu Wenrui said impatiently, “How should I know!”

Ming Zhixuan exploded. “You don’t know? In my opinion, it’s because you’re too ruthless! Xu Wenrui, could it be that you really… want to kill Jiayao?”

Xu Wenrui exploded too. “Why shouldn’t I kill him?”

“He’s just a bastard!”

“I was forced to marry a useless man like you, and on top of that, I was forced to bear the false title of being a bastard’s mother!”

“That old man only gives me two hundred thousand a month!”

“What, do I owe your Ming Family something?”

“I want to kill that bastard! Once that bastard dies, won’t you naturally become the Ming Family’s sole heir? Then I’ll be the mistress of the Ming Family!”

“At that time, who would dare give me only two hundred thousand a month!” Xu Wenrui raged furiously.

On the other side of the wall, Ming Jiayao sneered repeatedly.

Now,

at least it could be proven that Xu Wenrui was not his biological mother.

But what about Ming Zhixuan?

Would he be Ming Jiayao’s father?

In the adjacent hospital room, Ming Zhixuan angrily shouted, “If you want money, there are many ways to get it… How could you take Jiayao’s life? Xu Wenrui, you are truly vicious!”

Xu Wenrui let out a smug laugh. “You have many ways to get money?”

“Then teach me!”

“Or just give me the money directly!”

“Ming Zhixuan, if you really had that ability, why would you guard against me every single month? As soon as the trust fund transfers the money, you immediately move it all away!”

“Besides, if I get rid of that little bastard, you’re the one who benefits!”

“Enough, enough, stop pretending as if you really knew nothing about it!”

“Don’t worry, even your deadbeat father gave his silent approval… Hahahaha, that dead old man even thought that me trying to kill the little bastard was a form of training for him!”

“You all say I’m twisted…”

“But sometimes, it’s really hard to tell whether I’m the twisted one or your deadbeat father is!” Xu Wenrui sighed. “At least I couldn’t bear to kill my own child… But your deadbeat father? He practically begged an outsider like me to kill his only grandson!”

These words caused Ming Jiayao’s breathing to suddenly stop.

Until his face turned purple from suffocation,

Until his mind grew dizzy from lack of oxygen…

Only then did Ming Jiayao begin to gasp for air in large, ragged breaths.

At that moment, Ming Jiayao realized two things:

First, regardless of whether Ming Zhixuan was Ming Jingxing’s biological son, he, Ming Jiayao, was Ming Jingxing’s biological grandson!

Second, he was not Xu Wenrui’s biological son. Xu Wenrui’s biological child was someone else.

So then,

Was Ming Zhixuan truly Ming Jingxing’s son?

And was he, Ming Jiayao, truly Ming Zhixuan’s son?!

Ming Jiayao clenched his teeth.

He couldn’t help but recall the photos he saw yesterday on the wall in Xu Wenrui’s room at the Xu Family’s old mansion…

—The photo of the spirited, noble, and silent young Ming Zhixuan,

And the greasy, pathetic middle-aged Ming Zhixuan now in the adjacent hospital room…

Were they really the same person?