Chapter 63: Origins (Part 2)

The more Ming Jiayao thought about it, the more he felt something was off.

In this world, there might be people who look alike,

but it’s rare to find someone who not only looks similar but also shares the same temperament.

Between the young Ming Zhixuan and the middle-aged Ming Zhixuan, the gap wasn’t in appearance but in temperament.

Yes, their appearances were similar,

but their temperaments were vastly different:

As for the middle-aged Ming Zhixuan—in Ming Jiayao’s memory, Ming Zhixuan had always been a very mediocre person.

Whether it was during holidays, the birthday of the family head Ming Jingxing, or the Ming Family’s corporate annual meetings… Ming Zhixuan never attended.

He was so low-key that he wouldn’t even show up for ribbon-cutting ceremonies at subsidiary companies.

But the young Ming Zhixuan in the photo exuded both the refined elegance that comes from being raised with wealth and the scholarly aura of someone well-versed in literature.

Yes, Ming Zhixuan had once studied at MIT.

However, ever since Ming Jiayao could remember, he had never seen Ming Zhixuan travel abroad, nor had he ever heard Ming Zhixuan speak English.

The claim that “Ming Zhixuan, the eldest son of Hong Kong City’s richest shipping magnate, studied in the United States and was a top student”—

Ming Jiayao only learned about it from a magazine.

So—

Ming Jiayao stood up and handed the listening earpiece to Ah Jiu. “You’ll have to work hard these next two days. Monitor them with Ah Qi… until they’re discharged from the hospital.”

Ah Jiu agreed.

Ming Jiayao turned and left.

He returned to his spacious apartment and made several overseas calls.

Not long after,

his fax machine began beeping as it started working.

A few minutes later, Ming Jiayao held a long list in his hand.

After carefully reviewing it, Ming Jiayao picked up a pen and began writing letters.

He wrote six letters with similar content,

then copied the names and fax numbers from the list and instructed Ah Wu to fax the letters one by one.

After that, Ming Jiayao sat in his study, lost in thought.

His mind was in turmoil,

and he felt restless.

His origins were complex and convoluted,

and the key to unraveling this mystery… seemed within reach,

yet it hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles…

It would fall sooner or later.

But when would it fall… at a time most advantageous to him?

Now?

“Beep beep beep—”

His pager suddenly rang.

Almost no one ever paged him.

Except for Bai Yuanzhi.

Ming Jiayao immediately returned the call.

The paging service relayed Bai Yuanzhi’s message:

【Typhoon tomorrow, temperature dropping】

Ming Jiayao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

As soon as he hung up the phone,

the pager beeped again. With a smile on his face, Ming Jiayao picked up the phone once more to return the call.

The paging service relayed another message from Bai Yuanzhi:

【Yakult mixed with orange juice is also delicious】

At that moment, all of Ming Jiayao’s bad mood was washed away.

He smiled and instructed the maid, “Sister Jiao, please make me a drink. Mix Yakult with fresh orange juice, and add plenty of ice. Thank you.”

The maid quickly brought the drink over.

Ming Jiayao looked at the cup with a smile… its color alone made him feel particularly warm.

Even though half the cup was filled with ice.

Taking a sip, the rich sweetness of the Yakult paired with the fresh, fruity aroma of the orange juice not only invigorated him but also soothed his anxious and restless emotions.

Suddenly—

Ah Wu rushed over from the next room, holding a fax he had just received. “A Yao, there’s a reply!”

Ming Jiayao took the fax and looked at it, then smiled.

The six faxes he had just sent out were all addressed to former classmates of Ming Zhixuan from MIT in the United States.

The content was to send greetings and invite them to visit Hong Kong City, while also catching up.

One of them replied immediately via fax, saying he was currently in Hong Kong City and available to meet anytime.

Now that his emotions had been soothed by the juice, Ming Jiayao began to ponder the previous question:

Did revealing his true origins require consideration of timing?

Ming Jiayao knew very well in his heart.

In the Ming Family, he was like an orphan.

His grandfather seemed to favor him, but in reality, he was indifferent—the kind who could watch him die without batting an eye.

His mother hated him to the bone and had repeatedly tried to kill him.

His father was a coward, but even though he knew of his own indifference toward Ming Jiayao and his wife’s malice toward him… he chose to stand by and do nothing.

So???

Why should Ming Jiayao care about Ming Jingxing’s feelings when it came to “revealing whether Ming Zhixuan is Ming Jiayao’s biological father” or “whether the middle-aged Ming Zhixuan and the young Ming Zhixuan are the same person”?

Ming Jiayao had even less reason to care about Xu Wenrui’s fate, since all she cared about was when he, Ming Jiayao, would die…

Including Ming Zhixuan—since he had never extended a helping hand to Ming Jiayao, why should Ming Jiayao care about Ming Zhixuan’s life or death?!

Even—

Now, Ming Jingxing had already vaguely sensed that Ming Jiayao was beginning to doubt his own origins.

Including Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui, they had also sensed it.

Even Mrs. Xu knew…

If Ming Jiayao didn’t press his advantage now, would he wait for those old foxes to erase the already scarce evidence?

Moreover,

Even if the truth were revealed,

And the Ming and Xu Families faced questioning from all sectors of society, or even suffered stock market turmoil and a decline in their fortunes due to public opinion…

What did that have to do with Ming Jiayao?!

He, Ming Jiayao, was neither the head of the Ming Family nor the head of the Xu Family. No matter what losses the two families suffered, it had nothing to do with him.

At most, Ming Jingxing would get angry and cut off his monthly allowance of two hundred thousand.

On the contrary,

Ming Jiayao was quite eager to see how Ming Jingxing, as the head of the family, would handle it if a scandal broke out in the Ming Family.

Now, looking at his own circumstances:

First, the only weakness that could restrain him at the moment was Bai Yuanzhi.

But on the surface, Bai Yuanzhi was the object of Chen Shuojie’s pursuit.

Second, Ming Jiayao currently had two major projects in hand:

One was the Rong Fu Ji project,

And the other was the port he had successfully bid for in Outer Harbor.

If a scandal broke out in the Ming Family, the worst punishment Ming Jiayao might face would be being jointly expelled from Hong Kong City by the Ming and Xu Families…

But, Rong Fu Ji had already begun its second round of financing. Ming Jiayao’s shares had been diluted to below 50%, and Ming Jingxing had already successfully joined Rong Fu Ji in the second round of financing. Therefore, Ming Jiayao didn’t need to worry at all about Rong Fu Ji’s operations being suppressed.

Because if Rong Fu Ji lost money, it would be Ming Jingxing losing money.

And if he were truly expelled from Hong Kong City, he could simply focus on managing the Outer Harbor port from then on!

After analyzing the situation, Ming Jiayao regained his confidence.

So he picked up pen and paper and wrote another fax to Mr. Smith—the one who had replied to his fax.

Ming Jiayao, using Ming Zhixuan’s tone, informed Mr. Smith that if Mr. Smith was free this afternoon, he would arrange for his son Ming Jiayao to pick him up from the hotel and then rush to meet him.

After writing, Ming Jiayao handed the paper to Ah Wu, instructing him to send the fax again.

Ah Wu acknowledged.

About half an hour later, Ah Wu brought another fax document, saying Mr. Smith had replied.

Ming Jiayao took the fax paper and looked at it.

Mr. Smith agreed to the meeting and had even left the detailed address of the hotel on the fax.

Ming Jiayao smiled slightly.

He got up and went to the kitchen.

A couple of days ago, he had ordered a batch of fresh seafood, originally intending to make fresh shrimp and crab roe noodles for Ah Zhi.

However, too many incidents had occurred these past few days,

and he hadn’t had the chance.

Now, to relieve stress, Ming Jiayao decided to simmer a pot of seafood soup and make a serving of fresh shrimp and crab roe wonton noodles to deliver to Ah Zhi.

And so, two hours later, using ingredients like black abalone, fresh blue lobster, along with dried goods such as soft-centered abalone, dried scallops, and dried octopus, mixed with chicken bones, pork ribs, and beef bones, Ming Jiayao simmered a pot of rich, fragrant, and delicious broth.

He also wrapped fresh and tasty fresh shrimp and crab roe wontons.

As for the bamboo-pressed noodles, Ming Jiayao had made plenty a few days earlier, all stored in the freezer.

Thus, Ming Jiayao ate a serving of fresh shrimp and crab roe wonton noodles himself, packed two more servings, and took them with him.

He first went to Bai Yuanzhi’s place, leaving the packed fresh shrimp and crab roe wonton noodles at her doorstep. After returning to the car, he paged her, reminding her to open the door and get the fresh shrimp and crab roe wonton noodles.

Next, Ming Jiayao went to the hotel where Mr. Smith was staying.

Upon seeing Ming Jiayao, Mr. Smith was stunned, “Wow, Jiayao, you look so much like your father!”

Ming Jiayao raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

Mr. Smith examined Ming Jiayao and nodded repeatedly, “You also resemble your mother quite a bit…”

Ming Jiayao’s heart skipped a beat, “You knew my mother too?”

His heart began pounding like a drum.

Because—

Xu Wenrui had never been to the United States!

Of course, wealthy young ladies do travel abroad.

But Xu Wenrui mostly visited Southeast Asia,

and occasionally went to the UK due to visa convenience, but she had indeed never been to the United States.

Mr. Smith laughed, “Of course! Your parents were well-known Chinese international students—the man handsome and tall, the woman beautiful and elegant… And you, well, you’ve inherited over eighty percent of your father’s height and appearance.”

As he spoke, Mr. Smith gestured toward the top of Ming Jiayao’s head and chuckled, “Many Chinese are relatively shorter and slimmer in build, but your father was different. He was as tall as us…”

Ming Jiayao understood.

—In other words, according to Mr. Smith, Ming Zhixuan was at least over 185 centimeters tall.

Ming Jiayao had recently shot up in height and was already 180 centimeters.

But!!!

Ming Jiayao’s middle-aged, incompetent father was only 170 centimeters tall!

Thinking this,

Ming Jiayao began taking deep breaths frantically.

Mr. Smith continued, “Of course, Jiayao, you also have traits from your mother. For example, your eyes and lips resemble your mother more, uh…”

At this point, Mr. Smith paused and did not continue further.

In truth, Ming Jiayao understood Mr. Smith’s hesitation—it was simply because Ming Jiayao’s features leaned a bit too much toward delicate softness.

During his childhood, Ming Jiayao had resembled a girl even more.

It was only in the past six months, after a sudden growth spurt and starting to work out, that he had become more masculine.

So, who exactly was his mother?!

Xu Wenrui was an academic underachiever.

She didn’t know English,

had never traveled alone to the United States,

and it was even more impossible for her to have studied abroad there!

After a moment of hesitation, Ming Jiayao decided to bluff Mr. Smith.

“Mr. Smith, I’ll take you to see my father in a moment, but there’s one thing… I think I must inform you first, and that is…”

Ming Jiayao awkwardly told Mr. Smith, “My current mother is no longer…”

Mr. Smith was taken aback and indeed exclaimed in surprise, “What are you saying, Jiayao? Your current mother? How… then what about before… no, your biological mother? I mean, Lychee?”

Of course, Mr. Smith was referring to the English name “Lychee,” meaning lychee.

—The poor, prematurely deceased mother of Chen Shuojie, Xu Wenli, was indeed named Lychee!!!

And Xu Wenrui’s English name was Rachel!

This…

After a moment of stunned silence,

a faint thud echoed in Ming Jiayao’s eardrums,

as if his heart had been struck hard by an invisible sledgehammer.

The pain left him pale and struggling to breathe…

In fact, when Ah Zhi had gossiped with him earlier, asking why the Xu Family didn’t let Xu Wenli marry Ming Zhixuan and then have Xu Wenrui marry Chen Shen,

Ming Jiayao had felt Ah Zhi made a valid point.

And after seeing the walls covered with photos of Xu Wenrui yesterday,

a vague suspicion had begun to form in Ming Jiayao’s mind.

—A writer once said that there are three things people cannot hide: coughing, poverty, and love (Note: excerpt).

In those old photos, although the young Ming Zhixuan appeared aloof and noble, his attention and affection for the young Xu Wenli were impossible to conceal!

However, Ming Jiayao still found it hard to believe.

What on earth was going on?

If the middle-aged Ming Zhixuan was not the young Ming Zhixuan, then who exactly was he?

As for Xu Wenli,

Ming Jiayao knew very little about her.

He didn’t even know she had studied abroad!

Seeing Ming Jiayao remain silent for so long, Mr. Smith grew anxious. “Jiayao, your mother… what exactly happened to her?”

Ming Jiayao had no intention of hiding his agitated emotions.

He asked Mr. Smith, “I’m sorry, Mr. Smith, I… I…”

Ming Jiayao stared blankly as tears streamed down his face. “Could I trouble you to tell me more about my mother?”

Mr. Smith was greatly surprised. “You mean…?”

Ming Jiayao nodded.

Mr. Smith was stunned for a long moment before sighing. “How could this be? Your mother… she was such a wonderful person!”

Perhaps considering Ming Jiayao’s “grief over losing his mother,” Mr. Smith spoke in a very gentle tone as he recounted the love story between Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli.

Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli were admitted to MIT in the same year.

Ming Zhixuan studied mechanical design and became classmates with Mr. Smith;

Xu Wenli studied law.

Though Ming and Xu belonged to different schools, they rented an apartment near the campus and were a deeply affectionate couple.

Xu Wenli became pregnant in the year she graduated from university.

After becoming pregnant, she continued to stay in the United States to pursue her master’s degree.

Ming Zhixuan, who should have returned to Hong Kong City immediately after graduation to take over the family business, also chose to remain in the United States due to Xu Wenli’s pregnancy, continuing his studies for a master’s degree in mechanical design.

However, just as Xu Wenli was about to give birth,

Ming Zhixuan heard that something had happened at home and was summoned by his elders, hastily returning to Hong Kong City.

Xu Wenli, on the other hand, stayed in the United States until after giving birth before returning to Hong Kong City with the child.

As for what happened after Ming and Xu returned to Hong Kong City,

Mr. Smith had no idea.

As Mr. Smith spoke,

Ming Jiayao secretly counted on his fingers.

He felt something wasn’t quite right.

Because, according to the Ming Family’s records:

In 1960, Ming Zhixuan went to the United States to study.

In October 1962, Ming Zhixuan married Xu Wenrui.

At the beginning of 1963, Xu Wenrui became pregnant.

On New Year’s Day in 1964, Ming Jiayao was born.

…

But if what Mr. Smith said was true,

that Ming Jiayao was actually born in the United States on New Year’s Day in 1964,

then wouldn’t that mean…

At that time, Ming Zhixuan had already married his younger sister Xu Wenrui in Hong Kong City, yet he was also living with the older sister Xu Wenli in the United States and had a child with her???

Does that make sense?!

So Ming Jiayao asked Mr. Smith again, “Mr. Smith, do you know if my father… returned to Hong Kong City in October 1962 or between January and March 1963?”

“No! Absolutely not!” Mr. Smith said with certainty.

Ming Jiayao frowned, “Do you remember it so clearly?”

“Of course!” Mr. Smith nodded. “My impression is too vivid! Because your father was a man with an exceptionally strong sense of responsibility. Originally… he shouldn’t have left his pregnant wife, who was about to give birth, alone in a foreign country.”

“It was because his family… oh, it should be your grandfather, was critically ill at the time, probably nearing the moment of life and death, that he had no choice but to return to Hong Kong City.”

“Before returning to Hong Kong City, your father specifically entrusted your mother to me and my wife, as well as the Thomas couple (also old friends of Ming Zhixuan in the United States). At that time, your father clearly told us that he hadn’t returned to Hong Kong City for a full five years, so he was very worried about his father’s health.”

“We also put ourselves in his shoes, comforting him to go quickly and return soon, and reassuring him not to worry about his wife, as we would take care of her. That’s why he left,” Mr. Smith explained.

Ming Jiayao fell into deep thought without speaking.