Chapter 64: Origins (Part 2)

Ming Jiayao and Mr. Smith spoke in great detail.

He asked Mr. Smith many, many questions about Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli…

Out of consideration for Ming Jiayao’s loss of his mother, Mr. Smith held nothing back, sharing everything he knew.

Soon, Ming Jiayao brought Mr. Smith to St. Maria Hospital.

Mr. Smith was shocked. “Jiayao, why have you brought me here?”

Ming Jiayao replied, “It’s precisely because my father is ill that he wanted to see you, an old friend.”

Mr. Smith was astonished once more. “What? Your father is also…”

Ming Jiayao chuckled inwardly.

He truly hoped Mr. Smith’s words would come true.

But he still had to maintain appearances. “My father… doesn’t have any serious illness. It’s mainly because he’s hospitalized and feeling down, so he wanted to chat with old friends like you.”

As they spoke, Ming Jiayao led Mr. Smith into the hospital room.

Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenrui were sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, sharing a roast goose.

Each held a plump roast goose leg, devouring it with gusto, their faces gleaming with grease.

Seeing Ming Jiayao suddenly arrive, and with a blond, blue-eyed, potbellied foreigner in tow?

The two Mings were stunned.

Ming Zhixuan frowned and asked, “Jiayao, could you show a little basic respect for your parents? Couldn’t you have called us before coming?”

Xu Wenrui had already quickly hidden the roast goose and hurriedly pulled out tissues to wipe her face and hands.

Ming Jiayao ignored the two Mings.

He said to Mr. Smith, “Mr. Smith, these are my parents! Don’t you recognize them?”

Mr. Smith looked Ming Zhixuan up and down,

then scrutinized Xu Wenrui carefully.

The blond, blue-eyed old man shook his head repeatedly and waved his hands. “No, no, no, you’re mistaken! I don’t know him! He’s not Ming Zhixuan, he’s not… Wait, hmm, he does look a bit like Ming Zhixuan, but he’s not! Really not! I’m quite certain, he’s not Ming Zhixuan!”

As he spoke, Mr. Smith grew somewhat angry. “Jiayao, are you really Ming Zhixuan’s son? Are you… are you playing a trick on me?”

Ming Jiayao reassured Mr. Smith. “Please don’t be angry. He really is my father, Ming Zhixuan. And that lady is my mother, Xu Wenrui.”

At his words,

Mr. Smith turned his gaze to Xu Wenrui.

Ming Jiayao explained further, “Mr. Smith, although you said that Lychee was my mother… I’m sorry to say that Lychee passed away many years ago. My mother now is Rachel, Lychee’s younger sister.”

Mr. Smith’s mouth fell open.

Clearly, he found this reality hard to accept.

But soon, he forced himself to accept it and politely greeted Xu Wenrui. “Hello, Rachel. I’m Carlton Smith. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Xu Wenrui always felt nervous around foreigners, but she recognized the phrase Mr. Smith had spoken—even if she hadn’t seen a pig run, she’d eaten pork!

So she stammered in reply, “Hello, I’m Rachel. Nice to meet you.”

Mr. Smith had already grown suspicious of Ming Jiayao—this young man claimed to be Ming Zhixuan’s son and brought him to see Ming Zhixuan, but the man before him was clearly not his dear friend Ming Zhixuan from years ago!

So Mr. Smith directly asked Xu Wenrui, “Rachel, is your husband Ming Zhixuan? The thing is, your son believes the man beside you is Ming Zhixuan… but he clearly isn’t! Oh my goodness, he really isn’t… So what do you think? Do you also believe he is Ming Zhixuan?”

Xu Wenrui’s mouth fell open, her face flushing bright red!

—What on earth was this old white man saying? Her English wasn’t great, she couldn’t understand!

So she cast a pleading look toward Ming Zhixuan…

Soon she realized that Ming Zhixuan’s English was even worse than hers!

Thus, Xu Wenrui shot Ming Zhixuan a fierce glare, then turned to ask Ming Jiayao, “What is he saying?”

Ming Jiayao said with a smile, “Daddy, Mommy, this gentleman… is Daddy’s good friend, Mr. Smith!”

“What, Daddy, don’t you recognize him?”

“Mr. Smith is your old classmate and friend from MIT!” Ming Jiayao continued.

Ming Zhixuan’s eyes widened in shock.

Then—

The next second, Ming Zhixuan suddenly, with unbelievably fast speed, leaped out of bed and, barefoot, fled the hospital room!!!

The entire process…

Took less than a second.

Mr. Smith: ???

He looked at Ming Jiayao in shock, then at Xu Wenrui, and asked in astonishment, “What on earth just happened?”

Ming Jiayao spoke with a serious tone, fabricating nonsense, “Mr. Smith, I already told you, my father, he…”

He spoke vaguely, “Ahem, uh… If he were a normal person, why would he be staying in the hospital?”

As he spoke, Ming Jiayao even put on a pained, regretful expression.

Mr. Smith’s mouth fell open in shock once more.

After a long pause, Mr. Smith murmured, “Oh God… No wonder even his appearance has changed!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Smith felt something wasn’t quite right, “Wait, if someone is mentally unwell, would… their appearance change too?”

Ming Jiayao nodded sorrowfully, “To be honest with you, even my grandfather almost didn’t recognize him.”

Mr. Smith’s mouth formed the letter O, but he still couldn’t believe it, “But, my old friend Ming Zhixuan, he was a tall man over six feet two inches! Yet that gentleman just now…”

Ming Jiayao also widened his eyes, “You mean—my father… is an imposter?”

Mr. Smith was momentarily speechless.

“This…” Mr. Smith knew he had spoken out of turn and couldn’t help but turn to leave. However, only when he reached the door of the hospital room did he turn back to Ming Jiayao and say, “Sorry, I suddenly remembered I have some personal matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now… Goodbye!”

With that, Mr. Smith hurried away.

Ming Jiayao called out to him, “I’ll have the driver take you back to the hotel.”

Mr. Smith thanked Ming Jiayao and hastily departed.

Xu Wenrui stared at Ming Jiayao, asking suspiciously, “What did you say to that old man?”

Ming Jiayao laughed, “Mommy, didn’t Uncle and Aunt often tell you to study hard? What, you couldn’t understand a word of what Mr. Smith and I were saying just now?”

Xu Wenrui was both embarrassed and furious. “Ming Jiayao, what do you mean by this? I am, after all, your elder. Is this how you show respect to your parents? Have you no shame?”

After a pause, she pressed further, “Hurry up and tell me! What did you say to that old man just now?”

Ming Jiayao spoke slowly, “Mr. Smith said he suspects my father is an imposter…”

“He said the Ming Zhixuan he knows is definitely not your husband.”

“He said his old friend Ming Zhixuan was tall, handsome, and well-educated, but your husband is short, pathetic, and doesn’t even understand English.”

“He also said… Mom, were you tricked into this marriage?” Ming Jiayao began to stir the pot.

Xu Wenrui’s mouth fell open.

Of course, she was shocked.

But she wasn’t stupid.

She asked Ming Jiayao, “Why would that old man rush to the hospital just to identify your father? Did you have something to do with this?”

Ming Jiayao only smiled without answering.

Xu Wenrui let out a sharp laugh, then said sarcastically, “Ming Jiayao, you really are foolish! Exposing something like this… what good does it do you?”

Ming Jiayao retorted, “Mom, so you admit it too—he’s not my father, nor is he Ming Zhixuan, right?”

Xu Wenrui sneered, “Go ask your grandfather! In any case, I’ll just warn you once—tearing things apart won’t do you any good!”

Ming Jiayao also sneered, “Mom, your husband is a fraud… isn’t it you who should be ashamed? What does it have to do with me?”

Xu Wenrui: …

She began to feel inexplicably flustered.

This feeling was like the roast goose she had painstakingly prepared suddenly climbing out of the pot—it had come to life, grown feathers, flapped its wings… and flown away!

She stared blankly at Ming Jiayao, unable to understand why this young man, who had once gazed at her with bright, adoring eyes, had suddenly become so tough, sinister, and distant.

“You… you think this has nothing to do with you?” Xu Wenrui stiffened her neck and forced the argument. “People will laugh at you too!”

Ming Jiayao patiently replied, “How could that be, Mom?”

“First, I’m not as high-profile as you. People outside don’t even know what I look like… but you’re different. You’re so arrogant, you’ve made plenty of enemies out there, haven’t you? If it comes out that your husband is a fraud, and you’ve been playing the loving couple with him for over a decade! Tell me, where will you hide your face after that?”

“Second, I’m not like you… disliked by your own family and despised by your husband’s. I’m the first-in-line heir designated by Grandfather, and I’m also running my own business. Even if Grandfather gets angry with me, I don’t need to rely on him—I can live well on my own. But you? Without the Ming Family, you’re nothing! Without the Xu Family, you’re just trash! I dare to leave the Ming Family and stand on my own. Do you dare?”

“Mom, tell me, am I right?” Ming Jiayao said with a smile.

Xu Wenrui’s expression finally changed.

Even the way she looked at Ming Jiayao shifted from haughty arrogance to deep fear!

“You… you—”

Ming Jiayao, standing at six feet tall,

Xu Wenrui, sitting on the hospital bed at five foot two,

For the first time, the ever-arrogant woman

Had no choice but to look up at Ming Jiayao,

And in his eyes, she saw contempt, disdain, and disgust.

Xu Wenrui stood frozen, then suddenly burst into tears. “You… you’re all bullying me!”

Ming Jiayao said casually, “How could that be, Mommy? How could I possibly bully you! I’m not even eighteen yet! I wasn’t even born before you married him! So, you married a fake—what does that have to do with me? If you want to blame someone, blame the one… who forced you to marry a man you didn’t love!”

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenrui stopped her wailing.

Her tears hung halfway down her smudged eyelashes,

After a dazed moment, she showed a sudden look of realization, “Right! Right, I was forced…”

Ming Jiayao continued to give her advice, “Besides, even if you can’t rely on the Ming Family, and you can’t rely on the Xu Family… you can still rely on the Chen Family!”

“After all—”

Ming Jiayao drew out his tone, beginning to bluff, “…after all, you gave birth to Chen Shen’s child!”

“Given that you are the birth mother of my cousin Chen Shuojie, Chen Shen won’t just abandon you.”

“Right… Auntie?” Ming Jiayao said softly.

Xu Wenrui’s eyes suddenly widened!

“You…”

If earlier she had been watching the spectacle with amusement, enjoying Ming Zhixuan’s hasty retreat,

and then, under Ming Jiayao’s reminder, realized her own situation wasn’t much better, causing her some panic and confusion,

then at this moment, Xu Wenrui finally began to panic in earnest!

“H-how do you know…” she stammered.

Ming Jiayao smiled.

Actually, he hadn’t expected it either—

bluffing Xu Wenrui was such a simple matter.

Of course, it was only after Mr. Smith’s shocking exposure of the forgery first

that Xu Wenrui would lose her composure.

Ming Jiayao began to lay it out:

“Mommy, you were engaged to my father since childhood, but my father, for one, was mature beyond his years and reserved by nature, and for another, he only saw you as a younger sister—he never liked you. And you, you preferred Chen Shen… because Chen Shen was willing to put in the effort to coax you and keep you company…”

“So, at a young age, you got together with Chen Shen.”

“You had an unexpected pregnancy when you were fifteen.”

“You were terrified, not knowing what to do… Only after dragging it out for a long time did you finally tell Chen Shen this secret. Chen Shen was shocked, but by then, you were already full-term and couldn’t have an abortion. So Chen Shen simply hid you away and let you give birth to the child.”

After a pause, Ming Jiayao continued:

“Chen Shen isn’t a fool. He knew you were Ming Zhixuan’s fiancée. Ming Zhixuan might not like his fiancée, but Chen Shen couldn’t lay a finger on Ming Zhixuan’s fiancée.”

“So, Chen Shen and Ming Zhixuan reached some kind of secret agreement back then… It’s possible Chen Shen deceived Ming Zhixuan, but regardless, Ming Zhixuan took the girl he loved—your older sister, Xu Wenli—and they went abroad together to study.”

“After Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli went abroad, Chen Shen confessed the ‘truth’ that you had already given birth to the heads of the Xu and Ming families, but this ‘truth’ must have been built on lies.”

“Thus, to cover up the scandal of you having an extramarital child as a minor, the heads of the Xu and Ming families hastily fabricated… the news of Chen Shen marrying your older sister, Xu Wenli—I guarantee this matter was handled very discreetly at the time, so much so that even Xu Wenli herself didn’t know!”

“As for why the Ming Family would still accept a daughter-in-law who had an affair and bore a child before marriage, I believe the Xu Family must have offered the Ming Family… conditions so favorable that Ming Jingxing couldn’t refuse.”

“To the extent that Ming Jingxing not only agreed to wait until you came of age before letting you marry into the Ming Family, but was even willing to keep it a secret from his only son, Ming Zhixuan. He even kept Ming Zhixuan, who was studying abroad, from returning to Hong Kong City for a full five years!”

“And as soon as you turned eighteen… just after coming of age, the Ming Family and the Xu Family held a wedding for you and Ming Zhixuan.”

“Just as Xu Wenli had no idea she was married to Chen Shen, you and Ming Zhixuan got married without his knowledge or presence…”

“Am I right, Mommy?”

At this point, in Ming Jiayao’s speculation, the story of Xu Wenrui, Chen Shen, and Chen Shuojie as a family of three had largely taken shape.

This wasn’t just Ming Jiayao bluffing;

it was also his careful analysis, bold conjecture, and thorough review.

After finishing, Ming Jiayao glanced at Xu Wenrui.

Xu Wenrui looked dazed.

This woman, who usually couldn’t tolerate the slightest grievance,

had not made a single sound while Ming Jiayao spun his wild fabrications.

So—

this proved that Ming Jiayao’s speculations were all correct.

Xu Wenrui didn’t even have a reason to refute them!

Ming Jiayao took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

He continued his bluff (speculation):

“You did everything you could to hide it all in Hong Kong City, not wanting Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli, who were far away in the United States, to know they were already married to others…”

“And Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli also didn’t want you to know they had fallen in love, moved in together, and especially didn’t want you to know Xu Wenli was pregnant, even full-term and about to give birth… But at that moment, you found out.”

“Ming Jingxing was furious and immediately tricked Ming Zhixuan into returning from the United States to Hong Kong City.”

“Ming Zhixuan had no choice but to come back. Perhaps he wanted to tell his father that he and the woman he loved were expecting a child, but he never imagined he was already married to you.”

“Ming Zhixuan, of course, didn’t agree. He must have protested… but Ming Jingxing wouldn’t tolerate his son’s rebellion.”

“So—”

Ming Jiayao took a deep breath and slowly voiced his final speculation,

“So the real Ming Zhixuan has been imprisoned by Ming Jingxing.”

“Because Ming Jingxing couldn’t explain why his son suddenly disappeared… Of course, he could say his son was ill or had gone mad, but every reason and excuse would have been humiliating for him.”

“Moreover, Ming Jingxing felt that if he didn’t have a presentable son, he couldn’t keep his daughter-in-law.”

“Of course, Ming Jingxing might also have wanted to disgust you, Xu Wenrui—who told you to have an affair and bear a child out of wedlock before you were even of age? How dare you marry into the Ming Family…”

“So, Ming Jingxing imprisoned his real son and brought in an imposter to pose as your husband.”

“So, Mommy, all these years, being forced to live with an imposter must have been painful, right?” Ming Jiayao asked softly.

Xu Wenrui let out a long, choked sob.

Ming Jiayao continued, “After the real Ming Zhixuan was imprisoned, Xu Wenli, who was far away in the United States, finally gave birth to a son. Despite her physical exhaustion, she brought her son back to Hong Kong City to search for her husband…”

“Perhaps she met Ming Zhixuan and tried to rescue him so the three of them could elope, but they were discovered by members of the Ming and Xu families, and she lost her life as a result.”

“Or perhaps she never even saw Ming Zhixuan. Due to her weakened state after childbirth and the devastating news that he had remarried, which further shattered her health… In any case, Xu Wenli did not last long before she passed away.”

Ming Jiayao looked at Xu Wenrui and delivered his final conclusion, “This is the truth, isn’t it?”

Xu Wenrui’s face turned deathly pale, and her entire body swayed unsteadily.