Chapter 65 Drinking Together on a Typhoon Day

After bluffing Xu Wenrui, Ming Jiayao left the hospital ward.

As for where Ming Zhixuan had fled to,

Ming Jiayao didn’t care at all. He went straight to the night school.

At this moment, Bai Yuanzhi was sitting in the front row of the classroom, listening attentively to the lecture.

Ming Jiayao didn’t disturb her.

He showed his student ID, quietly entered the classroom, and sat in the very last row.

Yes,

Ming Jiayao had also enrolled in this night school, just so he could occasionally be her classmate.

He sat alone in the last row, quietly watching Bai Yuanzhi’s back in the front row.

She was truly beautiful.

So beautiful that even her silhouette radiated extraordinary vitality.

Brilliant sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a shimmering light gold hue over her hair.

Her high ponytail was fluffy, soft, and thick, trembling slightly whenever she looked up at the blackboard or lowered her head to take notes.

Occasionally, a few unruly strands would stick out rebelliously, making her appear even more full of life.

Ming Jiayao inexplicably smiled.

His tightly wound emotions gradually loosened,

and his long-suppressed lungs slowly relaxed…

He could finally breathe freely again.

How wonderful!

As long as Ah Zhi was here,

he wasn’t facing all those messy things alone.

Ming Jiayao didn’t want to disturb Bai Yuanzhi.

Although he very much wanted to go up to her, talk to her, and see her smile again.

But now, burdened with trivial matters,

having these brief moments sharing the same room with her was enough to soothe his sorrow.

That was enough.

He had to leave before her class ended,

otherwise, things would become difficult to handle later.

And so, Ming Jiayao timed it perfectly, leaving the classroom thirty seconds before the bell rang.

As if sensing something, Bai Yuanzhi suddenly turned around.

—For some reason,

she felt as though a concerned gaze was tightly fixed on her…

But when she looked back,

everything in the classroom seemed normal.

Well…

Perhaps she was just being overly sensitive!

Bai Yuanzhi shrugged and turned back to continue studying.

Meanwhile, Ming Jiayao, now fully recharged, felt mentally refreshed.

He returned to his spacious apartment.

During this time, Ah Wu had already contacted a reporter from Qingping Daily as Ming Jiayao had requested.

Ming Jiayao put on a specially customized voice modulator.

This device was made of cylindrical metal, shaped like a lightbulb with both ends cut off.

Wearing it over his mouth could alter his original voice.

Ming Jiayao dialed the number of the reporter who had been waiting for a long time,

and recounted to them, word for word, the conversation he had used to bluff Xu Wenrui earlier.

However,

Ming Jiayao changed the Ming Family to the Meng Family,

the Chen Family to the Qian Family (in Cantonese, the pronunciations of “Chen” and “Qian” are somewhat similar),

and the Xu Family to the Cao Family (in Cantonese, the phonetic notation for “Xu” and “Cao” shares the same initial letter).

Ming Jiayao also updated the era to the present day,

but changed the country where Ming Zhixuan and Xu Wenli studied abroad to the United Kingdom,

and altered the Xu sisters into twins.

The reporter noted everything down and asked Ming Jiayao a few more questions.

Ming Jiayao refused to answer any of them, simply telling the reporter to fabricate the details themselves.

The reporter agreed.

This phone call lasted a full four hours.

Only when night had fallen

did Ming Jiayao finally finish the call.

The other party promised him, “Don’t worry, this story is truly captivating, filled with the love, hate, and drama of a wealthy family. I’ll organize it into a serialized novel and publish it in installments in the newspaper… It’s sure to be a hit!”

Ming Jiayao emphasized, “I want to see the first installment in tomorrow’s newspaper.”

“No problem!”

After hanging up the phone, Ming Jiayao lay on his bed, lost in thought for a while.

He then got up and left a message for Bai Yuanzhi on her pager:

【Drinking together during the typhoon tomorrow】

He was afraid of disturbing her while she was studying hard at night school,

and also worried she might rush to reply,

so he asked the pager operator to add the suffix “111.”

After finishing all this, Ming Jiayao hugged the tea box Bai Yuanzhi had given him and fell into a deep sleep.

As dawn approached, the typhoon struck.

However, the doors and windows had been tightly shut by the housekeeper,

and even though Ming Jiayao’s spacious apartment was on a high floor, everything remained secure.

Ming Jiayao woke up hungry in the middle of the night and asked the housekeeper to prepare some food.

Holding a drink made of Yakult mixed with fresh orange juice, he stayed in the quiet, dry, bright, and spacious house. Through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, he admired the dark, churning clouds pressing down heavily from the sky and watched as raindrops the size of beans fiercely pounded against the glass, shattering into pieces.

Ming Jiayao slowly sipped the novel and complex-tasting beverage, enjoying the tranquility of home life while experiencing the violent weather…

Just after finishing the breakfast prepared by the housekeeper,

the housekeeper brought over the newspaper that had just arrived.

Ming Jiayao flipped directly to the entertainment section,

and at first glance, he spotted the front-page headline:

【Twin Flowers of a Wealthy Family Marry Wrongly in a Chaotic Love Affair, Hiding in a Golden House to Secretly Give Birth as Sisters Swap Children】

Ming Jiayao chuckled.

It had to be said,

these paparazzi and entertainment reporters were experts at using sensational headlines.

And they were particularly good at distilling the essence.

Just reading the headline, one could tell how explosive the content was.

It was enough to hook anyone into wanting to read more.

Ming Jiayao began reading carefully.

Just as the reporter had said yesterday, he wrote the story as a serialized piece,

and,

the reporter was quite skilled at writing steamy novels and knew exactly how to end on a cliffhanger.

This first installment ended abruptly just as the younger sister, dissatisfied with her fiancé’s dullness, began coquettishly flirting with her older sister’s fiancé.

Ming Jiayao couldn’t help but laugh.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

His pager suddenly rang.

Without a second thought, Ming Jiayao checked it.

It was Bai Yuanzhi paging him, asking him to call back.

Ming Jiayao smiled, suppressing the urge to call her immediately…

After forcing himself to wait for about ten minutes,

Ming Jiayao finally called Bai Yuanzhi.

On the other end, Bai Yuanzhi answered instantly, “Hello, A Yao?”

“Sister!” Ming Jiayao unconsciously softened his voice.

“There’s a typhoon today, aren’t you going to work?” Bai Yuanzhi asked with concern.

Ming Jiayao laughed, “No.”

“Where are you calling from?” she asked, very concerned about this.

Ming Jiayao was quick on the uptake, “I’m guarding the warehouse. There’s a phone in the warehouse.”

“Is it cold?” she asked again.

Ming Jiayao replied with a smile, “Not cold… After you reminded me yesterday, the foreman asked me to guard the warehouse today. I bought a lot of food and drinks, so I’m just treating it as a day off.”

“That’s right! That’s exactly what you should do… In any case, don’t go outside. The typhoon will pass soon, and you can go out after it’s over,” Bai Yuanzhi said.

Then, she asked Ming Jiayao, “A Yao, does your warehouse subscribe to the newspaper?”

Ming Jiayao glanced at the Qingping Daily by his hand. “Yes, there’s Qingping Daily… today’s edition!”

Bai Yuanzhi sighed, “During typhoon weather, all outdoor work comes to a halt. I don’t know how the newspaper still manages to arrive on time…”

“But—”

“Since you also have Qingping Daily, quickly check the headline on the entertainment page!” Bai Yuanzhi urged.

Ming Jiayao pretended to flip through it. “Found it, what about it?”

Bai Yuanzhi read from the newspaper, “‘Twin Flowers of a Wealthy Family Marry Wrongly in a Chaotic Love Affair, Hide in a Golden House to Secretly Give Birth, Sisters Swap Sons…’ Look at this article!”

Ming Jiayao curved his lips. “What about this article? These kinds of newspapers love writing these fabricated rumors.”

Bai Yuanzhi replied, “No! Look carefully! Just read it… it’s only a few hundred words, you can finish it quickly. Read it first, then we’ll discuss.”

Ming Jiayao smiled and remained silent for a few minutes. “Finished reading.”

Bai Yuanzhi quickly asked, “Tell me… does this story seem to allude to Chen Shuojie’s aunt, Xu Wenrui, and his deceased mother?”

Ming Jiayao thought to himself: Ah Zhi is indeed very clever!

“I don’t know,” Ming Jiayao said. “But now that you mention it, it does seem to be talking about this matter… It bears some resemblance to the Xu Family, though this tabloid writes about twin sisters…”

“You’re silly!” Bai Yuanzhi chided. “The tabloid wouldn’t dare to name names directly, would they? If they really did that, the Xu Family would surely destroy them!”

Ming Jiayao couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, who do you think leaked this information? This person knows far too much!”

He was actually probing indirectly, hoping to gather more details from Bai Yuanzhi.

Who told her to be so clever!

Sure enough—

Bai Yuanzhi began her analysis:

“We need to look at this from three angles, after all, the tabloid’s headline is about twin flowers marrying wrongly and swapping sons.”

“First, from the ‘swapping sons’ angle, the tabloid suggests that Chen Shuojie and that mysterious young master of the Ming Family were swapped? The Ming Family is much wealthier than the Chen Family, right? So, being the young master of the Chen Group definitely isn’t as prestigious as being the young master of the Ming Family! From this perspective, the informant is likely Chen Shuojie.”

Ming Jiayao was taken aback.

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “If we look at it from the ‘marrying wrongly’ angle, then it must have been done by Chen Shuojie’s late mother. After all, according to the tabloid, the elder sister of the twin flowers was the woman truly loved by the son of the wealthiest family. Unfortunately, she didn’t end up with the man she loved, so she must have harbored resentment.”

“But she’s already passed away!”

“So, this matter was probably leaked by someone who knows the truth and feels indignant on her behalf.”

Ming Jiayao was stunned again and asked, “Then… who could that be?”

Bai Yuanzhi said decisively, “It’s most likely the work of the young master of the Ming Family!”

Ming Jiayao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Sister, why… why would you think it’s him?” Ming Jiayao asked with difficulty. “He… that person… seems very low-key.”

“Exactly!” Bai Yuanzhi said cheerfully. “The young master of the Ming Family is indeed very low-key, but think about it—Xu Wenrui has been his mother for over a decade… I’ve personally experienced how terrifying Xu Wenrui can be!”

“Probably, the young master of the Ming Family is also a poor soul…”

“If the Ming Family’s Young Master was truly switched with Chen Shuojie, then it’s only natural for the Ming Family’s Young Master to want to expose this to the world and vent his anger for his real mother!” Bai Yuanzhi said word by word.

Ming Jiayao was speechless for a long time.

Only now did he dare to grieve.

Yes,

When he exposed in front of Xu Wenrui that he, Ming Jiayao, was actually Xu Wenli’s child,

Xu Wenrui did not deny it.

Ming Jiayao had already begun to grieve then.

All these years, Xu Wenrui’s inexplicable hatred and malice toward him, as well as her unconditional, limitless favoritism toward Chen Shuojie… now had a reasonable explanation.

Ming Jiayao had once been on the brink of death—

—back then, he still thought Xu Wenrui was his biological mother. The shock and utter despair when he was pushed off a cliff by his “biological mother”…

Xu Wenli must have experienced something similar, right?

When she was about to give birth in a foreign land, her lover left.

It’s said that childbirth for a woman is like stepping into the gates of hell, yet she had to face it alone.

After enduring immense hardship to give birth to her child, she worried about her lover who had returned to Hong Kong City without any news. So, disregarding her weakened body, she hurried back to Hong Kong City with her newborn baby in swaddling clothes.

Perhaps it was only after returning to Hong Kong City that Xu Wenli learned she had already been married to Chen Shuojie for four years?

And her lover, Ming Zhixuan, had actually married Xu Wenrui two years earlier?

For her, this must have been a bolt from the blue!

Ming Jiayao didn’t dare to put himself in Xu Wenli’s shoes, nor did he dare to empathize.

Just thinking about it slightly—

—the betrayal of her lover, the backstabbing by her parents and siblings, the crying baby needing care, the lack of a place to call home…

My God!

That must have been extreme suffering, both physically and mentally!

In truth, even Ming Jiayao himself couldn’t clearly explain,

As Ming Jingxing’s grandson and the first in line to inherit the Ming Family,

Was it right or worth it for him to tear open this veil of shame?

But he did it anyway, regardless of the consequences.

Only now, when Bai Yuanzhi pointed it out—that the Ming Family’s Young Master wanted to vent his anger for his real mother—

did Ming Jiayao suddenly realize,

Ah, yes.

After the truth came to light, what Ming Jiayao hated most was Xu Wenli’s death!

That was why he was determined to expose this scandal to the world, no matter what!!!

As for what Ming Jingxing thought, or whether he, Ming Jiayao, could still become the heir to the Ming Family…

None of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was,

Could those rotten people and rotten things stay far away from him!

At this moment—

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “The last possibility is—the shipping magnate himself leaked this!”

This time, Ming Jiayao was truly stunned.

“That can’t be, right?” He found it unbelievable. “Sister, how could you think that?”

But Bai Yuanzhi said, “On the contrary, I believe this last speculation is the most likely.”

“There’s only one reason—the shipping magnate is old and wants to step down.”

“But he doesn’t want to pass the position to his son and daughter-in-law, who are in their prime. He hopes his grandson, that elusive Young Master, will inherit his business empire.”

“I’ve never heard any news about that Young Master, so I can only speculate based on common sense—think about it, if the Young Master were outstanding in every way, the shipping magnate would surely want to keep his heir by his side every day, showing him off in all sorts of ways! But he hasn’t… This at least proves that, in the shipping magnate’s heart, his designated heir is no match for his son and daughter-in-law.”

“So I believe the shipping magnate revealed this truth for two reasons: first, to motivate the Young Master, and second, to drive a wedge between his son and daughter-in-law and the Young Master.”

“What do you think?”

Of course, Ming Jiayao knew exactly who was behind this matter.

But Bai Yuanzhi’s perspective was quite interesting.

Ming Jiayao nodded repeatedly.

Just then, other noises came from the other end of the phone.

Bai Yuanzhi probably covered the receiver with her hand.

Ming Jiayao only vaguely heard Zhou Sier shouting at the top of her lungs for Ah Zhi…

A moment later, Bai Yuanzhi said to him, “Alright, it’s nothing serious. I just wanted to gossip with you. I have something to do now, so let’s not chat anymore! Don’t go outside; wait until the typhoon passes.”

Ming Jiayao wanted to ask, “Is something going on over there?”…

But Bai Yuanzhi had already hung up.

Ming Jiayao gently put down the phone as well.

He instructed Ah Wu to contact Sister Cai and find out what exactly was happening with Bai Yuanzhi.

Then he walked to the window, looking out at the panoramic view of Hong Kong City amidst the raging storm.

Soon, Ah Wu returned with a reply. “Sister Cai said Chen Shuojie wanted to take Miss Ah Zhi to the cemetery to pay respects to his mother. Miss Ah Zhi refused, saying only a fool would go out in a typhoon, and she even scolded Chen Shuojie for being crazy… Now Chen Shuojie is so angry he went out to get drenched in the rain.”

Ming Jiayao thought for a moment, vaguely recalling that Xu Wenli’s death anniversary seemed to be around these few days.

He smiled a cold, emotionless smile.

—How shameless is Chen Shuojie!

How could he have the audacity to take Ah Zhi to “meet the family”?

Although Bai Yuanzhi had flatly refused Chen Shuojie’s request,

Ming Jiayao still felt deeply unsettled.

After all, Chen Shuojie could openly pursue Bai Yuanzhi,

But what about him?

He could only hide and evade…

Ming Jiayao’s mood grew extremely gloomy.

However, Ming Jiayao suddenly felt an intense urge to visit Xu Wenli’s grave at the cemetery.