“Open the door! Open the door!”
It was already near dusk at this time, and it seemed to be exactly when the servants were changing shifts. Liu Xie pounded on the gate, but no one seemed to pay any attention.
“What’s all the noise so early in the morning, you idi—…”
A yawning servant walked out from the nearby flower bed where he had been slacking off, speaking as he yawned, before focusing his gaze.
“Oh no! My job!”
He opened the gate with the fastest speed of his life, allowing Liu Xie to enter the front courtyard of the entire mansion and step onto those antique bluestone bricks once again.
Even Usain Bolt would choose to be a man of culture upon seeing him now.
Liu Xie didn’t care much about it, only staring fixedly at the servant twice. She left satisfied only after seeing the servant’s terrified expression.
She was now going to find her easy-to-talk-to mother to ask what exactly was going on with Liu Anran.
Although she knew her father likely knew more, the previous Liu Xie as a boy couldn’t possibly go to her father to discuss things. It was like a student who hadn’t done their homework couldn’t go to the office to play “hiding in plain sight” with the teacher.
“Mom, Mom, where are you?”
Walking past the pond in the front courtyard, the koi kept inside were the things Liu Xie loved to catch most in the past.
Rather, the fact that anything in this pond had lived until now was entirely due to her childhood mercy.
As soon as she pushed open the mansion door, she shouted inside.
Her father might be busy, while her mother most likely wasn’t. This was also the reason for her shouting; otherwise, if her father heard, it would surely be…
“What’s with all the shouting? How old are you? Can’t you be a bit more steady?”
A familiar voice rang out. Liu Xie froze and looked toward the sofa in the living room, where her father and mother were sitting on the left and right.
“Dad, you’re not busy?”
“Do you really wish I were busy?” Father Liu asked back. “It’s not a holiday right now. Your home is so close, yet you’re reluctant to come home even during holidays. Today you’re willing to?”
“I took a leave of absence; I came to ask about some things.”
Liu Xie’s leave had only been reported on the way here in the taxi. Her leaves had always been a case of acting first and reporting later.
She had applied anyway; whether it was approved or not was not her problem.
“What matter is it that’s worth a special trip from you?” Father Liu casually flipped through the book in his hand and looked up at Liu Xie, who was currently scrambling onto the sofa.
When it came to the matter to be discussed, Liu Xie seemed to be fuming with rage, immediately returning to the state she was in while in the car.
“I really feel like I didn’t hit Liu Anran enough when we were little. This guy is being way too arrogant now……”
Before she could finish, her parents in front of her suddenly sighed and looked at each other.
It seemed their eyes both said — as expected.
They naturally knew what Liu Xie was here for. Rather, it was because they knew what Liu Xie wanted from them that they had rushed home at this time.
Liu Anran was a very reassuring child. He hadn’t caused the family much worry growing up, and had even started trying to take the lead on his own initiative. This was beyond the parents’ expectations.
They wouldn’t show favoritism just because Liu Anran wasn’t their biological child; instead, they treated everyone equally.
For such a child to start doing something relatively risky, and even want to provide a surprise.
Well, for Liu Anran, this matter might not even count as risky, just a simple surprise he was preparing.
But as it happened, one of the few things this independent child needed help from his parents with was actually to deceive another child.
Actually, it wasn’t really deception, because not a single word spoken next would be a lie.
Everything was true, it was just a matter of saying one thing while doing another behind the scenes.
Then, Father Liu, the serious father, packed up his books and left the living room.
It seemed he wanted to leave a relaxed environment for Liu Xie, or at least let her relax a bit.
“Regarding this matter, Mom and Dad do indeed know a bit.”
The relatively gentle mother grabbed Liu Xie’s hand and had her sit beside her.
“Daughter, how did you find out about this?”
“Me? I only found out by scrolling through videos. That brat Liu Anran didn’t say a word to me.”
“I see.” Mother Liu paused slightly, gently squeezing Liu Xie’s hand. “Don’t be angry yet. Have you gone to see him?”
“Yeah.”
“What did he say.”
“He wouldn’t see me at all, and he even tried to drive me away.“ Liu Xie grew even angrier.
Mother Liu’s hand also stopped.
The one who caused the trouble clearly didn’t even have the courage to face Liu Xie after leaking the matter. Not only did he not dare to see her, but he also threw Liu Xie directly to them, the parents.
Yet, they as parents had to help their child complete this perfect lie.
“Actually, this matter isn’t as simple as you think. Look at this.”
Mother Liu took out her phone and searched for a moment, finding the video with the paternity test.
“What’s this?” Liu Xie leaned her head in. After seeing the content clearly, she froze slightly. “This …… ”
“The biological relationship between those two and Liu Anran should be real; at least that’s what this thing says.“ Mother Liu watched as her dear daughter’s expression gradually began to spiral out of control.
“How is that possible? How could they find them all of a sudden? When you didn’t want to raise him back then, didn’t you look for his parents for who knows how long? You only raised him because you couldn’t find them. Now that so much time has passed, how could it be so easy to find them?”
“But that is the reality. I think he might have refused to see you because of this matter, too. After all, he’s facing a lot of pressure right now.”
Mother Liu scrolled randomly. Negative comments about this incident were almost everywhere, as if Liu Anran were some heinous person. They were overwhelmingly demanding that Liu Anran recognize his relatives and show basic morality and filial piety.
“But, but those two guys abandoned him in the first place. I probably raised Liu Anran more than they did. Now that they see Liu Anran is doing well, they come back. Whether they’re really here to recognize him as family is another matter entirely.”
“But other people don’t care about that; they only want to see what they want to see.”
“Mom.“ Liu Xie spoke up, “can we handle this matter? I don’t want Liu Anran to go and recognize them.”
“No.“ Mother Liu shook her head gently.
“Why?”
“Things have reached this point. He must make a choice, and we cannot choose for him. If he doesn’t choose soon, it will start affecting the company. I think he will choose…“ Mother Liu explained.
“You mean, making Liu Anran choose between our family and those two people?”
Wait, im dumb, why did Liu Anran want to deceive his sister?