After the Most Hated Persona Faked Their Death, the Ex-Husband Lost His Mind - Chapter 2

From beginning to end, he never looked at Li Zhi again.

It was then that Li Zhi understood. He understood why Wang Xiaochun had been dressing so glamorously lately, he understood why she had been leaving early and returning late, and he finally understood. His gaze slowly drifted toward the base of the ring finger on Wang Xiaochun’s left hand.

There sat a sapphire ring the size of a pigeon egg. That same hand clutched a kraft paper envelope. Li Zhi could guess what was inside: a paternity test report.

Li Zhi was suddenly gripped by panic. He felt the gemstone on his mother’s hand was far too opulent; the light reflecting off the ring stung his eyes.

His legs felt as if they had been filled with lead, heavy as a thousand pounds. He could not move a single step forward. Li Zhi plucked up his courage and whispered, “Mom…”

“Can I not go?” Under Wang Xiaochun’s gaze, Li Zhi’s voice grew smaller and smaller. He lowered his head. As the distance to the villa closed, the unease in his heart grew more intense.

Li Zhi’s father had once told him that a person’s worth lies in being content.

“One must not crave things that do not belong to them. What is yours is yours; otherwise, God will punish you.”

Li Zhi had always felt he was quite content. He never complained about his family’s poor circumstances, he never complained about losing his father at a young age, and he never complained about Wang Xiaochun’s frequent scoldings.

He followed the arrangements of fate and never thought of changing them, even though he knew perfectly well that he was the biological son of Zhou Guoxiong, the great entrepreneur of S City.

An illegitimate child must have the self-awareness of an illegitimate child. Deep down, Li Zhi felt that he and Zhou Guoxiong belonged to two different worlds. Now that Wang Xiaochun was trying to pull him into it, Li Zhi felt like a person falling off a cliff, his feet unable to find solid ground.

Summer vacation had already begun and the weather was sweltering. Li Zhi wiped the sweat from his nose and said apprehensively, “I want to go home.”

Fearful that Wang Xiaochun would disagree, he hurriedly added, “I can take the bus back by myself.”

Wang Xiaochun looked at him quietly for a moment and then said, “Your home is right here.”

“We are not going back anymore.” She paused and then extended her left hand to show Li Zhi her ring. “Do you see this? Your father proposed to me.”

“His wife died a year ago.”

Zhou Guoxiong’s legal wife had passed away from illness a year prior, and six months later, Li Zhi’s father had his accident. After Heaven finished staging these two tragedies, it arranged for this pair of former secret lovers to reunite.

When the two met eyes, their old flame was rekindled, and they naturally came together.

Zhou Guoxiong was very surprised to hear that Wang Xiaochun had borne him a child. He told her, “If it is indeed my child, then we will finalize the marriage.”

Li Zhi found himself unable to walk, but Wang Xiaochun gripped his arm tightly and dragged him inside. “When you see your father in a moment, be sharp and speak sweetly. Do not just stand there like a fool saying nothing, do you hear me?”

As they walked through the flower-filled entrance garden toward the front door, Wang Xiaochun rang the doorbell and whispered in Li Zhi’s ear, “Your father has another son named Zhou Baiyu. He is a bit older than you. If he acknowledges you, call him Brother. If he does not, let it be. Do not go over there and make a nuisance of yourself. Did you get that?”

Li Zhi was dazed by the sun and his mind was spinning with nerves. Before he could nod in response, the door was pulled open.

A middle-aged man in a butler’s uniform opened the door. Seeing Wang Xiaochun, he bowed slightly. “Madam Wang.”

“The Master is waiting for you in the study on the fourth floor. Please, come in.” He stepped aside to make way for the mother and son. Li Zhi followed behind his mother, timid and shrinking, finally experiencing what it meant for a commoner to enter a palace.

The exterior of the villa was already grand, but the interior was the height of luxury. Li Zhi could hardly believe this was just the foyer; it was like the lobby of a five-star hotel. The air held a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Li Zhi felt that he had transformed from a person into a tiny cockroach. He felt entirely out of place here, as if every step he took was a mistake.

Wang Xiaochun, however, was composed and self-assured. She led him inside with familiarity, clearly having visited many times before.

She intended to lead Li Zhi into the indoor elevator, but the butler stopped them. “My apologies, Madam Wang, but the Master only mentioned that you should go up.”

Wang Xiaochun was clearly dissatisfied but did not lose her temper. She simply gave Li Zhi a push and said, “Then take him to sit in the living room on the first floor for a while,” before walking into the elevator without looking back.

Only after the elevator doors closed did the butler move. He said, “There are people in the living room. I will take you to sit in the tea room for a while.”

Li Zhi was so stunned by the villa’s opulence that he did not notice the underlying disdain in the butler’s words; he simply nodded.

Just as they were about to leave, a pleasant teenage voice rang out from nearby. “Uncle Zhang.”

This call caused the butler to stop in his tracks. He turned around, and Li Zhi followed suit. The boy was about Li Zhi’s age, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was impeccably groomed from head to toe. His clothes did not have any flashy logos, but one could tell at a glance they were incredibly expensive.

He was tall and handsome, standing there like a glamorous peacock.

The boy’s eyes swept up and down over Li Zhi. “Who is this?”

“Oh, Young Master Han, this is…” Butler Zhang turned toward Li Zhi, frowning as if in a difficult position. He did not know how to introduce Li Zhi’s identity to this young master.

Under their simultaneous gaze, Li Zhi nervously clutched the edge of his hem, his palms sweating. Although this Young Master Han claimed not to know him, the malice in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Li Zhi suddenly remembered when they first arrived at the villa, the security guard at the gate mentioned that the young master had invited classmates over to play. It seemed this Young Master Han was a classmate of his brother.

Han Ziyao, the Young Master Han, did not have the patience to wait for Butler Zhang to come up with a decent introduction. He waved his hand impatiently. “Forget it, whatever. We are playing cards and we are short one person. Have him come over.”

“In that case, go and sit in the living room for a while,” Butler Zhang said.

Thus, Li Zhi was kicked like a soccer ball from Wang Xiaochun to Butler Zhang, and then from Butler Zhang to Han Ziyao.

He kept his head down and followed behind Han Ziyao in silence. Just as they were about to enter the living room, Han Ziyao stopped. “You, come here. Walk in front of me.”

Li Zhi suspected nothing and took two steps forward. Behind him, Han Ziyao stared at his skinny body. Just as Li Zhi was about to step into the living room, Han Ziyao’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he delivered a fierce kick to Li Zhi’s waist.

“Ugh!”

Li Zhi was knocked to the floor by the sudden force. There was a cashmere carpet on the floor, so his landing arms did not hurt much, but his waist felt as if it had been struck by a boulder. He trembled all over from the pain.

Han Ziyao laughed and brushed past him. “Zhou Baiyu, your Auntie Wang is here again. This time she brought a little tag-along. I have brought him to you. Why do you brothers not recognize each other?”

“Would it kill you to shut up?” Another unfamiliar teenage voice spoke, presumably Li Zhi’s half-brother, Zhou Baiyu. Then, Li Zhi heard the rustle of footsteps on the carpet.

“What are you still lying there for? Get up.”

Li Zhi could only endure the pain and stand up. He hurriedly fixed his glasses. Only then could he see the spacious, magnificent nine-meter-high vaulted living room with its massive crystal chandelier, and the people within it.

There were three teenagers in the living room, each one strikingly handsome. Their aura of wealth made it impossible to look away. Standing before them, Li Zhi felt like a fish eye next to pearls, unable to help but feel ashamed of his own appearance.

He knew Han Ziyao now. The handsome boy next to Han Ziyao was his brother, Zhou Baiyu. And the only one sitting was…

“Chu Mingzhang, stop playing,” Han Ziyao called out to him.

The youth named Chu Mingzhang looked up, his light-colored eyes casting a faint, indifferent glance at Li Zhi.

Many years later, Li Zhi still could not forget that fleeting glimpse from their first meeting.

Chu Mingzhang sat at the very edge of the sofa, his long legs clad in light blue jeans stretched out casually. The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows shone upon him, making his hair look pitch black and his skin pale.

He only glanced at Li Zhi before withdrawing his gaze, yet Li Zhi found it impossible not to look at him.

Fortunately, his unsightly glasses and the messy hair on his forehead hid his intense gaze, preventing the other three from noticing anything amiss.

Zhou Baiyu narrowed his eyes, sized up the mouse-like boy in front of him, and then revealed a smile. Anyone who knew him knew this was a sinister grin; the eldest Young Master Zhou was in a bad mood and was about to torment someone.

“Sit.” Zhou Baiyu smiled and tilted his chin toward a spot. “Sit here.”

Li Zhi did not dare to disobey him and sat down in terror. Zhou Baiyu continued to look at him with a smile. “What was your name again?”

“Li… ‘Li’ as in ‘wood and plum’, Zhi… ‘Zhi’ as in ‘to know’.”

Han Ziyao, who was standing to the side playing a game, burst out laughing. He mocked, “Li Zhi? Like the fruit, Lychee? What a trash name. My damn name might as well be Longan then.”

Li Zhi was thin-skinned, and his face instantly flushed red at the comment. Zhou Baiyu’s expression remained unchanged. “Fine. So, Li Zhi, what is your mother, Auntie Wang, doing here to see my dad today?”

Li Zhi intuitively felt there was a trap in the question. He did not dare to answer. His father had once told him that when you do not want to answer someone, just play dumb. So, he played dumb now: “I… I do not know.”

In truth, Zhou Baiyu was very well-informed about his father’s affairs.

He also knew that if nothing went wrong, and if the boy before him really was the son Zhou Guoxiong had left outside all those years ago, then Zhou Guoxiong would marry Wang Xiaochun and bring this mistress into their home.

Zhou Baiyu was not the only one who knew; his friends knew as well. That was why Han Ziyao had kicked Li Zhi—to vent his friend’s anger.

“You do not know? Well, I do,” Zhou Baiyu said. “You are here to show my dad the paternity test between you and him, right?”

Li Zhi was shaking all over, overwhelmed by shame. He could not even lift his head. This was just like the concubine-born sons and legitimate sons of ancient times; the illegitimate were born inferior.

“Haha, do not be nervous. I just said it in passing. Are you hungry?”

Li Zhi was stunned by this sudden question. He could not understand why the topic had jumped there, but Zhou Baiyu stared at him and jerked his chin toward a large cake on the coffee table. “Try some.”

Li Zhi did not dare to eat and shook his head. Suddenly, Zhou Baiyu snapped. He stood up with a start, grabbed Li Zhi’s hair, and slammed his face into the large cake.

Cream filled his nostrils; Li Zhi could not breathe at all. He tried to open his mouth to gasp, but because of the repeated motions against the back of his head, his mouth was stuffed full. His entire face was covered in cake; the thick smell of cream made him feel nauseous.

He began to struggle desperately, but Li Zhi was chronically malnourished, small and thin. He was no match for Zhou Baiyu, who was already nearly 1.8 meters tall in the eighth grade. Zhou Baiyu cursed at him through heavy breaths, “Fuck, you bastard actually dares to shake your head at me?”

“Shameless bastard, I will let you eat your fill. I will let you eat your fill. I will let you enjoy your good fortune!”

Li Zhi began to sob, wailing and moaning. The sound was wretched. Tears mixed with cream and slid into his mouth; the taste was disgusting.

He was in agony, both mentally and physically. If a cake could kill a person, he might have been the world’s first victim. Waves of nausea hit him; he truly felt he was about to die.

“It looks like Uncle Zhou is coming downstairs.”

At that moment, another unfamiliar voice spoke. It was extremely pleasant, like water hitting stone.

As soon as these words were spoken, the force pressing down on Li Zhi’s head vanished. Li Zhi lifted his head from the mangled cake and looked toward the source of the voice.

Chu Mingzhang was still sitting there, in his original spot, looking like a painting.

His gaze fell upon Li Zhi. Li Zhi’s already small face was entirely covered in cream, his dirty glasses sat crookedly on his face, and the cream had matted his hair into clumps that hung over his features.

Li Zhi wanted to wipe his face but could not find a napkin. He had to use his hands, but it only made him dirtier. Chu Mingzhang’s brows knit together slightly.

Then, a square pack of tissues landed in Li Zhi’s lap. Li Zhi looked up; Chu Mingzhang had already stood up.

“I am leaving,” he said to Han Ziyao and Zhou Baiyu.

“So soon?” Both were a bit surprised.

“Yes.” Chu Mingzhang gave only a single response without explanation, adding only, “Let us meet up again in a couple of days.”

He left as soon as he finished speaking, his long legs stepping past the coffee table as he walked out.

From beginning to end, he never looked at Li Zhi again.