Another Day of Pretending for the Wealthy Couple - Chapter 72

No one expected that it would be Zhong Yan who brought the man over.

To be precise, he had hijacked him.

It all started when Zhong Yan and Chu He ran into several black sedans on the road.

The cars were too uniform, all heading in the same direction as them, and all stopped in front of the Ji family’s ancestral hall.

His own father didn’t get this level of protection when he went out.

At first, Zhong Yan didn’t think much of it, but when his own car was forced to a stop, that was a different matter.

Chu He glanced back at Zhong Yan, who said in a level voice, “Go check it out.”

Chu He got out and knocked on the other car’s window. A big, burly man leaned his hand on the car frame. “Buddy, we’ve got to follow the rules of the road, don’t we?”

The driver was impatient. “Do you have any idea who’s in my car? You can’t afford the consequences if something happens.”

Chu He chuckled lightly. “Who? Let me see. Which big shot is it?”

He bent down, a wide grin on his face. “Let me have a look, too.”

The man’s aura turned fierce. His smile didn’t reach his eyes; he looked like a killer. The driver’s eyes showed vigilance as he glanced at their vehicle, just an ordinary Mercedes-Benz commercial van.

Looking at the road ahead, he saw they were almost at the Ji ancestral hall. He asked tentatively, “Are you also with the Ji family?”

Chu He caught the word “also.” So, these people were with the Ji family.

Chu He thought about his own status. His young master should count, right? So, after a moment’s consideration, he said, “Half. Here for the ancestral rites.”

The driver frowned. “Half? What’s that supposed to mean?”

They had been stopped for too long. Another man in a black suit and sunglasses got out from a car behind them. His tone was sharp. “What’s going on? Get moving!”

The driver Chu He was talking to stuck his head out the window. Without answering the man in black, he continued speaking to Chu He, “You’re only half. The person in my car is Chairman Ji’s son.”

“You can let us pass now.”

Hearing this, Chu He straightened up. “Doesn’t the Ji family only have one daughter? Where did a son come from? Are you trying to fool me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” the driver said.

Chu He looked back. His own car’s window was halfway down, revealing only Zhong Yan’s eyes and brow.

Zhong Yan gave a slight nod.

Chu He nodded back. Then, acting like they were the best of friends, he slung an arm around the shoulder of the man who had just gotten out of the car. “Buddy, we’re all Ji family here. No need for formalities. The person in my car is Chairman Ji’s son-in-law, which makes him Chairman Ji’s son’s brother-in-law. How about you let us meet your young master?”

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder in a show of camaraderie, but the man in black, held by Chu He, could clearly feel the muzzle of a gun pressing against his waist.

It was ice-cold, inspiring a primal fear.

“Who did you say you are? From the Zhong family?”

Chu He raised an eyebrow. “You could say that. But right now, we’re the Ji family. We’re with Chairman Ji’s daughter.”

Zhong Yan waited a moment, then saw the man said to be Ji Tanyuan’s brother from his car.

He was about 180 cm tall and wore glasses. He didn’t resemble Ji Tanyuan, but he looked a lot like their father, though he seemed somewhat timid and withdrawn.

Zhong Yan nodded slightly. “Mr. Ji?”

Ji Zhihe felt an inexplicable pressure. The man before him had a casual posture, yet he exuded an oppressive aura, a top-down condescension. The only other person who had made him feel this way was the young master of the Shen family.

He swallowed hard. “Yes. You’re my sister’s husband?”

Zhong Yan smiled. “That’s right. You’re heading to the ancestral hall, aren’t you? I’ll give you a lift. It’s on the way.”

Ji Zhihe felt a lump in his throat. It was clearly Zhong Yan’s bodyguard who had used threats and coercion to force him over.

How could he so brazenly pass off a kidnapping as giving him a ride?

In reality, the place where the cars had stopped wasn’t far from the Ji ancestral hall, but Chu He, with perfect tacit understanding, drove extremely slowly to give his young master time to ask questions.

By the time they reached their destination, Zhong Yan hadn’t gotten anything out of him, because the man next to him was playing mute.

In fact, that was the best answer. Wasn’t “staying silent for fear of slipping up” the biggest tell of all?

Chu He got out and opened the door for them. Zhong Yan looked up at the plaque before him: Ji Family.

To carve out a piece of land in a place like Hujiang, where every inch was worth gold, and turn it into an ancestral hall showed just how much importance Ji Qing placed on his clan.

And yet, Ji Qing had an attitude of empowerment towards his daughter. He was either letting his daughter fight it out with Ji Ting, only to bring his son in when she was exhausted, or he was letting his daughter grind for experience points.

But if it was the latter, would his attitude change now that his son had appeared?

Zhong Yan walked inside. He glanced back at the man who was hesitating, as if waiting for someone.

So he said, “Go on in. First Uncle must be getting anxious.”

He’s still counting on you to make a comeback.

He wondered what expression Ji Tanyuan would have when she saw that he was the one who brought the man.

The moment he entered, he became the focus of everyone’s gaze. Zhong Yan stepped aside, a faint smile on his lips. His suit was crisp and stylish, his features handsome. He carried himself with an air of nobility, as if he had just walked into his own home.

“Don’t just stare at me. Look at the main character.”

Ji Ting was shocked. “Why did you two come together?”

“We ran into each other on the road, so I brought him along.”

Ji Tanyuan’s gaze was fixed on this “brother” of hers. “Has a paternity test been done?”

Ji Ting snorted. “Of course it has! Otherwise, how could I be so sure?”

Ji Tanyuan looked at her father. Ji Qing showed no shock, no excitement.

Suddenly, Ji Zhihe dropped to his knees with a thud in front of Ji Qing, tears welling in his eyes. “Dad! Your son has been unfilial. I’ve come back late.”

Zhong Yan leaned against the doorframe. He wasn’t looking at the kneeling man; his eyes were fixed on Ji Tanyuan’s reaction.

And in Ji Tanyuan’s eyes, there was no emotion whatsoever, much less the excitement of seeing her long-lost brother.

It seemed his wife wasn’t looking forward to her brother’s return.

Ji Qing looked down at the person who was supposedly his son. There was a thirty percent resemblance in his features.

“Do you remember anything from before you were ten?” Ji Qing asked.

Ji Zhihe shook his head. “I had amnesia when I woke up. I don’t remember anything.”

Ji Ting looked at the expressionless Ji Tanyuan, certain that she must be panicking inside. He sneered, “Now he is the most legitimate heir to the Ji Corporation, isn’t he? Tanyuan is married out, after all. How can she meddle in every aspect of the Ji family’s affairs?”

Ji Tanyuan leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs, showing every sign of being ready to fight to the bitter end.

“That’s not right. I won’t participate in the Ji family’s domestic affairs, but the corporation is not a domestic affair. Even when it comes to the inheritance of the corporation, it’s a matter for our family, my father’s and mine. First Uncle, you’re the outsider here.”

“I think some of you have the wrong idea. Right now, it’s the Ji Corporation that supports the ancestral hall, not the clan that supports the Ji Corporation. How is it that my father has been supporting you all, only to end up raising a bunch of ancestors to worship?”

With just a few light, graceful words, Ji Tanyuan had inverted the entire relationship. Sitting there, she looked as if she were seated in the patriarch’s chair.

Ji Ting’s face flushed with anger. “Someone! Get her out of here!”

Zhong Yan said, “This ancestral hall would be considered an illegal structure, wouldn’t it?”

He cut Ji Ting off, looking down and toying with the ring on his finger without even raising his head. “First Uncle, you’d better think this through. If you throw us out, this place will come down with us.”

Ji Qing’s voice was grave. “Enough. Both of you, shut up.”

He took a deep breath and said to Ji Zhihe, who was still kneeling silently, “You’re back, and you say you’re my son. Then go do a paternity test with Sheng Wan. If you are Huanghuang’s biological brother, I will acknowledge you. If you’re not…”

At this, Ji Qing closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to continue.

If this really was his illegitimate son, he had no idea when he could have had an affair. And once it was confirmed he was an illegitimate son, Sheng Wan would definitely divorce him.

But if he wasn’t an illegitimate son, then why would Sheng Wan try to kill her own biological son?