Chapter 86: Between Lies and Bloodlines

The man's heart pounded like a war drum, but his face showed not the slightest disturbance.

He followed Xin Xin to the entrance of the convenience store, and Xin Xin looked at Auntie Li. "Grandma Li, where's my mommy?"

Auntie Li looked at Gu Yunci and smiled awkwardly. "What mommy? Grandma was calling you. It's time — let's hurry to school."

Gu Yunci gave instructions to the driver, then strode quickly into the convenience store.

His sharp gaze swept every corner, unwilling to let even the gaps between shelves slip by. The empty aisles held no graceful silhouette he had been hoping for.

But that familiar "Xin Xin" still struck his heart, loud and clear.

Had he… heard wrong?

Or had she, once again, slipped away before his very eyes?

He stood rooted in place, his fingertips tightening slightly, the thought in his heart growing wildly.

He needed to know — who exactly was Xin Xin's mother?

This time, he would not allow himself to miss any possibility, no matter how small.

Song Yilin saw him standing there frozen. "Uncle, it's time for kindergarten."

He stepped out but didn't see Xin Xin. "Where's Xin Xin?"

Song Yilin pointed ahead. "That grandma took her away."

Gu Yunci took Song Yilin's hand and caught up to Auntie Li in a few quick strides, hoping to coax something out of her.

"Hello, may I ask — what does Xin Xin's mother do for a living?"

Auntie Li shook her head, tight-lipped. "Sir, I'm just a childminder. I don't really know what the family does."

Gu Yunci refused to give up and still wanted to ask whether the family's surname was Meng.

Auntie Li simply picked up Xin Xin. "Let's go inside first."

After dropping Song Yilin off at kindergarten, Gu Yunci took the car back to the company. He didn't go to the 28th floor but headed straight for the second basement level.

Meng Shutang was busy working inside. He walked closer, his voice cold and low. "When did you get here?"

Meng Shutang's hand paused briefly. She didn't look up. "I've been here a little while."

"Look at me."

He stared at her, his presence pressing down.

She could have ignored him, but to make him give up, she slowly raised her eyes and looked at him calmly. "What does President Gu want to ask?"

"You've been in the office the whole time?"

"Yes."

"That voice at the convenience store just now — was that you?"

Meng Shutang hadn't expected him to be so direct and burst out laughing. "What convenience store?"

Gu Yunci looked at her calm, indifferent expression and felt as though a large hand had seized his heart tight — a dull, heavy pain spreading densely outward until he could barely breathe.

He had overthought it. Everything was just his own wishful thinking.

"Sorry to bother you." His thin lips parted, and he said this flatly before turning to leave.

Ruan An saw him go and turned to ask Meng Shutang, "Sister Tangtang, why didn't you tell President Gu you had just come in?"

Meng Shutang said, "Enough about him. Let's get to work."

Just as she finished speaking, Meng Shutang's phone rang. Ruan An glanced at it. "Sister Tangtang, it's Manager Zhou's call."

Meng Shutang took off her gloves. It was Zhou Songyan asking her to deliver something. She remembered that last time Gu Yunci had looked at it and never returned it.

"Hold on a moment, I'll ask An An to bring it over to you."

She hung up and called Gu Yunci, walking out as she dialed. "President Gu, where are you?"

"I'm over here — come on over!"

Meng Shutang heard two voices reach her in succession: one from the phone receiver, the other from the man himself, close at hand.

She belatedly turned around, and the moment she looked up, her gaze met the eyes of the man seated on the spiral staircase.

"Manager Zhou says he wants the document I delivered to you last time."

The man pocketed his phone. "It's in the office."

Meng Shutang turned. "I'll have An An go get it."

"Go get it yourself. I don't like other women touching my things."

The man lowered his head and descended the staircase with a heavy heart. He didn't look at her again, one hand in his pocket as he walked toward the exit. "The door code — your birthday."

Meng Shutang's heartbeat slammed against her chest — light yet heavy, sour yet numb.

She turned and shook her head, then suddenly realized that this spot had a perfect view of her work area.

Driven by curiosity, she gripped the spiral staircase and climbed a few steps.

The spiral staircase wound upward, its steps covered in a thin layer of dust, so quiet it seemed forgotten by the entire world.

Only the few steps where Gu Yunci had just been sitting were spotless — glaringly clean.

She also noticed that from that spot, dead center, one had only to look up to see the work area with perfect clarity.

Meng Shutang's heart lurched in panic. She hastily looked away, gripped the handrail, and slowly made her way down.

Then she took the elevator to the 28th floor.

Little Zhou stood up when he saw her enter. "Teacher Meng is here."

Meng Shutang flashed a bright smile. "Just picking something up."

She went to the CEO's office. The door was tightly shut. She entered her birthday, and the door opened at the sound.

As she walked toward the desk, her clear eyes caught a glimpse of the begonia flowers inside — blooming abundantly, vivid yet not gaudy.

Reaching the desk, she glanced around, found nothing, and only then began rummaging through the drawers.

She opened the topmost drawer first, and when she saw the star bottle, her heart gave a violent jolt.

If she remembered correctly, she had thrown this little bottle into the medical waste bin at the time; Gu Yunci, someone so germaphobic and terrified of illness all his life, had actually picked it out, wiped it clean, and placed it here.

She looked at the star-patterned bottle, froze for a moment, then reluctantly put it back.

Opening the next layer down, her hand trembled slightly when she saw her health insurance card and the pregnancy checkup form she thought he had discarded long ago.

She paused, picked up the health insurance card for a brief glance, then put it back in.

Picking up the pregnancy checkup form, her brows and eyes softened.

This was Xin Xin's first photo, even though it was so tiny it looked like an embryo.

She took out her phone and snapped a picture, thinking she would print it out when she got back and put it in her diary.

The pregnancy checkup forms from the other months were all there; only this one had been missing.

Putting the pregnancy checkup form back, she rummaged around but didn't find it, so she opened the next layer.

Searching for the documents again.

Effort pays off for the diligent — in the third drawer, she finally saw them.

She hadn't expected that the CEO who always put work first would actually let some trivial things occupy the most important first two layers, while documents were placed at the very bottom.

Lost in thought, she looked up.

The man stood not far away, watching her in silence, emotions she couldn't read surging in the depths of his eyes.

Meng Shutang's heart was in utter panic — she wasn't afraid of him catching her going through his things; she was only afraid he'd seen her photographing the pregnancy checkup form.

If he questioned her, how should she answer?

Her mind went completely blank; she couldn't come up with a single flawless excuse.

"Found it?"

The man looked at her slightly trembling fingertips, his gaze as deep as the sea.

"Found it."

Meng Shutang came out from behind the desk, bumping into it by accident. "Nothing else, I'll be going first."

After she left, the man unhurriedly walked to the spot where she had just been standing and slowly opened the first drawer.

He took out the pregnancy checkup form from inside, his mind replaying over and over the soft expression she wore when she was secretly taking the photo just now.