Chapter 35: Confirmed No Blood Relation

Under normal circumstances, DNA testing takes 3 to 5 working days to yield results; if the client needs it urgently, paying a certain fee allows an early report.

With Xu Yanfeng's financial resources, he naturally lacks no such money, so Guan He does not understand why the boss did not opt for expedited service but instead told the person in charge to just follow the normal procedure.

Xu Yanfeng walked out of the appraisal institution, glanced at the streaming clouds on the horizon, like torn pieces of cotton, entwined and continuous.

Others cannot understand his mood, but he himself knows it all too well; he is like a criminal awaiting judgment, because he is unsure whether the final outcome will be good or bad, he would rather it arrive later.

At least before the judgment comes, he can numb himself.

How is this not a form of escapism?

Over the next few days, Xu Yanfeng busied himself with work, deliberately casting the parent-child test to the back of his mind, as if it did not exist. As his assistant, Guan He, however, kept it firmly in mind, so as to report it to him the moment the report came out.

Friday morning, Guan He did not arrive at the company on time; he went to the appraisal institution.

In the morning, the person in charge sent him a text message saying the test report had come out the previous night, considering the time was a bit late, only notifying him today.

Guan He appeared at the company holding a sealed document bag at 9:10 a. m.

Half an hour later Xu Yanfeng had a meeting; Guan He dared not delay, heading straight to the CEO's office.

Today is overcast; outside the panoramic glass window is a expanse of light gray, like diluted ink, spreading outward, foretelling that the city will soon face a downpour.

Indoors the lights were on, yet it still felt dim, perhaps due to the oppressive atmosphere.

As Guan He entered the room, he subconsciously held his breath; even he himself did not understand where this tension came from.

Xu Yanfeng wore a pure black suit, his tie fastened impeccably, with a dark gold tie clip, understated yet luxurious; he sat behind his desk, reading an important document, his eyelids slightly lifting as he glanced at the person who had entered.

Guan He placed the sealed document bag on the table, gave a light cough, and spoke: "The test report is out; I went to pick it up early this morning."

The four words "test report" entered his ears, then transmitted to his brain, causing Xu Yanfeng to stare for two seconds, his thoughts finally disengaging from the tangle of affairs.

His gaze, calm and without a ripple, fell upon the sealed bag; looking at it was like gazing at a sword hanging above his head.

Xu Yanfeng admitted he had become timid.

He was not afraid that the result would be contrary to his expectations; what he truly feared was that if he and Xia Xi had no such bond at all, how could the plans he had devised be carried forward.

Xu Yanfeng reached out to touch the edge of the sealed bag, but did not immediately open it; his expression seemed somewhat absent.

Guan He felt anxious on his behalf, thinking, "Does the boss not want to know the result quickly?"

"General Manager Xu?" Guan He tried calling out.

Xu Yanfeng leaned back in his chair, raised a hand to pinch his brow, turned his head to look out the window; rain streaks struck the floor-to-ceiling glass, and soon the clean glass was covered with fine lines, much like his tangled state of mind.

At this moment, he wondered whether this weather was an omen of something.

"Please have a look for me." After a while, Xu Yanfeng's thin lips moved slightly, and he uttered a few words in a somewhat dry voice.

Guan He, lacking such complex emotions, like a robot, followed the boss's instruction, picked up the document bag on the table, tore open the tightly sealed strip, and pulled out a stack of paper inside.

A professional institution is indeed different; the gene comparison process was recorded in detail.

Those preceding data symbols are incomprehensible to laypeople; Guan He glanced over them quickly, skipped them, turned to the last page, and focused his attention on the appraisal conclusion column.

【After appraisal by our center, Zhou Leyi and Xu Yanfeng are confirmed to have no blood relation.】

Below are the signature and practice license number of the judicial appraiser, plus the red seal of the appraisal institution; there is no mistake.

Guan He quietly raised his eyes; what he saw was Xu Yanfeng still in the same posture, side profile facing him, his face devoid of expression as he gazed out the window, as if the outside rain scenery were utterly captivating. The office was so silent that not even a breath could be heard; only the growing rain remained, pattering against the floor-to-ceiling windows with a crackling sound, the glass becoming ever more blurred, until nothing outside could be seen.

The downpour arrived.

After a long while without hearing the assistant utter a sound, Xu Yanfeng grew somewhat restless, tightening his hand on the chair armrest, and asked aloud: "How?"

Guan He gave no preamble, directly stating the fact: "The report shows that you and the child named Zhou Leyi have no blood relation."

Dong—

The sword hanging above his head fell down, piercing straight into his body.

Xu Yanfeng froze, as if struck by a paralysis spell; his gaze shifted from calm to shock and back to calm, all in an instant.

Guan He set down the appraisal report in his hands, said nothing else, and slipped out of the office silently, leaving Xu Yanfeng alone to digest the result.

After a long while, Xu Yanfeng moved his stiffened body, which felt as if it did not belong to him, his fingers pinching the topmost sheet—precisely the one bearing the appraisal conclusion. He knew Guan He would not make a mistake, yet he could not help but look it over himself.

Afraid of missing anything, he read it silently, word by word.

The result would not change no matter how many times he looked; the fact was that those fraternal twins were not his.

Recalling how he had repeatedly, with utmost confidence, told Tang Yizhou that Xia Xi's child was his, he felt himself to be the biggest fool under heaven.

Xu Yanfeng closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling a few times, then opened them again; the corners of his mouth curled into a self-mocking smile. He gathered the papers on the desk, fed them into the shredder, and quietly watched them turn into a pile of shreds.

His heart seemed to have been tossed in and shredded as well.

*By the time work ended, Xia Xi shut down her computer, gathered her belongings, and packed them into her bag.

The office door was knocked twice; before she could say "come in," it was pushed open, and she looked up to see Lu Mingji already entering, his jacket removed and draped over his arm, wearing a high-quality blue shirt, trousers neat and straight, his figure slender and well-proportioned, his demeanor warm and smooth.

"Do you have time tonight? Let's have a meal together." Worried that Xia Xi might refuse, Lu Mingji added, "It's been a while since I've seen Zi Heng and Youyou; bring them along."

Xia Xi glanced at her wristwatch; at this moment the two children should have been picked up by Su Jinru and taken home.

She neither refused nor agreed, only saying: "The two kids said yesterday they wanted pizza; I plan to take them out tonight."

Lu Mingji chuckled: "I'm fine with anything."

"Then let's do it together." Xia Xi did not demur further: "I'll go home first to pick them up."

Hooking her index finger around the car keys, Xia Xi walked out; as she passed Lu Mingji, she tapped his shoulder: "The task of working out the strategy is yours—check Dianping to see which restaurant serves the best pizza, decide, and send me the info on my phone."

"I guarantee I'll complete the task."

Lu Mingji laughed and turned away; all that could be seen was her tall, slender back, the tips of her long curled hair nearly reaching her waist.

The woman wore a white cotton shirt, khaki ankle-length pants, no high heels, a pair of flat-bottomed desert boots, giving her a lightly mature vibe while still retaining a crisp feel.

Xia Xi drove home, used her key to open the door, one hand propping the shoe cabinet as she bent to change shoes, shouting inside: "Mom, I'm taking Zi Heng and Youyou out to eat tonight; do you and Grandma want to join?"

Su Jinru only heard the voice, not catching what she said, came out of the kitchen holding a plate of sliced fruit, her face beaming with delight, she gave Xia Xi a look, indicating she should look at the living-room sofa: "See who's come."

Xia Xi slipped on her slippers, looked in the direction she was indicated, and widened her eyes in surprise: "Zhou Du?! How did you come over? You didn't even tell me."

Zhou Du rose from the sofa, opened his arms, and gave her a smiling, raised-eyebrow look: "Surprise! Of course I couldn't give you advance notice."

The Zhou Du you were calling for, here he comes! (End of chapter)