Chapter 2865: Just as You Thought

Zhou Andong's rented apartment was about thirty square meters or so; aside from a bedroom just large enough to fit a two-meter bed, there was also a small living room, but it was partitioned by curtains, with a small bed placed inside, clearly the child's bedroom.

Besides that were the bathroom and kitchen; the bathroom looked less than three square meters, with a small washbasin by the door, a squat toilet inside, and a showerhead above; as for the kitchen, the space wasn't large either—two people inside could barely move, truly an efficient use of space.

After Zhou Andong and the others entered the house, they immediately felt cramped.

"Sorry!" Zhou Dong said somewhat embarrassedly: "The place is a bit messy."

Zhou Andong glanced around the room; indeed, it was a little messy. The child's clothes, socks, crayons, and drawing paper were scattered everywhere. Moreover, the bowls and chopsticks from dinner on the coffee table hadn't been cleared away, still sitting there.

Sun Yan's face was slightly flushed; she quickly bent over to pick up the clothes and socks, tossing them into the bathroom washbasin. Zhou Li gathered the bowls and chopsticks from the coffee table and took them to the kitchen, then grabbed a cloth to wipe the table clean. Yuan Yuyu wasn't idle either, collecting the child's crayons, drawing paper, and homework notebooks and putting them into the backpack.

Zhou Dong opened the living room curtain divider, brought over two more stools, and said enthusiastically: "We only have two stools at home; if there's not enough seating, just sit on the bed—don't stand."

Zhou Andong took off his hat and sunglasses: "Big Brother Zhou, do you still recognize me?"

Zhou Dong stared, then widened his eyes: "Zhou……Zhou Dong!"

Sun Yan's face was also full of disbelief; she looked at Zhou Li with eyes full of questions.

"Big Brother!" Zhou Li's expression was torn, because this was too strange, and she didn't know what to say.

"Let me say it!" Zhou Andong glanced at the ashtray on the coffee table, still with a cigarette butt inside, then pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and scattered them around: "Big Brother Zhou, on the day Zhou Li had the car accident, at the hospital, you told me about your grandfather—do you still remember?"

Zhou Dong nodded: "I remember!"

"Then let me tell you about my grandfather." Zhou Andong lit his cigarette with a lighter: "My grandfather's generation had three brothers; my grandfather was the second. Originally, the family had modest property and lived comfortably. But the eldest uncle was addicted to gambling, lost all the family assets, then stole the land deed, sold the land, and fled.

Because of this, the great-grandfather and great-grandmother became so angry they fell ill and died within two years, one after another. Immediately after, the September 18th Incident broke out; my grandfather joined the anti-Japanese alliance, while the third uncle fled south..."

As Zhou Dong listened, his eyes widened wider and wider; the hand holding the cigarette began to tremble slightly, then with a patter, the freshly lit cigarette fell to the ground, and his breathing became heavy and coarse.

After Zhou Andong finished speaking briefly, Zhou Dong pointed at his own nose, then at Zhou Andong: "Zhou……Zhou Dong, you you you you……you mean, we……"

"Yes, exactly what you're thinking." Zhou Andong nodded with a smile: "When I heard you talk about your grandfather in the hospital, I thought your grandfather might very well be my great-uncle.

So, taking advantage of our meal out, I had the bodyguard pluck two hairs from Li Li in the hospital ward. After returning to Jingcheng, I had them sent to a testing agency for DNA analysis."

Sun Yan's throat rolled once, her voice tightening as she asked: "What is DNA?"

"DNA is biological identification." Zhou Li explained: "Simply put, everyone has DNA, but it's different for each person, unique; by comparison, we can accurately determine kinship."

Zhou Dong murmured: "This is too miraculous."

Yuan Yuyu stood there motionless, mouth open, her heartbeat racing, almost jumping out of her throat. She knew there would be big news today, but she didn't expect it to be this big.

Zhou Li actually being cousins with Zhou Andong—if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes and heard it with her own ears, even if a cannon blasted her, she wouldn't believe it. This is too fantastical, yet it happened in reality, right before her eyes.

Jian Qiu took out the DNA test report from her bag: "Big Brother, this is the test report—take a look."

Zhou Dong took it; Yuan Yuyu was the first to lean in, then opened her small mouth wide again, whispering: "This……this is real!"

Sun Yan also leaned in; she couldn't understand it, but seeing Yuan Yuyu's expression as a college student, she knew it couldn't be faked.

The room fell into a kind of silence hard to put into words; even Zhou Tong, the little child, sensed something odd, sitting honestly on the small bed without making a sound.

"Huh……" Zhou Dong exhaled a long breath, then looked up at Zhou Andong, opening his mouth again and again, yet didn't know what to say.

Zhou Andong patted Zhou Dong's shoulder: "Are your uncle and aunt's older siblings all in Yangcheng?"

"Yes!" Zhou Dong's mind was a bit scrambled, just mechanically saying: "They also all live in San Yuan Li, but it's a bit far from here."

"No rush!" Zhou Andong checked the time: "Let's go, we'll find a place to eat some late-night snacks, and chat while we eat."

"Late-night snacks?" Yuan Yuyu looked up at the quartz clock on the wall. It was still before eight, just finished dinner—what late-night snacks?

Zhou Li glanced at the cramped space; after half a day, everyone had been standing while talking—this really wasn't proper, we should find a place to sit and talk.

Zhou Li nodded and said: "Indeed, we should find a place to sit down and talk."

"Alright!" Zhou Dong responded: "Let's go!"

A group of people went downstairs, winding left and right out of the narrow alley; Zhou Andong's car was parked by the roadside.

Jian Qiu asked Zhou Li: "Li Li, is there a better tea house around here?"

Zhou Li shook her head: "No, we'd have to go further ahead—it's a bit far."

"What tea house!" Zhang Zuo said with a carefree air: "The big open-air stall ahead looks good—sit by the roadside, order a few small dishes, drink a few bottles of chilled beer—how refreshing."

Zhou Andong laughed: "On such a stuffy day, drinking a few bottles of chilled beer is indeed nice."

The group crossed the road, walked a bit further, and arrived at the open-air stall.

The boss lady was greeting customers; seeing Zhou Andong with so many people, she hurriedly said: "Several bosses, this way please."

Business at the open-air stall was good; twenty-odd small tables were already half occupied.

Zhou Li asked in Cantonese: "We have many people—do you have a big table here?"

The boss lady immediately replied: "No big table, but we can push the small tables together."

Zhou Li looked at Zhou Andong, hesitated for a moment, then called out: "Brother, is this okay?"

This "Brother" reached Zhou Andong's ears; his face instantly lit up with a happy smile: "We're just looking for a place to chat—nothing's not okay."

Zhou Li also laughed and told the boss lady: "Okay!"