Chapter 1587: The Fake Young Master Is Going to Be Spoiled by the Real Young Master 17

After that day, Zhu Chengde personally investigated the whole story of Zhou An's recognition incident.

The last bit of evidence that Zhou An had desperately clung to was also proven to be forged; that jade pendant never belonged to him from beginning to end.

As for Jin Chen, over the next few days Shi Qian invited him to meet several times; the more they met, the more Shi Qian could feel the familial bond of blood being thicker than water, whereas the occasional uncontrollable feeling of concern she had when interacting with Zhou An was completely absent.

Each time, Shi Qian cautiously asked him whether he wanted to go home and have a look.

Jin Chen, however, never gave a clear answer.

As the end-of-term month before the winter break approached, Shi Qian also found it inconvenient to constantly disturb Jin Chen, so she delegated this task to Zhu Suisheng.

Zhu Suisheng taking the lead was practically worth several people; after Jin Chen finished his tasks, he finally had free time, so he agreed to visit the Zhu family on Friday evening.

Night.

As Jin Chen and Zhu Suisheng's private car pulled up at the villa's gate, Zhou An was in the living room, tears streaming down his face as he explained himself.

By this point, Zhou An was not so foolish as to continue pretending he was the true young master; instead, he used the method Jiang Wen had devised for him.

No matter how one puts it, the affection he had developed for Shi Qian during this time was partly genuine; as long as he made Shi Qian soft-hearted, even if he couldn't become the true young master, he could at least make some money.

Zhou An knelt on the carpet opposite the sofa, pouring out his sorrow to Zhu Chengde and Shi Qian, every word saying that he had grown up without family, and only during this time at the Zhu household did he feel genuine familial affection.

And even now he did not want to let deceit taint this feeling, so he did not wish to see Shi Qian again.

Shi Qian, who was always sentimental, immediately slumped onto Zhu Chengde's shoulder, crying bitterly; enraged, Zhu Chengde scolded Zhou An: "If you truly don't want to sully familial affection, then get out of here right now, don't anger my wife in this place!"

Zhou An still shed tears, perhaps thinking that he could never again enjoy such extravagant wealth; even if it was an act, it carried a hint of genuine emotion.

In the end, Shi Qian spoke up: "Child, go on your way; from now on we will sponsor you to finish your studies, no matter what graduate master's degree, we will sponsor you—does that work?"

Zhou An furrowed his brows, of course unwilling; compared to some illusory sponsorship promise, the money in his hand was the most real, otherwise who could be sure they wouldn't regret it later.

But he did not show it on his face, and he also understood that tonight he could not say anything more; if Zhu Chengde truly got angry, that would be doom.

Zhou An slowly rose from the floor, bowed to them, and thanked them with hot tears.

As he left through the main gate, Zhou An happened to brush shoulders with the incoming Zhu Suisheng and Jin Chen; the sad expression on his face instantly twisted a bit, and he openly glared at Jin Chen without hiding it.

"If you keep looking around, I'll gouge out your eyeballs." Zhu Suisheng said to Zhou An with a grin beside Jin Chen; the doorway light flickered across his face, like a beautiful fairy in the night.

Zhou An: "……" Crazy! Pervert!

He still had a bit of a psychological shadow, so he stepped forward and sped away.

Zhu Suisheng simply couldn't be bothered with him.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back!"

Zhu Suisheng ran into the living room, flung himself onto the new single sofa, bright and obedient smile on his face, "I brought the person back for you."

Zhu Chengde looked toward the gate and happened to see Jin Chen walking toward them; although he didn't zone out like Shi Qian had that day, he couldn't help feeling a bit dazed.

Not only in appearance, just as his wife had said when she returned that night, seeing him gave rise to a sense of fateful concern and bond.

Jin Chen sat down beside Zhu Suisheng's single sofa, not taking any principal seat, and after accepting their scrutiny, he nodded calmly in greeting.

Zhu Suisheng slightly lifted his handsome brows and eyes to look at him, "Don't you want to change your form of address?"

Shi Qian immediately grew a little nervous, looking at Jin Chen with anticipation, "Xiao Chen, can Mom call you that?"

Jin Chen nodded and calmly said, "Mom, Dad."

"Eh, eh… really good." Shi Qian couldn't help but tear up a bit, wiping her tears clean with Zhu Chengde's shoulder fabric.

"Little… cough, little Chen." Zhu Chengde called out, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, "We haven't had a chance to ask yet—how was your past?"

This matter happened suddenly, and they had not investigated Jin Chen beforehand, so they were genuinely curious about his past.

He seems to come from an ordinary family; how could he have been raised into such an excellent example?

Jin Chen lowered his eyes: "Pretty good."

Afterwards, he seemed to recall something, turned to face Zhu Suisheng and said, "There's also a grandfather."

He and Zhu Suisheng had swapped lives, so that old man naturally was Zhu Suisheng's paternal grandfather.

Zhu Suisheng blinked, instinctively clutching the cushion, "Where is the grandfather then?"

"The grandfather is in our hometown; he's a very interesting old man—do you want to go back and see him?" Jin Chen asked him, which was just ordinary family chatter.

Zhu Suisheng's subtle feeling gradually faded; he didn't know how to respond, so he fell silent.

Shi Qian sensed something off, "Then… your… I mean, the parents who raised you?"

"They're dead." Jin Chen said, "They died long ago; I don't remember what they looked like."

Jin Chen really tried to recall the original body's memories; there were only faint, hazy images, and according to the old man's words, he had been alone since he first learned to walk.

His tone was overly flat, yet it did not make one think him heartless and indifferent; rather, it resembled the self-protection forged after much experience, and also a genuine calmness he had truly attained.

Shi Qian covered her face and turned her head to wipe her tears; Zhu Suisheng glanced at the tearful mom, then at Jin Chen, and quietly took a candy from his pocket and placed it in Jin Chen's palm.

No one spoke, Jin Chen included; he took the candy, opened the wrapper in a couple of motions, and then handed it to Zhu Suisheng's lips.

Zhu Suisheng:?

The melancholy atmosphere just a moment ago vanished instantly.

"This is for you to eat." Zhu Suisheng said lightly, "Not for you to peel it for me."

Shi Qian finally composed her emotions, stepped forward, first hugged Zhu Suisheng, then turned her gaze to Jin Chen.

Jin Chen let her hold him for a while, looking past Shi Qian's back at Zhu Chengde, who sat on the sofa with a thoughtful expression, and the latter also noticed his gaze, "Xiao Chen, come with me to the study for a father‑son chat?"

Jin Chen nodded, "All right."