Zhou Zhe’s new secretary stood beneath a residential building and tilted his head up slightly, his gaze slowly traveling along the weathered exterior. The building was neither particularly old nor especially new, its gray facade dull and unremarkable. Only one window on the sixth floor stood out, draped with pale yellow curtains that peeked out brightly against the gloom.
Retracting his gaze, he pulled open the building entrance and headed upstairs. Upon reaching the sixth floor, he knocked on a metal door.
Before the knocking had fully faded, the door creaked open. A middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses poked his head out. Behind the lenses, his eyes were filled with caution and unease. He carefully sized up the visitor before asking quietly, “Are you Secretary Gao?”
The man outside nodded. “I’m Gao Fan.”
The middle-aged man hurriedly stepped aside and invited him in. Gao Fan entered the apartment, glanced around the somewhat cluttered living room, and got straight to the point. “The photographs?”
“Here, here.” The man immediately walked to a cabinet, opened a drawer, and pulled out an old sketchbook. “My wife tucked them inside this book before she passed away. Last month I was sorting through her belongings to sell as scrap when I found these photos hidden inside.” As he spoke, he handed the sketchbook to Gao Fan, expectation evident in his eyes. “Funny coincidence, really. Just a few days later, you showed up at my door.”
Gao Fan accepted the sketchbook and casually flipped through the yellowed pages. Several photographs slipped free from between the sheets, revealing the faces of two boys.
He only gave them a cursory glance at first, appearing uninterested. It wasn’t until he reached the final photograph that his expression changed slightly and he lifted it closer for inspection.
This was the only solo photograph. The boy in the picture had slightly darker skin and was completely absorbed in eating a roasted sweet potato. Crumbs clung to the corner of his mouth, and his focused expression made it seem as though the entire world had ceased to exist around him.
Gao Fan slowly turned the photograph over.
In the lower right corner, neat and delicate handwriting appeared, slender yet unmistakably clear, as though every stroke had been written with all the tenderness and guilt in the world:
Son, Mom is sorry.
Putting the photograph away, Gao Fan rose to his feet and slowly buttoned his overcoat. “Congratulations, Mr. Shi,” he said coldly. “You’re about to become rich.”
⸻
Standing before the Zhou family estate, Zhou Ruo An tightly gripped the coin he had just flipped. Its cool surface rested in his palm.
Tails.
Bad luck.
A shadow slowly settled over his brow, and the ominous feeling in his chest only grew stronger.
After announcing his arrival, he heard Zhou Ran Ming’s voice from inside the study.
“Come in.”
As he pushed open the door, Zhou Ruo An’s eyes immediately swept across the room. Zhou Ran Ming sat in the reception area, leisurely turning a purple clay teacup in his hand. Across the coffee table sat Zhou Zhe, dressed in plain clothing and calmly rolling a string of sandalwood prayer beads between his fingers. His newly appointed secretary stood respectfully at his side.
Zhou Zhe?
A jolt of alarm ran through Zhou Ruo An.
Why was he here?
Before he could think further, Zhou Ran Ming spoke. “Xiao An, come sit down. Why are you standing there staring?”
Suppressing his thoughts, Zhou Ruo An walked over and sat beside them. Only after shifting his angle slightly did he notice there was actually a fourth person in the room.
A short, heavyset middle-aged man sat in the farthest corner of the reception area. He wore black-rimmed glasses, a Zhongshan suit, and polished leather shoes. In his hands was a brand-new manila envelope. His expression was nervous, and his gaze wandered restlessly.
The man was unfamiliar. They should have had no prior connection. Yet for some reason, his presence intensified Zhou Ruo An’s sense of unease.
Quickly withdrawing his gaze, he greeted everyone calmly. “Second Brother is here too. What a coincidence. Uncle, what did you want to see me about?”
Zhou Ran Ming pushed a cup of tea toward him. “Nothing major. Just chatting.”
Seated nearby, Zhou Zhe smiled warmly, like an elder brother offering guidance. “Fourth Brother, aren’t you going to ask who this gentleman is?”
Zhou Ruo An was forced to look at the man again. “And this gentleman is…?”
With a benevolent smile, Zhou Zhe introduced him. “His name is Shi Rui Yu. He was your biological mother’s partner after she left the Zhou family. They lived together for twenty-one years.”
The moment he heard the name Shi Rui Yu, Zhou Ruo An’s heart sank. At last, he understood. This seemingly ordinary meeting was actually a carefully prepared trap. It seemed Zhou Zhe had never given up on uncovering his identity. After lying in wait for so long, he had finally found a breakthrough capable of tearing away Zhou Ruo An’s disguise.
The fingers resting on his knee stiffened slightly. Still, Zhou Ruo An politely greeted the man in the corner. “Mr. Shi, hello.”
Shi Rui Yu raised his head. His eyes flickered uncertainly. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, only to swallow the words back down. A fine layer of sweat had formed across his forehead, making him appear even more nervous.
Leaning back on the sofa, Zhou Zhe lightly tapped the armrest. “Fourth Brother, aren’t you going to ask why he’s here?”
Zhou Ruo An shifted his gaze from Shi Rui Yu to Zhou Zhe. A trace of coldness entered his voice. “Since Second Brother brought Mr. Shi into this room, you obviously have a purpose. Whether I ask or not, you’re going to tell me anyway.”
At last, Zhou Zhe dropped the mask. With a cold laugh, he stood up, walked over to Shi Rui Yu, and patted him on the shoulder. “Mr. Shi, since my brother won’t ask, you can explain it yourself.”
The gentle pat made Shi Rui Yu visibly flinch. Clutching the envelope tightly, he spoke with a trembling voice. “I… I have several photographs my wife left behind before she passed away. She secretly took them years ago. I know the child in them was born before she married me.”
As he spoke, he opened the envelope and shook several photographs onto the table. Then he hurried over and spread them out before Zhou Ran Ming.
There were four photographs in total. Their edges had yellowed with age, and time had blurred many details, yet the two boys depicted remained clearly recognizable. Neither appeared older than eleven or twelve. Neither looked particularly clean or well cared for. The photos seemed to document a single day in their lives—walking to school with lifeless expressions, staring longingly at roast chicken outside a shop after class, sorting recyclables in a garbage heap upon returning home, and studying at dusk in front of a cramped little house while chewing on pen caps.
There was nothing especially remarkable about the photographs except that one of the boys looked very familiar. Fair-skinned and delicate, his features were unmistakably those of a young Zhou Ruo An.
Everyone’s eyes studied the photographs critically. Only Zhou Ruo An found himself drawn back ten years into the past.
Back then, Old Ding was still alive. He was vigorous, sharp-minded, and wonderfully good at cursing people. His Mandarin mixed with local dialects, rising and falling like a storyteller reciting a rhythmic ballad. Yet no matter how fiercely he scolded, he always ended with the same line:
“You little bastard, come home and eat.”
Back then, Zhang Jin was still alive too. He often wore a sour expression and wasn’t especially likable, but every now and then he would willingly take the blame for Zhou Ruo An. He never touched the last piece of meat on a plate. Instead, he would wait until Zhou Ruo An ate it, then soak rice in the leftover soup and wolf it down himself.
“What’s so special about these?” Zhou Ran Ming lifted his teacup and took a sip, his gaze resting on the gently rippling tea. “You just wanted to show me what Xiao An looked like as a child?”
The question dragged Zhou Ruo An back to the present.
Then he heard Shi Rui Yu say, “One of the two children in these photographs is my wife’s biological son.” A finger suddenly pointed at the darker-skinned boy. “It’s him.”
Click.
The lid of the teacup settled softly against the rim.
In the lingering echo, Zhou Ran Ming’s gaze slowly shifted onto Zhou Ruo An’s face.
The room’s atmosphere seemed to solidify, pressing down so heavily that breathing became difficult. Zhou Zhe lounged against the sofa with a faint smile, his eyes moving back and forth between Zhou Ran Ming and Zhou Ruo An as though waiting for a performance to begin.
With enemies closing in from every direction, one would expect fear. Instead, Zhou Ruo An merely let out a helpless laugh.
Looking at Shi Rui Yu, he deliberately adopted a questioning tone. “Mr. Shi, why are you lying? Did someone pay you? Or offer you something else? Do you think you can simply move your lips and turn black into white?”
Shi Rui Yu’s face changed immediately. “I… I didn’t take any money. Everything I’m saying is true. My wife once cried while looking at these photographs and called out Zhang Jin’s name.”
At that moment, Zhou Zhe interjected smoothly. “If I remember correctly, Fourth Brother, your former roommate was named Zhang Jin, wasn’t he?”
“The dead can’t defend themselves.” Zhou Ruo An raised his eyelids lazily. “So now you can just say whatever you want?”
“How is it nonsense?” Zhou Zhe tapped the photographs. “Look closely. The photographs are obviously centered on Zhang Jin. You only happened to appear in the frame alongside him.”
Rather than immediately arguing, Zhou Ruo An calmly raised his phone and snapped a photograph of Shi Rui Yu. Then he turned the screen toward everyone. “Second Brother, I just took a picture of Mr. Shi. But because you happened to be standing in front and slightly to his right, you ended up in the frame as well. Now look. Your figure occupies more space in the picture than his. Does that mean I was actually taking a picture of you?”
The image on the screen was perfectly clear. Shi Rui Yu stood at the center of the photograph. Yet due to the angle, Zhou Zhe occupied a larger portion of the frame.
Zhou Ruo An’s words struck directly at the foundation of Zhou Zhe’s argument, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Lowering the phone, Zhou Ruo An swept a cold gaze across everyone in the room. His voice cooled further.
“So tell me—what makes you so certain that my mother wasn’t taking photographs of me?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Zhou Ran Ming seemed to be growing impatient. In an even tone, he asked Shi Rui Yu, “Mr. Shi, do you have any evidence that directly proves Zhou Ruo An is not your wife’s son? If not, then you may leave.”
The man hurriedly nodded, urgency creeping into his voice. “Yes, I do. There was another photograph tucked inside the sketchbook—a solo photograph. It only showed the dark-skinned boy, and on the back was a line of writing: ‘Son, Mom is sorry.’”
“Take it out,” Zhou Ran Ming said.
Shi Rui Yu looked troubled. He cautiously glanced at Zhou Zhe before speaking in a small voice. “It’s gone. Secretary Gao went to my house to pick me up earlier. Before we left, he said the entire album would be inconvenient to carry and told me to put the photographs into an envelope instead. While I was packing them, my hand slipped and the photos scattered everywhere. That photograph… it was probably lost then.”
Zhou Zhe’s eyes immediately sharpened. He turned toward his secretary. “What happened?”
Gao Fan straightened his back slightly, his face full of remorse. “Second Young Master, I only learned about this just now as well. It’s my fault. I should have checked the photographs more carefully.”
The moment Zhou Ruo An heard this, his eyes lit up. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips as he delivered his sarcastic remark. “Out of all those photographs, the only one that could serve as evidence just happened to be the one that got lost. What a coincidence.”
He deliberately emphasized the last few words, dripping with ridicule.
After a brief moment of thought, Zhou Zhe turned toward Zhou Ran Ming and spoke calmly but firmly. “Uncle, I personally saw that solo photograph before. Not only me—my secretary saw it too. There’s no mistake. The child named Zhang Jin in that photograph was Ms. Zhang’s biological son. In other words, he was my real younger brother.”
“Zhang Jin?” Zhou Ran Ming repeated the name. “Then let him come and testify.”
“He’s already dead.” Zhou Zhe’s voice lowered slightly, carrying a trace of regret.
“Dead?” Zhou Ran Ming looked toward Zhou Ruo An, a thoughtful expression appearing in his eyes. “When did he die?”
“The moment he died, Fourth Brother stepped into the Zhou family.” Zhou Zhe’s words were like a stone dropped into still water, sending ripples spreading in every direction.
The previously silent Zhou Ruo An suddenly laughed. “Second Brother is trying to make me carry the crime of murder now? Then by all means, go to the Public Security Bureau and investigate Zhang Jin’s cause of death. Last time, you spent one hundred thousand yuan to bribe my former neighbor into framing me in an attempt to bring me down. This time, how much did you pay Mr. Shi?”
A flicker of discomfort crossed Zhou Zhe’s face, as though a sore spot had been struck, but he quickly regained his composure and put his calm mask back on. “Fourth Brother, we’re both sticking to our own versions of the story and neither of us is willing to back down. The only way to uncover the truth is to draw blood and perform another DNA test.”
Zhou Ruo An refused to yield. “Why should I repeatedly cooperate with your baseless suspicions? Besides, Father already said that no one is allowed to bring up the matter of me not being a member of the Zhou family again. Anyone who does will be severely punished. Have you forgotten that, Second Brother?”
A flash of resentment appeared in Zhou Zhe’s eyes before vanishing. “That’s exactly why I brought this matter before Uncle Ran Ming.”
Leaning forward slightly, he moved close to Zhou Ruo An’s ear and spoke in a volume only he could hear. “My father is the sort of man who only cares whether you can bring him benefits. He couldn’t care less whether you’re actually his son. You still haven’t fully grasped the depth of his selfishness and narrow-mindedness. Give it some more time—you’ll understand.”
When he finished, Zhou Zhe straightened and turned back toward Zhou Ran Ming. The respectful expression returned to his face. “Uncle, bloodline inheritance concerns the entire family. Since Mr. Shi is so certain, I believe we should test Fourth Brother again and clear up the family’s reputation once and for all.”
Zhou Ran Ming remained completely calm, as though the fierce dispute unfolding before him had nothing to do with him at all. He slowly set down his teacup and spoke at an unhurried pace. “In that case, Xiao An will have to endure a little inconvenience. We’ll conduct another blood test. I’ll arrange the doctor myself, and I’ll supervise the entire process.”
Zhou Ruo An froze where he stood, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms.
Next chapter: Fu Chun Shen makes an appearance.
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