Volume One, Chapter 12: Paternity Test & Two Hundred Thousand

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Manager Wang was the general manager of the Supply and Marketing Department at Luosang Factory. He oversaw the selection and allocation of all suppliers, big and small, and had been a longtime drinking companion of Luo Wenbin. A surge of anger rose within Luo Xuan. She knew Manager Wang had often taken advantage of her family’s goodwill, frequently forcing her parents to swallow their pride to settle accounts. But this time, Manager Wang had actually overstepped by getting involved with her father in bed?

Yet the business with Red Star Factory still needed to continue, and dealings with Manager Wang could not be severed. This man must not be offended under any circumstances.

Old Wei finally lost his patience: “When is Grandma Dabao coming?”

Lin Zhaodi broke her silence, setting down her teacup: “The old lady is in poor health. If Dabao isn’t her biological child, she won’t be able to bear the shock. Bring me the paternity test results, and I will take you to see her.”

“A paternity test?” Old Wei’s eyes widened. “What’s the use of that? Manager Wang can vouch for us.”

Lin Zhaodi said calmly, “Luo Wenbin had more than one woman on the side. He has presented children to the old lady more than once, but all turned out to be false. If you don’t bring a paternity test, the old lady won’t believe it.”

“You have to pay for it!”

Lin Zhaodi said nothing. Luo Qi spoke up: “Why should we pay? Who knows if Dabao is even Luo Wenbin’s child?”

Old Wei grew anxious: “How could Dabao not be Luo Wenbin’s child? You were calling him ‘little brother’ just yesterday!”

“Where did you drag this child from, and have the nerve to call him my brother?” Luo Qi slammed the table, raising her voice three octaves, pointing at Wei Yinyin and shouting like a fierce shrew, “If I say I’m your mother, do you accept it?”

Seeing this, Luo Xuan refused to be outdone. She suddenly stood up, eyes wide as saucers, brows furrowed fiercely, hands on her hips, looking like a wrathful demon. The little boy burst into wails.

Lin Zhaodi shouted sharply, “Youngest son, second sister, sit down!”

Luo Xuan and Luo Qi reluctantly sat back down.

Lin Zhaodi’s voice was authoritative: “Luo Wenbin had many mistresses and children I never heard of. You came here recklessly, claiming Wenbin had a child. Put yourself in the old lady’s shoes—would you believe it?”

Wei Yinyin gritted her teeth: “I’ll do the paternity test. Give me Wenbin’s hair.”

“What hair? Where would there be any?” Lin Guodong finally spoke slowly, “Wenbin has already been cremated.”

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The bombshell left the Wei family pale as ghosts.

Old Mrs. Wei struggled to speak: “I still have Luo Wenbin’s hair. I’m not afraid you’ll deny it!”

Luo Qi sneered: “Oh? How do you prove it’s Luo Wenbin’s hair?”

Old Mrs. Wei’s hand slipped; the little boy slid off her lap, his belly hitting the edge of the table. He immediately wailed loudly, reaching out to slap Old Mrs. Wei’s face, shouting, “Bad grandma! Bad grandma!”

Amid the boy’s cries, Wei Yinyin was stunned: “Cremated...?”

Old Mrs. Wei shrieked sharply: “You’re denying it! My Yinyin’s son can’t have been born for nothing, right?!”

Old Wei hurriedly said: “If you can’t give us 500,000, even 200,000 will do!”

Wei Yinyin, distraught, wept: “You cremated Wenbin just like that? I never saw him one last time, never properly said goodbye. You’re his wife and children—do you have hearts of stone? No feelings at all?”

“You three shrews! You drove Luo Wenbin to his death!” Old Mrs. Wei suddenly screamed in anguish, “Luo Wenbin must have left money for Little Bao, but you swallowed it all! You—shrews, harpies, venomous women!”

Luo Qi shot back loudly: “Right, after burning, only bone fragments were left, not a single hair for you!”

The little boy’s crying continued.

The noise became unbearable. In the chaos, Luo Xuan’s head throbbed as if about to burst, nearly deafened. Lin Guodong took out a bank card and slammed it onto the table.

Click.

It was as if the noise switch had been turned off; the room fell into an unbelievable silence.

At least ten eyes glued themselves to the bank card.

Lin Guodong pointed at Wei Yinyin and said to the two elders: “There’s 200,000 in this card.”

Luo Xuan heard a sharp intake of breath—Lin Guodong continued: “But judging by how Yinyin looks, she doesn’t seem eager to return home.”

Wei Yinyin cried, “I don’t want to! I love him!”

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Old Mrs. Wei grew frantic, ignoring the little boy, grabbing Wei Yinyin’s arm: “Why are you so foolish? Holding onto a dead man—what can he give you now? If there’s money, take it quickly. The third brother’s marriage can’t be delayed any longer. If you can’t pay the bride price, your brother will be a bachelor forever!”

Old Wei promised Lin Guodong: “Yinyin is a dutiful child. If you give me the money, I’ll sacrifice these old bones, take Yinyin back home, and find her a good family to marry into. She won’t come back out again.”

Old Mrs. Wei added, “Yinyin has always been dutiful. She willingly gave her bride price for our eldest brother’s marriage, saved money for our second brother’s marriage, and now she’s helping the third brother marry. Our family relies entirely on Yinyin.”

After these words, a subtle silence fell over the room.

The deeper meaning behind that statement made Luo Xuan shiver with goosebumps. She glanced at Lin Zhaodi and Lin Guodong whispering quietly, then at her little sister, meeting her equally confused face.

The two sisters exchanged looks.

Wei Yinyin sobbed, gasping for breath.

The little sister bit her lip, hesitated a long while, then reluctantly pushed a packet of tissues forward with a troubled expression.

Wei Yinyin buried her face in the tissues and sobbed, “Does Wenbin have any keepsakes left? Buttons, belt, jacket—anything, just leave me something to remember him by.”

No one answered.

Old Mrs. Wei glanced at Lin Zhaodi’s expression, then turned sharply and barked: “What keepsakes? That’s not for you to cling to! Luo Wenbin is gone! Dead! You should be grateful to the eldest sister and come home with us!”

She reached for the bank card, but the slippery card slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

With a creak, Old Wei slammed back his chair, crouching down hurriedly to pick it up. Unfortunately, there was some water on the floor, and the thin card stuck to the ground.

The old couple used their fingernails to pry it loose, their faces flushed with urgency.

At last, clutching the bank card in his pocket, Old Mrs. Wei, ecstatic yet tense, said: “We must go to the bank to verify it.”

Lin Guodong nodded and stood up: “Of course. I’ll take you there.”