“What did you say?”
Tan Mingxuan felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
Tan Zhizhi’s voice was soft and gentle, yet every word she uttered seemed to be barbed, piercing into Tan Mingxuan’s skull until it ached.
“Dad, take a good look. Doesn’t Tan Muyan’s broad, flat forehead and shovel-like chin look exactly like Gu Tianwei’s?”
Tan Mingxuan mechanically turned his head and stared fixedly at Tan Muyan, who was crouched in the corner, covering his mouth and crying out in pain.
He examined him inch by inch, from his forehead and eyebrows to his eyes, nose, and chin…
The longer he looked, the more rapid his breathing became, and the redder the veins in his eyes grew.
Yet he still refused to accept reality. Unwilling to give up, he questioned her sharply.
“Where did you find out about this? What exactly are you trying to do? Why did you secretly investigate Muyan?”
Tan Muyan had been six years old when he entered the Tan family with Liu Xiaomei. He had been well-mannered, neatly dressed, and appeared obedient and sensible.
Tan Mingxuan had only given him a casual glance at the time, but he had already formed a favorable impression of him.
On top of that, Liu Xiaomei had persuaded him repeatedly, telling him that Tan Muyan’s biological father had died long ago and that Tan Muyan would treat him as his own father in the future and care for him in his old age.
From that day onward, Tan Mingxuan had never once considered investigating Tan Muyan’s biological father.
“Dad, if you don’t believe me, you can find someone to verify it yourself,” Tan Zhizhi said.
Everything she had said was true, so Tan Mingxuan could investigate it however he pleased.
If she had not seen Tan Muyan clinging to Gu Tianwei amid the monstrous flood in her previous life, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face as he called him “Dad,” she would never have known that her father, who considered himself clever and cautious, had been made a complete fool for twenty years.
Tan Mingxuan turned his head and stared at Tan Zhizhi with his dark, gloomy eyes for a long while. Seeing that she looked completely open and honest, without the slightest trace of guilt, he already understood everything.
Numbly, he took out his phone and sent a message to his most trusted subordinate, Assistant Li.
Then, he grabbed the inheritance document beside his pillow and tore it to pieces.
He had raised his enemy’s son for twenty years for nothing, only to personally hand over all his assets afterward.
He was incapable of doing something so idiotic.
He hated himself for not being more cautious back then.
Why had he not investigated who Tan Muyan’s biological father was?
Instead, he had foolishly raised Tan Muyan for so many years without complaint or regret, like a complete idiot.
“Tan Mingxuan, what are you doing?”
Hearing the commotion, Liu Xiaomei, who had been struggling to comfort Tan Muyan, staggered over. When she saw the scraps of paper scattered across the floor, her face turned green with rage.
“What am I doing?”
“Liu Xiaomei, it was bad enough that you married me while carrying Gu Tianwei’s bastard son and made me raise another man’s child. Now you even want to take over the Tan family’s assets? You really are a vicious, utterly unforgivable woman!”
“Get out! Take your bastard son and get out of here immediately!”
Tan Mingxuan roared hysterically, completely consumed by fury.
Liu Xiaomei stood frozen beside the hospital bed, her eyes wide with shock.
She opened her mouth, about to launch into a tearful explanation and plea.
Just then, the door to the hospital room opened, and Assistant Li entered with four bodyguards.
Before Liu Xiaomei and Tan Muyan could react, the bodyguards seized them. Ignoring their screams and struggles, they forcibly dragged them out of the hospital room.
Liu Xiaomei’s head thrashed wildly as her legs kicked frantically, and she squealed like a pig being led to slaughter…
Once everything had finally quieted down, Assistant Li respectfully handed over a newly drafted will.
Tan Mingxuan accepted it, glanced at Tan Zhizhi, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Zhizhi, you’ve suffered all these years.”
Tan Zhizhi lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Belated affection was like fine sand in the wilderness. One gust of wind was enough to scatter it without a trace.
There was no point in trying to hold on to something that could not be grasped.
Besides, this affection was tainted by too much calculation and was not pure in the slightest.
“I only have a few days left to live, and you’re the only daughter I have. I’m leaving all my assets to you to manage. Don’t disappoint my expectations.”
As Tan Mingxuan spoke, he picked up a pen and laboriously signed his name on the will.
Then he handed it to Tan Zhizhi.
Tan Zhizhi looked at the line in the will that read:
[I voluntarily leave all my assets to my daughter, Tan Zhizhi.]
Her emotions were complicated. If she had not exposed Tan Muyan’s identity today, the outcome would undoubtedly have been the same as in her previous life.
So she could listen to these sentimental words, but that was all.
If she actually believed them, she would be the real fool.
“Zhizhi, don’t leave yet. Stay and talk with Dad for a while.”
Seeing Tan Zhizhi rise to leave with the will in her hand, Tan Mingxuan hurriedly called out to stop her.
“We have nothing to talk about.”
“Zhizhi, after I die, can you bury me beside your mother?”
Tan Zhizhi gave a cold laugh but did not agree.
The reason was simple. He did not deserve it.
When her mother had died, he had not shed a single tear. Yet now, after Liu Xiaomei had done something so disgusting, he merely threw her out without even mentioning divorce.
It was obvious who mattered more to him.
…
Perhaps Tan Mingxuan had suffered too great a shock that day, or perhaps his body had already reached its limit. Tan Zhizhi had barely stepped out of the hospital when she received the news that Tan Mingxuan had passed away.
By the time the funeral was over, it was already noon the next day.
The midday sun was bright and warm.
The cries of the street vendors around her made Tan Zhizhi feel dazed.
This was a sight she had never seen in the apocalypse.
Unfortunately, in just over a week, all this prosperity would disappear.
She let out a soft breath and stopped lingering over it. Instead, she hailed a taxi back to Beicheng Residential Complex.
She had saved up and bought the apartment there herself, moving in alone during her sophomore year of university.
Although the residential complex was old and rundown, its location was excellent. It stood in the city center, where every inch of land was worth a fortune. Moreover, because it was scheduled for demolition in a few months, the properties there were highly sought after, and housing prices had been climbing steadily.
Several real estate agencies outside the residential complex were crowded with people every day.
Tan Zhizhi found the busiest agency and listed her two-bedroom apartment on the third floor, along with the six villas she had just inherited and the Tan family’s old residence.
She repeatedly instructed them, “Sell everything for me within a week. As long as the price isn’t lower than fifty percent of the market value, I’ll take it.”
Those places were located on low ground and would not be suitable for living in after the apocalypse.
It would be far more practical to sell them early, turn them into cash, and use the money to hoard supplies.
…
“Ah… That feels good!”
Returning to her long-missed two-bedroom apartment, Tan Zhizhi grabbed a tub of ice cream and happily dug in.
Just as she scooped up her third spoonful, her phone began buzzing frantically.
“Bzz… Bzz… Bzz…”
She bit down on the spoonful of ice cream and answered the call.
A male voice filled with a hint of ingratiation came from the other end.
“Hello, Zhizhi. This is Uncle Wang. Your father and I were childhood friends, close enough to wear the same pair of pants. I even visited your home for New Year’s two years ago. Do you remember me?”
“I remember. What can I do for you, Uncle Wang?”
“Well, it’s like this. I heard that your father left all of his shares to you, so I wanted to ask whether you’re considering selling them. You’re a young woman who has never managed a company before. Rather than holding on to those shares and worrying about what to do with them, wouldn’t it be more practical to sell them for cash?”
Just when she needed a pillow, someone delivered one to her.
She had just been thinking about finding some unfortunate fool to sell her shares to.
And now, the worst and most sinister fool had come knocking on her door himself.
Wang Erhu was one of the six major shareholders of Tan Group and owned eight percent of the company’s shares.
He was a cunning and treacherous man who had secretly caused her plenty of trouble at the base in her previous life.
If she did not take this opportunity to swindle him properly, would she not be letting down all the traps he had set for her in her previous life?
“Uncle Wang, I really am considering selling my shares, but unfortunately, before you called, the other shareholders of Tan Group had already contacted me.”
“What? The other shareholders called you too?” Wang Erhu immediately became anxious.
“Yes, but I’m still considering it and haven’t given the other shareholders an answer yet. I’m just an ordinary woman without much business sense. Whoever offers me the most money gets the shares.”
Wang Erhu choked on his words, and his plan to appeal to their relationship was instantly crushed.
Instead, he hurriedly asked, “How much are they offering?”
“One offered 8.5 billion, another offered 9 billion, another offered 9.5 billion, and one particularly wealthy person directly offered 10.5 billion.”
“That much?”
Wang Erhu’s heart began to pound.
Based on market value, the sixty percent of Tan Group’s shares in Tan Zhizhi’s hands were worth, at most, 8 billion.
Were those idiots deliberately driving up the price because they had too much money to burn?
Before making this call, he had confidently assumed that Tan Zhizhi was an empty-headed pretty face who would be easy to deceive and manipulate. He had thought he could acquire the shares for, at most, 4 billion, preferably through installment payments, and then find a way to refuse payment later.
Who would have thought that things would change so quickly?
“What’s wrong? Uncle Wang, do you think that’s too much? Then forget it.”
“Wait! Zhizhi, I’ll offer 10.5 billion. Sell the shares to me, alright?”
Wang Erhu finally panicked.
“No. Uncle Wang, don’t you understand the rule of first come, first served? At the same price, I’ll naturally sell the shares to whoever made the offer first. If you really want them, you’ll have to add at least another 100 million, and you must pay the full amount upfront.”
“Fine! 10.6 billion it is!”
After hesitating for several seconds, Wang Erhu gritted his teeth and agreed.
As long as he got the shares and secured the position of chairman, would he really have to worry about making money afterward?
After they reached an agreement, Wang Erhu immediately mortgaged his properties and luxury cars. He borrowed money from every source he could find, gathered the funds, and finalized the transfer of the shares as quickly as possible to avoid any further complications.
Once Tan Zhizhi personally saw the 10.6 billion deposited into her bank account, she went straight to a mobile service center, canceled her phone number, and registered for a new SIM card.
That way, Wang Erhu would not be able to track her down and cause trouble later.
…
Since it was not dark yet, Tan Zhizhi decided to make a trip to the Tan family’s old residence.
There were still plenty of valuable things there. If she did not collect them, it would be a terrible waste.