An Shijiu’s gaze clung tightly to Shen Yanjing.
She walked over, opened the door, and entered first.
Being stared at like that made Shen Yanjing uncomfortable; he turned his head slightly before following her inside.
The agent and two bodyguards came in right behind him.
Just as the agent was about to step through the door, Shen Yanjing lowered his voice and instructed, “Pick up the cigarette butt.”
Agent: …
By the time he finished picking it up and returned, everyone was already seated around the dining table in the living room.
As soon as Shen Yanjing entered, he removed his cap and sat on one side of the table, with the two bodyguards sitting firmly on either side of him, guarding him closely.
The agent could only take the innermost seat.
An Shijiu sat alone on the opposite side.
A normal person, faced with so many scrutinizing eyes, would feel at least a little uneasy.
But she showed none of that. Her gaze remained fixed on Shen Yanjing’s face.
As if she could no longer hold herself back, she leaned forward, stretching her head toward him.
“Are you Prince Yan?”
Prince Yan…ba?
The agent’s face darkened instantly. He shot up from his seat and demanded, “What kind of way is that to speak?!”
Even the system was stunned: 【Why are you insulting Film Emperor Shen?!】
An Shijiu froze. She hadn’t insulted him.
She had only asked whether he was Prince Yan. After all, he looked exactly the same.
Before her death, her final mission had been to stay by Prince Yan’s side and protect his safety.
They were old acquaintances.
If Film Emperor Shen was indeed Prince Yan, then the matter of the child would be easy to explain.
Shen Yanjing shifted his gaze away from An Shijiu’s brows and eyes.
In a cold tone, he said, “I need An Zhe’s hair for a DNA test.”
Seeing that An Shijiu ignored him and that Shen Yanjing did not intend to pursue the earlier remark, the agent could only sit back down resentfully.
An Shijiu stared at Shen Yanjing seriously for a while.
So intently that Shen Yanjing grew irritated and frowned.
Only then did she sigh in disappointment and sit back properly.
The agent curled his lip at the side.
He had seen women like this countless times—people from the industry, investors, rising starlets—once they stood before Jing-ge, they all started making little moves.
Performative personalities.
An Shijiu realized that although this man had identical facial features, there was nothing familiar in his eyes.
This was just a stranger.
She instantly lost the motivation to think and directly asked the system, “Should I pluck An Zhe’s hair for him?”
The system replied: 【Of course not right now. If the test proves he’s the biological father, he’ll definitely fight for custody!】
So An Shijiu said to Shen Yanjing, “No.”
Shen Yanjing’s gaze grew even colder.
If this child was truly his, then it would prove that what happened six years ago was related to this woman before him.
He would definitely investigate it to the end and make her pay the price she deserved.
As for the child—
He would take responsibility for raising him.
Although he had no experience being a father, it would still be better than a low-quality internet celebrity mother who had neglected the child for two years.
“Before the situation is confirmed, I prefer to resolve this through negotiation. But if you refuse to cooperate, taking the legal route is also an option.”
The system scoffed: 【What legal route could he possibly take? He has no evidence that An Zhe is his child. How could he fight you for custody?】
So An Shijiu asked, “What legal route?”
Shen Yanjing tapped the table lightly with his long index finger. “I can file a lawsuit against you for defamation, for infringing on my reputation, and for damaging my commercial value.”
The system panicked: 【Ah! That works? It actually might!】
An Shijiu leaned her head back against the chair, looking bored.
“So what now? Give it or not?”
The system ground its teeth.
If they were really sued, they would have to pay compensation—and all they had in their account was yesterday’s livestream gift income, which was nowhere near enough.
But if the test confirmed he was the biological father, then the past would inevitably be brought to light.
In the original storyline, this child had been conceived by the original host using underhanded means—drugging Shen Yanjing, taking his genetic material, and creating the child through artificial insemination.
If that were exposed, there would be no good ending either.
Ahhh—what should they do?!
The system’s rambling was extremely loud.
An Shijiu grew utterly annoyed from listening to it.
Her thick yet well-shaped brows furrowed, and her deep brown eyes looked impatiently at Shen Yanjing.
“Ask An Zhe. If he wants to give it, then give it!”
Shen Yanjing raised an eyebrow. What he had said didn’t seem excessive.
Why did she suddenly look so fed up?
“An Zhe should still be at kindergarten, right? Call the teacher and inform them—we’ll go pick him up.”
An Shijiu hadn’t considered that An Zhe was still at kindergarten. Hearing Shen Yanjing’s suggestion, she thought it sounded reasonable.
“Alright.”
She took out her phone.
The system had already taught her how to use it.
The children at the kindergarten were having an activity class.
Whenever little kids gathered together, showing off their gifts was inevitable.
“Look at the new toy my mom bought me!”
“That’s nothing! My mom bought me a whole set of Lego—it’s super expensive!”
“My mom made me a dress.”
The one who said this was Xing Rumei. As she spoke, she cupped her face with both hands and spun around happily.
The child who had bragged about Lego snorted. “My aunt in the countryside made clothes for me too. My mom said only poor people give handmade stuff.”
Xing Rumei immediately got angry, planting her hands on her hips. “That’s nonsense! My family isn’t poor!”
“No, it’s not about being poor. It’s because my mom loves me that she made it herself!”
Seeing her face flushed red with urgency, Li Shuai suddenly jumped in. “That’s right! Little Mei’s family isn’t poor—it’s… it’s An Zhe’s family that’s poor. Yeah, An Zhe’s family is poor. Go ask him!”
And so, a whole group of children swarmed toward An Zhe, who was playing alone in the sand.
An Zhe was wearing a padded jacket today. His face and hands were fair and tender, without a hint of redness from the cold.
He dug in the sand neatly and methodically, without getting even a speck of dirt on his clothes, shoes, or hands.
The children crowded around him, chattering all at once.
“An Zhe, is your family really poor?”
“Why do your parents never pick you up?”
“They did yesterday! I saw his mom—she’s pretty!”
“Are your parents really divorced?”
“Does your dad really hit people?”
“My mom said your dad lost all the family’s money gambling. Does your family not even have food to eat? Is that true?”
An Zhe rubbed his ears and continued digging in the sand without saying a word.
Teacher Wang returned after taking a call.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?” she said, quickly stepping forward and parting the layers of children.
Seeing that no fight had broken out, she sighed in relief.
Then she said to An Zhe, “I’ll have the assistant teacher take you back to the classroom to pack up. Your mother has requested leave for you—she’ll come pick you up soon.”
A faint glimmer of light appeared in An Zhe’s dark pupils as he obediently followed the assistant teacher away.
Not long after—
A black Cayenne stopped at the kindergarten entrance.
The assistant teacher inwardly clicked her tongue. Wealthy people.
An Zhe showed little reaction, continuing to look in the direction of home.
The little children gathered at the fence.
Someone asked, “Is that car from An Zhe’s family?”
“No way!” Li Shuai immediately denied it. “That car is super expensive. An Zhe walks to school, and his mom walks to pick him up too.”
The car door slowly opened.
Three men in black suits stepped out.
Then a tall figure emerged from the passenger seat, his face completely hidden under a baseball cap.
But just from his figure and aura, one could tell he was a handsome man.
Fortunately, the teachers at this old district kindergarten were older and not very sensitive to celebrities.
The assistant teacher glanced at him.
What a handsome young man. Whose relative was he visiting?
Then she glanced at An Zhe again. Why hadn’t his mother arrived yet? With the lingering spring chill, standing outside in her work uniform for too long made her feel cold.
Suddenly, An Zhe beside her cried out in delight, “Mom!”
She had never met An Zhe’s mother before, so she curiously followed his gaze.
She saw an orange-pink bun hairstyle pop out from the back seat of the black Cayenne.
This… was An Zhe’s mother?
The assistant teacher’s eyes moved back and forth between her and the man in the baseball cap.
Wasn’t it said that An Zhe’s father was a violent gambler? That didn’t seem to match at all!
An Shijiu’s face was full of excitement. She didn’t even want to get out of the car, waving at An Zhe. “Come quickly, come quickly! Riding in a car is so fun!”
As she spoke, she scooted inward, making space for him.
An Zhe ran halfway on instinct, then slowly came to a stop.
Looking at the unfamiliar car and the unfamiliar adult in leather shoes standing before him—
Who was this person?