Zuo Yang remembered—the man in the newspaper was the father who had suddenly appeared in her dream and then committed suicide at her mother’s graveside!
To be honest, during this period, Zuo Yang hadn’t recalled anything, focusing entirely on Mo Qingyan instead.
Mo Qingyan would often pat her head and tell her to let things take their natural course.
But now—
“What’s wrong?” Mo Qingyan asked patiently while wiping the corner of the little girl’s mouth with a tissue.
Zuo Yang pointed her small finger at the man in the newspaper: “Mo, Mo Qingyan, he… he’s my dad!”
Ever since she was old enough to understand, her mother had told her that her father was dead.
For a while, she had envied other children who had fathers to dote on them, who would be lifted high by their fathers or carried on their shoulders to play.
But she didn’t want to upset her mother, so she kept these little thoughts hidden in her heart.
Having her mother was enough—her mother was the person who loved her most in the whole world. Even without a father, it was fine.
But in her dream, right after her mother died of depression, this father suddenly appeared and then committed suicide.
As for anything else, she hadn’t dreamed of it at all.
Zuo Yang stared intently at the newspaper report about the man, her little mouth pouting exaggeratedly.
“Mo Qingyan, this person seems to be really rich.”
Ji Zexian, the head of the wealthy Ji Family in Xi Cheng.
“So, is it because Mom’s family was poor that she was tricked by this man?”
No sooner had she spoken than Zuo Yang dismissed the idea herself.
If this man had truly deceived her mother’s feelings, why would he have committed suicide at her mother’s grave?
Could a scumbag do something like that?
Clearly not.
Besides, everyone knows that cherishing life is everyone’s responsibility.
Although Mo Qingyan had never interacted with this head of the Ji Family, he knew quite a bit about him.
He hesitated about whether to tell Zuo Yang.
But on second thought, even if he didn’t say anything, the little girl would probably find a way to figure it out herself.
Moreover, if anyone had the right to know, it was undoubtedly her.
“To be precise, Ji Zexian only had one marriage, which he personally acknowledged.”
Mo Qingyan peeled an apple unhurriedly, his fingers long and slender, with distinct, attractive veins.
Ji Zexian’s marriage had been extremely low-key. The outside world didn’t even know who his wife was, only that she had died later.
It seemed likely that this wife was Zuo Ying.
But why had Zuo Ying “died”?
As Mo Qingyan pondered this, he continued, “Some time later, Shan Ni, Ji Zexian’s childhood sweetheart, appeared in the public eye with their son.”
The Ji and Shan families were well-matched in social status, and the two had grown up together. Although Ji Zexian had long stated that he only saw Shan Ni as a friend and a younger sister, everyone had initially believed the two would end up together.
No one expected Ji Zexian to marry first.
Even more surprising was that the couple had little fate—the wife died young.
As for Ji Zexian and Shan Ni suddenly having a child, people didn’t react too strongly, simply assuming that the two would finally get together.
But then something shocking happened.
The Ji Family was ready to accept Shan Ni as their daughter-in-law, but Ji Zexian outright declared that he would only acknowledge the child.
He stated that he would only ever have one wife—his deceased wife.
In short, Shan Ni shouldn’t even think about entering the Ji Family.
With no further details to uncover, people could only speculate on their own.
You say Ji Zexian is a devoted soul, yet he still had a child with his childhood sweetheart.
You say he isn’t, but then he refuses to acknowledge that childhood sweetheart.
There must be something fishy going on here.
Speculation is just speculation, but given the Ji Family’s status in Xi Cheng, no one dares to gossip about it openly.
All we know is that during that period, the Ji Family and the Shan Family were at odds, but things gradually settled down later.
Shan Ni almost never shows her face anymore—she ultimately failed to enter the Ji Family’s gates.
Everyone realized that the lofty Shan Family heiress had lost, defeated by the deceased wife.
As for Ji Zexian, he only makes appearances when absolutely necessary. But each time he shows up, his condition seems worse than the last.
Mo Qingyan fed Zuo Yang a piece of cut apple: “Scandals like these in wealthy families rarely get out. This is all I know.”
Mo Qingyan thought that this was probably why Zuo Ying told Zuo Yang her father was dead.
No child could accept their father’s betrayal of their mother.
Zuo Yang chewed the apple thoughtfully as she listened to Mo Qingyan: “Ji Zexian didn’t let the other woman take mother’s place, but there’s something off about this situation with him and that woman. I need to go meet Ji Zexian soon, but I have to keep it from mom.”
If Ji Zexian really did betray her mother, she would absolutely bring him to justice—even if he’s family!
But she preferred to believe in the Ji Zexian from her dreams.
The man who committed suicide for love—she could feel how deeply he loved her mother, so how could he have betrayed her?
Look, isn’t this how those novels always go? The first wife comes from an ordinary background with no family influence, marries into wealth, and never gets accepted.
Then some childhood sweetheart or scheming woman appears to steal the husband, creating all sorts of misunderstandings.
It’s all so melodramatic.
But it somehow makes sense.
Whatever the case, she needed to verify it herself—seeing is believing!
Mo Qingyan could roughly guess what was going through the girl’s mind. Though he didn’t want to upset her, he told her the truth: “Kid, regardless of what happened in between, that child is indeed Ji Zexian’s.”
This alone almost confirmed Ji Zexian’s betrayal of Zuo Ying.
Though Ji Zexian didn’t seem to acknowledge the child, as the father and son had never appeared together publicly.
Zuo Yang looked at the man in the newspaper and suddenly smiled, her eyes curving: “Mo Qingyan, look—my smiling eyes actually resemble Ji Zexian’s.”
Mo Qingyan was taken aback, then looked more closely at Ji Zexian in the newspaper.
Indeed, his little one’s smiling eyes were inherited from Ji Zexian.
Even her facial features mostly resembled Ji Zexian’s.
“So, what does that child really prove anyway?”
Zuo Yang trusted her intuition. Setting aside the Ji Zexian from her dreams, just looking at Ji Zexian in the newspaper made her feel an affinity. She refused to believe Ji Zexian was a deadbeat dad.
“But that child’s existence remains undeniable evidence, so the suspicion of him being a deadbeat dad still stands. For now, Ji Zexian is just Ji Zexian—not yet ‘father.'”
Mo Qingyan smiled and said: “Alright.”
Actually, his little one understood everything perfectly well.
And so, without Zuo Ying’s knowledge, Zuo Yang prepared to quietly depart for Xi Cheng.
Mo Qingyan would naturally accompany her personally.
Truth be told, over the past five years, Mo Qingyan had rarely left Mo Yuan.
He spent his days guarding Zuo Yang’s tombstone, speaking little, sometimes sitting there all day long—like a living corpse.
Work matters were generally handled by Yu Ning, unless even Yu Ning couldn’t make a decision, in which case he would bring the relevant documents to Mo Yuan for Mo Qingyan to decide.
For the past five years, Mo Qingyan had confined himself within this self-made prison.
But now, with Zuo Yang’s return, this prison had naturally been broken and should no longer exist.
Before going to Xi Cheng, Mo Qingyan naturally had Yu Ning make arrangements in advance.
“How is the investigation into the Feng family matter I asked you to look into?”
In the study, Mo Qingyan asked Yu Ning with a furrowed brow.
“Still no news for now,” Yu Ning replied. “I also went to ask Feng Lin’s grandmother, but the elderly lady had no clues either. It seems the circumstances behind the Feng family’s tragedy back then run quite deep.”
“Don’t stop investigating this matter. That kid is under my protection now, I need to give him some answers.”
“Understood.” Yu Ning looked at Mo Qingyan with a serious expression. “President, regarding your poisoning…”
“I know it won’t be easy to investigate.” Mo Qingyan’s long fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk.
Feng Lin had said that he had been poisoned for a long time before his body started showing symptoms.
This kind of poison, once it enters the human body, doesn’t act immediately.
Instead, it gradually infiltrates imperceptibly, making you completely unaware of it.
For Mo Qingyan, his body’s sudden discomfort manifested as his legs suddenly stiffening – it was truly abrupt, to the point where he needed a cane to walk. Even then, it was extremely difficult.
And the Feng family’s poison was definitely not something that could be detected by medical equipment.
So even after consulting countless famous doctors, the final diagnosis conclusion could only be called an incurable strange disease.
A cold light flashed in Mo Qingyan’s eyes: “Since someone has set up such an elaborate scheme, I’ll play along with them properly.”
Let’s see who will outplay whom in the end.