"Dad... this is all a misunderstanding! Li Xiaomei is my ex-girlfriend. We ran into each other by chance in the photo. She... she’s had a really hard life. She married a drunk, and he was always beating and cursing at her. She finally had no choice but to divorce him and has been raising their child all by herself. It’s been incredibly difficult for her. I just happened to run into her, and seeing how miserable she was, I couldn’t help but comfort her... Dad, it was just a hug, nothing more, I swear!"

"And the child? Is he yours?"

"I..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Shen Zhengfeng froze, not answering immediately. Shen Yi, standing beside him, spoke in a calm voice. "Dad, I’m the one who took that photo. At the time, I overheard that woman say that Chen Feng is your son. Later, I went to the school to confront Chen Feng about it, and he told me that Mom and I stole the life that should have been his and his mother’s. Dad, I don’t understand what he meant. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?"

With just a few casual words, Shen Yi planted a seed of doubt in his father’s heart.

Paternity tests weren’t as convenient back then. You had to go to the provincial capital to get one done, and even then, the results weren’t very accurate.

’In his past life, Li Xiaomei didn’t get the paternity test done until several years later.’

’Li Xiaomei had hidden the pregnancy from Shen Zhengfeng and given birth to the child, who was now her biggest trump card.’

’But now that everything was happening ahead of schedule, Shen Zhengfeng would naturally be suspicious. How could it be such a coincidence that Li Xiaomei got pregnant right when they broke up?’

’Besides, it had all happened over a decade ago. Shen Zhengfeng probably couldn’t even remember if he had actually slept with Li Xiaomei back then.’

Sure enough, Shen Zhengfeng glanced at the redness and swelling on his son’s face, and his certainty began to waver.

’Was that child really his son?’

’Just because Li Xiaomei said she’d lied about the boy’s age, did that make it true?’

After turning it over and over in his mind, Shen Zhengfeng said with great solemnity, "Dad, I truly have no relationship with Li Xiaomei anymore. And I swear, from now on, I will treat Liya well!"

Mr. Du was silent for a moment before asking, "You won’t divorce Liya?"

"Of course I won’t! Dad, you have to believe me!"

Mr. Du thought for a moment, then took out several documents. "Talk is cheap," he said. "How about this? If you’re willing to sign this agreement, then I’ll believe you, and I won’t tell Liya about any of this."

The contract Mr. Du had produced was actually a share transfer agreement.

The Shen Family’s business had only grown so large, and Shen Zhengfeng had only become one of the top bosses in the provincial capital, because of the Du family’s support. Aside from the initial sixty percent of the start-up capital which came from the Du family, Mr. Du had also let Shen Zhengfeng use many of his personal connections over the years.

Otherwise, why would Du Liya have married Shen Zhengfeng in the first place?

When a man marries a woman he doesn’t love, it’s never because she pestered him relentlessly.

The agreement before him stipulated that Shen Zhengfeng must transfer twenty percent of his shares to Du Liya, with the condition that he could not divorce her for five years.

At the same time, there was another agreement stating that if Shen Zhengfeng did divorce Du Liya within those five years, he would have to give forty percent of the Shen Family’s assets to Shen Yi.

All told, it amounted to half of his family’s fortune—which, of course, was only what Du Liya and Shen Yi deserved anyway.

Shen Zhengfeng’s expression was complicated as he looked at the agreements. He couldn’t bear to part with a single bit of it.

Mr. Du said in a placid tone, "This takes effect today. If you are not divorced within five years, then both of these agreements will become void."

To be honest, while the two agreements were a bit harsh, if they could be voided after five years, it wasn’t that big of a deal.