Qi Lingfeng was taken aback on the other end of the line. He hadn’t expected the other party to suddenly call him. However, after thinking it over, he said, "Big Brother, it’s not that I intentionally kept this from you; Xiao Mo didn’t let me tell you. But now that you know, you already have a family, Big Brother. I advise you to be rational. Since Xiao Mo has chosen her own life, you shouldn’t disturb her anymore."

"Damn you! Is this how you act as my brother? If it weren’t for you, if it weren’t for you taking her to America back then, how could this situation have happened? How could it have become so complicated? Qi Lingfeng, I’m not finished with you!" Qi Longbing said angrily, a torrent of thoughts rushing through his mind.

He felt that this was all an incredibly heartbreaking affair. If only he had found Hua Xiaomo five years ago, if only he had known she was pregnant and had gone to America to give birth, then everything, everything could have been different.

"Big Brother, can’t you be rational?" Qi Lingfeng said patiently, genuinely unable to bear seeing them continue to be entangled like this. "Have you ever thought about why Hua Xiaomo didn’t agree to be with you back then? Now that you know she has a child, what can you possibly do? Since Hua Xiaomo didn’t choose to be with you then, will she choose to be with you now? Please, be rational!"

Perhaps, for Hua Xiaomo’s sake, he should respect her choices more. Just as he had respected her choices back then, he should now also persuade Qi Longbing to respect them.

Unexpectedly, with a SNAP, the phone was hung up. Qi Lingfeng looked at Yuan Youya, who stood beside him with her large pregnant belly, his expression very solemn.

"Lingfeng, what’s wrong? What happened? Who was on the phone just now, was it Big Brother?" Yuan Youya asked. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Yes, Big Brother already knows about Hua Xiaomo," Qi Lingfeng said, gently patting Yuan Youya’s shoulder. "It looks like I must take a trip to City B."

Yuan Youya looked at Qi Lingfeng with some worry. "But there’s no one at the helm at Qi Imperial Court right now. If you leave, I’m afraid Grandfather will not be at ease!"

"But if I don’t go and bring Big Brother back, I’m afraid he’ll disrupt Hua Xiaomo’s peaceful life," Qi Lingfeng said, his gaze very heavy as he looked at Youya.

"Let’s not tell Grandfather about this for now. I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll book a flight to City B tomorrow," Qi Lingfeng said, having made up his mind. It seemed that if the situation with Qi Longbing in City B wasn’t resolved properly, it would bring great trouble to Hua Xiaomo. He could feel the weight of it even from here.

Yuan Youya, seeing that Qi Lingfeng had made his decision, nodded and said, "Alright then, go and come back soon. As for the Qi Imperial Court, I’ll go and speak with Grandpa for now, and just say that you’re on a business trip."

"That’s the only way. I’m sorry to trouble you, Youya," Qi Lingfeng said, managing a slight smile.

He and Yuan Youya had been together for several years now. Throughout those years, Youya had been by his side, sharing happy times. He was truly grateful to her.

Regardless of whether they had come together because of love initially, he now had this responsibility. He felt he should be responsible for Yuan Youya and the child in her belly.

Yuan Youya walked over to him, gently wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his chest, speaking softly, "Lingfeng, you and Big Brother must come back soon. I’ll be waiting for you at home."

"Don’t worry, we will definitely come back," Qi Lingfeng smiled, hugging Youya and kissing her forehead. This happiness, this joy, this hope—he would always hold it tightly in his heart.

「Over in City B.」

Qi Longbing clutched the test report, staring at it intently. He had no idea how he had gotten through the night; he felt incredibly uneasy.

Why did he make such a choice back then? Why did he do such a thing? Since she was pregnant with his child and willing to give birth to him, why wasn’t she willing to be with him?

If the past could be replayed, would he still make the same choice? Even now, he couldn’t let go of the feelings they once shared. What’s more, he had even forced her to sign another contract. How ridiculous!

She had borne his child and actually hidden the truth from him for five years. He couldn’t understand it. Why would she do such a thing? Was there something wrong with this woman’s mind? What was so bad about him, Qi Longbing? Why couldn’t she agree to be with him?!

Alright, so what if he wasn’t good enough? So what if she hated him, no matter the reason? She still shouldn’t have used such actions to punish both him and herself, should she? What was this supposed to achieve?

Was she planning to raise their child alone, hiding it from him for the rest of her life? Wasn’t that just too absurd?

Perhaps if he hadn’t seen Candy in City B today, he might never have known that he had a child somewhere in this world. What a joke! For him, Qi Longbing, it was a colossal joke.

Yes, if he hadn’t planned to continue his entanglement with Hua Xiaomo after his marriage, he might have gone his entire life without ever knowing he had a child.

No wonder he’d felt such a strong sense of familiarity with Candy from the first year he saw her, and Candy liked him a lot too. This was a blood connection. No matter how much time had passed, or whether they had acknowledged each other, this feeling was simply indelible.

Qi Longbing quickly made a decision. He picked up his phone and called Hua Xiaomo.

"Hua Xiaomo, can you come out for a bit? I have something to talk to you about," Qi Longbing said slowly, his tone deliberately calm. He didn’t want his current emotions to overwhelm him, nor did he want to cause her any distress.

"It’s so late, President Qi. What do you need from me?" Hua Xiaomo asked on the other end of the line.

Qi Longbing suddenly laughed, holding the phone, his tone quavering slightly. "Director Hua isn’t thinking that, now that we’ve signed the contract, you don’t want to deal with me anymore, are you?"

Hua Xiaomo was taken aback, immediately understanding what he meant. But looking at the clock, which already pointed to twelve, she still found it somewhat hard to accept.

"President Qi, it really is too late today, and I don’t want to go out. I don’t have a habit of staying up late. Thank you for your understanding. Tomorrow night, perhaps if we can meet a bit earlier, I will come out to see you," Hua Xiaomo said, troubled. She truly hadn’t expected Qi Longbing to actually call her at twelve o’clock, in the dead of night!