Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Dad, have you seen the news—"

Ye Mingxi burst into Chairman Ye's office and saw Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen sitting on the sofa watching TV.

On the high-definition LCD screen, Ye Mingzhao, surrounded by reporters, smiled radiantly at the camera and calmly said, "I have been following the rumors. If the person who leaked this information truly knows about my biological parents, or if my biological parents want to claim me, I believe we should conduct a paternity test before drawing any conclusions."

A reporter on the scene asked, "If the person who leaked this information truly knows the clues about your biological parents, or if your biological parents come to you wanting to reconnect, what will you do? Will you acknowledge them?"

"Are you still holding a grudge about them abandoning you? Do you think there might have been some unavoidable reasons for their abandonment? If there were such reasons, would you forgive them?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled slightly at the reporter's continuous questions and said, "I don't like to make assumptions without concrete information."

"In your opinion, will the appearance of your biological parents affect your relationship with your adoptive family?"

Hearing this, Ye Mingzhao's expression became serious. "No," he said firmly.

He looked directly into the camera, his black-and-white eyes gleaming under the flashing lights, as bright as the stars in a summer night.

As the reporters buzzed around him, Ye Mingzhao answered succinctly and forcefully, "No matter what happens, it will not affect my relationship with my family."

The reporter keenly sensed Ye Mingzhao's inclination and asked, "Do you mean to say that you only acknowledge your adoptive family as your family?"

"Of course," Ye Mingzhao sincerely smiled, as if recalling something. "They adopted me from the orphanage, gave me a loving home, raised me, and helped me grow into the person I am today. They were there for me when I was sick, and they cheered for me when I achieved something important. They have been by my side through all the lows and highs of my short life. If they aren’t family, then who could be?"

"Quite the smooth talker!"

In the Zhou family’s office, Zhou Yueze watched Ye Mingzhao speaking eloquently on screen with a mocking expression, feeling a complex mix of emotions. He snorted coldly, "...Smooth-talker."

He had thought that upon hearing the news about his biological parents, Ye Mingzhao would surely show signs of panic—at the very least, some reaction typical of someone his age.

Yet, Ye Mingzhao remained impeccable in his demeanor.

Watching Ye Mingzhao handle the media storm with ease, Zhou Yueze exhaled softly, "Knowing he’d react this way, we should have sent that woman to the set today!"

"His reaction doesn't matter," Zhou Heting casually turned off the TV. "What matters is how the Ye family will react."

Zhou Yueze said, "If the Ye family isn’t concerned about finding Ye Mingzhao’s biological parents, or if they just want to pay some money to get rid of them?"

They had gone to great lengths to find Ye Mingzhao's biological parents, intending to use them to create a rift between Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family.

But first, Chairman Ye transferred 1% of the Ye family business shares to Ye Mingzhao, and then Ye Mingzhao openly acknowledged only his adoptive family in front of numerous reporters. Both actions were unexpected, leaving Zhou Yueze feeling a little disheartened. He feared that all his efforts to find Ye Mingzhao’s biological parents might not create the rift he hoped for.

Zhou Heting glanced at his son and smiled faintly, "The impact a rival can make depends on where you place it."

After two months, the five members of the Ye family appeared once again on the set of *Prince of Beggars*.

On a late autumn night, the villa in the suburbs of Xinhai was filled with a solemn atmosphere. The cast and crew, still buzzing from the latest news, pretended to be busy while secretly pricking up their ears to observe the Ye family members who had come to visit the set.

"The news today must have caused you some distress?" Madam Ye poured sweet soup into a bowl, her smile gentle as she handed it to Ye Mingzhao, who sat properly in front of her. "You look like you've lost some weight. Are you taking care of yourself? You've been working hard on set lately, haven't you?"

Ye Mingzhao took the bowl of sweet soup and eagerly drank most of it before smiling and replying, "I don’t find the filming difficult at all—I actually enjoy it. But the news that broke this morning did cause me some distress."

Ye Mingzhao paused, drank the remaining soup in one go, and said, "Mom's sweet soup is the best."

"Have more if you like it," Madam Ye chuckled and poured half a bowl of soup for Ye Mingzhao. She slowly added, "We’re also curious about the people who abandoned you back then. What do you think they look like?"

As those words were spoken, the air in the rest area suddenly became still.

Madam Ye patted Ye Mingzhao's hand. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, our family will always be by your side."

Before she had even finished speaking, the impatient second brother, Ye Mingxi, interjected, "That's right! Even if your biological parents come looking for you, what can they do? If they dare to play dirty, we, the Ye family, aren't pushovers. And if they're after money, that's even easier to handle."

The eldest brother, Ye Mingchen, added with restraint, "We've already sent people to contact the informant. No matter what their intentions are, as long as they aren't too excessive, we can sit down and talk."

Chairman Ye didn't say anything, but his attitude was clear. He obviously agreed with the family's approach.

The only one who hadn't expressed an opinion was Chu Hengyi, who had only recently returned to the Ye family. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe of the rest area, coldly observing the loving family with a thoughtful expression.

Ye Mingzhao lowered his eyes, using the action of drinking soup to hide his slightly reddened eyes. But everyone noticed the tears quietly falling into the sweet soup and the constant movement of his Adam's apple as he swallowed.

In that moment, everyone's hearts were filled with a deep sense of heartache.

Tears welled up in Madam Ye's eyes, and she couldn't help but recall the scenes of when she had brought the small Ye Mingzhao into the Ye family.

Eighteen years earlier, after their youngest son was abducted, the grief-stricken Chairman Ye and Madam Ye decided to adopt a child from an orphanage at the suggestion of a psychologist to help them heal emotionally. They chose a child around the same age as Ye Mingyi.

That child was Ye Mingzhao. Although he was already three years old, he was much smaller than children his age. The orphanage director explained that Ye Mingzhao had been found in a landfill on a cold winter night by a scavenger.

The person who found him immediately called the police, and the police took the feverish infant to the hospital. The doctors said he was just a month old and that it was a miracle he hadn't frozen to death after being left in the snow for so long.

But even though his life was saved, he was left with health problems. For over two years after he was brought to the orphanage, Ye Mingzhao had been constantly sick. So, despite being a handsome, intelligent, and well-behaved boy, no one dared to adopt him. People were afraid that even if they spent the money, they might not be able to save him.

That was until Chairman Ye and Madam Ye arrived at the orphanage. The director immediately entrusted the child to the wealthy and influential couple.

For the first three years after Ye Mingzhao was brought to the Ye family, he was practically living in a hospital bed. So when Ye Mingzhao told reporters that the Ye family had stayed with him through his illnesses, it was more than that. Madam Ye had stayed up all night with him, devoting all her attention to Ye Mingzhao, as if she truly considered the unfortunate child her own flesh and blood.

The original novel mentioned that Ye Mingzhao's greatest fear was someone replacing him. That's why, after Chu Hengyi returned to the Ye family, Ye Mingzhao went to great lengths to drive a wedge between Chu Hengyi and the Ye family. And when his biological parents came knocking, he used the most extreme and ruthless methods to take revenge on them.

He couldn't forgive his biological parents for abandoning him and lived in fear that their reappearance might disrupt his intimate relationship with the Ye family. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone repeatedly destroying his life.

So he sought to destroy what his biological parents held most dear, to make them taste the despair of being abandoned by their loved ones after losing all value.

But things backfired.

Not only did he fail to destroy what his biological parents cherished most, but under the manipulation of interested parties, he gradually revealed his own insidious and ruthless nature. This also led the Ye family to confront the cruel and ruthless side of Ye Mingzhao that lay hidden beneath his gentle and obedient facade, foreshadowing his tragic downfall of being abandoned by everyone and left with nothing.

As for Ye Mingzhao's biological parents, those selfish, shameless people who had committed the crime of abandonment, they ironically became victims in the eyes of others. They even used the opportunity of Ye Mingzhao's revenge to gain substantial benefits from Chu Hengyi and the Zhou family, with one escaping bankruptcy and the other seizing the chance to go public and achieve a class leap.

Only Ye Mingzhao was left, abandoned by everyone, dying a miserable death.

Indeed, those who abandoned you once would always find the right moment to abandon you a second time.

"You're quite the actor!"

After Ye Mingzhao had cried enough and entered the washroom alone to wash his face at the sink, Chu Hengyi, who had watched the entire scene, appeared behind him. "If I didn't know you had already learned about that woman's news, I might have believed your lies."

"I should thank you for the note." Ye Mingzhao straightened up and, through the mirror, gave Chu Hengyi a slight smile. "If it weren't for your reminder, I would have been caught off guard."

Chu Hengyi leaned against the doorframe, also looking at Ye Mingzhao in the mirror.

In the mirror, Ye Mingzhao's handsome face, deep eyes, and droplets of water sliding down his clear features gave him the appearance of a water spirit from a haunting legend, with an unsettling allure that could pull anyone who gazed at him too long into the depths.

"It's a trade," Chu Hengyi uneasily averted his gaze.

Chu Hengyi had helped Ye Mingzhao uncover the truth about the Chu family's adoption of him, and in return, Ye Mingzhao had shared information about his biological mother. As for what Ye Mingzhao would do next, Chu Hengyi couldn't care less and didn't want to get involved.

Ye Mingzhao looked at Chu Hengyi thoughtfully, then suddenly smiled.

At that moment, Chu Hengyi felt a shiver run down his spine. "What’s so funny?"

Ye Mingzhao didn’t respond. He picked up a towel and wiped his face.

Chu Hengyi frowned, just about to speak, when a commotion erupted outside.

Seconds later, Yu Mingze burst into the washroom, breathless and panicked, shouting, "A woman just showed up outside, claiming to be your biological mother—"

Ye Mingzhao's heart skipped a beat. Gasping for air, Yu Mingze continued, "Uncle Ye and Auntie heard the noise and came out of the rest area. They’ve run into each other!"

Ye Mingzhao was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Zhou Yueze to play this card now.

He handed the towel to Yu Mingze and slipped out quietly.

Chu Hengyi followed closely behind. Before leaving, he cast a strange glance at the towel in Yu Mingze’s hand, though he wasn’t sure why.

The set, which was supposed to be empty for the late-night shoot, was deserted. The *Prince of Beggars* production team had gathered outside Ye Mingzhao's personal rest area. Although they could neither hear nor see what was happening inside, no one left.

The crowd stood still, buzzing with murmurs.

Ye Mingzhao moved forward, and the crowd parted like the sea before him. All eyes were on him, their gazes sharp and probing, as if trying to read the emotions hidden behind his calm expression.

With an expressionless face, Ye Mingzhao reached the rest area door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

The lightly audible "click" of the unlocked door startled the watching crowd as if it were a bomb.

Without thinking, everyone took a step back. By the time they realized what was happening, Ye Mingzhao had already entered the room.

The door clicked shut, blocking the crowd’s view.

Inside the rest area, the Ye family members sat on the sofa, their expressions complex as they looked at the woman kneeling on the ground, weeping and repenting.

Ye Mingzhao's gaze fell on the woman's face.

In that moment, time seemed to rewind, and memories flooded back—like a fast-forwarded film, stopping at a snowy night twenty years ago.

Ye Mingzhao blinked lightly, as if pressing the shutter button of a camera, easily retrieving an old photo buried deep in his memory.

He smiled gently at the woman kneeling and crying on the ground, his expression unusually soft and peaceful. "Where’s the blue jacket you used to wear? You always looked beautiful in blue."

Ye Mingzhao paused, then added with a smile, "I quite like blue myself. It was one of the few things I remembered from those days."

For a moment, the woman’s expression of repentant tears froze, as if her face had turned to stone. Her eyes widened in terror, as if she had just realized something terrifying about Ye Mingzhao.