Chapter 2 A Lifetime of Strength

Chapter 2: Born Stubborn

"When you were almost six months old, the Arcane Arts Association showed up asking for my help. I agreed, but Huo Yunjing disagreed. He thought you were still too young and that I should stay home to take care of you properly."

Gu Qingyin pursed her lips. "We argued. I took off without a word and didn’t contact him at all during the mission. Later, I chased the target into an alternate dimension, and when I came out, it was the present day."

Huo Xingye stayed silent.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s the truth," Gu Qingyin shrugged and suggested, "I can take a DNA test with you."

Huo Xingye’s eyes flickered slightly. "Alright."

Gu Qingyin stared at him intently for several seconds before suddenly asking, "Do you think I’m crazy?"

Huo Xingye averted his gaze and mumbled a vague denial through clenched teeth. "No."

Gu Qingyin snorted. "Let’s go! We’ll do the test right now!"

"No!" Huo Xingye refused instinctively. His face was swollen like a balloon—how could he go out like this? Did he have no dignity left?!

Gu Qingyin seemed to understand his thoughts. She pulled out her phone, took a quick pic of him, and grinned. "If you ever dare disrespect me again, I’ll post this online."

Huo Xingye’s slanted eyes burned with fury, but he had to bite his tongue.

After keeping her trophy, Gu Qingyin leisurely strolled over to Huo Xingye and poked at his face with her slender fingers.

Miraculously, the burning pain in Huo Xingye’s face instantly faded. He touched his cheek in disbelief. "It’s healed?"

Gu Qingyin pondered for two seconds before shaking her head. "Not completely."

Huo Xingye got up from the floor and went to the bathroom to check the mirror. Indeed, the swelling had subsided, but the bruises remained—especially around his eyes, making him look like a panda that stopped mid-transformation.

Taking a deep breath, Huo Xingye called his bodyguards and ordered them to stop trying to break down the door and instead go buy him some face concealer.

The bodyguards were baffled but, considering their generous pay, asked cautiously, "Family Head, are you alright?"

Huo Xingye said through clenched teeth, "I’m fine."

Huo Xingye gritted his teeth and said, "It's nothing."

Bodyguards: ??? That tone didn’t sound like 'nothing' at all.

Huo Xingye hung up the phone, walked back into the room, and sat down to ponder.

No wonder there wasn’t a single picture of Gu Qingyin at home—his parents hadn’t been in a real relationship when they married. With no emotional foundation, how could there be any photos?

But he vaguely remembered that when he was little, Huo Yunjing had searched everywhere for someone. He must have still loved her, right? It’s just that something happened before those feelings could be expressed.

"How did Huo Yunjing die?" Gu Qingyin asked.

"A car accident," Huo Xingye replied flatly. "The Huo family investigated for a long time and eventually concluded it was an accident. He wasn’t in a good place mentally during that period."

A flash of regret crossed Gu Qingyin’s eyes. Ten years—Huo Yunjing had probably already reincarnated. Her first love had come to nothing so abruptly.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help feeling relieved. At least her feelings for Huo Yunjing hadn’t had time to deepen, or she’d be even more heartbroken.

It was all that damned beast’s fault! Why did it have to flee into a spatial rift? If she ever saw it again, she’d flay it alive, rip out its sinews, and toss it in boiling oil.

Watching Gu Qingyin’s shifting expressions, the little trust Huo Xingye had in her began to waver. Do mentally stable people have such volatile emotions?

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

Huo Xingye: "Come in."

Bodyguard: "...The door won’t open."

Huo Xingye realized with a start—no wonder the bodyguards hadn’t come in all this time. It wasn’t negligence; they simply couldn’t enter.

Gu Qingyin waved her hand at the door, and some invisible barrier vanished. "Come in."

The bodyguard hesitantly tried the handle, and the door opened.

Under the shocked stares of the bodyguards, Huo Xingye took the concealer and headed to the bathroom.

As he applied it to his face, he called his assistant. "Find a DNA lab that can deliver results today. I need a DNA test."

On the other end of the line, Assistant Xue was briefly confused but quickly agreed and began contacting labs. Within half an hour, he sent the address to Huo Xingye’s phone.

"Let’s go. To the DNA lab."

When Huo Xingye emerged from the bathroom, most of the bruising was concealed. At a glance, he just looked pale and exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes.

Like a ghost, Gu Qingyin thought to herself before standing up. "Wait here. I’m changing clothes."

By the time she returned, the bodyguards had already moved outside the villa.

Gu Qingyin descended the stairs step by step, couldn’t help noticing the villa’s lifelessness. Though everything was clean and tidy, there was no sign anyone lived there. How long had it been empty?

She hadn’t noticed anything unusual when she returned last night.

Sighing quietly, she got into the car.

The two sat in the same vehicle but didn’t exchange a word the entire way.

At the lab, they cooperated silently, doing exactly as told. After the samples were taken, they waited. Three hours later, the results were ready.

Gu Qingyin gave a knowing nod, confirming what she already knew.

Huo Xingye’s feelings were a lot more mixed. Who would have thought that after twenty years, his mother would return—and at first glance, she could pass for his sister.

"Where’s good to eat? Take me there, son." Gu Qingyin patted his shoulder. "I’m starving."

Huo Xingye drove while Gu Qingyin took the passenger seat.

"Any dietary restrictions?"

Gu Qingyin shook her head. "BBQ or hot pot—I’m good with either."

"Alright." Huo Xingye swung the car around toward a high-end BBQ spot.

The restaurant was run by a rich kid from their social circle, sourcing meat directly from their family's farm—all-natural, no additives, top-tier quality.

As the tender beef ribs hit the grill, the fat sizzled, filling the air with an irresistible aroma.

Gu Qingyin took a deep breath, her mouth watering. "Is it ready? Can I eat now?"

Sitting across from her, Huo Xingye looked puzzled. "Dad... didn’t starve you, did he?"

At the mention of this, Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow. "Pregnancy meant dietary restrictions, and nursing meant more restrictions. Right after weaning you, I took a job in the middle of nowhere—some days I ate, some days I didn’t. It was miserable!"

Huo Xingye’s ears flushed, a little embarrassed. He kept flipping the beef, placing the cooked pieces onto Gu Qingyin’s plate. "Eat."

"Thanks, son!" Gu Qingyin’s eyes sparkled as she blew on the meat briefly before popping the whole piece into her mouth, letting out a blissful "Mmm." Now this is what I call real food!

There was a knock at the private room door, and a young man in a silver-gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses entered, sliding a file onto the table.

"Family Head, the documents you requested."

Xue Ning’s tone was respectful, though his gaze subtly flickered toward Gu Qingyin. Was this the woman who’d done the DNA test with the Family Head? She looked way too young—what’s her secret?

"If you want to look, do it openly. What’s with the sneaking around?" Gu Qingyin asked between chews. "Are you from the Xue family?"

Xue Ning turned to her with a polite smile. "Greetings. I’m Xue Ning, the current Huo Family Head’s right-hand man."