Chapter 33

Chapter 33

◎A Day of Frantic Calling.◎

But soon, Ji Xiang’s gaze shifted back to Chi Xiaoyi.

To him, Shen Ruzhen was merely a passerby; even if she knew Chi Xiaoyi, it was no big deal.

Ji Xiang smiled at Chi Xiaoyi and said, "I knew you’d come to see this exhibition."

Shen Ruzhen found it a bit strange. According to Chi Xiaoyi, Ji Xiang hadn’t known her for long, yet the familiar tone of his words made it sound as if they were old friends of many years.

Suspicion rising, she observed Ji Xiang again and noticed something else peculiar.

Ji Xiang and Chi Xiaoyi were conversing nearby, and the way Ji Xiang looked at Chi Xiaoyi made even an outsider uncomfortable.

It wasn’t like a suitor gazing at their crush, but rather like a ravenous beast extending its drooling fangs toward the vulnerable neck of its prey.

Shen Ruzhen narrowed her eyes, a sudden guess flashing through her mind.

She walked toward Chi Xiaoyi. Chi Xiaoyi stopped mid-sentence upon seeing her, while Ji Xiang showed an expression of displeasure.

Shen Ruzhen ignored him. She smiled at Chi Xiaoyi and said, "I’ll call the child’s father over."

Chi Xiaoyi: ???

Just then, she felt her phone vibrate slightly in her bag. Taking it out, she saw a message Shen Ruzhen had just sent.

"Later, play along with me. Pretend the man who arrives here is your child’s father. Don’t ask why."

Chi Xiaoyi instinctively wanted to ask why. She had typed out the three words in the input box, but just as she was about to send them, she deleted them one by one.

The next second, she received another message: "Never mind, I figured you’d ask why. Anyway, it’s to test who harmed you. Just don’t give yourself away."

Chi Xiaoyi’s heart skipped a beat.

Ji Xiang, standing nearby, asked with a smile, "What’s wrong?"

Chi Xiaoyi took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, mustering all her strength to put on a sufficiently reassuring smile: "It’s nothing, just company matters."

"Bothering you on the weekend?" Ji Xiang feigned anger: "I’ll definitely give them a good talking-to later."

He hadn’t heard the part about the child’s father.

…

Half an hour later, Liu Zhuo appeared at the exhibition, heading straight for the area where Shen Ruzhen and the others were.

The moment he met everyone, his gaze briefly met Shen Ruzhen’s, then immediately separated.

The next second, he effortlessly took Chi Xiaoyi’s child from a staff member and asked, "Tell Daddy, what paintings did you see today? Did you have fun with Mommy?"

No one knew he was reciting the lines Shen Ruzhen had written out for him verbatim.

Chi Xiaoyi’s son, just three years old and naturally outgoing, had no idea what a "dad" was. But the subsequent question caught his attention, and he immediately began to stammer out answers.

Ji Xiang froze.

Upon realizing what was happening, a surge of nameless anger ignited within him. He stormed over to Liu Zhuo, pulled the child away, and growled, "He’s not your father!"

Chi Xiaoyi’s son was startled. He had no idea what a "dad" was, only that this strange man had inexplicably yelled at him. Tears gradually welled up in his eyes.

Shen Ruzhen brought the innocent child back to Chi Xiaoyi. With her arms crossed, she said to Ji Xiang, "Mr. Ji, whether someone is the child’s father needs to be proven."

"Right, right, proof!" Ji Xiang seemed to remember something and made a call, instructing the person on the other end, "Hurry over!" then rattled off an address.

About ten minutes later, lawyer Luo Qing appeared before everyone.

When he saw Shen Ruzhen again, a deathly calm flashed in his eyes: "Did you really poach my client?"

Shen Ruzhen was noncommittal.

Ji Xiang, meanwhile, pulled Luo Qing aside, muttering, "Never mind poaching—I called you here to help me figure out how to prove that man isn’t this child’s father."

"Prove he’s not the father."

"Exactly."

"It’s that simple?" Luo Qing’s eyes gleamed: "A paternity test!"

"As long as those two do a paternity test, proving there’s no kinship, wouldn’t that solve it?"

"Right, right!" Ji Xiang clapped his hands and laughed, then turned to Liu Zhuo: "Then I’ll trouble you to do a paternity test with the child."

Before Liu Zhuo could object, Shen Ruzhen replied, "Mr. Ji, what right do you have to demand a paternity test from someone else?"

Ji Xiang blurted out, "Because I am the child’s true father!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew something was wrong.

Luo Qing laughed: "You should have said so earlier, Mr. Ji. If you’re the child’s father, then as long as you do a paternity test with the child, it will naturally rule out the other person’s possibility of kinship with the child."

Ji Xiang’s face showed horror: "No, no, no…"

Luo Qing continued to speak to himself: "This way, you even save the cost of one paternity test. How great!"

Ji Xiang: "No, no, no!"

Only then did Luo Qing notice Ji Xiang’s bloodless, paper-white face, and he asked, puzzled, "Mr. Ji, what’s wrong?"

[Author’s Note]

So sleepy, about to pass out. Still have work tomorrow…