Chapter 58

Chapter 58

"Xiu Jin, it's very late, why are you going out?"

Lin Ze, who was holding Li Chongyi, saw him answer a phone call and start putting on his coat.

"There's urgent work."

Hearing it was work, Lin Ze didn't ask further, only reminding him to be careful.

Li Xiujin grunted and drove himself to the location Yang Yu had mentioned.

As soon as he got out of the car, Yang Yu approached him.

"General, we've already surrounded the entire house."

Li Xiujin nodded, then coldly ordered, "Open the door."

Yang Yu led his men to use the latest iris-hacking technology to open the villa's main gate.

First, the servants inside came rushing out in a panic: "Who are you? How did you get in?!"

However, upon seeing the man's sinister face, they were instinctively afraid. Noticing the many heavily armed soldiers behind him made their legs go weak, and their voices trembled as they called out for the master of the house.

Su Wang, seeing Li Xiujin arrive with a large contingent on the home surveillance feed, wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "He found out after all. Commander Zhou, you'd better leave through the secret passage."

The man leisurely sipping tea put down his cup. "It's about time we met."

Before Su Wang could get a word out, the tightly closed door to the living room was kicked open with a bang. Yang Yu swaggered in. "Commander Su, I heard you were entertaining a distinguished guest today, so we decided to invite ourselves."

Su Wang shot back, "Colonel Yang, is this how you visit someone's home, by kicking the door open?"

"A bit rash, my apologies." Li Xiujin's voice came from behind Yang Yu, who quickly stepped aside.

Li Xiujin scanned the room, then suddenly noticed a smell. "Commander Su, having some tea?"

Su Wang forced a smile. "Yes."

"Just as well, I'm thirsty too."

"The tea here isn't very good. Another day, I'll invite you to my office for some."

"We'll drink another day. I'd still like a taste now." Li Xiujin's smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Commander Su, stalling isn't your usual style. Could it be you're hiding a lover in the tea room?" Yang Yu chimed in.

Li Xiujin picked up a cigar from the table, staring at Su Wang as he slowly toyed with it.

Cold sweat trickled down Su Wang's cheek. His rank was higher than Li Xiujin's, yet he always felt outmatched in front of him. It was because this man acted ruthlessly, leaving no room for others or even himself. Su Wang didn't dare provoke him.

Now, there was no hiding it any longer. He opened the door to the tea room.

"I won't lie, there is someone inside, but not the lover Colonel Yang mentioned. It's an old friend of many years. You probably know him—the former Commander..."

Inside the tea room sat a simply dressed man. He appeared somewhat aged but was still handsome, radiating authority.

Li Xiujin looked down at him coldly. "Indeed, I know him."

"General Li." Zhou Dingshan greeted him.

"When he was still in office, he would occasionally visit the military academy to see the future soldiers. You probably met him then..." Su Wang explained.

"Whether we met at the academy, I can't quite remember. However, I have seen this former Commander in a group photo with my father-in-law."

"By that logic, should I call you Uncle?" Li Xiujin sneered.

Su Wang was slightly startled.

Zhou Dingshan smiled. "General Li, didn't you want some tea? Have a seat."

Li Xiujin didn't move.

"I know you're angry about Lin Ze being framed, thinking Su Wang and I were behind it."

"But I want to tell you, although I haven't lived with Lin Ze, I care for him as much as my own brother. In fact, I'd say my feelings run even deeper." Zhou Dingshan sighed. "I wouldn't harm him."

"Yes, I know you've always suspected me of harming Lin Ze, but I truly haven't," Su Wang added.

"Oh? You say you haven't, so I should just believe you?" Li Xiujin let out a cold laugh. "Criminals about to be executed still cry out their innocence."

Su Wang was speechless and looked at Zhou Dingshan.

Zhou Dingshan's smile faded. "What if I said I am Lin Ze's biological father?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present's eyes widened in shock.

*

When Li Xiujin arrived home, Lin Ze was fighting off sleepiness while patting Li Chongyi.

Li Xiujin asked, "Why aren't you asleep?"

Lin Ze became shy. "I was a little worried about you..." In the past, going out in the middle of the night had led to bad incidents. If Li Xiujin didn't return safely, Lin Ze couldn't sleep peacefully.

Li Xiujin held him in his arms. Unlike before, he didn't kiss him or seem to want intimacy. He just rested his cool cheek against Lin Ze's neck.

"Xiu Jin, did something happen at work?"

"You can talk to me about it. I'll listen carefully." Lin Ze gently stroked his face.

Li Xiujin's breath hitched. He thought he had hidden his emotions well enough, but Lin Ze had still noticed.

"I'll tell you in a couple of days."

"Okay." Lin Ze said softly, "Then you should get some sleep soon."

But Li Xiujin couldn't sleep, his mind filled with Zhou Dingshan's words.

So, Lin Ze patted his back gently, just like he did to soothe Li Chongyi...

"General, Zhou Dingshan has been placed under temporary custody."

*

Having not slept all night, Li Xiujin arrived at the military headquarters early the next morning. Yang Yu reported to him, "He's been cooperative, quite docile."

Li Xiujin stood frowning by the window, deep in thought.

"He says he's Colonel Lin's biological father. Is it true? Or is he just saying that to clear suspicion?"

Li Xiujin bit down on his cigarette. After serious contemplation, he had an intuition that it was more likely to be true.

It was unclear whether Zhou Dingshan was deliberately keeping them in suspense or stalling for time. After dropping that bombshell of a message, he clammed up about everything else.

Yang Yu aimed a gun at his temple, but he remained placid and indifferent, utterly convinced they wouldn't dare lay a hand on him.

And indeed, they didn't dare.

So whether he was telling the truth or not, they had to check it out themselves.

This concerned Lin Ze's origins, so Li Xiujin naturally had to see to it personally.

Both Zhou Dingshan and Zhou Yun had once been part of the military, and their information could be found in the military's system. However, none of it was related to Lin Ze's background. Therefore, the only lead left was Lin Ze's mother, whom Li Xiujin had previously set aside.

Because she had once been a teacher, some information about Lin Ze's mother could be found on public platforms.

Lin Yujing.

Omega.

Born in XX City, her parents passed away when she was six, after which she entered an orphanage.

That was all the scant information available.

Li Xiujin had Yang Yu investigate this orphanage, only to find it had long since become a ruin.

"General, the director of that orphanage is still alive."

"Get the address."

The address was in Lin Ze's hometown.

"General, I'll take some men and go there right away."

But Li Xiujin said, "I'll go with you."

With a lot of traveling ahead, Li Xiujin called Lin Ze as soon as he got in the car, saying he would be away on business for a couple of days. Lin Ze, on the other end, gave him lots of reminders.

After hanging up, Yang Yu sighed, "No matter who Colonel Lin's biological father is, the most pitiful one is still Colonel Lin."

Li Xiujin remained silent, gazing out the window.

Upon arrival, Li Xiujin had Yang Yu do the questioning while he observed from the side. Yang Yu, with his amiable face and smooth talk, quickly won over the elderly director.

"Who did you say?"

"Lin Yujing."

"Lin Yujing, Lin Yujing..." the old director muttered, soon remembering. "Oh, she stayed at the orphanage, but she was taken away within a year."

"Was she adopted?"

"She was taken in by her uncle."

"Her own uncle? Then why didn't he take custody of Lin Yujing directly back then?"

"I heard he was originally overseas. After divorcing his wife, he returned with his two sons."

"What was this uncle's name?"

"I only remember his surname was Zhou..."

"Zhou?"

"Yes."

"Do you still have the adoption records from back then?"

"I'll have to look for them. After the orphanage closed, I couldn't bear to throw many things away and brought them home. My children thought they took up too much space and secretly threw a lot away behind my back. I don't even know if I can find them now..."

"It's fine. Take your time looking. Contact us if you find them; if not, forget it."

After leaving the old director's house.

"General, isn't this too much of a coincidence? They have the same surname as Zhou Dingshan and Zhou Yun. Could this uncle be their father?" Yang Yu speculated wildly.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. If that were the case, whether Lin Ze's biological father is Zhou Dingshan or Zhou Yun, it would mean Lin Yujing had a child with her own cousin. That would make it..." The remaining two words scared Yang Yu into silence, and he cautiously glanced at Li Xiujin's expression.

He then noticed Li Xiujin's face had darkened slightly.

They didn't rush back but stayed in Lin Ze's hometown. Besides waiting for news from the old director, Yang Yu also inquired about Lin Yujing from the neighbors around where Lin Ze and his parents used to live.

And he actually managed to find out something.

"Oh, that mother was really cruel. If the child couldn't understand his studies, she'd lock him outside. Even with wind and rain, she wouldn't care..."

"You mean she abused her own child?"

"I don't know about abuse, but we often saw the little child locked outside. The child didn't dare cry loudly, just huddled alone, secretly wiping tears. It was so pitiful..."

Yang Yu could hardly conceal his shock.

Originally, it had been Yang Yu doing all the questioning, with Li Xiujin remaining silent. But now, Li Xiujin stared at the old woman speaking and said gravely, "Are you sure you haven't mixed it up with another family's child?"

"I wouldn't mix it up. In our whole area, only her child was that pretty and adorable. I wouldn't mistake it, I wouldn't..." The old woman said, "Don't think I'm old; my mind is still sharp."

"What about his father?"

"His father was better. Whenever his father was home, his mother would treat him a little better. But his father was often away." The old woman lowered her voice, "Back then, we all gossiped that the child was hers with another man."

"General, has Colonel Lin ever told you about being abused by his mother?"

Back in the car, Yang Yu asked.

Li Xiujin stared at his phone; Lin Ze had just sent him a text message.

"He only said his mother was very strict with him, making him read books only adults could understand."

"Maybe because Colonel Lin was still young then, and his parents died early, so he unconsciously beautified his memories."

Li Xiujin didn't respond.

When Lin Ze had spoken about it, it didn't seem like he was lying.

Li Xiujin didn't think Lin Ze had unconsciously beautified his memories. He was more inclined to believe that after Lin Ze underwent the experiments, his memories became distorted. The mother who frequently abused him became merely somewhat strict, and the father who neglected him was just busy with work.

Just as they were about to head back, the old director's children suddenly called them.

Hearing that they had found information about the adopter, the two hurried over.

The old director handed the documents to them.

"Although our orphanage was modest, to ensure the children's safety, we had very strict criteria for adoptive parents. They had to submit a lot of documentation, which had to be reviewed by several of our staff before an adoption could succeed..." the old director recalled.

Li Xiujin was already examining the file.

Adoptive parent: Zhou Xin.

The section for father and son listed the names Zhou Dingshan and Zhou Yun.

Li Xiujin's mind buzzed.

"General, what does it say? Was Lin Yujing adopted by Zhou Dingshan's father?"

Li Xiujin's face darkened alarmingly.

Yang Yu didn't dare press further and quickly started the car to head back immediately.

As soon as they arrived at the military headquarters, Li Xiujin barked a cold order to have Zhou Dingshan brought over.

Once he was brought in, the office door was tightly shut.

"Colonel Yang, what's going on with the General?" a subordinate asked.

Yang Yu also looked troubled. Although Li Xiujin hadn't said anything, he felt his guess was probably correct.

Inside the office, Li Xiujin stared darkly at Zhou Dingshan.

"You forced yourself on Lin Yujing."

A complex expression crossed Zhou Dingshan's face, and he remained silent.

"Beast."

Li Xiujin took off his watch, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed him by the collar, and landed a hard punch on him.

After the beating, he ordered him placed under close guard.

Then he drove home alone.

As an alpha with an omega's reproductive cavity, so many people couldn't figure out why he was like this... it turned out to be caused by inbreeding...

And just as he had guessed, it was indeed Zhou Dingshan who forced himself on Lin Yujing. Lin Yujing harbored hatred towards Lin Ze, which was why she would lock him outside, ignoring him even when he cried...

Li Xiujin gave a slight tremble.

After arriving home, Li Xiujin sat in the car for a long time, only getting out after composing himself and smoothing his clothes.

It was already evening. In the past, when he returned at this hour, the house would be dark and cold. But ever since he married Lin Ze, no matter how late he came back, he could always see a welcoming light on.

Li Xiujin entered the living room, where a rustling sound came from the sofa.

Lin Ze got up from the sofa and asked in a gentle voice, "Xiu Jin, you're back?"

Li Xiujin's throat tightened. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Colonel Yang told me you'd be back tonight, so I wanted to wait for you..."

"Xiu Jin, are you hungry? Should I go to the kitchen and make you something to eat?"

Li Xiujin didn't speak, just stared at him.

Lin Ze felt slightly uneasy under his gaze. "Xiu Jin, is there something wrong with me—"

Before he could finish, Lin Ze was gathered tightly into his arms...