Yi Mingjun and Liu Xiangrong continued to insist that they were Lin Zhiheng's biological parents.

Yi Mingjun said, "You, you've really misunderstood us. We are Xiao Heng's biological parents, and we want to be with him very much. We weren't by his side before because we didn't know where he was. When we learned how much he had suffered outside, it felt like our hearts were being ripped out."

“Yes,” Liu Xiangrong chimed in, “You two shouldn’t stop us. Let our family be reunited.”

"Who's stopping you from reuniting?" Lin Qingyan said angrily after hearing Liu Xiangrong's words. "Didn't you hear that Xiao Heng doesn't want to go with you? You're his mother, why are you forcing him to do something he doesn't want to do?"

"I... I just want to acknowledge my son back. What did I do wrong?"

"Whether you're wrong or not is your own business," Lin Qingyan said. "Since you've been searching for so long, and Xiao Heng has always lived in Jinshi, which is next to Beijing, why couldn't you find him after more than ten years? But now you've suddenly found him?"

Yi Mingjun and Liu Xiangrong exchanged a glance, and then it was Yi Mingjun who answered (lied) Lin Qingyan's question.

"It's a cruel twist of fate. Although Beijing is next to Tianjin, neither city is small. We tried every possible method to find him for over a decade without success. Suddenly, someone provided us with a clue that he was here. If it weren't for that person's information, we don't know how long we would have had to search."

"Who gave you this lead? Where is he from? Tell me, do I know this person?"

"I don't need to talk about this. Now that we've found Xiao Heng, this is not important at all."

"When did you receive this news?"

"Yesterday morning, as soon as we found out that Xiao Heng was here, we drove over immediately. We didn't stop for even a moment along the way and came straight here."

A scene suddenly flashed through Lin Qingyan's mind: yesterday, after he and Lu Zhengting got their marriage certificate at the commune, they saw Shen Mengya on the brigade's oxcart on their way back.

Yesterday morning, Old Mrs. Lu threatened her to give up Lu Zhengting by using the relationship between the Yi family and Lin Zhiheng. The Yi couple learned yesterday morning that Lin Zhiheng was here, and Shen Mengya happened to have gone to the county town yesterday morning.

The fastest way to send a message is by phone, but there are no phones in the village or town, so if you want to call Beijing, you have to go to the county.

She had initially thought it might have been Old Mrs. Lu who leaked the information, but now it seemed that it was undoubtedly Shen Mengya who had informed the Yi couple.

Was Shen Mengya acting under the orders of Old Madam Lu? Or was she acting on her own initiative?

When Yi Mingjun and Liu Xiangrong saw that Lin Zhiheng insisted on not going with them, they became anxious.

Liu Xiangrong disliked Lin Zhiheng from the start, so she naturally had little patience for him. The only thing that could keep her from tolerating Lin Zhiheng was his Jin'er.

She glared angrily at Lin Zhiheng: "You child, you really don't understand family ties at all, and you don't understand your parents' good intentions at all. I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you. Even if I didn't raise you, shouldn't you repay me in some way? I just want you to come home, why is that so difficult?"

Her words made Lin Zhiheng fall into deep thought, and a look of pain returned to his face.

Lin Qingyan said to Liu Xiangrong, "You think you've done a great service by giving birth to him. You didn't protect him after he was born; you gave birth to him but didn't raise him. Do you think you're so great and noble?"

True maternal love is selfless. I've only ever seen mothers who gave birth feel indebted to their children because they didn't raise them themselves, but I've never seen anyone feel that their child owes them anything, like you do.

Lin Qingyan was also angry. Since the other party was being unreasonable, why should she reason with them?

"You say that you carried him for ten months and gave birth to him, so he owes you something. Then let me ask you, when you were pregnant with him, did you ask for his consent? Did he agree to let you carry him? Do you think he wanted you to carry him? You got pregnant with him without his consent, gave birth to him, and then made him suffer. It's not that he owes you something, but that you owe him something."

After she finished speaking, she pulled Lin Zhiheng aside and comforted him: "Xiaoheng, don't feel guilty. Did you hear what your sister said? You don't owe them anything. They are the ones who owe you."

Upon hearing his sister's explanation, Lin Zhiheng's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he nodded to Lin Qingyan.

"Sister, I don't need their compensation. I just want to be even with them and have them leave this place as soon as possible so they never have to appear in front of me again."

Liu Xiangrong didn't expect Lin Qingyan to be so quick-witted; neither she nor Yi Mingjun could out-argue her.

What other reason could she possibly give to take Lin Zhiheng away?

However, before they could come up with a reason, Lin Qingyan started to kick them out.

"Alright, since you're not leaving, I'll tell you something too. After Xiao Heng came back, he told me about your visit to him. He said he was scared and didn't want to go with you."

The reason I let you in and talked to you so much was to find out what kind of people you are. Also, I wanted to clarify your relationship with Xiao Heng. Xiao Heng lost contact with you when you were young, so you shouldn't have any further dealings with him. You two can leave now, just pretend you were never here.

"No, we won't leave. We must take Xiao Heng with us."

"You've been persistent. What are your motives? What do you want to do with Xiao Heng? What can you use him for?"

"ah!"

Yi Mingjun and Liu Xiangrong were both stunned, because Lin Qingyan was about to get to the point.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!