Chapter 46

Meng Huizhou and Huo Qiyu broke down in tears, while Huo Chaojiang gasped for breath, wishing he could strangle the two adulterers, yet he had to restrain himself and keep his wife and daughter calm.

Even Master Qin, who usually didn't get involved in family matters, was shocked.

If before it was just suspicion, now it's solid evidence.

"Are you crazy?" He stared at Huo Chengxun, shook his head, and then looked at Old Huo in the room. Old Huo's eyes were wide open, and he was speaking incoherently. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of pus and blood and fell off the daybed.

Of the few people in the corridor, only Master Qin hurriedly ran in, picked up Old Master Huo, and left.

Huo Chengxun and Lan Ni kept their eyes fixed on Chu Ci.

She remained expressionless.

Lani chuckled, thinking to herself that this woman was indeed wary.

She tapped her phone screen, her tone gentle, "Junyan, your father, mother, sister, and... your wife, Chu Ci,"

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable of her voice as she held the phone screen up to Chu Ci's eyes.

She clearly saw that when Huo Junyan heard her name, his eyelids lifted slightly and his lips moved as if he was saying something.

"Did you see it clearly?" Lani smiled and put her phone away, ignoring Meng Huizhou and the others.

Chu Ci lifted her eyelids, raindrops gathering on her brow bone like fragile ice flowers. She smiled gently and tilted her head, glancing at the phone that had fallen out of her pocket during her struggle.

She no longer had the strength to squat down and pick it up.

“Sister,” Chu Ci raised her eyelashes and glanced at Huo Qiyu, “help me pick up my phone.”

Huo Qiyu was puzzled, but still picked up the phone as instructed.

"No password."

She turned on her phone, and Chu Ci opened the app. Huo Qiyu was shocked and stared blankly at Chu Ci. She had actually kidnapped Huo Zixi.

She then subconsciously looked at Huo Chengxun. He had so many illegitimate children, how could he possibly care about Huo Zixi? If he cared even a little, Huo Zixi wouldn't have remained unknown to the Huo family until he grew up.

Rather than kidnapping Huo Zixi, it would be better to… Huo Qiyu quickly regained her composure.

Huo Zixi's cries for help came from the phone. The people present looked at each other in confusion. Huo Chaojiang and his wife had similar thoughts to Huo Qiyu. Lan Ni stared at Chu Ci, and Huo Chengxun pulled at his swollen face, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"You kidnapped my son?" Huo Chengxun asked nonchalantly. "Aren't you friends?"

"Yes, they are friends."

The cold rain mixed with the cold wind, and the chill went straight to the bone.

Chu Ci laughed self-deprecatingly; she was probably born a cold-hearted and indifferent person.

Five years ago, she personally pushed Huo Zixi into the Huo family. Today, she is going to personally destroy Huo Zixi's wish to be recognized by his ancestors.

Lanny's face was already bluish from the cold. She brushed the hair that was sticking to her cheek. "You don't think this will threaten us?"

Fine raindrops clung to Chu Ci's thick eyelashes, and a barely perceptible smile curved her lips.

She thought she had guessed right.

"you?"

Lanni tightened her grip on Huo Chengxun's arm, her eyes filled with terror, feeling that the woman in front of her was as terrifying as a ghost.

Huo Qiyu was puzzled, Meng Huizhou's attention was all on his son, only Huo Chaojiang seemed to have caught something.

"Stop talking nonsense, give me all the shares in exchange," Huo Chengxun had long lost his patience and didn't care about Huo Zixi anymore. "I'll give you an hour."

Chu Ci picked up her phone. "Big cousin, you're making me lose face. I have to do something about it."

"Let's do it."

"No..." Lanni let go of Huo Chengxun, rushed over and snatched the phone, but saw that Huo Zixi had been stabbed in the thigh, and blood was gushing out.

She shouted anxiously, "Stop! Stop! Chu Ci, you crazy woman!"

Lani's reaction was too unexpected. Meng Huizhou and her husband looked at each other, both of them had guesses, but neither was sure, and they both looked at Chu Ci.

No wonder Chu Ci helped her control Huo Zixi.

Meng Huizhou was puzzled. Her people had only restricted Huo Zixi's contact with the outside world. They wouldn't actually take action, would they? Besides, Chu Ci didn't know where Huo Zixi was. How could this be?

Could it be? She made wild guesses, but her attention was quickly drawn back to Chu Ci's words.

"Can we exchange now?"

Chu Ci focused her attention on Huo Qiyu, while keeping her eyes on Lan Ni.

"How could you possibly know?" Lani's teeth were chattering, probably because she was too cold.

Chu Ci's gaze was indifferent.

Her first suspicion arose when Huo Chengxun invited her for tea and mentioned Huo Zixi. Lan Ni's reaction was strange. Later, Huo Junyan explained that Huo Zixi was born at the same time as Huo Chengxun lost his right to be the heir, which was when they were most in love. Chu Ci attributed Lan Ni's reaction to the betrayal in love without thinking it through.

Until today, when Zhou Yubai appeared in Southeast Asia and showed her the surveillance footage from the ferry five years ago, she connected all the dots and suddenly had a bold guess.

Five years ago, she had no direct conflict of interest with Lanny, so there was no need for her to personally go on the ship with her.

Chu Ci never believed in coincidences, and Zhou Yubai's hidden surveillance proved this point.

Someone attacked her on the ferry, but not to kill her.

Unfortunately, her memory is damaged, and she still can't remember what happened on the ship.

Just now, she saw on Lani's phone that the "charging cable" from Huo Junyan's head to his neck was exactly the same as the "electrical wire" she had on her body when she stumbled and ran away on the ferry five years ago.

Chu Ci then concluded that it was Lan Ni who had attacked her on the ship five years ago.

Although she is not yet clear about her purpose.

Is there something in her head that they need to extract? Not at all. She's not a top-tier scientist; she doesn't possess any extraordinary secrets.

What about Huo Junyan?

No, he's not a researcher, but the Huo family does have a lot of secrets.

Never mind, now is not the time to think about these things.

Chu Ci has only confirmed one thing.

“It was just a guess at first,” Chu Ci glanced at Lan Ni, “your reaction confirmed my guess.”

Huo Chengxun's one eye was swollen into a slit, and his other eye was drooping, as if he was thinking about something.

Chu Ci leaned closer to Lan Ni, "Zi Xi and I are friends, I won't really take his life."

Huo Chaojiang and his family of three were anxious. How could they easily reveal such a trump card? What would they exchange it for?

Half of her body was numb, and she had no feeling in her legs. Chu Ci barely managed to stay awake, moved closer, and gave a slight hint with her eyes. Lan Ni's pupils suddenly contracted, and she pushed Huo Chengxun down the moment he snatched the phone.

"you?"

Huo Chengxun collapsed to the ground, groaning, and clutched his stomach as he looked up, "Lanni, we're about to succeed? What are you doing?"

Lani shook her head, her eyes filled with sorrow, "You don't care about Zixi at all."

“He is my son, and they have already guaranteed that they will not take his life,” Huo Chengxun said, his face contorted. “Fourth Uncle, I also guarantee you that as long as I get the shares, Junyan will definitely be fine.”

Lani gripped her phone tightly.

Seeing Lanni wavering, Meng Huizhou was anxious, but he still had to pretend to be calm. "We would never do something that would harm someone's life, but Zixi has always wanted to be recognized by his ancestors. I think the time is ripe now. Why don't we hold a press conference first thing tomorrow morning to reveal his identity?"

“Mom,” Huo Qiyu reminded her, “once a press conference is held, we’ll have to clarify Zixi’s parents. Miss Lani used to be Grandpa’s assistant; the media loves these kinds of high-society secrets. At that time…”

"Enough!" Lani snapped.

Chu Ci lowered her eyelids. Meng Huizhou and Huo Qiyu were just too well protected and used to a life of luxury, which did not mean they had no means at all.

The identities of Huo Zixi were revealed: her father was the playboy Huo Chengxun, and her mother, Lan Ni, was her grandfather's personal secretary. The timing of her childbirth and her departure from Huo Lao, as well as the timing of Huo Chengxun being removed from the list of heirs, coincided perfectly.

Such a messy and dramatic mystery about his background is bound to cause a huge uproar online.

Who knows, there might be countless melodramatic and clichéd online novels about wealthy families, haha.

At that time, the reputation of the Huo family and the illustrious name of Old Master Huo meant that Huo Zixi would have to bear the rumors about who his father was for the rest of his life.

"Address." Lani handed over the phone.

Meng Huizhou snatched the phone, but Lan Ni took it back. "Where's Zixi?"

Chu Ci looked at Meng Huizhou, who then provided the address.

Lani handed over her phone.

Huo Chengxun lunged to snatch it, but Huo Chaojiang kicked him away. He grabbed his wife's wrist and immediately ordered the Huo family's people in Southeast Asia to search for the person at the address.

Lani was just about to leave.

Huo Chaojiang's phone suddenly rang, its sound particularly jarring in the dark, cold, rainy courtyard, equally stimulating the nerves of the group.

Huo Qiyu paused in her action of helping Chu Ci up the steps.

Huo Chaojiang frowned, but still tried his best to calm himself and answer the phone. After hearing what was said on the other end, he suddenly looked at Lanni and asked, "Where is my son?"

Meng Huizhou nearly fainted, staggered, and lunged forward to grab Lanni, crying, "You lied to me? How dare you lie to me? Where's my son? My son..."

Lani's face had lost all color; she hadn't expected the Huo family to act so quickly.

However, she had already sent someone to find Huo Zixi.

He was in China, and in this city, so having his address made him easy to find. Besides, there were many restrictions in China, so Lani was certain they wouldn't dare to really target Huo Zixi.

At this point, Lani no longer needed to pretend and abruptly pushed Meng Huizhou away.

“That’s right, the video is from before. He ran away a few hours ago, and my men haven’t found him. However,” Lanny smiled sinisterly, “maybe he’s already…”

Snap!

Meng Huizhou slapped Lan Ni hard across the face, causing her to stumble backward.

After the fight, Meng Huizhou was so weak that he needed Huo Chaojiang's support to stand. He put his arm around his wife and made a phone call to have someone search for the location at the address.

Since his son was able to escape, he will surely be able to come back alive.

Huo Chengxun was completely resigned to his fate. A few hours ago, after learning that Huo Junyan had escaped, he was anxious to have Old Master Huo announce that he would inherit the group.

Unexpectedly, Huo Junyan and Chu Ci signed such a marriage agreement.

One wrong move, and the whole game is lost.

His smile was tinged with sadness. "Lani, I still lost."

"Junyan?" Chu Ci stared blankly at the man standing at the corner of the corridor. He was wearing a black trench coat, and there were slight scratches on his face. His brow bone and eye sockets were deeper than usual, and he exuded coldness.

She thought she was delirious from the fever, seeing things, or hallucinating.

But then Meng Huizhou and his family of three rushed over, hugging him and crying and laughing at the same time.

Without Huo Qiyu's support, Chu Ci felt all her strength drain away and slumped backward. Instead of hitting the ground, she was caught by a strong and powerful arm.

It's only been three days, but why does he seem so unfamiliar to her? His eyes look so strange.

Chu Ci raised her hand and touched his chin, which was cold and rough. "You're back?"

"Who are you?" Huo Junyan lowered his eyes and stared at her.