Chapter 72 The Player

The next day, Tan Qingying received the paternity test report.

When the blood relationship between Xiao Chuan and Song Ziyao was confirmed in black and white, Tan Qingying's slender fingers trembled uncontrollably.

The thin sheet of paper carried all the hopes of the mother and son for the future.

Through Ye Zhirou's connections, she finally got in touch with Song Ziyao.

The man on the other end of the phone was initially wary, his voice carrying the aloofness and suspicion typical of someone in a position of power.

But as Tan Qingying recounted the paternity test report and her experiences of being schemed against by Song Mingyuan over the years, a crisp sound of a teacup shattering came from the receiver.

Song Ziyao's breathing became heavy. This man, who had once dominated the business world, was now facing both the most unexpected surprise and the deepest anger of his life.

He actually had a blood relative who had been living away from home.

He had always believed that the child and his mother were his grand-nephew and nephew's wife.

For years, he was maliciously plotted against by his own nephew.

In the still of the night, under the gentle moonlight, Tan Qingying carried the sleeping Xiao Chuan onto Song Ziyao's private jet.

Before takeoff, Tan Qingying whispered, "Thank you."

Song Ziyao shook his head: "No need to thank me. This is what I owe you."

He paused, then said, "I've prepared a house and sufficient funds for you at Ruishi. Xiaochuan can go to school there and grow up safely."

Outside the porthole, the lights of countless homes in my hometown gradually transformed into twinkling stars.

Tan Qingying pressed her forehead against the cold glass, letting her tears fall silently.

This decade-long nightmare is finally coming to an end.

Meanwhile, at the Song family's old residence across the ocean, Song Mingyuan overturned the entire office.

He roared like a trapped beast, ordering his men to search every corner, but they still couldn't find any trace of Tan Qingying and her son.

When he was summoned to the family council hall, Song Ziyao sat upright in a grand chair, the evidence neatly arranged on the sandalwood table gleaming coldly under the lamplight.

Song Mingyuan's knees suddenly lost their strength, and the sound of him kneeling on the carpet was as dull as a death knell.

"For the sake of power, you're willing to trample on even the most basic human decency?"

Song Ziyao's voice was authoritative without being angry; each word was like a knife chilled to the bone.

Song Mingyuan roared in resentment, "Song Ziyao, I raised your adopted son for ten years!"

Song Ziyao, enraged, laughed coldly, his gaze piercing as he stared directly at Song Mingyuan: "Raise him for me? You're clearly using him as a pawn in your power grab! Xiao Chuan has never received true fatherly love while he's with you. You're gambling with his life, trying to gain power for your family. How dare you even mention the word 'raise' when you've dragged an innocent child into this chaotic vortex?"

He announced the punishment: removing Song Mingyuan from the family genealogy and confiscating all of his assets.

Song Mingyuan watched as his meticulously crafted plan, built over ten years, crumbled, his face ashen.

...

Just before Tan Qingying was about to leave, she solemnly contacted Lu Yao.

“Master Millennium,” her voice was low but firm, “you saved me, and you saved Xiaochuan. I must repay this kindness no matter what. Whatever you ask of me, even if it costs me everything, I will do it.”

She remembered Xie Yutong mentioning that the anchor had demanded 80 million yuan in payment from Lu Jianhong.

She couldn't afford such an exorbitant reward, but without Lu Yao, she might still be trapped in Song Mingyuan's lies, and even Xiao Chuan's true identity would be buried forever.

Therefore, she would do everything in her power to get whatever Lu Yao wanted.

However, Lu Yao simply shook her head slightly.

“I don’t need you to go bankrupt.” Her voice was calm and deep. “Just go see Xie Yutong before you go abroad.”

Tan Qingying was slightly taken aback.

“Remind her of something—” Lu Yao’s gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, “Her mother once owned a set of jadeite cabochon necklaces, worth eight figures.”

“Guide her, if she wants to know where that set of chains is, she can come to my live stream to have her fortune told.”

"I understand." Tan Qingying nodded crisply, swallowing back all her questions.

There's always a reason why a streamer does whatever they want.

The player who wields the pieces sees further than the spectators; all she needs to do is execute the moves!

So, the day before she left, Tan Qingying arranged to meet Xie Yutong.

Xie Yutong was unaware of the changes that had occurred in the Song family.

After all, such a disgraceful affair had occurred, and Song Ziyao kept his entire family completely silent.

Tan Qingying did not tell Xie Yutong that she was leaving.

After she goes abroad, she will no longer have any contact with the wealthy circles in China, since they are all just fair-weather friends anyway.

Xie Yutong treated it as just an ordinary afternoon tea date.

Tan Qingying gently stirred her flower tea in the coffee shop, the teaspoon making a crisp sound as it clattered against the bone china cup.

She looked up at Xie Yutong, who was touching up her makeup across from her, and said casually, "Your earrings are very special today."

"Really?" Xie Yutong touched the jade droplet on her earlobe. "It was left to me by my mother. She especially loved collecting jade."

Tan Qingying nodded. "I remember my mother-in-law mentioning that Madam Xie had a set of seven jadeite cabochons that fetched an eight-figure price at auction back then."

“Even you know about that jade cabochon set.” Xie Yutong lowered her voice and sighed regretfully. “That set of jewelry disappeared after my mother passed away, and no one knows where she put it.”

"Did your mother have no one by her side before she died? Didn't you leave any instructions?"

"Yes, there is, but..." Xie Yutong interrupted.

Her mentally challenged daughter, on the other hand, has always lived with her mother.

But what can a fool know?

"Why don't you also consult a fortune teller?" Tan Qingying took a sip of tea and said regretfully, "It's such a pity that eight-figure jewelry has just disappeared like this. If it could be found, even if we only give 10% to the streamer, it wouldn't be a loss."

Xie Yutong fell into thought.

...

Six months later.

In a small town on the other side of the world, the spring sunshine gently falls on the windowsill covered with vines.

Tan Qingying was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, the sweet aroma of maple syrup mixed with the sizzling sound of frying bacon filling the small house.

Xiao Chuan, wearing his new school uniform, chattered on about yesterday's soccer match, while Tan Qingying listened with a smile.

After Xiao Chuan went to school, Tan Qingying went to the bakery across the street from her home.

This is the small shop she started after learning baking in the community over three months.

The neighborhood kids all know that the owner of this shop puts an extra chocolate chip in his almond croissant.

When she first arrived in Switzerland six months ago, she didn't even know how to adjust the oven temperature, and she couldn't whip egg whites properly.

But now I can perfectly master the art of making French macarons.

Lu Yao's words, "You have no ability to protect yourself or be independent," made her feel extremely embarrassed at the time, but they also woke her up.

Despite Song Ziyao sending a large sum of child support every month on time, Tan Qingying decided that she needed to have a job.

True security isn't found in the jewelry in a safe, but in the hands that can knead dough.

Every bedtime story time, Tan Qingying would leave a warm yellow nightlight on Xiaochuan's bedside.

She knew that one day she would have to tell Xiaochuan about Song Mingyuan's dark past, but not now.

As for whether or not he should return to the Song family to inherit the family business, Xiao Chuan can make that decision himself after he comes of age.

At this moment, all she wanted was for this lamp to illuminate her child's innocent sleeping face, and for the starlight outside the window to protect their hard-won peaceful life.