After administering a sedative to Qiao Qingchuan, and seeing that Qiao Qingchuan was gradually falling asleep, Kerr stood up and left the bedroom.

Qiao Qingmeng stood at the doorway with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Kerr, shall we talk?"

According to Qiao Qingmeng's love-struck mind, as long as Kerr is dealt with, there will be no more obstacles to her love for Qiao An. However, Qiao Qingmeng overlooked the most important point: the most important thing in love is mutual affection.

Kerr followed Qiao Qingmeng into her bedroom. He also seemed to have something on his mind, no longer the sunny and cheerful person he used to be.

Upon entering the bedroom, Kerr sat down on a very luxurious armchair.

"Qingmeng, as a doctor, I have to talk to you about your brother's condition. The mental environment in your family is too oppressive right now, which is not conducive to the patient's recovery."

Qiao Qingmeng had no interest in listening to Qiao Qingchuan's story. Having grown up abroad, she had no feelings for her brother Qiao Qingchuan to begin with. After experiencing being choked by him, Qiao Qingmeng wished he were dead.

"Don't you think the overall atmosphere in your house is strange?"

kerr frowned.

“Qingmeng, you’re not quite the same as when you were abroad. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s changed, but I’m wondering if your mother is mentally controlling you? If so, I suggest you get away from this family as soon as possible and seek treatment from a psychiatrist.”

Qiao Qingmeng didn't want to listen to Kerr's long-winded explanation; the word "breakup" was already on the tip of her tongue.

Kerr noticed the impatience on her face. He remained silent for a while, as if he had finally made up his mind. He took out his phone, opened a paternity test result, and placed it on the small coffee table in front of Qiao Qingmeng.

Qiao Qingmeng looked over in confusion, her gaze landing on the red stamp indicating "Confirm Biological Parentage".

“What is this?” she asked.

Kerr explained, "This is our hospital's paternity test certificate."

Qiao Qingmeng carefully examined the names on the appraisal report; they were two codes: QA and JJ.

"What's the meaning?"

Kerr said, "QA here refers to Qiao An, and JJ refers to Jin Jin. I saw Qiao An walk out of the paternity testing department at the hospital by chance, and that's how I got this paternity test result. In other words, Qiao An's real identity is actually your cousin. Qingmeng, although what I did violates the doctor's professional ethics, I thought about it for a long time and decided to tell you first so that you can be mentally prepared."

After hearing Kerr's words, Qiao Qingmeng's face turned ashen. She had gone to great lengths to sever her sibling relationship with Qiao An, but now a paternity test had appeared out of nowhere, telling her that Qiao An and she were cousins.

Qiao Qingmeng's mind went blank for a moment. After regaining consciousness, only the phrase "Fate plays tricks on people" remained, playing on repeat in her mind.

Kerr grew up in a very privileged family, and he truly couldn't imagine how Qiao Qingmeng had survived in such a twisted and absurd environment. Seeing Qiao Qingmeng like this, his eyes were filled with heartache.

"I suspect that if Qiao An and Jin Jin recognize each other, Jin Jin will not let your mother off the hook, so I'm informing you in advance. At the latest, the forensic department will notify Qiao An of the test results by tomorrow afternoon."

"No, that's impossible." Qiao Qingmeng suddenly stood up. "I don't believe this can be true. It's just two lines of code. What makes you think it's Qiao An and Jin Jin?"

Kerr took the phone and showed two photos of the specimens: one was a handkerchief stained with Jin Jin's nosebleed, and the other was a tube of fresh blood in a blood collection tube.

"The blood sample in the blood collection tube was drawn from Qiao An's body. I confirmed this with the doctor who took the sample at the time. The other handkerchief is the one Jin Jin used when she was accidentally injured. This scene was recorded in the live broadcast of the variety show 'Bei Bei Restaurant'. I only told you this news after confirming everything was correct."

Qiao Qingmeng gradually came to terms with reality. Her state shifted from utter despair to extreme madness. She prostrated herself before Kerr, crying and pleading.

"Please, Kerr, Joan and Jin Jin can't recognize each other. If they do, my mother will go to hell. Please, please help me change this paternity test, okay? Kerr, I'm begging you. If you do this for me, everything I have will be yours."

She paused for a moment, then suddenly stood up and began to take off her clothes one by one, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"Kerr, haven't you always wanted me? Let's do it now."

Kerr sighed, picked up the clothes from the ground and draped them over her shoulders. He wasn't some beast; he wouldn't take advantage of someone in distress. But Qiao Qingmeng's tears made Kerr begin to waver.

He thought that perhaps he could keep this a secret for now and reveal the truth after Qiao Qingmeng and the others were ready. Only by doing so could he protect Qiao Qingmeng.

That night, Qiao Qingchuan was the only one sleeping soundly in the Qiao family manor.

Kim Hee-jin longs to rekindle her romance with her brother Hong.

Qiao Qingmeng was utterly devastated. She went to great lengths to sever her blood ties with Qiao An, only to discover on the very day she exposed her family scandal that Qiao An was actually her cousin.

Although Kerr agreed to suppress the matter for the time being, Qiao Qingmeng knew that this was not a long-term solution. Given Kerr's character, his agreement now was merely out of pity for himself. Once his conscience and reason returned, he would tell the truth.

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through her mind: after Kerr tampered with the paternity test, she should silence him forever so that no one would know Joan's true identity.

The dead will keep secrets forever.

Qiao An and Du Xiaoruo's family slept soundly. Lele's head was resting on Du Xiaoruo's shoulder, her foot was kicking Qiao An's eyebrow, and she was lying horizontally on the pillow, squeezing Du Xiaoruo and Qiao An to hang on the edge of the bed.

The master bedroom of the apartment faces a park in the middle of the street, and the chirping of birds in the park woke Joan up.

He opened his eyes and saw the toes lying next to his face. He reached out and tickled the soles of Lele's feet a few times.

Qiao Lele felt an itch on the soles of her feet and instinctively kicked out, sending Qiao An flying off the bed.

"Damn it." Qiao An cursed under her breath, got up, rubbed her sore butt, and walked into the bathroom muttering under her breath.

More than an hour later, Du Xiaoruo finally came out of the master bedroom, yawning.

"Good morning," she greeted Joan.

"Good morning," Qiao An replied.

Qiao An was working on company documents, with a cup of iced coffee beside her. Du Xiaoruo saw it, frowned, and complained.

"The doctor told you not to drink anything cold."

She went over and heated up Joan's iced coffee in the microwave.

Joanne looked at the steaming iced Americano beside her and fell into deep thought.

After breakfast, the family of three went out together. The company driver and Secretary Jin were already waiting at the door. The driver was going to take Du Xiaoruo and the others to the orphanage to continue recording the program, while Secretary Jin was there to pick up Qiao An to go to the company together.

Just as Qiao An stepped out of the elevator, her phone rang. It was JJ calling.

He answered the phone, and Jin Jin's calm, magnetic voice came from the other end.

"Qiao An, do you have time now? Come to my house, I have something important to tell you."

Qiao An glanced at the two cars parked outside the apartment lobby, hesitated slightly, but judging from Jin Jin's voice, it seemed that what he was about to say was also very important.

"Okay, I'll head over now."

After hanging up the phone, Qiao An said to Du Xiaoruo, "We need to go to Jin Jin's place first. Tell Mu Hua to put the program recording on hold for now."

Then he pointed to Secretary Kim and said, "You go back to the company to handle things first. I'll come over later."

In Jin Jin's unassuming old house, Jin Jin and Zhang Yanshu spent the entire night without sleep. Ever since they learned from Qiao Qingmeng's revelation yesterday that Qiao An was not Jin Xizhen's biological son, a ridiculous idea had been swirling in their minds.

When Qiao An and Du Xiaoruo arrived at the old house, they were startled when they first saw Jin Jin and his wife.

Jin Jin, in particular, was wearing an ordinary old man's shirt, and his usually meticulous hair was disheveled, making him look several years older.

Jin Jin's eyes widened with wariness when she saw that Du Xiaoruo had also come.

Qiao An took Du Xiaoruo's hand and looked at Jin Jin with a calm expression. "I don't need to hide anything from her."

"Mm." Jin Jin nodded in respect.

Jin Jin called the butler in to take Lele out to play with Jin Xingming, and then went forward and personally closed the door of the main room.

The main room on the first floor of this old house has no windows; all the lighting comes from eight old-fashioned wooden doors that open outwards. Now that the doors are closed, the room is completely dark.

Zhang Yanshu turned on the light, and the soft light from the glass lamp poured down, gently illuminating the room.

Jin Jin pointed to an old-fashioned round table.

"Please have a seat."

Everyone sat down around the round table. Jin Jin took an old black-and-white photograph from a drawer of a dresser, placed it on the table, and said to Qiao An and Du Xiaoruo,

"This is my mother."

When Du Xiaoruo saw the photo in Qiao An's hand, she turned her head to look at it and was shocked. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Qiao An's hand.

A graceful noblewoman sits on an octagonal chair, her elbows casually resting on the edge of the table. A gentle smile plays on her lips as she languidly gazes at the camera. Although the photo is in black and white, one can still discern that her eyes are a very light and clear color.

To Du Xiaoruo's astonishment, the noblewoman in the photo had the same facial features and temperament as Qiao An. Qiao An's clear pupils, high nose bridge, and slightly upturned lips were practically copied and pasted from her face.

Jin Jin said slowly and in a low voice,

“I said before that you look like your maternal grandmother, meaning you look like her. I only saw the comments online yesterday saying that you are not Kim Hee-jin’s son. If the comments are true, then I can only think of one possibility.”

At this point, Jin Jin stopped, seemingly unable to continue speaking because it was too outrageous for her to bear.

Zhang Yanshu was much calmer than Jin Jin. She spoke calmly.

"Qiao An, we'd like to ask you to get a paternity test done. Regardless of the result, it will put everyone's minds at ease."

“I have already…” Qiao An had just finished speaking when a text message came in on her phone.

He took out his phone, glanced at it quickly, and froze.

The phone screen shows the paternity test results sent by the Department of Paternity Testing at Shengjing Private Hospital. The stamp on the results reads "Not biological."

Du Xiaoruo was sitting next to Qiao An. When she saw his expression change slightly, she leaned over to take a look, and then she was dumbfounded as well.

"What's wrong?" Jin Jin asked.

Joanne snapped out of her daze and placed the paternity test results on the round table.

"Actually, I also had doubts about my origins. I even did a paternity test using a handkerchief stained with Mr. Jin's nosebleed. Here are the results. You two, maybe we're both overthinking it. Perhaps Qiao Rukun deliberately found a child who looks like Jin Xizhen to impersonate Qiao Qingmeng in order to confuse the issue. It just so happens that the child happens to look like this old lady."

Qiao An accepted the assessment results calmly. He had already escaped that nightmarish manor through his own efforts and had his own lover and family. Whether or not the Jin family existed, it didn't have much of an impact on him anymore.

Now that the test results are in, it's not convenient for Qiao An to stay at the Jin family any longer.

He stood up. "We won't disturb you any longer. We'll take our leave now."

Qiao An led Du Xiaoruo to the front door and was about to open it.

Zhang Yanshu called out to him from behind.

"Wait a minute, this is your test result. I need to have it tested myself, otherwise I won't give up. Qiao An, could you please cooperate with us one more time?"

Joanne turned around.

Zhang Yanshu said calmly but firmly,

"This time, we've chosen the most authoritative institution and the most professional doctors for the assessment, and we're keeping the entire process confidential to ensure there are no mistakes."