Exposed

The driver had already realized something was wrong when the child was snatched back, and quickly ran outside to find reinforcements.

Xu Zhilian was isolated and helpless. He was knocked back by Yu Chunsheng and staggered a couple of times. He struggled for a long time but still couldn't get up. He was panting heavily, leaning against the wall, grinning despite the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Go ahead and fight! That's all you're good for!"

His eyes were fixed on Yu Chunsheng, and a strange smile played on his lips.

"You were born into a better family than me; you always surpass me in everything. Your father is my father's boss, you're still my superior even in the student council, and even when we went to the countryside, the woman I liked liked you!"

"So what?" He pulled a second pocket watch from his pocket, grinned, his teeth covered in blood and foam, "You couldn't beat me twenty years ago, and even if you had the chance again twenty years later, you still couldn't beat me!"

"You still dare to send your lackeys to my dreams? You still want to turn the tables and fight me? Keep dreaming, hahaha!"

“It was my fault back then. I stole Yu Fen’s clothes and put them in your basin. I even felt a pang of pity when I saw you being taken away by those people.”

Xu Zhilian lowered his head and smiled, a smile that was hard to tell whether it was bitterness or self-mockery. He suddenly raised his head again and said earnestly, "But I don't regret it."

"I've dreamt about you a lot over the years. You say, how come you're so lucky? How come everyone likes you? I just don't believe it."

“I didn’t instigate any of those whistleblower letters; they all wrote them on their own.” Xu Zhilian smiled. “I just wanted to ruin your reputation, but they were all vying to kill you. Tell me how pathetic you are as a person.”

"Xu Zhilian..." Xu Tangmian couldn't bear to listen any longer and tried to stop him with red eyes.

"Shut up!" Xu Zhilian suddenly roared.

"This pocket watch was a gift from you back then, and it has disgusted me for almost twenty years!" Xu Zhilian said through gritted teeth, leaning against the wall as he stood up and roared like a mad dog, "Yu Fen is my wife! She has treasured this pocket watch for so many years because she saw your picture in it."

"When she found out the pocket watch was missing that day, she was like a lost soul, and I had to run all over town to look for it for her! What did I find?"

He dangled the pocket watch by the chain on his middle finger and shook it. "Why is there another one exactly the same? Did you give her another one? Tell me!"

"Xu Zhilian!" Before Yu Chunsheng could even open his mouth, Xu Tangmian had already stood up, holding the child who had been frightened awake, and roared in a low voice with heart-wrenching pain.

"I took the pocket watch, you can ask me anything!"

She handed the child to Yu Chunsheng, as if she had made a decision, and resolutely walked towards Xu Zhilian despite the obstruction of Li Youlan and Liu Xingyao.

"You want to know why there are two identical pocket watches, right? Okay, I'll tell you."

She snatched the pocket watch from Xu Zhilian's hand, glanced at it, and gave a mocking smile: "The one that Chunsheng... oh no! Kong Lin just took was taken from Liu Yufen's drawer."

“This piece is what I took from your safe; it has scratches on the back.”

Xu Zhilian was stunned. "What safe?"

Xu Tangmian smiled sarcastically and continued, "Don't you remember? That's understandable. You hadn't moved yet, so maybe there weren't any safes back then."

“I’ll tell you everything. Later you moved to 358 Taiping Road. Your safe was behind the portrait on your desk, about half a meter from the southeast corner, in a hidden compartment.”

"Who are you?" Xu Zhilian squinted, scrutinizing the young man before him.

"Who am I?" Xu Tangmian laughed angrily. "I'd rather I didn't know who I am, but I just happen to be related to you!"

"Your son's name is Xu Zhengde, and he was born on August 1, 1979."

"How...how did you know?" Xu Zhilian's sharp eyes suddenly shot towards Li Youlan and his wife. "They told you, didn't they! If you have any problems, come at me! Don't involve your family!"

"Don't blame your family?" Xu Tangmian pointed at Xu Qiushi in the swaddling clothes and questioned coldly, "Then why did you just throw my daughter? I respect you so much! Even though you beat me up in Beiping, I still can't completely sever ties with you. Why did you do that!"

Xu Zhilian smiled with his hands behind his back, as if he had heard a joke.

"Why should I care about your daughter? You are gentlemen and I am a scoundrel. You can judge me however you want, but according to the rules of gentlemen, you must treat my family members leniently."

"As for your daughter, blame her bad luck for being born as the descendant of this monster!"

Yu Chunsheng was comforting the child when he heard this. He felt insulted and wanted to hit someone, but then he remembered something and quickly raised his hand to cover Xiao Qiushi's ears.

Xu Tangmian could no longer stand his endless stream of unbearable words, and finally shouted, "Enough!"

"No one told me about your family. I know all of this on my own. In fact, none of you here, including yourself, know as much about your family as I do."

Meeting Xu Zhilian's puzzled gaze, she calmly said, "You, Xu Zhilian, graduated from Peking University. Your wife, Liu Yufen, gave birth to your son, Xu Zhengde, in 1979. You felt sorry for her pain during childbirth, so you didn't let her continue having children."

“Xu Zhengde became very close to a female classmate named Li Wenjun during his school years. In 1999, he violated the marriage law at the time and had a daughter with her at the age of 20. You named her Xu Tongtong.”

"I am Xu Tongtong."

Xu Tangmian's words were like a bomb dropped lightly, instantly silencing the previously heated argument. Xu Zhilian remained silent, stunned into his chair, quietly processing the series of absurd remarks he had just heard.

Li Youlan was also stunned. It was one thing for Ah Lin to be reborn, but Tangtang… how did she become Xu Zhilian's granddaughter? She couldn't help but walk over to Xu Tangmian and whisper, "Tangtang, weren't you called…?"

"Big sister, I... I was just using Xu Tangmian's identity." Xu Tangmian felt guilty for hiding this from everyone. "Actually, I... like Chunsheng, am not from this era either."

Liu Xingyao scratched his head. "I don't understand."

Xu Tangmian took a deep breath and simply confessed everything: "Actually, I've known you for a long time."

She pursed her lips, grasped Li Youlan's wrist, and pointed to Xu Zhilian, who was still lost in thought in the distance. "Big sister, actually, the first time I met you was in 2022, at his 76th birthday funeral."

“He…” Li Youlan was completely stunned.

“He was my biological grandfather.” Xu Tangmian was reluctant to admit it but couldn’t escape the fact. “Many people came to his funeral that day, including you and Brother Xingyao.”

"What about my business?" Liu Xingyao couldn't help but raise his hand and interject.

“Hmm…” Xu Tangmian was about to continue speaking when she suddenly saw a group of people in uniforms coming to the store. She and Yu Chunsheng exchanged a knowing glance and got up to walk outside.

Xu Zhilian's driver led several police officers in, with the deputy director of the local police station leading the way.

The driver pointed at Yu Chunsheng, raised his head arrogantly, and said, "That's him! He's the one who just hit our bureau chief!"

The deputy director tilted his head slightly to the side, and immediately a policeman stepped forward with handcuffs.

We can't let him take Yu Chunsheng away like this! Xu Tangmian quickly stepped in front of the police, "What are you doing! We are innocent."

"Whether you're innocent or not, come back with us first and we'll talk about it later!" the policeman said, and started to pull her away.

"Let go." Xu Zhilian, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up.

"Chief, your teeth..." The driver, like a ghost, wandered to Xu Zhilian's side, staring at Xu Zhilian's mouth and said in a panic, "He actually knocked out the chief's teeth! Arrest him!"

Yu Chunsheng handed the child to his wife, bracing himself for being handcuffed, when he heard Xu Zhilian scoff from the side, "Didn't you hear me say let go? I fell and broke the child myself!"

"Yes!" The driver waved his hand, then bowed and put his hands together, saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't understand the situation clearly, and I made everyone make a wasted trip."

The police officers were quick-witted; upon hearing this, they immediately seized the opportunity to press their advantage, saying, "What kind of mess are you making? If you file another false report, I'll invite you in for tea!"

Xu Zhilian exchanged a few pleasantries with the deputy director before returning to the shop. He scrutinized Yu Chunsheng and Xu Tangmian with a critical gaze, gritting his teeth as he said:

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's find a secluded spot and talk slowly!"

Xu Tangmian revealing his identity is obviously more important to Xu Zhilian. At this moment, the deep hatred between him and Kong Lin is no longer the top priority.

If we're talking about seclusion, Yu Chunsheng's own printing factory is definitely the most secluded; once the office door is closed, no one will bother him. But... wasn't his trip originally to take Li Youlan and his wife to the city?

Yu Chunsheng exchanged a consultative look with Li Youlan and the others. Having experienced such a tumultuous day, the latter clearly did not intend to back down easily, so they nodded in tacit agreement and said, "We'll listen to you," and "We'll go with you."

Xu Tangmian didn't have any classes in the afternoon, and besides, she had informed the people in the office before leaving, so she felt at ease taking her child and getting into the car.

The two vehicles returned along the same route, one after the other, and stopped at the printing factory.

Yu Chunsheng carefully placed Xiao Qiushi on the single bed in the corner of the office, covered it with a blanket, and turned to everyone, especially Xu Zhilian, saying with a serious expression:

“I don’t care what we’re going to talk about next. My daughter is sleeping right now. If anyone wakes her up, I’ll immediately open the window and throw them out.”

Xu Tangmian casually poured two glasses of water and handed them to Li Youlan and Liu Xingyao, completely ignoring Xu Zhilian who was sitting on the outermost side.

Seeing this, Xu Zhilian sneered, "I've seen plenty of swindlers, but this is the first time I've seen someone impersonating someone else's granddaughter. What method do you have to prove you're my granddaughter?"

Xu Tangmian disliked his smile, which seemed to suggest he was plotting something. Her mouth was a little dry, but thinking that if she didn't get rid of him this time, who knew what problems might arise, she cleared her throat and said:

"Your wife, Comrade Liu Yufen, has a small black mole on the back of her neck, right?"

Xu Zhilian's pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips trembled slightly, but he still held back from saying a word.

“There’s a shallow scar three inches below this little mole. She got it when she was a child, rolling down a hillside while herding sheep. You don’t think I heard this scar and this story from someone else, do you?”

"You, you!" Xu Zhilian stammered, still unable to utter those words.

Xu Tangmian had no intention of acknowledging him. She sneered and sat back down next to Yu Chunsheng. "That's fine. From now on, let's go our separate ways and pretend we don't know each other."

"How could I not recognize her!" Noticing Yu Chunsheng's gaze suddenly sharpen, Xu Zhilian turned to look at the baby on the bed, and after confirming she was still asleep, lowered his voice and asked somewhat awkwardly:

"Did you... also suffer some hardships to get here?"