Chapter 55: The Truth Unveiling Gradually

The next morning.

During breakfast, I quietly plucked a strand of hair from An Mingshan. She said nothing, but my mother scolded me for bullying her. I bolted down a few bites and hurried off to the hospital, calling the couple from the previous night along the way. After a short while, they arrived by taxi. To my surprise, the woman pulled out a small knife, trimmed An Mingshan’s hair to match the length of mine, and told me to keep the rest safe.

We went to the hospital’s laboratory department, where the woman unexpectedly declared that she wanted to test whether I was their long-lost son! I was momentarily speechless... but in the end, I conceded. I left my phone number with the hospital, and they instructed us to pay the fees, estimating that the results would be ready within a week.

It was approaching noon when I returned to my brother’s place. Upon entering, I found An Mingshan engaged in lively conversation with my parents. They were chatting about nothing other than my childhood and An Mingshan’s past, almost completely oblivious to my presence. It wasn't until I called out that they finally turned to look at me.

I said, "Everything is settled. The results will be out within a week. The outcome might be... in short, you need to prepare yourselves mentally."

An Mingshan said, "Did you get my permission?"

I replied, "I mean the results regarding whether I have a parent-child relationship with them."

My mother said, "What? You're actually turning your elbow outward and saying you're not my biological child? Do you want to anger your mother to death?"

I said, "No, actually this whole thing... sigh, how should I put it? Anyway, it's just a test, nothing special. Mom, just don't ask anymore!"

My father chimed in, "That's right, he's not a child anymore, just let him do as he pleases!"

My mother said, "You father and son are cut from the same cloth! I'm going to make lunch, I'm done with you two!"

An Mingshan said, "I'll help, let you all taste my cooking!" With that, she followed my mother into the kitchen.

Five days later, February 28th, hospital laboratory department.

When I collected the report, I was instantly stunned, because the results showed that the DNA from An Mingshan's hair matched the woman's, confirming a biological parent-child relationship! I called An Mingshan and summoned her over, and the moment they saw her, they recognized her as the baby they had abandoned years ago!

An Mingshan stared at them, far from being emotional; instead, she glared at them and stormed away in a fury! I grabbed her, but she shoved me aside violently.

I asked, "Where are you going?"

An Mingshan shouted angrily, "I'm going to report them, charge them with abandonment!" Her voice was so loud that it drew a crowd of onlookers.

I said, "Have you considered them? It wasn't easy for them to bring you into this world."

An Mingshan yelled, "What about them? Why didn't they ever consider my feelings? You know what kind of life I've had over the past eighteen years! So I am definitely going to press charges against them!"

I said, "What if I insist on stopping you?"

An Mingshan screamed, "Then I'll die to show you!"

She was even capable of uttering such a harsh threat, and I knew that given her personality, she would certainly follow through on her words. Nothing I said would work now; the only strategy was to stall her first and take things one step at a time.

The couple took us back to their small grocery store. Through their explanations, we learned that the man was named Han Leiluo, and the woman was Xu Jing. Back then, an earthquake had struck their hometown, and An Mingshan was born not long after the disaster, along with her exact birth date being known. However, at the time, they could barely feed themselves, let alone support an extra mouth—especially one with such a huge appetite—leaving them utterly helpless. Another reason was that, being rural folk at the time with a heavy preference for boys, upon realizing their newborn was yet another female infant, they had chosen to abandon An Mingshan as well. Because they were living in their hometown of Lantian County, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, and their exact address was just a few streets away from the one An Qimin had mentioned, the spot where they abandoned An Mingshan was not far from An Qimin's home. In other words, An Mingshan's ancestral roots were in Shaanxi, making her previous claim of being from Shanxi invalid. Still, she couldn't really be blamed; when people are struggling just to put food on the table, who has the leisure to ponder their ancestral origins? To make it easier to recognize her in the future, they had bought a floral quilt, named her Mingshan based on the embroidered pattern on it, and written her life story inside the quilt using their own blood. The other items (inside the quilt) were sought from a certain Master Fang to ensure the child's safety and to hope a kind-hearted soul would adopt her.

Upon learning this, An Mingshan didn't cry as she usually would; instead, she glared at them and bolted out the door.

Reader's Corner.

Q: Dear author, what are your favorite snacks?
A: Oreos, Chips Ahoy (or Hisar), burgers, french fries, popcorn chicken, old-style popsicle sticks, grilled cold noodles, grilled gluten skewers, spicy mixed vegetables, pizza, stinky tofu, Chinese hamburgers, teppanyaki tofu, and so on.