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In a martial arts club in Beijing, the annual press conference of Jinhai Group is being broadcast on the television.

"Our acquisition of Longsheng is just the beginning!" Zhao Xin exclaimed confidently on television. "Jinhai's financial resources are far stronger than you imagine!"

Chen Hongxiong slammed his fist into the sandbag, blood seeping from his knuckles.

At nineteen, he was already an amateur lightweight Sanda champion, and the hideous scar on his right cheek glowed red under the sweat.

Of course, it was mostly his financial resources that sustained him, after all, his background was very different from those of other professionals.

"Brother Xiong, it's time to change your protective gear," the sparring partner said cautiously.

"Three more sets!" Chen Hongxiong stared at Zhao Xin's gold watch on the TV screen. It was the model his father had always wanted to buy but couldn't bear to part with.

The car accident ten years ago took my father's life and disfigured his face, and the perpetrator is still at large.

"Bang!" A right hook sent the sparring partner flying to the sidelines.

The referee hurriedly blew his whistle, only to see Chen Hongxiong tear off his protective gear, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the frozen television screen.

He squeezed out the name "Zhao Sanjin" through gritted teeth, as if chewing on a piece of broken glass.

On the top floor of the Jinhai Building in Tangshan, Zhao Xin's fingertips repeatedly caressed the Suning photo.

The boy in the photo had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and only three-tenths similar to the eight ounces he remembered, but what about those eyes?
The slight upward curve at the corners of his eyes is exactly the same as when he was young.

"Chairman Zhao, this child is now called Su Ning. His father is Su Daqiang, who used to be a criminal police officer in the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Tangshan City Bureau. Later, he was transferred to the Caofeidian Reservoir Police Station for making a mistake. He suddenly resigned in 1996 and then disappeared. Some time ago, I went to a Jiangxi restaurant in Shanghai with some friends and found Su Daqiang and his son Su Ning."

"Dad, is this really my brother?" Qi Dongcao examined the photo closely under the light. "Ba Liang was only nine years old when he disappeared. Nine years have passed."

“Mr. Wang,” Zhao Xin didn’t answer his adopted daughter, but instead asked Wang Dehai, who was standing to the side, “Are you sure this child’s birthday is November 18th?”

“Absolutely true!” Wang Dehai rubbed his hands together. “I specifically asked a friend in Shanghai to check the student records. Young Master Ba Liang disappeared in August, and this child’s birthday is in November.”

"Then why do you suspect he is my son?"

"Because I heard that Su Daqiang's wife and children have immigrated to Australia, it is unlikely that they will return to China. The main reason is that the first thing I thought of when I saw Su Ning was the Eight-Liang Young Master."

Zhao Xin suddenly gripped the photo tightly.

He remembered very clearly that Ba Liang's birthday was actually June 1st.

If this really is his son, Su Daqiang even changed his birthday, which shows he's determined to sever ties with the past.

Thinking about the hatred between myself and Su Daqiang, I felt that Su Daqiang might also have such a motive.

Another nine-year-old child ran from the abandoned factory to the reservoir, which was a long way, but not impossible.

The only thing that puzzled him was Su Ning's thoughts. He didn't know that Su Ning had lost all her memories, which was something Zhao Xin couldn't understand.

"Prepare the plane." Zhao Xin pressed the call button. "Contact the Shanghai branch. I need all the information about this Suning—classmates, teachers, neighbors, not a single one can be missing."

"Yes." Qi Dongcao hesitated before speaking.

As Zhao Xin's adopted daughter and the group's legal director, she vaguely felt that something was off about the matter.

She actually preferred to believe that her younger brother had already died, since a nine-year-old boy couldn't possibly not remember his own identity.

But seeing her adoptive father's trembling fingers, she ultimately just silently dialed the number of an acquaintance in the Shanghai police force.

In the kitchen of "Ganweiju" restaurant in Shanghai after closing time, Suning threw his last childhood photo into the stove.

Flames suddenly shot up, engulfing the image of the wet boy by the reservoir.

Su Ning explained calmly, "The ID card, student status, and medical insurance card have all been verified. There won't be any trace left behind."

Su Daqiang was sharpening his knife when he heard this and paused: "Is Old Zhou from the police station reliable?"

“His son works part-time at my translation agency, so there shouldn’t be any major problems.” Su Ning closed the stove lid. “Dad, actually, we don’t need to.”

"We must be absolutely certain!" Su Daqiang chopped off a piece of ginger. "Zhao Sanjin is not Wang Dehai, that old fox. He would do anything to get ahead. He abandoned you and your son to marry into the Wang family back then. Otherwise, how could he have become the richest man in Tangshan?"

He suddenly stopped talking and glanced at Chen Meihua, who had suddenly appeared at the door.

The woman from Jiangxi tactfully turned to close the roller shutter door: "Daqiang, I'll go buy you a pack of cigarettes."

"it is good."

When the doorbell rang, all three of them tensed up simultaneously.

It was Lin Xiaoyu who entered, carrying a Nokia phone gift box.

"Su Ning, I bought you a new phone." She pushed up her glasses, keenly sensing something amiss in the room. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Su Ning took the phone, hesitated for a moment, and explained, "Thank you! It's nothing! My dad just scolded me."

Lin Xiaoyu's gaze swept back and forth between Su Ning and Su Daqiang, clearly indicating her disbelief.

Suning deliberately changed the subject and pulled his first love away, saying, "Xiaoyu, come on! It's closed now, I'll take you out for a walk."

"it is good."

In the dead of night, Lin Xiaoyu not only stayed at Su Ning's place, but also fell into a deep sleep on Su Ning's bed.

Meanwhile, Su Ning was packing up her last things, since she would be going to university to register in a few days.

Outside the window, the lights of the Oriental Pearl Tower twinkled as usual, but he felt a sense of impending doom.

……

The next day at noon, just as "Ganweiju" opened for business, three black Mercedes-Benzes blocked the entrance.

Zhao Xin got out of the car wearing an elegant custom-made suit, followed by Qi Dongcao and four burly men who looked like bodyguards.

"How many of you want to eat?" Chen Meihua's smile froze on her face as she recognized the richest man in Tangshan on TV.

Su Daqiang came out of the kitchen, still wearing an apron around his waist.

The two men stared at each other across the distance, and the air seemed to freeze instantly.

"Su Daqiang, how have you been?" Zhao Xin spoke first, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Zhao Sanjin, I didn't expect you to still be alive." Su Daqiang said without changing his expression.

"Hmph! Don't worry! Although there are many people in this world who hate me, those who can kill me haven't been born yet!"

"Bragging isn't illegal! Do whatever makes you happy."

At this moment, Qi Dongcao stepped forward and said, "Mr. Su Daqiang, this is Chairman Zhao of Jinhai Group. We suspect that your son, Su Ning, may be a family member who has been missing for many years, so we would like to meet him."

Su Daqiang wiped his hands. "Ridiculous! What makes you say that?"

"Just because of this!" Zhao Xin suddenly threw out a stack of photos, the top one being a picture of an eight-year-old boy. "Zhao Balang, born on June 1, 1991, has a maple leaf-shaped birthmark on his left buttock!"

The kitchen back door creaked open, and Su Ning stood there with her schoolbag in hand, her expression calm and collected.

He touched the birthmark while showering last night. It does look like a maple leaf, but so what?
"A-Ning." Su Daqiang instinctively stepped in front of his adopted son.

Zhao Xin's gaze swept past Su Daqiang, greedily taking in Su Ning: "Eight ounces? I'm your father!"

Su Ning's temples throbbed, and fragmented memories flooded back like a tide—a girl with a ponytail, a bloody factory, three corpses.
His memory seems to consist only of these remaining images.

"Uh? Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else." Su Ning replied calmly. "My name is Su Ning, and my father is Su Daqiang." "Bullshit!" Zhao Xin suddenly erupted in anger, finding Su Ning completely unfazed. "Su Daqiang, what exactly did you do to my son?"

Then he turned to Su Ning, his voice softening, "Son, Dad will take you to get a paternity test, and then everything will be clear."

“No need.” Su Ning straightened up. “My dad is Su Daqiang, and he always will be.”

Zhao Xin sneered, and Qi Dongcao immediately handed him a file folder: "Mr. Su Daqiang, this is the record of your wife Li Fang and son Su Xiaoqiang's immigration to Australia in 1994. Should we contact the Sydney consulate to verify the information?"

Chen Meihua, who was standing to the side, gasped.

However, Su Daqiang remained unfazed, though Su Ning noticed that the veins on his hand holding the knife were bulging.

“Zhao Sanjin,” Su Daqiang suddenly laughed, “you’re still as despicable as ever! That’s right! Aning isn’t my biological son, but he’s not your son either.”

He pointed to the file folder, "That's my ex-wife and child, they have nothing to do with Aning."

"Really?" Zhao Xin laughed, turning to Su Ning. "Su Ning, do you know why your 'father' was sent to guard the reservoir? Because he accepted bribes! And the person who reported him was me!"

"So you're the one who framed my dad for guarding the reservoir. Since you've already caused him so much suffering, why won't you let our family go?"

"I……"

“Ah Ning,” Su Daqiang suddenly said in an unusually gentle tone, “go and get that jar of fermented rice from the refrigerator.”

"it is good."

Suning knew this was an excuse to get rid of him, but he really needed to calm down.

Entering the kitchen, Suning calmly opened the refrigerator and took out the jar of fermented rice.

"Calm down," he told himself, but then he heard a loud bang in the front hall.

When Su Ning rushed back to the front hall, she saw Zhao Xin's bodyguards pinning Su Daqiang to the table, while Qi Dongcao stood expressionless to the side.

Zhao Xin was holding a wallet in his hand, looking through the photos inside. They were photos of a strange woman and a boy that Su Ning had never seen before.

"As expected!" Zhao Xin triumphantly held up the photo. "This is your real son! What did you do to my son? Why won't he acknowledge me?"

"Fool! It's simple! Because he's not your son at all."

"..."

"Let go of my dad!" Su Ning's voice suddenly became unfamiliar, startling even himself.

Everyone was stunned.

“Eight taels.” Zhao Xin reached out his hand in surprise.

Su Ning walked straight to Su Daqiang and gently brushed aside the bodyguard's hand: "Dad, are you alright?"

"It's alright!" Su Daqiang shook his head, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

He then straightened his disheveled collar and calmly said to Zhao Xin, "Zhao Sanjin, have you made enough of a scene? Do you want me to call the police?"

Zhao Xin's expression shifted between light and dark.

Suddenly, he pulled out his checkbook: "Five million for one honest word from you."

"Save your breath," Su Daqiang sneered. "You caused my wife and children to break up back then, and now you think you're so great just because you have a little money?"

"Su Daqiang, I know you've always hated me! But is it really necessary to go this far?"

"Humph!"

Standing next to Su Ning, Su Ning solemnly explained again, "Chairman Zhao, right? I am really not your son. Please don't bother us anymore."

"..." Zhao Xin was dumbfounded by the look in Su Ning's eyes.

"Dad, let's go! Let's rest today." Su Ning helped her adoptive father up and walked towards the back door without looking back.

"it is good."

"Stop right there!" Zhao Xin roared. "Su Daqiang, I will get to the bottom of this! I will never let you get away with this!"

Su Ning suddenly turned around, the bloodlust in his eyes causing Zhao Xin to involuntarily take a half step back: "Chairman Zhao, I'll reiterate once again, my name is Su Ning, and Su Daqiang is my father. If you harass us again, I don't mind using legal means to resolve this."

"you……"

……

Then Zhao Xin could only leave "Ganweiju" with Qi Dongcao, feeling that Suning's behavior was really too strange.

Sitting next to Zhao Xin, Qi Dongcao looked puzzled. "Dad, could we have made a mistake? I feel like Su Ning really doesn't know us."

"It must be him! I'm sure it's Ba Liang." At this moment, Zhao Xin was certain of his guess.

"Then...then why won't he acknowledge us as his family?"

"Sigh! He's probably scared! After all, he killed three people with his own hands. Life as a murderer isn't easy."

"What should I do?"

"Let Australia think of a way! We must find Su Daqiang's wife and son. I don't believe Su Daqiang can still refuse to confess to his wife and son."

"Okay! I'll make arrangements right away."

"Hmm." At this moment, Zhao Xin looked out the car window with a headache. He had never encountered anything so troublesome.

"Dad, should we tell Banjin and Grandma?"

"No! Let's figure this out first. I don't understand how Su Daqiang did it."

Meanwhile, Su Daqiang and Su Ning were also discussing today's events, since Zhao Xin's performance was not something they could easily give up on.

As Su Ning rubbed the medicinal wine into Su Daqiang's hands, she said with a wry smile, "Dad, our lives may not be peaceful from now on."

"Oh! I never thought the happy days would be over so quickly."

"Have you ever thought about going to Australia to find Su Xiaoqiang?"

"So what if we found him! He might not even recognize me as his father anymore."

"Did you really accept bribes back then?"

"Yes! And what you can't imagine is that it was Zhao Sanjin who bribed me."

"Huh? Is it really that melodramatic?"

“Su Ning, you’ve grown up. You didn’t rely on me when you were little, but you’ll have to rely on yourself from now on.”

"Dad, don't worry! I will definitely make something of myself."

"Actually... it would be good if you recognized Zhao Sanjin, at least his billions of assets would be yours."

"Forget it! I'm just afraid I'll have the life to take it but not the life to spend it! Don't forget I was kidnapped by his enemies when I was nine years old."

"That's true! Zhao Sanjin has indeed offended a lot of people."

...(End of chapter)