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September 2004, Terminal 2 of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

"Xiaoyu, remember to text me when you get to Beijing." Su Ning helped Lin Xiaoyu adjust her scarf; the early autumn wind was already a bit chilly. "I'll come see you during winter break."

"Then why didn't you go during the National Day holiday?" Lin Xiaoyu asked Su Ning with dissatisfaction.

"I might need to stay in Shanghai to handle some things. After all, I'm an adult now, and there are many things I can do."

Lin Xiaoyu gave a soft "hmm," her ears turning slightly red as she couldn't help but think of their intimate relationship over the past few days.

This girl, who could crush her opponents in five languages ​​in a debate, couldn't even utter a complete farewell at this moment.

"Suning, stop dawdling, or Xiaoyu will miss her flight!" Zhang Hao urged, unable to contain his jealousy.

"Zhang Hao, are you jealous?" Su Ning, who was holding Lin Xiaoyu, saw through Zhang Hao's true feelings.

As expected, Su Ning's words ignited Zhang Hao's anger. "Hmph! You two are so unfair! You were having a good time, and now you're starting to date."

"Jealousy is useless! After all, life doesn't offer second chances, and youth only comes once."

"..."

Then, Su Ning reluctantly bid farewell to her first love, Lin Xiaoyu, but it was unknown how long this beautiful moment could last.

Just as Su Ning and Zhang Hao were about to turn and leave the aerospace building, they caught a glimpse of a girl in a beige trench coat walking quickly towards them.

"Eight ounces?" The girl's voice trembled uncontrollably as she gripped Su Ning's wrist tightly. "Can we talk this over properly?"

Suning flung the girl away as if he'd been electrocuted: "You've mistaken me for someone else."

Zhang Hao, standing to the side, was completely stunned, his mouth agape as if it could fit a goose egg.

After all, he didn't expect that Su Ning would have a new romantic opportunity right after seeing Lin Xiaoyu off.

Moreover, judging from this situation, the relationship between the two is definitely not simple.

At this moment, Zhang Hao approached Su Ning and whispered, "Su Ning, who is this beautiful woman?"

"I don't recognize you! You must have mistaken me for someone else."

“Ba Liang, it’s me, Dongcao! Qi Dongcao!” But the girl eagerly pulled out her phone’s photo album. “Look! This is a photo from your eighth birthday. We had just met then.”

In the photo, a little boy stands in front of a cake, next to Qi Dongcao as a little girl.

However, the other girl beside him shocked Su Ning, causing a sudden sharp pain in his temple, because her face overlapped with that of the ponytail-wearing girl in his dream.

“Beautiful lady,” Su Ning said, her voice turning cold as she forced back her headache, “I don’t know what tricks you’re playing, but please don’t harass me or my family.”

Tears welled up in Qi Dongcao's eyes: "Baliang, what has happened to you all these years? Do you know that Grandma has cried herself blind? Don't you miss your mother?"

"Enough!" Su Ning suddenly raised her voice, drawing the attention of the surrounding passengers.

He felt a familiar heat rising from his chest, and quickly took a deep breath to suppress it. "I don't know why you suspect me of being some kind of idiot, and I don't care. I just hope you won't disturb our lives."

Seeing Su Ning lose her temper for the first time, Zhang Hao looked at Su Ning with concern: "Su Ning..."

"It's nothing," Su Ning replied to Zhang Hao nonchalantly, then turned to Qi Dongcao again, "If you say another word of nonsense, believe me, I'll call the police right now?"

Qi Dongcao opened her mouth, but ultimately took a step back in dejection.

Without looking back, Su Ning pulled Zhang Hao out of the terminal, but the gaze from behind made him feel like he was being pricked by needles.

"Su Ning, who is she?" Zhang Hao asked in a low voice.

"Are you crazy?" Su Ning forced a smile.

Seeing that Su Ning was unwilling to explain anything, Zhang Hao wisely refrained from asking further questions.

……

That same evening, at the Shanghai branch of Jinhai Group.

Qi Dongcao stood outside the chairman's office, taking three deep breaths before knocking.

A deep "Come in" came from inside, and her hand trembled slightly as she pushed the door open.

"How is it?" Zhao Xin stood with his back to her in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.

“He does look somewhat like him…” Qi Dongcao put down his bag. “But he still says his name is Su Ning, as if he really doesn’t know us. However, I noticed that he seemed a little unnatural when he saw Banjin’s photo.”

Zhao Xin slowly turned around, revealing photos taken by a private investigator spread out on his desk: Su Ning's profile on campus, receiving clients at the translation agency...

Each photo was marked with a red pen, clearly showing the crescent-shaped birthmark.

"The DNA matching results are in." Zhao Xin pushed a document over. "99.99% match."

Qi Dongcao's legs went weak, and she slumped onto the leather sofa: "Then why won't he acknowledge us?"

“Su Daqiang.” Zhao Xin gritted his teeth and spat out the name. “Back then, he was a policeman in the city’s criminal investigation division. I reported him for taking bribes, and the scar on his arm is evidence.”

He tapped Su Daqiang's face in the photo, "I never expected that he would steal eight taels and erase his memory."

"This...that can't be! Ba Liang was already nine years old when he went missing."

"I just received an important piece of information! In 1996, Su Daqiang appeared at Qinhuangdao Hospital with a boy, and I have already asked someone to get the boy's medical records."

"What? Dad, you mean that little boy is Ba Liang?"

"Yes! The medical record says that Ba Liang suffered a brain injury and has lost his memory."

"Huh? Amnesia?"

As dusk settled outside the window, the city lights cast eerie shadows on Zhao Xin's glasses.

Qi Dongcao suddenly realized that Suning's strange behavior could now be explained.

“Dongcao,” Zhao Xin suddenly softened his voice, “Go to Beicheng next week, Huang Fengtu will meet you.”

"North City?" Qi Dongcao looked up abruptly. "Why now?"

“Some accounts need to be settled.” Zhao Xin took a brown paper bag from the drawer. “Nalan Changsheng has come out of seclusion, and that kid Chen Hongxiong is also getting restless.” He sneered, “Perfect, let’s bring these clowns down together.”

Qi Dongcao took the document, which contained a record of Chen Hongxiong's recent whereabouts, including frequent visits to Beicheng Prison to meet with a man named Qi Fengnian.

Upon seeing the name, her fingers trembled, and the documents scattered all over the floor.

"Qi Fengnian...is my uncle?"

“Your father Qi Wufu’s younger brother.” Zhao Xin bent down to help her pick up the documents. “Back then, the brothers were smuggling, and I later turned them down for the greater good.”

He looked directly into Qi Dongcao's eyes. "Do you hate me?"

Qi Dongcao shook her head mechanically, but fragments of her childhood flashed through her mind: being taken away from home late at night, her father never returning, and Zhao Xin's men burning some documents...

“Go ahead,” Zhao Xin patted her shoulder. “And while you’re at it, investigate the truth behind the car accident in Beicheng back then.”

"..."

……

In the old town of Beicheng, there was a teahouse without a sign. Chen Hongxiong poured tea for an old man across from him who was as thin as a rake. The old man was missing three fingers on his right hand, and his left eye was cloudy and white, but the remaining eye shone brightly.

"Uncle Qi, the doctor said you're recovering well," Chen Hongxiong said softly.

Qi Fengnian sneered, "Fifteen years in prison, anyone would be 'not bad' in that situation." He rubbed the severed finger. "Is Zhao Sanjin still alive?"

“He’s living a better life than anyone else.” Chen Hongxiong flipped through his phone’s photo album. “His stepdaughter, Wang Banjin, went abroad to live, and his adopted daughter, Qi Dongcao, is the financial director of Jinhai. However, his son, Zhao Jiadi, has been missing.”

"Oh? Could it be that Zhao Sanjin hid it himself?"

"It doesn't seem like it! The Zhao family has been searching for Zhao Jiadi all these years."

The old man suddenly burst into wild laughter, a laugh as chilling as an owl's: "Ha ha. Karma! Zhao Sanjin has finally met his end!"

"Uncle Qi, do you know why we're looking for you?" Chen Hongxiong leaned closer. "Because Jinhai Group currently has three vice presidents, two of whom were former subordinates of the Qi family. They just need your help..."

"No rush," Qi Fengnian interrupted, raising his hand. "Let's see someone first."

The curtain to the inner room was lifted, and an elderly man with white hair dressed in a Tang suit walked out.

Chen Hongxiong immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Master."

Nalan Changsheng sat down, leaning on a rosewood cane, the dragon head of which was inlaid with a piece of blood jade: "Little Hongxiong has grown up."

His voice was hoarse as sandpaper, "Do you still remember Xu Zhenhong?"

Chen Hongxiong's heart skipped a beat—this was the leader of the kidnappers who had abducted Zhao Balang back then.

"Master, is Uncle Xu one of your men?"

“That’s right! It was indeed me who sent him to ‘invite’ the young master of the Zhao family.” Nalan Changsheng sneered, “I didn’t expect that idiot Xu Zhenhong would be so heartless as to call the police, and I certainly didn’t expect…”

He squinted. "That kid actually managed to kill three adults."

The teahouse suddenly fell silent.

Chen Hongxiong felt a chill run down his spine. If a nine-year-old child could kill three kidnappers with his bare hands, that would be terrifying...

Qi Fengnian suddenly said, "Now I suspect that Zhao Jiadi was really hidden away by Zhao Sanjin."

"That's not important! He's just a child anyway." Nalan Changsheng tapped the ground lightly with his cane, then turned to Chen Hongxiong beside him and asked, "Little Hongxiong, you said we have people inside the Jinhai Group?"

“The CFO, Qi Dongcao, is Uncle Qi’s niece,” Chen Hongxiong said confidently. “And the security supervisor, Huang Fengtu… his son owes me three million in gambling debts.”

The three exchanged a glance and raised their glasses in unison.

The tea reflected the swaying light bulb on the ceiling, resembling the scene of a car accident that had been engulfed in flames many years ago.

……

It's 3 a.m. in an apartment in Hongkou District, Shanghai.

Su Ning woke up from a nightmare, her whole body drenched in cold sweat.

In his dream, he returned to that blood-red factory, but this time he saw more details clearly.

As Xu Zhenhong lay dying, her lips moved as if she were saying, "Call the police!" Meanwhile, a girl with a ponytail was hiding in the corner...

My phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Lin Xiaoyu: "Su Ning, I've arrived at school."

Suning hesitated for a moment before replying: 【Get some rest! Remember to contact me if anything happens.】

He put down his phone and, as if possessed, opened a search engine and typed in "Zhao Balang from Tangshan is missing".

Several old news articles popped up on the page, one of which, accompanied by a picture, made him gasp for breath. The picture showed young Zhao Balang standing in front of a birthday cake, with a crescent-shaped birthmark clearly visible on his left wrist.

Then Suning searched for the 1995 Tangshan Caofeidian case, but found nothing about the bloodshed at the abandoned factory. Little did they know that the case had already been suppressed by Zhao Sanjin.

"So that's how it is..." Su Ning trembled as she touched her arm, where the birthmark shone bluish-white in the moonlight.

With a splitting headache, fragments of memory forcibly squeezed into my mind:
The girl with the ponytail kept calling out to him, "Don't be afraid, Ba Liang, your sister is here."

The sensation of steel bars piercing flesh, warm blood splattering on my face...

"Ah!" Su Ning clutched his head and knelt on the ground, a burning pain suddenly shooting through his eyes.

His eyes looked particularly lost in the bathroom mirror.

Who am I, really? Su Ning? Zhao Balang?
The sound of a key turning came from outside the door, and Su Daqiang returned, drunkenly humming a song.

As Su Ning stepped out of the bathroom, she looked at the drunken Su Daqiang and said, "Dad, you're back."

"Yes, your Aunt Chen went to see her daughter." The events of the past two days still left Su Daqiang quite depressed.

"Have you ever thought about marrying Aunt Chen?" Su Ning took the initiative to matchmake Su Daqiang and the girl from Jiangxi.

"Haha, I can't afford to marry her! The bride price in Jiangxi is still very high."

"Don't joke around, Dad, I'm serious."

"I haven't thought about it! I feel pretty good about my current situation. Besides, even if I wanted to marry her, your Aunt Chen's daughter might not be willing."

"May I help you match them up later?"

"No need! It's none of your business how I pick up girls."

Then Su Ning brought up Qi Dongcao, whom he had met at the terminal today, saying, "I saw that girl next to Zhao Sanjin at the terminal again today. It seems they still haven't given up."

Su Daqiang seemed to know a lot about Zhao Sanjin. "Her name is Qi Dongcao, and her father's name is Qi Wufu. Back then, the two Qi brothers, Qi Fengnian and Qi Wufu, were both kind to Zhao Sanjin. Unexpectedly, in the end, Zhao Sanjin sent them to prison, and their Qi family business was bought by Zhao Sanjin at a low price, causing Qi Wufu to die in prison."

"What? Doesn't Qi Dongcao hate this man who killed her father?" Su Ning was now incredulous.

“I don’t understand either! Nobody expected Zhao Sanjin to take in Qi Dongcao. Many people say that Qi Dongcao is your child bride.”

"Nonsense! What era are we living in now? There's no such decadent thing as child brides anymore."

"So you're still too young! There are always things in this world that you don't know about."

Thinking about the captivating look in Qi Dongcao's eyes, Su Ning couldn't help but smack her lips and say, "What a pity! I think Qi Dongcao is quite pretty."

"Haha, it's not too late for you to regret it now. As long as you acknowledge Zhao Sanjin, you'll have everything you need, from wealth to beautiful women."

"Dad, I still believe in myself more. Wealth and beautiful women are only truly fulfilling when you earn them yourself."

"Don't be naive! It's very difficult to make a name for yourself in this world. Zhao Sanjin only became successful after marrying into the Wang family, so it's unlikely that you can make money on your own."

"I still want to give it a try! Over the years, I've gained access to a lot of resources through the translation agency, so starting a business isn't particularly difficult."

"Alright! You've always been a person of your own mind since you were little."

Although I have no memory of it now, it doesn't hinder the self-confidence I've cultivated over the years.

Next, I plan to start a business through a translation agency during my university years. I believe I can definitely make something of myself.

……

(End of this chapter)