Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

He Lianghan frowned, picked up the USB drive, and asked, "What's this?"

He Ziyu: "Evidence of He Ningqiu secretly photographing Huozhong's works."

He Ziyu spoke succinctly and without elaborating further. In any case, the video recording was very clear, and it was easy to tell who was right and who was wrong.

He Lianghan plugged the USB drive into the computer and opened the video in the folder.

After a brief blackout, He Ningqiu's furtive figure appeared on the screen.

Flipping through sketches, taking photos, cleaning up the mess...

Although the surveillance video had no narration or sound, anyone with eyes could see what He Ningqiu was doing, especially his guilty look, which made it difficult for him to clear his name.

He Lianghan's expression grew increasingly serious, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

After the video finished playing, he asked, "Why did Ning Qiu secretly film Huozhong's work?"

He Ziyu did not answer directly, but instead pulled out a chair and sat down opposite He Lianghan, pondering his choice of words.

Convincing her father that He Ningqiu was an innocent and naive girl was no easy task. After all, He Ningqiu had always been well-behaved at home and didn't cause trouble at school. Simply stating the facts in a lighthearted manner probably wouldn't be very effective.

So he thought about it and decided to try a different approach, to have a heart-to-heart talk with his father.

Before I answer, let me ask you a question.

"What?"

"Do you believe that your son, that is, me, is inherently good?"

"Of course." He Lianghan replied without hesitation, "You are my son, my own flesh and blood. Although you are a bit mischievous, you are definitely not bad."

"That's good." He Ziyu nodded. "Since you believe I'm not a bad person at heart, you must listen carefully to every word I say next, because these are my true feelings."

He Lianghan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and could hardly believe his ears.

Is He Ziyu going to tell him his innermost thoughts? Has the sun risen in the west?

At home, the two of them usually kept their distance as much as possible. He Ziyu didn't communicate with him much, and he wasn't good at communicating with He Ziyu either. Even small things like giving each other pocket money had to be done through Zhou Ying.

To be able to have a heart-to-heart talk with his son was always just a pipe dream for him.

After a short while, He Ziyu took a deep breath and said, "I have never discussed the matter of you adopting He Ningqiu with you in detail. On the one hand, I feel that I don't have much say in it, and on the other hand, I understand your original intention."

"For the past ten years or so, I have been living a muddled and unambitious life, which has disappointed you greatly. Looking back now, if I were you, I probably wouldn't be able to greet such a son with a smile either."

"Our He family is large and prosperous, and we need someone to inherit it. I can understand if you go out and find a more suitable successor, but to say that you are not upset at all would be hypocritical."

"Since He Ningqiu appeared, I have felt a sense of crisis and have begun to work hard to get on the right track. You should be able to see this, and this is enough to show that I wholeheartedly accept this healthy way of competition."

"But recently I've increasingly realized that He Ningqiu isn't as innocent as he seems. He's unscrupulous in some matters, and he'll do anything to achieve his goals, even at the expense of others."

"Just like yesterday when he secretly photographed the manuscript of the Fire Seed, you've been in the business world for so many years, you should know very well that he's not simply interested in those things, but wants to take them away and do something with them."

"In short, after I caught him taking photos without permission, he left alone in the rain, without even taking his phone, and came straight back here. As for the claim that I kicked him out, that's completely unfounded. My friends and Mr. Fire Seed can all vouch for me."

"Dad, I'm not afraid of competition, but I don't want my competitor to be a person of low character. If I have to spend my future life in scheming and backstabbing, then I think your decision to adopt him will lose its true meaning."

He Ziyu's heartfelt words surprised He Lianghan, and he felt a little sorry for him.

He had witnessed He Ziyu's efforts and transformation during this time. Zhou Ying had also told him that the child probably felt a sense of crisis, which was why he suddenly changed his personality. Hearing He Ziyu say this now, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

He Lianghan: "If what you say is true, I will punish Ning Qiu, but I will wait until his fever subsides..."

"No need to wait until the fever breaks, Dad."

Before He Lianghan could finish speaking, the study door was pushed open.

He Ningqiu, pale-faced and with dry lips, appeared before the two of them, looking disheveled.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have photographed Mr. Fire Seed's manuscript, I shouldn't have run out in the rain, and I shouldn't have made you worry."

He Ningqiu lowered her eyes, her voice weak and feeble, and she coughed a few times as she spoke.

He Lianghan: "So, you admit you ran away on your own?"

He Ningqiu pursed her lips, and coughed even more violently.

He Ziyu had seen this kind of old-fashioned self-inflicted injury tactic many times in his previous life, but back then he couldn't see through it and even tried to protect He Ningqiu.

"You still have a fever, go back and rest first." He Lianghan's tone was very harsh.

"I don't need to rest. Punish me now. I'll do anything to make my brother happy."

He Ziyu: "???"

What kind of nonsense is this?

He Ziyu hadn't intended to hold a grudge against He Ningqiu at this critical juncture, but upon hearing him say such idiotic things, he was immediately enraged and stood up, ready to confront him.

Before he could even speak, his father spoke first.

"What do you mean by that?" He Lianghan glared at He Ningqiu. "What do you mean, 'As long as it makes Ayu happy'?"

He Ningqiu was taken aback by her father's sudden nitpicking, and stammered, "My... I mean, my brother was angry with me yesterday, so..."

"Don't you know why he's angry?"

"I……"

He Lianghan took a deep breath and said, "I didn't want to pursue this matter now because you're sick, but you're pretending to be innocent."

The unexpected rebuke left He Ningqiu completely stunned, her lips trembling slightly as she was unable to speak.

He heard He Ziyu return from his room and hesitated for a long time before deciding to come over and play the victim. Unexpectedly, his father not only didn't feel sorry for him, but also accused him of...pretending to be innocent?

"I know everything you did over there. If you think that apologizing is just to make A-Yu happy, then it proves that you don't even know where you went wrong."

"..."

"You have a high fever, and I didn't want to say anything to you, but you insisted on being punished. Fine, call Huozhong right now and apologize to him in front of me."

He Ningqiu opened her eyes wide, thinking she had misheard.

He knew that He Ziyu would definitely come and tattle, so he came over to admit his mistake, thinking that his father would probably think that he was forced by He Ziyu. He was very shrewd.

To his utter surprise, his father believed He Ziyu's words without even asking him a single question.

Did something go wrong?

"Ayu, call Huozhong." He Lianghan was furious at He Ningqiu's petty theft in the video. He was so angry that he was about to let him off the hook because he was sick, but he didn't expect him to come to him and say such disgusting things.

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu immediately took out his phone and made a video call to "Fire Seed".

A few seconds later, the call was connected.

He Ningqiu stood awkwardly to the side, her expression extremely unpleasant.

Having his father watch him apologize to "Fire Seed" would mean that the theft was completely confirmed, since "Fire Seed" had no grudge against him and there was no reason for him to help He Ziyu punish him.

Thinking of this, He Ningqiu's mouth was as if it were sealed shut, and he couldn't open it no matter what.

"Ayu, what's the matter?"

Having almost had his prized possession stolen, "Spark" was in a very bad mental state. When he saw He Ziyu, he greeted him weakly.

"It's like this, Mr. Fire Seed, my brother has realized his mistake and now wants to sincerely apologize to you." After He Ziyu finished speaking, he turned the camera to He Ningqiu without hesitation.

With things having come to this point and no other way out, He Ningqiu scratched his palms and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fire Seed. I shouldn't have had any thoughts about your work, and I shouldn't have taken photos without your permission..."

"Fire Seed" seemed to be allergic to He Ningqiu, frowning whenever it saw him.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I won't accept your apology, but I won't pursue the matter further either. Let's leave it at that."

The conversation was brief and ended abruptly, and it was clear that "Fire Seed" was truly disappointed in He Ningqiu.

He Ningqiu's face was even paler than before.

He Lianghan: "From today onwards, you are not allowed to go to your brother's studio anymore, and you are not allowed to see Lan Yuan after school. Who is he to you that you need to take such good care of him? If I find out again, you can forget about leaving the house."

He was already annoyed by He Ziyu chasing after Lan Yuan every day before. Now that He Ziyu had finally calmed down, He Ningqiu was starting to repeat the same mistakes. He had been unhappy about this for a long time, and he took this opportunity to say it.

"I...I understand..." He Ningqiu bit her lip hard, trying to hold back her tears.

Since He Ningqiu still had a fever, his father said a few words and sent him away. He Ziyu glanced at the time and decided to return to Xinrong Home to continue working.

"Ayu..." His father called out to him before he left.

"Um?"

"Actually... Dad has never given up on you. As long as you are willing to work hard, I still hope that you will manage the group in the future."

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you down."

I won't let myself down.

He carried too much burden in this life and wanted to make up for too much, so he had to work harder and strive even harder.

……

After leaving his father's study, He Ziyu found Eryu in the small garden, held her in his arms, and stroked her.

"Eryu, you're getting fatter and fatter."

Meow~

The kitten, which used to be quite small, has now become much rounder, and its heterochromatic eyes sparkle in the sunlight like two beautiful glass beads.

Having not seen Eryu for two days, He Ziyu missed it quite a bit, so he cuddled it in the rattan chair for a while longer.

"Eryu, do you know what? Today was the first time Dad stood up for me. Before, this kind of thing could only happen in my dreams." He Ziyu's lips curled up slightly, his tone revealing undisguised happiness. "And he also said that he has never given up on me and is willing to hand over the management of the group to me."

"In order not to betray his trust, I must work harder and harder to be worthy of myself and those who love me."

"Eryu, do you believe I can do it?"

Eryu licked his own fur, completely ignoring He Ziyu.

He Ziyu snorted, lightly tapped Eryu's head with his index finger, "forcing" it to nod, and shamelessly added the voiceover: "Believe, meow~"

Eryu: "→_→"

Not far away, He Lianghan heard He Ziyu's words and his eyes welled up with tears.