"President Ye, the appraisal report has been returned."
On Monday morning, as Ye Shuang was washing up, he saw the message on QQ. The appraisal was faster than he'd expected, and since it was done at An Shiyu's family hospital, the quality should be trustworthy.
"Finally got the results, huh." Ye Shuang replied back, "Put it on my office desk."
He paused, hesitated for a few seconds, then added another message:
"Put it in the second drawer on the right, please."
Soon, the QQ message came back:
"Got it, President Ye."
Ye Shuang: Transfer 5000¥
Ye Shuang: Thanks for your effort.
QQ: No, no, President Ye, I can't accept this.
Ye Shuang: Take it. I forgot to give you the appraisal fee for the agency, and it's hard to put it on the company books. Use the rest for some tea.
QQ: Thank you, President Ye. I'll accept it then.
Putting down his phone, Ye Shuang continued washing up.
[You missed brushing that last tooth.]
[Cavity probability increased.]
Ye Shuang: "..."
Silently, he squeezed out more toothpaste and brushed for another few minutes.
...
It was still early, so after Ye Shuang went downstairs, prepared breakfast, and fed Ten Thousand, he went to wake up Bai Yuyou and the others.
Recently, Leaf hadn't been running over to sleep with him; instead, she often stayed with Bai Yuyou.
After gently knocking on the door, Ye Shuang pushed it open.
The room was filled with a faint floral scent. Ye Shuang looked inside—
Bai Yuyou was sound asleep, her blanket only covering her belly button, her fair, long legs and flawless skin boldly exposed to the air.
Ye Shuang glanced to the side. Leaf was curled up, sleeping restlessly.
The sound of the door opening didn't wake either of them. Ye Shuang studied their sleeping faces. There was an indescribable resemblance, and perhaps because he already suspected it, he felt more and more like they looked alike.
After standing for a few minutes, he finally reached out and gently patted Bai Yuyou's shoulder. With a drowsy murmur, the girl slowly opened her beautiful eyes. When they landed on Ye Shuang, she spoke slowly:
"Ye Shuang, where are our babies?"
"What babies?"
"The ones I just gave birth to... there were seven or eight." Yuyou slowly sat up, feeling around on the bed, and finally noticed Leaf. "Now there's only one left."
She looked at Ye Shuang. "They're gone."
"Still half asleep?" Ye Shuang realized, she must still be dreaming.
"There are no babies. Get up, Yuyou. It was all a dream."
Ye Shuang cupped her soft cheeks, gently pressing his thumb into her skin. Bai Yuyou seemed to gradually come back to reality. "Oh, time to get up."
Hearing the commotion, Leaf also sat up groggily. "Daddy, hold me."
"You don't have school, Leaf. You can sleep a bit longer."
Ye Shuang cradled the two of them—one big, one small—and suddenly felt like he really was acting like a father.
Was that a bit off?
A little while later, Tang Keke also got up, and the four of them ate breakfast together.
"Brother, are you leaving soon? Normally you wouldn't be in such a hurry." Tang Keke noticed Ye Shuang looked ready to head out.
"Yeah, work calls," Ye Shuang said with a smile.
"Daddy, I want to come too," Leaf suddenly said.
"Chen Qin isn't around today. Are you sure you want to come? It might be a bit boring," Ye Shuang said. After all, Chen Qin wouldn't be in the office for a few days, and he still had to swing by the Chen family in the evening to check on Jinsha.
"That's fine. Is it okay?" Leaf asked.
"Then let's go," Ye Shuang said with a gentle smile.
After telling the two girls to head to school on their own, Ye Shuang took Leaf out.
"Woof!"
In the parking lot, Ye Shuang rarely saw Wangcai. The dog was there as usual, guarding the car. When it saw Leaf, it came over, circling her feet as if sniffing something.
"Chubby doggy," Leaf reached out to pet the Corgi, but it dodged her, acting aloof.
Then it just stared at Leaf, as if sizing her up.
"Haven't seen you in a few days," Ye Shuang said with a smile, feeding Wangcai before driving off with Leaf.
...
As he merged into traffic, Ye Shuang gripped the steering wheel, but his attention kept drifting to Leaf.
"Leaf."
"What is it, Daddy?"
"Do you remember anything? About the time before we brought you home," Ye Shuang asked. "Did you live in this city before?"
"Leaf has always lived in this city. Always lived here," Leaf said.
"Where did you live?"
"At home."
"Where is home?"
"It's in the house we live in now, Daddy," Leaf said, but there was something unreadable in her eyes.
Ye Shuang: "..."
When they arrived at the company, Ye Shuang quickly saw Kǒukǒu (his assistant nicknamed "Dot Dot"). Since Chen Qin rarely came to the office these days, the assistant had been reassigned to work with Ye Shuang.
"Kǒukǒu, look after Leaf for me," Ye Shuang said, noticing An Shiyu hadn't arrived yet.
"Sure, President Ye." Kǒukǒu was in a good mood and cheerfully led Leaf to the next office to play. After all, the appraisal fee was only two thousand, and the extra three thousand was pure bonus for him. Following President Ye meant plenty of perks.
Finding himself alone in the office, Ye Shuang sat in his chair. He thought for a few seconds, then pulled the appraisal envelope from the drawer.
He saw the tamper-evident seal, tore it open, and took out the small booklet-like report.
The report contained plenty of data, but Ye Shuang didn't bother with it. He flipped directly to the conclusion at the end—
[Appraisal Opinion]
[Based on DNA analysis results and available data, without considering external interference, it is supported that 01 is the biological mother of 02.]
No names were used, just numbers as placeholders.
But that didn't matter. Because—
Ye Shuang's eyes fixed on the words "supported... is the biological mother."
This meant the data from the police station was correct, and the match was accurate.
Bai Yuyou was Leaf's mother. Her biological mother.
At eighteen or nineteen years old...
"Phew..."
Ye Shuang let out a long breath. His mind began to spiral. Rubbing his brow, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
