Quan Tianxi and his mother, Liu Peilin, arrived at the hospital to visit Liu Zhixi.
Upon their arrival, Liu Zhixi was browsing online comments about herself. She discovered that although the video had been removed, the public's opinion of her remained unchanged. Her company had even filed a lawsuit against her, seeking nearly ten billion in damages.
She had also joined various fan groups through a secondary account. The groups were in chaos, with a complete shift from fans to haters. They were cursing, crying, and complaining. Even the largest fan groups had been disbanded by the fan club president.
Her twenty-two years of youth, starting from her debut as a child star at the age of five, were ruined.
"Ah!!" Liu Zhixi, in a fit of rage, smashed the bed, her roar echoing throughout the entire floor.
Quan Tianxi and Liu Peilin rushed to open the hospital room door. Seeing Liu Zhixi covered in bandages, Liu Peilin could no longer hold back her tears and burst into sobs.
"Xi Xi, my darling, you told me it wasn't serious, but look at you now, my child, my child."
Tears streamed down Liu Zhixi's face. "Mom, my face hurts so much, my whole body hurts. Mom, Xiao Dong harmed me. She was instigated to buy me substandard fireworks, and my face is completely ruined. I don't want to live anymore."
"Don't say that, child. You'll get better. Everything will be alright. We'll find the best doctors, and Mom will make you even more beautiful than before." Although Liu Peilin knew that a full recovery was impossible, she feared her daughter's reaction if she knew the truth, so she chose to lie.
Liu Zhixi, however, took her words to heart and was filled with joy. She secretly thought about how she would become even more beautiful than that wretched Quan Jiu. Lying in bed sleepless for the past two days, she had already planned which parts of her face to alter, such as slightly widening her eyes, making her nose higher, and her lips fuller. She imagined herself becoming the most beautiful person.
Quan Tianxi stepped forward to comfort her. "Mom, stop crying. If you cry, Xi Xi will cry too. Her wounds cannot touch water, and tears will corrode them."
Upon hearing this, Liu Peilin immediately stopped crying, wiped her tears, and forced a smile. "Xi Xi, let's go home. It's easier to care for you at home. We'll bring all the best doctors to our house." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Liu Zhixi couldn't agree more. She no longer wanted to stay in the hospital and quickly nodded, eager to return home. After all, it was the home that had sheltered her for twenty-seven years, and only at home did she feel capable of anything.
Quan Tianxi immediately arranged for a medical team and successfully transported Liu Zhixi back home.
When Liu Zhixi arrived home, Quan Tianyang had already returned with Quan Jiu's hair samples and was having them tested by the family's medical department. Of course, the testing personnel were all trusted individuals, as the matter was of great importance. With more people having ulterior motives in the new district, any leak of information could bring trouble to their third sister outside the new district.
While waiting for the results, Quan Maoheng visited Liu Zhixi's room.
He had intended to inquire about the online public opinion. The Quan family had strict rules, and if the events in the video were true, it would provide the other three major families with leverage against the Quan family.
However, upon seeing Liu Zhixi's injuries, he couldn't bring himself to ask. In the end, he could only shake his head and sigh, urging the doctors to do their best, and said nothing more.
After comforting Liu Zhixi to sleep, Liu Peilin, wiping her tears, went to the living room. Her husband, eldest son, second son, and mother-in-law were all waiting for her.
She saw a document placed on the coffee table, and her heart skipped a beat. She quietly sat beside her husband and stared blankly at the document.
Zhao Qunfang, ninety-five years old, with her graying hair and a face full of wrinkles and age spots, still couldn't hide the beauty of her bone structure, appearing elegant and noble.
"This child is indeed just like me when I was young," Zhao Qunfang said, adjusting her reading glasses and smiling as she gazed at the photograph in her hand. "Among the three generations, she resembles me the most. She looks so beautiful."
Liu Peilin paused for a moment, then suddenly mustered her courage, picked up the document from the table, opened the file bag, and flipped to the last page. The highlighted conclusion was striking.
"Consistent with genetic inheritance, paternity probability greater than 0.999998..."
Her breath hitched, then quickened. She covered her face and began to cry.
Although she had been prepared, the confirmation still brought immense pain. The child she had doted on for over twenty years was not her biological daughter, and her biological daughter had endured twenty years of hardship. Liu Peilin's heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.
Quan Maoheng picked up the paternity test and looked at it for a long time before sighing again. "Bring her back. Tianyang, send out a notice. In three days, let Jiu Jiu officially join the family."
Even though they had never met, a biological child was connected by blood. Since she had been found, there was no reason to remain strangers.
Quan Tianyang's expression remained serious, but his tone was decisive. "Understood. Since it's a formal recognition, we must invite important figures from the other three families and their sixteen branches and thirty-two sects."
This was not just a simple family reunion; it was a declaration to the entire new district that their Quan family now had another young princess.
Quan Maoheng had no objections. "Yes, you arrange it." With that, he stood up and left.
Zhao Qunfang caressed the person in the photograph with a look of anticipation. "When can I see my little darling? Has the family recognition happened? Will she accept us?"
Quan Tianyang quickly replied, "We met her this afternoon, and she's very excited. She has no parents, and her adoptive relatives aren't good people. Now that she knows about us, Jiu Jiu must be very emotional. It's just..."
"What?" Zhao Qunfang and Liu Peilin looked at each other nervously.
"Jiu Jiu is already married and has two children. Her husband... well, he's not a good person either." Quan Tianyang's anger flared when he thought of Chu Rong, who competed with him for his sister.
Upon hearing this, Liu Peilin's tears welled up again. "My poor child. The mistakes of adults in the past have caused her so much suffering. Men fear choosing the wrong profession, and women fear marrying the wrong man. Who did she marry? If it's not working out, she can divorce him. There are so many good men in the new district; why worry about finding a son-in-law?"
Quan Tianxi glanced at Quan Tianyang, who appeared unperturbed. He shook his head and explained, "Their marital relationship is very good. Don't listen to my elder brother. The man is Chu Rong, the head of the Chu Group. I've met him; he's a good person."
Quan Tianyang's eyebrows shot up. "He's good? Good at what? I think your eyes are clouded with grease; you can't distinguish good from bad."
Quan Tianxi knew his elder brother must have had a run-in with Chu Rong. He didn't argue but took out Quan Jiu's background information. He had only given it to Quan Tianyang that morning; his parents and grandmother hadn't seen it yet.
Liu Peilin reached out to take it, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Forget it. Investigating Jiu Jiu's background like this isn't proper. What if Jiu Jiu gets angry? I'll ask her when she comes. That way, we'll have something to talk about."
That made sense. Quan Tianxi put away the documents and volunteered, "Then I'll go ask Jiu Jiu tomorrow if she's willing to come back for a few days. However, she's filming, so it might be difficult. But no matter what, the family recognition cannot be delayed."
Liu Peilin also nodded. "Yes, if she's busy, let her be busy. As long as she comes back for the ceremony, we need relatives and friends to meet her."
Quan Tianyang glared at Quan Tianxi with a dark expression. "What are you going to do? Do you have too little work? I don't mind arranging more for you."
"You met her today, so it's my turn tomorrow," Quan Tianxi insisted. "I'm going tomorrow, no discussion."
"I think you're asking for a beating," Quan Tianyang said with a grim face.
Liu Peilin smiled speechlessly. "How old are you two? Why are you acting like children?"
Liu Zhixi, hiding behind the hospital room door, heard all of this. She gripped the door frame tightly, her eyes burning with hatred as if they could drip blood.