The old man paid the two of them no mind; leaning heavily on Uncle Deng for support, he slowly made his way into the building.
Trailing behind him, Duan Yiheng whispered to Lin Xi, "Last night, Chen Baiwei took a group of people to Lan Yue Residence." Lin Xi nearly burst out laughing: "So, those two were just trying to cover up their injuries?" Duan Yiheng replied, "Most likely."
Lin Xi offered a silent moment of mourning for the property management at Lan Yue Residence; with the ruckus Chen Baiwei had caused, a whole bunch of people were bound to suffer the consequences. Once inside the conference room, everyone—save for Zhao Hongbo—averted their eyes from the old man, keeping their heads bowed low like frightened quails. When father and son clash, the little fish get caught in the crossfire.
"I have decided to entrust Silver Sail to Yiheng," the old man announced. "Furthermore, on a personal level, I have severed all paternal ties with Duan Zheng." A ripple of shock swept through the room. Duan Yiheng shot a look at Duan Zheng, and the latter rose to his feet with obvious reluctance.
He offered a brief apology to the board members, then slowly exhaled. For the sake of Anqi, he had no choice but to do this. Duan Zheng exchanged a glance with Ke Yu, then began, "Ke Yu and I—" "The rumors regarding Mr. Duan and myself are true."
Ke Yu abruptly cut Duan Zheng off. "Furthermore, Mr. Duan and I have a daughter together. This is the DNA paternity test report for my daughter, Ke Yueke, and Duan Zheng." Ke Yu slapped the report down onto the table. The old man remained unperturbed—sitting as solid as a mountain—though his gaze was piercing: "What is it you want?" Ke Yu replied:
"I demand that you redistribute your estate. Otherwise, I will make this matter public and file a lawsuit, seeking a just and impartial ruling from the courts." "Justice?" Duan Yiheng gave a scoff. "You think a single DNA report is enough to overturn a last will and testament? Do you think this is some kind of child's game?"
Ke Yu turned her gaze toward Duan Yiheng. "Don't you think you're being a little too greedy?" Lin Xi then tossed a document onto the table in front of Ke Yu and said coldly, "You are the last person who has any right to use that word."
Ke Yu glanced at Lin Xi, then picked up the document. She skimmed through it rapidly—reading ten lines at a glance—and her face went even paler. She shot a sidelong glance at Duan Zheng, a surge of fury rising in her heart; no wonder, when she had discussed this plan with him just last night, he had refused to go along with it. Lin Xi continued:
"Everyone in the Duan family eligible for inheritance has signed this confidentiality agreement. It explicitly states that if one has illegitimate children born out of wedlock, they must unequivocally renounce any form of inheritance rights. Did Uncle Duan not tell you this?" "Duan Zheng." Ke Yu gritted her teeth. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She had always been confident that she held Duan Zheng firmly in the palm of her hand. Otherwise, Duan Zheng wouldn't have gone to such lengths for her and Anqi. Yet, she never imagined that at the very last moment, he would still be keeping secrets from her.
Anqi's identity was her final trump card, and now, that fool had gone and ruined it. Ke Yu had never felt such regret. She truly must have been blind—why on earth did she ever fall for such a spineless loser?
Everyone was still reeling from the gossip that Ke Yu and Duan Zheng had a child together when they were suddenly startled by this unexpected plot twist. They thought to themselves: *The older generation really does know best.* To divert the line of fire, Duan Zheng immediately glared fiercely at Duan Yiheng:
"Duan Yiheng, where have you hidden Anqi? She is your sister, after all—and just a little girl at that. You'd better not hurt her." The board members turned their gaze toward Duan Yiheng. Ke Yu's focus was indeed diverted as well; she grabbed Lin Xi's wrist and demanded:
"Where is Anqi? What have you done to her? I'm warning you: if anything happens to Anqi, I will make you pay!" The Old Master was, in fact, unaware of the situation regarding Anqi. Sensing the Old Master's scrutiny, Lin Xi pried Ke Yu's hand away and said:
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never even met her, so how could I possibly have hidden her?" "Stop playing the fool!" Ke Yu shouted. "You were the one who said last night that you wanted Duan Zheng and me to admit to our affair at today's board meeting!"
"If you want to throw a tantrum, take it outside," Lin Xi retorted, mimicking Duan Yiheng's cold, sharp tone. "Don't go making baseless accusations against me. When you make claims like that, you need to have evidence."
She had already suffered a crushing defeat; Anqi was Ke Yu's only child. If anything happened to Anqi, she would have nothing left to live for. "Enough! I've lost," Ke Yu screamed hysterically. "I admit that I did everything. Duan Zheng was nothing more than a stepping stone—a mere pawn—in my climb to the top."
"From the moment I announced my engagement to Duan Mingxuan in front of the media, to the incident where Chen Liangyi suffered a mental breakdown and stormed into Silver Sail Technology demanding an explanation—I was behind it all. I even bribed Chen Liangyi's mother." "Everything... absolutely everything... was my doing."
Ke Yu laid bare her every deed, confessing her actions word by word. Duan Zheng, appearing as if he had known all along that he was merely a pawn in her ascent, remained completely silent. "I've confessed to everything..." Ke Yu looked at Lin Xi with a pleading gaze. "Can you give Anqi back to me now?"
Duan Yiheng asked her, "Did your father-in-law know you were doing all this? Or did you have his authorization?" "He didn't know," Ke Yu denied without hesitation. "It was entirely my own doing."
Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng exchanged glances; they knew that even if her father-in-law *had* authorized it, Ke Yu would never admit it. For the Zheng family was her last remaining pillar of support—though that pillar was now on the verge of toppling.
Duan Yiheng pulled out his phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, Chen Baiwei had already leaked the scandal regarding Ke Yu's illegitimate daughter to the media, sending it straight to the top of the trending topics. Now that it was public knowledge, Ke Yu's days as a daughter-in-law of the Zheng family were numbered.
Duan Yiheng received a text message from Zheng Jiayi: the three sisters had already rushed back to the Zheng family's ancestral home. After this whole ordeal, a schism within the Zheng family was now a foregone conclusion. "Where is Anqi, exactly?" Ke Yu's patience had reached its absolute limit. Lin Xi replied:
"I don't know where your daughter is. Perhaps you should make a phone call back home and ask." "But *you* were the one who took her! How could you not know?" Ke Yu's voice rose in agitation. "Don't push me!"
Lin Xi stuck to the same evasive tactics, but suddenly, a realization dawned on Duan Zheng. He whipped out his phone and hurriedly dialed the number for the Tianhong Pavilion. The moment Anqi's voice rang out, calling him "Daddy," Duan Zheng's eyes welled up with tears. "Ke Yu," he called out softly. "It's Anqi on the line." Ke Yu seemed unable to believe her ears; it was only after Duan Zheng walked over and handed her the phone that she stumbled frantically toward the door. Duan Zheng followed close behind. Silence returned to the conference room, and the old patriarch tapped the table:
"It is already an indisputable fact that Yiheng is the next successor to Silver Sail. Furthermore, I have brought a lawyer with me today—though, to be precise, the lawyer is here at the behest of Ms. Qiu Huaying to announce an important decision. I ask that you all listen to what she has to say."
Lin Xi froze. As far as she knew, Duan Yiheng's maternal grandmother bore the surname Qiu. She fixed her gaze on Duan Yiheng, who offered her a reassuring look. A female lawyer in her early thirties entered the conference room; she gave a slight nod to Duan Yiheng before making her announcement:
"After careful consideration, Ms. Qiu Huaying—a shareholder of Silver Sail Group—has decided to unconditionally transfer all shares held under her name to Ms. Lin Xi. Ms. Qiu Huaying has explicitly stated that this serves as a betrothal gift for her future grandson's wife."
Lin Xi had, in truth, anticipated this outcome; yet, hearing the words spoken aloud in that very moment, her head still buzzed, and her limbs went numb. She looked at Duan Yiheng, her eyes brimming with tears—and with a deeply affectionate, unspoken question: *Why didn't you tell me about this beforehand?*
Duan Yiheng smiled. With this consolidation of equity, the two of them collectively held a 58% stake—a truly matchless union. Perhaps his next step should be to consider proposing marriage?