Chapter 215: Investigating the Truth
As they walked out of the steel mill’s residential compound, Tang Xue couldn’t hold back her tears. She threw herself into Li Yi’s arms and began to sob uncontrollably.
Li Yi gently patted her back but said nothing to comfort her.
He knew that any words would be meaningless at that moment.
After quite a while, when she finally stopped crying, Li Yi led her toward the guesthouse.
Back at the guesthouse, Li Yi told her to sit in the room for a while while he went to buy some food.
After all, it was past noon, and neither of them had eaten; they were both famished after all the commotion.
But when Li Yi returned with the food, he found that Tang Xue had already fallen asleep.
Li Yi took a quick bite, then lay down beside Tang Xue.
But he didn’t fall asleep; instead, his mind kept replaying the events of the day.
There was no doubt that Tang Xue wasn’t a daughter of the Tang family; after all, it was evident from her appearance, which was completely different from that of the other Tang family members.
To put it bluntly, with genes like Tang Jizhong and Li Hongmei’s, they could only produce the likes of Tang Lei and Tang Bing—there was absolutely no way they could have produced Tang Xue.
But the truth of the matter may not be exactly as Tang Jizhong and Li Xuemei claimed; at the very least, they were not telling the truth on many key points.
While Tang Jizhong was speaking just now, Li Yi could clearly see that his eyes kept darting about, and he looked somewhat uneasy.
Clearly, he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
It can only be said that the temptation of three thousand yuan was too great, leading them to reveal part of the truth.
However, the immediate priority now is not to uncover the truth, but to first calm Tang Xue’s nerves. After all, she is less than three months pregnant, and the fetus is still fragile.
Uncovering the truth is certainly important, but so many years have passed; there’s no need to rush.
Besides, nearly twenty years had passed; many things had changed beyond recognition, and thoroughly investigating the matter would be no easy task.
Therefore, unless Tang Xue expressed a particularly strong desire to pursue it, Li Yi decided to set the matter aside for now.
Just as he was deep in thought, a soft “whimper” reached his ears.
Turning to look, he saw Tang Xue slowly opening her eyes.
“Awake?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Then get up and have something to eat. I bought you liangpi and millet porridge!” Li Yi said.
Tang Xue had intended to say she had no appetite, but when she saw the concerned look in Li Yi’s eyes and thought of the baby in her womb, she immediately struggled to sit up in bed.
Li Yi immediately stood up, helped her to the table, and opened the lunch box for her.
After taking a couple of bites, Tang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “Did you know this was coming all along?”
“What?”
“That I’m not their biological daughter!”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I’d had my suspicions before—after all, their behavior was a bit off—but I wasn’t entirely sure. It wasn’t until I met them that I finally confirmed my suspicions!”
“Why? Do you have any evidence?” Tang Xue asked.
Li Yi suddenly looked at her face and said, “Honey, do you know how beautiful you are?”
“Um…”
Tang Xue blushed deeply at Li Yi’s sudden remark and immediately said, “Let’s get back to the serious business!”
“I am talking about serious business—I deduced from your appearance that you aren’t their biological daughter!”
Li Yi continued, “Look, whether it’s Tang Lei or Tang Bing, they’re both so ugly, yet they bear a certain resemblance to their parents.”
“But you—you’re so beautiful, yet you don’t resemble them at all. Clearly, you’re not cut from the same cloth as them!”
“Ha!”
Hearing the word “breed,” Tang Xue couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing her smile, Li Yi felt a little more at ease.
After she finished laughing, Tang Xue sighed and said, “You know, when I first heard I wasn’t their biological daughter, I felt a bit disappointed and a little sad, but more than anything, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!”
“I used to harbor resentment, but in that moment, all of it vanished. They may have hurt me, but they also raised me. Consider the three thousand yuan as repayment for their care—and as a way to buy off all these years of familial ties! You… you won’t blame me, will you?”
“Why would I blame you?” Li Yi asked, puzzled.
“I just swindled three thousand yuan out of you!”
“Haha, what’s three thousand yuan? As long as I have it and you need it, I’ll give you anything—without a second thought!” Li Yi said firmly.
“You’re so kind!”
“By the way, Xiao Xue, are you interested in looking for your biological mother?” Li Yi asked.
“I… I’m not really interested!” Tang Xue said.
“Why?”
“She abandoned me. I don’t want to…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi spoke again: “Actually, you should just take what Tang Jizhong and his wife say with a grain of salt—the truth might not be exactly as they describe it!”
“Are you saying they’re lying to me?” Tang Xue asked, somewhat surprised.
“It’s possible!”
Li Yi continued, “Normally, a woman who goes through all that trouble to give birth to a child loves that child and wouldn’t just give it away so easily!”
“Then I…”
“You, you idiot, just listen to me first. There are only three possible reasons why you ended up on the streets!”
“What are they?”
“First, your biological mother had no choice but to give you away due to some unavoidable circumstances.”
Li Yi then continued, “The second possibility is that she genuinely didn’t like you, or perhaps she disliked the fact that you were a girl, so she decided to give you away!”
“The final possibility is that you weren’t abandoned by your biological parents at all—you were stolen or abducted!”
Li Yi had seen countless cases like this in his previous life. There could be countless reasons why a child is separated from their parents, but no matter which one it is, it’s a human tragedy!
Tang Xue was silent for a long while before finally asking, “Which one do you think I am?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “If your adoptive parents aren’t lying, then the first possibility is the most likely. They never once mentioned your biological father, which suggests he wasn’t present when your mother gave birth—and that’s worth examining.”
“But if they’re lying, that’s a whole different story!”
“If that’s the case, I’d like to look into my background. Is that okay?” Tang Xue asked.
“Of course you can. You have the right to know your background, but…”
“But what?”
“It’s just that this might not be easy. Too much time has passed, and we have so little information—it won’t be easy to find out!” Li Yi said.
“But…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not that I don’t want to help you investigate; I just want you to be prepared. In fact, I’ve already figured out where to start!” Li Yi said.
“Really?”
“Yes. I plan to start with the Maple Leaf Town Health Center. Even though so many years have passed, if we ask the older doctors and nurses there, they might still remember something!”
Li Yi continued, “Also, if your biological mother has come looking for you over the years, they’d definitely know about it.”
“Alright, let’s do as you suggest. We’ll head over to the Maple Leaf Town Health Center this afternoon!”
“It’s too rushed this afternoon. I need to get ready. How about we go tomorrow?”
“Alright!”
……