Chapter 1: Paternity Test
Tan Ming woke up from her slumber. Her nostrils were filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the white ceiling. After a while, she remembered that she had just finished giving birth.
"Welcome to our afternoon entertainment broadcast. The first headline today is that our latest star Tan Si and a mysterious man have appeared in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Elle Maternity and Child Hospital. She is suspected to be pregnant before marriage and there for a prenatal checkup. Through our reporters" tireless tracking, we discovered that this mysterious man is Si Cheng, the CEO of the Si Corporation!"
Tan Ming was brought back to consciousness by the sound of the television in the ward. The host"s words were so attention-grabbing, and her breathing stopped for a second.
"Next, please take a look at the latest photos sent back by our frontline reporters!"
Tan Ming leaned against the head of the bed, her body still very weak after giving birth. Her eyes were eagerly looking at the television.
Although there were only two blurry profiles in the photo, Tan Ming still recognized her sister, Tan Si, and her husband, Si Cheng, in an instant!
Three years ago, Si Cheng was left in a vegetative state after a car accident. After that, he turned to the Tan family, who was dependent on the Si Corporation, to get married. The Tan family couldn"t bear to let their own biological daughter marry into the family and ruin her lifelong bliss. However, they were so afraid that they would anger the Si family and their business would take a hit, so they forced her, the foster daughter, out.
Twenty-three years ago, because the Tan couple did not have a child then, they adopted Tan Ming and took care of her like their own. However, they did not expect that not long after they got pregnant and gave birth to Tan Si. Tan Ming then became the Tan family"s invisible maid. She was the most unwelcome existence. She had the t.i.tle of the Tan family"s eldest daughter, yet she was treated even worse than ordinary servants.
When Tan Ming was four or five years old, she started to follow the servants and helped to clean up the house and help out in the kitchen to earn her living expenses. If it weren"t for the compulsory nine years of education in the country, she probably wouldn"t even have been able to finish junior high school. Tan Ming had to work and rely on scholarships to survive in high school and university.
Because of her grat.i.tude to the Tan Family for sheltering her, Tan Ming had been tolerating Tan Si since she was young. She had even agreed to such a ridiculous request to marry into the Si Family on Tan Si"s behalf.
After marrying into the Si family, Tan Ming fell in love with Si Cheng at first sight. Under her dedicated care, Si Cheng woke up unexpectedly two years later.
Unexpectedly, what Tan Ming was waiting for was not Si Cheng"s love but betrayal!
When the Tan family found out that Si Cheng had woken up, they hurriedly came to visit. After that, Tan Si often made up various excuses to visit the Si family. A few months ago, Si Cheng directly confessed that he had fallen in love with Tan Si and wanted to divorce Tan Ming.
Tan Ming did not want to give in this time, so she decisively cut ties with the Tan family. She wanted to hold on to her t.i.tle as his wife and make Tan Si a mistress who could not see the light of day.
However, her persistence was taken as a joke. Tan Ming looked at the photo of the man carefully supporting the woman. Her chest felt suffocated, and a tear streaked across the corner of her eye.
From the start of her pregnancy till now, he had never accompanied her to any appointments. In order to get a divorce, he even threatened the fetuses that had already formed in her stomach. Therefore, Tan Ming had no choice but to sign the divorce agreement to protect the children.
Two nurses pushed a crib to Tan Ming"s side and said with a smile, "Congratulations on getting a son and a daughter, Miss Tan. Both children have been checked and are in good health."
When Tan Ming heard their voices, she hurriedly wiped her tears and turned to look at the two sleeping babies in the crib. She smiled gratefully and thanked the nurse, "Thank you. Sorry to trouble you."
The older, round-faced nurse gently instructed, "You"re welcome. You just gave birth. It"s a little strenuous for you to take care of the two children. You have to quickly call your family to help."
Stunned, Tan Ming nodded stiffly. "Okay."
The nurse left shortly after.
Tan Ming looked at the two babies beside her. Her heart felt like it was wrapped in cotton. However, when she thought about how the babies already had lost their father when they were just born, her heart felt like it was being stabbed. She decided to fight for the three of them one last time. After thinking for a while, she took out her phone and dialed Si Cheng"s number.
As soon as the call went through, Tan Ming was worried that she would be hung up on and immediately summarized her request, "I can"t take care of the twins I just gave birth to. Can you come over and help me take a look?"
After a second of silence, the voice on the other end of the line spoke.
"Madam, it"s Ning Gang. The CEO just said that he won"t be answering any calls today. I"ll find an opportunity to report this to the CEO later."
Tan Ming thought of the news and probed, "He"s with Tan Si?"
Ning Gang could not bear it, but he still chose to answer truthfully, "Yes."
Tan Ming"s heart was filled with desolation. She was instantly drowned in despair and hung up the phone.
"What"s going on with the bed next door? Why isn"t anyone at home coming for such a joyous occasion of giving birth to twins?"
"She"s probably someone"s mistress. She"s been here for a few days, but I haven"t seen anyone take care of her. There hasn"t even been anyone to deliver food to her since she gave birth."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I think so too. Her parents probably don"t want to visit her because they"re too embarra.s.sed."
"Sigh, the morality of the world is deteriorating day by day. She"s quite pretty, but she insists on being a mistress!"
Tan Ming could only afford to pay for a four-person ward. As she looked at the prying gazes of the other families, Tan Ming held onto the blanket tightly and endured these rumors.
Tan Ming"s in-laws didn"t like her, and the children she was carrying weren"t liked either. Her husband was even s.n.a.t.c.hed away by her own sister. Her parents never stood by her side. Tan Ming felt that her life was like a weed in the soil. She wanted to work hard to grow, but in reality, anyone who pa.s.sed by could trample over her.
At the hospital"s identification center.
Jiang Ling confirmed with his good friend again and again, "Old Lin, you personally handled this paternity test from the beginning to the end, right?!"
Lin Feng nodded helplessly again. "It"s me! You"re being so mysterious. Who are you helping check the paternity test? Why do you keep checking?"
Jiang Ling forcefully suppressed the ecstasy in his heart. He held it in and slapped Lin Feng hard. He said excitedly, "I"ll treat you to a feast another day!"
Lin Feng felt a pain in his shoulder. If not for the fact that Jiang Ling ran too fast, he would surely have given him a kick to protest that he had repaid his kindness with ingrat.i.tude. He bared his teeth and said, "If I don"t rip you off on that day of dinner, I"d have admitted defeat too easily!"