Chapter 38

How did Mother know I came home?

Zhong Ning agreed in a daze and followed the butler to the study.

Zhong Zinuan was also inside. When she saw Zhong Ning enter, she gave her a somewhat complicated look.

Unfortunately, Zhong Ning didn’t catch any of it. She shifted her gaze to the Head of the Zhong family and saw the latter sitting behind the desk with a cold expression, staring at her and saying, “You came back at just the right time. I happen to have something to ask you.”

“Tell me, what’s the story with that woman and the child?”

Zhong Ning: !

She was stunned.

“Mother, how did you find out?”

The Head of the Zhong family slammed the table. “How did I find out? The whole circle is talking about it, saying you’ve even had a child out there, Zhong Ning! How could I have given birth to a daughter like you!”

Even she, the one involved, had just learned about this. And now it had already spread everywhere? Wasn’t that a bit too fast? It was almost like she had been livestreaming her life 24/7.

Zhong Zinuan quickly tried to calm things down beside her. “Mother, don’t get angry just yet. Even though Little Ning made a mistake, getting angry won’t solve anything. Let’s think of a way to suppress this news.”

The Head of the Zhong family glanced at her first, then took a deep breath to suppress her fury. “Tell me, is that child yours?”

Zhong Ning very much wanted to say no, but she had no certainty at all. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “I’m not sure either, but the paternity test is already being done.”

The Head of the Zhong family said, “Fine. I don’t care what method you use, whether you pay her off or do something else, you must keep Xie Shiqing calm. The engagement with the Xie family must not be ruined. Do you hear me?”

She said word by word, “If you can’t manage that, then don’t come back to this house.”

A flash of darkness crossed Zhong Zinuan’s eyes, though her expression remained one of concern mixed with disappointment. She kindly offered a suggestion, “Little Ning, you should quickly go and apologize to Shiqing.”

“The past doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Make a vow and tell Shiqing that from now on you’ll cut ties with all those other women. I think she’ll forgive you.”

She curled her lips into an almost imperceptible arc. “After all, Shiqing is such an easygoing person.”

“Hurry and go. What are you waiting for? Tell her as soon as possible. If she finds out on her own, that’ll be a real disaster.”

Zhong Ning hesitated. “Is that… so?”

Zhong Zinuan said, “If you made a mistake, then you should apologize. What’s wrong with that?”

Zhong Ning looked at her mother, who was watching the scene coldly without saying a word. She then looked again at Zhong Zinuan, who appeared genuinely concerned and not faking it.

“I’ll talk to her,” Zhong Ning said.

That was her plan all along, but it would be after the truth was confirmed and there was solid evidence. Then she would apologize.

For now, what she needed to do was—find out the truth first.

She left the study, hurried back to her room, and, with the focus she used for puzzle games, began searching every corner. She even lifted up the bottom of flower pots.

Call her stubborn or relentless if you must, but people should at least try their best, right?

If it really was a misunderstanding, and she did nothing and just accepted it, then she would truly regret it.

After she investigated herself, even if things turned out exactly as Liu Ruyue had said, she would admit it.

But there was nothing—absolutely nothing.

No hidden diaries, no special folders, no storage boxes, cabinets, or drawers that required a password to open.

Zhong Ning was scrambling around the room, climbing and crawling, ending up drenched in sweat, yet she found nothing.

…Perhaps this was the consequence of playing too many games. After transmigrating into the fiction world and going through such fantastical experiences, she had really believed some dramatic twist awaited her.

But in reality, there was none.

With a bitter smile, Zhong Ning sat on the floor. A half-moon hung in the sky, its glow so gentle that it couldn’t even outshine a lamp.

There were so many differences between the two worlds, yet the moon was exactly the same.

She flopped backward, lying on the carpet, staring blankly out the window.

Still, thinking on the bright side, nothing had changed from before. Whether the child was hers or not, the chances were fifty-fifty.

Even though she hadn’t found the “truth,” she also hadn’t found any “evidence.”

Next, she probably had no choice but to wait for the paternity test results.

She took out her phone to check—still no message.

She had originally been someone who could stay up late, with her livestreams often going until one or two in the morning. But ever since coming here and needing to have breakfast with Xie Shiqing, her schedule had gradually adjusted back to something healthier.

Now it was long past her usual bedtime, and sleepiness arrived on cue, yet Zhong Ning had no intention of sleeping.

Her mind kept rehearsing various possibilities, calculating everyone’s reactions, and coming up with solutions one by one.

It was like playing different story routes in a game, each one leading to a different ending.

The only thing she couldn’t predict was what Xie Shiqing would do.

As she thought and thought, Zhong Ning unknowingly fell asleep, lying on the floor the entire night.

She was awakened by the sound of a video call ringtone, practically springing up from the floor. She grabbed her phone—it was a video call from Fu Nanshuang.

“The surveillance footage has been found. I’ll send it to you to take a look.”

After the call ended, a file was sent over. Zhong Ning sat cross-legged by the bed and clicked to download it.

The file downloaded quickly. She opened it, and in the footage, a short-haired woman wearing loose wide-legged pants and a dark green T-shirt staggered down the corridor, knocking on doors one by one. Suddenly, one door opened, and she lunged straight inside.

The surveillance footage had no sound, and her face couldn’t be seen—only her back.

But that back view looked exactly like Zhong Ning.

Was it really her?

Did she really do that?

Zhong Ning’s heart pounded wildly, a ringing in her ears so intense it temporarily deafened her.

Fu Nanshuang sent another message:

[It’s just the same clothes. A similar back view proves nothing. It’s entirely possible someone with a similar build was impersonating you.]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep