Chapter 5 - 3: Learning the Truth About His Origins

"Hello, is this Mr. Zhang Yiqing? Did you grow up in the L Welfare Institute?" At this moment, a phone call interrupted Zhang Yiqing's thoughts. Listening to the unfamiliar voice from the Bluetooth, he casually asked, "Yes, what can I do for you? I'm driving right now. If possible, please contact me tomorrow." "Oh, it's like this, I'm from XG Law Firm, I'm a lawyer. Entrusted by your grandfather, I am handling some personal property and inheritance matters for you. The inheritance you can receive is quite substantial, and we need to meet to discuss it in detail. If you have any questions, I will explain them then. Could we meet as soon as possible? It might be necessary for you and your wife to visit the old man together." If life had no uncertainties, what meaning would tomorrow hold? Zhang Yiqing used to really like this saying. The hope he had locked away in his heart for twenty years regarding his biological family was suddenly shattered, and he felt at a loss. He didn't know what he was waiting for next, just like he didn't know what was waiting for him. No matter how strong a person is, there is always despair. Since childhood, he wanted to know who his parents were, and why a normal boy like him was abandoned. Twenty years ago, families eager to adopt boys were many, so there was no need to leave him at a welfare institute. So when people wanted to adopt him after he grew up and became understanding, he firmly refused. He thought that if his family really didn't want him, they would definitely give him away instead of leaving him in a welfare institute. At that time, giving a boy to another family could earn some money. He believed his parents had encountered difficulties and would come to find him eventually, so he had to stay at the original place and not move. Later, as he grew older and his expectations were repeatedly unmet, he also realized he would never see his parents come for him. By the time he was twenty, he had no more extravagant desires. No matter the reason, abandonment is abandonment. If it were his child, he would never abandon them under any circumstances, nor would he abandon his wife. He and his wife eagerly anticipated the arrival of this new life, full of joy and hope. How could they bear to abandon it? But now suddenly someone was telling him that his grandfather was looking for him, and it was his dying wish, so what about his parents? Carrying a heart full of doubts, Zhang Yiqing said, "Then please come to our neighborhood in three hours, we'll talk in detail then, it's inconvenient to talk while driving." Zhou Jiao looked at her husband in confusion, at his tense face, and his hand gripping the steering wheel with bulging veins, and said worriedly, "Are you okay, honey? Why don't we stop for a break and let me drive?" Zhang Yiqing took a deep breath. He couldn't let his pregnant wife worry. With a lifelong partner and a future child connected by blood, finding his kin now still made him who he was; when the truth was revealed, there was no need for haste, safety was the most important thing. "Are you kidding? How can you drive with that big belly? It's fine, a lawyer contacted me saying they've found my family. Let's talk after meeting the lawyer in three hours, don't worry, it's alright." Zhou Jiao didn't say anything after hearing this, she understood the pain in this man's heart. Now, she only needed to quietly accompany him. As for his family that abandoned her excellent husband, she didn't care; they were either irrational or had circumstances beyond their control. It must be for a good reason that they were looking for him after so many years. It was the time when the sun was setting. The afterglow of the setting sun stained the edge of the sky red, adding a touch of melancholy and a sense of forlornness for some reason. Just arriving home, they got in touch with Lawyer Zhou, a chubby man nearing forty who seemed kind but occasionally had a sharp glint in his eyes. Hmm, Zhou Jiao commented: this was the type who could play dumb while being smart. After seeing the lawyer's credentials to confirm the identity, Lawyer Zhou got straight to the point and introduced himself. Then he explained why he came, in short, it was a very dramatic story, like many you'd find online. If it weren't related to her future in-laws, Zhou Jiao would have let her imagination run wild. The dashing young Mr. Zhang from a wealthy family fell in love with a poor girl named Mrs. Zhang. When faced with obstacles, the woman got pregnant before marriage and out of fear, went alone to work at a distant cousin's house. She eventually bled out giving birth due to emotional trauma and poverty, leaving contact information behind entrusting her cousin to bring the child to the birth father. The cousin, in grief and despair, acted on her idea of a TV drama and made mindless arrangements. After all, a young girl who only graduated from primary school harbored both resentment and hatred for this newborn. Worried that the hometown relatives would hear rumors or that she couldn't explain herself or take care of the child, she hid her whereabouts and secretly left the child at the L Welfare Institute. She then tried calling the father to inform him of the child's address and birth time, hung up on him without detailed explanation, and hurriedly took Mrs. Zhang's ashes back home. As a result, by a stroke of fate, when Mr. Zhang, thousands of miles away, received the call and rushed overnight to L City, he died in an accident before he could even see the child. Fortunately, before leaving, in order to express his unwillingness to accept the marriage arranged by his family, he detailed the events in a letter left for Grandpa Zhang. Upon learning that his most proud and cherished eldest son had died unexpectedly, Grandpa Zhang fainted and suffered a stroke. Later, it was through the letter that he learned the child was in an orphanage; he still didn't know the woman had passed away and only thought the child was abandoned. Following more than two years of treatment, Grandpa Zhang also recovered and found out the child was still in the welfare institute. For some reason, he didn't propose bringing him back. It was only three years later when the cousin, unable to bear it after marrying and having children herself, visited the L City Welfare Institute once more. Discovering the child, looking six-tenths like her mother, still in the welfare institute made her furious, and she contacted the old gentleman once more. This time she knew both parents had already passed away.\p> The old gentleman went to the welfare institute the next day. From a distance, he saw young Yiqing gently comforting a crying little friend and watched him cautiously observing others' facial expressions. The old gentleman immediately had chest pain and fainted. After he recovered, he found he couldn't face the child. Additionally, over the past five years, his health had declined, reducing his control over the company; keeping the child at the forefront wasn't a good idea. The child was the eldest grandson of the family, bringing him home would make him a target in others' eyes. Not bringing him home and putting him on his birth father's surname in the family tree posed no danger. Later he arranged for someone to adopt him, but the child was unwilling. Under these circumstances, he had to anonymously donate and watch over him secretly. In recent years, the old gentleman had quietly resumed control of the company and made his will. He originally planned to bring them back as a family of three after Zhou Jiao had the child, but unfortunately, long periods of physical exhaustion and mental strain had left him eager to see him urgently in his final moments. "Mr. Zhang, your birth father was also named Zhang. Your grandfather, Mr. Zhang, filled in your name as Zhang Yiqing in the family tree, following the clan rules. Now I need to discuss with you the situation of the Zhang Family, and you need to sign the documents to transfer the assets in your name. These were specially arranged by your grandfather, and your parents' graves have been together in the Xilong Cemetery since you were five. You can visit them when you have time; the headstone was erected in your name." Zhang Yiqing took a deep breath, hearing about his identity for the first time, hearing that his parents were in love but ultimately left him alone, and that his only grandfather had only been secretly watching over him. He was at a loss, unsure what changes accepting the identity of the Zhang family heir would bring. With his usual shrewdness and meticulousness, he reflected and immediately understood the efficiency of his promotion in the past two years. Chances are this was his grandfather's doing, and he also realized that the father's car accident might not have been accidental. The old gentleman probably had no evidence or it implicated kin. Deep thinking brought fear—perhaps those early accidents like the one during high school entrance exams and in college weren't avoided just by luck; perhaps he had been under his grandfather's protection very early on. Now, entering the game of this big family, the Zhang Family—is it necessary? Receiving this inheritance didn't mean much to him. He and his wife could live without worries relying on their abilities, but if someday his loved ones, his child suffered an accident, he couldn't forgive himself. Life is like tea, be calm and respond. Right or wrong, innocent or guilty, all is predestined. Forget it—let's abandon these things, wait to meet the old man tomorrow. No matter what, Zhang Family or not, he is still just an orphan, Zhang Yiqing.