Chapter 11: Her? A Little Fox

Zhiyi looked at his movements, her heart sinking.

She quickly gathered her spirits and echoed, "Mom and Dad have raised me for so many years, and their kindness is too great to repay. Even if Dad throws me out, I still owe them my gratitude."

"Truly Daddy's good girl."

Father Chu watched Zhiyi with a gentle expression, raising his other hand to her, "Zhizhi, it's a special time now, I've asked for leave from your job at the TV station, and now give Daddy your phone. Once things settle down, Daddy will return it to you."

Below that gentle façade lay the cold, absolute control of deceit and ruthlessness.

He would not allow his daughter to have any defiance towards him.

Zhiyi felt suffocated.

Inside her, a little voice screamed not to give him the phone!

To refuse him immediately!

But she was also very soberly aware that now was not the time for a head-on confrontation.

He wasn't guarded against her right now. There would be a chance to escape later.

If she argued now, it would surely make Father Chu more wary.

Zhiyi struggled to calm herself down, holding the phone with tears starting to well in her eyes, "Is it because Dad doesn't want me to contact Zhou Hen again?"

Father Chu scrutinized Zhiyi.

It was normal for her to like Zhou Hen and not want to part with him.

Father Chu sighed and patted her shoulder, "You like Zhou Hen, and under these circumstances, it's normal to not be able to resist contacting him, which is why Daddy has to take your phone away."

"If you really call Zhou Hen, the Zhou family will be angry when they find out. Then, it will be even less possible for you two to be together."

Zhiyi panicked, "No, Daddy, I..."

She bit her lip, seemingly struggling to control the heartache of separation.

"Zhizhi, give the phone to Daddy."

Zhiyi handed over the phone with grief and began to sob, covering her face.

Father Chu, clutching Zhiyi's phone, feigned consolation for a moment before leaving the second bedroom.

As soon as the room door closed, Zhiyi's sobbing came to an abrupt halt.

She wiped the tears from her face, her eyes bereft of any reluctance, only filled with boundless scorn.

Father Chu intended to confine her within the Chu family home, forbidding her to leave.

The night grew increasingly intense.

Zhiyi lay in bed with not a hint of sleepiness.

She gazed at the pitch-black ceiling, raising a hand to her chest.

Hidden against her body, within her undergarment, was Zhiyi's spare phone.

She had concealed it inside while changing clothes in her bedroom.

Having lived in the Chu family for twenty-one years, Zhiyi was all too familiar with the tactics Father Chu used to punish people; correspondingly, she had devised ways to cope over the years.

Zhiyi closed her eyes, clutching her chest tightly.

She must find a suitable marriage partner as soon as possible.

She couldn't allow Father Chu to manipulate her.

She would never resign herself to being controlled by others her whole life!

...

Dark clouds obscured the moon.

Yan Jingting had just left the company building, and his assistant awaited him by the car.

He respectfully opened the car door for Jingting, laying down a ramp wide enough for the wheelchair to pass.

"President Yan."

"Have the items been delivered?"

"Yes, all went smoothly," the assistant seated in the passenger seat indicated for the driver to start the car, then turned his head and added, "It's just that Miss Chu will inevitably suffer some grievances."

Jingting boarded the car, took a bottle of water next to him, took a sip, his thin lips moistened, then wiped off the droplets with a tissue.

The gentle voice carried a hint of pity, "How can a chain locked onto the bone be easily removed?"

Yan Jingting, clutching a tissue, drove with the streetlights continuously casting light on the lower half of his face, half shadowed, half illuminated.

His voice seemed to become more tender, "There's no issue, though. The suffering she has endured, naturally, they must all experience it themselves."

The aide, thinking of those who had humiliated Miss Chu and their potential fates, couldn't help but shudder with coldness.

"Keep a close eye on the Chu family. If she makes any move, work together to respond."

The aide nodded, "I understand."

"However, President Yan, will Miss Chu really try to escape?" the aide asked, somewhat puzzled.

Yan Jingting, as if reminded of something, laughed, "Her? A Little Fox."

The Little Fox who is duplicitous, one way to your face and another behind your back.

If she didn't escape, she wouldn't be Chu Zhiyi.

The aide silently stopped talking.

Yan Jingting looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

It wouldn't be long before he could openly pluck the moon from the sky.

He had all the patience in the world.

...

The next morning.

Chu Zhiyi came downstairs for breakfast, and the members of the Chu family were seated quite neatly, awaiting the expedited paternity test results.

Chu Zhiyi's arrival didn't attract much attention, except for a scornful glance from Li Hui.

Chu Zhiyi simply ignored her gaze and ate her breakfast peacefully.

Around eight o'clock, the person responsible for delivering the test results arrived at the Chu family's home.

Chu Zuo, unable to even eat, stood up with Li Hui to meet the messenger.

"How is it? Are the results out?"

The person in charge nodded, taking out two sets of results, one in each hand, and said, "This one is the test report for Mr. Chu and Miss Chu Zhiyi, and this one is for Mr. Chu and Miss Li Hui."

Chu Zuo quickly seized the one for Chu Zhiyi.

Li Hui, meanwhile, snatched away her own.

As Li Hui read through the results at lightning speed, a smile gradually widened on her face, her eyes filled with ecstatic joy.

"I was right, I am indeed the real daughter!"

Li Hui suddenly turned to Chu Zhiyi, with a look of resentment and anger, "You impostor!"

Chu Zhiyi, hearing Li Hui's words, felt her heart finally fall back into place.

The maternal love Mother Chu hadn't been able to pour into Chu Zhiyi over the years erupted out as soon as Li Hui spoke, holding onto Li Hui and weeping deeply.

"My daughter, it's all our fault for being careless and losing you back then. Now that you've come back, mom is so happy."

"Mom, you can't even imagine what kind of life I've led these years!" Li Hui cried too, mourning the inhuman torment she had suffered over the years.

Li Hui portrayed herself in the direst terms.

For instance, her foster parents seemed dissatisfied with her, and even though she consistently performed well at school every year, it wasn't enough to please them. When she was a child, they often left her hungry and locked her up to beat her.

Of course, whether these words were true or not, only Li Hui knew.

Chu Zhiyi stood to one side with a cold eye, calmly watching as Grandma Chu and Grandpa Chu gathered around Li Hui.

It was only natural for Li Hui to receive compensation for the deprivation she suffered as their biological daughter.

Father Chu turned to Chu Zhiyi, his voice gentle, "Zhiyi, dad has always kept his word."

Before Chu Zhiyi could speak, Li Hui, wiping her tears, half resentful and half dissatisfied, said, "Dad, I'm your daughter. Now that I've been found, why are you still so good to Chu Zhiyi!"

Mr. Chu's expression darkened, and his authoritative demeanor instantly silenced Li Hui.

"The kindness of birth is important, as is the kindness of upbringing. You are both our daughters. Zhiyi bears the Chu surname, and she was just an infant when the mix-up occurred—it wasn't her fault."

This defense, however, only intensified Li Hui's resentment towards Chu Zhiyi.

"Chu Zhiyi made no mistake, so am I the one who's wrong?"