A Little Trick, the Scumbag Dad Can’t Hold the Knife After Understanding Love

The others abruptly turned their heads to look at Chen Mo over there.

Facing the collective "Why didn't you say so earlier?" gazes from all directions, Chen Mo calmly took a sip of tea.

"If even you couldn’t be fooled, how could we have deceived Hai Tian?"

Bruce stood up in astonishment. "So you intentionally let them steal the data!"

Chen Mo and Ji Nian exchanged a glance—the answer was obvious.

"But if the data is fake, won’t they notice?" Yang Huayu voiced her doubt.

Chen Mo motioned for Ji Nian to explain.

Ji Nian shifted her posture and said, "No problem. I had our pharmacist use some tricks to temporarily conceal it. But once they send it for inspection, it’ll be exposed."

The greater the expectation, the more crushing the disappointment. If it can’t even pass quality checks, one can only imagine how Hai Tian will be drowned in ridicule afterward.

Yang Huayu understood and felt reassured. She glanced at Chen Mo, thinking this partner of hers seemed unexpectedly reliable.

But in reality, the idea had been Ji Nian’s.

Given Sun Xiao’s situation earlier, she figured "The Crow" must have known his data had fallen into her hands.

To prevent them from digging deeper into what experiments "The Crow" had conducted on Sun Xiao, she had to keep them distracted and cause them trouble.

As expected, assuming the worst about people’s intentions was never wrong.

Who would’ve thought the most diligent and honest employee from the Chen family would do such a thing for money?

The crisis was temporarily resolved, but everyone still left with their heads hanging low.

After all, Chen Mo had said they still needed to keep up appearances.

Yang Huayu didn’t leave immediately with the others. Instead, she turned to her boss.

Ji Tingzhou, who had been propping his chin the entire time, seemingly lost in thought—though in reality, he was just spacing out—cast a glance her way.

Yang Huayu still hesitated to speak.

Noticing this, Chen Mo said gently, "You can speak freely. There are no outsiders here."

Ji Tingzhou: "……"

His expression seemed to say, As the biggest outsider here, you really have the nerve to say that.

Chen Mo pretended not to notice and waved for Ji Nian to come sit by him.

Ji Nian was about to move when a single look from her father froze her in place.

Yang Huayu glanced at Zhiliao, who was clearly used to this, and thought to herself, Who would’ve guessed…

This is how the boss acts at home.

Though Ji Tingzhou seemed to dismiss Chen Mo with disdain, he didn’t actually kick him out. After a moment’s thought, Yang Huayu spoke up. "That boy named Ji Xi… I’ve met him."

She knew the family probably didn’t want to hear this name—it was a private matter—but she said it anyway.

Sure enough, Ji Tingzhou’s gaze shifted slightly. Unlike his earlier absent-minded demeanor, an invisible pressure instantly filled the room.

"You’ve met him?"

Yang Huayu nodded, steeling herself under the weight of his stare. "My hometown is in a third-tier city."

"About a year ago…"

"My family member was seriously ill. I was sitting on a hospital bench when a masked boy suddenly approached me."

"He said he could save my family member and gave me a bottle of medicine. He told me if it worked, I could go to his lab to get another."

At the time, Yang Huayu dismissed it as a child’s prank.

But as her father’s condition worsened, the fear pressed down on her. The laughter at home vanished, and she—who had never believed in gods—found herself praying almost daily.

Then one day, she remembered the boy.

Things can’t possibly get worse, she thought. She fed the so-called medicine to a half-dead mouse, and miraculously, the mouse not only survived but visibly perked up. After observing it for two days, she tremblingly gave the bottle to her father.

Yang Huayu’s voice grew distant. "Like a miracle, my father actually recovered."

Even the doctors called it a medical marvel.

Later, Yang Huayu followed the address the boy had given her and found the so-called lab.

Through the glass, she saw the child in a protective suit, mixing chemicals. That was when she realized—he had made it himself.

"I got another bottle from him. He didn’t charge me. But after that… I never saw him again."

No one had expected her to have such a past. The tearoom fell silent for a moment.

Ji ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍Nian suddenly asked, "What happened after? Did your father recover?"

Hearing the question, Yang Huayu looked at the little girl’s face and suddenly smiled. "No."

After taking the second bottle, her father’s skin began to rot as if scorched by something unbearably hot.

In the end, he melted into a pool of blood.

He had watched himself dissolve alive.

Yang Huayu smiled, but her eyes burned with hatred—mostly directed at herself.

For her recklessness, for subjecting her father to such agony when he could have passed peacefully.

...

Learning that Ji Xi had been captured by Zhiliao and then rescued, Ji Nian sought out You Er and asked for the blood sample taken from Ji Xi.

Ji Tingzhou wasn’t around—he’d gone out.

He’d been leaving frequently lately, but he had no choice.

If he didn’t act soon, the stray son from outside would be trampling all over him.

Ji Nian guessed he’d gone to gather intel himself, trying to uncover the identity of the powerful figure protecting Ji Xi.

After obtaining Ji Xi’s blood, Ji Nian headed to the lab.

She didn’t care whether Ji Xi was actually related to Ji Tingzhou. Her mind was wholly focused on research.

When the results came out, she stared at the data and let out a puzzled "Huh?"

"This Ji Xi…"

She double-checked, even inspecting the equipment to ensure it wasn’t malfunctioning before running the test again.

The numbers were identical—no discrepancy.

Which meant the machine wasn’t wrong.

"This Ji Xi…"

Her brows furrowed as if she’d seen a ghost.

...

Ji Xi was wheeled into a room in his wheelchair.

The room was lavishly decorated, as if stepping into a grand hall—even the floor was paved with gold.

A strikingly beautiful woman sat on the sofa. Her missing limbs were artfully concealed with flowers and jewels. If not for her blinking eyes, one might mistake her for a life-sized doll.

The moment Ji Xi saw her, his eyes reddened. He maneuvered his wheelchair close, stopping just shy of touching her, and called out in a voice tinged with both affection and fear, "Mom~"

No sooner had he spoken than the door opened again, and a tall, plain-looking man entered.

Ji Xi shuddered at the sight of him. His dark, grape-like eyes held a mix of terror and longing as he softly—but audibly—uttered:

"Dad…"