"It seems you haven't completely cleared out the traitors in your household," Huo Xiaozheng laughed, his anger reaching its peak. "You were blind to the truth back then, and even now, you still can't see the reality, can you?"
Huo Xiaozheng's grip was too strong. Jiang Suyuan wanted to resist, but due to lack of oxygen, he couldn't muster any strength in his body.
His face turning purple, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"If Shi Lili wanted to gain status through her child, why didn't she come to me?" Huo Xiaozheng said, enunciating each word.
Jiang Suyuan's eyes widened in shock.
Seeing that Jiang Suyuan was about to be strangled to death by Huo Xiaozheng, Qin Zhiyi, summoning strength from an unknown source, rushed forward and pried Huo Xiaozheng's hands away.
Jiang Suyuan could finally breathe. He leaned against the wall, gasping for air. Once he caught his breath, he shouted at Huo Xiaozheng, "What on earth do you mean?!"
Huo Xiaozheng replied mockingly, "Back then, Shi Lili thought she was sleeping with you, Jiang Suyuan. When she got pregnant, she believed the child was yours."
Jiang Suyuan recalled that five years ago, someone had indeed confronted him, calling him a scumbag. But at that time, he and Qin Zhiyi were in an on-and-off relationship because of Huo Xiaozheng. So, Jiang Suyuan hadn't paid much attention to it. But now, thinking back...
"When Ning was three years old, Shi Lili somehow got hold of your hair sample and sent it for a paternity test along with Ning's," Huo Xiaozheng's tone grew increasingly cold. "After discovering that Ning wasn't your child, Shi Lili became obsessed. In fact, it wasn't just Li Zhiyuan who abused Ning."
Jiang Suyuan's eyes showed a hint of brokenness.
He had never considered himself a good person, but he had always acted without guilt.
Huo Xiaozheng's words plunged him into deep self-reproach.
"Your Jiang family schemed to harm me and you. In the end, the only one who got hurt was my daughter," Huo Xiaozheng said, each word filled with cruelty. "If money could compensate for this, I wouldn't hesitate to give the Huo Corporation to Ning. What are your Jiang and Qin families compared to that?"
Jiang Suyuan and Qin Zhiyi's eyes were filled with emptiness.
Huo Xiaozheng turned to leave.
The door was slightly ajar. As Huo Xiaozheng pushed it open, he saw Huo Ning, who was supposed to be in the banquet hall eating chocolate cake.
Huo Xiaozheng panicked a little, "Ning..."
Huo Ning stood at the doorway like a wooden stake, staring at him with a blank expression. She asked dully, "Dad, is what you said true?"
Huo Xiaozheng suddenly felt a surge of regret. If only he hadn't been so insistent on arguing with Jiang Suyuan, or if he had been more thoughtful and locked the door...
That would have been so much better.
Huo Xiaozheng opened his mouth but couldn't come up with a lie to deceive her.
"I see," seeing Huo Xiaozheng stammer, the little girl who barely reached his waist gave a self-mocking smile. "No wonder mom stopped liking me after I turned three. I thought I had done something wrong."
Huo Xiaozheng stepped forward, wanting to comfort her.
But he, who had always been ruthless in his actions, hadn't yet learned this skill.
He raised his hand and then lowered it.
Huo Ning seemed indifferent. She smiled sweetly at Huo Xiaozheng, "So it wasn't my fault after all."
Seeing her smile, Huo Xiaozheng felt relieved. He immediately knelt down and affirmed, "You did nothing wrong."
Huo Ning's expression suddenly crumbled, falling into a kind of self-destructive state. She murmured, "No, I must have done something wrong."
"If I had been a bit more obedient, a bit more well-behaved, maybe mom would have loved me like she used to," Huo Ning's expression turned somewhat manic. "She's my mom, after all."
Huo Xiaozheng concealed his worry and gripped her shoulders firmly, stating, "Ning, didn't you say before that there are mothers in this world who don't love their children?"
"Since she doesn't love you, why don't you just let her go, okay?"
Since Huo Ning's breakdown in court, Huo Xiaozheng had privately read some psychology books. Now, he was trying to go along with Huo Ning's emotions, encouraging her to vent.
Huo Xiaozheng's intention wasn't wrong, but the words 'she doesn't love you' were like sharp scissors, cutting the taut string in Huo Ning's heart.
Or rather, cutting the taut string in the original owner's heart.
Originally, Huo Ning had been happily eating cake in the banquet hall. Perhaps because the hall was too stuffy, Huo Ning felt a tightness in her chest.
It just so happened that Xi Chuan had gone out to take a phone call.
Worried that the chest tightness might develop into chest pain, Huo Ning got up to look for Huo Xiaozheng.
This search led her to find him, but she didn't expect to hear the truth about what had happened years ago.
Huo Ning had previously suspected that a trace of the original owner's consciousness remained, perhaps due to the stark contrast in Shi Lili's behavior before and after, which had left the original owner with unresolved issues.
Sure enough, the moment she heard the truth about Shi Lili's childbirth, the original owner's consciousness took over.
"You also think she doesn't love me," Huo Ning said, almost hysterically. "Is it because I'm not well-behaved enough?"
Huo Xiaozheng was at a loss, "No, no, it's not your fault."
She continued, her voice choked with sobs, large tears falling one by one, "Mom said she was too busy to pick me up from kindergarten, so I waited obediently. Even when it got dark, I wasn't afraid as long as mom came."
"It didn't matter if she forgot my birthday, because my birthday wish was just for mom to be happy."
"Living with Uncle Li was fine too, as long as mom would hug me."
Her emotions were intense, her words coming out rapidly, as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances she had suffered over the years.
"That's not it," Huo Xiaozheng, seeing her trapped in this mindset, weakly comforted her. "Your mom, she's just not suited to be a mother."
Shi Lili had only ever wanted to climb the social ladder or become a pampered little woman.
The process didn't matter to her, and her daughter could be used as a pawn.
These words seemed to hit a pause button. Huo Ning's crying suddenly stopped.
She tilted her head like a marionette, revealing an eerie smile.
"Right? I also think she's not suitable to be my mom."
"That snowy day was too cold. I wanted to become a ghost and take her with me."
Huo Ning's words were childishly innocent, her smile sweet.
"That way, she would love me forever."
Huo Xiaozheng was horrified.
The Huo Ning hiding in her mind was also startled.
So, on that night, had the original owner already lost her will to live?
Before anyone could react, Huo Ning continued, "Can I see her once?"
At this moment, Huo Xiaozheng felt more defeated than ever before.
Originally, he had planned to let Huo Ning choose how to face this when she was mentally and physically healthier.
The scene at the police station, the conversation at the company, and her self-assertion in court had led him to mistakenly treat Huo Ning as an adult.
But she was, after all, only five years old.
"Of course you can," Huo Xiaozheng didn't want Huo Ning to feel abandoned by the whole world, so he immediately responded as soon as she finished asking, "We'll go see her right now."