Chapter 185

Chapter 185

By the time Xie Qiyan and Xia Wanzhi arrived at the Xie Family residence, the atmosphere was still locked in a tense stalemate.

Seeing the document envelope in Xie Qiyan’s hand, the Old Master gestured for everyone else to leave, including Xie An.

It was already April, and the weather was not cold, yet Xie Tianqi was trembling faintly.

The unease that had taken root in his heart last night was growing more restless by the second.

Likewise, the look the Old Master gave Xie Qiyan was filled with anxiety and agitation. “The… the result… What does it say?”

He had already lost one young grandson.

He did not want to lose a second…

He had never doubted that Xie Qiyan was a descendant of the Xie Family, but the paternity report was right here. If it said otherwise…

The Old Master did not dare think further.

Xie Qiyan said nothing. He simply handed the report to the Old Master, then slowly shifted his gaze away, looking down from above to meet Xie Tianqi’s eyes.

That gaze was so sharp that Xie Tianqi instinctively lowered his eyes.

The panic in his heart came from nowhere, and it left him unable to meet Xie Qiyan’s stare.

“Grandpa, you can read it at ease.” Noticing the Old Master’s fingertips trembling with nerves as he clutched the papers, Xia Wanzhi smiled faintly and reminded him in a gentle voice.

Her words immediately drew Xie Tianqi’s evasive gaze over.

He looked shocked. Incredulous.

Only when the Old Master finished reading and flung the report in his face while cursing him furiously did he snatch the paper up in a rush and skim through it.

His gaze finally froze on the key words printed on the back of the page-

“The cumulative paternity index is 99.9999%.”

“It supports that the donor of Sample No. 1, Xie Tianqi, is the biological father of the donor of Sample No. 2, Xie Qiyan.”

A flimsy sheet of paper now felt like a mountain range weighing on Xie Tianqi’s chest, crushing the breath from him.

A result of almost one hundred percent…

It identified Xie Qiyan as his son.

His biological son…

Expressionless, Xie Qiyan took the paternity report back, then handed him another report comparing him with Liu Shubai. “Didn’t you always firmly believe my surname should be Liu? Take a look.”

In truth, there was no need.

But Xie Qiyan had insisted on doing both tests.

He wanted Xie Tianqi to regret it to the end of his days, to hate himself for the rest of his life. He wanted him to taste what it meant to live in a hell worse than death.

Xie Tianqi’s face was bloodless. The moment he saw the words “does not conform to the Mendelian inheritance pattern” in the report, he swung his hand and flung the paper away.

He almost roared, “Impossible! This is impossible!”

Just as, back then, when a physical examination revealed that he was nearly infertile, he had immediately concluded that Yao Qin had cheated on him and that Xie Qiyan was not his biological son, collapsing into fury and disbelief.

He had been so certain then. So convinced.

He had even used his inability to accept it as an excuse to refuse a paternity test.

He had not dared to do it. He had wanted to preserve the last shred of his dignity.

And now, the most authoritative report had been placed right in front of him, telling him that Xie Qiyan was his biological son, yet he still could not accept it.

Then what did all these years amount to…?

The result stabbed brutally into his eyes.

“You must have forged it!” Xie Tianqi braced both hands against the wheelchair and tried to stand, but his paralyzed nerves would not obey him. He had only managed to lift himself halfway when he fell back in humiliation, roaring at Xie Qiyan, “Where is Yao Qin? Why won’t she come see me? Did you switch the hair samples and make a fake report to fool me?”

He slapped the armrests of the wheelchair rapidly. “I want it redone! Redone!”

“Is there any need?” Faced with Xie Tianqi’s loss of control, Xie Qiyan remained perfectly calm. “If it weren’t to prove my mother’s innocence, I wouldn’t have wasted my time doing a paternity test with you. Xie Tianqi, I told you before-I would rather have no blood relation to you at all.”

“My mother will never see you again. Never.”

She would not forgive him.

And he did not deserve her forgiveness.

The knot that had bound Yao Qin for so long had already been untied. She had received the answer she wanted.

When the heart died, the past died with it. Whether it was the beauty she had once experienced or the countless wounds she had endured, Yao Qin had chosen to let it all go.

She had used decades of pain to mourn a failed love.

It was time for her to wake up.

That night, Xie Tianqi suffered another sudden heart attack.

After consulting the doctor who had been responsible for his physical examination years ago, he learned that he had not been born infertile. The condition had been caused later by overwork, excessive stress, and the decline of his bodily functions. Clutching that paternity report tightly, he wept without stopping.

Patients with heart disease were not supposed to experience intense emotional agitation, but Xie Tianqi could not withstand such a result.

In the quiet night, there came the heavy, tremendous sound of his body crashing to the floor.

When the servants noticed the commotion and called the family doctor for emergency resuscitation, hundreds of relentless chest compressions finally forced his nearly stilled heartbeat to beat again.

At midnight, Xie Qiyan answered the call and was about to rush to the hospital.
Xia Wanzhi was still in her pajamas, barefoot as she chased after Xie Qiyan. “I’ll go with you.”

She had heard the call from the Old Master. He had said Xie Tianqi was in critical condition this time.

Back then, the call had not even ended, and Xie Qiyan had lain frozen in bed for two full minutes before reacting.

“Go back to sleep,” Xie Qiyan said, already heading for the door.

Xia Wanzhi held tightly to his hand. Her eyes were anxious, but her voice was so gentle. “Ayan, you need me.”

Xie Qiyan’s gaze was deep, and his silent expression proved that his mind was a complete tangle right now.

Did he hate Xie Tianqi?

Of course he did.

But the moment he learned that Xie Tianqi was dying, Xie Qiyan could no longer sort out his own thoughts.

How could that man simply let go and die like this?

He should have lived his entire life in the pain and torment of regret and guilt.

They did not alert Yao Qin about this. Xie Qiyan hurried to the hospital with Xia Wanzhi-not for Xie Tianqi, but for the Old Master.

Perhaps the situation was even more serious than they had imagined. Otherwise, the Old Master, always so stern and dignified, would not have choked up and shed tears.

Only after arriving at the hospital did they realize Xie An was there too.

And not just Xie An.

Hou Mengqiu had come as well.

The instant they met, Hou Mengqiu instinctively grabbed Xie An.

“Xiao An snuck back on his own. I’ll take him away right now…” Hou Mengqiu’s expression was filled with panic.

Although what she had done to Yao Qin back then had not succeeded, she had done it all the same.

She had witnessed Xie Qiyan’s methods.

To her, Xie Qiyan was a terrifying scourge.

Once a woman had a child, she had a weakness. She was deathly afraid that Xie Qiyan would take revenge.

“I don’t want to go. I want to stay with Dad…” Xie An sobbed, twisting against Hou Mengqiu’s forceful grip.

“He is not your father!” Hou Mengqiu’s voice rang through the entire corridor outside the ICU. Her emotions erupted in an instant, only to be reined back in when she saw the frightened look on her son’s face. Her eyes reddened. “Be good, Xiao An. Come with Mommy. Let’s go…”

“I’m not leaving…” Xie An was still crying.

Xie Tianqi had no affection for Xie An, but ever since he was little, Xie An had admired Xie Tianqi-admired his own father.

He feared him, liked him, and worked hard at everything just to earn his approval.

“Don’t force him. If he wants to stay, let him stay.” Xie Qiyan looked at the boy crying as if his heart were being torn apart and said slowly, “He needs a goodbye.”

Inside the ICU, the Old Master held back his tears as he looked at his son lying on the hospital bed, connected to a ventilator.

When he was young, he had watched his wife leave him.

Now that he was old, he was watching his son…

“Grandpa.” After Xia Wanzhi came in, she supported the Old Master’s arm and slowly turned her gaze toward Xie Tianqi.

Xie Qiyan stood in the doorway, watching expressionlessly.

Xie Tianqi could not speak. His eyes shifted as if searching for something, his mouth slightly open, signaling that he wanted the ventilator removed.

The doctor standing nearby looked to the Old Master for permission.

They had finally managed to snatch him back from death’s grasp. If they removed the ventilator, he likely would not make it through the night.

Xie Tianqi could no longer wait. He used every last bit of strength to lift his hand and push the ventilator slightly aside. “Yao… Yao…”

The doctor stopped him. A few broken, indistinct syllables slipped out.

Xia Wanzhi heard them clearly and instinctively looked at Xie Qiyan.

He was looking for Yao Qin.

After a long while, Xie Qiyan finally moved, step by slow step, and came forward to meet Xie Tianqi’s eyes.

Xie Tianqi grew agitated, mouthing Yao Qin’s name.

He wanted to see Yao Qin.

The numbers on the ECG monitor grew more and more unstable. The beeping sounded regular, but the jagged line kept changing again and again.

The doctor’s whole body was tense as he stared at the monitor.

“Ten minutes ago, the hospital issued a critical condition notice.” The Old Master spoke those words with his entire body trembling.

Xie Tianqi did not have much time left.

“Wanzi, talk to him…” The Old Master knew his grandson’s heart was cold, except when it came to Xia Wanzhi.

“This isn’t something Ayan can decide.” Xia Wanzhi took a deep breath, walked up to Xie Qiyan, and took his hand. “Should we call Uncle Liu?”

Whether she came or not was something only Yao Qin herself could decide.

After a long silence, Xie Qiyan took out his phone. On the other end, Liu Shubai answered and cursed him out before hanging up. Quite some time later, he sent a message saying he had already told Yao Qin about it.

As for whether she would come, that was entirely up to Yao Qin.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second. Liu Shubai sent no more messages.

Xie Qiyan looked at Xie Tianqi and said slowly, “She said she would never see you again.”

So in all likelihood, she was not coming.

When Xie Tianqi heard those words, his breathing became even more labored. The hospital room was brightly lit, making it easy to see the tears slipping from the corners of his eyes.

The Old Master turned away, no longer daring to look.