Chapter 34: A Possibility Like Hell

Du Bin sat in the very back, closest to Zhou Jiayan.

He noticed how Zhou Jiayan kept swallowing, as if desperately suppressing a physical wave of nausea. Compelled by some inexplicable urge, he reached out and gently stroked her trembling back.

Startled, Zhou Jiayan turned to look at him, her eyes instantly veined with red, betraying her turbulent emotions.

Du Bin took it all in, and could only lean closer, trying to pass as much warmth from his own body to her as possible.

Jiang Zao’s eyes were also tinged with red—a physiological manifestation of extreme tension and fear.

"Du Bin... Tomorrow, go to the prison for me. Get Jiang Jingyuan’s DNA..."

"Zaozao!" Zhou Lichuan cut her off abruptly.

Jiang Zao shot up from the sofa, taking a step back. "Zhou Lichuan! I have to be sure... You and I..."

Meng Qiaoyuan was startled—she had never seen Jiang Zao so furious, her eyes nearly bursting with rage. She hurried to her feet and gently embraced her.

"Zaozao, Zhou Kuan may be utterly unscrupulous, but he is fiercely protective of his own. If you were truly his flesh and blood, he would never have allowed you to be sent to the Zhou family. Have you forgotten what you went through when you first arrived here?"

Jiang Zao’s mind went blank, and she immediately recalled that sofa on her first day.

A wave of nausea surged up; she clamped a hand over her mouth and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.

The violent sounds of her retching echoed through every corner, even drawing Aunt Hui out of her room to ask what was happening. Sensing the tense atmosphere in the living room, she quietly retreated.

Meng Qiaoyuan hurried after her to help.

Zhou Lichuan stood up, wanting to check on her, but remembering he was the reason she was sick, he hesitated, not daring to take a step closer.

Du Bin watched the scene unfolding before him, mind racing as he sifted through every bit of information he had uncovered. Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, his eyes brightened and he leapt to his feet, just as Jiang Zao, having regained some composure, flushed the toilet and, supported by Meng Qiaoyuan, returned to the living room.

"Miss Jiang! Mr. Zhou! The timing doesn’t add up. Ms. Wu, Zhou’s mother, first became pregnant four years before Miss Jiang was born. She married Jiang Jingyuan two years after giving birth and moved with him to Changzhou, where she lived until her death. During that period, Deputy Director Zhou was kept in Jingzhou by the old chairman, and didn’t travel to the outskirts until after Zhou was born."

Meng Qiaoyuan, now calm, analyzed further: "Changzhou is under Jingzhou’s jurisdiction, but it's a great distance away. If the old chairman knew Ms. Wu was living there, he would have tightened his watch over Changzhou, never allowing Deputy Director Zhou any opportunity to visit."

As the only two in the room not directly involved in the matter, their minds were clearer than the other three, naturally seeing the discrepancies in the timeline.

Jiang Zao’s palm was icy cold as she clung to Meng Qiaoyuan. "But I... I still want the DNA test... Qiaoyuan, please help me..."

Meng Qiaoyuan held her close, stroking her back and soothing her gently, "All right. I know someone at the testing center. We’ll have results in as little as twenty-four hours."

Jiang Zao’s eyes were red, afraid that Meng Qiaoyuan was simply placating her. "It doesn't take seven days?"

Meng Qiaoyuan shook her head, reassuring her, "Forensic testing doesn’t require that long. Twenty-four hours. Trust me."

Jiang Zao nodded, believing her.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lichuan quickly instructed, "Du Bin, call the police for a DNA sample. Miss Meng, please trouble your friend to work overtime—the cost is not an issue. After all Zaozao has endured, she can’t spend another night in fear."

Meng Qiaoyuan agreed—she had been thinking the same. "I'll make the call right away."

Zhou Lichuan reached out to comfort Jiang Zao, but she shrank back with each of his advances.

Grasping at empty air, he froze where he stood.

It was the first time since meeting Jiang Zao that his hand failed to find her.

Jiang Zao realized this as well, but dared not move closer, afraid that one more step would send them both over the edge.

Watching their interaction, Zhou Jiayan knew better than to vent her own frustrations now. She quickly stood up and caught Zhou Lichuan’s suspended arm.

"Brother, sit down. Du Bin, why are you just standing there? Hurry and make the call!"

Scolded, Du Bin snapped out of his daze and hurried aside to call.

No one slept well that night.

Zhou Jiayan didn't go home, nor did she stay in the guest room. Wearing the homewear Jiang Zao had once found for her, she insisted on staying in Jiang Zao’s room, claiming it was more comfortable.

Jiang Zao didn’t tell her that it was her first night back in her own room since she’d climbed into Zhou Lichuan’s bed.

She knew Zhou Jiayan was struggling too.

Learning the truth about her father, realizing she was born only because her parents were forced—her burden was no lighter.

Looking at Zhou Jiayan, lounging with a face mask as if nothing mattered, Jiang Zao felt a pang of sympathy—for Zhou Jiayan, or perhaps for herself as well.

Drowsiness overtook her; perhaps the day had simply been too overwhelming. Though she sobbed bitterly in her dreams, she still managed to sleep through the night.

In the last dream before waking, a pair of small, warm hands gently wiped her tears away, softly embraced her, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I’ll protect you..."

Jiang Zao tried to catch those chubby little hands, to see their owner’s face, but as she turned, the tender presence dissolved into mist, vanishing into the air.

She woke with a start, sitting up abruptly. Beside her, Zhou Jiayan slept restlessly, dark circles heavy beneath her eyes. Yet the dream itself faded from memory.

It felt as if someone had comforted her.

But who could it have been?

...

A heavy gloom pervaded every corner of the house. Zhou Lichuan, Jiang Zao, and Zhou Jiayan moved about as if frozen, mechanically rising and eating.

Zhou Jiayan made no noise about wanting to go out, quietly sitting in the studio watching Jiang Zao paint.

Jiang Zao’s brush moved repeatedly over the palette, adjusting colors again and again, painting a single stroke only to cover it up and alter it once more.

No one knew how the day passed. Though only twenty-four hours, it felt longer than the past twenty-four years.

It was not until dinner approached that Du Bin and Meng Qiaoyuan returned, results in hand.

Trailing behind them was Shen Mushi.

He had been alarmed by what he’d heard of the previous day’s events, but reluctant to intrude before the results were out. But hearing Meng Qiaoyuan’s tone over the phone, he decided to come along.

No matter the outcome, there was much to be done, and he could at least lend a hand.