Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Cheng Mu said it was urgent.

So Qin Ran didn’t stay much longer at Song Luting’s.

She drove his car to the Cheng household.

Song Luting had no idea about it. But that was how he was slapped with two tickets.

When Qin Ran arrived, Cheng Mu was waiting for her at the entrance.

“Miss Qin, hurry, and follow me.” Cheng Mu took her inside right away. He hadn’t told Qin Ran the truth over the phone, but now that she was here, he said very seriously, “Old Master Cheng can’t hold it out much longer. He wants to see you one last time.”

Qin Ran snapped up and looked at him with disbelief in her eyes.

A few minutes later.

She arrived in Old Master Cheng’s room, which was crowded with people.

The young and old members of the Cheng family were around.

Cheng Wenru, Cheng Juan, and Cheng Raohan were inside, closest to him.

Old Master Cheng’s face was very pale. The last time Qin Ran had seen Old Master Cheng was before she left for Continent M. Back then, he wasn’t this haggard or frail looking.

“Ran Ran’s here?” Old Master Cheng seemed enthusiastic but fatigued.

“All of you… ahem… leave now. I have something to say to them privately.” Old Master Cheng pointed towards Cheng Juan and Qin Ran.

Cheng Raohan furrowed his brows slightly, but he left the room anyway.

He had his arms behind his back and didn’t seem too worried.

Inside the room.

“Ran Ran, I… have something… for you,” Old Master Cheng said as he weakly reached under his pillow. He handed a crimson pendant to her.

Qin Ran pursed her lips and bent over as she looked at Old Master Cheng closely. “You…”

“Both of you have to be well together. I can’t help you… anymore.” Old Master Cheng placed both their hands together. “A lot is going to happen in Beijing. I will… be watching you both from Heaven.”

Cheng Juan did not say a word.

Old Master Cheng looked at him and tried his best to smile. “W-When did you find out?”

“When Cheng Jin and the rest came to find me when they were five, I already felt that something was wrong. I got it checked when I was 12,” Cheng Juan said very calmly.

“I might have guessed wrongly.” Old Master Cheng smiled while keeping his gaze on him. “… Perhaps I did it wrong. You aren’t actually like your dad.”

Cheng Juan did not retort. He simply looked at him calmly.

“When you were young, I thought of leaving you to your devices.” Old Master Cheng seemed to be talking to himself. “I let you use everything, and even gave you a credit card with no limits when you were only six. I never turned down any of your requests. Then… I regretted it, and you probably sensed that. You stopped returning… to Beijing.”

When Cheng Juan was younger, Old Master Cheng didn’t really care much about him. He left him in Cheng Wenru’s care.

Even Cheng Raohan felt that Old Master Cheng had been too biased.

Old Master Cheng had really thought of not caring about Cheng Juan initially. But back then, Cheng Juan wanted to be around him and Cheng Wenru a lot, and that was when Old Master Cheng started to regret his decision.

But at that point… Cheng Juan had already found out the truth and was getting more and more distant from him.

Both parties knew about it, but none made it known.

“It was also you… who told Wenru about the Daylily, right?” Old Master Cheng looked at Cheng Juan. “Wenru already told me all about it, and her… her company.”

Old Master Cheng’s body was giving out at that time.

It was also Cheng Wenru who found it at the auction to help him.

“Rest well.” Cheng Juan pursed his lips as his hands stiffened.

“S-Son… will you… forgive me?” Old Master Cheng looked at him expectantly.

Cheng Juan did not say a word.

Old Master Cheng’s eyes got a little dimmer.

Just as his eyes were about to shut, Cheng Juan said quietly, “At that time, I hated myself for not being your biological son. I still do so now.”

He did not mention forgiveness.

“Alright…” Old Master Cheng was satisfied enough with this answer. He held both Cheng Juan’s and Qin Ran’s hands, and a faint warm glow returned to his pale face.

He said a few more lines.

And then the room went quiet.

Qin Ran was kneeling by the bed with the pendant in her hand. After a moment of shock, she got up and got to the door.

Cheng Wenru was standing closest to the door on the outside. When she saw Qin Ran’s expression, she asked anxiously, “How’s Dad?”

Qin Ran remained silent.

Cheng Wenru dashed in.

And then her stifled sobs filled the room.

Outside, the other Cheng family descendants exchanged glances, but no one said another word.

…

Old Master Cheng was an influential figure in Beijing. His passing was a big deal in the city.

The stability in Beijing had been shaken with his death.

Old Master Cheng’s grave was on the Western border of Beijing.

It was drizzling on the day they lowered him into the ground.

Qin Ran was walking beside Elder Xu. They were with a group of others at the foot of the hill as they watched Cheng Wenru, Cheng Juan, and the rest walk over with the casket van.

“I can’t believe Old Cheng is gone just like that,” Elder Xu said quietly. “The Cheng family…”

He turned to Qin Ran. “If Cheng Juan can’t take over the Cheng family as the Head, you and he…”

Elder Xu was extremely confused.

Meanwhile, most of the people around, including the Ouyang family, Fourth Master Qin, the Xu family, and some others… were looking at Cheng Juan differently now.

Everyone knew that he had been watched over and pampered by Old Master Cheng.

Now that Old Master had left…

He would…