CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 440: PREGNANT AT THE SAME TIME

Chen Xingwu was still busy working at the moment. When he heard his daughter’s words, he shot up from his seat like a spring.

"Xiao Qian, your dad’s getting old... You... you aren’t joking about this, right? Did you really find your brother?"

"Why would I lie to you? Mom has blamed herself over my brother for so many years. I don’t want to see her heartbroken again."

In Yuan Qian’s memory, she did indeed have a younger brother, though he was her father’s child from his first wife, Wen Dieyi.

It was only after Wen Dieyi was diagnosed with cancer that her father rekindled his old romance with her mother.

When Wen Dieyi found out about it, she chose to jump off a building and end her life.

As for her child, he disappeared completely the night before she jumped.

From that day on, Yuan Qian’s mother, Yuan Peiqin, began to have relentless nightmares.

She always felt it was her fault that Wen Dieyi died.

Be it seeking out Taoist priests to exorcise evil spirits, or hiring monks to perform rituals, nothing seemed to help.

Yuan Qian knew her mother’s overwhelming guilt was the real cause of these nightmares.

After much persuasion, Yuan Peiqin finally let go of her obsession and stopped waking up from nightmares.

But it left her with a lasting condition of nervous exhaustion.

And as a form of atonement, she swore to find Wen Dieyi’s child and raise him to adulthood.

Unfortunately, nearly thirty years had passed with no news at all.

If Chen Bin was really Wen Dieyi’s child, then her mother’s emotional burden would finally be lifted.

For Yuan Qian, this was undoubtedly a blessing of the highest order.

Hearing his daughter’s firm response, Chen Xingwu became slightly dazed.

In his youth, he had been a notorious philanderer, having slept with so many women he’d lost count—if not a hundred, then at least eighty.

It wasn’t until he met Wen Dieyi that he truly considered giving up his playboy ways for good.

But those happy times didn’t last long. After giving birth to their child, Wen Dieyi was diagnosed with cancer.

The illness wasn’t that fatal, but chemotherapy was inevitable.

During a period of loneliness, Chen Xingwu eventually reconnected with his old flame, Yuan Qian’s mother.

Unfortunately, Wen Dieyi found out about it soon after.

Chen Xingwu had planned to just apologize, or at worst, write some sort of guarantee letter to make amends.

What he didn’t expect was for Wen Dieyi to jump to her death instead.

From that point on, Chen Xingwu completely abstained from entangling himself with other women.

In his deep sorrow, he ended up marrying Yuan Qian’s mother.

Thinking about the tragic end of his former wife, Chen Xingwu felt bursts of pain in his chest.

"Xiao Qian, are you sure the other person has your brother’s birthmark? And his name is Chen Ao—is that correct?"

"It’s a crescent-shaped birthmark. There’s no way I’m wrong! But his name now is Chen Bin."

"Chen Bin?"

Momentarily stunned, Chen Xingwu’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.

From the name and the birthmark alone, he was already halfway certain that Chen Bin was indeed his son, Chen Ao.

"Xiao Qian, where is your brother now? Don’t let him leave. I’ll have someone prepare a plane immediately!"

"Wow, aren’t you a high-ranking government official? Why aren’t you showing off in front of me now? Feeling anxious, huh?"

"Sweet girl, stop being mad at me, okay? Your dad was wrong, I admit it! I’ll never act all high-and-mighty in front of you again."

In all her life, Yuan Qian had never seen her father lower his head toward her before.

Feeling a warmth in her heart, she still responded with feigned exasperation.

"Oh, please! I’m not buying this act. My brother is at my place. I’ll get a paternity test done first, and then we’ll talk about meeting him after the results come out."

"Alright then, I’ll leave it all to you."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Xingwu didn’t take time to think further and immediately summoned his secretary to his office.

He started investigating someone named Chen Bin within Yuan Qian’s circle of connections.

And then, he launched a covert investigation into Chen Bin.

After making the call, Yuan Qian wiped her tears and went into the living room to pull out two strands of Chen Bin’s hair.

"Since you want to marry my cousin, I have to check if you’re in good health. This is also for her sake."

Xu Ruoxuan, who had just finished nursing her baby, couldn’t contain her joy upon hearing this.

"Sis, I knew you’d always have my back! Thank you so much!"

Chen Bin was about to get up to express his gratitude, but Yuan Qian waved her hand to stop him.

"You two hurry up and leave now. I still have things to do at the hospital and no time to waste here."

A week later, the paternity test results came out, confirming that Chen Bin and Chen Xingwu were indeed father and son.

Looking at the results in his hands, Chen Xingwu’s eyes turned bloodshot, and his trembling hands betrayed his emotions.

"Xiao Ao... Xiao Ao has really been found?"

Nodding, Yuan Qian replied with a complicated expression.

"Yes, I oversaw the entire process of the testing myself. There’s no mistake."

After all these years, Chen Xingwu had never given up searching for his child.

But now that he was finally found, he didn’t know how to face him.

After all, Wen Dieyi had died because of him. Once Chen Bin learned the truth, he would undoubtedly hate him.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xingwu sighed softly.

"The boy’s so grown now. It’ll be hard to acknowledge him as my son."

With a cold snort, Yuan Qian snapped back.

"Serves you right! Who told you to be such a womanizer back then? By the way, Chen Bin is exactly like you—he’s wooed quite a few women himself. Even my cousin had his child!"

Though Chen Xingwu held a high-ranking position, Yuan Qian still treated him without deference.

In her eyes, while Wen Dieyi was terribly pitiful, her own mother hadn’t fared much better.

At the root of all this tragedy was none other than her father.

Out of guilt toward his daughter, Chen Xingwu refrained from disciplining her over the years.

And now, he had no heart to discipline her at all.

Turning to Fu Hongtu, who stood nearby, he asked, "What do you think about this?"

Fu Hongtu, Chen Xingwu’s most loyal follower and trusted confidant, was also his son-in-law, making them almost as close as father and son.

After a moment of thought, Fu Hongtu replied.

"I think it’s best not to acknowledge him for now. If Chen Bin finds out what happened back then, he might hate you. It could lead to more harm than good."

Nodding in agreement, Chen Xingwu saw the wisdom in these words.

"Then what should I do next?"

"We can help him in secret and gradually build a relationship with him. When he finally accepts us as family, we can reveal the truth. Things might go more smoothly that way."

"Alright, that’s what we’ll do!"

Meanwhile, at the Beihuang County Guest House—

Hao Wenjing had just finished work when she hurriedly asked Kong Shiyu.

"Shiyu, have you had your period lately?"

"No, why do you ask?"

Plopping down on the sofa, Hao Wenjing looked troubled.

"Mine hasn’t come either. Do you think we both might be pregnant?"

Hearing this, Kong Shiyu’s face lit up with joy.

"That’s wonderful! You’ve always said you wanted a son. This time your wish will surely come true."

"But I’m almost forty. If I have a baby now, wouldn’t people laugh at me? Besides, both of us being pregnant with Chen Bin’s child—doesn’t that sound absurd?"

"What’s there to fear? As long as we don’t tell anyone, no one will know."

"So you’re actually thinking of keeping the child?"

"Of course! How could you bear to kill a life growing inside you?"