Chapter 1035: 1034 Threat

“Get out of the car,”

Wen Ran said softly before turning to open the car door.

Seeing this, Mo Xiuchen immediately got out of the car, took long strides around the front of the vehicle, and walked to the other side to steady her.

Wen Ran did not resist as he wrapped his arm around her waist, his well-defined palm resting gently at her side, and they went inside the house and up the stairs.

When they returned to the master bedroom, Mo Xiuchen stopped Wen Ran.

She turned her head and met his complex gaze. Her heart ached slightly, and she pursed her lips before speaking softly, “Mo Xiuchen, from now on, no matter what it is, please don’t keep it from me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Mo Xiuchen nodded, his expression serious.

Wen Ran lowered her gaze before looking up to meet his eyes again, her voice softly echoing in the room, “I don’t like being kept in the dark, even if you’re doing it for my good.”

Having been with him for over a year, every time Mo Xiuchen kept something from her, it was for her good, but she didn’t want things to be hidden from her.

Mo Xiuchen reached out to hold her in his arms, his apologetic words falling into her ears, “Ranran, I understand. From now on, I won’t keep anything from you, no matter what it is.”

“Mmm.”

Wen Ran let him embrace her, staying silent without speaking any further.

After a long while, Mo Xiuchen released her, took her hand, and led her to sit down on the sofa. He spoke gently, “Ranran, there’s something I just learned from Ah Feng last night. Originally, I was planning to wait until I confirmed whether it was true before telling you, but since I just promised you, I won’t keep anything from you anymore.”

Wen Ran’s lips tightened, and she looked at him steadily.

“Does it have to do with Xiaoxiao?”

“It involves Bai Xiaoxiao,” Mo Xiuchen paused for a moment before answering calmly.

“Then tell me,” Wen Ran asked softly, not wanting to know more if it was something personal to Luo Haofeng.

Mo Xiuchen nodded slightly, his mellifluous, deep voice carrying a hint of complex emotion, “Qi Meiling’s father told Ah Feng that back then, his mother had hired some thugs to hurt Bai Xiaoxiao’s mother.”

Wen Ran’s eyes widened with shock.

Mo Xiuchen gripped her hand a bit tighter and after a pause, continued, “Ranran, we haven’t investigated this matter yet, but Ah Feng is worried it might be true because, they said Bai Xiaoxiao’s age matches the time her mother was harmed by the thugs. Shortly after the incident, her mother quickly married her father.”

A pale shade crossed Wen Ran’s face.

She couldn’t believe it was true, “Mo Xiuchen, that can’t be possible, Xiaoxiao is Uncle Bai’s daughter.”

Mo Xiuchen held her reassuringly, “Ranran, don’t get agitated; this is just one side of the story from the Qi Family. I’ve also told Ah Feng not to believe it.”

Wen Ran clenched her lips, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes, “Is Qi Meiling threatening Luo Haofeng with this, forcing him to marry her?”

“That’s what’s happening, but Ah Feng hasn’t agreed yet. I want to clear this up. Ranran, you have known Bai Xiaoxiao for a long time, and you visit their house often; can you confirm that Bai Xiaoxiao is truly President Bai’s daughter?”

Mo Xiuchen spoke very slowly as this matter, if true, would be a tremendous blow to Bai Xiaoxiao.

Luo Haofeng would marry Qi Meiling to protect Bai Xiaoxiao. If it wasn’t true, then there would be no need to succumb to threats, and Luo Haofeng could retaliate.

Wen Ran frowned tightly and said stiffly, “The simplest method is to do a DNA test. I’ll take a trip to D Country to see Xiaoxiao, which is quicker and more useful than any investigation.”

“I am not comfortable with you going to D Country by yourself.”

Mo Xiuchen immediately rejected her suggestion, and Wen Ran had anticipated he would say that, “Then arrange someone to accompany me on the trip.”

She reflected on some past events and said in a low voice, “Before, Aunt Qiao had always opposed Haofeng and Xiaoxiao being together. Later, I covered for Xiaoxiao so that she could return to City B with Haofeng. That was when Aunt Qiao told me about her grudge with Haofeng’s parents.”

Mo Xiuchen listened quietly, without interrupting.

As Wen Ran reminisced, she told him, “When mentioning Haofeng’s parents, Aunt Qiao’s tone was very bad. Clearly, she must also hate them. Aunt Qiao told me that Haofeng’s mother would never allow Xiaoxiao and Haofeng to be together.”

After listening to Wen Ran’s account, Mo Xiuchen pondered for a moment and said softly, “Ranran, we will go to D Country as you suggested. It will be easy for you to get a few strands of Bai Xiaoxiao’s hair. As for her father’s, leave it to me.”

Haochen had a business partnership with the Bai Family’s company, so getting a strand or two of Mr. Bai’s hair wasn’t a difficult task.

In this way, they could find out as quickly as possible whether Bai Xiaoxiao was really as the Qi Family said, conceived after her mother was violated.

“Okay.”

Wen Ran nodded, praying silently that everything was fabricated to threaten Luo Haofeng.

**

That night, Mo Xiuchen received a call from Qin Mu.

Qin Mu had deliberately called when Wen Ran was out of earshot. It was half-past eleven at night, and Wen Ran had long been asleep.

Mo Xiuchen answered the call in his study, listening to the voice that came through the phone, carrying a chill of the early summer night, “Mo Xiuchen, I asked Haofeng’s father, and it’s true.”

Mo Xiuchen clenched his phone slightly tighter, and his thin lips pursed, “What did he say?”

“Uncle Luo said that the woman he loved back then was Xiaoxiao’s mother, but due to family interests, he was forced to marry Haofeng’s mother. He opposed it as strongly as Haofeng does now. Later, they plotted against him the same way they are plotting against Haofeng now.”

A flash of doubt crossed Mo Xiuchen’s eyes as he listened to Qin Mu saying, “Uncle Luo married Haofeng’s mother, but because he loved Xiaoxiao’s mother in his heart, he often visited her in secret. Eventually, Haofeng’s mother found out and she had people… ”

“What’s the specific date?”

“Based on that date, the birth date of Bai Xiaoxiao does indeed match.” On the phone, Qin Mu was silent for a moment, his voice returning with a harder edge.

Mo Xiuchen’s heart sank.

“Mo Xiuchen, do we still need to investigate?”

Without hearing his voice, Qin Mu asked over the phone.

Mo Xiuchen’s lips tightened, and he was about to tell Qin Mu his and Ranran’s plan when Luo Haofeng snatched the phone away, “Mo Xiuchen, don’t investigate this matter any further. I’ve decided to accept Qi Meiling’s proposal and marry her.”

“Haofeng, don’t be so impulsive,” Mo Xiuchen’s brow furrowed, and his voice emerged somber from his thin lips.

On the phone, Luo Haofeng’s tone was firm and clear-headed, “I am not being impulsive. The matter is true, and regardless of whether it involves Xiaoxiao or not, I don’t want it to be exposed. Qi Meiling simply wants to marry me, so I’ll marry her.”

As long as it meant no further harm to Xiaoxiao, he was willing to marry Qi Meiling.

During this period, he had come to a clear understanding; one couldn’t always have their way in life. He had lived freely for over twenty years and couldn’t always act solely based on his own wishes.