Shocking! The school heartthrob who was adopted by a wealthy family is actually a heiress!

Chapter 169 I Love You, Mom

Lin Zheng grasped her hand, then glanced at Lin Shi and said, "Get out."

Lin Shi was seething with anger and stormed out of the room.

Lin Zheng held Qin Qiong in his arms, his voice low and gentle: "It's not your fault. Qiong, if anyone is truly at fault, it's those who traffic children. If anyone in our family is at fault, it's me, not you. You've always been the one who has suffered the most."

Qin Qiong shook her head, tears streaming down her face: "She will definitely blame me, she will definitely blame me, she should blame me."

Lin Zheng shook his head and could only hold her tightly: "No, it won't happen."

The scar from eighteen years ago is bleeding again.

Perhaps it was never cured.

The wound, though scabbed over on the surface, was already badly festering underneath.

Back in his room, Lin Shi felt dissatisfied with everything.

He clicked his tongue, and then vaguely felt that the scene with Qin Zhao seemed familiar, but when he thought about it again, he couldn't remember anything.
-
When Qin Qiong came in, Qin Zhao was standing in front of the closed wardrobe.

"Zhao Zhao."

Qin Qiong had composed himself and was forcing a smile, looking much the same as usual, except that his eyes were a little red.

Qin Zhao lowered his eyes, turned to look at her, and moved his lips: "I'm sorry."

"make you worry."

Upon hearing her words, Qin Qiong almost lost control of her emotions again, and tears were about to spill out: "Why, why are you apologizing again?"

The two women were about two or three meters apart.

Qin Qiong composed herself and smiled, "Come here and give Mom a hug."

Qin Zhao watched her smile and stretch out her arms, as if she was about to move, but she didn't leave. She raised her eyes slightly, suppressing the sour feeling that welled up inside her.

Only then did he walk towards her step by step.

The moment she hugged Qin Qiong, her tears almost burst forth.

How could Qin Qiong not be her mother?

Lin Wanhua is lying.

She was taller than Qin Qiong, but she still buried her head in Qin Qiong's neck like a child.

Lin Shi also lied.

They were all lying to her.

The two embraced silently, warming each other with their own warmth.

After a long while, Qin Qiong asked, "Zhaozhao, would you like to go for a walk?"

Qin Zhao raised his hand to wipe away his tears and hummed in agreement.

"How about taking a walk with Mom?"

Qin Zhao released her and looked at her pale face: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Qin Qiong smiled and shook his head, but his expression lacked energy: "No."

She held out her hand to Qin Zhao: "Come on, let's go for a walk."

The two of them walked downstairs hand in hand.

Unable to keep things to himself, Lin Shi went to find Lin Zheng again, only to find him standing by the window smoking a cigar.

He said, "Mom won't let you smoke."

Lin Zheng exhaled a smoke ring and calmly placed it on the edge of the ashtray.

Lin Shi had always seen his father as someone who was always at ease and composed. Perhaps it was because of the swirling smoke, but for some reason, he felt that his father seemed a little lonely today.

He asked, "Dad, do you and Mom feel guilty towards Qin Zhao?"

"What do you think?" Lin Zheng's voice was devoid of emotion. "Wouldn't you be heartbroken if you lost us?"

"So, do you feel more guilt and love for her, or more love for me?" Lin Shi said sullenly. "Am I not as important as her now?"

"Just for asking that question," Lin Zheng said, "you deserve another hundred beatings."

"..."

Lin Zheng: "If you're not happy either, let's have a drink together today, father and son."

"Who's going to drink with you?" Lin Shi scoffed.

Lin Zheng chuckled softly but didn't say anything.

Lin Shi went to the liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of brandy.

He pulled the rope, uncorked the bottle, poured a glass for Lin Zheng first, and then poured one for himself. After downing a glass, Lin Shi said, "Aren't you never satisfied with me? You must be so happy that Qin Zhao is here, so obedient and doesn't cause trouble."

"You have a pretty clear understanding of yourself." Lin Zheng raised his eyelids slightly. "You know how much trouble you've caused."

Lin Shi knew this, so he silently downed another glass of wine.

“But, son,” Lin Zheng smiled, a hint of tears welling in his eyes, “Dad is very grateful to you.”

Lin Shi hummed in response, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Without you, our family would be gone." Lin Zheng said slowly, his eyes half-closed, his voice tinged with a sigh.

"Although you're quite a troublemaker, cleaning up your messes is tiring and troublesome, and sometimes your behavior is quite funny."

"..."

“But the process was very therapeutic; your mother and I both felt happy.” Lin Shi raised his glass. “A toast to you.”

Lin Shi didn't know whether to be happy or not, but his father looked at him with a loving expression, so he took it as a compliment.

Lin Zheng: "Thank you for coming into our world."

Lin Shi: "I'm not leaving even though I'm saying all this."

"..."

Lin Zhengqi laughed, and it was indeed amusing.

He took a sip of his drink: "Your mother carried you for ten months; you were both once part of her body. She risked her life to bring you into this world. That in itself is a great act of love."

His eyes welled up with tears: "Son, your mother has had a very hard life all these years."

Seeing his almost crying expression, Lin Shi felt particularly bad.

“She is an outstanding person, but she became my wife and your mother, which is a sacrifice in itself.” Lin Zheng looked at him. “Don’t question her love for you, and don’t rank her love.”

"Don't question her. Son, you can sense it."

—

Qin Zhao and Qin Qiong walked side by side.

I don't know if she has something to hide, but it seems like there's an invisible wall between her and Qin Qiong.

The DNA database comparison in the 16 I country anti-trafficking efforts was incorrect due to sample confusion.

In 19, a technical error occurred in the analysis of STRs by a laboratory in Country M, resulting in false positive matches.

……

The cases that flashed through her mind made her increasingly depressed.

The two of them hadn't walked for long.

She and Qin Qiong returned to their room.

Qin Qiong asked her if she wanted to hear a story, and she nodded.

The lights were dimmed, and she lay in bed while Qin Qiong told her a children's story, "How to Confirm Love."

Her features were soft, and she smelled sweet.

As Qin Zhao smelled it, his eyes kept getting wet and then drying, then getting wet again.

After the story ended, Qin Qiong paused for a moment and asked, "Baby, do you blame Mommy?"

Qin Zhao shook his head: "I like Mom."

“I’ve never blamed you.” She lowered her eyelids and spoke softly. “When I was little, I didn’t understand much. Later, I saw other children being called to dinner by their mothers. Their mothers would scold them for getting their clothes dirty while squatting down to brush the dust off them.”

"I was so envious. I wished I had a mom." She smiled. "Later, I really did have a mom."

Her voice trembled with sobs: "You've been so good to me, better than anyone else."

How could Qin Qiong not be her mother?

"I love you." Qin Zhao said, her voice trembling with suppressed sobs, but the darkness concealed her tears, which flowed freely down her face. "I love you, Mom."

I directly felt the despicable nature of human traffickers; three out of the four family members were heartbroken.
Thank you to ^凛冬序诗_BE4998 for the book coins and to Xiaomingqwq for the generous donations!

Thank you ^凛冬序诗_BE, Book Friend 20250414013153472, Paulinepllo, and Dreamy_ee for the monthly tickets! Love you all!
I've felt really guilty these past two days because everyone has given me different feedback.

It will be written according to the main storyline. The spoiler is that Lin Shi learned about the events before going to school, and Zhao Zhao took the initiative to tell him due to fate.

(Another reason might be that because I have less, the short episodes might give people a feeling of slowness, even though only half a day has actually passed for Zhao Zhao...)
It didn't mean anything by it; it was just a small token of gratitude. Thank you all, and perhaps it's also a farewell to some of my darlings. In any case, I'm extremely grateful.
I didn't mean to delay or withhold the reveal!! The identity part is like a ball of yarn; it seems some readers only want to see the end, and the story isn't complete without the beginning. Every chapter now contains information about the identity.

As I said before, everyone's interpretation will be different. Some readers might notice that Zhao Zhao can't sleep without wearing a chest binder, while others might just think she's a coward who can't even look at her own gender directly...

I won't highlight certain parts as foreshadowing in every chapter I write.
It shouldn't be long. The story is already in mid-August, so how far is September?

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(End of this chapter)