Gold Medal Sweetheart

Hearing this, Tang Xin was shocked and a guess was about to come out.

The next second, Cheng Ran's difficult voice confirmed her guess, "Yes, that child is me."

A huge shock surged in Tang Xin's chest, and she covered her mouth and couldn't say a word.

Since high school, whenever classmates talked about their parents, Cheng Ran only mentioned his mother and kept silent about his father. However, once the school compiled the family situation, Cheng Ran still submitted complete information about his family members.

After they went to college and got together, Tang Xin hardly heard Cheng Ran talk about his father, so she always believed that Cheng Ran grew up in a single-parent family with divorced parents.

Tang Xin had never imagined such a bizarre life could happen to someone close to her. Cheng Ran had never revealed any information about his father. Indeed, who would be willing to publicly claim to be an illegitimate child?

Even though she and Cheng Ran were no longer close, he had exposed his past to her without hesitation. Tang Xin still felt sorry for him, but words seemed to be powerless. She could only softly call out his name, "Cheng Ran..."

The man's voice, like a broken string, continued to echo in the car. "Tang Xin, you're right. My mom doesn't agree with us being together for a reason. As my dad gets older, he's starting to consciously distribute his property. But with my mom's shameful identity and me being an illegitimate child, what kind of property can I get?"

"Having lived in obscurity for so many years, my mother's resentment grew. She refused to resign herself to her fate and, in order to seek justice for her years of darkness, she demanded a larger share of the property. However, relying on my illegitimate status to turn things around was unlikely. The only way to get my father to willingly give me more of his property was for me to find support and help, and the solution I could think of was marriage.

"So, my mother hopes to find me a woman from a wealthy family or a prominent social status through an arranged marriage. Only then will my father, in order to achieve his goal of strengthening the Cheng family, allocate more of his wealth to me to facilitate this marriage."

Ren had thought of thousands of reasons why Cheng's mother opposed them, but Tang Xin had never thought that it was because of a fight over property.

Now she could understand why Cheng's mother was so strongly opposed to her relationship with Cheng Ran when she learned about it, because her family background was of no help in their fight for property.

After the story was finished, there was only silence in the car. Tang Xin didn't know how to react. After a while, she sighed softly, "Cheng Ran, I didn't know your upbringing was like this, nor did I know the family responsibilities you had to bear, but I..."

But what could she do? Would she forgive him because she understood his difficulties, or would she live her whole life secretly behind his back, someone her parents disapproved of? She asked herself: Even when she loved him the most, she couldn't throw away her pride to please someone, let alone now.

"I've never told anyone about my life story, but what I'm saying today isn't to get your sympathy or understanding," Cheng Ran interrupted her. "Are you asking me what I'll do if my mother continues to disagree with us being together? I want to tell you that the reason I returned to China to start a business is because I want to accumulate wealth on my own, without relying on anyone else. I want my mother to know that I want to fight for my share of the property, but I want my father to recognize my ability and voluntarily hand over the Cheng family's assets to me, rather than relying on marriage. That way, I can be with you openly."

Tang Xin didn't know how to reply, "Cheng Ran, actually..."

Perhaps worried that she would say something he didn't want to hear, Cheng Ran grasped Tang Xin's shoulders and pleaded, "Tang Xin, can you give me some time? We may not be able to be together openly right now, but I won't let you down."