The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

Amidst the swirling smoke of sandalwood incense, Yi Zhichun still possessed the same delicate features and a face as white as paper. Looking at Li Zichun before him, he smiled calmly and said, "We meet again, Mr. Li Zichun."

The answers you requested have been investigated for about 70-80%. As for the remaining 20-30%, given the complexity of the case, you may need to decide for yourself whether to continue the investigation.

Li Zichun took the file bag that Yi Zhichun pushed over, opened the red wax rope, and looked at it with curiosity.

He couldn't help but silently complain to himself, "So mysterious, acting like a ghost."

Li Zichun took out the documents inside, his eyes flickering, from doubt to confusion, and finally to shock.

The complexity of the situation had far exceeded his expectations.

I've recognized my "mother" as my own mother!

Yi Zhichun leisurely sipped his tea, awaiting his response. Things were indeed more interesting than he'd imagined. He hadn't expected this outcome during his investigation; his unintentional act had ironically led to the mother and son recognizing each other.

It turns out that when Li Xian was young, she went south to work. Due to family disputes, she refused to accept an arranged marriage and, unable to think straight, went to work for a company abroad.

Going to work was just a normal job, but because of her beautiful appearance, she caught the eye of her married boss. After several attempts to win him over, she still couldn't get him. Her boss's ardent pursuit bothered her, and the rumors in the company confused her. Her instinct was to quit and leave.

The boss, unaccustomed to such cold treatment, was about to act when he realized he couldn't get his food. However, remembering his status, he had someone inform his wife. His wife, not one to be trifled with, secretly ordered someone to wait at her residence, kidnap her, and take her away as a lesson, threatening that a second offense would be far more serious than simply distancing herself.

The people who kidnapped her were originally arranged by the boss, who wanted to take the opportunity to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. However, the people who kidnapped her also knew that she was chaste, so they warned her that she was alone and powerless and had no one to help her. They suggested that she return to China as soon as possible, otherwise, given the couple's methods, she would be used and killed without a doubt.

Li Xian had never experienced anything like this before. In a panic, she wanted to go to the embassy for help, but when she got to the door, she found that there were their people everywhere. This boss had connections everywhere, and she was afraid that she would disappear before she could even get in the door.

The boss originally wanted to promote her to be his mistress, but after several attempts, he became annoyed and gradually lost patience with her. He then had her arrested and imprisoned.

Logically, she was doomed, but the landlady couldn't stand it anymore. She thought, "They've already sent her away, how could she be caught again? She's incredibly stupid." But her conscience bothered her, so she secretly ordered someone to change her identity and quietly arranged for her to return to her country.

She only discovered she was pregnant after returning to China, which was absolutely outrageous. Because she was afraid to contact her family and had very little money left, she had no choice but to find a temporary job locally.

Logically, she should have aborted the child, but for some reason, she gave birth. Raising a child alone is already difficult enough, and then someone started pursuing her, asking her to give the child away for adoption, which she initially refused. Then, the man used sweet words to say that he didn't mind and would do whatever she wanted, deceiving her into being with him. After that, the man secretly threw the child away when she wasn't looking.

By the time she came to her senses and tried to look for the child, he had already disappeared.

The two broke up and got back together several times before finally getting married. Their married life was unhappy; the man had a history of domestic violence, and she couldn't bear it any longer and tried to escape, but was caught and brought back. The man had gambled away debts, and seeing he couldn't repay them, he set his sights on her through an introduction.

The man was selfish and had a strong sense of pride; he didn't like others touching his things, but he still took the risk to pay off his debts. She was imprisoned and unable to escape, and was forced to take many male concubines, which ultimately made her infertile.

It wasn't until a kind-hearted person noticed something amiss and reported it that the truth came out. The man was arrested, convicted of multiple crimes, and sentenced to life imprisonment. While in prison, he engaged in further fights, thus ending his incompetent, selfish, and self-deprecating life.

The women who were imprisoned because of this incident were eventually rescued.

The incident was a huge blow to her, leaving her in a state of mental confusion. She finally emerged from the shadows only to find herself halfway through life, and her family had disowned her. Ultimately, she had no choice but to find a low-paying job at an orphanage, eventually working her way up to become its director.

She seemed to have spent her whole life waiting—waiting for an opportunity to reconcile with her family, waiting for the man she wanted to meet, waiting for the man she married to become successful so she could come home, waiting for herself to succeed so she could go back and visit. She waited and waited, only to be met with endless torment and darkness. She wasted half her life, only to end up with nothing.

The story was written in a rather absurd and speechless way, with the structure of an eight o'clock soap opera. Li Zichun didn't believe it at first, until the final personal examination completely shattered his doubts.

Wow, they've really prepared everything perfectly, leaving us speechless.

Li Zichun was stunned when he saw the personal identification. Damn it, it's really speechless. A person's own "mother" is his mother. This world is really full of absurdities.

A completely speechless incident.

So who is his father? Could it be that wealthy businessman? Possibly. Or perhaps it's some woman who later used a surrogate mother.

Li Zichun closed his eyes and sorted through his jumbled thoughts for a while, then slowly took a sip of tea and said, "So I'm the child who was abandoned before, or one of many eggs that came later?"

Yi Zhichun was a little surprised that he could sort out his thoughts so quickly, and shook his head with a smile, saying, "I don't know about that." Then he added, "After all, these things all happened within those one or two years. Your orphanage also calculates age based on the date of rebirth after finding the child, so there's no way to determine whether you were the first one abandoned or abandoned by another woman who was rescued later. After all, there were too many newborn children rescued at that time, and most of them had the same mother, so it was difficult to handle."

Li Zichun took a deep breath: "So, my mom... that is, Li Xian, knows that she is my mom?"

Yi Zhichun thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. It took her a long time to recover her senses after leaving the sanatorium. Her decision to go to the welfare home was just a last-minute one, probably to atone for her sins."

Li Zichun frowned and asked, "What crime has she committed?"

Yi Zhichun said noncommittally, "You are a smart person, you should know that unguarded beauty is a sin. Trusting others is a sin, and not being able to extricate yourself in time is also a sin. Life is full of unpredictability and things not going as planned. We don't know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first."

Li Zichun looked at the results again expressionlessly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "So who was the wealthy merchant at the very beginning of this story? And what was the final outcome?"

Yi Zhichun smiled and said, "All I know is that the other party is a powerful and influential person. Since that's all they've said, they must be alive and well now, or perhaps they've already died of old age. After all, twenty years have passed, and too many things can happen in that time."

Li Zichun looked up at Yi Zhichun and said, "You don't even have a name?"

Yi Zhichun said with a smile, "It's not that there isn't one, but the other party contacted me in advance, so I can't say."

Li Zichun was taken aback: "He knows I contacted you?"

Yi Zhichun smiled and said, "I don't know. He probably thought you would contact him, so he paid for your part in advance. I'm very satisfied with his fee, so I can't reveal his name."

Li Zichun said hesitantly, "You mean, he gave you hush money in advance, without knowing whether I would let you contact him?"

Yi Zhichun pouted and said, "That's probably a fair way to put it. And he seems to care about you quite a bit."

Li Zichun: "...So he's my father?"

Yi Zhichun shook his head and said, "I don't know. These important figures even have their personal belongings, like fingernails, hair, and nails, collected, sorted, and burned by special people. We can't get any evidence. So I can't answer your guess."

Li Zichun said speechlessly, "So what message did he leave for me?"

Yi Zhichun said, "Yes."

Li Zichun: "What is it?"

Yi Zhichun said embarrassedly, "Get lost...don't try to get close to me."

Li Zichun's expression clearly froze for a moment.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yi Zhichun muttered softly, "What he said probably means he doesn't want to have anything to do with you. After all, he has too many illegitimate children, so it doesn't matter whether you're there or not. But I think if he knew how successful you are, he would be eager to let you be recognized by your ancestors."

Li Zichun wasn't annoyed. He simply said calmly, "So, they don't want anything to do with me? Then they probably won't have anything to do with me in the future either."

Yi Zhichun nodded and said, "That's right. This is a written agreement issued by them. Once you sign this, you will have no further relationship with each other and will be responsible for your own life and death."

Li Zichun nodded and was about to sign when Yi Zhichun pressed down on the paper and said, "Actually, you can sue him. Regardless of whether you are father and son, he will usually compensate you with a sum of money to protect his reputation. With that money, you can enjoy your old age in peace."

Li Zichun said nonchalantly, "Having a relationship with this kind of scum will only taint my mind and body. It's better to cut ties as soon as possible."

Although the other party's name wasn't written on it, he could still guess that Yi Zhichun, as a witness to this matter, probably knew the other party's identity, so he didn't ask any more questions. He wanted to break things off cleanly and get rid of the problem as soon as possible, and he didn't want to attract too much attention to this matter.

After leaving the detective agency, he felt completely refreshed, and a huge weight was finally lifted from his heart.

Next, it was time to go back to the mainland to settle accounts. However, times have changed, and the desire for revenge has faded. I just feel it's not worth it, for myself and for my mother, Li Xian.

Li Zichun let out a long sigh and returned to his three-story villa.

Zhao Qianfan quickly paid his taxes and, after parting ways with Jin Dili and Zhao Jinmai, took them to the airport. The three of them agreed to meet in Beijing. When he returned to the villa, Li Zichun had just arrived.

With two days left until the national singing competition finals, Li Zichun asked him to record the remaining songs first.

The two arrived at the recording studio, and Zhao Qianfan first recorded the Cantonese version of "Flowers in the Water":

In the dead of night

Unable to sleep peacefully

Lying down, I gaze at the sky, tears streaming down my face, letting the cold wind blow.

In the cold night, I can't be with you.

Perhaps the tears in my heart could not be wiped away.

Fate led me to shatter my grasp; loving each other was too painful and exhausting.

I don't want to fall into this fire, I just want to forget my sweet dreams.

Let me face it, even with my sins.

I wish to occupy this cozy, warm pile of hair.

Like flowers reflected in water

We can only look at it, but we can't pick it.

Like the fragrance of flowers drifting in the wind

Fading away in a wisp of light

However, let me see you

I don't want to hide from them multiple times.

I fear neither wind nor rain, I only wish to get drunk together...

Because I had sung the Mandarin version before, the recording of this song was completed quickly. Although it wasn't a professional recording studio, the effect was still obvious. And this Cantonese version seems to have even more charm when sung.

Li Zichun nodded, indicating that it was over. Next, Li Ke would record the songs he sang for the two women. Since he owned the copyrights, he didn't need to worry about copyright infringement. However, he really didn't want to talk about the woman who slept with all the high-ranking officials and the manipulative Luo Feiyu. He hoped that Li Ke would come to his senses in time.

He and Zhao Qianfan each recorded one song, which saved him from having to put in too much effort.

Zhao Qianfan naturally said no problem, but he didn't want to overwork himself, as it would be troublesome if he hurt his voice.

Li Zichun recorded first, then he was given a break. He sang A-mei's "You Don't Want Anything After All":

I know this is not good.

I also know that your love can only be so little.

I'll keep demanding until you want to escape.

A pillow soaked with tears can be dried in the sun.

Tears in your heart are just unreasonable demands.

I thought that being behind you was my lifelong pride.

So you didn't want anything after all.

I don't want your pampering, your roses.

As long as you love me well and for a long, long time.

Even if it's vanity or greed...

Which woman isn't selfish and expectant about love?

I don't want your promises, I don't want your forever.

As long as you truly love me even once.

Even if it's vanity or greed...

What I fear most is that you will take silence as your answer to me.

......

I don't want your pampering, your roses.

As long as you love me well and for a long, long time.

Even if...

So you don't want anything after all.

The song was originally written by Guo Zi for singer Pan Yueyun and was originally titled "Who Betrayed Whom". However, she felt that the song was not important, so Wu Yukang rewrote the lyrics and it was sung by A-mei (Chang Hui-mei).

Li Zichun sang this song in a female voice, which was restrained, delicate, tender and melodious, and her voice and emotions were very well done.

Zhao Qianfan was getting a little excited, as if he really wanted it. "If you want it, you can come to me. I definitely won't run away."

PS: Data is from the internet.

"Flowers in the Water" is sung by Alan Tam. The Cantonese version was written and composed by Kan Ning and arranged by Lau Yee Tat. It was included in Alan Tam's Cantonese album "Embrace" released by Universal Music on August 18, 1988.

"You Don't Want Anything After All" is sung by A-mei (Chang Hui-mei), with lyrics by Wu Yu-kang, music by Guo Zi, and arrangement by Li Bo-jie. It was included in A-mei's album "Sisters," released on December 13, 1996. The song is the theme song for the Taiwanese drama "Love in the Sunny Days." In 1997, it won the Silver Award for "Most Popular Mandarin Song" at the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards Ceremony.