Chapter 37: Sophistry
Bai Ping and her son had been under surveillance all along. Suddenly summoned to the living room, with the patriarch and others present, both of them felt a sense of foreboding.
"Dad, what’s going on? I was in the middle of a company meeting, and you ordered me back immediately?" Mu Changnian had been publicly humiliated and was in no mood for pleasantries.
Ever since his father retired, he had rarely involved himself in worldly affairs. Yet now, using his authority as the former chairman, he had forced Mu Changnian to rush home, making him lose face entirely.
Mu Xiwang gave his son a deep look. "Fool!" He had always been such a shrewd man, how could he let himself be played for a fool by two ordinary people? No, one of them wasn’t even ordinary.
Mu Changnian was baffled by his father’s words. "Dad, what exactly is happening?"
"You and Mu Xiaolin will retake the paternity test. This time, I will oversee it personally!" Mu Xiwang couldn’t reveal the surveillance footage just yet. If he did, the mother and son might prepare excuses, claiming they were being framed. Besides, Mu Lichuan had indeed violated the Mu family’s rules, if this came to light, the punishment would be severe.
The moment these words were spoken, Bai Ping stiffened. She never expected the old man to bring this up again. "Dad, Xiaolin and the master already underwent DNA verification. Why do it again?" She was seething inside. The opportunity had come only once, if they tested again, she had no way to manipulate the results.
"What? Are you afraid?" Mu Xiwang’s face was full of mockery. After watching the surveillance footage of the mother and son, he was certain - Mu Xiaolin was definitely not a descendant of the Mu family.
His son was mediocre, and Bai Ping was no better. How could they possibly produce a mutated single-spiritual-root child? It made no sense. Besides, the dark aura around Mu Xiaolin was unusually sinister.
Bai Ping protested with feigned grievance. "Dad, I’m not afraid. I just think another test would be troublesome and could damage the Mu family’s reputation."
"Oh? Since when do you care about the Mu family’s reputation?" Mu Xiwang’s sharp gaze shifted to his son as he spoke.
Mu Changnian found his father’s behavior inexplicable. Then he thought of his eldest son, Mu Lichuan. "Did Lichuan say something to stir up trouble?"
As the eldest son of the Mu family, his absence now made Mu Changnian suspect he was behind this.
"Mu Changnian!" Mu Xiwang’s expression darkened. "Can’t you be more competent? I’m talking about verifying your blood relation to Mu Xiaolin. Why drag Lichuan into this?"
Seeing his father’s stern demeanor, Mu Changnian softened his tone. "Dad, it’s not that I refuse the test. But the results already proved Xiaolin is my child. Why must you insist? What will people think of the Mu family?"
If he didn’t trust the results, why bother testing in the first place?
"That was your test, not mine!" Mu Xiwang never imagined his son could be so foolish, playing the role of another man’s father without even realizing it.
"Dad, what do you mean? Are you saying Xiaolin isn’t my child either?" Mu Changnian’s face twisted with humiliation. Never did he think his own father would imply he’d been cuckolded. For a man, there was no greater insult.
Mu Xiwang gave Bai Ping a meaningful look. "You should ask your beloved wife about that..."
Bai Ping gritted her teeth. "Dad, I know you despise me as the other woman, but must you humiliate Xiaolin and Changnian like this? Aren’t they still your grandson and your son?"
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