Chapter Two Hundred and Fourteen: The Gene Project

“So, do you have time for a quick chat?” Xiao Yu looked Yan Jin in the eye.

It was rare to see such a steadfast expression from Xiao Yu.

Yan Jin sighed in surrender. “Whatever.”

Xiao Yu happily dragged him to the sofa. He sat down opposite Yan Jin and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds.

Under Yan Jin’s unamused gaze, Xiao Yu calmly dumped some seeds out onto the table and ran to grab a cup of hot tea and a bowl for the seed shells.

“Alright, whenever you’re ready.” Xiao Yu sat straight like a young student.

Yan Jin: “…”

Yan Jin lost all desire to start speaking to someone who had prepared snacks and drinks like this was storytime.

Xiao Yu blinked his eyes expectantly as if to ask, why aren’t you starting?

Chairman Yan couldn’t resist the blast of cuteness and raised a white flag. “Okay, where do you want me to start?”

“Anywhere is fine *crack*. But, I guess the most important, *crack crack*, is maybe why you and Chu Ge are fighting.” Xiao Yu began cracking open seeds as he spoke. Despite the serious topic, his tone sounded like they were simply gossiping during an afternoon break.

Before, Xiao Yu might have believed that their fight wasn’t so complicated. However, after chatting with Chu Ge all of last night, he was no longer so naive.

According to Chu Ge, the Yan Family had trapped Yan Jin’s mother in an asylum while publicly declaring her death in order to seize the Du Family’s assets. Yan Jin’s lack of concern had indicated his own tacit approval in winning the successorship.

In the past, Xiao Yu had always eagerly looked forward to Yan Jin and Chu Ge talking about real aristocratic family secrets. Whenever his expectations weren’t met, he’d mutter to himself that those two weren’t true aristocrats. But now, with one of these secrets looming before him, he found that these secrets weren’t melodramatic or amusing at all. They left unfading wounds on the people closest to him and could happen at any time. This was the epitome of “death being preferable to life”.

Xiao Yu even looked back on his previous gossipy self with disgust.

All interesting gossip had a prerequisite: it had to happen to someone else.

When it happened to a close friend, gossip quickly lost its sweet shell, revealing fresh blood and malice within.

Like faked deaths and asylums.

Such a ridiculous plot had actually happened in reality.

Xiao Yu couldn’t imagine how Chu Ge felt when engaging in this business war and even less how Yan Jin felt as he counterattacked.

Even if one side won, what next?

Did it matter who won?

This struggle was destined to end without a winner. Chu Ge and Yan Jin’s schism was already unavoidable.

The sin from twenty years ago wouldn’t repeat, but they were still suffering the consequences twenty years later.

Xiao Yu had been in tears when his chat with Chu Ge this morning had gone south.

Xiao Yu knew that Yan Jin wouldn’t hide a simple misunderstanding. Chu Ge also knew this. After Yan Jin had assumed control of the family’s international businesses, very few people would have been able to compel Yan Jin to do anything against his will.

Thus, Yan Jin’s current attitude was a silent acceptance to Chu Ge’s claims and conclusions. On the other hand, Chu Ge couldn’t accept that his brother of twenty years was despicable enough to abandon his own mother.

No one would believe this relationship could be mended.

The only person harboring any hope was Xiao Yu.

No matter how the odds were stacked, Xiao Yu wouldn’t lose trust in Yan Jin.

This trust wasn’t for no reason. Neither was it because Yan Jin was his lover. It was because he knew better than anyone else what kind of person Yan Jin was.

Some would point out that he had only known Yan Jin for at most two years, while Chu Ge had known Yan Jin for twenty. Could Xiao Yu really claim to know Yan Jin better?

Perhaps there was some unreasonable arrogance there, but Xiao Yu truly felt this way.

It was because he had a perspective no human could ever have with Yan Jin.

He felt a little sorry for Chu Ge, but there were some things that even time could not contend against.

So, he believed in Yan Jin and his gentle tenderness. He believed Yan Jin definitely wasn’t the cold-hearted demon Chu Ge said he was.

“How much did Chu Ge tell you?”

“I think everything including the seizure of Du Family assets, the faked death, and the asylum,” Xiao Yu stated the chilling events without any hesitation.

“Well, he got me there.” Unexpectedly, Yan Jin wasn’t angry that Chu Ge had told all this to Xiao Yu. Instead of mocking Chu Ge as he normally did, Yan Jin sarcastically indicated his acceptance.

Xiao Yu was spooked. He’d thought that Yan Jin would either force a laugh or give a cold smile that foretold Chu Ge’s doom.

Was he really that merciful?

That couldn’t be the real Chairman Yan.

Yan Jin found Xiao Yu’s alarmed expression extremely funny and stole half of Xiao Yu’s seeds.

“Hey, a gentleman asks first before taking. Have some decency. You’re ruining my setup,” Xiao Yu complained while grabbing some more seeds from the bag under the coffee table.

“I bought the seeds. Why am I not allowed to eat them?” Yan Jin grumbled.

“Open your dog eyes. What does this say? ‘Hamster food’, do you see?” Xiao Yu waved the bag in front of Yan Jin.

As Yan Jin threw one into his mouth, Xiao Yu asked evilly, “How is it? Does it taste good? It has no flavor, right?”

Xiao Yu was right.

“… Why didn’t you grab a normal bag?”

“Ask yourself why you keep buying hamster food. The bedroom can’t fit anymore and the living room is almost full of it. I haven’t even turned into a hamster in a while.”

Yan Jin angrily retorted, “So you enjoy eating this?”

“I’m just used to it now. Who do you think has been eating all the hamster food in the first place?” Xiao Yu adopted a mock look of understanding. “If you still buy anymore after this, you can go figure out what to do with it.”

Yan Jin silently put his seeds back.

“… Don’t eat them anymore. I’ll use them for cooking later.”

“Don’t worry about it; it’s fine to just leave it too. Now, continue on with what you were saying earlier.”

Xiao Yu didn’t mind eating hamster food. First, all of the hamster food was custom ordered by Yan Jin and met human-grade food standards. As far as taste went, although it was tasteless, Xiao Yu actually felt that it was still better than the dried fruit he used to have in his oatmeal. Finally, Xiao Yu’s tolerance for hamster food was very high because he himself could turn into a hamster.

Perhaps it wasn’t good, but he could still swallow it. Maybe he could treat it as losing weight.

“The events that transpired…” Yan Jin suddenly began speaking, interrupting Xiao Yu’s thoughts about hamster food.

Xiao Yu immediately pricked up his ears. Yan Jin’s introduction sounded like those trite plays that began with “the events that transpired were just as expected”.

This type of prelude wasn’t good at all. It was immediately apparent that Yan Jin just wanted to get this over with.

Xiao Yu made a silent declaration that he definitely wouldn’t let Yan Jin off so easily.

“…are completely different to what you think.”

Xiao Yu: “…”

“I didn’t desire the Du Family’s assets. I didn’t scheme against them for successorship. Neither have I ever stood by as my mother suffered.”

Xiao Yu: “…”

What… the fuck.

Those three words summarized Xiao Yu’s current thoughts.

He’d mentally prepared himself to hear some embarrassing story about some youthful mistakes.

After all this, it was unexpectedly a misunderstanding!

Right now, Xiao Yu only felt like his heart itched, but in a while he would undoubtedly feel soreness in his heart.

The fuck? Why wouldn’t you say so earlier if this is a misunderstanding?

And what’s the use in telling me? Go tell Chu Ge, you numbskull!

Yan Jin could see Xiao Yu’s thoughts and laughed bitterly. In a somewhat mournful tone, he continued, “Babies born from the ‘Gene Project’ have special capabilities. Du Yirou’s child does not carry her blood. The Du Family sacrificed their own daughter to maintain the secrecy of the project. The Yan Family has been carefully watching Nan Qi for the last twenty years. Our encounter was the result of eight years of planning. Even he is the result of the ‘Gene Project’, perhaps the most successful result ever?”

……

“Uncle, is there a problem?” Nan Chan heard a sound and turned towards the approaching person.

“Uncle? Is that how you address me? If you want to stay with Nan Qi’s Aunty, I can satisfy your wish.” Nan Xu leaned on his cane as he took a seat.

“Do we even need to continue pretending at this point? Everyone here is clear on whose daughter I am.” Nan Chan’s tone turned frigidly cold as she set her book aside.

“Don’t make trouble out of nothing.” Nan Xu’s brows creased. “With Nan Qi around, the rise of the Nan Family is only a question of time. Don’t think that Nan Qi can protect you forever. If you dare—”

“—I didn’t say anything about not daring to, Uncle.”

“Brother won’t help you people. When he finds out the truth of what happened ten years ago, the Nan Family is done for.”

“I’m going to live until that day just so I can see this rotten family be finished with my own eyes.”