Part 3
Rui Hu was stunned and looked up in surprise. “How… how did this happen?”
She hadn’t even mentioned her benefactor’s identity last night, and even she didn’t know it; her benefactor hadn’t said at the time.
In that case, how did Mr. Bai know? She hadn’t said anything last night either.
Ning Yunyi didn’t explain, only saying that a family member of a friend of his had gone missing at that time and he suspected it might be her, so he wanted Rui Hu to confirm. It was no matter if it wasn’t.
Only then did Rui Hu understand. “If it really were her, it would be great. At least we would know who the benefactor truly is.”
Ning Yunyi didn’t explain further. He guessed that if it really were Lady Zong back then, the reason she hadn’t told Rui Hu her identity was partly because the other was young, and partly because she was worried that even if she told Old Master Zong or Marshal Zong, given the complicated situation of the Zong family at the time—being attacked from both sides—they might have been directly disposed of.
Moreover, Marshal Zong was young at the time and had no ability to protect himself. Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do. So Lady Zong chose this way to protect her family.
Ning Yunyi showed the photo on his wristband to Rui Hu. She was nervous before seeing it, but when she truly saw the valiant woman with a faint smile in her eyes, her own eyes immediately turned red. Her hand trembled as she tried to touch it before quickly withdrawing. Her lips trembled for a long time before she could say a single word, and she could only nod desperately.
Ning Yunyi had guessed as much from her expression. His heart was also quite complicated for a time, and he only sighed after a long while. “Is it her?”
Rui Hu covered her mouth and nodded frantically, choking out, “Yes, it’s the benefactor… though she was much thinner than in this photo, but her eyes were always bright and resilient. I’ll never forget them in my life…”
But thinking that so many years had passed, perhaps her benefactor had long ago…
Rui Hu finally couldn’t help but cover her face, making no sound, but her shoulders wouldn’t stop shaking.
If she could have met Mr. Bai earlier and spoken of this, would they have been able to…
But thinking of how dangerous that place was, she could only suppress the thought again. No, Mr. Bai had saved them. How could she repay kindness with enmity?
Ning Yunyi sighed. “Recover in peace. This family member is very important to my friend; he will find a way.”
Rui Hu’s eyes were rimmed with red. “But… but that place is really dangerous. What if…”
Ning Yunyi gave her a reassuring smile. “But we have to try, don’t we?”
His only worry was that after so many years, if… something had happened to her, all hope would be lost once again, and it would only be more painful than before.
But Ning Yunyi was never one to retreat. Once he made a decision, he wouldn’t regret it.
Returning to the Ning residence, he contacted Ichi and had him investigate the location from Rui Hu’s memory. Although it might not be accurate, the general area of the positioning was correct.
But after so many years, no one knew if she was still imprisoned in that underground city. Plus, it was on a desolate planet not near Capital Planet. It was better to let Ichi investigate than for Ning Yunyi to do it himself.
Since Marshal Zong had also told Ichi about this possibility last night, it was clear that Ichi was trustworthy, and he would have secret channels to investigate without going through the military.
Sure enough, upon receiving the positioning and definite news, Ichi on the other end was also extremely shocked.
Since learning of this possibility from the Marshal last night, he hadn’t slept at all. He had rushed to the Zong residence overnight to take this family photo that the Marshal had always cherished from his private belongings.
Ichi was stunned for a long time before replying with a complicated and grateful message: [It’s been hard on you, Mr. Bai. Wait for my news!]
Ning Yunyi put away his wristband and looked at the big cat, who was completely listless. “Ichi has gone to investigate. Rui Hu also recognized her; the one who saved her back then was indeed Lady Zong.”
Zong Hao had guessed as much from the moment Ning Yunyi returned and nodded to him. He hadn’t closed his eyes for a day and a night, but he wasn’t sleepy at all now. It felt as though something was blocking his chest.
He was even angry with himself. He had searched for so long, yet never imagined that it was his most trusted friend since childhood who had worked behind his back and betrayed him.
When the incident happened, the Crown Prince was several years older than him. Such a sudden approach was clearly because the Crown Prince was likely in the know. It was even highly possible… that it was the Emperor who had initially established that place.
Looking at the big cat, Ning Yunyi knew what he was thinking but couldn’t help; he had to digest it himself.
The original owner had experienced this too, only it was Ji Hao who betrayed him. A so-called friendship mixed with profit was never pure to begin with, and there was nothing to miss once it was gone.
He believed the big cat wasn’t mourning the friendship, only regretting that he hadn’t discovered the other’s true face sooner; otherwise, over many years… he might have found out earlier.
But it might have been another ending—discovering it and being unable to save her, and instead sending another person in.
This was likely why Lady Zong, facing the child Rui Hu who could escape, had still chosen not to let her take the news that she was still alive out. She was afraid of losing the only family she had left.
Ning Yunyi sent him to rest. Zong Hao also needed to properly arrange what was to come, so he obediently returned to his room.
Ning Yunyi, meanwhile, prepared for his livestream. He didn’t take the big cat this time, only the kitten. The little guy also noticed something was wrong with the big cat. “Father, what’s wrong with Big Cat? Is he sick?”
Ning Yunyi said, “Yes, Big Cat is sick in his heart and needs to be alone for a while. So we won’t bother him for now, okay?”
The little guy nodded seriously. “Then we won’t bother him.”
Ning Yunyi pinched his little face. “Good boy.”
The noon livestream went smoothly, but just as it was about to end, Ning Yunyi accidentally caught a few bullet comments.
After exiting the livestream room, he didn’t close Star Stream immediately. Instead, he logged back in with an alternate account and clicked on the [Mu Following Zong’s Heart] account—Mu Jiayi’s livestream room.
He had expected Mu Jiayi and Zong Ling to prepare their move quickly after siding with the Crown Prince, but he hadn’t expected it to be this fast.
Last time, they had just livestreamed taking over the Lehman family for Little Lehman. This time, they were streaming with Little Lehman, mentioning that they had already adopted him. Now the Lehman family was being fully handled by the Crown Prince’s people, and they even praised the Crown Prince.
Because of Little Lehman’s identity as a “beautiful, strong, and pitiful” young family head, and because the two had saved him and Zong Ling had played the “deeply affectionate” persona, the two had gained many fans. Now their online viewership was also in the hundreds of thousands.
The bullet comments were all praising the two for being kind-hearted and the little family head for being cute. Few mentioned the matter of the two’s fake display of affection before.
Ning Yunyi watched the three of them interacting harmoniously like a real family of three. He narrowed his eyes. Was he also planning to use a ‘parenting livestream’ to compete with his own ‘shifter cub’ livestream?
But Ning Yunyi felt the Crown Prince would be impatient and wouldn’t wait for fans to grow so slowly. There should be an even bigger move to push Mu Jiayi and the other to the top of Star Stream in a short time, completely suppressing [Sect’s First Blade].
Given that the Crown Prince was doing things unfavorable to shifters, he wouldn’t allow shifters to truly gain a huge wave of fans. Otherwise, once the secret was exposed, the Crown Prince would suffer a massive backlash.
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thanks for the chapter!