Ling Yuchen held her hand tightly, unsure what to say.
Xia Wantang gathered her courage and walked into the house. All she wanted now was to ask.
Was it them who abandoned her back then?
If so, why didn't they want her? Since they didn't want her, why did they give birth to her?
Ling Yuchen and Zhu Yunfei flanked her, walking into the house step by step.
The soldiers at the door stood like pine trees, their gazes straight ahead, their expressions blank.
The living room was terrifyingly silent. Xia Wantang looked up and met the eyes of a man with a scar across his face.
Her steps faltered, her expression complex, and she trembled as if electrocuted.
Noticing this, Ling Yuchen held Xia Wantang even tighter.
His eyes were full of wariness as he stared at the man radiating danger before him.
Gong Ye ignored Ling Yuchen, his gaze fixed on the girl in front of him who resembled his wife by seven parts. His pupils contracted slightly, and he instinctively stood up.
The man who had always been decisive in battle and unfazed by bullets was now so nervous his hands trembled.
Everyone else from the Ling family, except for Old Master Ling, also stood up.
Father and daughter, meeting for the first time, gazed at each other from a distance.
After a long pause, Gong Ye called out, "Zhijing."
Xia Wantang knew he was calling her, but she didn't respond. She simply pursed her lips and walked forward, staring intently at him.
Her eyes reddened, and the questions she wanted to ask remained unspoken.
Gong Ye looked at his daughter, a wave of guilt washing over him. His eyes turned red before he could even speak, and his voice was hoarse.
"Dad's sorry."
He could face the nation, he could face the loyal Gong family, but he couldn't face his wife and daughter.
Xia Wantang's eyes were red, and she stubbornly refused to let tears fall. She didn't understand what he meant.
Was he apologizing for abandoning her, or for accidentally losing her?
Seeing that she was just staring at him without speaking, Gong Ye felt a deep pang of sadness and guilt.
He lowered his head, offering no explanation, and took out a faded old photograph from his pocket, handing it to Xia Wantang.
Xia Wantang glanced down. The photo showed a family of three.
A young man in a military uniform, without the scar, could still be recognized as the man before her.
He had his arm around a woman who looked very much like her, even down to the small mole on her forehead.
The two of them gazed down tenderly at the smiling, drooling infant in their arms.
Xia Wantang's eyes welled up. At this moment, silence was more eloquent than words. How could they possibly not want her, looking at the child with such gentle affection?
Gong Ye seemed to be reminiscing about the happy past. A smile involuntarily spread across his face as he said, "This is me, my name is Gong Ye. This is your mother, her name is Lu Yunzhi. That child is you, your name is Gong Zhijing, you were only four months old then."
Xia Wantang pursed her lips, suppressing her tears, "Then why didn't you want me? Or did you lose me?"
Gong Ye's smile slowly faded. "We didn't abandon you, nor did we lose you. What happened back then is a long story..."
It wasn't just a long story, but also involved many classified matters that couldn't be disclosed.
Xia Wantang stared at him, not understanding what he meant.
Zhu Yunfei tugged at Xia Wantang's hand, unable to suppress her concern. "Let's sit down and talk slowly," she said.
Although she appeared calm and composed, her inner turmoil was likely far greater than her outward demeanor suggested.
Gong Ye glanced at Zhu Yunfei's swollen belly, his expression complex, yet tinged with relief.
The Ling family was good, and Ling Yuchen was her savior. As long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.
Ling Yuchen helped Xia Wantang to the sofa. Only he knew that Xia Wantang's entire weight was leaning on him.
Her heart was not as serene as it appeared on the surface.
Once everyone was seated, Xia Wantang simply kept her head down, silent. No one knew what she was thinking, nor could they discern her expression.
She was waiting for an explanation, for an answer.
Why did she have parents yet had to live under someone else's roof? Why, after more than twenty years, had they not come to take her home?
The others dared not interrupt. After all, only Gong Ye knew the truth of what had happened.
Gong Ye clutched the photograph, his thoughts drifting to the past. He said, "Our Gong family has served in the military for generations. Your great-grandfather was a decorated general, your grandfather lived in seclusion his entire life guarding the border, and I followed in your grandfather's footsteps."
He paused for a moment, then continued with a complex tone, "Many things involve national secrets, and I cannot tell you everything, but I did not abandon you, nor did I not want you."
Xia Wantang listened to his understated words, the impact on her profound, filling her with a sense of awe.
This was a family dedicated to their country.
She didn't know what Gong Ye did, but listening to him, and considering the armed soldiers at the door, she knew he wasn't lying.
She looked up at him and asked, "Then what about my mother? Where is she?"
The fierce scar on Gong Ye's face didn't frighten her; instead, it filled her with heartache.
His life over these past twenty years couldn't have been easy either.
She was about to become a mother herself, and she believed that no parents in the world didn't dote on their children.
Even through the photograph, she could tell they truly loved the infant.
Gong Ye's face contorted with unconcealed pain. "Your mother passed away twenty years ago. To protect you, I had to hide you in the bustling city.
I sent you to the Xia family and gave Xia Linfeng ten million yuan as support, but I never expected him to treat you this way."
These few words alone brought Xia Wantang to tears.
Her parents hadn't abandoned her! She wasn't discarded.
From his brief words, she could imagine the immense burden of responsibility this stern man carried, a burden unimaginable to ordinary people.
So, she came from such a great and proud family.
Gong Ye watched her cry, his heart overwhelmed with pain. He was terrified, afraid his daughter wouldn't forgive him, afraid she wouldn't understand what he had done.
He confessed he had never been this tense or scared, not even when crossing minefields.
Xia Wantang still felt as if she were in a dream.
As for the Ling family, they were simply stunned. Compared to the Gong family, the Ling family was insignificant.
They were just businessmen; no matter how wealthy, they couldn't compare to the consortiums of Country H that could pressure the government.
The Gong family, however, was truly established and righteous.
Judging by today's display, the number of people in Country L who could command soldiers to protect them was few.
Ling Yuchen pursed his lips and silently wiped away Xia Wantang's tears.
After a long while, her emotions stabilized.
Seeing that her emotions had calmed, Gong Ye said, "Wantang, I know you can't accept this right now. It's okay, I can wait."
Xia Wantang shook her head, signaling that she was alright. Although the event was sudden, it wasn't entirely unbearable.
She believed everything Gong Ye had said.
And that photograph was enough to prove that he was truly her biological father.