After listening to Lin Mei's words, a look of slight shock crossed Lin Mo's face.
Lin Shanshan was not Lin Mei's biological daughter!
It turned out that during college, Lin Mei had a good friend named Liu Ruming, who fell in love with a popular student named Du Li. The two lived together and by the time it was their final year, Du Li had disappeared.
By that time, however, Liu Ruming realized she was already three months pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby girl, who was Lin Shanshan.
But Du Li seemed to vanish from the face of the earth. Lin Mei and Liu Ruming searched for him everywhere until they finally learned he was the scion of a prominent family in Fu Province. Liu Ruming took the child to find Du Li but was driven away; Du Li did not even meet with her.
Later, Liu Ruming heard that Du Li had married another woman. Physically and emotionally exhausted, and after falling ill, Liu Ruming passed away, so Lin Mei adopted Lin Shanshan.
However, to keep Shanshan from finding out about these things, Lin Mei had been trying to hide them. Even though she had endured the scorn of others and the ridicule of family members over the years, Lin Mei never revealed this secret.
"Xiao Mo," Lin Mei said, her eyes turning red, "I really can't take it anymore. Now Du Li has come knocking on the door, trying to take Shanshan away." Wiping her tears, she continued, "But I have already treated Shanshan as my own daughter. He simply doesn't deserve to be her father."
Lin Mei sighed and added, "However, sometimes I feel very selfish. No matter how bad that man is, he is still Shanshan's biological father. Not telling Shanshan is also irresponsible of me. She will definitely blame me if she finds out."
After hearing Lin Mei's narrative, Lin Mo did not expect such hidden complications.
"Auntie, Shanshan is now an adult and should be able to understand your good intentions."
Lin Mo consoled, "However, I think it's still necessary to tell Shanshan. It's something that can't be hidden for too long, and she will find out sooner or later."
At this moment, upstairs at the stairway corner, Lin Shanshan was crouched behind the wall, covering her mouth, her eyes red and tears flowing like a spring, before she stood up and rushed into her room.
Hearing the sound of the door closing upstairs, Lin Mo and Lin Mei both frowned.
"Shanshan..." Lin Mei immediately stood up and ran upstairs, knocking on Lin Shanshan's door, "Shanshan, did you hear what Mom said just now? Don't scare me; please open the door."
With a furrowed brow, Lin Mo's Divine Sense swept inside and found Lin Shanshan sobbing, covered in her bedclothes.
Even though Lin Shanshan was an adult, she was still a teenage girl who couldn't accept such news right away.
"Shanshan, it's Brother Xiao Mo. Take some time to think things through calmly before responding," Lin Mo consoled.
Now, whatever he or Lin Mei said was probably of no use. They could only wait for Lin Shanshan to come to her own understanding and adjust her mindset.
However, Lin Buran had also left a subtle trace of his Divine Sense within Lin Shanshan, to prevent any accidents or any extreme behavior from her.
In a presidential suite of a hotel in Hong City.
Mr. Huang was sitting in the living room and made a call, "Mr. Du, Lin Mei's attitude is very tough, and it seems there's a Martial Arts Master with the Miss. If we take a forceful approach, it's likely not going to work."
Silence held on the other end of the line for a while, then a man's voice came through, slightly magnetic and seasoned with experience, "I am at fault for what happened to her. I'll come myself in a few days, you don't need to do anything."
"Yes, Mr. Du."
After the Spring Festival, the strong sense of the holiday season lingered everywhere. Xia Mengdie returned to Imperial City, and Lin Mo left Die Mo Pharmaceutical to her care.
After all, with Xia Mengdie's intelligence and Ma Jianlin's cooperation, the company was bound to run smoothly.
Yingzi had come over from Central State; it was only after Lin Mo and Yingzi left that night fell completely.
"Master, where are we going?" Yingzi asked Lin Mo, her large, glossy eyes open wide with curiosity.
"To the Mushang Club."
At that moment, a Rolls-Royce Phantom stood prominently at the entrance of the Mushang Club, followed by a Bentley and three Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans, all bearing license plates from Fu Province.
Tonight, Lin Shanshan's biological father, Du Li, was there.
Lin Mo walked into a private room of the club with Yingzi, entering an extravagant and palatial space.
A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a suit, sat on a luxurious Italian leather sofa beside an elderly man in a black robe. Opposite them sat Lin Mei and Lin Shanshan.
"Auntie, Shanshan."
"Xiao Mo."
"Brother Xiao Mo."
Seeing Lin Mo arrive brought a hint of ease to the faces of Lin Mei and Lin Shanshan. Lin Mo had become the strongest presence in the Lin Family, as well as the backbone for its members.
"This must be the young master of the Lin Family," the middle-aged man said, rising with a composed expression and extending his hand.
Lin Mo didn't even glance at him, much less agree to shake his hand.
The man appeared about forty, his face weathered, aura steady. Even though he could hide it, one could still sense the air of a big shot accustomed to being in a position of power.
Seeing Lin Mo not even offering his hand, Du Li simply smiled faintly, but Mr. Huang and several men who were accompanying him seemed faintly displeased.
"Don't be afraid; I'm here. If you don't want to go with him, nobody can take you away," Lin Mo said to Lin Shanshan.
"Okay," Lin Shanshan nodded.
Du Li sat on the sofa and spoke to Lin Shanshan, "Shanshan, it's been eighteen years. This is our first meeting, isn't it?"
Lin Shanshan looked at the stranger before her. Was this really her biological father?
Although she already knew her origin, she still found it somewhat unbelievable at this moment.
Lin Mei frowned and said, "Du Li, you cowardly turtle, it took you eighteen years to show your face. Do you have any idea how much you've made Ru Meng suffer?"
"I know," Du Li suddenly sighed. "I've also secretly sent money to her family over the years to make up for the mistakes I made when I was young."
"Why did you abandon her back then, not even bothering to see her one last time?" Lin Mei demanded angrily, staring at Du Li.
Du Li took a deep breath, his face showing traces of weariness as he said, "Being in a powerful family, one often has no control over their own destiny. If I had the chance to do it all over, I would never have involved myself with Ru Meng. Sadly, there's no starting over."
Du Li slowly began to recount the events of the past. It turned out that the Du Family was the most prominent family in Fu Province, but at the time, Du Li, young and in love with Ru Meng in school, was hindered by his family. He had no power whatsoever and couldn't resist the forces of his family.
This was the tragedy that befell Shanshan's biological mother.
"I know all of this is my fault, and I can never fully make amends. However, Shanshan is indeed my biological daughter. Now that I am the head of the Du Family, I want to take Shanshan back and make up for everything she has lost," Du Li said, his eyes earnestly looking at Lin Shanshan.