Chapter 75: The Result of the Test

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Result of the Test

"This little brat will think she owns the place if we don’t teach her a lesson. Honey, you don’t have to lift a finger. Today, I’m going to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget, and I won’t stop until she’s crying her eyes out." Dong Xuezhan flinched at Li Yan’s cold snort. He quickly recovered, turning his head and rolling up his sleeves. He roared at Dong Xinran, looking for all the world like he was about to charge over and give her a beating, except his eyes were twitching uncontrollably as he winked frantically at her.

"Dad, Mom, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again!" Dong Xinran’s reaction was just as quick. She let out a wail and bolted.

"You dare run?" ’My daughter’s so clever!’ Dong Xuezhan silently praised her, but he didn’t let up on his shouting. He even grabbed something nearby, looked it over, deemed it unsuitable, and tossed it aside for something else... The two of them, father and daughter, chased each other around, making quite a racket. Furniture was knocked over and sent askew, yet after all that time, they still hadn’t managed to have a direct confrontation.

"Honey, am I getting old? I can’t even catch this little rascal?" Dong Xuezhan chased Dong Xinran around in two circles before stopping, out of breath, in front of Li Yan, who was thoroughly enjoying the show. He looked at her expectantly. ’Surely she’s not angry anymore, right?’

"Go on, chase her. Why did you stop? Weren’t you going to spank the little brat until she was screaming for her mommy and daddy and learned her lesson? I haven’t seen her get hit once or even shed a tear," Li Yan said, looking at him mockingly.

"Ah—" Dong Xuezhan was dumbfounded.

"..." Dong Xinran’s lip quivered as she looked pitifully at her mom. ’How could Mom be like this? SOB... Am I really not her biological daughter?’

"This kid really does need a good lesson." Dong Xuezhan clenched his jaw. ’Fine, I’ll hit her. What’s the big deal about spanking your kid? Look how angry this little terror has made her mother. She really does deserve it.’ He gritted his teeth and charged over, no longer pretending. He grabbed Dong Xinran and, teeth clenched, raised his big hand. Just as it was about to fall, he saw Dong Xinran with her eyes squeezed shut, looking like a martyr prepared for death, and his heart softened again. He turned his head and yelled to Li Yan, "Honey, I’m... I’m... I’m really going to do it..."

"Then do it. No need to shout. My eyes aren’t blind; I’m watching." Li Yan cleaned out her ear, continuing to leisurely watch the father and daughter, both looking as if they were facing their doom.

’Putting on a show, are we? Go on, keep acting. I’d like to see just how far the two of you can take this. Hmph, what a waste that neither of you became actors. I really want to see if Dong Xuezhan actually has the heart to lay a hand on her today...’

Dong Xuezhan hesitated several times. He looked at his teary-eyed daughter, then at his perfectly composed wife, but he just couldn’t bring his hand down. After a long moment, he finally lowered it and, trying to save face, chuckled sheepishly. "Let’s just forget it. It’s like they say, ’a blow to the child is a pain in the mother’s heart.’ If I really hit her, you’d raise hell with me later for sure."

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to give Dong Xinran a little push, signaling that it was her turn to go and appease her mom.

Dong Xinran had already braced herself for a spanking and was regretting having made such a bad move. But when she heard her dad’s words, she felt as if she’d been granted a pardon. She scrambled over to Li Yan, hugged her, and wheedled, "Mommy, Mommy, I was wrong! Please forgive me. I promise I’ll never again doubt that you’re my real mom."

"Heh, go ahead, keep doubting. As it happens, I’m starting to doubt if you’re my real daughter, too. Who knows, maybe you were switched at birth at the hospital. My real daughter is probably sweet and adorable, not a wild little hellion like you. If that’s the case, I’m the one who got a raw deal! I’m the one who should be crying! Who’s going to give me back my well-behaved, sensible daughter?"

In truth, Li Yan had already calmed down and wasn’t angry anymore, but she wasn’t about to let the father-daughter duo off the hook so easily. ’Hmph, so they both think I’m a pushover and that’s why they dare to cause such a scene, is that it?’

"Mommy, I wasn’t switched! I am your real daughter, SOB SOB SOB... Even if I was switched, you can’t abandon me..." Dong Xinran froze for a moment, then a real fear gripped her heart. She opened her mouth, and this time, the tears were real.

"Why are you scaring her like that?"

Dong Xuezhan shot Li Yan a resentful look. Seeing his daughter’s heartbroken little face, his own heart ached. He hurried over to console her. "There, there, don’t cry. You weren’t switched, you weren’t. Have you forgotten? Mom and Dad told you before, when you were born, everyone else was having boys. Only your mom had a daughter. See? The genders were different. We couldn’t have taken the wrong baby even if we wanted to."

’Right, that did happen.’

The terrified Dong Xinran patted her little chest. With tears in her eyes, she looked up at her mom, indignant and aggrieved. "Mommy, you lied to me! You’re always saying not to lie, but you lied to a kid?"

"So what if I lied? You’re allowed to come home and scare people with your baseless suspicions, but I’m not allowed to scare you? If I’d known you’d grow up to be like this, I would have just thrown you in the trash after giving birth." Li Yan put her hands on her hips in a teapot pose.

"Alright, alright, what is all this nonsense? Would you really have the heart to throw her away? And let’s not forget who it was. My third aunt just casually said, ’How come our family was the only one to have a girl?’ and you decided she was stirring up trouble. You’re still holding a grudge and ignoring her to this day."

"You’re bringing that up again? You think she said that ’casually’? She was deliberately stirring up trouble! My own respectable father-in-law and mother-in-law never looked down on me for having a daughter, so who the hell is she to pop up and start whining about it?" The topic still infuriated Li Yan, and she stomped her foot as she ranted, "I wanted to have a daughter! I love having a daughter, so what? What business is it of her family’s? If she wants to favor boys over girls, she can do it in her own house! What is she doing coming to our house and telling us what to do?"

"Okay, okay, okay, she was in the wrong. We were hoping for a daughter anyway. As long as we’re happy we had a daughter, who cares what she says?" Dong Xuezhan quickly nodded in agreement. "So, please stop being angry with our daughter. Look how scared you made her."

"Mommy, I was really scared to death just now," Dong Xinran added, nodding vigorously to back him up.

"Don’t you try that with me. Tell me, don’t you usually go do your homework first thing when you get home? Why were you hiding behind my back without a sound today?" Now that Li Yan had calmed down, she realized something was off. Her daughter’s behavior today was out of character. Her actions were strange. Hiding silently behind her was one thing, but to start wailing just from a light pinch on the ear?

She was usually so tough. When had she ever been so delicate?

She remembered it clearly: one time, her daughter had fallen while playing, scraping her skin and bleeding all over the place. Even her older brother had been frightened, but she hadn’t made a single peep.

"..." Dong Xinran twisted her little fingers and said nothing.

"What exactly is going on?"

"I just wanted to test you, to see if I was really your biological daughter." Dong Xinran’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, but Li Yan and Dong Xuezhan still heard her.

Li Yan rolled her eyes. "Test us, huh? And what were the results of your test?"

"Uh-huh! Mommy, I knew it! I’m definitely your real daughter." Dong Xinran nodded eagerly, trying to curry favor.

"Don’t think a couple of cute smiles will get you off the hook. Start talking, and tell the truth. Don’t think I’m really not willing to spank you." Li Yan was unmoved.

"That’s right, Xinxin, tell us the truth. Why did you suddenly get the idea to test us about this?" Dong Xuezhan wasn’t as angry, just incredibly curious.

"It’s all because of Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao’s biological father..." Dong Xinran pouted aggrievedly. Even if her parents hadn’t asked, with her inability to keep a secret, she would have told them anyway. So right then and there, she spilled the beans, telling them every last detail of the explosive news she’d heard from Gu Nuan Nuan that day.

"...That’s... too incredible..." Li Yan and Dong Xuezhan were stunned for a long time.

"What’s so incredible?"

The front door opened. Grandpa Dong and Grandma Dong came in, and their brows furrowed instantly at the sight of the messy room. Grandma Dong was very displeased. "What have you all been doing? The house looks like it’s been ransacked! I just came over and cleaned for you yesterday, and now it’s a total mess again?"