Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

Meng Guangcai's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

He didn't argue with Cheng Jie, but simply shifted his gaze from Cheng Jie's face to Zhou Ruolan, smiling faintly.

The meaning behind that smile was clear: Don't be afraid, I'm here, you can't say anything.

"Zhou Ruolan, tell us what you told us yesterday, or do you want us to tell you?" Cheng Jie continued.

Zhou Ruolan lowered her head and remained silent.

After waiting a few seconds, Cheng Jie did not give her another chance.

He opened the file and repeated from beginning to end what Zhou Ruolan had said yesterday.

Chang Kun listened from the side, his mind racing. The painter was gone. Even if it really was Meng Guangcai who did it, it was more than ten years ago. It was uncertain whether the person was alive or dead.

Meng Guangcai sat in the chair, his face expressionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Looking at that expressionless face, Chang Kun couldn't help but admire him. No wonder he could become a big capitalist. His mental fortitude was something most people couldn't even dream of.

If it were anyone else, upon hearing that their wife was having an affair with an artist and that their daughter wasn't their biological child, they would have jumped up and cursed their mother long ago.

But Meng Guangcai just sat there, coldly watching Cheng Jie, as if he were watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

"Meng Guangcai, confess honestly! When did you find out that Meng Wantang wasn't your biological daughter?"

Cheng Jie's voice rose half an octave, his gaze fixed directly on him.

Meng Guangcai sighed: "Wantang has always been my biological daughter, and even now, my resolve remains unchanged."

Cheng Jie sneered, "No change? Then what about the secret door to the study? Until recently, there were signs that it had been opened!"

Meng Guangcai's eyebrows twitched slightly, then he regained his composure: "That's just to prevent robbers from breaking into the house and to use it as an escape route. The secret door needs to be maintained at all times, otherwise it will rust and become impossible to open when needed."

He said this in a very natural tone, as if stating a common sense fact, a fact that everyone should know.

Cheng Jie chuckled.

Preventing strongmen? Maintaining secret doors? Such nonsense is so convincing that even ghosts wouldn't believe it.

"Meng Guangcai, don't you find it ridiculous to fabricate such a lie?!"

"You've been guarding against strongmen for over a decade, but how many times have they actually come to your aid?"

"You've been maintaining the secret door for over a decade, but why haven't you maintained anything else? The hinges on the study door need oiling, why don't you do that?!"

Zhou Ruolan suddenly raised her head and her gaze fell on Meng Guangcai's face.

There was astonishment and fear in her eyes, as if something had shattered in her heart, and the fragments were piercing her chest, causing pain with each stab.

She always thought that the hidden door was built before the liberation and had never been used since, like many other things in the Meng family's old house, abandoned by the times, covered in dust, and never touched again.

But now she realizes that the secret door has been used and "maintained" all along.

Even more so! Her husband often slipped through that hidden door and entered their daughter's room from the study!

She dared not think any further. The thought, like a snake, crawled out from some dark corner of her heart, icy cold, and coiled around her, tightening its grip.

Her legs were trembling, but she forced herself to stand. Her eyes were fixed on Meng Guangcai, bloodshot, and her lips trembled several times before she could finally squeeze out a sound.

"Have you done anything to betray your daughter?!"

Meng Guangcai looked at Zhou Ruolan, his gaze as calm as a stagnant pool. He didn't answer her question, but instead asked, "Have you done anything to betray me?"

Zhou Ruolan's face was as white as paper, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for breath, her eyes bloodshot.

Her mind raced. Meng Guangcai had a doctor friend, but what was his last name again? She couldn't quite remember.

But that man is an orthopedic expert, very famous in Beijing. His daughter fell and fractured her leg while dancing six months ago, and he was the one who helped treat her.

Director Cheng said yesterday that the truth was found based on the hospital's blood type records, and Meng Guangcai's doctor friend must also be able to see those blood type records.

What if he saw it and told Meng Guangcai?

Looking at Meng Guangcai's calm face, Zhou Ruolan's thought became clearer and clearer.

Her voice trembled: "Did you find out from your doctor friend that Wan Tang isn't your biological daughter?"

Meng Guangcai did not answer; his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Silence itself is the answer.

Zhou Ruolan knew, Cheng Jie knew, and Chang Kun knew too!

Zhou Ruolan's tears finally fell, large drops landing on the back of her hand.

She covered her face, and a desperate voice leaked out from between her fingers, muffled and heavy.

Cheng Jie took half a step forward and stared intently at Meng Guangcai.

"What do you have to say now! Your doctor friend can testify that you knew a long time ago that Meng Wantang wasn't your biological daughter!"

Meng Guangcai's lips twitched slightly, a cold smile spreading across his face.

"Yes, I understand. I've known for six months!"

"But I've always treated her well. I give her whatever she wants, and I arrange for people to take her wherever she wants to go. As her father, I've done right by her!"

As for what kind of shady dealings he had done through the secret door, he denied everything.

Zhou Ruolan suddenly raised her head: "You're good to her? You let her move to the room next to the study, saying it would be more convenient for her to recuperate!"

"Even after Wan Tang's fracture healed, you still let her live in that room, which is only a wall away from your study. What are you up to?!"

Meng Guangcai sneered, his expression unchanged, and remained silent no matter how much the others tried to speak.

Clearly, he was convinced of his victory; without evidence, no matter what others said, it was useless.

Cheng Jie opened the file and slowly traced names on the paper with his finger: "Mrs. Meng, has your daughter shown any unusual behavior in the past few months? For example, any changes in her mood or unusual behavior?"

Zhou Ruolan was stunned, tears still on her face. After thinking for a moment, she spoke in a hoarse voice.

"She...is not as lively as she used to be. She used to love to laugh, play, and dance; you could always hear her laughter at home."

"But in the past few months, she has become less talkative and less cheerful, and often just sits in a daze. When I call her, she takes a moment to respond."

Her voice began to tremble, her fingers gripped the edge of the table tighter, her nails digging into the wood, leaving shallow marks.

"She likes to go to the waterside pavilion. She used to go there occasionally at night, but she wouldn't stay for long; she would just sit for a while and then come back."

"But these past few months, she often stayed up late into the night. The next day, when I asked her why she didn't come home earlier, she said she couldn't sleep and was looking at the stars in the waterside pavilion."

Zhou Ruolan's voice grew softer and softer, as if she were talking to herself.

She began to piece together the fragments.

After his daughter's fracture healed, Meng Guangcai asked her to move to the room next to the study, saying it would be more convenient for her to recuperate.

But after she recovered from her injuries, Meng Guangcai never mentioned letting her move back.

From that time on, my daughter stopped laughing and playing like before. She often spaced out by herself and stayed in the waterside pavilion until very late.

She used to think that her daughter had grown up and had something on her mind, and that all girls are like that when they grow up, so she didn't think much of it.

But now she knows that the room is only separated from Meng Guangcai's study by a wall, with a hidden door in between.

She imagined the answer. That answer was like a knife, stabbing into her heart.

"She's your daughter!!"

Every word is stained with tears, every sound is filled with blood!

"She isn't!" Meng Guangcai's voice was as cold as the wind.

"She's your bastard child with that Shen guy. She's not my daughter! Never has she!!"