Zhao Qin had never heard Jin He speak to her in such a tone before, and already feeling flustered, her heart sank even further.
She looked up at her son, Jin Ye, but he had a somber expression, seemingly unwilling to speak.
Su Ding stood there coldly, as if mocking Zhao Qin's timid demeanor, and Zhao Qin felt her heart grow cold.
Zhao Qin sniffled aggrievedly, let out a sigh, and choked out, "Fine, I'll leave. I'm just a nuisance."
With that, she glanced at Jin Ye again, but he remained indifferent.
Zhao Qin knew there was no hope left and that she had to face the consequences. She picked up her bag, cast a fierce glare at Su Ding, and left.
Now, only Su Ding and Jin Ye remained in the living room.
Su Ding quietly looked at the man before her, her expression calm, but her heart was churning, and her eyes felt hot.
Finally, she was back to how it used to feel.
His gaze, his demeanor, all gave her an immense sense of security, a stark contrast to the past few days.
If not for today, Su Ding would have thought she was ill.
But now, the moment she saw Jin Ye, she was healed, completely and utterly healed.
It was a joy of reunion after a long separation.
"It's me, I'm back."
Jin Ye looked at her and said softly.
He opened his arms and pulled Su Ding into a tight embrace, as if wanting to meld her into his very being.
The worry and sleepless anxiety of these past few days vanished the moment he held the woman he loved.
Jin Ye led Su Ding to the sofa and sat down, saying gently, "I'm sorry, I'm late."
Looking at the man's gentle eyes, Su Ding seemed to understand something, and a question surfaced in her mind, "The person a few days ago, that wasn't you?"
Jin Ye's lips curved slightly as he held her hand. "Mm."
He knew Su Ding wouldn't mistake him, which gave him great comfort.
"But why did he look… exactly like you!"
This was what had been puzzling Su Ding.
She had observed him carefully; that person wasn't someone who could achieve such similarity through simple plastic surgery. It was a natural resemblance, incredibly striking.
Jin Ye also directly told her the answer he had been investigating these past few days.
"Perhaps that's my brother."
Upon hearing this, Su Ding's mind couldn't process it. Her mouth agape, she froze, "Huh?"
She had never heard of Jin Ye having any siblings.
"A relative's…?" Su Ding asked, confused, but even as she asked, how could relatives' children look identical unless they were twins?
Jin Ye shook his head.
"Don't tell me you and he are twins?"
Although Su Ding asked this, she still found it hard to believe, as she had always thought Jin Ye was an only child.
Even Zhao Qin had inadvertently mentioned once that he was her only son.
How could another one suddenly appear?
Jin Ye looked at her steadily, then slowly nodded.
Seeing this, Su Ding's eyes widened further, her expression growing increasingly shocked. "What? Really? He's truly…?"
Jin Ye explained, "I was imprisoned by him these past few days. Later, you sent Zhang Hou to follow him and found my location, so I pretended to stay there and sent Zhang Hou to investigate his background abroad. We did manage to find some information."
Su Ding listened in astonishment, eager to know what happened next.
After all, Jin Ye's twin impersonating him and wanting to be his wife was too perverse, downright absurd.
"He is Jin Ling, my twin brother. He grew up abroad and was raised by an ancient foreign family. A few years ago, he established his own faction, and now that he's returned, his objective is likely to replace me."
Jin Ye said this based on information gleaned from Jin Ling's occasional provocative remarks.
It seemed Jin Ling harbored a deep hatred for him, complaining about the unfairness of fate.
The information he had investigated didn't reveal much about the ancient family's secrets, so Jin Ling's childhood and origins remained unclear.
"Jin Ling…" Su Ding felt as if she were in a drama, with a full brother appearing out of nowhere and wanting to replace him.
"Does your mother know about this?" Su Ding's brows furrowed as she recalled what had just happened.
Jin Ye shook his head. "Until this matter is thoroughly investigated, I won't tell them."
In case of any unforeseen circumstances, he feared hurting his parents' feelings. In any case, this Jin Ling was not to be trifled with, and he had to be cautious.
"Mm, what do you plan to do next?"
Su Ding looked up at Jin Ye, feeling comfortable with him as she had with the original him.
Jin Ye's expression grew serious. "I will retaliate in kind, and thoroughly investigate his motives and identity."
"He wasn't captured by you, was he?"
Su Ding suddenly realized. "He said this morning that he was going on a business trip, and then you suddenly returned. How did you know what was happening at home…"
"Forgot? I had Zhang Hou call people for me."
Jin Ye narrowed his eyes, a sense of everything being under control washing over him. "I've already had Luo Zhu come back."
Su Ding's eyes widened. "You knew all of this…"
"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid he would become suspicious."
Jin Ye took her hand and apologized sincerely.
Su Ding, however, shook her head and asked with confusion, "Then why did you come back now?"
"I heard from my subordinates that something happened at home."
Jin Ye looked at Su Ding with heartache, his face full of guilt. "Regarding my mother, I will apologize to you on her behalf. It won't happen again."
His mother had gone too far this time, but as a son, he couldn't do anything to his mother, so he had to seek his father's help.
Su Ding shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you, it was Shao Lin."
Mentioning Shao Lin, Jin Ye's gaze instantly turned cold, and his voice grew colder. "I didn't have time to deal with her a few days ago. Now, she should pay the price."
Su Ding looked up at him and suddenly found him frightening when he was serious.
"Never mind, let's not talk about her. What about today's events, how should we handle them?"