Chapter 87: His Identity Nearly Exposed

As they drove along, Thomas and Martin chatted about the stock market and the local delicacies of Harbor City. By contrast, Xinyu and Yiyi were rather quiet on the journey.

Yiyi had been hit hard by morning sickness; as soon as she got in the car, she leaned back and fell asleep.

Xinyu placed her laptop on her lap and bent over it, diligently writing her novel.

Because the New Year season made it unavoidable to visit relatives and friends, she refused to waste even a moment after getting in the car, seizing every spare second to work on her story.

Thomas and Martin, meanwhile, talked happily all the way. Thomas found Martin to be remarkably well read.

He could hold his own on any subject, whether lofty or mundane.

By the time South Town was nearly in sight, Thomas nudged Yiyi, who was sitting beside him. “Yiyi, wake up. We’re home.”

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Yiyi looked ahead at the South Bridge not far away. “So soon? It feels like I only just fell asleep.”

Thomas pinched her cheek affectionately. “You should thank Martin for his steady driving. That’s why you were able to sleep so soundly the whole way.”

When Martin parked the car in front of Xinyu’s home, Arthur was downstairs reading the newspaper.

Arthur looked up and saw Martin carrying in two suitcases. He quickly said, “Martin, after you’ve put away your luggage, come to my room later.”

Martin had no idea what the old man wanted to see him about, so he hurriedly looked toward Xinyu. Xinyu only shrugged beside him.

Seeing that Martin, Xinyu, Thomas, and Yiyi had all returned, Aunt Lillian came out warmly to make arrangements. “Thomas, Yiyi, go sit in the living room. Your parents and your brother will be here in a little while, and your third aunt’s family will be here soon as well. Your uncle won’t be back until afternoon.”

After Thomas helped Yiyi into the living room, Yiyi began chatting with her grandmother. Thomas rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen to assist Aunt Lillian.

“Aunt Lillian, is there anything you need me to do?” Seeing more than a dozen prepared side dishes in the kitchen, Thomas could not help but admire his second aunt’s capable hands.

Aunt Lillian looked at Thomas with his sleeves rolled up and smiled faintly. “Thomas, go keep Yiyi company. I can manage the kitchen on my own.”

Thomas glanced around the house and did not see Eric anywhere. “Aunt Lillian, where is Eric? Why isn’t he in the house?”

At the mention of Eric’s rebellious streak, Aunt Lillian felt a headache coming on. “Eric went to a classmate’s house for lunch. That child is truly impossible not to worry about. When you have a moment, help me talk to him. He still listens to you.”

Thomas said a little awkwardly, “Aunt Lillian, Eric is in that rebellious phase. It’s normal for him to be a bit unruly.

He’ll be fine after a while. When I was in school, I was always causing trouble too, and you often defended me. How come you can’t be more forgiving with Eric?”

But Aunt Lillian’s eyes were still full of deep worry. “Thomas, you know this already. If I’m lucky, I might scrape by with this illness, but if I’m not, I may only have three years at most. I can’t bear to let go of that child…”

As she spoke, tears welled in the corners of Aunt Lillian’s eyes. Seeing her cry, Thomas felt a pang of bitterness as well. Growing up, she had cared for him more than anyone else.

Thomas patted her back gently and comforted her, “Aunt Lillian, don’t be sad. Eric is a sensible child. In time, once he grows a little older, he’ll understand your painstaking concern.”

Aunt Lillian wiped the tears from her eyes and said helplessly, “I hope so.”

While Aunt Lillian fretted over Eric’s rebellion, Arthur upstairs wore a stern expression as he looked at Martin.

From the moment Martin entered the house, Arthur had kept a stiff face, which made Martin somewhat uneasy. “Grandpa, why are you being so serious? Is there…”

Arthur asked in a deep voice, “Now you can tell me your true identity, can’t you? Don’t think because I’m just an old man I don’t know how to use the internet or know about your past.”

Martin had not expected Arthur to come straight to the point like this, and even less had he expected Arthur to have discovered his identity.

Pretending not to understand, Martin asked, “Grandpa, there must be some mistake. My background is very ordinary. I’m just a regular IT teacher at a university.”

Arthur threw a business magazine at him and said crossly, “Look carefully. See what’s on it. See whether I’ve wronged you, or whether you’ve deceived us.”

Martin picked up the magazine Arthur had flung to the floor and opened it to the page Arthur had marked.

What appeared before his eyes was a report from three years ago naming him one of the country’s ten outstanding young entrepreneurs. In that article, the name used was Martin’s true name.

Martin clutched the business magazine with unease, his expression complicated as he looked at Arthur.

“Grandpa, how did you get hold of this magazine? Back then, I had every printed copy bought back at high price through someone I knew. Since then, there have been no reports on the market using my real name; whenever KINGYI Group is mentioned, only KINGYI.WANG appears.”

Arthur had always enjoyed collecting magazines, but he had never imagined that one day a magazine from his own collection would become evidence used to identify his granddaughter’s boyfriend.

He looked at Martin with some displeasure. “Why did you lie to us? Why did you lie to Xinyu? What exactly were you thinking?”

Faced with Arthur’s reproach, Martin could only sigh helplessly. “Grandpa, I… I didn’t hide my identity on purpose, and I didn’t mean to deceive Xinyu either. I only wanted to be with Xinyu in the simplest way, without dragging in identity, fame, money, or status—a love carried by love alone.”

Arthur let out a long, heavy sigh. “Have you ever thought about what will happen when Xinyu someday learns your true identity? Have you considered that your behavior is, in an invisible way, hurting Xinyu?”

Martin stood up and knelt before Arthur. “Grandpa, I am sincere about Xinyu. I concealed my identity from her only because I had no choice.

I beg you to keep this secret for me, all right? If my identity is ever revealed, I hope to be the one to tell her myself.”

Looking at Martin kneeling before him, Arthur felt deeply torn. He sighed and said to him, “Do you see what trouble you’ve made for yourself? A man worth billions kneeling to me, this wretched old man… I can’t forgive you, and yet I can’t quite refuse to forgive you either…”

Martin gripped Arthur’s trouser leg and said earnestly, “Grandpa, please believe me. I truly am sincere about Xinyu. From the very first time I saw her, I knew Xinyu was the only woman I would ever marry in this lifetime. Please grant me this chance.”