Chapter 1

"Mr. Yi, before Mr. Yi Senior passed away, he entrusted me with a painting to give to you." The lawyer, Wang, sitting opposite Yi Xingchen, took out a framed watercolor painting, placed it flat on the table, and slowly pushed it towards Yi Xingchen.

Yi Xingchen looked over, and the painting didn't seem very large, about the size of an A4 sheet. But what Yi Xingchen was concerned about was not the size of the painting, but the meaning behind Lawyer Wang's words.

"Lawyer Wang, did my father leave any other last words for me? Did he only leave me this painting?" Yi Xingchen asked, shocked and saddened.

"Unfortunately, yes. Although you and your father had already recognized each other, Mr. Yi Senior's sudden passing meant that many legal documents were not updated in time. Therefore, even in his will, there is no mention of you. This painting is something Mr. Yi Senior had long ago decided to give you, and it has been kept in my law firm. According to Mr. Yi Senior's wishes, he planned to give you this painting as a celebration gift on the day you started university. He hoped that in the future, you would have a place of your own. If this painting had not been placed in the law firm beforehand, you might not have received even this gift. Apart from this, you have nothing."

Lawyer Wang sighed and continued, "At the same time, I need to inform you that due to Mr. Yi Senior's passing, the legal procedures for recognizing you as his son have been unilaterally declared invalid. Therefore, the process of changing your household registration has been halted, and you will need to return to your original place of registration. This will not affect your university enrollment procedures. Of course, I will handle these matters for you without any additional fees."

In the past period, Lawyer Wang, acting on Mr. Yi Senior's behalf, had been fully responsible for handling all the legal procedures for recognizing Yi Xingchen as his son. This included transferring household registration, identity verification, bank account management, and more, all of which had been proceeding smoothly. It was expected that before long, Yi Xingchen would have a legitimate, legally protected identity, free from the stigma of being an illegitimate child, and recognized as his biological father.

However, fate played a cruel trick. Yi Xingchen had enjoyed the care and attention for less than a month when this tragedy occurred. Mr. Yi Senior died in a plane crash, leaving no last words. From that moment on, everything changed.

"How could this happen!" Lawyer Wang's words shattered Yi Xingchen's last hope, making him feel as if he had fallen from heaven to hell. He found it hard to accept, "My father had billions of assets... I don't even have a single cent? What about my tuition? He promised to pay for my university education."

"Mr. Yi, I am very sorry, but that is the reality. Perhaps Mr. Yi Senior had already made some decisions and intended to change the distribution of his assets, but no one expected the plane crash, so he left nothing for you. Moreover, because the recognition and household registration procedures have been interrupted, you are not legally recognized as Mr. Yi Senior's son, and thus have no legal right to inherit. In fact, the entire Yi family reached an agreement on the distribution of Mr. Yi Senior's assets just three days after his death. All his wealth and properties have been divided. You will not receive even a single cent of the inheritance. Furthermore, Mr. Yi, you must understand! Now, in the eyes of Mr. Yi Senior's family, you are just an illegitimate child, and they might not even recognize this identity. Therefore, I advise you to give up any thoughts of contesting the inheritance. Otherwise, it could bring you a lot of trouble," Lawyer Wang said earnestly.

As a lawyer with many years of experience, Lawyer Wang had seen many things and was accustomed to them. He did not want to see Mr. Yi Senior's family fighting over the inheritance after his death, nor did he want to see Yi Xingchen getting into trouble. Therefore, he repeatedly advised Yi Xingchen to be more open-minded.

Upon hearing this, Yi Xingchen could not help but collapse into his chair. He found it hard to accept that his month of happiness was so short, coming and going so suddenly.

A month ago, Yi Xingchen received his university acceptance letter. Just as he was about to share this good news with his mother, she collapsed from overwork and passed away, leaving him alone.

His mother had always raised Yi Xingchen alone, taking on both parental roles. She had endured many hardships to ensure he had a decent life and education. Yi Xingchen had hoped to make her proud and give her a better life when he succeeded. But as the saying goes, "When the tree wishes to be still, the wind does not cease; when the son wishes to support his parents, they are no longer there." His mother never even knew about his acceptance into university.

Life, however, goes on. Just as Yi Xingchen was preparing to work part-time to earn his tuition, Mr. Yi Senior suddenly appeared and told him that he was his biological father.

When Mr. Yi Senior, a billionaire with a vast business empire, appeared before him and revealed the secret of his unknown origins, Yi Xingchen felt no particular emotion. Although the shrewd businessman explained the issues between him and Yi Xingchen's mother and expressed his guilt for never fulfilling his responsibilities as a father, Yi Xingchen felt as if he were listening to someone else's story, dazed and expressionless.

Mr. Yi Senior even offered to cover all of Yi Xingchen's expenses until he was independent, including living and tuition fees, and promised to provide a startup fund for him to start his own business after he graduated from university.

Although Yi Xingchen, who had just lost his mother, did not refuse on the spot, he did not express any willingness to accept the offer either.

It was only when Yi Xingchen saw his so-called father arrange for Lawyer Wang to assist with his mother's funeral that he slowly began to try to accept the existence of this father.

However, despite recognizing each other emotionally, the two saw each other very rarely. Their communication was mainly through phone calls or arranged by Lawyer Wang. Therefore, Yi Xingchen only learned of his father's death from Lawyer Wang.

This painting, his father had mentioned to Yi Xingchen before.

It was a painting his father had come across during a business trip to Europe. Although it was not by a famous artist, his father fell in love with it at first sight. He wanted to give this painting to Yi Xingchen to show that he valued him and to encourage him to strive for success.

However, fate can be unpredictable. Lawyer Wang called to inform him that last week, his father had personally led a business team to the United States for a negotiation. Unfortunately, the plane he was on crashed, with no survivors.

When Yi Xingchen heard this news over the phone, it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him.

Now, after listening to Lawyer Wang's heartfelt words, Yi Xingchen felt even more sorrow. The implication was that he could not even pay his respects at Mr. Yi Senior's funeral to preserve his reputation and avoid ridicule.

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