Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 187 Identification Result! The Mystery of Lin Jiayan’s Disappearance [1 Update]

Chapter 187: 187 Identification Result! The Mystery of Lin Jiayan’s Disappearance [1 Update]

"Expedite the results; I’ll be back in two hours to collect them," the staff member took the form and handed Fang Qingya a number.

With the number in hand, Fang Qingya sat in the waiting area, anxiously awaiting the outcome, her mind incessantly whispering to itself.

It must not be what she was thinking, it just must not be...

For Fang Qingya, those two hours felt like an eternity, with every glance that fell upon her feeling like thorns in her back.

She tugged at her mask and hat again, terrified of being recognized.

"Number 108."

"Here!"

Fang Qingya immediately stood up and proceeded to the counter to collect the new paternity test report.

After obtaining the report, she still hid in the restroom before daring to open the file in her hands.

"I must be overthinking it, yes, just overthinking..." Fang Qingya murmured to herself, flipping to the last page.

[V. Conclusion of Appraisal]

Through the appraisal by the center, it has been determined that Individual A and Individual B share a mother-daughter relationship.

Boom!

That sentence exploded in Fang Qingya’s ears like thunder, blanking out her mind in an instant.

Fang Qingya’s breathing became rapid, her strength drained from her body, and her legs gave way, causing her to collapse to the floor.

Could it actually be that she had guessed rightly out of sheer fluke?!

She had thought that the true daughter of the Fang Family was either long dead or living somewhere far from Jiangcheng; who could have known she was right nearby?

The moment Fang Qingya thought of Madam Fang and Cheng Qingli chatting away without care, her scalp almost exploded. She immediately shredded the appraisal report to pieces and ran back home speedily.

"Mom!" Fang Qingya clutched her head, pretending to be ill, "Mom, my head hurts so much. I’m not dying, am I? It really hurts a lot."

Despite everything, Fang Qingya was her own flesh and blood, so naturally, Madam Fang could not just stand by. She had to excuse herself from Cheng Qingli first, "Miss Cheng, I appreciate your time today. I see no issues with the proposal, we can proceed as planned."

"Alright," Cheng Qingli had no desire to share space with Fang Qingya and packed up the proposal, "It’s a pleasure doing business."

Madam Fang looked at her with admiration, "The pleasure is all mine."

After Cheng Qingli left, the family doctor came to examine Fang Qingya.

Since Fang Qingya was feigning illness, the family doctor found nothing amiss and could only conclude that Fang Qingya was under too much stress, which had morphed into illness.

"What kind of pressure could you possibly be under every day?" Madam Fang took a deep breath, "You don’t have to manage the company or study, so why are you anxious?"

Fang Qingya was internally terrified, her body trembling, and she did not dare to retort.

Seeing her like this, Madam Fang couldn’t help but say, "Look at you, then look at Miss Cheng. You two are about the same age, yet you couldn’t even get into a domestic university while she has already started her own business."

"Mom!" Fang Qingya let out a piercing scream, "Please stop, my head really hurts."

Seeing this, Madam Fang shook her head and told her to go back to her bedroom to rest.

**

Jiangcheng, Lin Family Old House.

"Ah Lan is back?" Lin Woyu was delighted, "Just in time for dinner. Your grandmother was just mentioning you."

After a period of recuperation, Lin Woyu’s legs were now strong enough for walking, though she still needed the support of a cane.

"Auntie, good to see you," Ye Wanlan greeted Lin Woyu with a nod, "Is grandma upstairs? I have something important to tell her."

"She’s there, in the study," said Lin Woyu with a smile, "Go ahead, she’s been missing you a lot since you’ve been gone for over a week."

Ye Wanlan went upstairs and knocked on the door to the study, "Grandma, may I come in?"

"Ah Lan?" Lin Weilan’s voice carried a pleasant surprise, "Come in quickly."

Ye Wanlan walked in with the zither case on her back, "You seem in good spirits, Grandma."

"I’ve indeed been sleeping well these past few days," Lin Weilan smiled, "What did you want to talk to Grandma about?"

"Grandma, look." Ye Wanlan took out the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither from the zither case she had been carrying and placed it on an empty music stand in the study.

It was a beaded, fir-wood zither with an entirely black body that shimmered with light, neither bulky nor dim, exuding an aura of ancient elegance.

"Is that..." Lin Weilan’s expression changed, and she exclaimed, "The Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither?!"

"Grandma, you have a sharp eye—it is indeed the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither," Ye Wanlan said with a slight smile. "I didn’t expect an unexpected gain from this trip to Yunjing, so I brought the zither back with me."

"What about the Lin Family?" Lin Weilan thought of the most crucial point and grasped her hand anxiously. "Didn’t they stop you?"

"They tried but didn’t succeed. Don’t worry, Grandma," Ye Wanlan reassured. "The Lin Family doesn’t know that the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither is in my possession. Even if they come looking to Jiangcheng, I have ways to hide it."

Then, she recounted what happened at the auction.

"Ah..." Lin Weilan sighed heavily and muttered, "This Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither was originally an item of our Heavenly Sound Sect. Yet, it was looted because of the war and ended up in foreign hands. To think we had to spend a great deal of money to buy it back."

Ye Wanlan smiled faintly, "Since it’s an item of Shenzhou, whatever was lost will always come back in various ways."

"Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither..." Lin Weilan extended her hand, gently touching the strings. "From withered wood comes the dragon’s chant, manifesting the true path... Good, very good!"

Among the three legendary zithers of Heavenly Sound Sect, the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither was an attack-type zither. When combined with the Heavenly Music Method and the "Battle-Breaking Music" piece, its lethality was extremely powerful.

In the past, the Sect Leader of Heavenly Sound Sect, Lin Fanyin, also used this zither to eliminate many enemies.

After her death, the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither was looted by other clans.

The Primordial Lost Sound Zither leaned towards defense and healing, while the Sun and Moon Ruyi Zither combined the strengths of both zithers, making it the most difficult to recognize its master.

"Grandma, I also encountered something very strange—the Curator Xiang of Yunjing Museum was kidnapped," Ye Wanlan said slowly. "When I went to rescue him, I intended to keep a captive for interrogation, but they had already hidden poison in their teeth and ultimately committed suicide by taking it."

Lin Weilan’s eyebrows furrowed. "Oh?"

"I wasn’t able to find any useful information after their death, but I saw this symbol." Ye Wanlan passed her phone over. "I used image recognition search and couldn’t find the source of a similar symbol."

Lin Weilan looked down and her expression changed instantly.

Ye Wanlan sharply sensed the change in her emotions. "Grandma, do you recognize it?"

"This symbol..." Lin Weilan closed her eyes, her fingers trembling slightly. In the end, she shook her head. "Ah Lan, there are some things that it’s not yet the time to know. Knowing them now will only add to your burden. One day in the future, Grandma will tell you everything."

After a moment of silence, Ye Wanlan asked in a low voice, "Is it related to Father’s disappearance, Grandma?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Weilan looked at her somewhat surprised, as if struggling for a moment but ultimately conceding.

"Okay, I’ll wait for Grandma to tell me." Ye Wanlan didn’t probe further but smiled. "I’ll keep the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither with me. The Lin Family won’t give up that easily. They’re sure to use the Heavenly Music Method in the next few days to track the location of the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither."

Within the Heavenly Music Method was a technique known as the Resonance Technique. It could be effective even over a distance of thousands of miles.

Before she could return with the Jiangcheng Lin Family to Yunjing, she had to prevent the People of the Lin Family from finding the Withered Wood Dragon Chant Zither.

"You bought it, so naturally, it should be kept with you." Lin Weilan’s expression grew serious. "Ah Lan, the Lin Family has already set their sights on you. Be very careful in all matters. The core offspring who are valued by the family are none of them weak."

"I understand," Ye Wanlan said indifferently. "I never underestimate my opponents; when a lion fights a rabbit, it also uses all its might."

Underestimating the enemy was tantamount to courting death.

**

Two days later, Ye Wanlan and Cheng Qingli went to a high-end mall again to check out the recent fashion and jewelry collections.

Cheng Qingli was biting her pen, looking at the notes Ye Wanlan had prepared for her.

Selfishly speaking, she really wanted to return to school.

After being forced to drop out of junior high school and start working to support her family, she hadn’t been able to enjoy the pleasure of studying at school for nearly five years.

But good times are always interrupted. Cheng Qingli received a call from an unfamiliar number.

After she picked up, she heard Father Cheng’s roar, "Cheng Qingli, when exactly are you coming back? Your mother is ill; don’t you come back to see her? You are being unfilial—you—"

Cheng Qingli decisively hung up the phone and blocked Father Cheng’s new number.

"General Manager Cheng, was it your family again?" the assistant couldn’t help but say. "Who treats their own daughter this way? I even doubt you’re their biological child."

Cheng Qingli waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I’m already an adult and have cut ties with them. Don’t bother with them."

"Right, if they come looking for trouble, break their legs," Ye Wanlan said casually.

The assistant laughed again. "Though, if they knew about General Manager Cheng’s current job, their jaws would probably hit the floor."

"I won’t let them know, or they’d definitely think of ways to scheme against me," Cheng Qingli said. "I still want to study and read books at school."

However, at this very moment, in the Cheng Family’s home.

Father Cheng was incessantly apologizing. "Miss Fang, I am truly sorry. You see, she doesn’t listen to me anymore now that she’s grown up; there’s really nothing I can do."

"I don’t care how, whether dead or running away, bring Cheng Qingli to me and disappear from the Jiangnan area immediately," Fang Qingya said with a cold expression. "Otherwise, I’ll make your entire family disappear."

Cheng Qingli must never appear before Patriarch Fang and Madam Fang again!