At Sun Lixia’s villa, Madam Tang, Sun Lixia, Li Yanyan, Li Chen, Li Xinjie, Li Xiaojun, Zhu Fengrui and Tang Junjie were seated in the living room. Tang Ziyi’s eyes looked like he hadn’t slept a wink since yesterday when he met the woman claiming to be his biological mother.

Madam Tang was worried about her son. She loved Tang Ziyi dearly. Looking at him, she remembered the day her late husband came home from work early, holding a child in his arms. He had told her that his boss, Jiang Honglin, had given him this child - the son of Jiang’s mistress - and wanted Mr. Tang to raise him as his own.

As she looked at Tang Ziyi now, all grown up, she wished her husband was still here so they could face this situation together. Madam Tang herself had not slept well, kept awake by thoughts and worries that Tang Ziyi might now forget her and go to his biological mother.

"I don’t trust that woman," Sun Lixia stated firmly. "She is surely after the Jiang estate."

Li Yanyan nodded. "As Zhu Fengrui said, Tang Ziyi is the only rightful heir."

"According to the investigation I conducted last night, this Yang Mei is married to a conman called Zhao Liang. They’ve been married for 10 years and have no children," Zhu Fengrui informed them.

Tang Junjie scowled. "What kind of mother leaves her newborn baby at the hospital anyway?"

"As if we’ll buy her story of being afraid of Madam Jiang," Madam Tang said derisively.

Li Chen looked at his troubled friend. "We all know what they’re up to, but it’s Tang Ziyi’s call."

Madam Tang nudged Tang Ziyi gently, pulling him from his thoughts. He blinked and said firmly, "I don’t care what the DNA test results say, that woman is not my mother."

Tears welled up in Madam Tang’s eyes. "Don’t be too quick to reject her, my boy. She is your flesh and blood, something I always wished I was." Her voice trembled with the last words.

Tang Ziyi took her hand. "Blood means nothing. Your love and care has raised me to this point. If she really loved me as she claims, she would have searched for me years ago. Why now?"

"Women like her are opportunists," Li Xinjie stated bluntly.

Zhu Fengrui nodded. "We need to get this DNA test done as soon as possible. They’ll likely have to exhume Master Jiang’s body to confirm the paternity. And Tang Ziyi, as much as you may not want to, you will have to eventually claim the Jiang family estate."

"No, that man wasn’t my father too," Tang Ziyi said stubbornly.

"But at least he didn’t put you in some orphanage," Tang Junjie pointed out.

Madam Tang rubbed her son’s arm soothingly. "That’s right, that is one thing I will forever be grateful for to Master Jiang. He gave us a son, a second child my husband and I could no longer have."

Li Yanyan cracked her knuckles. "Well I can get someone to make sure she never bothers you again."

Tang Ziyi sighed. "Not yet, I want to play her game."

Understanding dawned on Li Chen’s face. "Dangle a carrot on her face..."

A wicked smirk crossed Tang Ziyi’s lips. "Precisely. Make her hope, and then show her that I am not some weak, naive boy who will jump up and down at her sight because she carried me for nine months."

Sun Lixia smirked as well. "Ooh, I’m going to enjoy this."

"You do know that to play that game, you’ll have to claim that estate," Zhu Fengrui reminded him.

Tang Ziyi sighed, pausing for several minutes before responding. "Let’s get it done."

"I know a lawyer," Li Yanyan offered. "Ao Junfeng - someone who can get the process completed in a few days."

Concern lined Li Xiaojun’s face. "Won’t this be a dangerous game for Tang Ziyi?"

"We’ll be here to protect him if it gets ugly," Li Chen assured him.

Tang Junjie frowned. "Since Yang Mei’s husband is a conman, he’ll do anything in his power, even illegal things maybe."

"Then we’ll have to show him that we are not to be trifled with," Li Xinjie said, cracking his knuckles.

After a momentary silence, Tang Ziyi finally spoke up. "Aunt Yanyan, how soon can your lawyer start the process?"

"He’s just a phone call away," Li Yanyan replied. "But we’ll have to start by getting that DNA test done to confirm you are both Jiang Honglin and Yang Mei’s biological son."

"Fine by me," Tang Ziyi agreed.

Li Yanyan’s expression was grave. "Get ready Ziyi, this won’t be an easy battle."

Tang Ziyi’s jaw set determinedly. "Jiang Honglin does owe me this anyway. Also, I want everything to be in my name, with the companies under their estate changed from Jiang Group to Tang Group."

At this point, it was clear that Tang Ziyi had made up his mind. He would be a fool to just let this golden opportunity go. He also wanted to use it to toy with his so-called ’mother’. If she really had bad intentions, they would go back to where they came from with their tails between their legs.

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. Li Yanyan contacted her lawyer Ao Junfeng, who swiftly got the process started. First, they petitioned the court to order a DNA test to establish paternity, both from the remains of the deceased Jiang Honglin as well as a sample from Yang Mei to prove maternity.

Yang Mei and her husband Zhao Liang were legally notified and complied readily, clearly thinking this was the first step to their jackpot. Jiang Honglin’s body was exhumed for the testing in a somber ceremony.

In the meantime, Ao Junfeng began gathering documentation on the Jiang family assets and corporations, readying to file Tang Ziyi’s claim. He had to move methodically but swiftly to prevent the Zhao couple from trying any underhanded tactics.

Two weeks later, the DNA results came back - a 99.9% match confirming that Jiang Honglin was Tang Ziyi’s biological father and Yang Mei was his birth mother. The court recognized him as the legal heir to the Jiang family estate and business empire.

Yang Mei was over the moon, imagining the life of wealth and status that was now within reach. Zhao Liang had stars in his eyes, already counting the millions that would flow into their hands once his wife’s son claimed his inheritance.

They had no idea of the steel trap set to close around them...

Tang Ziyi sat alone in his room, staring at the legal documents that stated the entire Jiang estate now belonged to him. He felt numb, conflicted about the massive inheritance that was now his reality.

He didn’t feel any excitement or satisfaction about suddenly becoming one of the wealthiest men in Shanghai. The Jiang estate was valued at hundreds of millions of yuan - real estate holdings, business investments, liquid assets. It was a staggering amount of wealth that should have filled him with glee.

But all Tang Ziyi could think about was his beloved mother Madam Tang and his brother Tang Junjie. At least this ridiculous twist of fate would allow him to provide them with the absolute best life. They would want for nothing from this point on.

Still, being handed this massive fortune felt like an overwhelming burden rather than a windfall. He had been raised with such modest means by the Tang family. Having hundreds of millions at his disposal just felt...wrong. Unearned. Undeserved.

Jiang Honglin was little more than a name and a DNA match to Tang Ziyi. That man had never been a father figure in any sense of the word. Yet Tang Ziyi was now the legal heir to his entire legacy and riches, simply because of biological happenstance.

It made his head spin. How could a few DNA strands from a stranger change the entire trajectory of his life so drastically? One day he was a normal young man, and the next he was obscenely wealthy, all because of an absentee biological parent.

Part of him felt angry at Jiang Honglin for this weird inheritance. Part of him felt angry at himself for even caring about claiming it. Another part felt guilty for the resentment, since it was allowing him to care for his beloved Tang family like never before.

Tang Ziyi’s moral compass felt scrambled. He was being handed unimaginable wealth and power on a platter that he didn’t feel he deserved or could handle responsibly. What was he supposed to do with a multi-million yuan business empire?

As conflicted as he felt, one thing was crystal clear - he could not let that snake Yang Mei or her conman husband Zhao Liang get their grubby hands on a single yuan of the Jiang fortune. They had proven themselves devoid of any good intentions or feelings towards him besides greed.

If he was going to be forced into this situation by cruel fate, he would make sure his true family - the Tangs - were the ones who benefited. Not those opportunistic leeches looking to bleed him dry. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Tang Ziyi sighed deeply, tucking away the inheritance documentation. This was his new reality, whether he felt ready or not. All he could do was navigate it with wisdom, guided by his principles and loved ones. The game was just beginning.