844 True Father (2/2)

She paused. ”Yes and no.” Her body shifted and she gazed at the ceiling to ponder his question. ”At first, I didn't consider any of Xiulan's family as my own. But I still had to pretend that I'm Xiulan. It's her body that I'm using, after all. I have her memories so I recognize all her family members. She wasn't really close to anyone despite having a lot of relatives. Poor girl. In order for me to live a better life, I had to repair a lot of her relationships and build new ones. Long Tengfei is the head of not only the clan but Long Industries, so I decided to forge a closer tie with him because I knew that he'll be able to help me when I need assistance.”

Her gaze returned to him. ”I didn't feel anything for him, Liwei. I only wanted to use him for my own, personal gain.”

There was no judgment in his expression. His eyes remained steady on her. He said, ”You're using past tense.”

She smiled, the movement so small that it was almost unnoticeable, but it made her expression tender and also sad at the same time. ”I was only pretending at first. But the more I pretend to be Xiulan, the more I've come to accept that I'm now Long Xiulan in this life. I'm Evelina but I'm also Xiulan. I know it sounds confusing but—”

”Not at all. I understand.”

Her smile reached her eyes this time. She kissed his shoulder. ”Thank you.”

His hand moved from her waist and started caressing her hair, then her cheek. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his gentle touches.

”Actually, no,” he said, causing her eyes to open. ”I don't understand it fully because my logical mind is still not quite there yet in believing something so...unbelievable. But I do love you and know that you aren't lying to me. What's more, your brother Nikolai has more or less already confirmed to me that he isn't my fifth brother Zihao when I talked to him over the phone because of Bacon's request for salary negotiation.”

Her eyes trembled at the mention of her brother.

Noticing her mood deflating, Jin Liwei returned to their previous topic. ”So now you consider Long Tengfei as your father?”

It took her a moment to adjust to the change of topic but she eventually nodded. ”To some extent, yes. He cares for all of his children in his own way. And now that I'm Xiulan, I can feel that he cares, even though he's not an affectionate type of person. I appreciate the father-daughter relationship that I have with him but…”

She became quiet for a few moments. He didn't rush her but waited for her to be ready to speak again.

”But in my heart…and in my soul, my true father is still Evelina's father,” she whispered. ”He's…he was not always there for me but without his protection and indulgence towards me, his daughter, I would have long been abandoned by my family because my existence was pretty much useless to them.”

A deep furrow formed between Jin Liwei's brows at her words.