She must be present at the DNA paternity test.

This indeed sounded like something Grandmother Yu would say.

It showed Grandmother Yu’s recognition and trust in her, which conversely meant she didn’t trust Xu Changle and Xu Zhongyi.

Because for Xu Zhongyi, hatred, and his wife and children were more important than his elderly mother.

For Xu Changle, Tina, the sister he had cared for all these years, was more important than his grandmother.

Grandmother Yu didn’t know if this father and son would deceive her for the sake of a “family reunion”!

Zhou Cheng’s brow furrowed.

Xia Xiaolan felt uncomfortable and couldn’t help saying:

“Would you have thought about deceiving her if Grandmother Yu hadn’t made this request? The old lady is measured in her actions, she wouldn’t make this demand without reason!”

The old lady had long harbored thoughts about DNA testing.

But she had given the choice to the Xu father and son – if they wanted to test, she would accept Tina.

If they kept delaying, it wouldn’t make much difference; Grandmother Yu just wouldn’t interact with Tina, though she didn’t stop the Xu father and son from associating with her.

Xu Changle sighed, “On New Year’s Eve, my father was particularly happy and accidentally had a few extra drinks, wanting to get drunk. Seeing the good atmosphere, I brought this up on my initiative – it was my mistake. Grandmother got very angry and gave me this option. After thinking about it for these days, I’ve decided to do as she says.”

Xia Xiaolan was puzzled: “Previously you were so indulgent with Tina, afraid of hurting her feelings, and had no intention of bringing up DNA testing. Why have you changed your mind now?”

Being sister-obsessed for over ten years couldn’t change so easily.

Zhou Cheng thought for a moment, “Is it because there’s a risk greater than the harm of DNA testing, so you’re choosing the lesser evil by agreeing to have Tina tested?”

Zhou Cheng had no particular friendship with Xu Changle, so he spoke without restraint.

Xu Changle acknowledged his insight.

“Yes, Tina has been staying with Mrs. Wilson all this time, which makes me uneasy.”

Mrs. Wilson had come to China before the New Year and surprisingly stayed on.

Xu Changle couldn’t understand her purpose.

If she was touring China, she should be traveling around. While China wasn’t as modern as America, its natural landscapes were beautiful, with vast territory and diverse geography and species!

Yet Mrs. Wilson remained in Peng City, going nowhere.

If she was after Tina’s money, Xu Changle would be less worried.

When they smoothly arranged the trust management of Tina’s inherited estate, Mrs. Wilson hadn’t objected or shown any reluctance… this made Xu Changle increasingly fearful.

Material things weren’t as important as Tina herself.

Tina should be with her family!

This was Xu Changle’s choice – for Tina’s sake, he couldn’t indulge her anymore.

Let there be DNA testing then; this harm would be temporary and limited.

Letting Tina grow distant from her family – Xu Changle couldn’t predict the future consequences!

“Mrs. Wilson is still in Peng City. Time flies – tomorrow is the Lantern Festival…”

Instead of agreeing to help, Xia Xiaolan asked Xu Changle about another matter: “Tomorrow is Ms. Ji’s final repayment deadline. You should know their situation better – has she raised the money?”

Xu Changle shook his head.

“As far as I know, no.”

Without it, Director Sheng, who was eager to transfer jobs, wouldn’t want to see this result.

“As long as you don’t think my involvement is forcing Tina, I’m willing to help with this. See how you want to arrange it. DNA testing won’t show results immediately, and I really can’t accommodate being present throughout the process. I’ll tell Grandmother Yu to let you go to America for the testing, supervised by my friend who will help you find someone to do the test!”

Xia Xiaolan was referring to Klaus, Wen Manni’s husband.

Previously, when they wanted to check if the burned corpse was Xu Zhongyi, Klaus had taken her to a lab in New York to meet an expert, Professor Emerson.

Professor Emerson had said that current DNA technology couldn’t possibly identify a nineteen-year-old burned corpse, and had suggested using “skull reconstruction” to investigate the deceased’s identity.

Following Professor Emerson’s advice, the San Francisco police had indeed reconstructed the deceased’s face, revealing it was Zhang Ziqiang, not Xu Zhongyi!

Moreover, Professor Emerson stated that current DNA technology for paternity testing still had some margin of error.

For Xu Changle and Tina’s DNA test, the best result would show them as full siblings, the worst as half-siblings sharing the same mother. Their sibling relationship was undoubted, but could 1987’s DNA technology determine whether they were full or half-siblings?

It was hard to say.

Test results had margins of error.

A tiny difference could lead to vast misconceptions.

Testing samples from Xu Changle and Tina would be meaningless – they needed samples from Tina and Xu Zhongyi!

Xia Xiaolan trusted Klaus; his medical ethics wouldn’t allow him to falsify results for Xu Changle.

With Klaus supervising, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t need to make the trip to America… Huaqing was about to start classes, and she didn’t have the time.

“The friend Xiaolan mentions is trustworthy – it’s the family she stayed with during her exchange at Cornell. What do you think?”

Zhou Cheng wasn’t threatening Xu Changle.

If they ignored the best solution and insisted on troubling his wife, then as far as Zhou Cheng was concerned, they could forget about any relationship.

In this matter, he had something to learn from his future father-in-law.

Old Tang simply ignored Xu Zhongyi, and Xu Zhongyi got the message, never approaching Liu Fen.

Xu Changle didn’t raise many objections – if his grandmother could accept this solution, he would have no complaints.

If earlier he had considered the possibility that Tina might not be… now, Xu Changle had no thoughts of manipulation. He wanted a family reunion, but couldn’t deceive his grandmother.

“Then it’s settled. Xiaolan, Mr. Zhou, thank you for understanding! My father and I will take Tina to America as soon as possible. We’ll meet with the doctor Xiaolan recommends, and have blood drawn for testing in person, ensuring the entire process is open and transparent!”

They could send samples from China, but the old lady wouldn’t accept that.

Unless Xia Xiaolan personally supervised and delivered them.

Was that possible? Xia Xiaolan had her matters to attend to.

So three adults would make the trip themselves, eliminating any possibility of interference in the process. Whatever the result, Xu Changle would accept it.

He made this decision, and Xu Zhongyi agreed.

Better to have everything in the open than spend the rest of their lives with doubts.

Whether she was a Xu family child or not, the DNA test would tell!

Having finished his business, Xu Changle didn’t linger to disturb Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng but quickly took his leave.

Xia Xiaolan hugged Zhou Cheng from behind, “He’s gone, why are you still fuming? The Xu father and son aren’t bad people.”

“Mm, they’re not bad, quite generous financially actually. From what Xu Changle implied, if you wanted to force Du Zhaoji out, these father and son would provide financial support. Several million yuan, even as a loan, would be quite a favor.”

But sometimes, it wasn’t just about money.

Zhou Cheng didn’t continue evaluating whether the Xu father and son were generous or selfish. He pulled Xia Xiaolan to sit down again:

“Now, can we continue discussing the house? Just you and me, leaving everyone else aside.”