Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Gong Jie hesitated for a moment before turning around and heading to the study room.

  In the study room, Gong Shaoying was sitting at his desk with a photograph in his hand. His gaze fell on the photograph and his thoughts clouded over.

  When he heard the knock on the door, he looked up and casually placed the photograph among a stack of documents. “Come in.”


  Gong Jie pushed open the door and walked in. He glanced at the man and asked respectfully, “Father, you wanted to see me?”


  Seeing that it was him, Gong Shaoying slowly got onto his feet and walked up to him, sizing him up.

  “You brat, you seemed to have disappeared for a while. What mischief have you been up to!”


  When Gong Jie heard this, he felt extremely guilty. However, he pretended to be calm and explained, “I went to Africa with a batch of orders some time ago.”


  “Africa?”


  Gong Shaoying smirked coldly and said in a lowered voice, “I’ve been checking on your whereabouts. You’ve not left Country Z at all.”


  Gong Jie was stumped.

  He secretly suspected that his father had sent people to follow him, or had deliberately investigated his whereabouts.

  Gong Shaoying said, “Why? Are you hiding something from me?”


  Gong Jie replied, “No.”


  “No?”


  Gong Shaoying probed, “You keep running off to Country Z. Are you keeping a little pet there and can’t bear to come home!”


  Of course, Gong Jie knew that the “little pet” Gong Shaoying was referring to was a woman.

  He protested, “Father, are you saying you sent your men to shadow me?”


  “No I didn’t. I’m only asking because you seem so distracted!”


  Gong Shaoying did not expose him.

  The father and son looked at each other for a long time. Their eyes met as they sized each other up and probed each other. Gong Shaoying had summoned him this time because he wanted to find out more from him. However, this brat kept his mouth shut and did not say a single word. He knew that trying to get any information from him was going to be impossible!

  Hence, he said, “Go now! I have nothing else to ask you!”


  Gong Jie wondered if his father had sent someone to investigate his whereabouts or if he had found out about Yun Shishi through his tracing.

  However, it was not appropriate for him to ask directly, because if it were not, he would have given himself away!

  Or perhaps, his father was just testing him and he did not know anything about Yun Shishi.

  At this thought, he had mixed feelings. However, he did not say anything and left the room.

  Once the door swung close, Gong Shaoying returned to the table with a complicated expression and retrieved the photograph from among the pile of documents.

  This was a photograph of Yun Shishi taken for a fashion magazine.

  He had sent someone to investigate Yun Shishi’s whereabouts. The information that came back included a series of photographs and sketches of her.

  This was the only photograph he had kept, only because in this particular image, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Mu Qingcheng, giving him the certainty that the woman in the picture was his daughter!

  He had always thought that his daughter no longer existed!

  Mu Qingcheng had given him a pair of dragon and phoenix children, but he had always thought that his daughter was no longer alive.

  Unexpectedly, she was!

  Yun Shishi – this was his daughter’s name!

  In the photograph, she wore a white dress and sat sideways on the windowsill, hugging her knees. Her chin rested lightly on her knees, her seaweed-like hair cascaded down from her shoulders…… Her makeup was exquisite, and her eyes were like a painting, seductive as she looked into the camera lens.