Shen Yu was not the biological son of the Shen family. In order to find the son who had been lost for 19 years, the Shen Group wanted to cooperate with the police to establish a genetic database of lost children and establish an anti-trafficking fund to help parents who have lost their children all over the world to find their children. This news immediately caused a major reaction in the society.
On the second day that the Shen Group and Shanghai police held a press conference, the stock price of the Shen Group jumped up by one percentage point. The Shen Group was originally a well-known enterprise in Shanghai, and the Shen family was also an affluent wealthy family in Shanghai. The tree has big and deep roots, such a story of a wealthy family that was even more bizarre than 8pm soap operas was naturally the gossip that most common people like to chat about after meals.
However, this time, accompanying the big melon that the “Shen family’s youngest son was not biological”, the response of the Shen Group made everyone in society applaud.
There was an old saying in China called “Preserve your dignity as a nobody; promote the social wellfare as a somebody.” Because the Shen family lost their child, they could even think of donating money and helping parents who lost their children all over the world to find their children together. This approach had undoubtedly won the praise of the whole society.
When Shen Shiyuan, the chairman of the Shen Group, personally walked into the Shanghai police station and entered his DNA into the database, he was accompanied by reporters to film this precious scene, which was later reported and reprinted by many media and magazines, and even the local TV station in Shanghai broadcast it on the evening news. As a result, the Shen Group managed to establish an even better corporate image. When interviewed by reporters, Chairman Shen also said with emotion: “As we all know, our Shen family is few in numbers and all the family members are very harmonious. But this wire accident had exposed that my youngest son Shen Yu to not be of biological birth. It’s because of an accident back then that the two children were mistakenly taken to different homes. After such a long time, I don’t know if I can find my biological son. But as a parent, I always have to do my best.”
“Because of this incident, I now feel empathy for those families who have lost their children. Under the hands of fate, the Shen family who seems to have some background is actually so powerless, so those families whose family background is not as good as the Shen family, I am afraid the road to finding their child will be even more difficult. I don’t have the ability to do much, but I just try my best to help the police build this gene bank of lost children. I hereby appeal to those parents who want to find their children to go to the local police station to enter DNA as soon as possible. And those children who were abducted or adopted, if you want to know who your biological parents are, you can also go to the police station and enter your DNA into the gene bank. With more effort, there will be more hope. Under the hands of fate, all of us are equal. We can only do our best to provide more hope for more people. Even if this hope is very slim.”
If it was said that because of the Shen Group, the Shen family had always been a part of the privileged class in the eyes of the local people. At this moment, Chairman Shen, who was choked with tears in front of the camera, but still earnestly explained his original intention to create a genetic database of lost children, had shed the halo that surrounded his identity and was just a father who cared about his children.
In an instant, the distance between the two sides was shortened.
The audience sitting in front of the TV also couldn’t help sighing and sighing. With parents who care so much, if the young master of the Shen family who was lost for 19 years was still alive, he must definitely be very moved.
Tao Mu sat in front of the TV, but didn’t feel moved at all. In fact, he had a slight urge to laugh. As expected of the Shen family, everything could be used as a show. If the lost child of the Shen family really didn’t know the nature of the Shen family, seeing this scene, it was very likely he would indeed be madly moved.
It was a pity that Tao Mu was no longer the nineteen-year-old Tao Mu in his previous life. He turned off the TV and walked to the kitchen in his slippers.
In the kitchen, Liu Yao and Meng Qi were busy cooking. Wearing a khaki apron, Liu Yao stood in front of the counter beating eggs, ready to make an egg pudding with his hands. Meng Qi stood in front of the stove, holding a large pan. He was frying fish-flavored shredded pork, and a flame burst out on the pan. As the food was stirred and flipped, the fragrance spread immediately.
The warm light shone on the two men, pulling the shadows on the ground into one. The smell of oil and smoke that Tao Mu hated the most, now made him feel warm in his heart when he smelled it.
Tao Mu asked with a smile, “You really don’t need my help?”
“No need.” Liu Yao said: “You just wait to eat ready-made. Just watch your two fathers cook you a loving dinner. By the way, you have lost weight recently. Were the box lunches from the crew not good?”
“It was really not very good.” Tao Mu leaned against the door of the kitchen: “Yao Dad, I want to ask brother Da Hui to do me a favor.”
“What’s the matter, you——” Liu Yao was fed a piece of fish-flavored shredded pork by Meng Qi, almost scalding his tongue. He swallowed the piece of meat hissingly, and continued: ” If you have a problem, just tell me.”
“In order to clarify the rumors of drug use, I went to the police station to do a drug test. I left my blood sample at the police station. Now I want to get it back.” Tao Mu said calmly: “For the sake of finding their youngest son, isn’t the Shen Group planning to build a nationally-connected DNA database. I’m just afraid the police will also enter my DNA into it. As you all know, I was an orphan since I was a child, and I should have been abandoned by my parents. I don’t want to pursue the matter. But I don’t want those people to take this opportunity to find me either.”
Liu Yao asked with a smile: “What are you afraid of? You are already my son. It is recognized by the law. It’s fine if they dare not come forward. But if they dare to come forward, I will immediately sue them for abandonment. So why be afraid that they will leech onto you?”
“Though it’s like that, it’s better to have as little trouble as possible.” Tao Mu explained with a smile: “After all, I want to be an actor. I always have to worry about image issues. In case my biological parents are the kind of people who are alcoholic, gambler, or drug addict sorts and only know to demand money from their children and treat them as cash cows. Although I’m not afraid of them, I don’t want to bother.”
That was true.
Liu Yao nodded: “Is it okay to have Da Hui go? No, I will go with your Xiao Qi Dad, in person.”
“No need.” Tao Mu said with a smile, “I’m very familiar with Officer Yao from the H Town police station. He is also able to understand my situation. In fact, I was negligent. When I went to the police station for a drug test, I should have recovered my data.”
However, in the previous life, the Shen family never created this gene bank of lost children. In the end, it was Tao Mu himself who was careless. When he was doing the drug test, he still had a high fever, his thinking was unclear, and he couldn’t think of that much. So he forgot to take care of loose ends.
Fortunately, the DNA database that the Shen Group was going to build was just a concept——they had just held a press conference with the police, and it would take at least a few more months before the nationwide networking and implementation. This time difference was enough for Tao Mu to clean up the loose ends.
He just needed a reliable person now to help him with this.
So Tao Mu thought of Liu Yao’s most important subordinate Da Hui. However, Meng Qi was not at ease. He was planning to visit H Town in person to understand the matter, lest some inexplicable person jump out and snatch his son from him in the future.
Although with Liu Yao and Meng Qi’s methods, they were not afraid that Tao Mu’s biological parents would come knocking on their doors. But as Tao Mu said, it was better to have as little trouble as possible. They were living a good life now, and there was no need to find trouble for themselves.
Tao Mu, who entrusted the matter to his two fathers, hadn’t thought while at this time he was thinking about having as little trouble as possible, the Shen family focused their sights on him.
“Cooperate with FlyNews.com and have me be the spokesperson for the gene bank?” Tao Mu looked at the father and son of the Shen family who paid a surprise visit to him, and did not hide his surprise at all.
“That’s right.” Chairman Shen nodded slightly. It was Shen Chen’s plan to jointly promote the Lost Children’s Gene Bank project with FlyNews.com at the beginning of the project.
After all, considering the current situation of social networking sites in China, although FlyNews.com was founded a little later than others’, it was still the most popular and influential social networking platform.
If FlyNews.com could participate in this project, the Lost Children’s Gene Bank and related websites would soon spread to all parts of the country relying on the strong influence of FlyNews.com. And Tao Mu himself was an orphan, so he was practically the most appropriate person to be the spokesperson for this project.
Most importantly, Tao Mu was a partner of Xiaoheng Capital, and his backer was Li Xiaoheng, which was also a well known fact. The Shen Group cooperating with FlyNews.com on this project also included a desire to take this opportunity to make good friends with Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng.
After all, this cooperation could be regarded as a public welfare activity, and it would have a protracted and powerful impact. As long as this project continued, the participants of the project could gain a high reputation, social recognition and even official affirmation and support. On this point, it was very cost-effective whether it was for the Shen Group, FlyNews.com, Xiaoheng Capital, or even the Li family behind Li Xiaoheng.
The father and son of the Shen family regarded others with their own mindset, and they didn’t think Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng would reject this cooperation. After all, from Tao Mu’s previous behavior, everyone could see that Tao Mu was a person who cared about corporate image very much, and was very good at managing image and guiding public opinion.
“This cooperation is very beneficial to both of us.” Chairman Shen looked at Tao Mu and said warmly, “CEO Tao is an orphan, and should be able to feel the pain of a child not being able to grow up with his biological parents. So inviting you this time to be the spokesperson for this project——”
“Forgive me for refusing.” Before Shen Shiyuan could finish speaking, Tao Mu interrupted with an embarrassed expression: “Although I am an orphan and have not been able to grow up with my biological parents since I was a child. But to be honest, now, I don’t need my biological parents at all. I now have two adoptive fathers who treat me very well, and a happy family. To put it humbly, it could be considered a success. I don’t want parents and family members who once abandoned me to come to my door and disturb my current life.”
“To say something rude, I think Chairman Shen and CEO Shen can understand me. They didn’t show up when I was alone and by myself. Now I don’t need them to show up. Whether it’s my parents or my relatives, they’re actually just strangers. If they use me as a cash cow or an ATM just because of the fact that they are blood-related to me, although I’m not afraid, I will still feel annoyed.”
Tao Mu’s frank confession took the Shen family by surprise. It was not unexpected that Tao Mu was such a person. In fact, they have long seen that Tao Mu, as someone who could go from rags to riches at such a young age and be able to force the old fox Yao Shengan into a corner, could not be a simple and kind person at all.
But they didn’t expect that Tao Mu would actually confess in front of them that he didn’t want to know the names of his biological parents, and he was even guarding against the fact that they might want to demand his money and property from him in the name of being family.
But thinking about it carefully, this was also human nature. After all, Tao Mu and the Shen family were in a different situation. Back then, Tao Mu was abandoned by his biological mother in a rented house and almost starved to death, and was finally sent to an orphanage by the landlord.
If you look at this matter with legal thinking, Tao Mu’s biological parents have properly committed the crime of abandonment or even intentional homicide in this matter.
With Tao Mu’s personality, it was obvious that he would not be as forgiving as the holy virgin mother. So it was fine if Tao Mu’s biological parents didn’t find him, but if they did find him——thinking about it from another perspective, if they were Tao Mu, even if they didn’t make it so the other would end up in jail. They at least would teach the other a profound lesson before being satisfied.
As for blood and family, thinking about it with themselves in Tao Mu’s shoes, they themselves didn’t really care all that much, let alone Tao Mu who created his company from scratch.
It was likely that in the eyes of the other, the so-called parents and relatives were not as important as the closeness of business partners. After all, all business partners bring benefits, and parents and relatives were likely to only bring trouble.
Besides, when it comes to parental affection, Tao Mu was also not lacking in that aspect. As far as they knew, the two fathers and one grandfather whom Tao Mu recognized were very sincere and good to him. Not mentioning Liu Yao and Meng Qi, who practically listened to their son on everything, that old man Song was even willing to give the Song Ji brand over to Tao Mu.
Thinking of this, the Shen family father and son couldn’t help but think of the Song Ji Apprenticeship Training School that was in full swing recently. And couldn’t help but become more admiring of Tao Mu’s ability to create hype and publicity.
“We understand Mr. Tao’s mindset very well. But we don’t think that Mr. Tao’s mindset and Mr. Tao’s role as the spokesperson will actually be in conflict.”
“FlyNews.com is the most popular social platform in China. With the support of FlyNews.com, the gene pool of lost children could be spread across the country in the shortest possible time. FlyNews.com can also use this promotion to create an even better corporate image. The most important thing is that if Mr. Tao becomes the spokesperson and promotion ambassador of this project, then all your efforts for this project will be seen by the public. If at that time, your biological parents came to make trouble, you can blame them on a moral high ground.”
The once abandoned orphan found success through his own efforts and was ready to help more orphans find their lost parents and relatives. However, the biological parents who abandoned Tao Mu back then only knew to demand money and property after their son became successful. With such a huge moral gap, it was likely that without Tao Mu even having to say a word, those netizens with a strong sense of justice would help pin Tao Mu’s biological parents to the pillar of shame.
Not to mention the actions of Tao Mu’s biological parents back then could constitute as having committed the crime of abandonment or even intentional homicide.
“If Mr. Tao is worried that your status as a promotion ambassador would tie your hands when the time comes, you can make clear your attitude before serving as a promotion ambassador. You don’t want your family who abandoned you to suddenly appear and disturb your current peaceful life. But as an orphan, you can understand the feelings of these thousands of orphans, as well as parents who have lost their children for various reasons, and hope that parents who really want to find their children will have a happy outcome.”
“These two things aren’t actually contradictory, are they?” Shen Chen said suddenly, giving Tao Mu a reason to have the best of both worlds.
If Tao Mu didn’t know his true identity, it was likely that he would really be tempted.
It’s a pity.
“I’m not an orphan.” Tao Mu stared into Shen Chen’s eyes and said sternly, “I have two adoptive fathers, and we have an official adoptive relationship with each other, which is legally recognized. I also have a grandfather.”
“Of course.” Shen Chen smiled and said, “You are no longer an orphan. You are doing very well. That’s why you are willing to help other orphans, as well as those parents who have lost their children and are heartbroken. As the saying goes, honor old people as we do our own aged parents, and care for other’s children as one’s own. Mr. Tao’s kindness and universal love are invaluable. I believe everyone will be moved.”
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