Chapter 162: First-in-Line Heir

The inner room where Tang Ran was located was a very good room. By good, I don't mean that it was how magnificent it was, but that all the decorations were very tasteful. From the wooden floor to the tables and chairs and even the carved ceiling, it was very rich in the ancient charm of Chinese characteristics.

Hoover told Ming that the room was equipped according to the standards of a presidential suite. All the furniture and decorations, no matter what, were made from the best materials at a high price from China. The best craftsmen were hired to polish even the anchor bolts by hand. Apart from these, there were also several blue and white porcelain vases in the room, which were also well-preserved antiques from the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

These layouts made the mystery even bigger, but Ming was not in a hurry, because as long as he met Tang Ran, these mysteries should be solved.

Zhou Ming thought to herself, when suddenly she heard someone say, 'Is this Hoover ≌≌≌, .∷※.≠ sir? I'm sorry, but I can't possibly agree to that, I'm quite sure!'

Although it had been a long time since they last met, Zhou Ming recognised Tang Ran's voice immediately. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room at the back of the house, with her back to the door, so she couldn't see what was going on at the entrance.

Zhou Ming turned his head and glanced at Hoover, who smiled sheepishly. Zhou Ming ignored him and said to Tang Ran, 'Ran, it's me, Zhou Ming. I've come to rescue you.'

After saying this, Zhou Ming could see Tang Ran's body shake violently. She then immediately stood up and, turning around, saw that it was really Zhou Ming. She immediately took three or two steps and threw herself into Zhou Ming's arms, unable to stop sobbing, 'Brother Ming, it really is you, you really came to save me, I finally waited for you!'

Zhou Ming then gently patted her jade-like back to comfort her, saying, 'Yes, it really is me here, I came to save you, so don't be afraid.'

'Of course I won't be afraid with you here, Ming.' Tang Ran said, then raised her head. But then she saw Hoover next to her and immediately pointed at him, saying, 'Ming, this is the guy. He's the rascal who accosted Xiaoxue and me on the road that day. He's also the one who threatened me with Xiaoxue's safety to get me here. He also forbade me from leaving this room. You hurry up and teach this bad guy a lesson!'

Facing Tang Ran's accusations, Hoover explained helplessly, 'Miss Tang Ran, it doesn't seem reasonable for you to accuse me like this. I did use some tricks to trick you here, but it seems like I haven't treated you badly, right? Not only have I provided you with good food and clothing, but also a nice room to stay in. If you feel lonely, you can even bring your friends here. I know that that Xiaoxue has definitely never lived in such a luxurious place before in her life.'

After hearing Hoover say this, Zhou Ming suddenly noticed what Tang Ran was wearing. It was a black cardigan dress with a white lace lining. Although Zhou Ming didn't know much about women's clothing, he could tell from Lin Muqing's influence that Tang Ran's outfit was very expensive, turning Tang Ran, the formerly dumb little girl, into a noble princess.

Tang Ran's explanation for Hoover was to disdainfully say, 'I don't want Snow to move in with you, you liar and scoundrel, I won't believe a word you say!'

This completely hurt Hoover, but fortunately, at this time, Zhou Ming asked everyone to sit down on the sofa in the living room. Zhou Ming sorted out his thoughts and first asked Tang Ran, 'You just said that you were very sure that you could not promise Hoover anything? Just when I first came in.'

'Brother Ming, I didn't mean you by that. I didn't know it was you who came in, I thought it was that guy!' Tang Ran said, pointing her finger at Hoover and continuing, 'It was him. He said he wanted me to marry someone I didn't know!'

This answer completely took Zhou Ming by surprise, because Zhou Ming had also thought of many reasons why Hoover would put Tang Ran under house arrest, and after seeing the presidential suite where Tang Ran was under house arrest and the expensive decorations on Tang Ran, Zhou Ming became even more suspicious. However, no matter how much Zhou Ming doubted, he never imagined that it was to force a marriage on Tang Ran.

You have to know that Tang Ran was forced to marry by her parents in Nanjiang, but when she arrived in San Francisco, what right did you, Hoover, who are not related, have? Or is it really like Xiaoxue guessed, that he covets Tang Ran's beauty?

Hoover could not bear Zhou Ming's sharp gaze and replied, 'In fact, things are not what you think, Mr. Zhou Ming. I did not force her to marry, I was just giving Miss Tang Ran a friendly suggestion.'

As soon as Hoover finished speaking, Zhou Ming said unpleasantly, 'A friendly suggestion? You mean putting Ran under house arrest is a friendly suggestion? Is that what you call friendly? And most importantly, who someone marries should respect her wishes and be her choice. Who are you to her that you get to decide her life's biggest decision?'

Zhou Ming's words were more and more serious, as if they were hammering on Hoover's heart, leaving him breathless.

Hoover then explained, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, please believe me, I am really doing Miss Tang Ran a favour, because if she agrees to this wedding, she will inherit all of Tang Bank's wealth!'

Zhou Ming was very surprised by this explanation, and he also noticed the emphasis in the middle of the sentence: 'Inherit?'

Hoover nodded and said, 'Yes, inherit. According to the Tang family rules, Miss Tang Ran is the first successor in the family line. However, due to her female identity and the fact that she did not grow up in the family, if we judge her competitiveness, she probably cannot even rank in the top 100. That is why she needs to marry the top successor in the family line to improve her competitiveness.'

'The first successor in the Tang family?' Zhou Ming looked at Tang Ran in surprise.

In response to Zhou Ming's doubts, Tang Ran shook his head desperately and said, 'Brother Ming, I don't know anything about the Tang family, and I don't know what kind of heir I am. These are definitely lies fabricated by this bad guy just to trick me into getting married. Brother Ming, you must not believe him!'

Hoover sighed and said, 'The Tang Bank is the second largest banking group in the United States, with overt assets exceeding one trillion, and the Tang family is the largest shareholder of the Tang Bank. The Tang Bank is not a Chinese bank in the broad sense, but a private bank of the Tang family. Because of this, in general, the heir of the Tang family is equivalent to owning the Tang Bank. Such a large inheritance, do I need to lie to Miss Tang Ran?'

This remark took Zhou Ming by surprise, because he had originally thought that the so-called Tang Bank was just a bank jointly funded by a group of wealthy Chinese businessmen to represent the interests of the Chinese, just like many Zheshang Banks and Huishang Banks in the future, but he never imagined that the so-called Tang Bank was actually just a private bank that took the surname of the Tang family.

Although such a Tang Bank is technically also a Chinese bank, it is not what everyone thinks it is.

Hoover then said to Zhou Ming, 'But it's not surprising that Miss Tang Ran would say that, because she has always been in the country and doesn't know much about it herself.'

'If she doesn't know, then how do you know?' Zhou Ming asked.

Hoover nodded and said, 'Of course I know, because she and my uncle, the former patriarch of the Tang family, are very senior in the family hierarchy. All of us juniors and people with other surnames have to respectfully address him as "uncle". And Miss Tang Ran is almost a carbon copy of him. I happened to serve him at the beginning, and I have a deep impression of him, so when I first saw her at Fisherman's Wharf, I was sure of it!"

After Hoover finished speaking, he thought for a moment and said, 'I know that just saying this may be very unconvincing, so Miss Tang Ran, I think you can take out the DNA identification report I gave you for a moment. I believe that is the most convincing.'

Tang Ran listened to Hoover's words, and she seemed to have been stimulated by something. She covered her ears and shook her head, saying, 'I don't know anything about an identification report. You're lying. There's no such thing. There's no DNA identification report. You're just saying this to deceive us on purpose. Brother Ming, don't believe him!'

'Miss Tang Ran, please forgive me for being blunt, but you're just deceiving yourself.'

While Hoover was speaking, his eyes were still searching the room, and finally stopped on the trash can not far away that had not been emptied yet.

Hoover went over to the trash can and retrieved a document, which he handed to Zhou Ming, saying, 'This is the DNA identification report issued by the University of California Medical Center. The so-called DNA identification is to use the theories and techniques of forensic science, biology and genetics to determine the parental relationship between the two parties being identified through the analysis of genetic characteristics. This is the most advanced identification technology, and it is also the conclusion reached by the University of California Medical Laboratory. This is the most scientifically based conclusion, and according to repeated identifications by the University of California Medical Center, there is absolutely no possibility of error!'

'As I was also worried that I might have misjudged the situation, I asked the doctors at the University of California Medical Center to conduct a DNA test on Miss Tang Ran after she arrived here,' Hoover said.

Zhou Ming took the document and glanced at it. As Hoover had said, according to the results of the identification by the University of California Medical Center, Tang Ran was indeed the daughter of the Tang family. Compared to Tang Ran, Zhou Ming, as a reborn person, was very familiar with DNA identification. And the University of California Medical Center was an authoritative hospital ranked among the top ten in the United States in terms of comprehensive capabilities, so the results were as authoritative as Hoover had said.

If the identification results really involved the inheritance of the Down syndrome family, and there was a risk of being exposed at any time, Hoover would not have the guts to fake it.

However, as the identification results solved one problem, but then other problems emerged one after the other, Zhou Ming looked up at Hoover and asked, 'I can trust you for now when it comes to the DNA identification, but Tang Ran has always been in the country, so how did she suddenly become the heir of the Down syndrome family? And she is still in the first position, and there is also the most important point...'

Zhou Ming looked at Hoover with a more severe expression in his eyes: 'If it's just your conjecture, you can't possibly see someone who looks similar on the street and then go up to them and ask them to do a DNA test, can you?'

'Of course not, but this is truly a coincidence,' said Hoover. 'First of all, I would look for Miss Tang Ran because of the recent inheritance issue in the Tang family. Due to the sudden death of the head of the family, there was no time to appoint an heir, and the heirs were already fighting over the inheritance. It looked as if the whole family was about to fall apart fall apart, so several elders in the family asked me to secretly come out and find a successor to the inheritance. I had just been to Nanjiang before, returned without success, and was relaxing at the fisherman's wharf when I ran into her.'

'As for why Miss Tang Ran was in Nanjiang, that question goes back twenty years.'

Hoover said, 'The Tang family is a large family that originated in Lingnan, China. After the liberation, the patriarch at the time did not flee to the United States with the rest of the family for some reason. Twenty years ago, the Tang family also found Uncle Tang due to inheritance issues within the family. He returned to the United States for the family. Since this trip was very risky, he gave the then-newborn Tang Ran to a collateral family in the local family to raise.'

'So now the family is once again facing an inheritance problem. Due to some things from back then, my great-uncle Tang did not leave any descendants, and the several heirs in line are also behaving very badly. The elders of the family thought of Tang Ran, who is still in Lingnan,' Hoover concluded.