Qin Shen was stunned, and even suspected that he was hallucinating.
He stammered, "W-what did you say?"
Lu Sibai couldn't stop crying. His nose hurt so much that he covered his face in distress, trying to stop the mixture of snot and blood that was about to flow down his nose.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore." His voice, hidden under his palm, was deep and muffled, sounding very aggrieved.
How can I not say anything?
Qin Shen was extremely anxious: "You just said you're not the Lu family's biological son? How is that possible? How do you know? Do your father and the others know?"
Lu Sibai turned her head away and sobbed, pulling out a tissue to cover her mouth: "My dad and the others probably already know. I just... I just accidentally overheard my dad and brother talking."
My brother told my dad that he met a boy who looks a lot like my parents. He's the same age as me, and I secretly went to see him..."
"How about it?"
“He looks more like my parents than I do.” Lu Sibai choked up, unable to speak. “I’m terrified. I don’t know why this happened. I dare not tell anyone, and I dare not ask anyone…”
While crying, Lu Sibai secretly observed Qin Shen's expression and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that he was not avoiding her annoyance.
He made the right bet.
The fact that his identity has been exposed is now irreversible. Lu Minghai and his ilk are so ruthless; once they discover that he is not the biological son of the Lu family, they will definitely side with that detestable Ruan Bei.
He needed to find someone who was completely on his side. Feng Zhihui was easy to please, so he could give her a try, but Qin Shen was his biggest support that he couldn't give up.
Fortunately, Qin Shen had grown up with him since childhood. He valued this bond, so even if he was angry with him, he wouldn't abandon him when he saw how miserable he was. In fact, he would feel even more sorry for him because of it.
Moreover, Qin Shen is different from his father; he's not the kind of person who values status.
He even had a bit of a rebellious streak, probably because his father kept nagging him to marry a real rich girl, which hurt Qin Shen's self-esteem.
He was determined to prove himself, to prove that he would not betray his marriage or his love, and to treat Lu Sibai, whom his father disapproved of, even better.
For all these reasons, Lu Sibai took the initiative to reveal his identity to Qin Shen first. Now that he was injured, it was the perfect time to gain sympathy.
As expected, Qin Shen only felt doubt and pity. He did not become cold towards him because of his changed identity; in fact, he became even more concerned about him.
"Don't worry, what does it matter if we look alike? There are plenty of people in this world who look alike, but do they all have blood relations?"
He knew these were just words of comfort; given Lu Minghai's cautious nature, he wouldn't have paid attention if there wasn't a problem at all.
He hesitated for a moment, then gently stroked Lu Sibai's hair reassuringly: "Don't be afraid."
Lu Sibai held his hand and said emotionally, "Ah Shen, I knew it. You're the best to me. My parents might have abandoned me because I'm not their child, but you won't. I'm the one who grew up with you, not that Ruan Bei!"
"Ruan Bei? Is he the one who hit you?" Qin Shen frowned.
“It was him.” Lu Sibai sobbed, “He brought several men with him. They dragged me into the alley and beat me up. In the end, they deliberately let me see his face and said…”
"What did you say?" Qin Shen's face had turned cold. This Ruan Bei was going too far. Before anything had even happened, before the Lu family had even spoken, he had already started bullying people.
He said it was something I owed him.
Lu Sibai sobbed, "He seems to hate me. I understand. His family isn't well-off, and he feels like I stole his parents away. But... but I really don't know anything..."
"What's it to you? Even if the babies were switched at birth, how old were you then? What could you have done?" Qin Shen said angrily.
"His dad—no, my dad seems to be injured. He said it was me who did it, so he wants to get revenge on me. I really didn't do anything, sob sob..." Lu Sibai shed tears of grievance.
Qin Shen was a little confused by his question: "Whose father?"
"It's that father of the Ruan family. He's in the hospital now. Ruan Bei said it was my fault and told me to be careful."
"Ridiculous!" Qin Shen laughed angrily. "If you two were really switched at birth, then he is your biological father. How could he assume such things about you? Besides, you haven't even left the house much lately. How can this be blamed on you?"
After he calmed down, he saw Lu Sibai with her head down, her eyes red, and not saying a word, and he immediately understood.
That Ruan Bei was just deliberately causing trouble, finding an excuse to bully Si Bai.
With such character, even if he is truly a biological child of the Lu family, so what? He is indeed ill-mannered and malicious.
"Don't be afraid of him. No one will like a scoundrel like him, not even Uncle Lu and Aunt Feng."
"Ah Shen, don't say that. He... he's just a little jealous. After all, he's not as well off as me. I can understand that. I'm willing to give my parents back to him, and I hope we can get along well."
I'm just... just scared, scared that my mom, dad, and brother won't want me anymore. I can't bear to leave them..."
"Don't be afraid, it won't happen. Sibai, you're so good to me." Qin Shen hugged the boy who had rushed into his arms with pity. Although he had done wrong things in the past and hurt his heart, he was already so miserable and pitiful. Did he really want to say something harsh to hurt him?
"And what about you, Ah Shen?" Lu Sibai looked up with tearful eyes, her expression filled with sorrow and resentment.
"I?"
"Would you like that Ruan Bei? Like...like you liked me before? After all, if we weren't switched at birth, he'd be the one you grew up with."
Qin Shen looked disgusted and said without hesitation, "Impossible."
He said, "How could I possibly like such a despicable person who despises the poor, loves the rich, becomes arrogant when he gets ahead, and enjoys bullying others? He is a person of low character."
"Really? That Ruan Bei is so handsome." Lu Sibai pouted, feigning jealousy: "You'll regret it if you see his face."
Qin Shen scoffed: "What's the point of just having a pretty face? Just a pretty face? Besides, am I the kind of person who judges people by their looks?"
Lu Sibai immediately retorted, "What about me? Are you implying that you liked me back then not because of my face? Am I not good-looking?"
"Of course you..."
Qin Shen was about to say it looked good when Lu Sibai in front of him had a bruised and deformed face, and even his nose was a little crooked...
His eyes flickered, and seeing that Lu Sibai's eyes were already brimming with tears, he quickly said, "Beautiful, of course it's beautiful."
Lu Sibai gritted his teeth in hatred. He habitually teased Qin Shen, forgetting that he still had injuries on his face.
Qin Shen was also despicable; because he was injured, he hesitated!
Lu Sibai was deeply hurt and unconsciously lowered his head, no longer allowing his face to appear in Qin Shen's sight.
He'd already played the victim enough. If he continued, Qin Shen would remember his current pathetic state, which would damage his image in Qin Shen's mind.
"Ah Shen, I knew you were the best to me. Only you truly care about me as a person, not my status," Lu Sibai said sincerely, holding his hand.
These words struck a chord with Qin Shen, making him feel even more strongly that Si Bai Kexin was the better choice, and that Ruan Bei was simply detestable.
After exchanging a few more words, Lu Sibai felt that he had managed to appease the man, so he didn't insist on staying and had Qin Shen take him to the hospital.
His nose looks like this; it needs to be properly treated. If the nasal bone isn't straightened, it could disfigure him.
Lu Sibai's family was naturally worried because he hadn't come home so late.
When he arrived at the hospital, he asked his family to come over, and repeatedly begged Qin Shen not to tell his family what he had said earlier.
Qin Shen was puzzled: "Why don't you say anything? Are you just going to let this matter go? They should be shown the true colors of Ruan Bei."
“Mom will be sad.” Lu Sibai acted like a pushover: “Maybe Ruan Bei was just angry for a moment, and... and I don’t want to say it. If I say it, I won’t be Mom and Dad’s child anymore, and my brother won’t be my brother anymore. I want to stay with them for a few more days.”
"Sigh, how could you be so foolish?" Qin Shen sighed.
Unable to resist Lu Sibai's pleading, Qin Shen finally agreed.
Not long after, Feng Zhihui and Lu Siyuan arrived at the hospital and were furious when they saw their son/brother beaten like this.
When asked to call the police, Lu Sibai refused. When asked why, he just kept crying and wouldn't say anything.
As Qin Shen watched from the side, he felt pity for Ruan Bei, but his disgust for her deepened even further.
Feng Zhihui and Lu Siyuan were bothered by his crying but couldn't find out why. Qin Shen seemed to know the reason, so they asked him for information.
Qin Shen sighed and said, "Si Bai has his own reasons, so don't pressure him. But he was indeed wronged today."
I just hope that if you really recognize Ruan Bei in the future, you will remember the injuries Si Bai suffered today and not let him suffer this kind of bullying again.
Meanwhile, Ruan Bei, who was "extremely guilty," slept soundly and woke up to find a warm hand pressed against his lower abdomen.
He rubbed his flushed cheeks on the pillow and carefully pulled Qin Gu's hand away.
He's been taking medicinal baths to repair his meridians lately, but when he gets sleepy at night, he releases spiritual energy to nourish and help him recover. He'll coax him to sleep first before going to sleep on his own.
Logically speaking, there's nothing ambiguous about this behavior, but... after all, the dantian area is quite sensitive, and for a boy his age, it's... again...
Ruan Bei tiptoed out of bed, put on her coat, washed up, bought breakfast, and then went to wake Qin Gu: "Time to eat, sleepy, get up!"
Qin Gu, with his eyes closed, scooped up the person with his long arm and pulled them into his arms, mumbling, "Up so early? Sleep a little longer with me..."
If there's nothing else, I'll let him sleep, but he has a class in the morning, and it's quite a long way from home to school.
"Get up first, take a nap in the car for a while." Ruan Bei propped herself up and tried to pull him up, but Qin Gu deliberately stayed put. Just as the two were joking around, the phone rang.
Ruan Bei angrily slapped him through the blanket, took the phone, glanced at it, and tossed it to him: "It's from Junior Nephew Wei Lan, answer it quickly, it might be something important."
He dared not delay important business, so Qin Gu sat up and answered the phone.
The call ended in less than two minutes. Ruan Bei asked, "What was it?"
"He asked us to meet sometime. Apparently, there's some news about the source of that evil spirit. I arranged to meet him tonight," Qin Gu said.
They have three professional classes today, so they'll have to spend the whole day at school.
"Tonight is fine."
Ruan Bei went to the wardrobe, took out his clothes, and threw them on the bed: "Get up and eat quickly. After class, go see Wei Lan."
At the same time, Qin Shen received a call from his subordinate: "Young Master, we've found out. Ruan Bei, whom you mentioned, should be studying at Jin University now, a freshman."
Jinzhou University? Lu Siyuan's school, no wonder they know each other.
"Send me a copy of his information, and also, pick me up this afternoon to go to Jinda University."
He promised Sibai not to tell the Lu family, but he didn't say he wouldn't go to see Ruan Bei.
Si Bai was someone he was protecting, but what was that Ruan Bei anyway? If he wasn't taught a lesson, he'd really forget who he was.
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