The moon rises above the willow branches, its silvery light spilling freely, colliding with the bright lights of the villa district, disappearing without a trace, only showing a hint of presence where the lights are extinguished.
The Lu family villa was filled with all kinds of luxury cars. Today was the birthday of the young master of the Lu family. It was neither his birth year nor a full year, but the Lu family held a grand celebration because there was another important matter to announce on this occasion - the marriage between the Lu and Qin families.
Lu Minghai's branch of the family has no daughters. The one he is engaged to in the Qin family is his pampered young master, Lu Sibai.
While male-male relationships are no longer so rare these days, they are still something that can't be discussed openly.
Especially in wealthy families, when their children are young, they may be interested in new things and have fun, and the elders won't care. But if they really want to get engaged to a man, it will cause a huge uproar.
It's even more unimaginable that the Lu and Qin families would hold such a grand banquet to announce the engagement of their sons.
However, those who have reached their current status are all shrewd individuals. Regardless of their inner thoughts, when Lu Minghai announced the news, the applause was enthusiastic, and the smiles on the guests' faces were extremely sincere.
Halfway through the banquet, Qin Shen, one of the main characters of the day, was still in the hall entertaining guests, while the other main character was nowhere to be found.
The Qin family was prominent and influential, so many people flocked to them to flatter and curry favor with young master Qin. Those who couldn't get in or weren't even qualified to approach gathered in small groups, smiling and gossiping about their host family's affairs.
"The Lu family is really lucky to have gotten involved with the Qin family. Lu Minghai is also shameless; he would even send his own son to a man's bed."
The speaker held up his wine glass to hide the bittersweet smile on his face, but the envy hidden in his words was obvious to everyone.
He verbally expressed his disdain for Lu Minghai, but in reality, if he had the chance, he might have gone even further. These people may be rich and powerful, but how could they compare to a behemoth like the Qin family? That family was a powerful clan that had been established for generations, with countless businesses both domestically and internationally.
The person next to him chuckled twice: "Are you confused? This one isn't your biological child."
"Look at my brain." He slapped his forehead. "This one was switched at birth."
"This is not your fault. The young master of the Lu family has hardly ever shown his face. If the Lu family doesn't care, how can we outsiders remember him for them?"
"That's true. I don't remember anything about that young master's name or appearance. When the Lu family switched the babies, Lu Minghai suppressed the matter and kept both children. I thought the Lu family couldn't bear to part with the children they had raised since they were babies. I never expected that they were keeping them for this day. That's really clever!"
The man gave a thumbs-up, seemingly both sarcastic and complimentary, downed the rest of his wine in one gulp, and said in a muffled voice, "The adopted son and the young master of the Qin family grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Their bond since childhood is something that a biological son with whom there is little affection can never compare to."
He had a long-standing relationship with the Lu family. He and Lu Minghai were good friends when they were young. They were both second sons who were not valued in their families and had little wealth. The support they received from their families was minimal, but they wanted to make a name for themselves.
Originally, the two were in similar situations, but Lu Minghai used his good looks to coax Miss Feng into marrying him, and with the help of his wife's family, he seized power from the Lu family. After that, his business grew bigger and bigger, and now the two are no longer on the same level.
For example, at today's banquet, his company is not small, but he barely managed to get an invitation, and the people around him are all people who don't have much influence.
The person he was talking to was also a longtime friend. Knowing his worries, the friend patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, saying, "The Qin family has few descendants, and Lu Sibai is a man. Who knows when the two families will fall apart."
Despite saying that, both of them knew that the Qin family had few descendants, which was why they valued it even more.
The fact that the Lu and Qin families were able to formally arrange a marriage between the two men shows how much the young master Qin put in the effort, demonstrating how much he cares about Lu Sibai.
This time, the Lu family is truly aiming to ride the coattails of the Qin family and achieve great success.
A nouveau riche man, attending such a high-level banquet for the first time, had been eavesdropping on the two men's conversation for a while. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he whispered, "This Young Master Lu isn't actually President Lu's biological son? What happened with the baby being switched at birth? Tell me, brothers?"
Although the two were talking quietly behind each other's backs, these things were not secrets or anything that couldn't be said; they just couldn't say them in front of Lu Minghai.
Now that they were far away from Lu Minghai, who was surrounded by a crowd, they naturally didn't need to hold back. With some unspeakable thoughts in mind, they thoroughly exposed the Lu family's affairs.
There's nothing new under the sun, and it's really nothing special. It's just that the Lu family had their child switched at birth and raised until they were sixteen or seventeen years old, when they discovered by accident that the child wasn't their biological child.
The adopted son was raised by their side since childhood, and they had a deep bond. From Lu Minghai to Mrs. Lu, and then to Lu Siyuan, the young and promising eldest son of the Lu family, and Qin Shen, a childhood friend who was not a member of the Lu family but had a noble status, they all couldn't bear to part with Lu Sibai.
If you can't bear to part with it, then don't.
The Lu family was wealthy and could easily raise ten or eight sons, let alone one more. So they kept both their biological and adopted sons.
"Would the family that switched babies be willing to accept this?" the nouveau riche asked.
"Look at what you're saying. As long as the money is right, what can't be done? I heard that family is very poor, with a sick person in the family, and they've even gotten into a murder case. The Lu family just throws out some money, and everything is solved."
The nouveau riche clicked his tongue, too embarrassed to ask Lu Sibai's attitude. He was the biological son of that family, and if he wanted to go back, the Lu family had no right to stop him.
However, judging from the current situation, that's clearly not the case.
It makes sense. Who wouldn't want a life of luxury? If he were Lu Sibai, having been a young master for over a decade, he wouldn't want to go back to a life of hardship.
But even if one thinks this way, actually doing it still makes people question Lu Sibai's character.
"What about the real young master of the Lu family?"
The nouveau riche suddenly remembered: "If the babies could have been switched at birth, the two young masters' birthdays should be around the same time, right? I haven't heard that the Lu family has held a birthday banquet recently."
"Isn't today the perfect day?"
The man holding the wine glass smiled sarcastically: "He was the one who came out with Lu Minghai earlier, standing next to Lu Sibai."
The nouveau riche paused for a moment, recalling that not long ago, when Lu Minghai appeared, there were indeed several young people with him. Besides Lu Siyuan and Lu Sibai, there was also a handsome young man whose features resembled Lu Minghai's.
However, Lu Minghai was not very warm towards him, and he thought he was a young master from another branch of the Lu family.
He glanced around discreetly but didn't see the real young master. He thought back carefully and realized that the young master had only shown his face briefly before disappearing.
"This young master... seems a bit aloof."
He spoke cryptically, but the listener understood perfectly, chuckling lightly, "Who knows? I've heard that this young master is an unlikable fellow, always vying with the young master of the Lu family, and he hasn't received a good education; his behavior is crude and his personality is eccentric..."
"Oh right, he even got into a fight with Young Master Qin. This guy is really daring."
The nouveau riche recalled the young master's aloof and indifferent features. Although he had little expression and hardly any smile, he was certainly not as despicable as the man had described.
Comparing Lu Minghai's attitudes toward his adopted son and his biological son, he understood.
Even though he hadn't received much education, he would still confront people who spoke ill of his son. The fact that the Lu family could ruin their own son's reputation like this suggests that the real young master must be in a rather difficult situation.
However, this was not something he should be concerned about. After listening to a bit of gossip, he realized that the so-called image of the wealthy families was not as glamorous as he had imagined.
"Okay, there's no point in talking about this."
The two people who had been gossiping earlier had grown tired of it and changed the subject, asking about the nouveau riche's business. This kind of occasion was meant for them to network.
After this encounter, the three became acquainted. After chatting, they discovered the possibility of cooperation, and their relationship became even more cordial.
Having overheard the previous gossip, the nouveau riche unconsciously paid more attention to the host family's side.
"Huh? Why have they all gone upstairs..."
"What are you talking about? Who went upstairs?"
"Young Master Lu, Young Master Qin..."
Two young people had come up earlier. He recognized one of them; he was a famous celebrity who was said to come from a very well-off family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to attend an event like this.
There was another one he didn't recognize, probably the young master of some family.
It's normal for young people to be impatient with socializing, want to find some peace and quiet, or want to go upstairs to rest. When such banquets are held, there are always guest rooms prepared upstairs for guests to rest.
But Lu Siyuan and Qin Shen are the hosts and should stay here to entertain guests. Why are they all running upstairs?
"Young Master Lu seems to have disappeared for a while as well."
The man was referring to Lu Sibai. After listening to the nouveau riche's words, they looked around and found that, as he said, the young men from both the Lu and Qin families had disappeared without a trace.
"This is really strange, what on earth is going on..."
The three were puzzled, and just as they were thinking about it, they suddenly heard a scream coming from the backyard not far away.
Since they couldn't get to the middle, they stayed in a secluded corner near the courtyard. Just a few steps to the side was a glass door leading to the back garden.
Upon hearing the screams, the three instinctively ran a few steps in that direction, rushing to the glass door ahead of the others.
What they saw before them stunned them.
A handsome young man in a white shirt lay on the ground, his clothes soaked with blood. A jade pendant had fallen out of his collar, its color completely obscured by the blood.
He was still alive, his long, thick eyelashes trembling slightly, his lips moving as if he were whispering something.
"This isn't that..."
"It's the child the Lu family switched at birth..."
The nouveau riche, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, looked up and saw several figures flash by on the balcony directly above Young Master Lu. All the missing masters were back.
Call an ambulance!
Lu Minghai rushed out of the living room and shoved aside the terrified maid next to Young Master Lu. Madam Lu fainted after seeing this from afar.
A crowd gathered around, and the first three people to approach were pushed aside.
The ambulance arrived, but instead of carrying away the body, it carried away a corpse. Young Master Lu had a large hole in the back of his head and died before the doctor arrived.
As the stretcher passed by them, someone muttered under their breath, "What bad luck. He finally got back to his wealthy biological parents' house, but he didn't even get to enjoy his newfound happiness for long before he was gone."
The nouveau riche turned his head and looked around, but couldn't find anyone. He felt a lump in his throat.
He was too close just now, and his eyesight was too good; Young Master Lu's dying words were too simple.
He was whispering "Dad," "Mom," "Sister," and another name.
The Lu family had no daughters, so it's easy to imagine who he was thinking of last. The last few words were unclear, but perhaps it was someone else who was very important to him.
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