The Lu family, the mother and son who had been anxious ever since Lu Minghai and Lu Siyuan left, waited at home with great trepidation for news.
Lu Sibai, in particular, felt panicked and afraid, with a hint of hatred mixed in.
That woman gave birth to him, but unlike other mothers, she didn't protect her child and even treated him so badly.
Of course, Lu Sibai felt that sending him to the Lu family to be their young master was probably the only good thing she had ever done for him.
But since she's already brought him here, why doesn't she just kill Ruan Bei?
They keep saying that Ruan Bei's fate is intertwined with his, and that Ruan Bei cannot die before the life-swapping is completed. But why not just take him far away and throw him into a remote mountain village to be sold by human traffickers?
Now look what happened, their plan was never completed before Ruan Bei was discovered and exposed.
That woman just abandoned him!
And then there's Qin Shen. He said he was bullied by Ruan Bei, but he still left, saying he wanted to go back to his old house for the New Year.
Why can't we celebrate the New Year? Why can't we stay and help him?
"Sibai, don't be afraid. Mom won't let you go back to that... that family. I heard that family runs a roadside stall. How can a family like that raise a child well?"
Seeing Lu Sibai's pale face and trembling fingers, Feng Zhihui held his hand with pity: "You've always had the best of everything since you were a child, how could you endure that kind of hardship?"
It would have been better if she hadn't said anything; the moment she did, Lu Sibai became even more frightened.
Feng Zhihui didn't know, but didn't he know himself? He wasn't even a child of the Ruan family, and if he wanted to go to set up a stall with Ruan Licheng, they might not agree.
"At most, we'll bring that child back too."
Feng Zhihui patted his hand to comfort him: "It's not like our family can't afford to raise him. I've thought about it. Your father won't let the Lu family bloodline flow outside. He has suffered all these years, and your father and I will make it up to him."
But don't worry, even if he comes back, Mom won't be biased. If he bullies you, come to Mom, and Mom will stand up for you. Don't be like this time, getting beaten up like this and not daring to say a word.
That child is so wicked; Si Bai's facial injury hasn't healed yet.
Lu Sibai tried to force a smile, but he couldn't manage it. The pain even aggravated the injury on his nose, causing his lips to twitch involuntarily.
Feng Zhihui felt extremely distressed and said angrily, "No, we can't let this go like this. When your father brings the person here, we'll make him apologize to you first."
"No, no need, Mom, I'm fine..." Lu Sibai said weakly.
Now all he's thinking is that if Ruan Licheng doesn't expose his identity, he's willing to acknowledge him as his father, or even... even apologize to Ruan Bei.
The more he said that, the more sensible and well-behaved Feng Zhihui felt he was, and the less she wanted to let that bad boy Ruan Bei go so easily.
"Don't worry, Mom will stand up for you. I still have a say in this family. If he wants to come in, he'll have to apologize to you first."
Lu Sibai rarely spoke from the heart, yet he tried to dissuade her from moving on, his smile resembling a cry.
The two waited for two or three hours, and then heard the nanny say that the young master had returned.
Lu Sibai was startled and wanted to stand up to greet him, at least to show his attitude and gain some goodwill.
But his legs were weak, and he almost fell if he hadn't braced himself on the sofa armrest.
Feng Zhihui helped him up and made him sit firmly on the sofa, holding him back from moving: "Don't mind him. Wait until your father brings him over, and your mother will have him apologize to you. Just sit still."
Lu Sibai: "..."
I can't sit still!
He tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't. He could only crane his neck to look outside.
Three people came in, but the one at the back was clearly not Ruan Bei.
Lu Sibai's heart pounded, and he suddenly felt like he had come back to life. Had something unexpected happened and they were unwilling to bring Ruan Bei back?
Feng Zhihui had already prepared herself, ready to give Ruan Bei, that spoiled child from a commoner family, a good lesson, but he didn't show up.
She glanced in surprise at her husband and eldest son, whose faces were grim, then at her timid secretary, and hesitated before asking, "Minghai, is something wrong? That child..."
“He doesn’t want to come back.” Lu Minghai said, then sat down wearily on the sofa. The nanny quickly brought him a cup of hot tea. Lu Minghai picked it up and took a sip, his expression still grim.
"Siyuan, this..."
Lu Siyuan said with a wry smile, "Mom, Xiao Bei refuses to come home with us; he wants to stay at the Ruan family's house."
"How could this be!" Feng Zhihui felt like she was listening to a joke. What was so good about staying in such an impoverished family? Hadn't they suffered enough?
"He...he..." Feng Zhihui stammered in shock, and it took her a while to find her voice: "Is he playing hard to get? Does he want to make some demands on you? Like getting rid of Sibai or something?"
The more I talked about it, the more reasonable this guess seemed. That child was not only violent and vicious, but also narrow-minded and malicious, unable to tolerate her poor Sibai.
"I'm telling you, I won't agree. You can't send Sibai away. He's the child I raised, and he has absolutely nothing to do with that Ruan family!"
It turned out to be true; Lu Minghai was so angry he laughed, while Lu Siyuan couldn't even manage a laugh.
He recalled that at the Ruan family's house, Xiao Bei said he didn't want to be pointed at and talked about in this family. He thought he was just making excuses. How could his family be so rude?
As soon as he got back, he heard his mother making such malicious speculations. Xiao Bei hadn't said anything, not even a bad word about Si Bai.
He glanced at Lu Sibai, whose eyes were unfocused and whose face held a complex expression, a mixture of shock, confusion, and even a hint of surprise.
Lu Siyuan felt a chill in his heart. He suddenly thought of Chu Tianze, who had broken off relations with him. Could it be that Lu Sibai had lied again this time, and that he was simply slandering Xiao Bei?
"Mom, please don't say that."
Lu Siyuan lowered his head, composed himself, and explained earnestly, "Xiao Bei never mentioned Si Bai, nor did he make any demands. He just couldn't bear to part with his adoptive parents. It wasn't some kind of playing hard to get; his attitude was very firm. He even said things like he was dead..."
The more I explained, the more heartbroken I felt. Why was Xiao Bei so resistant to them? They were clearly his family.
"How could this be..."
Feng Zhihui was completely shocked. She was in a daze and asked Lu Minghai in disbelief, "Minghai, is what Siyuan said true?"
The eldest son is young and might be fooled by that Ruan Bei, but the husband is calm and shrewd and will definitely see through all the pretense.
"It's true." Lu Minghai was still angry about everything that happened at the Ruan family's house today.
He glanced coldly at Lu Sibai, who was sitting next to Feng Zhihui, biting his lip and remaining silent, his eyes filled with scrutiny.
Does Lu Sibai know that he is not a child of the Ruan family?
If they know, does that mean the child also knows who his biological parents are?
"Dad, Dad, you..." Lu Sibai felt uneasy under his gaze and looked up tremblingly, asking, "Is there something you need?"
"Give me a few strands of hair," Lu Minghai said coldly.
Lu Sibai's heart skipped a beat. She forced a smile, trying not to appear too scared or flustered: "What are you doing, Dad?"
"Just pull it out when I tell you to." As soon as Lu Minghai thought about how the child's parents had fooled him for so many years, he couldn't keep a good face towards Lu Sibai.
Lu Sibai trembled at his scolding, but still refused to lay a hand on him.
He knew in his heart that they were going to do a paternity test for him and the Ruan couple, but he was definitely not the Ruan family's child, so how could he dare to do it?
"Minghai, what's wrong with you...?"
"Shut up!" Lu Minghai rarely gave Feng Zhihui a cold look, but once he got serious, Feng Zhihui didn't dare to try to persuade him harshly.
"Dad, I...I...why..."
Lu Minghai stared intently at him: "You're unwilling, is it because you know something?"
"I didn't!" Lu Sibai retorted subconsciously, but when he met Lu Minghai's suddenly cold gaze, he couldn't help but shiver.
"So you really do know. Tell me, who are your biological parents? Why did they abandon my Lu family's child and switch you with them? What is your plan?"
"Dad, what are you talking about? I don't know, I really don't know."
Lu Sibai was about to cry. He was still quite young, and he had only managed to find Chu Tianze as a backup option. He hadn't yet honed his acting skills on several backup options, so naturally, he couldn't hide it from a shrewd businessman like Lu Minghai.
Feng Zhihui was completely stunned. She opened her mouth, but didn't even know what to ask.
Lu Siyuan looked at Lu Sibai with suspicion for a while, feeling a little sad. It turned out that the younger brother he had loved for so many years was really a liar.
He sat down next to Feng Zhihui and explained to her in a low voice.
Lu Sibai's fingers clenched until they turned white as he looked pleadingly at the Lu family members present, but Lu Minghai and Lu Siyuan remained unmoved. Feng Zhihui hesitated for a moment, about to persuade him, but was silenced by a cold glare from Lu Minghai.
"Zhao Ming, go pull it out." Seeing that he didn't do it, Lu Minghai became impatient and stopped waiting.
In the current situation, paternity testing seems to be meaningless, but since we are used to letting evidence speak for itself, it's still good to have some insurance.
The secretary, now forced to resort to plucking the hairs of the former second young master, is practically bursting with rage.
Tears streamed down Lu Sibai's face uncontrollably. Knowing there was no turning back, and not wanting to be forced to pull her hair, she sobbed, "Don't touch me, I'll pull it myself, sob sob..."
He picked up a strand of hair, and with a determined heart, pulled it out.
Lu Minghai glanced at it: "Not enough, pull out a few more."
Lu Sibai: "..."
He cried and pulled out several strands of his own hair.
His scalp ached, and his fingers trembled, but he dared not relax, for fear of losing his hair and having to pluck it out again.
He handed over the hair, but Lu Minghai didn't take it. He gestured to his secretary, who quickly reached out, "Give it to me, give it to me..."
Lu Sibai put her hair up, and Lu Minghai gestured to his secretary, who then left with her briefcase, as he had to rush to get a paternity test done.
As soon as the secretary left, the living room suddenly fell silent, with only Lu Sibai's sobs.
Lu Minghai rubbed his temples, stood up, and wanted to leave. Nothing had gone right today. He was exhausted and didn't want to see Lu Sibai.
Feng Zhihui hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to stop him: "Husband, if... if Sibai really isn't a child of the Ruan family, then... then we..."
Just support him, just like before.
Her last few words faded away under Lu Minghai's cold gaze. Lu Minghai was furious, never expecting her to be so clueless.
If it was just a case of babies being switched at birth, they could raise both children together; the Lu family isn't short of money.
But there's clearly a huge conspiracy behind Lu Sibai. Even if it's not a conspiracy, the things his biological parents did shouldn't be let go like this, and the Lu family won't tolerate him.
Lu Minghai's cold gaze swept over Feng Zhihui and Lu Sibai, his tone firm: "If he's not a child of the Ruan family, either tell me who his biological parents are, or get out of the Lu family!"
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