Chapter 25
Ah, so the newly brought-back young master of the Lu family isn’t an illegitimate child after all.
When everyone first heard this piece of gossip, they were pretty surprised.
After all, the Lu family’s public explanation had been extremely vague. They only said he was Lu Ran’s twin brother who had been raised elsewhere because of poor health.
But the problem was—everyone knew very clearly whether Lu Ran had a twin brother or not. This person had basically been fabricated out of thin air.
Why would the Lu family deliberately do something like that?
Obviously because the new young master’s origins were questionable.
That line of reasoning was completely natural. So even when the Lu family held a welcome banquet to formally introduce the new Second Young Master, no one truly respected him deep down.
What’s more, at the banquet, the newcomer failed to seize the opportunity and didn’t even manage a proper appearance, which only made his identity more awkward.
A pheasant is still a pheasant—even if it flies onto a branch, it won’t become a phoenix.
Everyone had already made up their minds about this so-called Second Young Master and quietly excluded him from their social circle.
Who would’ve thought…
The real “pheasant” was someone else entirely.
Subtle, amused gazes immediately fell on Lu Ran.
So then… as the beneficiary of all this, did Lu Ran know the truth?
The always-arrogant, delicately raised young master of the Lu family instantly drained of color.
Shock. Humiliation. Anger. And beneath it all, panic he was desperately trying to hide.
Ah. So he did know.
Someone let out a mocking snort.
Lu Ran shot a vicious glare over.
Xie Wu didn’t bother humoring him.
He’d never bought into Lu Ran’s act anyway.
The Lu family was a powerful household with deep foundations. Lu Ran was the youngest son. The responsibility of inheriting the corporation would never fall on him, so his family had never demanded much. He grew up getting whatever he wanted, pampered to this day.
But clearly, they had overindulged him.
Among their generation in Jiangcheng, no one was as outrageously spoiled as Lu Ran.
Except Nie Ying. That one was pure aggression—probably genetic.
“Lu Ran, wasn’t your twin brother supposed to transfer into our class? Why didn’t he come with you today?” Ye Chen asked with exaggerated curiosity.
Lu Ran instinctively wanted to sneer—but remembering what had just happened, his expression froze halfway, turning extremely ugly.
“Lu Ji isn’t coming to our class. He transferred to Class Ten,” He Ming’an said, breaking the stiff atmosphere. “His grades are pretty good. Class Ten suits him.”
“Why not come here? Doesn’t he want to?” Ye Chen pressed.
“What’s it to you whether he comes or not? Ye Chen, are you sick?”
“It’s not about me. It’s about you,” Ye Chen replied innocently, spreading his hands.
“You—” Lu Ran choked on his anger.
Gu Yang’s thoughts surfaced again.
[The real young master has had a pretty miserable life all these years. His father’s a drunk gambler. Whenever he drinks, he goes crazy and beats people. The kid’s suffered plenty since childhood.]
[Before he was taken away, there was already another child in that household. But at two or three years old, he got a high fever. The father was dead drunk, and the mother was working as a hospital caregiver. They didn’t reduce the fever in time. The child became deaf and mute, with below-average intelligence.]
[So they named the fake young master “Ji” (meaning silence), hoping he could share some of that suffering.]
Lu Ran bit his lip hard, staring at Gu Yang in shock.
What’s going on? He… he’s not even speaking.
Yet everyone can hear it?
The class group chat exploded.
“This is tragic… what horrible luck.”
“With a family like that, what kind of person could he grow up to be? Even if he returns to the Lu family, competing won’t be easy. There’s still years of emotional foundation there.”
“But the Lu family’s main assets go to the eldest son anyway. It’s just dividends for the rest. Raising one or two doesn’t make much difference.”
“How does it not? Imagine someone stole your rich young master life for years while you were suffering.”
Gu Yang continued.
[When the Lu family found him, his leg had been broken and he was locked in a room. The wound was festering.]
[Just because his foster parents wanted him to quit school after high school and start working to save money for his deaf brother’s treatment—and he refused without hesitation.]
Wow.
Classic dog-blood drama.
And then—
[The Lu family is actually pretty broad-minded. Even knowing their biological son was abused, they didn’t blame Lu Ran. They couldn’t bear sending him back to suffer, so they decided to raise both together.]
[But if they knew that the baby swap back then was deliberately done by Lu Ran’s biological mother—and that they’ve been raising their enemy’s child all these years—would they still do that?]
Lu Ran clutched his chest.
[That family used to run a business. It went bankrupt because of the Lu family and fell into debt. The father developed a gambling addiction.]
[When Lu Ran’s biological mother happened to give birth in the same hospital as Mrs. Lu, she secretly swapped the babies—partly for revenge, partly so her own child could live better.]
“Gu Yang…”
Gu Yang looked up.
Lu Ran’s face was pale. His chest heaved.
“Are you okay?” Gu Yang asked casually.
“What did I ever do to you?” Lu Ran forced out, voice trembling. “Why are you doing this to me?”
He had severe asthma. Everyone in Class Eleven knew.
Even when he was unbearable, they usually restrained themselves.
Lu Ran fumbled for his inhaler.
The class collectively thought: No, no. Gu Yang isn’t targeting you specifically. He’s indiscriminately blasting everyone.
Later, at the hospital.
Lu Ran woke up to see Mr. and Mrs. Lu and his elder brother at his bedside.
Panic rose again.
He screamed when someone mentioned “second brother.”
“I don’t have a second brother! I only have one brother!”
At the foot of the bed stood a tall, silent boy.
Lu Ji.
Outside the ward, Lu Ji finally breathed easier.
His leg throbbed again.
The doctor said he needed rest.
The Lu couple had given him a private hospital room—something he’d never even imagined.
When Mrs. Lu first saw him, she hugged him and cried.
It was the first time in his life someone had cried for him.
It felt unreal.
Like a dream.
Later—
He Ming’an introduced him to Gu Yang.
Gu Yang finally looked up properly.
So this is Lu Ji.
In the original novel, Lu Ji was the second biggest victim after Song Yinxing.
In this melodramatic world, even after all the irreconcilable hatred, the protagonists still ended up with a “happy ending.”
A forced reconciliation.
Gu Yang studied Lu Ji’s waist thoughtfully.
He’d already checked Song Yinxing before—nothing missing yet.
But if nothing changed…
Lu Ji would lose a kidney soon.
A chill ran down Lu Ji’s spine.
“What are you staring at?” he asked coldly.
Later still—
As they left the hospital, they encountered a drunk middle-aged man at the nurses’ station, asking loudly for Fang Lan’s bed number.
“I’m her husband!”
The nurses looked uneasy.
Gu Yang recognized him.
What a coincidence.
Wasn’t that Song Yinxing’s drunk, gambling-addicted father?
