Tang family living room.
"Dad, Mom! How much longer were you planning to keep hiding it from the two of us?"
"Last night I got up to use the bathroom and overheard your conversation. Tang Rou… actually isn't a child of our Tang family, is she!"
"That Chu Ling at the hospital who has stomach cancer is. The two of them were deliberately switched back then…"
"...…."
Tang Chuan's expression was solemn as he stared fixedly at his parents, looking every bit like "I already know everything."
He'd told Tang Rou the truth that morning, intending to let her be mentally prepared and to reassure her a million times over that even if there was no blood relation between them, she would always be part of the Tang family and always be his adorable little sister…
It was just that Tang Chuan had still underestimated how pure and kind his sister was.
After learning the vicious deeds of her biological parents, she became so guilty she wept uncontrollably, hardly able to breathe, mumbling apologies over and over.
That made Tang Chuan's heart ache terribly and made him even more certain that Tang Rou was a pure, kind, good girl—she was innocent.
No matter how bad her biological parents were.
Back then Tang Rou had only been an ignorant baby. What could she have done???
At the end of the day, in this whole "life swapped by mistake" affair…
The one at fault wasn't her, it was this worl—cough cough—it was those black-hearted parents of hers…
As for his own sister, she never knew anything from start to finish.
From the moment she was born she'd been cruelly abandoned by her biological parents and reduced to a pawn in their scheme.???
Now she even had to suffer the fallout brought on by the Chu couple, becoming a fake rich girl that everyone pointed at behind her back and secretly despised and mocked…
Thinking of this, Tang Chuan's eyes couldn't help reddening.
He truly felt his sister was just too pitiful, too innocent, too unfortunate…
Therefore, he had to shoulder the responsibility as an older brother and do everything he could to protect his sister!!!
......
"Dad, Mom! I don't care what you're thinking! In my heart, Tang Rou is my sister, and even if there's no blood relation between us, she's still…"
"If you plan to heartlessly throw Tang Rou away just to bring your biological daughter back, then I absolutely cannot agree."
"If it really comes to that, I can move out with Tang Rou."
"By then, even if you do bring home your biological daughter, you'll have forever lost a good eldest son and a good daughter who, though not blood-related, is even closer than one who is…"
"Trading one for two at the extreme—what a total loss! I hope you two think it through clearly and don't fail to appreciate what you have and make a decision you'll regret for the rest of your lives. Please take note!!!"
"...…."
In order to protect his good little sister, Tang Chuan straightened his back, face full of tragic resolve, and looked up to the sky with a roar.
What he got in return… was the couple exchanging a long look and covering their foreheads, speechless.
We're done, we're BBQ'd! How did we give birth to such an idiot?!
(〃＞皿＜).
The main account is ruined—do we still have time to trash it and start over with a new one?!
Asking online, urgent!!!
......
"You little brat, planning to rebel, huh? When did we ever say we were going to drive Tang Rou away? And you even dare threaten us?"
"You want to move out, is that it? Then hurry up and go! I've been wanting to kick this eyesore of a brat out for ages!"
"If it hadn't been for that damned Taobao shop that sold such low-quality condoms back then—"
"How could a product of passion like you ever have been born??? (??へ??╬) You'd have been tossed into the trash can with a flick of my hand ages ago."
"...…."
(???(??? ;) What???
What did I just hear (O_o)?!
Am I hallucinating? My brain is itching, feels like I'm about to grow a new brain!!! w(?Д?)w
I–I… I was actually born like this, just an accidental product of my parents' moment of passion?!!
(òωó?)! I'm done, I'm numb!
So, my parents are the ones truly in love, and I… am just a trivial little accident o(╥﹏╥)o...…
Σ(☉▽☉"a At this moment, with his ear pinched by his Creator, Tang Chuan was completely dumbstruck. He even forgot to register the pain in his body—his face only showed the expression of wanting to cry but having no tears.
Off to the side, Xu Shuyun's old face flushed red. She glared at a certain shameless old man, then walked over to the teary-eyed Tang Rou and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Tang Rou, don't cry! It's okay! We know that what happened back then wasn't your fault. Your dad and I understand reason."
"Even after we bring Chu Ling home in the future, you'll still be my daughter."
"I hope you two can become good sisters who are close as real siblings. You're both Mom's good daughters."
"...…."
After lecturing the product of passion, Tang Guo'an chimed in with a nod from the side:
"Right, right, right! Dad thinks the same."
"Don't worry, Tang Rou, you're both my precious girls!"
"Dad will treat you the same, I absolutely won't favor either one, and I won't neglect you just because Chu Ling's comes home."
"...…."
(?"? ?)?"(???︿???).
Faced with the Tang couple's soothing assurances, Tang Rou pursed her lips, her eyes misting over with tears again, and she started sobbing "ying ying ying" once more.
"Wuu wuu wuu… Mother, Father, you really are too good to me… (sobbing…)"
"But the ones who caused all of this are still that pair of biological parents of mine! Even if I was just an ignorant baby back then, that's an undisputable fact."
"So how can I be so shameless as to stay here and go on enjoying the wealth and glory of, of… Madam Xu, Mr. Tang's family?"
"My conscience just can't rest! These eighteen years I've already had so many things that never belonged to me. Now it's time to return them to their rightful owner…"
"Otherwise, once Sister Chu Ling comes back and sees me, the daughter of her enemies, still living here, she'll definitely harbor resentment toward you in her heart. How could I let Sister misunderstand you?"
"...…."
At this point.
Tang Rou lifted her head and let her gaze, full of reluctance, sweep over each of her family's faces one by one.
Then she raised her chin, closed her eyes, tilted her head back at a 45° angle toward the ceiling, letting the tears slide down her cheeks, her voice filled with resolve.
"Whether it's wealth, status, family, or my fiancé…"
"All of it originally belonged to Sister Chu Ling, but I shamelessly occupied it all."
"Now, just as Sister is about to come back, it's the perfect time for things to return to their rightful owner. I'll give it back to her; I'll give everything back to Sister! I'll go; I'll step aside for your biological daughter…"
"Madam Xu, Mr. Tang, I only beg that you let me take this garment I'm wearing."
"It was a birthday present Mom… Mother personally gave me. To me it's like a priceless treasure."
"I don't want anything else. I'll return every last thing to Sister, down to the last cent. I'll even give her back the thing I'm most reluctant to part with—Dad and Mom… wu wu wu…"
"...…."
Under Tang Rou's pitiful sobbing, the hearts of all three—Tang Guo'an and the others—softened, and their eyes reddened too.
Look, just look…
What a good girl!
Her character is noble and she treats money like dirt!!!
For the sake of the family's reunion and harmony, she's willing to voluntarily give up the wealth and luxury she has now.
How could they not be moved by such a deeply affectionate and righteous girl?!
Among them, Tang Chuan was the most emotional.
Especially when he heard that Tang Rou intended to leave with nothing, his anxiety shot through the roof.
"No, absolutely not!"
"Tang Rou, you don't have anyone in Magic City, and you're so pure and kind. Once you leave home and are alone out there, how are you supposed to survive in this cruel world?!"
"Hmph! It's all that hateful Chu Ling's fault. She's not even home yet and she's already thrown our family into chaos, and now we're supposed to drive Tang Rou away because of her?!"
"I will absolutely never acknowledge that person. I only have one little sister, and that's Tang Rou!!!"
"...…."
Hearing this.
The corners of Tang Rou's lips involuntarily twitched a little, but as soon as she realized something was off, she quickly restrained it and restored her tearful look.
Her mouth continued to "persuade" him, but in truth she was adding fuel to the fire:
"Third Brother! Don't say that, she's your biological little sister!"
"Compared to me, the daughter of someone else's family, Sister Chu Ling is the real sister who shares your blood!"
"She'll definitely be better at talking than me, better at acting spoiled than me, better at coaxing Brother happy than me…"
"How can I compare to Sister Chu Ling? I'm just a shameless counterfeit!"
"Third Brother, whatever you do, don't say those things in front of Sister. I'm afraid she'll be upset."
"If she ends up thinking that I've been fanning the flames in front of you and starts secretly resenting me in her heart, my heart would be so, so wronged…"
"...…."
Under Tang Rou's covert fanning of the flames, the simple-minded Tang Chuan's anger shot up all at once.
As the third young master of the Tang family, he said whatever he wanted to say.
Why should he have to take that "sister" who popped up out of nowhere into account, (??ˇ?ˇ??) and even be afraid of upsetting her?!!
Tang Chuan had just opened his mouth to blow up when his Creator immediately suppressed him…
"You brat, shut it! (⊙x⊙;) Chu Ling is your sister too; that's an indisputable fact."
"If you dare say those things in front of Chu Ling, just watch me beat you to death."
"...…."
Frowning, Tang Guo'an smacked the product of passion on the back of the head, knocking the words he was about to blurt out back down into his throat.
After scolding him, he turned to Tang Rou again, his tone a bit gentler.
"Tang Rou! You stay right here at home and don't go anywhere! My Tang family can still afford another pair of chopsticks!"
As the head of the household, once Tang Guo'an had spoken, no one dared raise any objections.
Even the extremely depressed Tang Chuan could only choose to silently accept it for now.
Ding-dong!!!
Just then, a notification sound came from a phone.
Xu Shuyun glanced at the message, then smiled and clapped her hands lightly, bringing this brief commotion to a close.
"Alright! Lin Xuan just messaged me! He said the checkup is finished, and we can go pick Chu Ling up and bring her home now."
Seeing how his beastly cousin's relationship with his mother had suddenly become so good.
Tang Chuan felt baffled and subconsciously wanted to remind her of Lin Xuan's past vile deeds.
"Huh? Mom! Why are you still letting that beastly cousin stay… by Chu Ling's side? Aren't you afraid something will happen to her?"
"Don't forget what Cousin did back then?! And when did you two even add each other back on your contacts?"
"...…."
Faced with her good son's warning, a faintly meaningful look crossed Xu Shuyun's face at first.
Then her willow brows shot up and she once again grabbed Tang Chuan's ear hard.
"You brat, what did I tell you last time? Your cousin has already turned over a new leaf."
"From now on you'll watch your tone when you talk in front of your cousin. You're not allowed to use that attitude with him anymore. You hear me?"
"...…."
Uh… what?!
Tang Chuan's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Just yesterday, his mother's attitude toward Lin Xuan had still been terrible. How had it done a 180-degree turn today?!!
And judging by her tone, it wasn't just that she'd forgiven that beastly cousin. She even planned to restore their old familial relationship!!!
How could this be allowed?! (òωó?)!
That beastly cousin hurt his adorable sister back then!!!
Now they were going to make peace with him—had his mother even considered Mom even considered Tang Rou's feelings at all?!
"Dad, say something~~"
"Mom seems to have suddenly gone crazy, hurry up and talk some sense into her!"
Helpless.
Tang Chuan could only turn to his father for help, asking him to properly discipline his wife.
He wasn't worried that Tang Guo'an would "defect" like his mother.
Everyone knew his dad was a daughter-con maniac, after all?!
When that incident first came out, Tang Guo'an had been the first to suggest cutting ties with the beastly cousin and had the worst attitude toward him in the family.
So, anyone else might forgive Lin Xuan, but he, the daughter-con maniac, absolutely never would!
He was 95% absolutely sure of that!!!
But who could have expected…
What Tang Guo'an said next completely froze Tang Chuan's confident expression on his face.
"Whatever your mom says is what I say."
"Lin Xuan didn't know better back then. Young and hot-blooded, he made a wrong turn."
"But as the saying goes… people aren't saints; who can be without fault? To know your mistakes and correct them is the greatest good."
"He's always been my nephew, the only blood my little sister left behind. He's also family to our Tang clan! How can we abandon him?!"
"Plus, he saved your biological little sister! It's only because of him that Chu Ling could have the chance to reunite with us—that's a huge debt of gratitude!"
"Let the grudges of the past just blow away in the wind! From now on Lin Xuan is one of our family. You're not allowed to reject him like that anymore."
"...…."
Tang Guo'an spoke earnestly, full of righteous reasoning.
Though he didn't know why his wife's attitude toward Lin Xuan had suddenly changed so drastically.
It suited him just fine.
Part of the reason was exactly what he'd just said, and the other part… was because as the fated Eldest Uncle!!!
He could now only eavesdrop on his nephew's inner voice, and the kid seemed able to foresee the future?! He'd even foreseen his own tragic ending!!!
And to hear Lin Xuan's inner voice, he had to be within a certain distance of him.
So even if it were only for the sake of his own little life, Tang Guo'an had no choice but to ease the relationship with his nephew…