Xiao Zhenyu never imagined that Xiao Mandong would actually strike someone. No matter how unpleasant Aunt Wang’s words had been, she was still an elder. What was wrong with reprimanding her a little? Wasn’t it perfectly normal to vent some frustration over family matters? Couldn’t they have talked things out properly? Why resort to violence? If word got out that she had struck an elder, it would damage her reputation too. Why was she being so unreasonable?”
“Heh. You two are quite something—putting on a show of mother-and-son affection in front of me?”
Xiao Mandong had never paid much attention before, but now she noticed that Xiao Zhenyu’s eyes and brows bore some resemblance to Li Fengmei’s. And someone like Old Lady Wang would never be kind to an outsider. Thinking of the affection she had shown Xiao Zhenyu all these years, Xiao Mandong guessed that he was very likely a child of the Wang family.
Perhaps, just as the Lu family had planned in her previous life, they intended to let a child of the Wang family occupy the Xiao family’s resources and eventually claim the Xiao family’s property.
No matter what, her grandparents were steeped in deeply rooted old-fashioned ideas. They might prepare generous dowries for the sisters, but the family property would certainly be left to the Xiao family’s male descendants.
When Xiao Zhenyu heard Xiao Mandong’s words, his heart jolted. Could she have found out about his true background?
But when he thought it over, that seemed unlikely. His grandmother had said that only a few people involved knew the truth. There was no way Xiao Mandong could have learned about it. He tried to reassure himself.
“Sis, blood is thicker than water. I’m your own younger brother. No matter how angry you are, you can’t disown me. I may have changed my surname, but sooner or later I’ll change it back. I’m the Xiao family’s only son. As long as I’m here, you and Second Sis will always have someone to rely on—a family to return to.”
“Heh, no thanks. Our Xiao family can’t accommodate someone as important as you. We’ve already publicly severed ties with Wang Meixia. Whatever happens in the Wang family has nothing to do with me. Your surname is Wang, and mine is Xiao. From now on, don’t call me your sister, and don’t try to claim any relationship with me.”
Xiao Zhenyu was practically sick with anger at Xiao Mandong’s words. It was still the same face, so how had she changed so much in such a short time? No, it hadn’t even been a year—only a few months. Before this, she had written to him, telling him to study hard and stop causing trouble. She had even sent him money. How could she have changed so suddenly?
“Sis, are you angry because Mom had our ties severed in the newspaper? Actually, Mom only did it for my sake. We can explain everything slowly. What matters now is my maternal uncle’s situation. You should hurry and write a letter clarifying things, and tell the factory to stop investigating him. If anything happens to his job, this whole family truly won’t have any way to survive.
“The Xiao family being sent down has nothing to do with my maternal uncle’s family. There’s no reason for us to take our anger out on the Wang family. I know you may still be upset about Mom remarrying, but everyone has their own path to follow. As her children, we have no right to interfere.”
Xiao Zhenyu felt that he had made himself perfectly clear, and that his argument was entirely reasonable. Xiao Mandong ought to be able to see that. In Xiao Zhenyu’s view, the fact that she had waited a whole year before reporting them could only mean that she was angry over her mother’s remarriage—perhaps embarrassed by it. He himself had felt humiliated at the time. He had even thrown a fit at home, and it was only to calm him down that Grandma had revealed the truth about his parentage. At first, Xiao Zhenyu hadn’t dared believe Old Lady Wang’s words, but Wang Meixia had admitted it herself. Back then, he had been grateful to Old Lady Wang, because in the Xiao family, he had received the finest education and enjoyed a comfortable, privileged life.
That had to be it. Xiao Zhenyu was certain his thinking was correct. In those days, getting divorced was a deeply shameful thing. Not only had his mother divorced, she had brought the man she married afterward to their door while pregnant and asked for money. Anyone would have had trouble accepting something like that, at least at first.
Now, Xiao Mandong’s letter of clarification was truly urgent. If Wang Fugui’s conviction became final, the family would lose its steady source of income, and then there would be no way to buy him a job. In that case, he would face being sent to the countryside. He really didn’t want to go. He had been pampered by the Xiao family since childhood and had never suffered hardship. Just thinking about having to do farm work made him shudder.
He had assumed that Xiao Mandong truly cared about him as her younger brother, which was why he had come along. He had thought that, for his sake, Xiao Mandong would certainly not press the matter and would make sure the Wang family continued to treat him well. But he had never imagined that Xiao Mandong didn’t regard him as a brother at all. Instead, her words had been so vicious. Xiao Zhenyu, hot-tempered by nature, was now barely managing to suppress his anger.
“Take it out on the Wang family? Interfere in Wang Meixia’s affairs? You’re imagining things. I simply don’t want the Wang family to have an easy life. I want to watch them fall into misery—the worse off they are, the better.”
“You damned little slut! The things you say are unbelievably vicious. A woman like you would be destined to live as a widow even if you didn’t get divorced. I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Hurry up and write the letter of clarification. There’s so much to deal with at home, and I don’t have time to waste here with you. I’ve already spent plenty on train tickets, food, and lodging coming back and forth, and you’ll have to reimburse me for all of it.”
Li Fengmei had scraped the skin on her head, and her face had been slapped twice. She was irritated and on edge, and at this point she genuinely didn’t want to argue anymore. Things at home were urgent. Once she got the letter, she had to leave immediately and return, without even having time to rest.
“Sis, just write it already. We’re family, after all. Even if you’ve cut ties with us, you don’t have to go this far. Uncle is really desperate.”
“Heh, are you people joking? It took me so much effort to write that report, and it’s about to succeed. Now you want me to withdraw it? I’m not some kind of masochist with nothing better to do than change my mind over and over. Take my advice and go home as soon as possible. Wang Dabao and Erbao may both be sent to the countryside. The weather is turning colder, so you’d better start preparing quilts and padded clothes. If they happen to be assigned to the far northwest, that’s a bitter, frigid wasteland where the wind blows stones across the ground and not a blade of grass can grow. With bodies as soft and delicate as theirs, whether they can survive turning over the Gobi with a hoe every day is anyone’s guess.”
Li Fengmei was so enraged by Xiao Mandong’s words that she stamped her feet. “You heartless girl! How dare you curse your own cousin?”
“Sis, if not for my sake, could you please let Uncle go? If Uncle loses his job, my life with the Wang family will become difficult too.”
Xiao Zhenyu still wanted to make one last appeal. He continued to believe that Xiao Mandong must care about him, the only male heir of the Xiao family.
“Xiao Zhenyu—no, that’s not right. Wang Zhenyu. Don’t you know whose son you really are?”
“Li Fengmei is your real mother, isn’t she? Old Lady Wang wanted you to live a better life, so she switched you into our family. The Xiao family raised you for sixteen years. Isn’t that enough? What I want to know now is: where exactly did your family take my own brother? Your Wang family is truly vicious. You were even capable of doing something as immoral as switching babies.”
Xiao Zhenyu’s face turned deathly pale. He had never imagined that Xiao Mandong actually knew about it.
Xiao Manxue’s eyes widened, and she stood there with her mouth agape, unable to react for a long while. Did her sister mean that Xiao Zhenyu wasn’t really a member of the Xiao family—that he wasn’t their biological younger brother, but a child from the Wang family? Just like what had happened to Director Lin’s family, had the babies been switched?
