Jin Minjia was so angry she could barely catch her breath.
Seeing this, Wu Peihua actually felt a sense of relief and looked approvingly at Chen Liuyue.
“Liuyue, even if you call me Aunt Jin, in your heart you should still treat Teacher Jin as another mother.”
“Got it, Mom.” Chen Liuyue nodded obediently.
Watching the mother and daughter echo each other so harmoniously,
Jin Minjia gritted her teeth in frustration.
She hadn’t expected this child to grow wings and harden her heart, thinking that just because she found her biological parents, she could forget all the years of care and nurturing.
What an ungrateful little brat!
Thankfully, she had heard that her biological daughter was even more outstanding—after all, it was in the genes.
She and Tao Tian had quarreled countless times over their daughter’s poor grades, but now it all made sense: it wasn’t because either of them had an affair, but because the children had been switched at birth.
“Knock knock—” came a knock at the door.
Everyone’s eyes turned expectantly toward the entrance.
Jin Minjia was the first to react, happily saying, “Is my daughter Ruan Ruan here?”
But when the door opened, it was Chen Haotian, dressed in a suit.
He paused slightly as he entered, his eyes scanning the room, and asked, “Is Ruan Ruan not here yet?”
Chen Zhenye stood up.
“This is my eldest son, Haotian.”
He nodded toward Chen Haotian and introduced, “Haotian, call these people ‘Uncle Tao’ and ‘Aunt Jin.’ They are Ruan Ruan’s biological parents.”
Jin Minjia took the initiative, “Just call me Teacher Jin.”
Chen Haotian looked her over with a critical eye, immediately sensing that this older woman had a rather sharp temper.
Then he glanced at Tao Tian. Ruan Ruan resembled him a lot, which made him feel a bit more warmly toward the man.
“Hello, Uncle Tao.”
Tao Tian smiled and stood up. “Hello, Haotian. I’m truly grateful that Ruan Ruan has had you as a brother looking out for her all these years.”
Chen Haotian replied happily, “It’s nothing. Ruan Ruan is my biological sister; it’s only natural I take care of her.”
Wu Peihua watched this scene and suddenly drew a blank, blurting out something.
“Now that I think about it, the switched-at-birth situation does have some benefits.”
“Look at Liuyue—without even realizing it, she’s been an only child for twenty years!”
Chen Liuyue heard Wu Peihua cue her and lifted her head proactively.
She smiled brightly and responded,
“That’s right.”
“But I still have to thank my brother.”
Chen Haotian was caught off guard when she mentioned him suddenly and asked, “What does that have to do with me?”
Chen Liuyue said, “If it weren’t for my brother, I wouldn’t have accidentally been treated as the youngest sister and spoiled by everyone for twenty years!”
There was a sharp edge hidden in her words.
Everyone present was no fool—they clearly caught the meaning behind Chen Liuyue’s tone.
Wu Peihua looked a bit embarrassed and said, “You’re such a kid, always keeping score.”
Jin Minjia, unusually agreeing, said, “Exactly! Our Tao family never treated you unfairly. I’ve personally supervised your studies since you were little.”
Chen Liuyue blinked in confusion.
Shaking her head, she said,
“I’m not keeping score.”
“My brother really is good to Sister Ruan Ruan.”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
“Is there anything wrong with that? I’m very grateful to Dad Tao and Aunt Jin.”
Wu Hongjun frowned at the sight of all the adults ganging up on a little girl and waved his hand.
“Alright, alright! Today is the family reunion. Let’s be happy about it.”
He glanced at Chen Zhenye and said, “Hurry up and call Ruanruan, tell her to come quickly. It wouldn’t look right with a bunch of elders waiting for her.”
Chen Zhenye was a little surprised.
He knew that in the past, his father-in-law had been very fond of Ruanruan. Even if she was late or didn’t show up at all, he wouldn’t have shown any displeasure.
But now…
The way he was patiently and attentively treating Liuyue, and his subtle change in attitude toward Ruanruan…
It seemed he was beginning to reconsider the positions of his two daughters.
“All right, I’ll call her right now.” Chen Zhenye picked up his phone and dialed Chen Ruanruan’s number.
But just then, the doorbell rang from outside.
He brightened and said, “Ruanruan and the others are here.”
The next moment,
The private room door was pushed open, and Chen Ruanruan walked in wearing a delicate lotus-pink dress, looking as gentle as a bird nestled beside a tall, handsome, and strikingly good-looking man.
She was a bit startled to see so many people inside.
But except for a middle-aged couple she didn’t recognize, everyone else was her parents, grandparents, and older brother.
Her heart eased a little.
Her fingers fidgeted as she tugged on the sleeve of the man beside her, whispering, “What should I do, Xuanye? I’m a little scared.”
Qin Xuanye replied with care and tenderness,
“It’s okay. I’ll be here with you to face everything.”
Chen Ruanruan was deeply moved.
That morning, when they met, she had confided in Qin Xuanye about everything she had been through.
She also shared her worries.
Since she wasn’t Chen’s biological daughter, would their engagement be in jeopardy?
Qin Xuanye held her hand warmly and said,
“Whether you’re Chen’s biological daughter or not, you’re still the Chen Ruanruan I know.”
“The engagement won’t change, I promise!”
Only then did Chen Ruanruan finally relax.
At the lunch gathering, Qin Xuanye accompanied her, partly out of concern that she might be bullied by that so-called ‘real heiress.’
After all, although Ruanruan hadn’t spoken ill of the other girl, she hadn’t slept well the previous night, saying she was staying in the guest room and felt uneasy sleeping there.
That alone proved the ‘real heiress’ was no good.
In Qin Xuanye’s mind, he had already decided that the ‘real heiress’ was a scheming, bad woman!
Chen Zhenye invited the two of them to sit down and introduced everyone’s identities.
When Chen Ruanruan faced her biological parents, she hesitated for a long time before finally saying,
“Uncle Tao, Teacher Jin, hello.”
Tao Tian was very pleased, seeing that his daughter looked exactly like him.
Jin Minjia, although displeased, didn’t say much—after all, this was her own biological daughter, and she seemed much smarter than Chen Liuyue.
Then Chen Zhenye introduced Qin Xuanye,
“Xiao Qin, this is Ruanruan’s younger sister, also our daughter, Chen Liuyue.”
Qin Xuanye’s gaze fell on that delicate, charming face, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he was stunned.
Such familiar features.
That carefully crafted smile.
One he would never forget in his life!
Tao Liuyue!
It was her!
No wonder he found the surname Tao so familiar when Tao Tian introduced himself earlier.
Chen Liuyue stared fixedly at Qin Xuanye, raising her eyebrows and curling her lips into a sweet smile.
She called out,
“Hello, brother-in-law.”
