CH 73

The news of Jiang Chen winning the gold award in the math competition and receiving two early admission notices spread to all the major high schools in Yan City in one day as if they had grown wings.

In an instant, there were posts related to this in the forums of various schools. Among them, a hot post on the student forum of Chenghua Private High School was the most popular, the title being as followed: “Choose Yan Uni or Hua Uni? According to inside information, God Jiang didn’t choose either, he chose——”

The words were cut off halfway, and most people couldn’t hold back their curiosity and clicked in. Then, they saw the word: “Me” and a candid shot of Jiang Chen’s face in profile in the first comment. While the second comment was: “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh God Jiang look at me!!!”. And the third comment consisted of several more candid photos.

The people who felt cheated couldn’t help booing, but there were also some girls who contributed their own stash of photos, which led to level upon level of ahhhhhh on the comment wall. With curses and ahhhh coexisting, all of a sudden the comment wall reached the hundreds, and it was hung on the homepage for a while and did not go down, but it was also not considered a hot post.

Up to the 300th comment, a commenter said: “The photo on the 166th comment, if not for the noisy background and too many people, it could be a family portrait.”

At first, the following comments were still full of cursing and photos. But after a few minutes, many people who turned back to the 166th comment out of curiosity came back, and the style of the comments below changed.

379th: “If you didn’t point it out I wouldn’t have noticed, but after you did now it really seems like it.”

380th: It’s not just similar, it’s practically printed from a mold, right?

381st: “It feels a little strange…..how can people who have no blood relationship look so alike?”

382nd: “T̶r̶u̶e̶ family portrait, if I didn’t know that He Qianjian in our class is He Qianmin and He Qianyu’s older brother, I would really think that Jiang Chen and them are a family of five.”

383rd: “Upstairs, what are you guys talking about?”

384th: “Replying to comment 383. I recommend you look at comment 351, and then go to the second page to look at comment 166.”

Most people who didn’t get it saw this and turned forward according to the prompts. After reading what was said on the 351st comment, they still felt confused, but when they saw the photo on the 166th comment, the confusion was now mixed with some other subtle feeling.

The 166th comment was a photo. The background of the photo was the street in front of Yan No. 1. It was probably taken secretly so the distance was a bit far away, but the picture was very clear: two teenage boys were facing the camera sideways, one slightly pursed his lips and the other slightly curled his lips upwards. The boy who pursed his lips had a straight face and crossed arms, while the boy who smiled gently looked down at the little girl holding his arms. The girl had her head raised with a bright smile seemingly saying something. Not far away, there was a couple with outstanding aura standing there, looking at the three of them with smiles on their faces.

Not sure if it was due to a preconceived notion or not, all those who turned back to see this photo would unconsciously have two words float up in their minds: family portrait.

390th: “I just discovered that He Qianmin and Jiang Chen actually look so much alike.”

391st: “Oh my god, this is too much alike, and it’s not just He Qianmin, he also looks like the little sister. The eyes of the sister and God Jiang’s eyes are practically printed out of the same mold.”

392nd: “[Photo] Facts have proved that not only do He Qianmin and Jiang Chen look alike, but Jiang Chen’s appearance is a combination of Mr. He and Mrs. He. I photoshopped Jiang Chen, Mr. He and Mrs. He together, everyone look at the red and blue circles I drew. The red circles are where Jiang Chen and Mrs. He are alike, and the blue line circles are where Jiang Chen and CEO He are alike. What is the relationship between Jiang Chen and the He family? Feel free to testify.”

393rd: “The brother upstairs, you are amazing.”

394th: “Simply put, the eyebrows and eyes are almost exactly the same as Mr. He’s. Although there is only one dimple at the corner of the mouth, that tall nose bridge and delicate lip shape really look like Mrs. He’s. *whisper* Why is it that after comparing, I suddenly find that only He Qianjian doesn’t look like the He family…..”

395th: “*whisper* agreed…..”

396th: “+10000086”

397th: “You guys are really brave, but…..I dare not say it.”

398th: “I have a bold idea. If He Qianjian and Jiang Chen’s identities are switched, everything would make sense.”

399th: “Upstairs is indeed bold [cup fists]”

400th: “The comment section has gone off the rails a bit.”

401st: “[Photo][Photo] Jiang Chen’s family portrait and the He family portrait, I switched He Qianjian and Jiang Chen, and the result——I feel like I’ve discovered some big secret.”

402nd: “Hot damn!”

403rd: “What’s going on…..Oh my God, I have an idea in my mind, but I don’t dare to think about it, it’s too dramatic.”

404th: “I suspect that upstairs has the same idea as me.”

405th: “+1”

406th: “There is no evidence but you guys are just blindly guessing here. Don’t you know that it can easily affect the two parties involved. If it is false, will you take responsibility?”

407th: “What more evidence do you need? The above two photos are not enough?”

408th: “What if it is true? Maybe the He family will even have to thank us.”

409th: “I know what evidence upstairs wants, but I just want to know, can the He family see this post? If they see it, they will definitely go investigate it…..”

410th: “If He Qianjian isn’t one of the He family…..”

411th: “Damn, after scrolling down the comments, I feel like I have witnessed a big gossip about a wealthy family, I must save this post, and wait for the result!”

……

In less than an hour, this post had reached more than a thousand comments, and the popularity continued to simmer on the homepage for a long time. The news soon spread by word of mouth and by the time school was over, this post had been known to almost everyone in Chenghua.

He Qianjian only found out about this post after school. Today was the day when the results of the math competition came out. Although he had prepared himself mentally when he gave up on the exam, when he learned that Jiang Chen was admitted to Yan University and Hua University at the same time, he still couldn’t hide his dark mood.

Sitting in the classroom, all he could hear were the others discussing which school Jiang Chen would choose. When they mentioned him, their tone was full of admiration and envy. Occasionally, there would be a few cryptic glances with unclear meanings cast over at him. He Qianjian didn’t want to know what was going on behind their eyes. And he was even more unwilling to continue to hear about Jiang Chen, so he asked for leave and went to the infirmary with the excuse that he was not feeling well. He didn’t go back to the classroom to pick up his schoolbag until after school.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the classroom, the students who hadn’t left all looked at him. These people had varying expressions, and the look in their eyes was different from when they looked at him in the afternoon. For no reason, He Qianjian felt a sense of unease in his heart.

Soon, a mobile phone handed over by a boy with whom he had a good relationship proved his intuition.

He Qianjian quickly pressed the down button on the slider phone. Amid the clicking sound, the calm expression that he had originally maintained became harder to conceal the farther he scrolled down. By the time he reached the fourth page, the veins on his wrists were already bulging, his complexion switched from blue to pale, and he almost broke the slider phone in his hand.

A classmate not far away lowered his voice and said to his deskmate: “I’ve never seen He Qianjian with such an ugly expression.”

The deskmate covered his mouth with his hand and leaned over, lowering his voice: “If the post is true, his expression would be a hundred times uglier than this…..”

“Then he might go crazy——”

With a bang, the phone hit the ground and shattered.

The owner of the mobile phone stared wide-eyed, and said anxiously: “He Qianjian, what do you mean by taking your anger out on my mobile phone? Do you know that this is a new one I just bought——”

“Shut up!”

He Qianjian yelled angrily. He clenched his hands into fists, his chest heaved violently, and his eyes were so dark that they were almost poisonous.

The boy whose phone was smashed was holding a mouth full of swear words, but when he saw this, he took a step back and swallowed all the words that came to his lips. The others were also startled by He Qianjian’s expression at this time. For a while, the classroom was so quiet that only He Qianjian’s rapid breathing could be heard.

After about half a minute, He Qianjian thought of who knew what, and he rushed out, leaving behind a quickly disappearing figure to the students in his class.

A girl patted her chest with lingering fear: “Oh my god, He Qianjian’s expression just now, I thought he was going to kill someone.”

“I was also shocked.” Another person said: “I’ve never seen him like this before. Is that post real or fake?”

“Even if it’s true, He Qianjian himself probably doesn’t know it. Anyone who sees someone saying that he is not his parents’ child should find it hard to accept.”

“That isn’t an expression of one unable to accept the truth, is it?” A boy made a gesture of cutting his neck: “I think it looks more like one who wants to commit murder and hide the truth.”

“Say…..is He Qianjian really…..”

“In terms of physical appearance, he really doesn’t look like the rest of the He family, but this kind of thing is uncertain. I think those people are just blindly analyzing things. Even with the conditions in my family, I have to take a physical examination every year, let alone the He family. If He Qianjian is really not one of the He family, it should have been discovered by now.”

“That’s true…..”

“Okay, it’s none of our business anyway, it’s almost seven o’clock, and it’s going to be evening self-study soon, it’ll be too late if we don’t eat now.”

……

It was already eight o’clock in the evening when Jiang Chen found out about this post.

He seldom spent time with He Qianmin during this time, and today he happened to be free. After having dinner with He Qianmin, he helped him check the Olympiad questions accumulated during this period in his rented apartment and helped explain the problems that he found difficult.

When Jiang Chen was checking the test book and He Qianmin was doing the test questions, the mobile phone next to him buzzed from time to time.

“Let’s take a break.” Jiang Chen put down the test book and said, “Your phone keeps buzzing, maybe someone is looking for you urgently, so you should reply first.”

He Qianmin didn’t care: “What can it be? Just talking nonsense every day, I might as well do a few more questions.”

Jiang Chen took away his pen, and said in a firm tone, “Take a break.”

He Qianmin picked up the phone obediently, but did not look at the screen: “Big Brother, are you going to choose Hua Unu or Yan Uni?”

“Yan Uni.”

“I guessed it.” He Qianmin raised his brows, and said in a rather smug tone: “I will also choose Yan Uni at that time.”

Jiang Chen smiled: “I’ll be waiting for you.”

He Qianmin casually glanced at the screen, and complained while typing: “I just knew it’s nothing important, it’s something from Chenghua’s post forum. They sent me a post before, so boring. I don’t even——”

His voice stopped abruptly, and Jiang Chen asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

He Qianmin shook his head and stared at the post. It was not until a few minutes later that he raised his head and stared at Jiang Chen closely, as if he could see a flower growing on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Chen noticed that He Qianmin’s expression was strange, and asked.

He Qianmin didn’t speak, but handed the phone to Jiang Chen.

What Jiang Chen saw was the fourth page that He Qianmin had just turned to. He didn’t need to turn forward any further to know the reason for He Qianmin’s weird expression.

“Big Brother…..” He Qianmin looked at Jiang Chen without blinking, his voice a little excited: “Is it possible that this post is true?”

Jiang Chen lowered his eyes and said, “What do you think?”

The excitement when he read the post for the first time gradually calmed down, and He Qianmin shook his head: “I don’t know…..”

He hoped it was true, but he heard that when He Qianjian was born, because his grandfather did not approve of his parents’ marriage, when the family accepted his mother, He Qianjian did a paternity test. At that time, He Qianjian was only three months old. Even if the hospital made a mistake, the result of the paternity test could not be wrong.

Seeing his depressed expression, Jiang Chen rubbed his head, and said in a gentle voice, “Whether we are related by blood or not, I regard you as my own younger brother, and I believe you are the same. If so, why bother with this?”

He Qianmin pursed his lips, and nodded after a few seconds of silence. He picked up the phone and said, “I’m going to send this post to my dad, whether it’s true or not, this matter has become a bit big, I have to…..” He paused, turned the phone screen to Jiang Chen, and said, “The post got deleted.”

Jiang Chen’s eyes fell on the words “this post has been deleted”, and the doubts in his heart disappeared. It seemed that He Qianjian just saw this post.

He Qianmin frowned: “I haven’t sent it to my dad yet…..Big Brother, who do you think deleted it?”

“This question can be discussed after you finish these few math problems.” Jiang Chen took the question booklet, put it in front of He Qianmin, raised his watch and looked at the time: “Sixty minutes, I’ve started counting.”

“Big Brother…” 

Jiang Chen raised his eyes, and He Qianmin pursed his lips tightly: “Okay.”