CH 053

TL: Moonlit

The fair and cute young boy slightly opened his lips and hesitated for a few minutes before stammering, “Are you, are you okay?”

His tone carried a hint of strange disappointment.

Lying on the ground, the small gangsters helped each other up as the lead one gritted his teeth and threatened, “Jiang Tian, you better wait for me!”

After uttering these words, the small gangsters stumbled away, and when passing by the young boy, they deliberately bumped into him.

The slender boy staggered from the impact, and a thin layer of mist quickly formed in his eyes. He pouted and looked at Lin Hanchuan with a blend of anger and resentment.

Lin Hanchuan felt goosebumps all over his body under that gaze and quickly looked up information about this world.

This world was named “After the Identity Exposure, the Fake Young Master Became the Darling of the Group.” The protagonist, Jiang Tian, was the real young master whose identity was swapped, while the protagonist, the receiver, was the one who took over Jiang Tian’s life, named Zhou Yuntang.

After Jiang Tian transferred to Zhou Yuntang’s school, Zhou Yuntang had the same dream for several consecutive days: he dreamt that he was not the real young master of the Zhou family but just a fake one.

After discovering the truth, his four brothers, who used to dote on him, immediately changed their attitudes, and his parents, who always granted his every wish, now treated him with indifference. Everyone only cared about the real young master, Jiang Tian, and ignored him.

Not willing to accept this, Zhou Yuntang tried everything to please the real young master, Jiang Tian, hoping that if he got along well with Jiang Tian, his brothers wouldn’t dislike him anymore. He thought that if Jiang Tian were in his position, he would understand, too.

This was the reason why Zhou Yuntang, the little young master, stood here.

From his dreams, he learned that Jiang Tian’s father was a gambler who owed a lot of money. Debt collectors cornered Jiang Tian in a small alley and beat him up, leaving him with injuries for several days.

Originally, Zhou Yuntang planned to act like a “rescue hero” during the gangsters’ attack, pretend to call the police to scare them away, and then rescue Jiang Tian. He would take care of him from time to time, share his belongings, and gain Jiang Tian’s gratitude. When Jiang Tian was recognized, maybe his brothers would continue to treat him well, considering him the savior of Jiang Tian’s life.

However…

Zhou Yuntang didn’t know why the plot didn’t match his dreams. He adjusted his mindset and tried to smile at Jiang Tian. His innocent and obedient little face looked up at him, “Hello, classmate Jiang Tian. I’m Zhou Yuntang, your…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Hanchuan walked past him without even giving him a glance.

Zhou Yuntang stood still, gazing blankly at Lin Hanchuan’s departing figure, his eyes gradually turning red.

Seeing Zhou Yuntang from a distance, the driver who had been following him hurriedly walked up to him and asked, “Young Master, are you alright?”

Zhou Yuntang snapped back to reality, shook his head, and said with determination, “I’m fine.”

Seeing Zhou Yuntang’s pitiful appearance, the driver’s heart softened. Originally, he didn’t want Zhou Yuntang to have any interaction with people from this impoverished neighborhood. But since the noble young master from the Zhou family personally came to show goodwill, how could this little hooligan from the slums dare to ignore him? The driver felt somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Tian’s behavior.

Lin Hanchuan walked past without looking sideways, and the plot in the original text made his head ache.

In the original text, after discovering the truth, Zhou Yuntang began to please Jiang Tian on his own. However, they were not from the same world, and Jiang Tian completely ignored his attempts to get close to him.

Before Zhou Yuntang could do or say anything, his friends and followers couldn’t bear to watch any longer. They targeted Jiang Tian in secret, isolating him, verbally bullying him, and even resorting to group violence—it was a common occurrence. As a result, Jiang Tian became even more cold and indifferent towards Zhou Yuntang.

It was a vicious cycle.

Even after Jiang Tian’s true identity was exposed, and he was taken back to the Zhou family, the situation escalated instead of calming down.

Zhou Yuntang’s wealthy friends thought Jiang Tian was scheming and defended Zhou Yuntang; the four brothers in the Zhou family only cared about Zhou Yuntang and treated Jiang Tian with indifference; Zhou Yuntang’s parents did feel some sympathy for Jiang Tian, who had suffered outside for seventeen years, but whenever Jiang Tian and Zhou Yuntang had a disagreement, their subconscious instinct was to protect the obedient and gentle Zhou Yuntang.

Yet Zhou Yuntang continued to approach Jiang Tian unknowingly, integrating him into an incompatible circle, preparing food that Jiang Tian didn’t like, and buying expensive clothes and jewelry that he didn’t need. Every time Jiang Tian refused, Zhou Yuntang would sit in a visible corner and sob softly, as if Jiang Tian had done something unforgivable.

At such times, Jiang Tian would be severely scolded by his family.

Clearly, the true young master of the Zhou family, Jiang Tian, lived like an outsider.

Jiang Tian loathed Zhou Yuntang, and his feelings were well-known to everyone. Until Zhou Yuntang finally became cold-hearted, no longer seeking Jiang Tian’s approval, and chose to attend another city’s university after the college entrance examination, Jiang Tian suddenly realized that in his gloomy and oppressive life, Zhou Yuntang was the only source of sweetness on his taste buds.

After that, despite being the top scorer in the college entrance examination, Jiang Tian gave up his original prestigious university to follow Zhou Yuntang to his school.

[“Chuan… Host, what’s wrong with you?”] 001 observed Lin Hanchuan’s cold expression and asked timidly.

Lin Hanchuan raised his eyes and, upon seeing these words, could feel the suffocation of this seventeen-year-old youth. He had experienced the most painful despair during the best years of his life.

The bullying that Jiang Tian endured made him angry, but what infuriated him the most was that after everyone detested him, he regarded the perpetrator of the false tenderness as his only support and gave up a bright future for it.

In Jiang Tian’s memory, there was no mother. He lived with his father, who was addicted to domestic violence and gambling. He never experienced the warmth of a family, only violence and poverty surrounded him.

In the bleak and dim life, the only thing that could bring Jiang Tian some relief was studying.

Jiang Tian held back his anger. He had nothing, and the only way to escape this quagmire and stay away from everything he hated was through good academic performance.

The filthy and cramped home, the alcohol-soaked father, and the fists that would fall on him at any time…

Just before the start of the new semester, a prestigious school was interested in Jiang Tian’s grades and offered him a high scholarship and a full waiver of tuition to transfer there.

Regarding this opportunity, Jiang Tian had no reason to refuse. No matter where he studied, it was the same for him, and the prestigious school also offered a high scholarship, so why not take it?

He didn’t know that the future and dreams he had been longing for would be shattered the moment he stepped into that prestigious school. He was destined to give up everything for Zhou Yuntang.

In the sweet and happy ending in the original text, Jiang Tian and Zhou Yuntang lived together in bliss, with Zhou Yuntang’s four non-blood-related brothers feeling jealous and guarding against any man around Zhou Yuntang. Jiang Tian became known as the “king of jealousy” and enjoyed the playful teasing.

However, he completely forgot about his dream of becoming a scientist, and his heart and mind were filled only with Zhou Yuntang.

With a gentle sigh, Lin Hanchuan’s eyes showed pity as he left Zhou Yuntang behind.

After walking for more than ten minutes, Lin Hanchuan returned to Jiang Tian’s “home,” and he unconsciously furrowed his eyebrows.

Having seen the layout of the house in Jiang Tian’s memory, Lin Hanchuan only truly felt how much more cramped and narrow this dwelling was when he stepped inside.

The bedroom was the alcoholic father’s room, and Jiang Tian didn’t have a separate room. His bed was placed in a corner of the living room, surrounded by clutter and debris that made Lin Hanchuan worry that something might fall and hit him while he slept.

The cramped room was stuffed to the brim, with only that bed being Jiang Tian’s only “territory.” Even when doing homework, he would stack a few textbooks together and write while lying on the bed.

He had originally hung a tattered bedsheet on the wall as a makeshift curtain to preserve some privacy, but the next day, the alcoholic father tore it down and gave him a violent beating.

Since then, Jiang Tian’s bed remained bare and exposed in the corner, visible to anyone entering the room.

Looking around, there were several empty beer bottles scattered on the floor, and some spilled alcohol, along with the large footprints of adult men.

[“It’s so small,”] remarked 001 as it flew around the room. It had never seen such a small and messy living space before, and its tone was full of emotion, [“What kind of life has Jiang Tian been living?”]

Lin Hanchuan remained silent for a few seconds, making a decision in his heart. He rummaged through Jiang Tian’s bed, packed his textbooks and a few clothes into a backpack, and then moved the bed to find a small envelope hidden under the bed’s edge against the wall.

Opening it, the thick envelope contained several thousand yuan—Jiang Tian’s hard-earned savings for his school fees.

Footsteps echoed from outside the bedroom, and Lin Hanchuan calmly tucked the envelope into his backpack.

The bedroom door opened, and a thin, shriveled middle-aged man stepped out, his footsteps unsteady, and his mind still somewhat intoxicated. “You little brat, why haven’t you started cooking yet?”

Lin Hanchuan paid him no attention and walked towards the door.

Seeing that Lin Hanchuan ignored him, the man slapped him, “You damn brat, I told you to cook, but you’re trying to escape, do you want me to starve to death…”

Lin Hanchuan easily dodged the slap, and looked coldly at the man, “It’d be even better if you starved to death, it would lessen the burden on the country.”

“You little brat, getting all sassy now that you’ve grown wings, huh!” After a dozen seconds of delay caused by alcohol affecting his brain, the man flew into a rage and picked up a clothes-drying pole nearby, swinging it with a loud whoosh. He felt that in the past two years, this brat had become disobedient and dared to resist.

In the past, he could curse at will, and after cursing, the person being cursed would still obediently cook for him. In the past, he could hit without consequence, but now the brat dared to fight back. Two years of new grievances and old resentments piled up together, and the man’s anger surged. He swore that today he would make this brat submit and never dare to contradict him again.

Before his little scheme in mind could be completed, Lin Hanchuan grabbed hold of the clothes-drying pole and yanked it fiercely, causing the man to stumble as well.

Lin Hanchuan rarely resorted to physical violence unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, he seldom went all out. But thinking about the countless times Jiang Tian had been beaten according to his memories, the fact that this man stole Jiang Tian’s hard-earned scholarship money for gambling, and that Jiang Tian had to cook for him at such a young age…

This time, Lin Hanchuan showed no mercy. He grabbed the man’s hand with one hand and pressed down forcefully, pinning him to the ground. The arm emitted a sound that made one’s teeth ache.

Before the man could react, his right arm had already dislocated.

In the instant that excruciating pain hit his brain, the man howled in agony, and tears and snot streamed down uncontrollably. Amidst his cries and pleas, the man faintly heard Lin Hanchuan’s cold voice.

“I’m leaving. If you dare to come looking for me, I will make you wish you were dead.”

Lin Hanchuan was not the seventeen-year-old Jiang Tian. He had plenty of ways to make this man pay the price.

The man’s heart trembled, feeling inexplicably that this statement wasn’t a warning but rather… a matter-of-fact declaration.

Lying on the ground, the man heard the fading footsteps of Lin Hanchuan. Some neighbors, alarmed by the commotion, came over to check on the situation. Seeing the man on the ground, they were taken aback and hurriedly helped him up, “What happened to you? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

The man’s eyes were vacant, and he paid no attention to them.

At that moment when the silent and aloof ‘son’ from before had erupted with such a formidable aura, he had only seen such a presence at the Zhou family… Perhaps after a long absence, he suddenly felt that this half-grown young man’s aura was even stronger than that of the Zhou family’s patriarch.

Could it be that the truth had been exposed? The man trembled, contemplating the years he had spent manipulating Jiang Tian, and for the first time, he felt fear.