CH 066

TL: Moonlit

“What do you mean?” The eldest brother of the Zhou family furrowed his brows, accusing coldly, “Even if your life is miserable, it has nothing to do with Tiantian. In this incident, he is also a victim.”

Hearing Lin Hanchuan’s words, Mother Zhou’s expression showed a hint of emotion. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.

“A victim?” Lin Hanchuan raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. With an innocent face, expensive tailored clothes, and valuable accessories around his neck, he chuckled, “A pampered victim?”

This mocking smile carried a strong sense of sarcasm. Zhou Yuntang timidly took a step back, avoiding his gaze. “Big brother, he’s right. Everything is my fault…”

“If I were dead, it would be better.”

Everyone was stunned. The disappointment that Mother Zhou initially felt after hearing Lin Hanchuan’s words vanished instantly, and she said disappointedly, “Jiang Tiang, even if Tangtang unintentionally took something from you, he was planning to return it. Do you have to force him to death?”

Everyone surrounded Zhou Yuntang, who was silently shedding tears, and their gazes toward Lin Hanchuan became wary and disgusted, as if he had committed an unforgivable sin.

Lin Hanchuan was experiencing this plot for the first time, but he was already familiar with it. In the original text, Zhou Yuntang was extremely skilled at retreating to advance. Whenever Jiang Tian was unhappy about something, he would stay in a place where everyone could see him and shed tears until Jiang Tian was pressed to apologize, ending the conflict.

Thinking of Jiang Tian’s experiences, Lin Hanchuan lowered his eyes. “If he really went so far as to die, I would admire him a bit.”

Unfortunately, Zhou Yuntang treasured his life more than anyone.

“Jiang Tian!” The second brother of the Zhou family, whose eyes were said to be as charming as peach blossoms, was filled with anger. He glared fiercely at Lin Hanchuan and said, “Letting you return to the Zhou family was already a generous offer. You really don’t know what’s good for you. How dare you treat Tangtang this way!”

The others did not object, showing that they all thought the same, at least not voicing their opinions.

The Zhou family members all clustered around Zhou Yuntang, while Lin Hanchuan stood alone on the opposite side, as if he were an outsider – which, in fact, he truly was.

No longer watching the busy Zhou family members consoling each other, Lin Hanchuan left unnoticed. No one paid attention to when he left.

The first person to notice that Lin Hanchuan was gone was Zhou Yuntang.

Having obtained the attention of the Zhou family members with his tears, Zhou Yuntang felt complacent and wanted to show off to Lin Hanchuan. But as he looked around and didn’t see anyone, he realized that Lin Hanchuan had left.

Mother Zhou was stunned.

After all, he was a piece of flesh that had fallen from her body, lost for seventeen years. In the entire Zhou family, she was the only one who sincerely wanted Lin Hanchuan to come back home.

But…Mother Zhou looked at Zhou Yuntang, who was crying with red eyes, and then looked in the direction where Lin Hanchuan had left. Her heart was in turmoil, tangled into a mess.

One was her biological son who had been lost for seventeen years and had suffered in the slums. The other was the son she had taken care of, raising him into a cute and obedient little boy. She couldn’t bear to part with either of them.

Seeing Mother Zhou’s hesitation, Zhou Yuntang’s eyes dimmed. Pouting his lips, he said sadly, “Mom, do you love him more…? If you want him to stay, you can have big brother pick him up from school, and I’ll move out tomorrow…”

“Tangtang, don’t talk nonsense!” Mother Zhou instantly snapped back to reality. “He is my son, and so are you. There’s no reason for me to bring him back and drive you away.”

Zhou Yuntang lowered his head, and even the curls on his head seemed pitiful and helpless. “But he said that we can only keep one…”

Mother Zhou fell silent.

“Mom.” The third brother of the Zhou family, Zhou Yushu, spoke up. He is a renowned professor at a prestigious university, and besides his eldest brother, Mother Zhou listens to him the most. “After knowing the truth, I went to see him.”

Zhou Yushu deliberately avoided mentioning that he had used two million to send someone away. He only said, “He was studying at Nanping High School and was bullying his classmates.”

“How could it be!” Mother Zhou was both shocked and angry. “How could he do such a thing!”

Pushing his glasses up, the third brother of the Zhou family continued, “He grew up in a slum, raised by a person who is a jack of all vices – drinking, whoring, gambling, and indulging in all sorts of bad habits. Growing up under such influence, it’s not surprising that he turned out twisted.”

The eldest brother of the Zhou family chimed in, “The fact that he could say something like wanting us to drive away Tangtang shows his true nature. He is too greedy and arrogant. If we accept him back into the family, he will inevitably become a wastrel and eventually bring trouble to the Zhou family.”

All the sons agreed with this opinion. Thinking again about Lin Hanchuan’s insistence on the condition of choosing one of them, Mother Zhou sighed deeply, “What should we do? We can’t just leave him outside the family forever and let him continue living outside.”

The Zhou family brothers glanced at each other, and finally, the Zhou family’s eldest brother hammered out, “Firstly, there is no hurry to take him back, put him outside to wear down his temperament, and when he knows that the Zhou family doesn’t have to have him back, he will naturally learn his lesson.”

After exchanging glances, the brothers of the Zhou family, and finally the eldest brother, decisively said, “Let’s not rush to bring him back home. Let him stay outside for a while to temper his character. Once he realizes that we don’t desperately want him back, he will naturally behave better.”

Seeing the decision made, Mother Zhou was undecided and subconsciously looked at Father Zhou, who had long stopped handling family matters and always deferred to the eldest son’s decisions. He nodded and said, “Let’s follow Gao Dan’s suggestion.”

With this decision made, the matter was settled.

As Zhou YunTang listened to the adults’ arrangement, he couldn’t help but let a faint smile appear on his lips, but he quickly suppressed his joy.

For Lin Hanchuan, the reason he agreed to visit the Zhou family was merely to see if they were the same as depicted in the original text. After this encounter, he understood that there was no difference between reality and the novel.

The Zhou family didn’t welcome him, and Lin Hanchuan didn’t mind. He had no intention of going to the Zhou family in the first place, just like Jiang Tian, trapped in a quagmire of entanglement and constant power struggles.

Back at school, Lin Hanchuan was surprised to find that Wan Li Shuang was actually studying.

Wan Li Shuang was not stupid; he was just used to laziness and didn’t like to put effort into things. He needed Lin Hanchuan to push him hard to get him to work. When Lian Hanchuan left, he casually told Wan Li Shuang to study Chinese, not expecting much.

However, upon returning, Lin Hanchuan found Wan Li Shuang sitting at his desk with an open Chinese textbook. His phone was placed aside, and it seemed like it had been a while since he last used it.

“You’re working so hard?” Lin Hanchuan approached and looked at Wan Li Shuang’s progress, which was slow, almost like a snail, but he didn’t get angry. Instead, he praised, “You’re quite diligent today, worthy of praise.”

Wan Li Shuang blushed slightly with embarrassment and changed the subject, asking, “How are you? What did the people in the Zhou family say?”

Since Lin Hanchuan followed the fourth brother of the Zhou family, Wan Li Shuang had been anxious. He worried that Lin Hanchuan might be bullied or that Zhou YunTang’s attitude might cause him trouble. He even worried that some extreme brother-cons would secretly scheme against Lin Hanchuan. With these thoughts occupying his mind, he couldn’t focus on playing games, so he finally got up from the bed and started studying while worrying.

Lin Hanchuan’s eyes slightly chilled as he said, “I asked them to choose between me and Zhou Yuntang.”

“Then they must have chosen you! You are the true young master of the Zhou family!” Wan Li Shuang said without hesitation.

Lin Hanchuan’s tone remained flat, “The Zhou family doesn’t think that way.”

“…” Wan Li Shuang inwardly cursed, “What the heck?”

Being mistaken for something less valuable while the real gem was treated poorly, Wan Li Shuang was infuriated.

Putting himself in Lin Hanchuan and Zhou Yuntang’s shoes, if he were the true young master, and after returning to the Wan family, he found the fake young master being pampered and loved by his parents while he was ignored, he would undoubtedly go all out to compete and fight with the fake young master, determined to settle the score once and for all.

If he were the fake young master, he would feel ashamed for taking someone else’s life and position. He would not have the face to continue living in the family, and he would find a new place to stay, leaving the original young master to reclaim his rightful identity and have the space to bond with their parents.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuntang not only stayed in the Zhou family without any remorse, but also drove away the true young master.

Wan Li Shuang gnashed his teeth in anger, wishing he could bite a piece of flesh off Zhou Yuntang. He was just imagining the scenario and was already upset, let alone the person directly involved.

“Don’t worry about me.” Lin Hanchuan pushed aside Wan Li Shuang’s furrowed brows and smoothed the creases, “I’m not the type to swallow my grievances.”

Lin Hanchuan wasn’t the original owner, he wasn’t Jiang Tian, a powerless individual at the mercy of the Zhou family. He was Lin Hanchuan, a business magnate who could seek revenge, even if it took ten years. And he was planning to take revenge on the same night.

The next day, when Zhou Yuntang went to school, he felt that some classmates’ gazes were odd. He had been the center of attention before, attracting various types of looks from people, but this time… something felt off.

Those eyes didn’t seem like those of someone looking at a cute mascot or someone admiring with envy. Instead, they seemed filled with gossip and curiosity, as if they were looking at a monkey doing tricks.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Yuntang bit his lip and asked the person beside him.

Li Yuan had gone bankrupt and had no way to continue attending Nanping High School. He had transferred to another school, completely disappearing from everyone’s sight. Soon after, a new group of people gathered around Zhou Yuntang, flattering him, as if Li Yuan had never existed.

The person beside him touched his head, not entirely sure, “I’ll ask around.”

With so much happening recently, Zhou Yuntang was becoming more sensitive, and he had a subconscious feeling that this might be related to Lin Hanchuan.

After attending a few classes, not only the students from other classes but even his classmates started to give him strange looks. Their intense gazes made Zhou Yuntang feel uncomfortable, and he wanted to slap those people in the face to make them stop looking at him like that.

But Zhou Yuntang couldn’t dare to do that. He always maintained a gentle and harmless image to the outside world, and he couldn’t let small incidents ruin his reputation.

At times like this, Zhou Yuntang really missed Li Yuan. In the eyes of others, Li Yuan might have been overbearing and unreasonable, but to Zhou Yuntang, he was the best “partner.” If Li Yuan were still around, he would have already taken those people away and taught them a lesson.

While thinking this way, Zhou Yuntang discreetly glanced at his new follower and couldn’t help feeling somewhat disgusted.

“Young Master Zhou,” someone from the followers handed him a phone, and their expression also seemed strange. In a dry tone, they said, “There’s a post on our school forum… someone posted something.”

What does it have to do with me? Zhou Yuntang received the phone with suspicion and casually glanced at it. Suddenly, his whole body stiffened.

Nanping High School gathered the elites from the entire city. Although it was a high school, there were seniors with extraordinary skills who registered a website and created a forum. This forum became the platform for all high schools in Nanping, and its popularity rivaled that of a small-scale social networking site.

Now, on the gossip section of this forum, there was a sea of hot posts, and almost every popular thread mentioned Zhou Yuntang. Apart from addressing him by his full name, there were nicknames like “Zyt,” “Young Master Zhou from the Zhou Family,” “that person from the Zhou Family,” and “Nanping’s Beloved.”

#What Should ZYT Do From Now On?#

#The Zhou Family’s Young Master is Not the Biological Son. Who is the Real Young Master? Does Anyone Know the Answer?#

#Without the Zhou Family, Is Nanping’s Beloved Still Beloved? Can Nanping Students Clarify the Doubts?#

#After Knowing Zhou Yuntang’s Identity, Will Those Brothers Who Adored Him Still Adore Him? Can Pursuers Act More Boldly Now?#

Clicking into those sensationalist threads, the discussions inside were even more audacious and unrestrained, with no restraint. In the past, these posts used to praise how cute Zhou Yuntang was, but now they were mocking the spectacle, not considering the gravity of the situation.

⌈Is ZYT really a fake Young Master? This kind of mix-up only happens in the news, right…?⌋

⌈I don’t know. The Zhou family is a big and prosperous business. Even if they have children, they would definitely go to an advanced private hospital where it costs tens of thousands of yuan to stay for a day. How could they possibly mix up a child like an ordinary person?⌋

⌈ZYT is so popular, I didn’t dare to say it before, but now I can finally say it: Am I the only one who finds him phony?⌋

⌈You’re overthinking it. He’s the Zhou family’s young master. Whatever he wants, he can get it just by snapping his fingers. Why would he need to resort to lowly tricks?⌋

⌈Upstairs, be careful with your words. It’s ‘former’ Zhou Family’s Young Master. Now we’re not sure if he really is or not.⌋

Zhou Yuntang only glanced at a few of them, and his face turned as pale as snow, draining every bit of color from it. He tightly gripped the phone, and his knuckles turned white with force. Overnight, it seemed as if he had fallen from the sky to the ground.

The gazes of the people around him felt like sharp blades, stabbing into his heart. He turned away in disarray, wanting to cry. But now, without his brothers and without Li Yuan, there would be no one to feel sorry for his tears, only more excited and gloating looks.