CH 067

TL: Moonlit

Zhou Yuntang’s whole body was trembling. He had always been the pride of the heavens, the young master everyone adored and held in their palms. When had he ever been humiliated like this?

He kept his head down, even though he couldn’t see the curious and gossiping expressions of his classmates, he could still feel the piercing gazes on him.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but Zhou Yuntang didn’t show anything. He maintained a cold expression, but the whispers around him continued without pause.

“Do you think he’s really a fake Young Master?”

“Who would believe online rumors… But he does seem different from the Zhou family.”

“He seems strange today, like a different person.”

“He’s not smiling, not cute anymore.”

Zhou Yuntang gripped his pen tightly, and for a long time, he couldn’t write a single word. The meticulously trimmed nails by his eldest brother dug deep into his palm, but he didn’t even notice.

It wasn’t until lunch break that he hastily packed his bag and hurriedly ran towards the Zhou family’s driver.

Back at home, his other brothers hadn’t returned yet, only Fourth Brother, Zhou Ziming, was there. After holding back his tears all day, Zhou Yuntang finally burst into sobs in front of the one person who deserved his tears: “Fourth Brother!”

Zhou Ziming didn’t know what had happened, so he embraced Zhou Yuntang with deep concern, “What happened?”

“Brother, that thing… I don’t know who leaked it online!” Zhou Yuntang cried out loud. It was the most desperate cry he had ever had since he grew up. “Everyone is cursing me.”

Zhou Yuntang couldn’t afford to be melodramatic. He said with resentment, “It must be Jiang Tian. He can’t accept that my parents and brothers chose me, so he exposed this matter online!”

“He’s using public opinion pressure to force me out and take my place!”

Hearing Zhou Yuntang’s intense accusation, Zhou Ziming was also taken aback. He looked at his brother’s fierce expression, which was completely different from the gentle and soft appearance he had before.

After sobbing for a while, Zhou Yuntang still didn’t hear any response from Zhou Ziming. He felt his heart tighten when he saw his brother’s expression. In a hurry, he quickly masked his face with a look of grievance, “Fourth Brother, do you not want me anymore?”

Zhou Ziming was startled and hurriedly explained, “No! It’s not like that! Tangtang, why would you say that!”

Zhou Yuntang choked slightly and accused, “In the past, whenever you heard that I was being bullied, you would always seek revenge for me. But today, you didn’t react at all.”

“Do you prefer Jiang Tian over me now? Do you not like me anymore?” Zhou Yuntang continued sobbing, “We have lived together for so long. Even if we are not related by blood, we have had so many years of friendship. But now you treat me like this… I’ll tell the eldest brother to beat you up!”

The more he spoke, the more irrational he sounded. Zhou Ziming rubbed his forehead, “I was just lost in thought earlier.”

Zhou Ziming was startled by his beloved younger brother’s resentful expression. He didn’t understand why the pampered little young master of the Zhou family would show such emotions. He didn’t dare to ask, fearing that Zhou Yuntang would cry again.

It’s probably because there have been too many recent events, and he feels insecure. Zhou Ziming came up with an explanation for Zhou Yuntang and quickly put the matter aside in his mind: “Tangtang, don’t be afraid, big brother will protect you.”

“Fourth Brother is the best.” Zhou Yuntang stopped crying and smiled through his tears. “Thank you, Fourth Brother. I knew you could make them delete the posts.”

Zhou Ziming hadn’t left yet, but he had already received such high praise. He didn’t want to lose face in front of his younger brother, so he patted his chest and assured him, “Don’t worry, I promise to handle this matter for you.”

When Zhou Ziming set off, he felt a little bit proud. Among the Zhou family brothers, he was only slightly older than Zhou Yuntang and still studying. He had a carefree and casual personality. Whenever his younger brother had a problem, he would usually turn to their other brothers for help. This was the first time he had been entrusted with such an important task.

Not wanting to face the scrutiny of his classmates, Zhou Yuntang took a leave in the afternoon and didn’t go to school. Meanwhile, Zhou Ziming was full of determination and set off to Nanping High School.

Watching Zhou Ziming leave, Zhou Yuntang collapsed on his bed. With no one around, he showed a resentful expression, “Everything should be mine. Why should I give it to you?”

“This is my home, and I will work hard to protect it, winning this battle to defend my family!” Muttering to himself, Zhou Yuntang made a firm decision.

When Zhou Ziming found Lin Hanchuan, he was tutoring Wan Li Shuang in Chinese. After spending some time together, he noticed that although Wan Li Shuang was intelligent, he didn’t like using his brain too much. He preferred having precise answers and wasn’t fond of subjects like Chinese, where answers weren’t always straightforward and required understanding the intentions of the question.

Addressing this, Lin Hanchuan specifically bought a Chinese exercise book for Wan Li Shuang, allowing him to train specifically for that subject.

So, with Lin Hanchuan leisurely reading a book that was obviously not a high school textbook, and Wan Li Shuang reluctantly doing exercises, they were found by Zhou Ziming.

Wan Li Shuang immediately dropped his pen and stood up with a righteous expression, “What are you doing here?”

Lin Hanchuan withdrew his gaze from the book and looked at Wan Li Shuang, who had only completed one page of exercises and impatiently tossed his pen on the table. Finally, his gaze settled on Wan Li Shuang’s profile.

His gaze seemed to scan like X-ray, making Wan Li Shuang feel uncomfortable. He stiffened his neck, pretending to be focused on confronting Zhou Ziming, refusing to turn around.

Lin Hanchuan smiled lightly, putting down the book and leaving Wan Li Shuang alone. He looked at Zhou Ziming with a calm expression.

He wasn’t surprised by Zhou Ziming’s arrival, but he was somewhat astonished that it was Zhou Ziming who came. Although he had only met the Zhou family once, Lin Hanchuan could tell that the head of the family was Zhou Gao Dan, followed by Zhou Yushu. As for Zhou Ziming… he could be considered the lowest-ranking member of the Zhou family.

Lin Hanchuan’s gaze was critical, and Zhou Ziming appeared impulsive and reckless, as if he came to deliver himself on a plate.

Even Wan Li Shuang looked down on Zhou Ziming to some extent.

“Did you post that thread on the forum?” Zhou Ziming, oblivious to the fact that two seventeen-year-olds were looking down on him, said, “Delete the posts.”

Lian Hanchuan: “…”

Wan Lishuang: “…”

The two exchanged glances, seeing the disdain in each other’s eyes.

“Don’t think that you can force Tangtang away with such low-level tricks. Hurry up and delete the posts, post an apology to Tangtang, and admit that you spread rumors. Then we can let this matter pass,” Zhou Ziming continued.

Wan Li Shuang slammed his palm on the desk, exclaiming, “Rumors? What kind of rumors? Isn’t it a fact that they mistook him? Isn’t it a fact that he is not the biological child of the Zhou family? You want him to apologize… Zhou Ziming, he is your own blood brother!”

Zhou Ziming rolled his eyes, “If he weren’t my blood brother, after knowing what he did, I would’ve beaten him up and chased him out of Nanping City.”

Even though Zhou Ziming didn’t have a good impression of this unfamiliar younger brother, he still showed some goodwill due to their blood relationship. Zhou Ziming felt he was in the right, speaking with a firm tone.

Wan Li Shuang couldn’t help but chuckle, “You do know he’s your blood brother. But do you know what kind of life he had?”

“Do you know that while your fake brother enjoyed the luxurious life of the Zhou family, your real brother struggled to have a meal?”

“Do you know that he fought with all his strength just to survive, while your fake brother complained that the gifts you gave were too cheap, less than 100,000?”

“Do you know that even though his academic performance is excellent, he transferred to Nanping High School during the critical year of high school just for the high scholarship?”

A series of questions left Zhou Ziming stunned. He indeed didn’t know. After the paternity test, the Zhou family members didn’t show much curiosity about the life the child had led before. They only conducted a simple investigation without delving deeper.

Zhou Ziming’s lips moved a few times, and just when Wan Li Shuang was about to lose patience and drive him away, Zhou Ziming finally spoke, “Your hardships are your own matter, unrelated to Tangtang. You shouldn’t seek revenge on him.”

Wan Li Shuang, with a deadpan expression, thought to himself, “It’s hopeless, just bury me.”

Zhou Ziming continued confidently, “I know it’s not easy for you, but who in this world has an easy life? You say you’ve had it tough, but what about famine-stricken people in Africa? Innocent civilians in war-torn areas can’t even keep their lives… There will always be people who have it worse than you. Nobody else has hurt innocent people like you did, which only shows that your character is flawed.”

After listening to his long speech, Wan Li Shuang was too angry to speak, but Lin Hanchuan remained calm, “So, you want me to delete the posts?”

“Yes!” Zhou Ziming immediately responded.

“As long as you keep the identity of the Zhou family’s young master a secret and work at an ordinary small shop for one month, I’ll delete the posts,” Lin Hanchuan said.

“One month! By then, the cabbages will have wilted!” Zhou Ziming instinctively wanted to refuse.

Lin Hanchuan glanced at him, “If you persist for seven days, I’ll delete the posts.”

Zhou Ziming hesitated. In his opinion, the online comments weren’t worth caring about. He could just turn off his phone and not read them. Holding on for seven days didn’t seem much different from the present.

He came here with a vow to give Zhou Yuntang a satisfactory answer and didn’t want to leave a fickle and untrustworthy impression on his younger brother.

Working for one month? That’s simple. Zhou Ziming was full of confidence, “I promise!”

To prevent Zhou Ziming from backing out halfway, Lin Hanchuan specially drafted a contract, with three copies, one for each party and one for the intermediary, Wan Li Shuang.

Zhou Ziming happily returned home, eager to share the good news with Zhou Yuntang, anticipating admiration in his brother’s eyes.

Zhou Yuntang was so angry that he felt like biting off his teeth. Seven days had passed, and the situation had already escalated. The posts couldn’t be deleted just by asking the original poster. His simple-minded fourth brother had been deceived and was now eagerly looking forward to receiving praise. Though it wasn’t the right thing to do, Zhou Yuntang couldn’t help but question his brother’s intelligence.

He had sent Zhou Ziming to find Lin Hanchuan with the hope that his fourth brother would teach him a lesson!

And now… Zhou Yuntang was facing all the criticism online, while his fourth brother had willingly sold himself. He was on the verge of having a heart attack from anger.