Spoiled Sparrow

He Xun Nan is the only son left in the He family to manage the company; all the elders of the He family have long since died.

Ji Yuyao found an excuse to send Ruan Qing away and spoke to Lan Yin alone.

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Lan Yin felt a growing sense of unease.

"What's wrong?"

Ji Yuyao grabbed her hand and said anxiously, "This child has probably been scammed!"

Seeing Ji Yuyao's anxious look, Lan Yin's heart tightened as well: "Tell me quickly."

"When I immigrated here with my husband, the He family was the head of the local chamber of commerce, which had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles."

"But the only son of the He family married a kind-hearted woman who couldn't stand these dirty deeds, so the two abandoned the company and eloped. When they returned, they brought with them the current head of the He family, He Xunnan."

As she spoke, she picked up her water glass and moistened her throat: "That's not the point. The point is that He Xunnan couldn't possibly be Pei Yu's biological son. He was already 8 years old at the time, and Pei Yu was only 25 or 6 years old."

Lan Yin understood what she meant: "You mean to say that He Xunnan lied to Ruan Qing, and that he's not her biological brother?"

Ji Yuyao waved her hand and sighed deeply: "These are all minor matters. Just now, from what that girl was saying, she said her biological parents treat her very well, right?"

Lan Yin nodded. When Ruan Qing talked about her relationship with Pei Yu, her eyes were full of happiness.

"That's what's so strange about it," Ji Yuyao said, breaking out in a cold sweat. "Her biological mother, Pei Yu, is long dead! And her father, He Zhou, although no funeral was held, is an open secret in the upper echelons of the business world."

She shrugged, recalling the popular online short dramas, and got goosebumps all over: "But she spoke with such conviction, it didn't sound fake. Could the dead really come back to life?"

Lan Yin didn't believe it. Her expression turned serious: "Since it's an open secret, why didn't she know? Didn't anyone around her warn her?"

Ji Yuyao shook her head: "I didn't see these things with my own eyes. I heard them from the gossip of my mother-in-law's generation of wealthy women. You know, I've loved listening to gossip since I was a child."

"However, these things happened more than 20 years ago, and very few of the younger generation know about them now. He Xun Nan has connections everywhere here, so it's normal that Ruan Qing wouldn't see through him if he wanted to hide it."

Lan Yin was skeptical. She grasped Ji Yuyao's hand and pleaded, "Yuyao, please keep this a secret for me. Don't tell her yet. Just make up some excuse to stall her while I go out to make a phone call."

Ji Yuyao patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, I'm much tighter on the lips now than before."

Lan Yin walked out the door and immediately called Fu Chen.

This was the first phone call Fu Chen made to her son after she went abroad.

It was already evening, and the moment Fu Chen saw the caller ID, his dim eyes instantly brightened. He answered, "Mother, it's so late, is there something you need?"

Lan Yin didn't engage in small talk with him, but went straight to the point: "Did you already know about Ruan Qing's family situation? Are her current parents really hers?"

Fu Chen raised his eyes, his tone immediately turning indifferent: "That's right, her current family is a fabrication by He Xunnan. However, she is indeed Pei Yu and He Zhou's biological daughter, but her biological parents have been dead for many years. The current one is fake."

After confirming the truth from Fu Chen, she felt even more affection for Ruan Qing.

She continued, "You knew all along, which is why you locked Ruan Qing in the castle?"

No, that's not it.

Fu Chen: "At the time, it was just suspicion, without conclusive evidence."

Lan Yin couldn't wait to tell Ruan Qing the truth and take her away.

"So now? When are you going to tell her?"

Fu Chen didn't ask directly, "Mother, how did you know about these things?"

Lan Yin sensed the suspicion in her son's words, and she didn't intend to hide it: "It's Madam Ji. She immigrated here many years ago and knows some old stories. She and I are very close friends."

"Please keep this from my mother for now. I don't want her to suffer the pain of losing her parents again."

For the first time, Lan Yin felt that her son still had some humanity. She nodded, "Okay, but if you don't tell her, are you going to make her call that imposter 'Mom' for the rest of her life?"

Fu Chen remained silent for a long time.

"Think about this carefully. She's a sensible child, and I like her very much. If I had the chance, I would prefer her to call me Mom."

Previously, Lan Yin had wronged Fu Chen, believing that he shared the same blood as Fu Yancheng, and was equally obsessive and cruel.

Now it seems he's different from his father. Perhaps she should give herself a chance to get to know her son again.

After a long silence on the other end of the phone, Fu Chen finally asked the question that had been on his mind: "Mother, how... is he?"

Lan Yin's voice deepened, the smile in her eyes barely concealed, as she lightly uttered two words: "Alive."

How can watching him become a vegetable count as living?

Before he lost consciousness, she gave him a taste of his own medicine, thus settling her grudge.

On the other side, Ruan Qing was pulled into a conversation by Ji Yuyao, who recounted all her experiences from her youth.

Ruan Qing responded to her words, but the doubts in her heart grew stronger.

When she mentioned the He family earlier, she accurately caught the look of surprise in Aunt Ji's eyes.

Then the two of them found another excuse to send her away, and a sense of unease lingered in her heart; she couldn't take it anymore.

He asked Ji Yuyao directly, "Aunt Ji, do you know something?"

Ji Yuyao was stumped by her question. Her lips parted slightly, and she wanted to speak, but then she suddenly remembered that she had just promised Lan Yin that she would keep this matter a secret from her.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Ruan Qing became even more certain that the He family was hiding something from her. A huge sense of unease hung over her heart, and she didn't even dare to guess.

"Aunt Ji, can you tell me?" Ruan Qing's eyes were filled with tears, a sight that would break anyone's heart.

Her eyes were so pitiful; she'd find out sooner or later anyway, so perhaps...

"Actually, He—"

Just as Ji Yuyao was about to speak, Lan Yin pushed open the door and entered, interrupting her.

"Actually, He Xunnan is not your biological brother."

The truth couldn't be kept secret any longer, so Lan Yin selectively told her part of the truth: "He Xunnan is your parents' first adopted child, and he has no blood relation to you."

While shocked, Ruan Qing felt a sense of relief; it turned out that was all there was to it.

No wonder Fu Chen reacted so strongly; now I understand.

Fortunately, compared to other things, she actually accepted this fact with a smile.

No wonder she always felt that He Xunnan had an odd sense of distance from his parents when they were at home.

Moreover, during this period, some of his actions made her feel noticeably uncomfortable...

That makes sense.