The video

The adopted daughter's name was Zhou Ruo. Zhou Wei had brought her into the Zhou family when she was a little over four. At first, Madam Zhou had been genuinely delighted, because she thought Zhou Ruo was her missing child.

But Zhou Wei had only meant that she resembled their daughter. Though disappointed, Madam Zhou had still kept the child.

She missed her own child so terribly.

In the beginning, Madam Zhou had treated Zhou Ruo very well, but gradually, her feelings began to change.

Whenever she saw Zhou Ruo living comfortably in the Zhou household, enjoying good food and drink, she would think of her missing daughter.

Who knows what my daughter is suffering through? Everything this girl enjoys should belong to my daughter.

She began to resent the child for enjoying everything that should have been her own child's.

She knew it was wrong, but she could not help herself.

So she began ignoring the girl, only showing her a pleasant face when Zhou Wei came home.

Of course, she was deeply conflicted herself. She loved Zhou Wei, but now she resented him too, because she felt he had already forgotten their missing child.

Her attitude toward Zhou Wei was always contradictory, and later, that contradiction extended to Zhou Ruo as well.

Poor Zhou Ruo had thought she would have a wonderful family, with a beautiful mother and a handsome father. Yet before long, all of that was gone.

Neither of them treated her the way they had at first. Her mother ignored her, and her father was never home.

With both heads of the household acting that way, the servants naturally changed their attitude toward her too.

She had tried telling her mother, only to be met with disgust. Things were only a little better when her father was home.

She knew then that she was unwanted. But if they did not like her, why had they brought her home? She had been perfectly happy at the Welfare Home.

Later, she finally learned the reason from the servants' idle chatter. Little Zhou Ruo curled up into a ball and silently thought, But none of this is my fault.

Deep down, she envied that little girl for having such a wonderful mother who loved her.

That mother simply was not hers.

Eventually, she grew used to it. She quietly made herself as inconspicuous as possible, learning to ignore even the hostile looks people gave her.

Although Madam Zhou disliked her, she still made sure Zhou Ruo learned everything she ought to know. After all, having been adopted into the family, she represented the Zhou family's reputation. They could hardly let her grow up knowing nothing.

And so she quietly began living on her own, until she heard that their biological daughter had been found.

How pathetic that she had to hear news about her own family from someone else. Yet at that moment, what she felt most was relief.

Perhaps it's time for me to go back where I belong.

She went home once. That visit showed her what her mother looked like when she was truly gentle. It was the first time she had ever seen her mother that way.

She should have been happy, yet for some reason, a bitter ache rose in her heart.

She watched the girl with a trace of envy in her eyes. She thought she would have to leave, but no one in the Zhou family told her to go.

They only told the two girls to get along. But it was then that she discovered Zhou Yun was a completely different person around her than she was around their parents.

In front of their parents, Zhou Yun was a sweet, obedient daughter. In front of her, she said nasty things.

That was when she felt Zhou Yun was nothing like their mother, not just in personality, but in appearance too. Yet Zhou Yun looked very much like their father.

At the time, Zhou Ruo could not understand it. How could someone have two such different faces?

And she felt that Zhou Yun did not look at Madam Zhou the way a daughter looked at her mother. Instead, there was a sense of condescension in her gaze.

But one day, she finally understood what was going on. She saw Zhou Yun and Zhou Wei...

She was utterly stunned. But weren't Zhou Yun and Zhou Wei biological...?

She felt she could not let things remain a mystery, so she began investigating in secret. Perhaps Zhou Wei had nothing to fear, or perhaps he simply thought no one would investigate him. Either way, Zhou Ruo uncovered the truth with ease.

The more she found out, the more disgusted she became. How could her father be this kind of person?

Yes, she had discovered the truth of her own parentage too. Sometimes, she truly felt fate was playing a cruel joke on her.

Today, she would reveal the whole truth here.

After hearing the entire story, everyone had just one thing to say: what a scandal.

Zhou Wei looked so distinguished, so outwardly respectable, and he and his wife had always been held up as the model of a loving couple. Who would have imagined he was this sort of man behind closed doors?

Poor Zhou Ruo had certainly had it hard, with a mother who could not quite see reason and a father like that.

Gu Ze followed Ye Qing's voice all the way there, catching sight of him just as his voice fell silent.

Before he could call out, Ye Qing spotted him. "Brother Gu."

Ye Qing came over. "You came too."

"Mm. I had nothing else to do anyway."

Ye Qing looked at him, his eyes brightening. "Then you definitely picked the right day to come."

Looking at those sparkling eyes, Gu Ze smiled faintly. He lowered his head and asked, feigning confusion, "What makes you say that?"

Ye Qing could hardly admit that he knew what was about to happen, so he wagged his head knowingly. "That's a secret. You'll find out in a bit."

Gu Ze smiled again, and Ye Qing found himself staring. Gu Ze had rather stern, sharply defined features, which could make him seem unapproachable when he was not smiling. Yet his overall demeanor was mild, and when he smiled, he looked even gentler.

Ye Qing quietly turned his head away. [Brother Gu really does look good when he smiles.]

Hearing that, Gu Ze paused. Then a flush crept up the tips of his ears, though his expression remained unchanged.

But Ye Qing was watching Zhou Yun onstage and failed to notice the change in Gu Ze.

When Zhou Yun went onstage to speak, she cried her heart out, clinging to Zhou Wei and Madam Zhou and sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone watching thought it was a touching display of affection.

[If I hadn't known in advance, I would've fallen for it too.]

[Here it comes, here it comes. The show's starting.]

Because just then, Zhou Ruo stepped onto the stage.

Poised and confident, Zhou Ruo began speaking. "Thank you all for attending the Zhou family's banquet. To welcome my dear little sister, I made a special video. Please take a look."

At first, the guests praised Zhou Ruo for being so thoughtful. But gradually, their expressions changed.

The video featured not only Zhou Yun and Zhou Wei, but another person as well. And these three looked far more like a family, because Zhou Yun bore such a striking resemblance to the woman beside her.

Whispers began spreading through the audience. Zhou Wei was actually having an affair!

Zhou Wei hurled abuse at Zhou Ruo and tried to rush up and turn off the video, but she had already stationed people below the stage to stop him.

Zhou Ruo feigned surprise. "Looks like Dad just can't wait. Let's speed it up, then."

[Hahaha! 'Dad just can't wait, let's speed it up'—fucking priceless.]

The video fast-forwarded, revealing several censored photos of Zhou Yun and Zhou Wei.

For a moment, exclamations rang out all across the hall.