Heartbroken

The hall fell silent. Damn, I can't take this!

Ye Qing's words were practically accusing Li Lian of faking his injury to extort their family, yet he sounded so concerned that, as the saying went, no one would strike a smiling face. The Li family members could not say anything—nor did they dare to.

After a long while, someone finally let out a quiet laugh. It was very soft, but in the dead silence, it sounded anything but.

Only when people in the hall gradually began talking did the laughter get covered up. After all, this was someone else's birthday banquet. They had to show some courtesy.

Still, this incident would probably become a laughingstock afterward.

They had not even considered their own standing, yet they had actually wanted to climb up to the Ye family. It seemed the Ye family members had not come today because they had taken a liking to the Li family after all.

The Li family members could only leave with Li Lian in disgruntlement. After all, they could use the fact that Ye Qing was a junior to suppress him, but looking at the expressions on the Ye family members' faces, they clearly looked ready to make things difficult for anyone who dared touch Ye Qing.

In the end, Ye Qing still seemed dissatisfied. He called out to their backs, "Uncle, Auntie, make sure you hold Brother Li firmly! Don't let him fall again."

The group continued forward, their backs radiating fury.

Regardless, the banquet had to continue. When the three of them came back down, their faces were smiling brightly, making it impossible to tell what had happened before.

Well, what surprised Ye Qing most was Li Lian. There was not even a bandage on his head.

Ye Qing had clearly heard the weight with which he had fallen. It should have swollen for sure. Could he really stand it without even taking a look?

All he could say was that Li Lian was remarkably tolerant of pain.

As the main character of the banquet, Li Lian could not avoid putting on a performance. Yet he was already panting after saying only a few words before going onstage.

Ye Qing could not help wondering if this person was on the verge of death.

[Bah, how can I think that way? That would really be letting myself down.]

Even before performing, he had to make a dig at himself. With a weak look on his face, he told everyone that he had prepared an even better performance, but because of an accident, he was willing but unable to do it, and asked everyone for their understanding.

Ye Qing watched from below, his anger flaring.

[Hey, a modern-day Lin Daiyu—taking three breaths for every step.]

[No, that would be insulting Lin Daiyu too much. All I can say is that this person is truly awful.]

Once Li Lian finished his performance, Ye Qing knew the real event of the day had arrived.

[Here it comes, here it comes! The most explosive part is here.]

The Ye family members' spirits lifted. Had the crucial part finally arrived?

Li Lian called his older brother onto the stage, claiming that his brother had prepared a performance for him and wanted to celebrate his birthday.

Li Lian's older brother was named Li Ling.

Ye Mother naturally knew exactly what Li Lian was planning. Li Ling had never been favored since childhood, so how could he have learned any proper performing arts? Calling him onto the stage was obviously meant to make him embarrass himself. Seeing that the two parents did not stop him, she could only complain to Ye Father beside her, "Their favoritism has gone beyond all limits. They completely disregard their other son's dignity."

[That may not necessarily be true. It's still uncertain who will be the one to lose face today.]

Li Ling slowly walked onto the stage. Perhaps he had not been eating well, but he was clearly much thinner than Li Lian. The oversized suit did not fit him, yet he carried himself with an air of calm composure.

He unhurriedly walked to the piano, and smooth music slowly flowed out. He was actually playing the same piece as Li Lian.

But even someone who had never studied music could tell that Li Ling was clearly better. It was a crushing victory.

Putting on such a performance at a birthday banquet made everyone catch the scent of juicy gossip.

Li Ling slowly walked to the center of the stage and said, "I truly did want to give my beloved younger brother a gift. I hope he likes it."

"Thank you all for attending the birthday banquet of my blind parents and my younger brother, who shares neither my father nor my mother."

[It seems Li Ling really does hate his parents. But who wouldn't hate them in his place?]

The amount of information in that one sentence was staggering. Before anyone could react, Li Ling's show began.

Li Ling had actually invited a theatrical troupe to perform the story live. Ye Qing could not help marveling at how advanced this storytelling format was.

The story began on a bitterly cold winter day. The lady of the household and the nanny gave birth on the same day, but the lady gave birth to a stillborn child. With the master away, the nanny's husband bribed a doctor at the hospital and sent his own child over, telling everyone that the nanny had given birth to a stillborn baby.

The nanny's son began living the life of a rich heir, but gradually, the nanny realized that her son could not enjoy all those things alone.

Thus, she had her husband disguise himself as a fortune-teller and claim that Li Ling was a curse on his parents and would bring unrest to the family, while only the younger son was a bringer of good fortune.

Because the nanny knew so much about the family, her husband was able to accurately describe the basic details of both parents. Since various misfortunes would also occur in the household from time to time, the couple believed his words.

After driving Li Ling away to another place, the household really did become peaceful. Even the company improved somewhat. With all these signs before them, the couple became even more convinced of the nanny's husband's words. They spoiled their younger son more and more while neglecting their older son, eventually refusing to let him eat at the same table.

The Li family even planned to introduce the nanny's husband to other people, but he fooled them with the claim that he was only fated to be connected with them. They even congratulated themselves, believing they truly were chosen by fate.

Under these circumstances, they completely forgot about their older son. Only his grandfather still treated him well. After his grandfather passed away, the older son no longer had any place in the household.

The climax came when the younger son discovered his true identity. Not only did he feel no remorse toward Li Ling, he even secretly helped his parents conceal the truth and conspired with them to seize the Li family's assets.

"The Li family's parents are so foolish. They dote on me so much now that in a few more years, we'll be able to take over the company bit by bit." The three people sitting in the living room were discussing this. Ignoring what they were saying, it could almost be considered a warm and happy family scene.

After the play ended, Li Ling unhesitatingly displayed the evidence he had collected, proving that everything was true.

Then, photos of Li Lian appeared on the screen in the hall. They were all highly explicit, and at the end, there was even a video. The sounds of the people inside panting spread to every corner.

Li Lian rushed up and shut off the video like a madman, then raised his hand and swung it at Li Ling.

Li Ling caught the hand coming toward him and gripped his wrist tightly. "Little brother, weren't you the one who asked your older brother to come up and give you a gift? Do you like this gift?"

Li Lian gasped heavily, looking as if he were about to faint. "How dare you? How dare you?"

Li Ling suddenly leaned close to him. "Wasn't it you who asked me to come up? I followed your wishes in every respect."

"Little brother, that really hurts your older brother's feelings."

"Your older brother's heart is broken."