Taking Down the Whole Two-Faced Family

"What a joke. Why would I frame you? Do I have nothing better to do? Gong Yong, if you don't believe me, have your older brother look into it. Oh, maybe you won't even need to ask. My older brother might have already told him to."

"Now do you understand why I looked at you like that? Look what you did to me. So much for trying to help."

"I should've waited a little longer before telling you. Let you suffer a bit so I could cool off."

Yang Qi looked down at his tattered suit and sat straight on the floor without a second thought. When Madam Wu lunged at him, he rolled aside to dodge her.

Gong Yong took the phone from Yang Qi almost without realizing it. As he read the information on the screen, his eyes slowly reddened. The guests crowded behind him for a look and all drew a sharp breath.

Sympathy, lingering fear, and anger appeared on their faces.

After all, some of their sons had spent time with the Wu sisters. A few had even dated them.

Wu Yuan felt the contemptuous gazes around her. She trembled all over, barely able to stay on her feet.

"Wu Yuan, tell me you and Wu Chan are two different people. Tell me it's true." Gong Yong still couldn't accept that his girlfriend was an impostor—and that she had undergone plastic surgery.

He gripped Wu Yuan's shoulders and shook her, desperate to hear her deny it.

(╬◣д◢)

[Bingo. You got it.]

If Bo Hanmo hadn't caught Fang Yao by the arm, she would have climbed over the railing and onto the light fixture.

That's our sister-in-law!!!! The Bo siblings stared at Fang Yao in awe.

Fang Yao followed the gossip from the Gossip System while watching the drama below. She couldn't help marveling at how far people would go for their own desires. The Wu Household was proof enough.

Wu Yuan and Wu Chan were twin sisters. Guests had seen both babies at their one-month celebration, which was why the family had managed to keep up the deception for so many years.

The twins had appeared in public frequently as children. When had that changed? When had only one of them begun appearing?

It turned out that when they were little, the Wu couple had taken the twins on a mountain outing. Wu Yuan wouldn't stop crying, so her parents and the servants focused all their attention on her. Seeing her older sister monopolize their parents again, Wu Chan spotted a butterfly in the distance and chased after it. The mountain path was uneven.

Wu Chan looked up and forgot to watch her step. She fell down a small slope and couldn't get back up. She cried out through the pain, but her voice was too faint for the Wu couple or anyone else to hear.

When they finally noticed Wu Chan was missing, they rushed to search for her. They found her in a small pool below a slope. By the time they pulled her out, she was barely breathing.

Madam Wu took Wu Chan to the hospital. As the Wu couple looked at their younger daughter lying at death's door, tears streamed down their faces.

Wu Yuan ran over to see her sister. Seeing that Wu Chan had taken all their parents' attention, and hearing them say things she didn't understand, she offered to find another little sister who could draw the sickness out of Wu Chan.

When Wu Yuan grew up, she understood what her parents' strange remarks had meant: they wanted to marry off their daughters to fill the hole in the family finances.

The older Wu Yuan grew, the more selfish she became. She couldn't bear for the impostor to marry better than she did. That was how the scheme to have one woman serve two husbands came about.

Fang Yao shook her head. "I've never seen anyone so selfish. She was jealous of her sister as a child, and now she's jealous of someone else."

Bo Hanmo watched Fang Yao lounging there. He had little interest in the selfish person she was talking about. The longer he spent with Fang Yao, the more secrets he realized she had.

Bo Hanmo gave a wicked smile.

"What's the rush? If you haven't swapped one daughter for another, what are you afraid of? Bring your younger daughter out and let them confront each other. Oh, better yet, go to the hospital for a paternity test first."

"Secrets always get out sooner or later. Isn't that right, everyone?"

Yang Qi rose calmly and brushed nonexistent dust from his clothes. When Wu Yuan and the others glared at him as though they wanted to devour him, he met their eyes head-on.

"Yang Qi, I know you like my little sister. For the sake of both families' reputations, let's discuss this at home. Don't make a spectacle of yourself in public." Wu Yuan stepped forward to take his arm.

Yang Qi raised a hand to stop her. "Well said. Of course, I mean my good-for-nothing son is right. Old Master Bo, I'm sorry, but we'll need to borrow your banquet for a while to settle something."

Yang Qi had nearly cursed at the interruption. When he realized it was his father speaking, he shut his mouth, delighted. The old man had come to back him up.

Tears welled in Yang Qi's eyes. He was touched.

Yang Father couldn't bear to look at his disappointing son's tearful face and turned away. Yang Qi blinked back his tears. Once they got home, he was going to steal every bottle of wine his father had been saving.

Ahem. Borrow them!

Gong Yong's eyes had gone dull, but a moment later he jerked his head up and looked toward the entrance.

"Gong Yong, you little brat. I told you your dad wouldn't hurt you, but you wouldn't listen. You've learned your lesson now, haven't you? Hold your head high!"

Gong Yong's father gave his younger son a frustrated slap on the back, then turned to greet Yang Father, Old Master Bo, and the others. He ignored the three members of the Wu Household entirely.

The moment Yang Father appeared, the world had come crashing down around the three of them.

[Well, well. The old fox is here. Looks like they won't be able to talk their way out of this today. I wonder what Wu Yuan will do—pin it all on her parents or appeal to their feelings?]

Gong Yong looked up. He had held back long enough. She could talk about him, but not his father.

"Eyes down. If you mess this up, I won't let you off."

?????

What's that supposed to mean? I can't even talk back? Wait! Gong Yong whipped his head around to look at Yang Qi.

Gong Yong: You can hear her?

Yang Qi: Mm-hmm. Heard her before you did.

Gong Yong: Then why didn't you tell me?

Yang Qi: Why would I?

Gong Yong and Yang Qi fought a silent battle with their eyes. Gong Yong lost completely.

Gong Yong: (σ-`д･´)

Yang Qi glanced upstairs at the radiant woman without letting anything show. Bo Hanmo's luck was a little too good. Yang Qi was green with envy.

"Uncle Yang, you've misunderstood. We don't know that woman. We have no idea how she got in. Please don't believe her." Wu Yuan's voice had gone hoarse as she rushed to explain.

The Wu couple nodded along. They appealed to sentiment, saying the young people had spent so much time together that they ought to know what kind of people they were.

Yang Father and Gong Yong's father exchanged a glance. Neither had liked the woman his younger son was dating to begin with. Now this had happened, and the Wus thought they could escape responsibility by disowning one person? Ridiculous.

"Yang Qi, say something. We've talked for so long. You should know better than anyone what kind of person I am. You can't suspect me and investigate me just because of a few things someone else said."

"What if this is someone else's plot? Wouldn't we be playing right into their hands?"

Wu Yuan was trying to make someone else do her dirty work. If Fang Yao herself weren't the weapon Wu Yuan was trying to use, she might have applauded.