Family Severance Banquet

Tao Mother looked deeply disappointed. "Li Zhaoxi, you've disappointed me so much. If I'd known you were an ungrateful wretch who would never care about us, I should never have..."

"Never have what?" Li Zhaoxi countered. "Given birth to me? Or brought me back?"

The guests watching the spectacle began to murmur.

"What does she mean? Isn't Tao Niannian the Tao Family's daughter?"

"Exactly. The Tao Family always said Li Zhaoxi was adopted."

"But that's not what it sounds like."

Yan Wen shook his head regretfully. "I was going to let you finish the birthday banquet, but it looks like there's no need now."

Yan Wen snapped his fingers, and the words "Birthday Banquet" on the large screen onstage instantly changed to "Family Severance Banquet."

"Since you don't want to celebrate this birthday properly, let's call it off. We can get our business started early."

Tao Niannian's voice trembled with tears. "Sis, what are you doing? If I did something wrong, tell me and I'll change. Why do you have to humiliate me in front of everyone?"

Tao Father cursed angrily and raised his hand to strike Li Zhaoxi, but Gao Yuyang swiftly caught it. "Do you think we're not here?"

Tao Father staggered from the shove. Tao Jingcheng said with disgust, "Li Zhaoxi, can you do anything besides cause trouble for us? If you were even half as considerate as Niannian, we wouldn't hate you so much."

Li Zhaoxi sneered. "What have I done since I came back to the Tao Family two years ago? Haven't you just believed everything Tao Niannian said? I don't want a family like you anymore!"

"Li Zhaoxi!"

"This Family Severance Banquet was arranged for you. Today, I'm cutting all ties with your Tao Family. From this day forward, whether your family survives or falls has nothing to do with me, Li Zhaoxi."

Li Zhaoxi ignored the Tao Family and walked onto the stage. Yan Wen and the others stood in the front row, while Gao Yuyang silently encouraged her, urging her not to be nervous.

Li Zhaoxi raised the microphone. "Today, I ask everyone here to bear witness. I'm cutting all family ties with the Tao Family!"

Tao Mother snapped, "Li Zhaoxi! You ungrateful wretch! Our Tao Family worked so hard to raise you for two whole years, and instead of being grateful, you want to cut ties with us!"

Tao Jingcheng's face twisted with disgust. "If we'd known this would happen, we should have left you in the countryside to freeze or starve to death!"

Only after they had finished venting did Li Zhaoxi speak. "You keep saying you raised me for two whole years. Then let's see just how you raised me during those two years."

Photographs appeared on the large screen, one after another: a bed with nothing but a mattress, damp and moldy walls, and a room of barely ten square meters, with no space for even another wardrobe.

"This is what you call working hard to raise me for two years. During those two years in your home, I lived in a storage room, ate the leftovers from your meals, and wore clothes from roadside stalls that cost a little over ten yuan." Li Zhaoxi couldn't help laughing, but tears welled in her eyes. "You say you worked so hard, but I can't see what was so hard for you."

"The Tao Family went too far. How could they make someone live in a room like that?"

"Even if Li Zhaoxi is only their adopted daughter, what they did was still outrageous."

Li Zhaoxi continued, "Since everyone has brought up whether I'm adopted, let's take a look at the truth."

"Li Zhaoxi!" Tao Father was frantic and furious. "Do you have to turn this family upside down? Get off that stage right now!"

Yan Wen asked with a smile, "Why are you so worked up, Director Tao? Do you really have some shameful secret?"

Tao Niannian was on the verge of tears. "Jingcheng, Jingxing, hurry and stop her! What will happen to me after this?"

Tao Jingxing and Tao Jingcheng started toward the stage, only to be stopped.

Yan Wen wore an utterly innocent smile. "Don't rush up there. She's busy."

Tao Jingcheng struggled hard twice but couldn't break free. "Let go of me, or don't blame me for getting rough!"

"How rough?"

Tao Jingcheng swung a hard punch at Yan Wen, but Yan Wen sidestepped it. Then he caught Tao Jingcheng's hand with one hand and pressed down on his shoulder with the other. Turning smoothly, he restrained Tao Jingcheng from behind and kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel.

Everything happened so suddenly that by the time the guests reacted, Tao Jingcheng had already been pinned down, unable to move.

Yan Wen scoffed. "A weakling like you wants to hit me?"

Tang Yun looked at him in admiration. "A Yan, you're that good?!"

"Nothing to it."

"Teach me when you have time."

"No problem."

Yan Wen looked at the Tao Family. "Can you be quiet now? Honestly, can you stop interrupting while someone is speaking onstage? Don't you have even basic manners?"

Yan Wen released Tao Jingcheng and brushed nonexistent dust from his hands.

Tao Jingcheng rubbed his aching wrist, looking as though he had swallowed a fly.

Only then did Li Zhaoxi continue. "Now, please listen to these recordings."

As the Recording Pen was switched on, familiar voices rang through the hall.

(Although Niannian is the adopted one, she's lived with the Tao Family for twenty years. We already consider her family.)

(Li Zhaoxi, something happened to Niannian. Hurry and come to the hospital with me to give her blood! Why are you coming to me if something happened to Tao Niannian? I'm not a doctor. Li Zhaoxi, how can you be so vicious? Niannian is your sister!)

(If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should have strangled you when I gave birth to you!)

(How can you compare to Niannian? Let me tell you, Niannian is the only sister I acknowledge.)

Tao Niannian's face went pale, and she could barely stay on her feet. The other members of the Tao Family looked terrible as well.

"So Li Zhaoxi is the Tao Family's biological daughter, and Tao Niannian is the adopted one."

"What kind of family is this? They dote on their adopted daughter as if she were their own, but abuse their biological daughter. I'd cut ties with them too."

"Exactly. Being born into a family like that is the worst luck imaginable."

Tao Father hurried to defend himself. "No, you've misunderstood us. We told people Li Zhaoxi was adopted because she behaved disgracefully and brought shame on our family."

Li Zhaoxi sneered. "You really will say anything to protect your reputation."

Tao Jingcheng said, "Are we wrong? You've never measured up to Niannian. Grades, manners, character—which of those isn't she better at?"

"That's because you're blind!" Li Zhaoxi shouted. "Don't you know perfectly well why my grades were worse than Tao Niannian's?"

"You haven't forgotten, have you? The day I received my admission letter, my grades were good enough to get me into Shengyuan's Top Three Classes without any trouble. But you forced me into the worst class, Class Thirteen, just because you couldn't bear to upset Tao Niannian."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Why not look at their report cards from the past three years and see whether it's nonsense?" Yan Wen, who had been watching the spectacle, spoke up. Then he walked onto the stage and brought up two report cards, displaying Li Zhaoxi's and Tao Niannian's side by side.

"These are Li Zhaoxi's and Tao Niannian's report cards from their three years at Shengyuan. Shengyuan's student rankings are available on its official website. If you don't believe them, you can check the website yourselves."

Tang Yun clicked his tongue. "The Tao Family's behavior really is eye-opening. Li Zhaoxi's grades are better than Tao Niannian's by far more than a little."

Gao Yuyang twisted the knife. "Maybe Tao Niannian's IQ is the same as theirs, so they feel a kinship with her."