"He said, 'Jiang Youtian, what did you ask me here for? Mom and Dad are still waiting for us to come home for dinner.'"
"Then Jiang Youtian said, 'Jiang Fan, you must really hate me now, don't you? You hate me for being a cuckoo occupying your nest all these years, for stealing your place as the Jiang Family's young master.'"
Jiang Fan: "Honestly, I've never hated you. After all, we were both still babies in swaddling clothes back then. We couldn't do anything about being switched. Even later, when you framed me in front of Mom and Dad again and again and kept hurting me, I never hated you."
"You're lying!" Jiang Youtian roared.
Jiang Fan: "I'm not."
Jiang Youtian: "How could you not? After everything I've done to you, how could you not hate me? Without me, you'd be the Jiang Family's eldest young master, Mom and Dad's most beloved child. But now, they all hate you. Our sisters all protect me, too, and treat you like an enemy. How could you not hate me? Stop lying. You do hate me!"
Jiang Fan: "I told you, I don't."
Jiang Youtian: "You don't? Well, I do! Jiang Fan, why did you have to show up? If you hadn't, I'd be the only young master in this family, my parents' only son, and my four sisters' only little brother. How wonderful-tell me, how wonderful and happy would all of that be! But you just had to show up. You want to steal my family from me, steal the identity that belongs to me! What right does a lowlife raised in the slums, a worthless piece of trash like you, have to take everything that belongs to me? Why?! Tell me, why?!!"
When they heard the lip-reading expert reach this point, everyone in the living room except Jiang Fan wore shifting expressions.
Tang Fugui, in particular, couldn't believe that his biological son had called people from the slums lowlifes and worthless trash...
His heart ached, the pain suffocating.
Jiang Youtian swallowed hard. He sensed that the way the Jiang Family looked at him had changed, becoming something that frightened and terrified him.
The lip-reading expert continued.
Jiang Fan: "Jiang Youtian, you're going too far. Birth makes no one noble or lowly, and it isn't something anyone can choose. You say that because I grew up in the slums, I'm a lowlife, worthless trash. Aren't you insulting Dad, Mom, my sister, and Guoguo along with me?"
Jiang Youtian: "That's right, I am. And Tang Fugui and the others are your family, not mine. I don't have such lowly relatives. Every time they come looking for me, I feel utterly sick."
At that moment, Tang Fugui's heart no longer ached.
For there was no greater sorrow than a heart that had died.
Jiang Youtian climbed onto the overpass.
Jiang Fan: "What are you doing?"
Jiang Youtian smiled. "I racked my brains and finally came up with a good idea, a way to drive you out of the Jiang Family for good. I'm going to jump off this overpass, then tell Dad and the others that you pushed me. Do you think they'll give you a vicious beating before throwing you out of the family?"
With that, Jiang Youtian jumped off the overpass without hesitation.
Silence.
The entire living room was so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the trembling Jiang Youtian, and no one spoke for a long while.
Jiang Hongyuan said, "Could the lip-reading expert have translated it wrong?"
Her words reminded everyone.
That was right. Jiang Youtian was so kind. When Jiang Fan was still with the Jiang Family, he had been considerate of him in every way. Whenever Jiang Fan made a mistake, Jiang Youtian always pleaded for him, no matter when or where.
How could someone so innocent and kind possibly do something like this?
A cold sneer curled Jiang Fan's lips. "Didn't you hire three lip-reading experts? If one got it wrong, you can ask the other two."
Jiang Hongyuan shot Jiang Fan a vicious glare. "Don't get smug. That lip-reading expert must have translated it wrong."
"Exactly. Eldest Sister is right," Jiang Chengyuan and the others agreed.
Then the Jiang Family turned to the other two lip-reading experts, who said, "Our translations are exactly the same as his. There's no mistake."
Jiang Hongyuan froze.
The Jiang Family fell into deathly silence once more.
Several minutes later, Jiang Qifeng finally found his voice again after the shock. He looked at Jiang Youtian and forced the words out of his throat.
"Jiang Youtian! You-you-you're such a disappointment!"
Xue Ping shook her head repeatedly. "Youtian, how could you do something like this?"
Now, even the four sisters who were fanatical about protecting their little brother didn't step forward to speak up for Jiang Youtian.
Jiang Youtian's face was deathly pale, and large beads of cold sweat kept seeping from his forehead.
At last, his knees bent, and he dropped to the floor with a thud, two streams of tears spilling down as though they cost nothing.
"Dad, Mom, Eldest Sister, Second Sister, Third Sister, Fourth Sister, I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry! I deceived you! I framed Jiang Fan, too. I admit it. I admit all of it. But-but I really had no other choice.
Ever since Jiang Fan came back to this family, I haven't had a single peaceful night's sleep. Every day, I worried and feared that after bringing Jiang Fan home, you would throw me out! I was scared. I was really scared. That's why I lost my mind and did something like this. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
As Jiang Youtian cried, he banged his forehead against the floor-bang, bang, bang. Within seconds, his forehead had become red and swollen, showing just how much force he had used.
"Youtian, don't do this. You'll hurt yourself." Xue Ping hurried over and took hold of Jiang Youtian's arm, stopping him.
"Mom..." Jiang Youtian was a flood of tears. "I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have done something like that. Jiang Fan should have been the Jiang Family's young master all along, while I'm just a lowlife. Even though-even though I've already broken through to middle-stage martial apprentice, someone of my background is destined to return to the slums. Sob, sob..."
Middle-stage martial apprentice?!
Jiang Qifeng strode up to Jiang Youtian and reached out to pull him up from his knees.
"What did you say? You've already broken through to middle-stage martial apprentice? When did that happen? Why haven't I heard you mention it before?"
Jiang Youtian wiped away his tears and replied, "Today. I suddenly broke through while I was at school. Dad, I'm sorry. I've disappointed you, and I'm going to bring you shame. I'll go to my room, pack my things, and leave right now. I won't stay here being an eyesore to you, Mom, or my sisters."
"Pack what things? When did we ever say we were throwing you out?" Jiang Qifeng said, holding on to Jiang Youtian.
"But I did something so awful. I really regret it, too. I shouldn't have treated Jiang Fan like that back then. But what's done is done. At this point, I have nothing left to explain. Dad, Mom, Eldest Sister, Second Sister, Third Sister, Fourth Sister, thank you! Thank you for caring for me and looking after me these past seventeen years. Now that I'm leaving, I won't be able to repay you in the future. I hope I'll still have a chance to see you again."
"I won't let you leave!" Jiang Qifeng spoke again.