Chapter 1: Green Tea's Charm

A cacophony of voices reached his ears.

"Aiyan, don't be scared. Mommy will take you to the hospital right away!"

"No need, Mommy. Although Brother's dog is fierce and the wound hurts, I'm sure he didn't mean to bring it home," said the voice filled with a soothing tea-like quality.

Lu Ran, who was initially groggy, was instantly roused by this voice, though his mind remained shrouded in a fog, preventing him from fully waking up.

Then, the initial female voice spoke again, this time with a heavy tone:

"Why do you keep bringing everything home? That stray dog should have been gotten rid of long ago."

The remark was clearly aimed at Lu Ran. As an afterthought, the woman's voice softened, laced with disdain: "Don't bring your old habits in here."

Lu Ran heard his own voice explaining, "Big Yellow isn't a stray dog; I only brought him back with your permission. He's very old and has no teeth left, he can't bite anyone..."

Before he could finish, the woman's voice rose sharply, "You dare to talk back? Your brother's wound is fake?"

Lu Ran continued his explanation, "Big Yellow doesn't have canine teeth, he couldn't have inflicted such an injury."

"What are you implying? You're saying your brother pretended to be hurt?"

"Lu Ran, I've told you many times, don't even think about getting your brother out of here, right?"

As soon as the woman finished speaking, a sobbing sound followed from the one addressed as "Ran Ran."

This dream again!

Lu Ran was so furious that he nearly spat out blood.

Fueled by anger, his consciousness seemed to break through some barrier, gradually regaining clarity.

Blinding light appeared before his eyes, not the natural sunlight but rather, the dazzling chandeliers of a luxurious setting.

Crystal chandeliers scattered delicate light, reflecting on the creamy matte tiles, turning the night into a shimmering spectacle.

Despite being nighttime, it was as radiant as daylight.

The entire villa reeked of wealth, shimmering with an ethereal glow.

Lu Ran took a deep breath.

It had been a long time since he dreamt of the Shen family's decor in such vivid detail.

His body still felt somewhat disobedient.

Lu Ran lifted his gaze to the two people seated on the sofa.

First, the lady with an assertive tone.

The lady was young and exuded elegance. Despite being at an age where women typically experience menopause, she appeared well-cared for and spared from the typical turmoil of hormonal imbalances and life's struggles that often drove others to desperation.

There was an illusionary ease about her that made one think she would be amenable to conversation.

The lady held the wrist of the person beside her with utmost care.

Sitting next to her was a young man who appeared to be a university student.

His black hair was sleek, and his skin was fair. He wore an ordinary light-colored plaid shirt that didn't reveal its brand or fabric at first glance. However, the stitching on the cuffs and the intricate detailing betrayed a refined elegance and exclusivity.

Lu Ran's chest heaved again.

These two individuals.

One was Lu Ran's biological mother.

The other was the adopted son who had taken over Lu Ran's identity.

At the age of four, Lu Ran had gone missing in a minor landslide.

Upon being rescued, he had developed a fever, erasing all memories of his family, and was subsequently sent to an orphanage.

Although he couldn't recall his family's identity, Lu Ran had always firmly believed that his family loved him deeply and would surely find him.

Upon finally securing a university admission and reuniting with his family, Lu Ran discovered that in the year he went missing, they had adopted a son.

The adopted son was around the same age as him, with an outgoing and innocent disposition.

No one wished to dwell on the pain of losing a child, let alone invest time and effort into searching for a lost orphan like finding a needle in a haystack.

With their family's void now filled, the Shen family quickly forgot about their lost youngest son.

They bestowed Lu Ran's name, "Shen Xingran," upon this adoptive child.

Not only did the adopted son take his place, but he also inherited the name that was rightfully Lu Ran's.

Thus, the person closest to Lu Ran in this world abandoned him without a second thought.

Only Lu Ran stubbornly held onto that name.

Back then, when he had gone missing, he couldn't even write.

Vaguely, he recalled being referred to as "Ranran," yet the recorder had mistakenly written it down as "Ran."

It wasn't until Lu Ran was found that he realized he had suddenly become an impostor posing as Shen Xingran.

At first, Lu Ran was delighted and willingly embraced the identity of Shen Xingran.

Having grown up without any close family, he yearned for more kinship and never once rejected the notion of being Shen Xingran, the adopted son of the Shen family.

However, the contrasting treatment within the Shen family left Lu Ran utterly bewildered.

Out of concern that he had grown up in poverty and might get into trouble with money, the Shen family not only refused to give him pocket money but also made him finance his university education through student loans.

Yet Shen Xingran's monthly allowance started in the hundreds of thousands.

For fear that Shen Xingran might feel ostracized and become saddened, his household registration was not transferred back to the Shen family, nor was his identity disclosed.

Shen Xingran remained the adored young master of the Shen family, while Lu Ran was nobody.

After being missing for fifteen years, Lu Ran finally returned to the home that was rightfully his.

Surprisingly, everyone in the family – his father, mother, eldest brother, and second brother – were all worried that Shen Xingran might be saddened by his return.

Lu Ran felt like a culprit just at the thought of causing the slightest frown on Shen Xingran's face.

Since he had come back to the Shen family, strange incidents kept happening to Shen Xingran for no apparent reason.

She would either trip accidentally or get scalded by hot water.

All unrelated to Lu Ran, yet when the family rushed to comfort her, Shen Xingran didn't need to do anything but glance at Lu Ran with a cautious look, and he would be showered with blame.

From initial confusion, Lu Ran gradually turned angry and obsessive.

He repeatedly tried to explain himself to his family, only to be ignored.

However, aware of his family's deep affection for Shen Xingran, Lu Ran never directed any resentment towards her throughout it all.

After witnessing their unjustified favoritism, he unconsciously began emulating Shen Xingran's behavior.

He emulated Shen Xingran's fashion sense.

But Shen Xingran's wardrobe was filled with cashmere, known as the "soft gold," whereas Lu Ran couldn't even afford ordinary wool.

He tried to replicate Shen Xingran's gentle demeanor and refinement.

Yet, Shen Xingran's personality had been cultivated over a decade with wealth, while Lu Ran was just an orphan who grew up in an orphanage.

In the end, Lu Ran became more like a cheap imitation.

One day, during a dispute, Lu Ran was pushed into a swimming pool by Shen Xingran in the middle of winter, right before everyone's eyes.

However, his closest family members merely brushed it off with a casual remark: "Why weren't you more careful? Thankfully, it didn't involve Ranran."

The desperate Lu Ran, striving for familial affection, suddenly saw things clearly.

He realized that all his efforts were in vain.

He would never outshine Shen Xingran.

Completely defeated, Lu Ran left the Shen family to live an independent life, resuming his former tranquil and solitary existence.

This tranquility lasted for only half a year.

Before Lu Ran could even graduate from school, the Shens unexpectedly showed up, using their most ruthless tactics to coerce and entice him back into the fold of the Shen family.

With a surge of defiance, Lu Ran stubbornly refused.

It was during this struggle that Lu Ran first became aware of the Shen family's formidable influence.

Just as he was about to graduate, he inexplicably found himself expelled from school.

He moved across several cities, seeking employment, only to have each opportunity sabotaged by the Shens.

In the end, the eldest son of the Shen family, Lu Ran's own elder brother, personally led a group to confront him.

As Lu Ran hastily fled, he was unfortunate enough to be struck by a car disregarding a red light.

The accident was severe; below his neck, Lu Ran was left paralyzed, and his vocal cords were damaged.

The true ordeal had just begun.

In his early twenties, Lu Ran found himself lying in a hospital bed, fully conscious, staring at the tubes that invaded his body.

Perhaps it was due to Shen Xingran's "kindness" that the Shen family supported him, this cripple, with care.

Lu Ran spent an entire decade lying in that hospital bed.

The room was enclosed, without windows, without birds, and without visitors.

There, he lay alone, accompanied only by the humming of medical equipment.

Even the nurses would only enter when he was asleep.

Occasionally, Shen Xingran would visit him with her family.

Let him witness his family living happily and harmoniously with the one who had stolen his identity.

And Lu Ran was powerless even to utter a curse.

In those absolute ten years of solitude, Lu Ran first broke down.

He felt that his experience was so grotesquely tragic that it was unbearable for anyone to comprehend.

Afterward, Lu Ran could only continuously ruminate over the past moments in his mind.

He recalled the agony of the car accident in an instant.

The biting cold as he fell into the pool during winter.

The memories of every futile explanation, every breakdown from being mistrusted.

Lu Ran kept asking why.

Why did all this happen to him?

Why had he ended up in this situation?

He had given up already; he no longer contended with Shen Xingran. If he couldn't provoke the man, couldn't he just avoid him?

But heaven seemed to be telling him that wasn't an option.

Until just now, something unexpected appeared in Lu Ran's mind.

It turned out that all his absurd experiences were merely part of a novel.

In this novel of elite family adoration, Shen Xingran was the main character, whereas Lu Ran was merely a poorly crafted imitation, a tragic supporting role created by the author to highlight the protagonist's brilliance.

The author even solemnly explained that the creation of his character aimed to convey the message that blood ties didn't truly matter!

Lu Ran: ...

After digesting all this information, Lu Ran had only one thought:

Let them all perish!

Gazing once more at the two individuals before him, Lu Ran, who possessed a photographic memory of his pre-paralyzed days, swiftly assessed the current situation.

It was shortly after he had returned to the Shen family home.

Driven by a longing for familial warmth, he had secretly raised a puppy back in the orphanage, naming it Big Yellow.

Upon returning to the Shens, Lu Ran had sought the matriarch's permission and brought Big Yellow along with him.

Yet, upon returning from school this time, he witnessed this scene.

Shen Xingran sat on the sofa, two faint red marks visible on her hands.

The Shen matriarch reproached him, claiming that Big Yellow had bitten Shen Xingran and had the dog thrown out.

Preposterous.

Disregarding the fact that Big Yellow, being a nine-year-old dog, had lost most of its teeth, it would be impossible for it to inflict such wounds.

Lu Ran was well aware that Big Yellow wasn't an endearing breed and didn't want to burden his hard-won family, so he either took the dog out or locked it in his room.

How could Big Yellow, with all its strength, break through a securely locked steel door to bite Shen Xingran?

In his previous life, Lu Ran had been unable to defend himself.

No matter how he tried to explain, Shen's mother wouldn't listen.

Ultimately, Lu Ran had sacrificed his nine-year companion for the sake of his family, watching as they cast Big Yellow away.

At first, Lu Ran had chosen to endure silently.

Later, when he faced reality, he could only escape quietly.

But now, in this body, Lu Ran was the one who had spent ten years confined in a small, dark room, hooked up to tubes.

He was on the brink of madness.

"Mother, forgive Brother. The wound on my hand only stings a little."

Shen Xingran lowered his head to hide the smile at the corner of his lips.

Of course, the injury wasn't from that dog's bite.

He opened Lu Ran's door, and that good-for-nothing dog would only cower in a corner, showing no sign of aggression.

He had to trouble himself to create fake wounds.

But as long as it was enough, it would do.

Saying this, Shen Xingran expected Lu Ran to fiercely explain or even curse at him, which would worsen Lu Ran's image in the hearts of the Shen family members.

Unexpectedly, Lu Ran didn't offer any explanation.

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed a handful of Shen Xingran's hair without warning.

Without a word, she lashed out with two slaps, one after another.

"Smack!"

"Smack!"

The crisp sounds echoed through the spacious living room, each one louder than the last.