Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The next day happened to be Wednesday, and Chen Mo wasn’t woken up naturally; he was shaken awake by Lao Gou.

"What do you want?" Chen Mo asked groggily, his elbow resting on his eyes.

Gou Yiyang didn't even bother to question how Chen Mo had silently slipped into Xi Siyan's bed last night. He just said urgently, "You're still sleeping? Get online, something happened to the Yang family!"

But Chen Mo showed no sign of urgency.

Impatient, Gou Yiyang shoved his phone right in front of Chen Mo's face.

Chen Mo opened his eyes slightly and saw that it was a news video.

In the short half-minute video, Chen Jianli could be seen with a group of people similar to him, shoving and shouting at the security guards outside the Yang Group headquarters. The signs they held clearly read: "Yang Family, Give Us Back Our Son!"

In the video, one could hear:

"Everyone, come see this! The Yang family pretends to be decent but won't let us see our own son!"

"We returned their son safely, but they hired bodyguards to keep us away. They won't even let me or his mother see him. What is the Yang family trying to do? Do they think money gives them the right to bully us common folks?!"

"Everyone, judge for yourselves! The Yang family must give us an explanation today!"

...

This not-so-long video was quickly shared by various media outlets, each with more sensational headlines than the last.

*New Developments in the Yang Family’s Search for Their Son: Why Did the Father Cause a Scene?*

*A Beautiful Accident According to the Yang Family: Is It Luck or Misfortune for Two Families?*

As the news spread, it quickly climbed the city's gossip news charts.

This time, the buzz far exceeded the attention when Chen Mo was first found and the Yang family staged a reunion.

After all, once a topic involves unknown elements, even the most casual passerby can't help but get curious.

Within two hours of the incident, photos of Chen Mo and Yang Shule were posted online.

Chen Mo's photo was a typical student ID picture from two years ago. His hair was cut short back then, making him look a bit green and somewhat fierce.

Yang Shule had many photos. He had an account on the world's largest social media platform, which was easily discovered. There were pictures of him skiing abroad during holidays, traveling, attending concerts, and frequently showing off luxury shoes and bags given by friends and family.

Just two days ago, he had posted a new pair of shoes.

They were the latest model from an international brand, captioned: "The best brother in the world gave these to me. I love them."

Netizens immediately went wild.

"The guy causing a scene at the company is clearly after money. His real son is living a great life!"

"Exactly! If I were his son, I wouldn't want to go back to a hard life either."

"The Yang family is doing well, treating both sons nicely."

"Don't you find it odd? Since the revelation of his true identity, the fake son has been posting more frequently, as if deliberately showing how well his family treats him."

"Now that you mention it, I agree. But isn't it normal? From the perspective of the real son of the Yang family, I'd probably feel annoyed too."

The conversation gradually shifted towards Chen Mo.

Unfortunately, despite extensive digging, netizens couldn't find much information about the real son.

He didn't use public social media, and the Yang family hadn't introduced him publicly since finding him. The latest news about him was still the story calling him a "role model."

Further digging revealed that this role model had recently ranked ninth in his grade.

That was Sui City's top high school, sending countless students to prestigious universities every year.

"What a self-motivated young man. The Yang family must have had great ancestors to have such a remarkable son."

"The Yang family shouldn't take credit. He was already a good student before coming back, as they admitted."

"The Chen family really missed out. This fake son should have been sent to me; my rebellious son is driving me crazy."

Gou Yiyang scrolled through various speculations and comments about Chen Mo.

The more he scrolled, the more frustrated he felt.

Looking at Chen Mo, who was sitting cross-legged on the class monitor's bed, leaning against the wall and about to fall asleep again, he said, "Mo Ge, don't you have any thoughts?"

Chen Mo turned his head, "What should I think?"

Gou Yiyang scratched his chin, "Sure, your grades are good, but if they knew you smoke, drink, fight, and insult people, and sleep in class, would they still say the same?"

"Don't spread rumors about me," Chen Mo said. "My image as a model student is deeply rooted, inside and out."

Lao Gou gave him a look that said, "Are you serious?"

Chen Mo returned the look, "What's wrong with that?"

The Yang family wanted a son like this, and Chen Mo didn't mind fulfilling that expectation.

But there was one thing.

Even Lao Gou was saying, "It's strange. If you just ask around, you'd know that you got warned by the school for fighting, argued with a teacher, and read an apology to the whole school. Yet there isn't a single mention of it online. Instead, Yang Shule's departure from the experimental class is being attributed to poor grades and weak mental fortitude."

This point indeed caught Chen Mo off guard.

After all, he had never tried to control public opinion. But once the public opinion started, Yang Shule, who was never part of Chen Mo's plan, was exposed thoroughly, further fueling the spread of the gossip.

At the top floor of the Yang Group building.

The Yang father and son, having just left the meeting room, wore equally serious faces.

Yang Qi'an asked his eldest son, "How is the situation downstairs?"

"It's already under control; the security guards have taken care of it," Yang Zhi said as they headed towards the office. "We're also calming down the media."

Yang Qi'an pointed at him, "You can't change your arrogant ways. You should have agreed to the Chen boy's demands the first time he came knocking and given him some money to get rid of him. Now, he's exploiting the fact that we didn't tell the truth to the media from the start, betting that we can only continue the lie and let him manipulate us!"

Yang Zhi followed Yang Qi'an into the office and closed the door.

"Father," Yang Zhi admitted, "I acted rashly. I didn't think he would actually dare to cause trouble."

Yang Qi'an waved his hand, frowning, "At this point, we can only have your brother come forward to explain and reconcile with the Chen family. Otherwise, the media will keep hounding us."

Yang Zhi frowned, "Would it be appropriate for Shule to step in? Mother doesn't want any contact with the Chen family."

Yang Qi'an slammed the table, "Look at the situation now! In the meeting just now, did you see how your uncles and aunts were acting? Shule... is after all the Chen family's biological child."

Perhaps it was because Chen Jianli suddenly showed up.

Or perhaps it was due to the Yang Group suddenly finding itself in a worse situation than before.

The current head of the Yang family seemed to finally realize that the child he had allowed his wife to favor and had withdrawn the lawsuit against, should have been surnamed Chen all along.

He was the son Chen Jianli was looking for.

And his own biological son was named Chen Mo.

He had once declared before the old man that he had genuinely cared for the child he had raised for over ten years, but now that sentiment had faded.

Yang Qi'an looked out the window and suddenly said, "Tonight, at the Zhou family's engagement dinner, go to No.1 High School yourself to pick up Chen Mo. The Zhou family has distanced themselves from us over the years due to their dissatisfaction with my marriage to your mother, but family ties must not be severed."

Yang Zhi understood what his father was thinking.

For years, he had been trying to rekindle ties with the Zhou family and hoped to win back their favor by introducing Chen Mo, thus stabilizing his position within the company.

As a son, Yang Zhi shared many similarities with his father—such as the coldness inherent in a large family and the rationality in weighing pros and cons. However, Yang Zhi differed from Yang Qi'an because he knew his father might miscalculate.

Not just because of their long-standing marriage in name only,

But also because his mother had always seen Shule as the savior of her marriage and would not sincerely introduce Chen Mo to the Zhou family.

More importantly, it was because of Chen Mo himself.

If he truly considered himself a member of the Yang family, he wouldn't have stayed away from home for so long after going to school.

This younger brother was slipping out of the Yang family's control.

Yang Zhi was probably the one in the Yang family who saw this most clearly.

When he returned to his office, his assistant followed him in.

"Anything?" Yang Zhi asked.

The assistant bowed slightly and said, "Mr. Yang, the gifts I prepared for the two young masters for their monthly exams were only sent to one of them. Today, those shoes were posted online and widely publicized, so I wanted to ask if you want to replace the other gift."

Yang Zhi pondered for a while.

Then said, "Forget it."

"Not replacing it?"

"No need to send it."

He might not wear it even if it were sent.

And he might not really value it either.

Shule's little tricks of posting photos could only please their mother, but Chen Mo wouldn't do such things.

Regarding this younger brother, Yang Zhi admitted that he was becoming increasingly unclear about him.

When he instructed the assistant to prepare the gifts, he subconsciously ordered two, which seemed somewhat unreasonable.

When Yang Shule arrived at the company.

Yang Zhi had just finished lunch.

"Brother," the teenager entered with a big smile.

Yang Zhi put aside the morning's headache-inducing seriousness and smiled, "You're here. Have you eaten?"

"I have," Yang Shule walked in familiarly and sat on the sofa, "Did you call me for something?"

Many times, Yang Zhi quite liked this younger brother's "innocence."

But sometimes, this "innocence" felt too false, evoking a sense of unfamiliar suspicion.

"Lele," Yang Zhi sat beside him.

Pushing the sweets prepared by the assistant towards him, he said, "I'm sure you've seen today's events online. What do you think about it?"

Yang Shule's lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, but his voice remained calm.

"I know it's all because of me."

After saying this, he raised his head and smiled. "Brother, you've already wronged the other son of the Yang family because of me in the past. Now that it's happening to me, I understand how difficult it is. I was too impulsive before, and the class transfer last time was also due to my rashness, causing Dad to help with connections. Whatever decision you make this time, I'm willing to cooperate."

Yang Zhi patted the young man's head. "It's just a pretense to cooperate with the Chen family to deal with the media. Don't worry."

"I know," said Yang Shule.

His eyes welled up, red enough to soften even the hardest heart.

After Yang Shule left, the assistant asked Yang Zhi, "Mr. Yang, should I go over the script with Young Master Shule to avoid any mistakes?"

"No need," Yang Zhi said, his gaze moving from the obvious nail marks on the black leather sofa to the doorway. "Being a son of the Yang family, there's nothing he truly doesn't understand. He's grown up; he knows what to say."

On that day, it seemed like the whole world was in chaos.

Only Chen Mo's world remained tranquil.

Even the touching scene of Yang Shule and Chen Jianli recognizing each other as father and son, which quickly made the front page with high-definition photos, only earned a fleeting glance from Chen Mo.

Chen Mo merely recalled the second day after waking up, when he encountered Yang Shule at the Yang family's doorstep, trying to move out while others were desperately trying to stop him. In contrast to the current photo, it seemed particularly ironic.

The seemingly decent familial bonds of the Yang family in the previous life turned out to be nothing more than that.

At six o'clock in the evening.

The Yang family's car was waiting at the school gate on time.

Chen Mo, dressed in his school uniform and carrying a shoulder bag, came out of the school and got into the car.

"Big Brother," Chen Mo greeted.

Yang Zhi, dressed formally, sat in the back seat and frowned at him. "Why didn't you change your clothes?"

"Didn't Big Brother prepare anything for me?" Chen Mo asked. "I'm just a student with no experience attending banquets. What should I wear?"

Yang Zhi was taken aback and instructed the assistant in the passenger seat, "Prepare a set of clothes for him."

"Sure," the assistant nodded.

As the car left the school gate and merged into traffic, Yang Zhi looked him over. "Are you in a good mood?"

"Yes," Chen Mo leaned back against the seat, turning his head to smile at Yang Zhi. "When I was leaving, I saw a dog fight at the dormitory building, and it was quite amusing."

Yang Zhi's jaw clenched, leaving deep lines on his face. "Chen Mo!"

"What's the matter, Big Brother?" Chen Mo relaxed, raising an eyebrow. "It was just wild dogs fighting. You're so agitated; did you get bitten by a dog today too?"

The assistant in the front seat had been taking out his phone to arrange for a suit.

But somehow, he dropped the phone between the seats in a fluster.

The assistant bent down to retrieve the phone, wishing he could stick his head in there too.

Yang Zhi's voice was icy. "If you can't pick it up, just get out and buy a new one!"

The assistant shuddered.

"Tsk."

Chen Mo sympathetically watched Assistant Hao, who had followed Yang Zhi through thick and thin in the previous life. This time, he must have only been in the workplace for a couple of years. In the previous life, Chen Mo had coveted this tight-lipped and efficient assistant for a long time but failed to poach him several times.

Chen Mo leaned forward earnestly. "Assistant Hao, working under such a boss is too stressful. Resign. When I join the company, come work for me. How about three times your current salary every month?"

The assistant slowly lifted his head, almost crying at his boss's dark expression. "Second Young Master, please don't mess with me."

"Look at you."

Chen Mo laughed and leaned back into his seat.

Beside him, Yang Zhi suddenly said, "Stealing my people? We'll see when you can actually stand on your own in the company."

"Alright." Chen Mo's eyes gleamed with a glassy quality in the reflected light of the window. He tilted his neck, took a deep breath, and said casually, "We'll see."

In that moment, Yang Zhi had a sudden premonition.

Whether it was the talk of joining the company for dividends or the current talk of stealing people, not a single word was true.

He had never intended to enter the Yang family's company.

This struck Yang Zhi as absurd.

He even wanted to confront him, "Why don't you come? Come and compete with me; isn't this what you truly want by returning to the Yang family?"

But in reality,

the person beside him, after nearly scaring his assistant to tears, calmly crossed his arms and leaned back to rest, kicking the front seat.

"Adjust it; I can't stretch my legs."

The casual tone left no room for doubt; both the driver and the assistant understood that the young master truly regarded the person beside him as air.