Chapter 119: Second brother’s unknown side

Chapter 119: The Unseen Depths of Second Brother

Cradled in Second Brother’s arms, the little one sensed his displeasure the moment his mood shifted.

Dangling from his arm, Little Dumpling watched as the uninvited guests brazenly settled onto their sofa, her cheerful expression instantly fading.

Lately, Zhi Zhi had been studying with Second Brother, absorbing a wealth of knowledge from him.

"Uninvited guests," "Taking without permission is stealing"—these rules were firmly etched in her mind.

These visitors were nothing like Grandpa Qin and Uncle Song, who had graced their home with visits before.

Zhi Zhi disliked the smiles on their faces; they lacked any warmth or genuine affection.

Giving Second Brother’s hand a gentle squeeze, Little Dumpling piped up, "Second Brother, who are they?"

Her clear, childlike voice abruptly cut off the woman’s tearful lament.

The woman forced an awkward smile, lifting her heavily made-up face to cast an annoyed glance at Little Dumpling. "Sweetie, it’s impolite for children to interrupt when adults are talking."

Though the woman maintained a smile, attempting to appear amiable, her expression was far from pleasant—it was almost grotesque.

Zhi Zhi’s manners had been meticulously taught by Fu Yuchen. The woman’s accusation of impoliteness was a direct affront to him.

The young man stood tall and straight, shifting his grip to hold his sister more securely. He spoke in a low, steady voice, "I’m afraid I no longer have any ties to my birth parents. Please return to where you came from."

The woman’s smile froze, then vanished completely.

They had recently seen Fu Yuchen’s face in the news and couldn’t help but notice his striking resemblance to her younger brother in his youth.

When they had "given" Fu Yuchen to Fu Cheng years ago, there had been minimal paperwork—they only recalled that the family adopting their nephew was surnamed Fu.

The more they dwelled on it, the more resentment festered within them.

Back then, her younger brother had eloped with some woman, abandoning his arranged marriage and fathering an illegitimate child.

Later, that woman died from postpartum hemorrhage, and her brother was killed in a car accident on the way to the hospital.

Their entire family believed the child was cursed, bringing misfortune to those around him.

When Fu Cheng offered to adopt the boy, they readily agreed without a second thought.

At this realization, the woman’s smile vanished entirely.

Her brow furrowed deeply as she stared intently at the young man. "What do you mean, no ties? My own brother was your father, and my sister-in-law was your mother. You are their child—how can you say there’s no relation?"

"Oh, I see now. You just don’t want to be associated with us poor relatives, do you? Fu Yuchen, I never imagined you’d be so heartless at such a young age. This Fu family isn’t all that great—we should have left you at the orphanage back then. You have no manners whatsoever!"

Fu Yuchen held his sister securely, suppressing the displeasure in his eyes as he signaled to a nearby servant. "Take Miss upstairs to her room."

Then, he lowered his head to speak to Zhi Zhi. "Zhi Zhi, why don’t you go upstairs with Auntie and watch the little fat fish play soccer? Second Brother will join you after I’ve handled things here."

Ordinarily, Little Dumpling would obediently follow the servant upstairs.

But today, as if in a sudden rebellious phase, she clung tightly to Second Brother’s neck, refusing to let go. "Zhi Zhi doesn’t want to watch the little fat fish. Zhi Zhi wants to protect Second Brother!"

Her tiny face crumpled in distress.

She hated anyone who spoke ill of Second Brother. He was so wonderful; everyone loved him. Why were there still hateful people who cursed him?

Resting her small head on Second Brother’s shoulder, Little Dumpling whispered, "Zhi Zhi didn’t give Second Brother enough good luck, that’s why these bad people came. Zhi Zhi will give all her good luck to Second Brother, so the bad people will go away!"

Fu Yuchen sensed his sister’s emotional distress and gently stroked her back.

He hadn't anticipated that the arrival of his birth parents would lead his sister to blame herself.

A faint smile touched Fu Yuchen’s eyes as he murmured, "Second Brother already has plenty of good luck. Some troubles are simply unavoidable."

"Don’t be afraid, Zhi Zhi. Second Brother won’t be bullied."

Seeing her little nose redden and tears welling in her eyes—her face a picture of barely suppressed sorrow—Fu Yuchen’s heart ached.

Ignoring the couple seated on the sofa, he began pacing the living room, cradling and comforting his sister.

The woman, enraged at being ignored, slapped away her husband’s restraining hand and stormed over to block Fu Yuchen’s path.

"Yuchen, I am your own aunt—your blood relative! After all these years of searching for you, is this how you treat your family?"

"Our whole family has been thinking of you all these years, especially your grandfather. He cried himself blind, dying without ever seeing you again."

"That adoptive father of yours is heartless. After taking you away, he never brought you back. Did he ever even tell you about your true origins? I always knew he was no good—pah! What a despicable wretch!"

She spat onto the expensive cashmere rug, her chest heaving with fury as she glared at Fu Yuchen, as if she wished to tear him limb from limb.

Fu Yuchen stopped.

He had intended to send his sister upstairs first, to spare her from witnessing his unpleasant side.

But she clung tightly to his neck, whimpering whenever he tried to loosen her grip.

This tactic was Fu Yuchen’s ultimate weakness; he had no choice but to let her remain nestled on his shoulder.

The tall, slender young man seemed utterly unaffected by his birth aunt’s rage.

He looked down at the woman, his expression cold and detached, and said, "Have you spent all the money my father gave you?"

Fu Yuchen’s words instantly silenced the furious woman.

Her eyes widened, and it took her a long moment to stammer out, "What... what money? What nonsense are you talking about, child?"

Fu Yuchen’s expression remained unchanged, but his long, narrow peach-blossom eyes held a chilling glint.

"Am I wrong? Haven’t you always hounded my father for money over the years, tens of thousands at a time?"

"Don’t look at me like that, and don’t project your sordid thoughts onto my father."

"I’ve known since childhood that I wasn’t his biological son. He never hid it from me. As for the money he gave you, you always claimed it was for supporting elderly relatives. But as far as I know, my biological grandparents have been buried for years."

Narrowing his eyes at the woman, whose face was now tinged with guilt, Fu Yuchen continued, "Do you know why my father stopped giving you money these past two years?"

As the woman’s confused gaze fixed on him, Fu Yuchen’s lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. "Because every penny that flowed into your accounts after that came through my hands."

"I’ve always known my origins. My father gave me the choice to stay or leave—I chose to remain with the Fu family."

"You relentlessly demanded money from him. At first, my father complied, but when I discovered it, I had you investigated and took over the handling of those payments myself."

"Yet, in the past two years, even after my grandparents passed away, you still came to my father for money. The elders were already dead, yet you continued to exploit their names to leech off them. And now you stand before me, accusing me of being heartless?"

Fu Yuchen had never spoken so many words in one breath in his entire life.

This outburst finally dissipated the knot of suppressed anger in his chest.

The woman standing before him flushed crimson, pointing a trembling finger at his nose, utterly speechless for a long moment.

"What are you just standing there for? Get over here!"

Unable to counter Fu Yuchen’s sharp words, the woman immediately turned to her husband, who sat stiffly on the sofa, his face etched with unease.

"Worthless coward, watching your wife get bullied and cowering like a turtle!"

"Who do you think I’m shamelessly showing up here for, if not for all of you?"

The man was indeed spineless.

Faced with his wife’s insults, he remained silent, instead lifting his eyes to look at Fu Yuchen.

Finally, in the vast main living room of the Fu residence, the man’s timid voice piped up, "Yuchen, your aunt... she means no harm. She just cares about you and wanted to see you."

"Your eldest cousin is getting married soon, and we wanted to send you an invitation..."