Chapter 019 Embarrassment

Chapter 019 Embarrassment

The next day, Zhao Xi came to the hotel to pick them up.

Naturally, he also asked Li Pushu about her thoughts—whether she wanted to meet outside or go back to the Zhao family. However, the Zhao family's preference was for her to come home and meet them first.

There was no reason to know the truth and have the biological child right here, yet refuse to see her.

Li Pushu didn't think much about it. She just wanted to get the matter resolved quickly and return. As for family, she had no expectations of finding them. She only wanted to know how the person who swapped the children would be dealt with.

They returned to the Zhao residence. An Lanzhi, after a night to compose herself, had stabilized emotionally. Though still grieving, she no longer fainted.

When she saw Li Pushu's photo and the details of her upbringing in the documents, she alternated between crying and laughing—crying out of guilt for failing as a mother and letting her child suffer, and laughing because her child was alive, not dead. Otherwise, the rest of her life would have been torment and self-blame.

Zhao Wan was not present. This was a matter for the Zhao family, and she had no right to interfere. Whether she stayed or left would be decided by the Zhao family. If she chose to return on her own initiative, the Zhao family would not stop her, avoiding the need for them to say it. Sometimes, one must have self-awareness to preserve the last bit of dignity.

When Zhao Su said this, An Lanzhi remained silent for a long time, thinking deeply, before finally agreeing.

She understood that if it were simply a case of mistaken identity, keeping the child in the Zhao family would be fine. But this was deliberate, an attempt to harm her own child. Keeping that girl at home would take someone with ten years of brain damage to do such a thing. Even if she wanted to, the Zhao family would not allow it.

Moreover, having Li Pushu come back to see such obvious disparities in lifestyle would only make her feel resentful. And An Lanzhi herself felt uncomfortable—a thorn had lodged in her heart. The thought of raising An Lanshu's child, a constant reminder of her own foolishness, was best avoided.

Back then, when An Lanshu approached her, An Lanzhi had found it a bit strange. But because of her father's involvement, she wanted to keep the peace and reassure him. Besides, they had grown up together as half-sisters. She knew An Lanshu had a stubborn personality, but she never imagined she would do something like this.

No normal person would think of it. An Lanshu had married well into the Su family, living comfortably without worries. Yet she still did such a thing. How could she bear to be separated from her own flesh and blood? It was hard to understand.

"Will this child... accept me?" An Lanzhi waited anxiously at home, her eyes fixed on the door, hopeful and nervous, her hands clasped together.

Zhao Su held her hand reassuringly. "She will. It might be awkward at first, but given time, it'll be fine. If necessary, we'll take five years, ten years... as long as we're alive, I believe she'll accept us eventually. This mistake was our fault, and we need to apologize to her, Lanzhi."

"I know, I know..." An Lanzhi felt like crying again. She wasn't usually someone who cried easily—outwardly gentle but inwardly strong. Yet after learning the truth last night, memories of her second pregnancy surfaced uncontrollably.

She and her husband had longed for a daughter, eagerly awaiting her birth. When the baby started moving, she would talk to her, share many things, buy all kinds of clothes, and personally design the nursery.

Only a mother could understand that feeling. But she had lost the daughter she had so eagerly awaited.

Hearing footsteps, Zhao Xi returned, accompanied by a young man and woman. An Lanzhi's gaze immediately locked onto Li Pushu, refusing to look away.

The moment their eyes met, tears streamed down An Lanzhi's face. Emotions churned within her, and an instinctive fondness and pity welled up.

"Mom, this is Pu Shu, my sister," Zhao Xi said. He didn't like using the surname Li, as if his real sister would never return to the family name.

He turned to Li Pushu and introduced her gently, "Pu Shu, this is Dad, this is Mom. This is where you'll live from now on."

"...Hello." Having met her parents halfway through life, Li Pushu felt little emotional connection. But she noticed the other girl wasn't present, and she was satisfied with the Zhao family's approach—at least they had shown her a welcoming attitude. If she had come back on her first day to see that person, it would have felt like a deliberate slight.

Although it wasn't that girl's fault, she was the beneficiary, and Li Pushu was the victim. There was no way she could shake hands and make peace. If she could be indifferent, then she wouldn't be Li Pushu—she'd be an outsider.

"Pu Shu, my daughter, I'm sorry. It's all my fault for not taking good care of you back then." An Lanzhi couldn't help crying. She walked over, took Li Pushu's hand, and gazed at her tenderly. The more she looked, the more her heart wept.

"Um... please don't cry." Li Pushu felt a bit awkward. She didn't dislike her—An Lanzhi seemed much more genuine than An Lanshu, not giving her any sense of rejection. But they had just met, and she didn't know what to say. "Anyway, I'm doing fine now, really. Not as bad as you imagine."

Seeing An Lanzhi still on the verge of tears, Li Pushu felt a headache coming. She quickly pulled Ye Sui forward and laughed, "Let me introduce you—this is my boyfriend, Ye Sui."

"Hello, Uncle, Aunt, and big brother. This is my first visit, and the situation is urgent and chaotic, so I didn't bring any gifts. Please forgive me." Ye Sui knew her little trick—distracting everyone. He spoke calmly with a faint smile. "When Shu Shu and I get married, having the blessings of our elders would make her very happy, and the wedding would be even more complete."

What? Wedding?

Li Pushu quietly pinched the soft flesh on his waist. He was taking advantage of the situation to sneak in his agenda.

Zhao Xi's eyelid twitched. This guy had some nerve.

"Cough, cough—" Hearing this, Zhao Su choked on his own saliva and shot Ye Sui a dark look. Good kid!

He had just reclaimed his daughter, and now she was about to be taken away? No way, he absolutely wouldn't agree!

An Lanzhi's tears stopped immediately. She stared at Ye Sui in a daze, then instantly transformed into a mother-in-law scrutinizing her son-in-law. Height acceptable, looks acceptable—she put on a poised smile. "Ye Sui, right? You seem like a fine young man. Where do you live? Where did you graduate? What do you do now..."

Last night, she had been too busy crying and stroking the photo to pay attention to other details.

Ye Sui answered each question. An Lanzhi listened, her expression gradually relaxing, and by the end, she was quite satisfied. The mother-in-law's gaze grew increasingly approving. Good men were rare in the market; if she found a decent one, she needed to snap him up quickly.

Their family didn't need their children to marry for connections. As long as they were in love and had a good relationship, that was enough.

"Don't just stand there—come in and sit. Let's all talk as a family." An Lanzhi warmly gestured, nudging her husband's arm to make him tone down his expression.

Ye Sui knew what they wanted to hear, and while speaking, he focused on stories about Li Pushu, making the couple smile from ear to ear. They treated him like half a son.

With him drawing attention, Li Pushu breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't be pressed into conversation, especially in that awkward atmosphere. An Lanzhi's tears made her scalp tingle.

"Is this how he pursued you? Smooth talker, unreliable."

Zhao Xi went with Li Pushu to pour tea. Glancing at Ye Sui, he openly disparaged him. No brother-in-law could ever see his sister's boyfriend in a good light.

"How is that smooth talk? That's called being articulate." Li Pushu defended him.

But she was curious and lowered her voice, "Hey, don't you have a sister? You lived with her for twenty-two years. Why don't you seem that reluctant to let her go? It's different from what I've seen in dramas. Why is that."

"My name isn't 'Hey.' I'm your big brother, your real brother." Zhao Xi corrected her address. "Call me 'brother,' and I'll tell you why."

"Hmph! Keep your secrets!" Li Pushu rolled her eyes, but curiosity got the better of her. She turned back and asked, "Why? We haven't lived together, after all. We only share blood ties, which doesn't compare to her. In dramas, the real daughter's brother only acknowledges the adopted sister and rejects the newly discovered biological one, even being hostile. And, of course, there's another scenario where you protect the fake heiress and fall in love with her, ending up together... Ouch! What are you doing? That hurt!"

Before she could finish her wild speculation, she was flicked on the forehead. Li Pushu quickly rubbed the spot, fuming. Now she understood why Wang Yuqing said she and her brother were always "fighting"—their sibling bond was precarious every day. Just after meeting, she already wanted to pick a fight with her newly acquired big brother.

Zhao Xi showed no guilt. "Good. It hurts, so your head isn't broken. How can such nonsense even cross your mind?"

Leaving that aside, since childhood, he knew the distinction between a brother and a sister in a familial relationship. Even if they later discovered they weren't blood-related, they would keep their distance. If someone could still end up together in such a situation, that person had psychological issues and should see a doctor.

He was a normal person with normal thinking, not some pervert. Anyone who had a brother or sister would be repulsed by the thought of such a twisted relationship. It was nauseating.

Li Pushu retorted, "I was just joking. I didn't say you were actually like that."

Zhao Xi shook his head helplessly. She had watched too many melodramas. But inwardly, he was pleased—this was the real feeling of having a sister, genuine and spontaneous.

"I don't have much against her. She's actually not a bad person, but she likes to pull tricks behind the scenes. On the surface, she's gentle and pure, but when she makes a mistake, she finds someone to take the blame and extricates herself." In the past, Zhao Xi had intended to be a good brother, protecting and caring for his sister. But after being made the scapegoat a few times, that idea faded. He gradually distanced himself, and later, his studies kept him busy, so they interacted less.

So to say their sibling bond was deep—not really. But based on her identity as his sister, he still gave her the protection and care befitting an elder brother.

Li Pushu understood. She raised an eyebrow and mocked, "With a face as shrewd as yours, you still got blamed? I get it—you deliberately didn't expose her. Ooh, what a good big brother you are."

Her sarcastic "ooh" was dripping with mockery.

"Not exactly. Most were trivial matters, so I let them slide. Later, I warned her privately, and it stopped happening." Zhao Xi wasn't one to indulge her. The first couple of times were tolerated out of brotherly indulgence, but if it happened again, he would speak up.

Li Pushu shot him a sidelong glance and said coolly, "Who knows."

At that little expression, Zhao Xi couldn't help but smile, ruffled her hair, and turned to say.

"Mom, Shushu said she wants to eat your cooking."

He wasn't that cunning after all; deep down, he was actually a goofball.

An Lanzhi was constantly watching over the siblings. Seeing them get along so well, she felt relieved.

Hearing Zhao Xi's words, she immediately stood up, beaming, "Of course, Shushu, whatever you want to eat, Mom will make it for you right now."

Li Pushu...

Such a cheeky brother!

Can't out-cheek that—shut the door, unleash Ye Sui!

Only Ye Sui can take him on!

Ye Sui: ...

Great, he has one more use now. Shushu will never leave him. He's happy~