Xu Yijie stood in the darkness, hidden by the night. No one noticed his presence, but the smiling faces of this family agitated his nerves.
What did they mean by this? They were his parents, yet there was an extra son. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be Xu Dazhu from the same clan. Wasn't he an orphan with no parents? He ate at their home and called them mom and dad. Suddenly, Xu Yijie thought of something terrifying: his parents wouldn't abandon him and adopt someone else, would they?
The moment this thought arose, he fell into infinite fear. If that were the case, where in this vast world would he belong? Everyone had abandoned him.
He couldn't help but clench his fists, his eyes red as he watched them perform their father-son affections.
He endured for a long time but eventually couldn't hold back. He rushed quickly before them. Seeing their surprised expressions, he immediately regretted it, feeling like an unloved child begging for their charity.
Since being adopted into the Xu family, Xu Dazhu felt he had fallen into a nest of fortune. He was extremely grateful and cherished this hard-won life. He was absolutely filial to Father and Mother Xu. He knew that all of this was due to Xu Yijie's death, but when Xu Yijie stood before him alive, he trembled all over, afraid of returning to his past life.
After spending these days together, Father Xu and Xu Dazhu had developed feelings for each other. He immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly grasped Xu Dazhu's hand, patting it to comfort him.
This action completely enraged Xu Yijie. He looked at Xu Dazhu with hatred, feeling that he had stolen his parents. What made him even angrier was that after Father Xu noticed his ill-intentioned gaze, he quickly pulled Xu Dazhu behind him, his protective intent very obvious. In Xu Yijie's memory, his father had always been indifferent to him, never involved in his upbringing. Xu Dazhu had only lived with them for a few days and was already being defended.
He couldn't help but say sarcastically, "You were never concerned about me when I was young, but you're so attentive to this outsider. Perhaps I'm not your son at all, and he's your biological child."
Father Xu had long since seen through his son, considering him selfish and unscrupulous. When he heard such heartless words, he was still amused to the point of anger, saying with a sense of resignation, "You're right, he truly is my son now. At least he's filial and knows gratitude, unlike you, who only craves wealth and glory. You even faked your death. Do you know how your mother and I lived through those years? How many tears we shed in the quiet of the night? You don't care. If you cared, why wouldn't you have sent us a letter?" Sudanshu.com
Xu Yijie felt a little guilty about this, but it wasn't an excuse for his father's lack of concern. He retorted stubbornly, "Before this happened, no matter how well or poorly I did, you never said a word to me. You looked at me with cold, unfamiliar eyes. Anyone would think I wasn't a member of the Xu family."
Father Xu had completely given up on him, treating him like a stranger. He said with a cold laugh, "You should ask your mother about that. Do you think I can control her? If I thought you did something wrong and spoke a little too harshly, your mother would cry, make a scene, or even threaten to hang herself. People would think something terrible had happened in our family. Besides, even if I didn't care about you, your mother certainly doted on you, didn't she? But what happened? Stop trying to save face with these excuses."
Xu Yijie didn't want to continue this topic. He knew he was in the wrong no matter what. Looking at Xu Dazhu, who was still hiding behind his father, he pointed at him with a trembling hand and said, "You've adopted him into the family, haven't you? Then what about me? What is my position? The family fortune should all be mine. Now there's an extra person to share it. Have you considered my feelings?"
Just as Mother Xu was about to say something, Father Xu cut her off, speaking indifferently, "There's something I need to inform you about. All the Xu family's industries will belong to Dazhu from now on. You have no share in them. A while ago, I went to the yamen and had your household registration canceled. After all, everyone in the clan knows you no longer exist, don't they? They readily gave me proof. I've provided for you for years, raised you, and sent you to school to become a xiucai. I've done more than enough for you. What I own, I can give to whomever I please. It's useless to argue."
Seeing Father Xu speak such heartless words, Mother Xu couldn't take it anymore. She looked at him with pleading eyes, "Master, he is our son!"
"If you want to acknowledge him, I'll give you a divorce letter right now. You and your son can go wherever you want, do as you please. I won't care, and I won't interfere." Father Xu saw that Mother Xu still wanted to protect him and delivered an ultimatum. If she said such a thing in front of him again, he wouldn't mind kicking her out.
Upon hearing this, Mother Xu quickly fell silent. She had felt her husband's attitude towards her change in recent days. She believed he would do as he said and could only look at her son with apology in her eyes.
She couldn't leave the Xu family. Her parents had died long ago, and her elder brother and sister-in-law were not in charge. Where would she go? She couldn't end up wandering outside like her son.
At this moment, what did Xu Yijie not understand? Even his mother wasn't on his side. He went mad and flipped all the plates and bowls on the table to the floor. They were all startled by him. Xu Dazhu, worried about the elderly Father Xu getting hurt, quickly moved from behind him to in front of him. He himself was young and could recover if injured at home.
Father Xu looked at him with great satisfaction. It was the first time he had experienced being protected by his son in his old age. This was enough for a lifetime. Xu Yijie's heart was deeply impacted. It was the first time he reflected on himself. If he and Father Xu could have swapped identities, would he also have liked a son like Xu Dazhu? Tears flowed uncontrollably.
He stared fixedly at the father and son, unwilling to concede, "I will remember this scene forever. I will never set foot in the Xu family's door again. My life or death will not concern you. Take care of yourselves."
Watching Xu Yijie's dejected back, the three people in the room fell silent. Xu Dazhu stood there awkwardly and then silently began to clean up the mess on the floor. He knew his parents were feeling distressed and didn't dare to disturb them.
Xu Yijie, walking out the door, felt some regret. He didn't have much affection for his parents. He just felt that everything here belonged to him, and no one could touch it. Seeing someone had replaced his position, he felt a sense of loss, which made him so angry.