Chapter 22: The Newly Appeared Younger Brother
Jiang Yu had been busy all day, collapsing onto the sofa carrying a body full of exhaustion and a dull headache. He was just about to secretly take the tablet out again to see if Jiang Qing had come up with any “new creations” this afternoon when his phone suddenly rang.
“……..” He massaged his temples and answered the call.
“Mom.”
“Eldest Treasure ah…” Mother Jiang’s voice came from the other end of the line.
Jiang Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He sat up straighter, his tone unchanging: “Speak.”
The other end of the line fell silent for two seconds: “You’re going to have a younger brother.”
“????????”
In that instant, even Jiang Yu—who was accustomed to weathering great storms without changing his expression—had his brain completely crash.
Countless absurd thoughts flashed through his mind:
Are you two elders… suddenly trying to boost the national birth rate at over half a century old????????
Do you think three isn’t “lively” enough???
Or is Father… old but vigorous to this extent???
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he felt his headache worsening:
“…Mom, are you… sure? I mean… you and…”
“Aiya! Where is your mind going!” Mother Jiang immediately cut him off, her tone half-laughing, half-crying.
“It’s not that I’m pregnant right now! It’s that I discovered we had a child from before, who was swapped at birth with Jiang Linmu back then!!!”
“…”
This time, Jiang Yu couldn’t even issue a single question mark.
He gripped his phone, his entire body frozen on the sofa.
Swapped… children?
Jiang Linmu… isn’t biological?
That Jiang Linmu whom he had watched grow up since childhood—the one he thought was useless but turned a blind eye to as long as he didn’t end up dead—was actually not a child of the Jiang family?
“Mom,”
“Explain clearly. What’s going on?”
The family already had two younger brothers who cost him countless amounts of mental energy; now there was going to be an extra, true younger brother who had been wandering outside?
Mother Jiang’s voice on the other end carried excitement:
“We also just accidentally found out recently. We did a paternity test… Our real child, his name is Su Lin.”
“Are you free right now? I’ll send you an address. Let’s meet and talk in detail.”
Jiang Yu hesitated for almost zero seconds.
“Send me the address, I’m heading over now.”
He had to figure all of this out immediately, before this news reached the ears of his two younger brothers at home, and especially before he confirmed… exactly who this Su Lin was.
Hanging up the phone, Jiang Yu hurriedly grabbed his car keys and phone. On the screen, the address Mother Jiang sent was a cafe.
He walked briskly toward the parking lot.
Whether this Su Lin was a coincidence or harbored ulterior motives, whether the swap back then was an accident or man-made, he had to go confirm it personally.
The Jiang family absolutely did not permit the appearance of any uncontrolled variables.
Especially any existence that could potentially cause harm to Jiang Qing.
————————————
Su Lin sat there expressionlessly.
He knew that being found was only a matter of time.
It was just that these two people sitting in front of him, claiming to be his “parents,” seemed slightly different from what he had imagined.
Although Mother Jiang said they would eat and chat, she had actually ordered an entire table full of desserts for herself.
On the other side, Father Jiang sat with his back straight, hands folded and resting on the table, his jawline tense, looking extremely stern…
That is, if you ignored the strawberry milkshake in front of him—complete with a little umbrella and a colorful straw, looking so pastel pink and tender it instantly made one think of the beauty of first love.
Su Lin’s gaze lingered on that glass of strawberry milkshake for half a second before quickly moving away.
“……..”
“Try this, their tiramisu is very good.” Mother Jiang pushed a plate of tiramisu in front of him.
Father Jiang cleared his throat, seemingly wanting to say something, but his gaze swept over the untouched coffee in front of Su Lin, then looked at his own strawberry milkshake, and ultimately just picked up the straw to take a sip.
Mm.
Strawberry milkshake is tasty.
Seeing him not making a move, Mother Jiang didn’t force it, pushing the plate of tiramisu a bit closer to him again.
“We know this news is very sudden for you, and it is for us too.” Mother Jiang’s voice was gentle, “What happened in the past was our negligence, letting you suffer grievances outside. The Jiang family acknowledges this, and your father and I acknowledge this.”
She looked at Su Lin with soft yet firm eyes: “Recognizing you and bringing you back isn’t to force you to immediately accept anything. You are a child of the Jiang family—this has already been confirmed. Therefore, the identity, respect, and support that belong to you, the Jiang family will not fall short on a single one.”
Father Jiang spoke up, “Bloodline is a fact, but affection and trust require time. The Jiang family will not use familial ties to kidnap you emotionally, and equally, we will not endlessly accommodate on matters of principle just because of the absence in the past.”
He paused slightly and continued: “Regarding your arrangements, we have a few preliminary thoughts. You can temporarily move back to the main residence to familiarize yourself with the environment and give us a chance to understand you more. Or, if you feel you need more private space, we have a few properties in the city with good environments; you can choose any of them.”
“Of course,” Mother Jiang took over, her tone becoming more soothing, “this is just a beginning. We can discuss the specifics slowly. Today, we mainly wanted to meet you and let you know our stance.”
“We know suddenly bringing up recognizing relatives is too abrupt for you. But rest assured, the Jiang family won’t force you to do anything.”
“If you have any needs regarding your studies or life, tell us directly. The Jiang family has the capability to protect you.”
“Of course, it mainly depends on your own wishes.”
Right at that moment, the cafe door was pushed open.
Jiang Yu appeared at the entrance. His gaze swept over the entire place, finally locking onto this table—and the young man sitting quietly.
He approached step by step and came to a halt in front of the table.
“Ah, Little Yu, you’re here.” Mother Jiang hurriedly gestured for Jiang Yu to sit down, shifting inward to make room.
Su Lin originally had his eyes downcast, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the handle of his coffee cup. Sensing the gaze, he lifted his eyelids, returning the look just as expressionlessly.
Finally, Jiang Yu spoke: “Do you have the paternity test? Let me see it.”
Mother Jiang quickly pulled a document out of her bag and handed it over: “Yes, right here. We had it expedited; the results are very clear.”
Jiang Yu took the report, his eyes rapidly sweeping over the key data and conclusions on it.
The results of the report were beyond doubt.
Su Lin was indeed the Jiang family’s biological son who had wandered outside.
Jiang Yu closed the file, raising his eyes to look at Su Lin once more: “The report is fine.”
He gently placed the document folder in the center of the coffee table, pushing it to the spot between Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, and Su Lin.
“Since the blood relation is confirmed, then, we need to talk about your arrangements going forward.”
————Mini Theater————
[Yuyu: The Jiang family absolutely does not permit the appearance of any uncontrolled variables. Especially any existence that could potentially cause harm to Jiang Qing.]
[Little Mumu: Brother, if the true young master comes to our house, shouldn’t I, the fake young master, be the one who gets screwed over the most? Does my life or death not matter anymore?]
[Yuyu: You? Go stay wherever it’s cool.][Little Mumu: ????????]
————————————
Trivia: The Jiang family are all sweet tooths. Don’t look at Jiang Yu’s exterior and think he has absolutely nothing to do with desserts; in reality, he is also a dessert lover.
His office desk drawers contain who knows how many boxes of chocolates.
Previously, when Jiang Linmu proposed in his nth protest that he wanted to eat savory soy milk and savory tofu pudding, the entire family flatly rejected him.
He was even teased by Mother Jiang, questioning if he was really her biological child, asking why everyone else loved eating sweets but he didn’t.
And now, the eternal mystery regarding Jiang Linmu’s “misfit” taste, for which he suffered injustice for years, finally has an answer.[Jiang Linmu: Hahahahahaha!!!!!! Mom!!! I told you there was a reason I didn’t like eating desserts hahahahahaha!!!!!!!]
[The Whole Family: (Opens the door)]
[Jiang Linmu: What are you guys doing.]
[The Whole Family: Take care on your way out, we won’t see you off.]
[Jiang Linmu: I suddenly feel like being sweet is pretty good too, just like you guys. (Finger heart)]
Next second:[Jiang Linmu: None of you can force me to leave today!!!!!!]
[Jiang Linmu: (Lies down completely straight) In life I am a Jiang family ghost, and in death I am also a Jiang family person!!!!!!!]
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