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Tian Jing smiled slightly and listened to Gu Yi introduce his family to the four Gu brothers. The five brothers were born in order: two from the first family, two from the second, and Gu Wu, the youngest, from the third family.
“This is my husband, Zou Rui, my daughter, Lu Tian, and my son, Zou Fan.”
The cousins greeted each other. The five Gu brothers accompanied the family inside. The villa was brightly lit, and the fountain in front of the villa was changing shapes. Zou Fan thought it was cool and secretly tugged at Lu Tian’s little finger: “Sister, can we get a fountain at our house?”
Lu Tian wrinkled her nose and happily threw the question to her stepfather: “Ask Uncle.”
The Zou family lived in a high-end apartment building, not a villa. It wasn’t easy to install a fountain at their front door, but under her son’s expectant gaze, Zou Rui couldn’t bear to refuse: “When you grow up, our family will have a fountain like this.”
Gu Yi kindly said: “Little cousin can come and stay at Grandma’s house, then you can see the fountain every day.”
“No, I want to live with my mom and dad.” Zou Fan, despite his age, wasn’t fooled.
They chatted and laughed, quickly ascending the steps. People inside heard the commotion and came out to greet them, with great courtesy, seeming to highly value Tian Jing’s family.
Grandma Gu, leaning on her cane, looked eagerly at Tian Jing. She moved her lips and called out, “My dear girl.”
“Mom.” Tian Jing warmly held Grandma Gu’s hand and called her Mom.
“My dear girl is back. It’s good to be back. Come, come in quickly.” Grandma Gu’s eyes welled up, constantly stroking Tian Jing’s hand, filled with emotion. Grandma Gu’s three sons and their wives also politely greeted Tian Jing’s family.
Lu Tian, under everyone’s scrutinizing gaze, remained composed, occasionally exchanging sweet smiles with Gu Er. She was different from Yu Ningxuan. Yu Ningxuan was delicate and cute, while she was strikingly beautiful. Although they were related by blood, they were strangers who hadn’t met before. Gu Er uncomfortably avoided her gaze.
When everyone settled in the living room, there was another round of introductions. Grandpa Gu was seriously ill and waiting in the living room. When he saw Tian Jing, he was excited; his own flesh and blood had been switched, and they hadn’t seen each other for over forty years—how could he not regret it!
“I’m going to sue Old Lady Tian! Her heart is so vicious!” Grandpa Gu struggled to say.
There was silence in the living room. Grandma Gu hesitated: “She’s at the end of her life. What more can we gain by arguing? Fortunately, Jingjing is back; let’s not dwell on the rest.”
Everyone present, except Zou Fan, understood her unspoken meaning. If they argued with Old Lady Tian to the end, Yu Ningxuan and her mother’s reputation would be ruined!
Grandpa Gu snorted and called Tian Jing and her children to him, carefully questioning them, and then giving them gifts. He started, and the others followed suit, giving Tian Jing’s family gifts. Lu Tian and Zou Fan received so many red envelopes that their hands were soft, and their smiles were more genuine than when they first arrived.
When the housekeeper came to invite them to dinner, they went to the dining room and sat down. The large round table had been specially changed so that the family could sit together and feel a sense of reunion. Lu Tian silently admired the Gu family’s generosity and courtesy. Looking at Tian Jing, she saw warmth and emotion in her eyes. She hadn’t received family affection while growing up in Tian’s family, so she must have longed for some warmth from her parents.
Dinner was the most tedious part. Lu Tian constantly answered questions from her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Half of them had witnessed the original owner creating a scene at Yu Ningxuan’s engagement ceremony. Now, it was as if they didn’t remember the awkwardness, praising her highly. If it weren’t for the impatience in the eyes of her two cousins, she would almost have believed them.
For the five Gu brothers, it didn’t matter whether their aunt was biologically related or not. However, their cousin had genuinely interacted with them for over twenty years. A woman suddenly appeared, replacing their beloved cousin, and this woman was arrogant and wanted to replace Yu Ningxuan; it was only natural that the five brothers would resist.
After the original owner learned about her origins, she desperately wanted to replace Yu Ningxuan, only to receive the opposite result and became even more angry, escalating her attacks on Yu Ningxuan.
Lu Tian didn’t want to judge who was right or wrong. It was Old Lady Tian’s foolish wish to switch the two families’ daughters. She didn’t care about her cousins’ supposed affection. Why should strangers participate in her great life?
“Tiantian doesn’t seem very happy, are you not used to it? Third brother will take you for a walk?” Gu Shan offered.
Lu Tian didn’t nod but looked at the two elders. Grandpa Gu was particularly fond of her and smiled, letting her go for a walk. Tian Jing looked at her worriedly, and Lu Tian gave her a reassuring smile.
Gu Si and Gu Wu also got up to go, and Lu Tian didn’t refuse. She took her phone and went out with them.
The evening breeze was gentle. Streetlights were spaced throughout the spacious garden, illuminating the path. The four of them walked on the flat path, no one speaking for a while.
“Tiantian, do you have a boyfriend? Fourth brother is doing postgraduate studies at Peking University, why haven’t I seen you around?” Gu Si spoke first, with a straight-forward and inquisitive manner.
Lu Tian resisted the urge to roll her eyes and skillfully replied: “Maybe I’m too inconspicuous, Fourth Brother didn’t see me!”
The three looked at each other. With her outfit tonight, who would dare say she was inconspicuous?
Gu Shan cleared his throat, walked in front of Lu Tian, thinking he looked cool as he walked backward, looking at her: “Tiantian, I heard from Xuanxuan that you were best friends since high school?”
“Yes.” Lu Tian moved to the side, and Gu Shan leaned to the side with her movement, completely unaware of anything unusual.
“Third Brother, you’re asking why I tricked Yu Ningxuan and revealed everything at her engagement ceremony, right?”
Why didn’t she follow the script? Gu Shan’s prepared words were suddenly stuck in his throat. He stiffly smiled: “Tiantian is really smart.”
“Not really, I just understand a little bit of human nature.”
Gu Shan was stunned, his foot tripped on something, and he sat down on the ground. The other two brothers were surprised, then suppressed their laughter. Lu Tian unceremoniously laughed out loud: “Third Brother, don’t try to be cool, look behind you.”
“…”
After an awkward silence, they went to the pavilion and sat down. There was a faint scent of herbs in the pavilion, probably used to repel mosquitoes around the flowers and plants. A small night light was placed in the pavilion, showing that someone had been sitting there recently.
Lu Tian unceremoniously sat in that quiet chair, casually picking up the book on the stone table. There were two dried flowers inside, carefully preserved. She wanted to pick up the dried flowers to look at them, but Gu Wu, who had been silent, suddenly snatched the book and flowers from her hand, sternly saying, “Don’t touch Xuanxuan’s things!”
“Oh, so you’re trying to get Yu Ningxuan to see me?” Lu Tian looked around, questioning, “Where is Yu Ningxuan? She was sitting here just now, right? Why isn’t she brave enough to come out?”
Yu Ningxuan, in a princess dress, stepped out from the shadows, her eyes filled with tears: “Lu Tian, you’re going too far!”
“Huh? What did I do?”
“Han Yifan and I broke up! You’re satisfied now? You schemed to ruin my engagement ceremony. What do you want? Do you want to marry Han Yifan? Heh, then you can go to the Han family and propose now!” Yu Ningxuan trembled with anger, her eyes swollen and red, clearly having cried for a long time.
Lu Tian didn’t have the mood to sympathize with three men in suits while feeding mosquitoes. She looked her up and down: “You say this is my fault? Isn’t the root cause your grandmother? If she hadn’t switched the two children, would this have happened? Would Han Yifan have called off the engagement if he still loved you? Besides, aren’t you still here? Have I harmed any of your interests?”
“You—” Yu Ningxuan was speechless because Lu Tian spoke the truth.
Gu Wu stepped forward first: “Lu Tian, this isn’t your home, you can’t decide Xuanxuan’s fate! If you reach too far, you’ll face consequences!”
“I’ll return the same words to you! I only revealed the truth, I didn’t do anything. You’re all so aggressive. Shouldn’t I have spoken up when I discovered the truth?”
The four fell silent. Gu Si reacted first, saying in a low voice: “You shouldn’t have done it at Xuanxuan’s engagement ceremony. Do you know how much it hurt her?”
“The hurt you’re talking about is realizing Han Yifan’s true nature as a scumbag?” Lu Tian calmly stood up, lightly glancing at them: “I don’t need you to teach me how to do things. In the future, we’ll go our separate ways. Otherwise, I’m not a pushover!”
She turned and left in her high heels, the clicking sound echoing in the night.
Yu Ningxuan stared at her back, realizing she had nothing to say. She bit her lip and cried. Seeing her so pitiful, her three brothers softly persuaded her: “We’ll protect you in the future, we won’t let Lu Tian bully you.”
“Wuwuwu, we’re not related by blood, brothers, I don’t want to leave you…” Yu Ningxuan was genuinely heartbroken. Apart from the way Lu Tian revealed the truth, which was too provocative, it seemed like she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“It’s okay, even if we’re not related by blood, we’re still siblings!”
Gu Si suddenly remembered something: “Could this Lu Tian be the Lu Tian who helped your ex-boyfriend hide his affair?”
Yu Ningxuan felt like she had been brainwashed by Lu Tian. She nodded, recalling two painful events: “Yes, it’s her.”
“Humph, I knew she wasn’t a good person!” Gu Wu had a righteous indignation expression.
“Xuanxuan, Lu Tian is cunning. Don’t be alone with her in the future, I’m afraid you’ll be taken advantage of,” Gu Shan rubbed his buttocks, which were sore from hitting a tree root, summarizing his painful experience.
Yu Ningxuan took note of her brothers’ advice, wiped away her tears, and went back to the villa with them.
The surveillance cameras near the pavilion faithfully recorded their actions. The old butler compiled what they said and gave it to Grandpa Gu, who had left earlier. He listened, not angry but amused: “Jingjing and Tiantian are more like my Gu family children. What kind of appearance is this constant crying?”
The old butler smiled: “Fortunately, the young lady has been found. Sir, you can have Miss Lu come back to accompany you often.”
“Mm.” Grandpa Gu nodded in satisfaction.
Author’s Note:
Ten minutes late ←_←
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