Chapter 41: Lin Boxu: Otherwise, Why Dislike Him for No Reason…

Ji He finally understood what felt different. Beyond the resentment from old grudges, the Zhou Zhuoyuan of back then was still in pain.

Was it because he was recalling the past? Had the wound never truly healed?

He remembered inviting Zhou Zhuoyuan to his mother’s birthday banquet, only for Zhou Zhuoyuan to refuse almost immediately. It turned out it wasn’t because of schoolwork, but because he feared the pain.

Ji He could never truly understand what it must have felt like for a mere sixteen-year-old Zhou Zhuoyuan to face so much unfamiliar, baseless malice all alone.

Unlike Zhou Zhuoyuan, Ji He had received an excellent education and grown up surrounded by love. His inner strength was far greater, and he didn’t care much for superficial pride.

Even so, just thinking back to those scenes left even Ji He feeling suffocated.

Why should he forgive him?

What right did he have to shamelessly seek Zhou Zhuoyuan’s forgiveness?

~~~

Zhou Zhuoyuan glanced at his palm. “Car keys? What do you want me to do with this? I don’t even have a driver’s license.”

Ji He didn’t bring up the birthday banquet again. “Didn’t you say you wanted to repay the favor for saving your life? I had someone park the car in your family garage. You can drive it once you get your license.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan tossed the keys back into his lap. “I don’t want it. You might as well just transfer me the cash.”

Ji He didn’t mind his attitude. Propping his face up with his good hand, he asked, “How much do you think I’m worth? I’ll send you the money too, and you can keep the car.”

Before Zhou Zhuoyuan could figure out how to respond, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He stepped out to take the call. When he returned, his expression had darkened. It was right in the middle of the morning break between classes. He hurriedly threw on his gear and had Ji He help him request a leave of absence before rushing out.

Lin Boxu was working as a deliveryman now. That day, due to improper operation, his left leg got caught in the conveyor belt, shattering his shin and ankle. Fortunately, someone reacted quickly enough to prevent a worse disaster.

When Zhou Zhuoyuan arrived, the surgery wasn’t finished yet. Jiang Yueyi was leaning in Lin Decai’s arms, tears streaming down her face.

The call had come from the doctor. He hadn’t expected to run into these two, but then again, any normal parents would be here for their child’s surgery. It was his oversight.

Jiang Yueyi looked awkwardly at Zhou Zhuoyuan, who was bundled up tightly. “What are you doing here?”

Yeah, what was he doing here?

Zhou Zhuoyuan took a step back, staring at Jiang Yueyi—the woman who had wanted to feed him to the dogs in his previous life—with a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes.

Lin Decai sneered disdainfully. “Looks like the Zhou Family treats you well. All those designer clothes—you made the right choice back then. Unlike us, forced to send Little Xu out as a delivery boy. Are you here to laugh at him?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t remove his scarf. The hospital AC was cranked up high, and he was starting to feel stifled and overheated, his breath coming out hot. “Not bad. Mostly here to see you two get yours. Watch the karma of swapping other people’s kids come back to bite your own.”

Lin Decai flew into a rage and hissed under his breath, “You little bastard, what the hell are you talking about? Who swapped kids?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t back down further. “Where exactly am I talking nonsense? Did you ever really treat me like family? If you hadn’t known from the start that I wasn’t your biological son, how could you be so brazenly biased?”

Even though the novel explicitly stated that Jiang Yueyi and Lin Decai had been completely unaware of the baby swap before that incident, Zhou Zhuoyuan stubbornly believed the novel was wrong—or that this vile couple had deceived the world’s consciousness.

Otherwise, why would they dislike him for no reason at all? How else to explain why, right after he was born when he hadn’t done a thing, they casually named him Lin Yuan, while putting actual thought into choosing the name Boxu for his brother?

Lin Decai had always called him a bastard, and Jiang Yueyi had always made him yield to Lin Boxu. What explanation was there besides deliberately swapping the babies?

That was how it was written in the novels he’d read.

Lin Decai had no way to explain, so he just snorted coldly. “We didn’t swap any kids anyway. You’ve had your laugh—now get lost!”

Zhou Zhuoyuan did want to leave. He’d wanted to leave ages ago. But hearing that from Lin Decai ignited the same rebellious streak from his childhood, holding him back. “What, you tell me to scram and I just do it? You still think you’re my dad?”

Lin Decai was so furious he looked ready to burst. He simply sat down on the side, closed his eyes, and tuned it all out.

Jiang Yueyi wiped her tears and stepped out to buy some hospital supplies.

Zhou Zhuoyuan pulled up the novel he was following. He hadn’t had much in the way of entertainment before, but lately, while researching online, his browser had recommended this one. Following the tutorial, he’d downloaded the app. A few chapters in, he was hooked. Luckily, it wasn’t a long serialization, so he’d quickly caught up to the latest chapter without cutting too much into his romance time with He Qinglan.

He commented on the latest chapter of the novel: “I like the real rich daughter. When will the fake rich daughter and her biological parents finally get punished?”

His comment quickly went viral, with many people liking and replying to it. Notifications popped up rapidly.

While Zhou Zhuoyuan was liking and supporting his own replies one by one, Lin Boxu was wheeled out by the nurse.

Because it was only local anesthesia, Lin Boxu was still fully conscious at the moment. He first comforted Jiang Yueyi, who had returned after buying things with her tears not yet dried, and only then noticed Zhou Zhuoyuan standing alone in the corner.

Zhou Zhuoyuan was wearing the scarf that Lin Boxu had given him that day, with his hat pulled low over his eyebrows, revealing only a pair of eyes.

Lin Boxu’s heart instantly softened. He skillfully curved his lips into a smile that wasn’t entirely proper: “Little Yuan, why aren’t you coming over to my side?”

Jiang Yueyi didn’t understand why he was so calm, and her gaze turned shocked and suspicious.

What was even more shocking was that Zhou Zhuoyuan actually walked over to his side and stiffly asked in concern: “Can your leg fully recover?”

Lin Boxu replied: “It should be no big problem.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan let out an “oh,” unwilling to keep irritating them at the cost of a thousand damage to himself for eight hundred to them: “Then I’ll head back to school.”

Lin Boxu felt a bit disappointed: “Ah? You’re going back already?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t know how to respond. In front of Jiang Yueyi and Lin Decai, he didn’t want to show too much concern for Lin Boxu—especially since, in this life, Lin Boxu hadn’t done anything for him anyway.

Jiang Yueyi noticed her son’s disappointment and changed her attitude to advocate for him: “Stay and eat lunch before you go. Don’t you really like the braised chicken legs I make?”

“Who likes them?!” Zhou Zhuoyuan reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail. “Let your precious son eat them! I’m not interested!”

Jiang Yueyi’s face immediately fell, but soon she recalled Zhou Zhuoyuan’s complaints about them.

They were indeed biased. Every time they made braised chicken legs, it was an odd number, so Lin Boxu always got one more than Zhou Zhuoyuan. No wonder he was reacting so strongly now.

Lin Decai mocked: “Why keep him around? He’s the young master of the Zhou Family now. Would he even look at our meager scraps?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan’s mind was especially sharp during arguments: “Exactly, I do look down on it. Not only me—your biological son Zhou Zhuoyi looks down on it too! That’s why you’ll never dare to acknowledge him. After all your schemes and evil deeds, you’ll just end up empty-handed!”

Lin Decai was so furious his head nearly exploded: “How many times do I have to say it? We never switched the children!”