Chapter 1: Switched at Birth
Several bolts of lightning streaked across the ominous sky as a fierce wind rose. The sharp crack of dry branches slapping against the window startled the person in bed awake.
Chi Xiasheng’s eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. He struggled to open them.
His face was pale, completely drained of color, and his lips were dry and chapped. Gasping for breath like a beached fish, he stretched out a hand and barely managed to grab the phone on his bedside table.
He had only a few contacts. He tapped on “Older Brother” and made the call.
It connected after a single ring.
“Hello? Where are you?! Don’t you know Mianmian fainted from shock?!”
A harsh, cold reprimand came from the other end of the line. The biting tone choked back any words Chi Xiasheng had meant to say, and his heart sank.
Because Su Chimian had fainted on set after being frightened by an out-of-control horse, the entire family had rushed to the hospital. They were all anxiously gathered around Su Chimian’s bed, waiting for him to wake up.
And Chi Xiasheng, also a son of the Su family, was treated as if he were invisible, forgotten in a corner.
No one cared that he was burning up with a fever nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104°F).
All their warmth and affection were reserved for the family’s “little” son—Su Chimian.
“Why aren’t you talking?! Gone mute?! If you’re not busy, get to the hospital now. Make some soup and bring it for Mianmian!”
His older brother’s voice was filled with condescension and command.
Chi Xiasheng could almost picture it: his brother’s handsome brows would be knitted in a severe frown, as if taking it for granted that he should be making soup for Su Chimian.
After all, with Su Chimian’s “delicate” health, it was only natural for Chi Xiasheng to serve him.
Despite his raw, dry throat, Chi Xiasheng couldn’t stop a derisive chuckle from escaping.
The sound traveled through the phone, and his brother’s tone instantly turned to ice.
“What are you laughing at? Are you happy that something happened to Mianmian?! He’s your biological brother! He took such good care of you and was the first person in the family to accept you! Not only do you lack a shred of gratitude, but you’re laughing when he’s in trouble. As expected, we never should have brought you back!”
He was always so cold and distant, an unthawable block of ice.
Compared to Su Chimian, who was like a warm little sun, he was nothing like a member of the Su family.
Chi Xiasheng’s throat ached. Hearing his brother’s words, he couldn’t help but break into a gut-wrenching cough.
Biological brother?!
What a joke!
A single tear, born of physical strain, escaped the corner of his eye. He wiped it away roughly. He took a moment to compose himself before the cold voice on the phone finally stopped his coughing fit.
Chi Xiasheng had been found by the Su family in his final year of university.
He had lived in an orphanage for eighteen years, only leaving when he came of age. He had to work part-time not only to pay for his own living expenses but also to send money back to the director who had raised him.
Chi Xiasheng had watched many of the younger children in the orphanage grow up, and now that he was an adult with some ability to earn, he naturally wanted to give back.
So, when he learned that his birth parents had appeared, Chi Xiasheng was both incredibly surprised and overjoyed.
He had longed for a warm home more than anything. A stern father, a gentle mother, a lively older brother, a younger brother—it all appeared before him so suddenly. In the days before he moved back to the Su family home, even his dreams were sweet.
Although his mother told him they had another son, Su Chimian, born after him, Chi Xiasheng didn’t hold much resentment.
His mother explained that she had been heartbroken after “accidentally losing” him, but soon after, she became pregnant with Su Chimian. Because of this, her younger son had been born with a weak constitution.
Having often cared for the frail younger children at the orphanage, Chi Xiasheng did not hold back his own gentle care for his once-sickly brother.
Su Chimian truly seemed to glow, attracting the attention of everyone in the Su household. If he caught so much as a minor cold, Mother Su would throw on a coat in the middle of the night to call the family doctor for a house visit.
Chi Xiasheng did feel a pang of jealousy, but he would quickly let it go, telling himself that this was, after all, his brother, connected by blood.
However, the more time they spent together, the more Chi Xiasheng felt something was wrong with Su Chimian.
Whenever Chi Xiasheng tried to do something, Su Chimian would inevitably get involved, meddle until the whole thing was a complete failure, and then Chi Xiasheng would be blamed by his parents for having ill intentions.
Every time, Su Chimian would look at their parents with wide, red-rimmed eyes and pitifully try to “defend” Chi Xiasheng.
But this only ever made their parents more furious, further convincing them that Chi Xiasheng was secretly trying to harm his younger brother.
Chi Xiasheng had a reserved personality. Although his heart was breaking, he endured it time and time again for the sake of them being his family.
But subsequent events pushed him to his limit. In just one short year, his hope for his parents and family had shattered and fallen to rock bottom.
This time, during a visit to the film set, the horse in front of Su Chimian and Chi Xiasheng was suddenly spooked.
Chi Xiasheng reacted instantly, scrambling to get out of the way.
But Su Chimian was frozen in fear. He latched onto Chi Xiasheng’s arm, completely still.
Although Chi Xiasheng’s affection for this brother had long since faded, he couldn’t just watch him get trampled—especially since Su Chimian was clinging to his arm, leaving him no choice but to drag him along.
But as they tried to escape, they tripped over a rock. In the next second, Su Chimian pushed Chi Xiasheng away from him.
Chi Xiasheng turned his head and saw a look of malicious glee on Su Chimian’s face. His heart froze.
An out-of-control horse is not easily stopped. The situation was incredibly dangerous. The film crew had already braced for the inevitable: Chi Xiasheng was about to be severely trampled!
But strangely, the horse came to a sudden halt just a few inches from him.
The hot breath from its nostrils puffed against his skin. The horse’s head gently, almost cautiously, nuzzled his shoulder.
Chi Xiasheng’s heart was pounding from the exertion, fear and panic swirling in his chest.
But the expected pain never came. He felt a sudden warmth on his shoulder and looked up to see a gentle kindness in the horse’s eyes.
Chi Xiasheng inexplicably felt… affection? From the horse?
Everything after that was a blur. Su Chimian, terrified, fainted. The paramedics and the Su family rushed him away.
Chi Xiasheng was also deeply shaken. He felt his strength drain away in an instant, his lips turning white and his body temperature inexplicably skyrocketing. He was sent home in a half-conscious daze.
But it was a good thing he had been sent home, Chi Xiasheng thought with a cold sneer. Otherwise, he might have been kept in the dark for the rest of his life.
The person he thought was his biological brother, the Su family’s youngest son, Su Chimian, had no blood relation to the Su family at all!
At that moment, Chi Xiasheng was lying in his bedroom. Though his body was weak, his mind was terrifyingly clear.
Through the half-open door, Mother Su’s gentle voice seemed to echo in his ears. “Mianmian has been frail since he was a child. I can’t imagine how much he’ll suffer after being frightened by that horse.”
Another, slightly older voice replied, “Sigh, Mianmian’s health really does need to be carefully looked after. But what about Chi Xiasheng in the other room? At the end of the day, he’s still your child. You can’t be so biased.”
“I know, but I’ve raised Mianmian by my side for twenty years. I can’t help but dote on him!”
The older voice sighed heavily. “You’re being foolish. Su Chimian is, after all, the fake young master! It’s one thing to hide it from outsiders by changing his age and covering for him, but you don’t even treat Chi Xiasheng well. What kind of mother are you?”
Hearing this, Chi Xiasheng’s mind exploded.
Fake young master?
Su Chimian isn’t Mother Su’s son?!
Though his body burned with fever and his eyes were too heavy to open, his hearing was exceptionally sharp.
The voices outside the door fell silent for a moment before Mother Su spoke again. “It’s true that they were accidentally switched at birth, but I personally raised Mianmian for twenty years. I can’t just stand by and watch him lose his status as a young master of the Su family! What would people say about him?! He’s so gentle and kind. How would he survive without the Su family’s protection? Besides, Chi Xiasheng seems strong. He probably won’t mind having another brother.”
After she spoke, silence fell both inside and outside the room.
By now, Chi Xiasheng had slowly opened his eyes. They stung terribly, and his heart ached with a dull, numb pain. Through the crack in the door, he watched the two figures walk away.
In that instant, so many things became clear.
Su Chimian’s inexplicable hostility towards him. The guilty looks his father sometimes gave him.
So, it was never a case of an “accidentally lost” child. It was a mix-up at the hospital. They had been switched at birth.
Su Chimian was the fake young master, yet Mother Su still adored him, protecting him like the apple of her eye. She had abandoned her real son, who was also sick, and rushed to the hospital to see Su Chimian.
Chi Xiasheng’s fever raged, leaving him feeling like a dry riverbed, desperate for water. But no matter how much his heart ached, not a single tear would fall.
His eyes burned and itched. He rubbed them twice, leaving the corners red.
Struggling to his feet, he poured himself a glass of water, swallowed a fever reducer, and fell back into a heavy sleep.
End of flashback.
Chi Xiasheng stared at the dark, overcast sky as the wind howled outside.
The fever had not subsided. His brother’s accusatory voice, harsh and grating, made him clench his hand around his phone.
“Mianmian wants to drink the soup you make. Get over here as soon as you can. The Su family has supported you for so long. What can you do besides cause trouble?!”
Chi Xiasheng had made soup often at the orphanage, so his was delicious, rich, and fragrant.
His older brother felt this was Chi Xiasheng’s only use, yet he couldn’t even be found at the hospital to accompany Su Chimian.
“Su Chimian wants soup, so I have to make it for him? Ridiculous. Who does he think he is, some precious prince?”
Chi Xiasheng’s voice was like his personality, cold and laced with shards of ice. The person on the other end felt his temper flare.
“Chi Xiasheng, don’t you dare be so shameless!”
