In that instant, nearly every guest froze in place. They peered past Su Mingyao’s figure to what lay behind him, their countless gazes slicing through him like razor-sharp blades before landing on that projection.
There, in stark black and white, it clearly displayed a single, undeniable fact:
The Su family’s young master, Su Shang, shared no blood ties with the Su family!
In that moment, a tempest raged through the hearts of everyone present. The dark clouds of suspicion that had long shrouded the Su family finally parted, revealing a sliver of clarity, and this certificate provided answers to so many lingering questions.
Why had the Su family suddenly acquired an unknown second young master? Why had their young master plummeted off a mountain road, suffering grievous injuries that left him on the brink of death? Why had Su Shang, still recovering from his own severe wounds, been summoned to Su Mingyao’s birthday banquet? Why had Su Shang’s status shifted so abruptly from pampered favorite to discarded outcast…
The answer to it all was simple: Su Shang was nothing more than a stand-in, raised by the Su family as a proxy for Su Mingyao!
Yes, that had to be it.
Shen Changqing’s sister, Shen Zhulin, seated among the guests below, channeled her extensive experience with male-lead web novels and pieced together the truth.
The Su family’s true heir had been frail and sickly from birth, so experts advised raising him away from home until he grew stronger, lest he perish young. That was the public rationale for this birthday banquet.
Yet to the sixteen-year-old Shen Zhulin, the excuse held only a partial truth:
Su Mingyao was the sickly one, handed off to others to raise from infancy. But the Su family had gone much further—they had procured a substitute!
They found a child born on the exact same day as Su Mingyao and groomed him in their household as a body double, presenting him to the world as their youngest son. Su Shang was meant to shoulder Su Mingyao’s doomed fate, tricking destiny itself so that the true heir could evade his early grave.
And indeed, Su Shang had faced a brush with death before.
Everyone in B City’s high society knew the story: Su Shang had been tearing up the Panshan Race Track, built by the Song family, when he veered off course, plunged from the cliff, and vanished into uncertainty. They found him barely alive, hovering on death’s door in the ICU for days before stabilizing enough for a regular room.
He had taken on Su Mingyao’s cursed destiny, shielding him from that fatal blow.
Only then did Su Mingyao return to the Su family fold. With the calamity deflected, he could claim his place as the rightful second young master without fear of an untimely end.
Poor Su Shang had been exploited down to his bones.
But his luck proved mighty; he survived the ordeal and clung to life, leaving the Su family no choice but to grudgingly shelter him still.
Yes, and it explained perfectly why Su Shang had fallen from grace—why he, still badly hurt, had been dragged to this banquet.
The longer Shen Zhulin gazed at Luo Shang, pale and wan in his wheelchair, the more pity flooded her heart.
All the indulgence Su Shang had known growing up stemmed from the Su family’s guilt and redirected affection. Now that his purpose as a sacrificial proxy was served and the true son had returned, there was no further use for a calamity-blocker like him.
They had always treated him as a tool to protect their blood heir, harboring scant real fondness. Su Mingyao’s homecoming sealed it—he was obsolete!
It all fit together flawlessly. Shen Zhulin’s eyes sharpened with conviction.
If her brother Shen Changqing ever learned of this, he’d forbid her from devouring any more of those mind-rotting novels.
Pity her heart voice went unheard, letting the misconception take firm root.
Brother-in-law is so pitiful… Shen Zhulin thought, burning with outrage on Su Shang’s behalf.
How could the Su family stoop so low!
Her gaze shifted back to Su Mingyao on stage, and what she had once seen as gentle refinement now twisted into something loathsome.
The projection of the No Blood Relation Certificate still loomed behind him, and Su Mingyao stood rooted to the spot, silent, as if the revelation had stunned him senseless.
In truth, Su Mingyao was thinking:
Finally, we made it!
He had been mentally ticking down the seconds in sync with Luo Shang, his nerves frayed to the breaking point.
If Shen Changqing failed to trigger the projection at zero hour, it meant world-ending catastrophe—Shen Changqing’s death.
Thank heavens he saw reason! Outwardly feigning shock-frozen paralysis, Su Mingyao brimmed inwardly with blissful relief that apocalypse had been averted.
By now, Li Qingshu had left the stage. Pretending fury, she barked orders for someone to hunt down the culprit behind this sneaky projection and kill them at once.
Beneath her wrathful facade, though, Li Qingshu exhaled in profound relief.
The charade was hurtling toward a smooth finale. She only hoped the one holding ultimate sway approved… Li Qingshu mused.
“Brother-in-law… Wait, if that’s the case, then my brother’s fiancé is actually Su Mingyao, not Su Shang?” Shen Zhulin sank deep into her own fantasies, already treating Su Shang as a pitiful little thing in need of her help.
Following this line of logic, her brother would next break off the engagement with Su Shang and marry Su Mingyao instead, changing her Brother-in-law from Su Shang to Su Mingyao… How could she allow that? Shen Zhulin thought. Wouldn’t that make her and the Shen Family accomplices with the Su Family in bullying Su Shang?
She made up her mind. She had to help Su Shang—no matter what, she couldn’t let that engagement be broken off. She wouldn’t let those villains from the Su Family have their way!
Shen Zhulin shot a furious glare at Shen Changqing. Hmph!
Shen Changqing had just been savoring the afterglow of his narrow escape from death. He looked around at his surroundings.
The sky was so blue, the air so fresh, everything so wonderful. After the immense pressure of that life-or-death ordeal, he suddenly understood the preciousness of life and the beauty of living. He resolved to become someone who truly cherished every moment.
And so, his first life principle: obey Luo Shang’s every word without question or condition!
He was still lost in these thoughts when Shen Zhulin glared at him.
Shen Changqing: ?
What was she playing at?
Shen Zhulin had been going through a rebellious phase lately, though, so Shen Changqing didn’t take the glare too seriously. Let her glare if she wanted.
Having barely survived, he was in high spirits. Even if Shen Zhulin stood up right then and unleashed a torrent of abuse at him, Shen Changqing could accept it with perfect equanimity.
In the original story, Shen Zhulin was the vicious female side character who helped Su Shang target Su Mingyao—the same sort of obstacle blocking Su Mingyao and Shen Changqing’s perfect romance. She served the exact same function as Su Shang.
But because she truly was Shen Changqing’s little sister, and because she was so young, it could all be chalked up to Su Shang’s manipulations and other excuses. She didn’t end up with the same dismal fate as Su Shang.
In the original work, Shen Zhulin got a full redemption arc. Later on, in one particular incident, she saw Su Shang’s true colors. She was also moved by Su Mingyao’s kindness and ended up accepting him as her brother-in-law.
Shen Zhulin’s mischief played out on the Shen Family side of things. Specifically, she badmouthed Su Mingyao in front of the family—fed those lies by the green tea viper Su Shang—which made the Shen Family initially resistant to swapping Su Mingyao in as Shen Changqing’s marriage partner.
As a result, Su Mingyao never realized Shen Zhulin had been meddling in his love life. Naturally, he never mentioned it to Shen Changqing.
Besides Shen Zhulin, another person stared in wide-eyed disbelief.
This was Li Lingran, the son of Li Fubo—best friend to Li Qingshu—and once Su Shang’s loyal crony.
Su Shang… wasn’t actually a biological child of the Su Family? His mind reeled, another possibility dawning on him.
If Su Shang wasn’t a blood relative of the Su Family, then the marriage alliance with the Shen Family… wouldn’t it be Su Mingyao taking his place instead?
And that would mean… he might actually have a shot at the object of his unspoken affections?
Back when they were kids, Su Shang had once helped Li Lingran when he was being terrorized by a dog. Su Shang had been shorter than him at the time, but he’d planted himself in front like a shield, hurling stones at the snarling beast with fierce determination and chasing it off.
All these years, because Su Shang was engaged to Shen Changqing—one of B City’s most outstanding second-generation heirs—Li Lingran had always felt he couldn’t measure up. He couldn’t give Su Shang the happiness he deserved, so he’d stayed by his side as a “good brother,” content with silent companionship.
When Su Shang got into fights, he’d hand him the bricks. When Su Shang went street racing, he’d cheer him on. When Su Shang made investments, he’d throw in more cash. Li Lingran had figured he’d spend his life like that—watching Su Shang marry Shen Changqing while standing on the sidelines.
But now reality had other plans. Su Shang wasn’t a Su Family blood heir, so the engagement might fall through. Su Shang’s future with him wasn’t just a pipe dream anymore—it was within reach.
How could Li Lingran not be thrilled?
Of course, Li Lingran was one of this danmei novel’s vicious male side characters too—a key accomplice to the chief villain, Su Shang.
After losing the Su Family’s favor, how had a disowned nobody like Su Shang mustered the power to torment Su Mingyao?
Simple: with top-notch help from Li Lingran!
In the original danmei novel, all Su Shang had to do was crook a finger, shed a couple of crocodile tears, pretend Su Mingyao had wronged him, drop a few pitiful hints laced with green tea vibes, and Li Lingran would charge into battle for him—deploying goons and laying traps without a second thought.
