Zhou Yun exploded on the other end of the call.

“Kuang Ye, what are you thinking? He’s your brother! How can you smear his reputation like this?”

Kuang Ye chuckled coldly and retorted, “Mrs. Zhou, were you pregnant with twins back then? Since when did I have a brother?”

“Also, whether it’s a rumor or the truth, why don’t you go to prison and ask his real dad yourself?”

Zhou Yun was silent for a moment before responding hesitantly, “Even if it’s true, it happened so many years ago. Shu Yu is innocent…”

Kuang Ye felt calling her back had been a complete waste of time.

“Innocent? Sure, he’s innocent, and I must have deserved all those years of getting beaten half to death in his place by his dad, right?”

“Mrs. Zhou, when the circle branded me a hooligan and a thug, what did you do? You said the truth wouldn’t stop people from gossiping.”

“Now I’ll return your words to you, verbatim. The fact that Shu Yu’s real dad is a scumbag is the truth. And I have no intention of dirtying my mouth to clarify it for him.”

“Don’t call me again. I won’t be coming back to the Kuang family either.”

“Tell Shu Yu this was just a warning. If he causes even the slightest harm to Mu Wan again, I won’t hesitate to turn his worst nightmares into reality and strip him of everything he has.”

Click!

Kuang Ye decisively hung up the phone. He let out a scornful snort before muttering, “Coward. A few rumors, and he’s crying to his mom. I endured five years of slander and still lived freely, even got to hone my trash-talking skills. His resilience doesn’t even come close to mine.”

——

When Zhou Yun called again, Kuang Ye had already blocked her number.

Fuming, she hissed, “That ungrateful son! I knew he wouldn’t cooperate.”

She turned to Kuang Shu Yu, who stood nearby with a dejected expression, and reassured him, “Shu Yu, don’t worry. Mom will always stand by your side. Those nasty rumors out there—I won’t believe them for a second.”

Kuang Shu Yu shook his head. “Mom, it’s fine. Just don’t let this affect your health.”

Zhou Yun’s heart warmed at his concern, thinking how much more thoughtful this adopted son was compared to her biological one.

A flicker of triumph flashed in Kuang Shu Yu’s eyes. Kuang Ye thinks spreading rumors will destroy me? What a joke. This will only solidify my parents’ support.

Just then, the sound of a car pulling up outside caught their attention.

Kuang Xing Ran entered, wearing 8-centimeter heels and a revealing green spaghetti-strap dress.

“Mom, I heard you’re planning to host a banquet to clear up the rumors about Kuang Shu Yu in the circle?”

Zhou Yun’s face darkened at her daughter’s attire.

“What on earth are you wearing? And Shu Yu is your brother. How could you be so disrespectful, calling him by his full name?”

Kuang Xing Ran cast a glance at Kuang Shu Yu, who suddenly felt a bad premonition.

Sure enough, Kuang Xing Ran pulled out her phone and played a recording.

In it, Kuang Da Qiang and Kuang Xing Ran’s voices could be heard clearly:

“Tell me, did you deliberately switch my brother and Kuang Shu Yu back then? If you lie, I have plenty of ways to make you tell the truth.”

“Recently… those people in prison have been beating me up. That’s all your doing, isn’t it!”

“Answer my question.”

“…”

“It seems you haven’t been taught a proper lesson yet.”

The sound of furniture scraping across the floor came through the phone. In the next second, Kuang Da Qiang’s panicked voice followed:

“Yes, yes, it was me! I did it on purpose.”

“I was working as a janitor at that private hospital at the time. It just so happened that my wife and Mrs. Kuang both had difficult labors on the same day.”

“The two children were born close together. In a moment of greed, I stole the keys to the nursery and secretly swapped the two babies.”

“I just wanted my son to enjoy a life of wealth and privilege.”

“Please don’t have them torment me anymore! They beat me every night, I can’t even sleep. Please, just let me go!”

The rest of the recording was filled with Kuang Da Qiang’s pitiful pleas for mercy.

Kuang Shu Yu’s face turned pale as he stared at Kuang Xing Ran in shock. It was clear he had never expected his sister to stab him in the back like this.

Kuang Xing Ran didn’t stop the recording. She let it play on speaker, filling the room as a chilling backdrop.

“Mom,” she said, “when I first heard the rumors going around, my initial reaction was to investigate Kuang Da Qiang.”

“Do you know what kind of life my brother had been living before?”

“At twelve, he was working odd jobs to pay for his school fees. At fifteen, Kuang Da Qiang sold him into a black gambling den.”

“After that, he came to S City alone, surviving by playing games in internet cafes just to afford food.”

“The competitive gaming we all look down on so much?”

“It was his only means of survival at fifteen.”

“And Kuang Shu Yu? He lived a life of luxury in the Kuang family, receiving the best education and the unconditional love of his family.”

“We always said my brother was different from him. But with such drastically different living environments, isn’t it natural that they’d turn out differently?”

Zhou Yun’s face turned pale, the blood draining from her cheeks. It seemed she had never truly considered what Kuang Ye’s past had been like.

Despite her inner turmoil, she still clung to her defense of Kuang Shu Yu.

“But… but these things have nothing to do with Shu Yu…”

“Then do you know,” Kuang Xing Ran interjected coldly, “that when Kuang Da Qiang escaped from prison, he kidnapped Wan wan and demanded ten million in ransom from my brother?”