Just as Jiang He was happily hugging the book in his arms on his way home, he ran into three familiar figures halfway there. Who else could it be but the original body’s oddball parents and the green tea cousin? His expression immediately turned cold.

“Jiang He—!” When Father Jiang and Mother Jiang saw Jiang He, their faces showed no joy—only anger.

“What is it? Say what you came to say.” Jiang He tucked the book into his satchel before he finally looked up and asked.

“You still have the nerve to ask? I went to the factory to find you today, and your team leader said you took a day off? Where did you get the guts to take time off? Do you have any idea how much money that costs per day?” Mother Jiang immediately jabbed her finger at Jiang He’s face and yelled, “Where did you go on your day off? You made your father and I look for you all day—”

Jiang Bao gently tugged on Mother Jiang’s sleeve, then smiled sweetly and said, “Auntie, don’t scold Xiao He anymore. Sometimes when work gets dull, it’s good to go out for a walk.”

As he spoke, he turned to Jiang He with a smile and added, “I just saw you put a few books into your bag—did you go to the library? Are those new books? Well, since you already took the day off, you might as well spend it studying more.”

“What does that have to do with you?” Jiang He, of course, saw right through the other’s intentions. That fleeting flash of jealousy in his eyes hadn’t escaped his notice at all.

“Your cousin cares about you, and that’s how you talk to him?” Father Jiang, seeing Jiang He’s indifferent attitude, finally lost his temper. The anger he’d suppressed after being humiliated by the factory supervisor flared up all at once.

After Jiang Bao’s reminder and upon seeing the new notebooks in Jiang He’s hands, Father Jiang grew even more furious and shouted,

“Oh, I knew it! This brat must’ve been hiding money all along! Heartless, ungrateful thing—after raising you all these years, you still play games with me?”

“Heh.” Jiang He couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the accusation.

“What are you laughing at?” Mother Jiang also felt a surge of resentment as her eyes landed on the new books in Jiang He’s hands. Sure enough, this son had never been close to her heart—he had money, yet didn’t even think to show a little filial respect. If she had known earlier, she would’ve double-checked every time they took his wages.

…

“What are you two performing such a grand drama for? Just say what you really want… might as well let everyone enjoy the full show.” As Jiang He spoke, he glanced around—sure enough, their shouting had already drawn a small crowd of onlookers.

“Fine! Let everyone see what a heartless, unfilial son you are!” Mother Jiang cried, then suddenly threw herself onto the ground, waving her arms up and down dramatically.

“Everyone, come take a look at this ungrateful child with no conscience! I raised him with so much hardship, and his older brother’s been sickly since he was young, yet we still always put him first!”

“Now he finally has a job, but won’t give a single cent to the family—he lets me, his father, and his brother struggle while he lives it up outside with good food and drinks… Why is my life so bitter—!”

After listening to mother Jiang shamelessly turning the blame on him, Jiang He felt increasingly sorrowful for his former self. In the merged memories, the original self had done the hardest and most exhausting work at home, yet what he received in return were always curses, contempt, and even beatings.

“Ah, just look at him, he’s clearly an unfilial son. Young man, there’s something wrong with your thinking,” someone nearby, who seemed to have a strong sense of justice, began to criticize him upon seeing Jiang He’s indifferent expression.

“Exactly! The world is going downhill. A child this unfilial—he should’ve been strangled at birth…” A woman with a gray headscarf said something even more vicious.

But the young man next to her looked utterly disdainful. “You can’t judge everything by appearances, right? Did any of you actually notice—these four people may look like a family of four, but look at the brother, the mom and dad’s clothes, and now look at what this comrade is wearing. Tsk, tsk…”

Some of the bystanders who had started to feel a twinge of sympathy glanced at the clothes on Jiang He’s mother, father, and Jiang Bao, then at Jiang He’s own outfit, which was patched in several places. The looks in their eyes began to shift subtly.

“And just look at this young comrade’s face—pale and sallow. Now look at them—hah, the pigs in my family aren’t as glossy as them! If you ask me, this is a story of a mother favoring the older son and exploiting the younger one. And now that the younger son won’t go along with it anymore, suddenly he’s labeled ‘unfilial,’” the young man continued.

At that, Jiang Bao’s face darkened too. He truly hadn’t considered it before—he’d been wearing decent clothes all his life and had gotten used to it, so it never seemed out of the ordinary. But now that someone had pointed it out and compared it to what Jiang He was wearing, even a fool could see what was going on. “Auntie… ahem…”

“Good child, don’t scare your aunt,” Jiang He’s mother quickly grabbed Jiang Bao’s arm, her face full of concern.

But her words only made the expressions of the people around them even more confused. So he’s not her real son? The woman who had been speaking up earlier voiced what everyone was thinking: “Big sister, who exactly is your real son?”

“Whether he’s my biological son is none of your business! Why do you have to butt in?” Jiang He’s mother, provoked by the other woman’s gaze, began to stumble over her words.

“Tch.” The woman, struck silent by the retort, let out a disdainful snort.

“Jiang He, the reason I called you here this time is to talk about your job,” Father Jiang said, shooting a sharp glance at Jiang He’s mother when he noticed the crowd’s sympathy turning to disgust, then turning to Jiang He himself.

“Job? What’s wrong with my job?” Jiang He replied with a hint of sarcasm.

“Ahem, you’re about to be sent to the countryside soon, and your workstation will just sit empty anyway. Why not just give it to your brother for now, and you can take it back when you come back,” Jiang He’s father said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, making the people around them revise their opinions again.

“Heh, do you honestly think anyone would believe what you’re saying?” Jiang He finally laughed out loud, genuinely baffled at how they had the nerve to say such things.

“You volunteered to go to the countryside. So what if your brother takes your job?” Jiang He’s mother couldn’t help but speak up again, seeing how indifferent Jiang He was.

“Volunteered to go to the countryside? Should I, in front of all these people, repeat your little plan out loud?” Jiang He sneered coldly.

When he had first arrived in this body, he saw that the reason the original owner wrote a letter to cut ties with the family was because one day, after getting off work early, he overheard Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, and their precious Jiang Bao plotting together. They were planning to send him to the countryside so they could seize his job position—and even worse, they were hoping he’d never return to the city for the rest of his life.

That was the moment the original owner’s love for them completely died. Whatever family affection he still had was utterly extinguished.

Jiang He’s sharp gaze startled Mother Jiang, and though frightened, she still tried to bluff. “What plan? What kind of plan could we possibly have?”

“Then why did you go behind my back to the factory, pestering the director to give my job to your precious nephew?” Jiang He continued in a calm, deliberate tone. “I just want to ask—who wrote the so-called ‘voluntary application’ to be sent to the countryside? The country hasn’t yet reached the point of forcing young people to go, right? I think everyone here understands that. Mom, you really went to great lengths for that precious nephew of yours.”

“I don’t know anything about any ‘application’…” Mother Jiang tried to deflect. “Your brother’s health is poor—how could he go? The family’s full of the old, the weak, and the sick. You’re the only one strong and healthy. If you don’t go, who else can?”

“And besides,” she added, her voice sharp, “if you went to the countryside and never came back, wouldn’t that job just end up benefiting some outsider anyway?”

“Your brother wants this job to help support the family, and instead of thanking him for taking care of your parents, you go around saying your dad and I abused you. Do you even have a conscience?” Mother Jiang grew more and more agitated as she spoke. “You really don’t know how we treated you growing up? Just because I let you finish high school but didn’t let you continue studying after that, you’ve held a grudge all this time?”

“Yes, your dad and I treated your cousin well, but have you ever thought about how your uncle and aunt treated us back then? Besides, you know how smart your brother is. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

“But I clearly scored higher than him in the exams. Why didn’t you let me keep studying?” Jiang He’s eyes were red, and his whole demeanor was so defeated that everyone around him felt a pang in their hearts.

“Someone like you thinks you deserve to go to college? You’re only fit to spend your life farming at home. You’re destined for a life of toil, and you’ll never amount to anything…” The words coming from Mother Jiang were like brutal blows. People’s sympathy quickly turned into anger—how could a mother say something like that?

It was becoming clear to everyone: this bizarre couple was pushing their younger son to the brink just for the sake of the elder one. Though they kept saying the older brother had health issues, anyone with eyes could see he looked healthy—his face was rosy, and he was even taller than the younger one. How bad could his health really be?

Now, the onlookers began to feel even more sympathy for Jiang He. Having parents like that truly was unlucky. But none of them noticed that the pitiful one they were sympathizing with had a faint smirk at the corner of his lips—though it quickly vanished, replaced once more by a look of grievance and sorrow.

Jiang He sneered inwardly, “Aren’t you all good at putting on a show? Fine, I’ll act right along with you.”

“Yu Qiulian, you shameless woman—!” Suddenly, an angry female voice rang out from the crowd.