Zhao Zhongwu, showing off his agility, maneuvered through the obstacles, grinning. “Brother, I’m here! Third Sister, Third Sister, come out!”  

Hearing his shouts, Zhao Xiangwan, Fan Qiuhan, and Zhao Dacui all stepped outside.  

The moment Zhao Zhongwu saw Zhao Xiangwan, his eyes lit up. He braked in front of her and tilted his chin up. “Third Sister, let’s go. Second Brother will take you home.”  

Zhao Bowen frowned. “Aunt is still here. At least greet her properly first.”  

Zhao Zhongwu balanced on his bike, one foot on the ground, the other on the pedal, and gave a playful bow. “Hello, Aunt!”  

Zhao Dacui, used to his antics, smiled warmly. “Zhongwu, come in and eat first.”  

Zhao Zhongwu waved a hand. “No need! I was sent to pick up Third Sister.”  

Zhao Bowen was surprised. “It’s already noon. Aren’t you hungry? We’re celebrating the Little New Year. Stay and eat before leaving.”  

Fan Qiuhan smirked. “We have chicken soup, braised crucian carp, garlic-fried bacon, and spicy stir-fried meat. All delicious. You really don’t want any?”  

Zhao Zhongwu gulped silently.  

[Maybe I should eat first? If we go back now, it’ll be almost one o’clock. Who knows if they’ll wait for us? Let Zhao Chenyang—acting all high and mighty after a few years in the city—wait. And Zhao Xiangwan’s birth father, a big-shot provincial leader, actually mistook his own daughter? Serves him right!]  

Zhao Xiangwan shot him a look.  

Zhao Zhongwu stiffened, then grinned nervously. “Third Sister, I didn’t even send you to college. Let me take you home this time.”  

Zhao Xiangwan turned and walked back inside.  

Confused, Zhao Zhongwu parked his bike and followed, muttering, “Third Sister, everyone’s waiting for you.”  

Zhao Xiangwan sat at the table. “Eat first, or the food will get cold.”  

Zhao Dacui quickly set out another bowl and chopsticks. “Zhongwu, you’re in luck—it’s Little New Year feast today. Eat up, you must be hungry.”  

The table was laden with five dishes and a soup. Zhao Zhongwu praised his aunt’s cooking between bites, livening up the meal with his chatter.  

“Aunt, you said you were busy all morning. What happened?”  

“A college girl next door was kidnapped. We found her, but her parents shamed her. She slit her wrists this morning—almost died. We helped rush her to the hospital. Qiu Meizi and Xiang Wan ran around helping.”  

Zhao Zhongwu gaped. “She got kidnapped in college? How dumb is that?”  

Fan Qiuhan glared. “Why blame her instead of the kidnappers?!”  

Zhao Dacui sighed. “Because of gossip like yours, Tinglan’s parents think she’s the disgrace.”  

Zhao Xiangwan scoffed. “You’re the one without a brain.”  

Zhao Zhongwu raised his chopsticks in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’m brainless. My bad.”  

Zhao Bowen asked softly, “Is she okay now? Do her parents regret it? If they keep shaming her, she’ll suffer.”  

Zhao Dacui shook her head. “She’s alive, but she’s been through hell. Tinglan’s parents… sigh. The neighborhood committee should talk sense into them.”  

Fan Qiuhan grinned. “Great idea, Mom! Let Aunt Qiao lecture Aunt Lu so Tinglan won’t get hurt again.”  

The conversation stayed on Tinglan as they ate.  

“‘No parents are ever wrong’? I disagree.”  

“Scolding and humiliating a child at their lowest, driving them to suicide—how is that not wrong?”  

“Isn’t it? Fan Youde beat me until my head was bleeding. Does a man like that deserve to be a father?”

Zhao Bowen felt uneasy hearing Fan Qiuhan call her father by his full name. However, Zhao Zhongwu admired Fan Qiuhan’s decisiveness and praised her: “Cousin, you really know how to cut ties! You’re so bold!”

Fan Qiuhan glanced at Zhao Zhongwu and said, “My aunt favors boys over girls and isn’t kind to Xiangwan. This year, she’ll celebrate the New Year at my place and won’t return to Zhaojiagou.”

Hearing this, Zhao Zhongwu lost his appetite for the bacon in his mouth. He thought for a moment, ate faster, finished his bowl of rice, put down his chopsticks, and looked at the four people at the table.

“Uh… are you all done eating? If so, I have something important to announce.”

His tone was so serious that Zhao Bowen grew nervous: “What’s wrong? Are my parents sick?”

Zhao Zhongwu shook his head: “They’re fine.”

Zhao Dacui quickly finished her chicken soup, set down the bowl, and asked, “What happened? Did your parents fight?”

Again, Zhao Zhongwu shook his head: “They don’t even have time to argue.”

Fan Qiuhan, impatient, swallowed the last of her rice and urged, “Just spit it out already. Stop dragging it out.”

Zhao Zhongwu, satisfied at having everyone’s attention, turned and saw Zhao Xiangwan calmly eating the chicken leg her aunt had given her. Feeling slightly deflated, he coughed and finally spoke.

“Someone came to our house today. Guess who?”

“Who?”

“Fourth Sister, Zhao Chenyang, is back.”

Zhao Bowen shot up in shock: “She’s back? Didn’t she leave for the city to live a better life? Why would she come back now?”

Fan Qiuhan scoffed: “Finally feeling guilty? She’s been gone for eight years without a word. I thought she hated the countryside after finding out her real parents were officials.”

Zhao Dacui was curious: “I haven’t seen Chenyang in so long. Has she changed? Is she still like how she was as a kid…”

Fan Qiuhan cut in: “Lazy and greedy?”

She then burst into laughter before suddenly stopping and sneering: “Honestly, I never expected Zhao Chenyang to return. When I was little, my frostbitten hands would itch like crazy in spring. I’d scratch until they bled. Once, at your house, Xiangwan gave me hot water to wash them, and Chenyang stood nearby, pinching her nose and calling me disgusting and dirty.”

She huffed. “If she’s back, she’s back. But why drag Xiangwan into it? She probably just wants to show off now that she’s got power in the city, huh?”

Zhao Zhongwu realized Zhao Chenyang wasn’t welcome. Aside from their parents, no one was happy about her return.

“Now, here’s the real bombshell—guaranteed to shock you!”

He glanced at Zhao Xiangwan. “Zhao Chenyang is my parents’ real daughter, and Zhao Xiangwan is actually a city girl. But my parents went crazy and swapped their identities—they sent Chenyang to the city to live rich and left Xiangwan in the countryside to suffer.”

“WHAT?!”

“WHAT?!”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”

Zhao Bowen, Zhao Dacui, and Fan Qiuhan all slammed the table and stood up.

Zhao Chenyang was Qian Shufen and Zhao Erfu’s biological daughter, while Zhao Xiangwan was the abandoned child of educated youths from the city. When Xiangwan’s real father came to take her back at age ten, Qian Shufen and Zhao Erfu had the twisted idea to send Chenyang instead?

Zhao Dacui’s heart ached. She pulled Zhao Xiangwan into a tight hug, tears streaming. “My poor Xiangwan… they ruined you!”

Fan Qiuhan trembled with rage, grabbing Zhao Zhongwu by the collar and lifting him. “What the hell are you saying?!”

Zhao Bowen stood frozen, bitterness swelling in his chest. What kind of parents would do this? No matter how much they favored Chenyang, how could they be so heartless? With one selfish decision, they altered Xiangwan’s entire fate.

Zhao Zhongwu, struggling against Fan Qiuhan’s grip, yelped, “Third Sister’s real father is here! He wants to take her back, so he sent me to bring her to Zhaojiagou!”

He turned to Zhao Xiangwan. “Third Sister, your real dad’s here—looks like a big shot. I heard he’s a high-ranking provincial leader. When you’re rich someday, don’t forget your second brother!”

Zhao Bowen couldn’t take it anymore and smacked Zhao Zhongwu’s head. “You idiot! ‘Don’t forget you’? After all Xiangwan’s suffered? If she doesn’t come after you, consider yourself lucky!”

Zhao Xiangwan, still in Zhao Dacui’s arms, suddenly felt like crying.

Realizing Xiangwan disliked physical contact, Zhao Dacui quickly let go, wiping her tears as she cursed Qian Shufen.

“That heartless woman! How could she do this to Xiangwan? Sending her own daughter to live in luxury while treating Xiangwan like dirt! She deserves to be struck by lightning!”

Zhao Zhongwu rubbed his sore head, grumbling, “Why hit me? I’m just the messenger! If you’re mad at Mom and Dad, go yell at them—they can’t hear you from here!”

Zhao Dacui clenched her teeth. “Let’s go! I’ll give them a piece of my mind!”

Zhao Xiangwan shook her head. “I’m not going.”

Fan Qiuhan frowned. “Why not? After what they did, you should go back and demand justice! Your real father’s here—you’ve got backup now. What’s there to fear?”

Zhao Xiangwan looked at each of them. “Aunt… do you still see me as your niece? Cousin, Eldest Brother, Second Brother… do you still see me as your sister?”

Zhao Dacui slapped her thigh. “Child, I’ve watched you grow up! So what if you’re not blood-related? As long as you call me ‘Aunt,’ you’ll always be my beloved niece!”

Fan Qiuhan sighed and said, “Xiang Wan, I acknowledge you as a person, not because of blood ties. If I cared about blood relations, would I have rejected Fan Youde when he came to me?”  

Zhao Bowen and Zhao Zhongwu exchanged glances and said in unison, “Of course, you’re our sister!” Zhao Zhongwu added, “I’m just afraid you won’t accept me as your brother.”  

Their warm words flowed through Zhao Xiangwan’s heart like a comforting stream. She looked at Zhao Zhongwu with shimmering eyes and said, “If you want me to go back, fine. But you must agree to one condition, Second Brother.”