It was the first watch of the night. Nuan had been exceptionally diligent these past few days, seeking affection.
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"Brother, do you know why our parents treat you that way?"
The question from his sister reminded Lin Baohe of all the frustrations he had experienced since childhood. He sighed heavily and said with a bitter smile, "I wish I knew."
"I know." Pausing for moment, Lin Baojuan continued, "Originally, I didn’t plan to tell you, but seeing how things are between you and our parents, I think it’s better to speak up. It’s good for you and for them.
However, Brother, you have to promise that after I’ve told you, we’ll interact as before, without any barriers between us; otherwise, I’ll say no more."
Lin Baohe was startled, "From the sound of that, am I not our parents’ biological child? Impossible! Our older brother is their biological son, and so are our younger brothers and sisters. How could I possibly not be?"
"When I was young, our eldest brother, second brother, and third brother all slept in the west room, while I stayed with our parents in the east room. One night I was woken up by our parents arguing.
Mom said, with how hard it is to support their own children, why should they take care of someone else’s child? Dad said, the child’s parents died trying to save you, Baohe. They followed you to King Yan, so we must treat their child as our own.
Mom said, who knows if they would care for our Baohe, and why should we take care of their Baohe? Dad said, the money in the parents’ bundle is enough for that child’s lifetime expenses. We should just keep it for peace of mind and can’t just neglect the child.
Mom then took a bundle out of the cabinet and started counting the items one by one. Fearing Mom would hide the things if she knew I was awake, I didn’t dare make a sound. Her back was to me, I couldn’t see what was in the bundle, but from the change in her demeanor, I was certain those items were quite valuable.
Dad also warned Mom that no one must know about this. Even though those two died saving others, people might accuse them of murder, and the items in the bundle should also be turned in.
Compared to these issues, raising a child seemed trivial. When I grew up, I once asked Mom about it. At first, she pretended to be confused. I pointed to the small cabinet where she kept the bundle and told her I saw her putting things in there and heard her conversation with Dad.
Mom then warned me not to speak of it to anyone. She even threatened to drive second brother out of the house if I did.
Back then, I always followed second brother around. Mom knew I was close to him, so she used that to manipulate me. Outsiders always said our parents treated their daughter as well as their sons, but the truth is, I heard something I shouldn’t have, and they had to be nicer to me to keep me quiet.
As I grew older, I thought about telling you, but then, telling wouldn’t change anything and might even damage our brotherly bond.
I intended to keep this secret my whole life, but now, I don’t want to hide it anymore. Brother, our parents can never truly love you, so you should stop hoping for their affection.
You can even ask them about it. I don’t mind if they disown me. This secret has weighed on me for years, suffocating me.
If it were not for Second Brother’s biological parents, we might have ended up as children without parents. Whether they are qualified as parents, to a child, losing parents is like losing half their life."
How could this have happened?
If not surnamed Lin, then what?
Who are his real parents?
Why, when they died, was there no one looking, no one asking?
Why did they leave enough for his lifetime expenses?
All these questions flooded Lin Baohe’s mind as he stared blankly at his sister, unable to utter a word.
Zhao Yulan was just as shocked as he was, so the expressions on the couple’s faces were almost identical.
However, Chuxia had a feeling of realization. She thought, how could biological parents treat their child like that? No wonder neither great-uncle nor young uncle was close to Dad; perhaps they too knew the truth.
Moreover, from her perspective, Old Man Lin and Old Lady Lin had chosen to replace their son with her dad to avoid suspicion. Otherwise, suddenly losing a child, how would they explain it?