Chapter 73: Chapter 73: My Family Isn’t Related to Me by Blood…

Jin Fan sniffled and climbed up from the ground.

“Jin Fan, you’re right. Even if you raise a dog for twenty years, you’d develop feelings for it. But some people are worse than pigs or dogs.”

“Your current fate is one of the ’five detriments and three deficiencies,’ a heavenly cursed lone star. But you were supposed to have been born into wealth and lived a smooth, successful life—an extremely rare, top-tier fate. Mrs. Jin knew all this. She even had a master helping her from behind the scenes, which is how she was able to swap your fate with Jin Muyang’s.”

“So, Jin Muyang has been enjoying your top-tier fate, while you inherited his heavenly cursed lone star fate.”

“To drive a wedge between you and Jin Huai Zhong, she even spread the rumor that you were afflicted by a heavenly curse, claiming that anyone who got close to you would meet a terrible end. That’s why Jin Huai Zhong never dared to get close to you.”

“Mrs. Jin has been plotting against you from the very beginning, so of course she never showed you any genuine affection. You should have been able to sense this yourself. You’re just having a hard time accepting it.”

Jin Fan slowly squatted down, burying his face in his knees. The faint sound of crying could be heard from between his arms.

Shen Zhiyao didn’t say anything more. She just stood quietly to the side, waiting for Jin Fan to collect himself.

The sun gradually set, leaving the world in shadow and slowly enveloping the two of them in the twilight.

Elegant music drifted out from the magnificent, brilliantly lit house, mingled with the cheerful laughter of guests.

Shen Zhiyao withdrew her gaze and spoke faintly, “In this world, you don’t always get what you want just by wanting it. Instead of hoping for empathy from others, you’re better off controlling your emotions and fighting for everything you desire.”

Jin Fan looked up, his tear-filled eyes gazing at her unparalleled beauty.

Even though she looked a little younger than him, she exuded a wise, world-weary aura, as if she had already lived for several thousand years.

“Great-Grandmother, I really don’t know what to do now.” Jin Fan’s heart was a turmoil of emotions; right now, Shen Zhiyao was the only one he could rely on.

“Simple. First, find evidence to let your father know the truth and get him on your side. After all, no man can accept his wife cheating on him.”

“But if that happens, my dad will definitely not let my mom off. What will she do then?” After all, she had been his mother for over twenty years, and Jin Fan still couldn’t bear the thought.

“Fine, then! Let your dad be deceived forever. Let your ’brother’ use your fate to swallow up the Jin family’s assets piece by piece. You just wait to be kicked out of the house and die in a pile of garbage!”

Jin Fan fell silent.

Shen Zhiyao couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words. She nudged Jin Fan with her foot. “My bag is on the table in your living room. Go get it for me.”

Jin Fan quickly asked, “You’re leaving already? Aren’t you going to try and persuade me a little more?”

Shen Zhiyao said coldly, “I have a live stream tonight. I don’t have time to stay long.”

Jin Fan said, “Oh,” and obediently went inside to get the bag.

In the living room, Jin Huai Zhong was introducing his younger son to various business tycoons, hoping they would look after his son in the future.

The way he looked at Jin Muyang was so kind and gentle, his eyes filled with a trace of pride, as if they held the stars and the sea.

In the past, Jin Fan would have been jealous, envious, and hurt.

’But now, he just thought Jin Huai Zhong was a complete and utter dumbass!’

’Would he be heartbroken if he knew that the son he’d painstakingly raised for over twenty years wasn’t even his own flesh and blood?’

’And that I, the one he has neglected for over twenty years, am his actual son.’

’How utterly ridiculous!’

Jin Fan saw Shen Zhiyao’s nine-ninety-nine, free-shipping handbag lying forlornly on the living room sofa, completely out of place with its surroundings.

At that moment, he felt just like that cloth bag—completely out of place with everything around him.

He gave a sardonic laugh, picked up the cloth bag, and turned to leave the banquet hall.

Just as he stepped out of the banquet hall, he saw Kang Naixin and Mrs. Jin standing in the hallway, chatting.

Jin Fan had wanted to say something to Mrs. Jin, to ask her if she had ever loved him over all these years.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard Kang Naixin say to Mrs. Jin in a whiny, coquettish tone, “Auntie, Jin Fan’s really gotten bold lately. He won’t even listen to me anymore! He’s completely mesmerized by that internet streamer. He even gave that woman the villa you spent hundreds of millions to renovate.”

“You mean the one at Longfeng Villa?” Mrs. Jin said dismissively. “That was for Jin Fan’s 18th birthday. He insisted I give him thirty million. I didn’t want to, but I was afraid he’d go ask Jin Huai Zhong for it, so I just gave him that haunted, unoccupied house instead.”

Kang Naixin continued to fan the flames. “Auntie, that villa is worth hundreds of millions! You can’t just let him give it away! And that low-class streamer—you had someone ban her live streaming account, but he immediately turned around and begged Uncle to unban her. He’s clearly showing you no respect!”

Mrs. Jin said resentfully, “That’s only because your uncle thought he was really crippled at the time and went soft on him. If I had known he would become more and more outrageous, I would have thrown him out and sent him far away back then! He’s a good-for-nothing anyway!”

Those words, “He’s a good-for-nothing anyway,” struck Jin Fan’s chest like a boomerang, the pain so sharp it nearly took his breath away.

’So this was the woman who’d been his mother for over twenty years…’

’He had thought that even if she was just using him, she would have developed some affection for him over time.’

But when those vicious words left her mouth, he finally understood.

The so-called bond between mother and son had been nothing but his own wishful thinking.

Mrs. Jin never dared to speak about Jin Fan like this before. It was only because Jin Muyang had been confirmed as the Jin family’s heir today that she dropped all pretense, allowing her to spew such venomous words.

Kang Naixin was momentarily stunned. “Auntie, actually, I’ve always wanted to ask you… Jin Fan and Jin Muyang are both your sons, so why do you love Jin Muyang but resent Jin Fan?”

Mrs. Jin couldn’t reveal the real reason, so she just said, “It’s not like you don’t know. Jin Fan is a jinx. Whoever gets close to him has bad luck! Your uncle is so afraid of being affected by him that he can’t even avoid him fast enough!”

She then snorted coldly. “Your uncle is a dumbass too. If he knew Jin Fan was a jinx, he should have disowned him and sent him away long ago. But he’s soft-hearted. He insisted on keeping Jin Fan and even asked me to take extra care of him. I’ve fulfilled my motherly duties all these years. He’s the one who’s a disappointment. Who can he blame?”

“Nai Xin, Jin Fan is a jinx. You should stay away from him from now on, lest you get tainted by his bad luck!”

“Didn’t you tell me you wanted the endorsement deal for XL? As it happens, Auntie has a partnership with XL. I’ll help you get it!”

“Thank you, Auntie! You’re the best, Auntie!” Overjoyed, Kang Naixin hugged Mrs. Jin and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Taking advantage of Mrs. Jin’s good mood, Kang Naixin introduced Zhou Ye to her. The group chatted and laughed, appearing incredibly close.

An immense sorrow filled Jin Fan’s heart…

He remembered when he was seven or eight years old, he had been overjoyed to receive a gift from Mrs. Jin and had given her a kiss on the cheek.

In return, however, he got a scolding from Mrs. Jin. Her reason: she was a germaphobe and didn’t like other people’s saliva on her face.

At the time, Jin Fan had believed her and never did anything so intimate with his “mother” again.

Only now did he understand that Mrs. Jin simply hated him.

The only reason she had come to see him all these years was because Jin Huai Zhong had asked her to.

’It turned out the only one who had any affection for him at all was his seemingly heartless father…’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep