Chapter 20

After Rebirth, My Brother Stole My Noble Identity — www.asianovel.net · All chapters

Chapter 20

The hotel’s security was exceptionally tight. Pedestrians were barred from entering within a ten-kilometer radius, and at the first checkpoint by the hotel entrance, drivers needed an invitation to pass.

Kind Bro, without a car, hadn't received a physical invitation from the Su family in time. After a rigorous body search, he called the staff member he had just contacted and presented his digital invitation, finally gaining entry.

A young man, dressed like a secretary, led him inside, giving instructions as they walked.

"Here’s the situation: before the official banquet begins, you’re free to explore. But once it starts, you won’t be allowed to move around freely. A staff member will assign you a designated live-streaming spot. During that time, you must not film any guest’s face or disturb anyone, or the Su Group will sue you."

"This banquet is crucial, both for the Su family and their guests. No mistakes are permitted. Please understand."

The secretary’s tone was stern, his gaze scrutinizing Kind Bro from head to toe. Only after Kind Bro nodded did his expression soften.

"We’ve prepared a lounge and some gifts for you. We hope you enjoy your evening."

Whether Kind Bro would enjoy himself was uncertain, but the strictness of the Su Group’s banquet was already evident.

After the secretary left, Kind Bro glanced at his lively chat feed, where comments were flooding in. He chatted casually with his viewers for a while before stepping out with his phone.

"Since the banquet hasn’t officially started yet, let me give you guys a quick tour of the main hall."

At the moment, the hall was mostly empty, with only hotel staff bustling about.

As the camera panned across the room, viewers were treated to the sheer luxury and grandeur befitting high society.

A massive crystal chandelier.

Lavish buffet tables.

Plush lounge sofas by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Every few steps, a top-tier butler stood at attention, ready to provide impeccable service to the evening’s guests.

Meanwhile, hotel staff hurried in and out, keeping busy.

The entire venue exuded an air of extravagant opulence.

Beyond the main hall, there were private rooms upstairs for guests, a pool party in the garden, a cinema, and quieter leisure areas.

Kind Bro was stunned.

"Wow, the Su family really spared no expense for this Recognition Banquet. Over there’s a tower of wine—rumor has it they were flown in from overseas estates. And the buffet? Lobster, abalone, steak, desserts—it’s a culinary paradise!"

"Oh, and near the east side, there’s this grand staircase covered in red carpet. Honestly, it’s less of a staircase and more like a celebrity runway under spotlights. Just imagining walking down it gives me goosebumps!"

As Kind Bro marveled at it all, a figure flashed past the corner of his livestream.

The chat immediately blew up.

"Host! Follow that person! Their profile looked just like the True Young Master, Gu Yihong! Did he really reconcile with the Su family? No way—I refuse to believe it! Our rebellious True Young Master wouldn’t just make peace with them. There’s gotta be something fishy going on!"

"Yeah, host, hurry! Whether we get the full scoop tonight depends on you! We don’t buy that he’s actually forgiven the Su family. Come on, drama is what we’re here for—go after him!"

The kind of netizens still obsessing over the True and False Young Masters saga weren’t exactly saints.

They were either chaotic, drama-hungry gossipmongers or voyeurs eager to peek into how the rich lived. Even those genuinely concerned about Gu Yihong’s well-being were drowned out by the flood of comments.

The True Young Master, who had just passed by, was dressed in a perfectly tailored silver-gray suit.

Compared to his furious outburst in the surveillance footage or his bold defiance online when confronting the Su Group over the False Young Master’s smear campaign, he now seemed oddly subdued—lacking his usual defiant edge everyone remembered.

Viewers found it unsettling and urged Kind Bro to chase after him.

Without much thought, Kind Bro took off—only to be stopped the moment he turned a corner.

Gu Yubai had no intention of letting a livestreamer spoil the main event.

Dressed in the black service jacket and a white mask, his visible eyes were completely calm as he glanced at the phone in the host’s hand and politely steered him away.

"Sir, the banquet is about to begin. This area is temporarily off-limits. Please step back."

---

As Gu Yubai had said, the quiet banquet hall quickly came alive.

Men in tailored suits escorted elegantly dressed women on their arms, mingling in groups, clinking glasses. Under the dazzling chandeliers, servers in black uniforms weaved through the crowd with trays of drinks.

At the entrance, Su Wanlin stood with his eldest son greeting guests.

After some time, Butler Zhang emerged from the back of the hall and whispered something to them. Su Wanlin exchanged a glance with Su Linyuan before leaving Butler Zhang to handle the guests and walking away.

Everyone at the banquet had their own agenda, fulfilling their roles—including Kind Bro.

He quickly realized he was merely a prop the Su Group had invited under the guise of a giveaway. Though seemingly free, a staff member shadowed his every move, monitoring him closely.

His livestream, while ostensibly in his control, was actually heavily restricted.

Earlier, he could at least capture wide shots with his phone. Now, with someone trailing him, the angle was forced downward, showing nothing beyond shoulders. Even if he tilted the camera up, it would quickly pan past faces, only capturing the chandeliers or the distant, opulent, red-carpeted corner staircase.

Kind Bro tried to console his viewers.

"Alright, at least we’re getting freebies tonight. If we can’t film people, let’s just focus on the food. I’m not risking any trouble—these are all big shots here. One wrong move, and I might vanish by morning!"

Just then, figures appeared at the distant staircase. Kind Bro froze before hastily adjusting his camera.

"Looks like the Su family’s finally making their entrance! This angle’s allowed—let’s take a quick look from afar. We missed our chance with the True Young Master earlier, but maybe he’s here now!"

The camera zoomed in, though the distance made details hazy. Five people descended the stairs.

Aside from Song Manman, who stood out in a stunning red off-shoulder gown, the four men wore matching expensive suits.

Su Wanlin and his eldest son, Su Linyuan, were in sleek black, exuding authority.

Beside Song Manman stood Su Shengli in a white suit, his usual warm, carefree smile intact—unfazed by the recent online backlash. He carried himself with ease.

And then there was the last one.

All eyes naturally drifted to the young man at the center, dressed in silver-gray and expressionless—

Gu Yihong, the True Young Master at the heart of the Su Group’s recent scandals.

He looked uncomfortable.

His face matched the surveillance footage, but his stiff posture and uncertain gaze made him look out of place amid the grandeur. His stern face betrayed unease, and everything about him screamed discomfort, making him stand out like a sore thumb against the lively, attention-grabbing atmosphere of the banquet.

In any other setting, he’d just be an ordinary high school grad.

But standing beside the effortlessly elegant and smiling fake young master Su Shengli now, he formed a stark contrast.

The sharp-eyed guests below needed only one glance to discern the true personality and current standing of this so-called real young master within the Su family.

Though tonight's banquet was specially prepared for him, ever since he came downstairs with the Su family, this real young master hadn’t made eye contact with the other four members. Not only him—even when Su Linyuan and Su Shengli occasionally looked his way, their eyes were cold, only detachment and indifference.

Once downstairs, his biological mother, Song Manman, immediately took Su Shengli to join her circle of friends.

Su Wanlin, however, wore a smile. After exchanging a few words with Su Linyuan, he personally guided his long-lost real son to greet the relatives and friends who approached. From the live stream, it was clear that Su Wanlin occasionally pulled the real young master forward to introduce him to the crowd.

Soon, the Su family disappeared into the crowd, making it difficult for the live stream to pinpoint the real young master’s whereabouts.

The moment the viewers saw the young man who stood out so awkwardly among the Su family, the live chat fell silent.

"Damn, this is disappointing. In my mind, even if Gu Yihong had fully reconciled with the Su family, he wouldn’t be this timid and careful. He seems like a completely different person!"

"Holy shit, I really thought this kid who dared to confront the Su family online had real guts. I didn’t expect much, but him being this ordinary is just too much! He’s the real young master—how can he be worse than a fake? What a letdown!"

"Seriously, what was I thinking, expecting a high schooler to take on the establishment? This? Just this?"

"Host, can you get closer? Something feels off about this real young master. He’s nothing like the rebellious kid from the surveillance footage. I’m not talking about looks—it’s the vibe! How could he change so drastically in just a few days? Even a chameleon isn't this fast. Is this an actor hired by the Su family?"

"Wow, you people are nuts. He’s just an ordinary kid who just found his real family, and you’re treating him like some superhero! If you hate capital and bosses so much, do something about it yourselves! Pinning your hopes on a kid is ridiculous."

"LOL no wonder my mom warned me about making friends online. What kind of whackjobs are you people? Can’t we just enjoy the show? Why do we care how the real young master acts to please his family? Just watch the show."

"Exactly. Normal people would just be glad the real young master is reunited with his parents. Why are some of you so bitter just because he doesn’t match your imaginary expectations?"

---

The Su family’s true and fake young masters were indeed a juicy drama, and any angle could spark heated debates online.

Though Kind Bro also felt that the real young master Gu Yihong he’d just seen seemed way too passive, he didn’t dwell on it, assuming the boy was just trying to play nice to reconcile with his family.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the chaotic live chat was suddenly flooded with a barrage of gifts.

Someone had spent a fortune to clear all the comments, and under a shower of colorful fireworks, a super VVVIP member’s enlarged message appeared before all the viewers and the host:

"No fucking way! Stop arguing and check the trending topics! The real young master at the banquet might be fake! The real Gu Yihong is currently streaming live from Japan, shopping for gifts!"

Afraid the fans might miss it, the big spender sent dozens of giant digital fireworks and repeated the same warning message over and over:

"Check the trending topics! The Gu Yihong at the banquet is fake! His background and phone recordings have been leaked online. The real Gu Yihong is livestreaming his shopping trip in Japan right now!"

...

Kind Bro felt like he was reading nonsense.

He recognized every word, but strung together, they made no sense.

Was he still on Earth?

Was this some kind of gibberish?

What did they mean by "fake Gu Yihong"? Was the real young master at the Su family’s banquet also a fake?!

He looked up at the glitzy banquet before him, recalling the earlier comments about Gu Yihong seeming off. It felt like a punch to the gut—his mind went blank.

In the end, only one fan’s message echoed in his mind:

"Kind Bro, you’ve been played by the suits!"

The banquet remained peaceful, as if no one had noticed the chaos unfolding online.

Kind Bro pulled out his second phone, trembling as he checked the trending topics and spoke to the viewers.

"Don't fuck with me! The Su family already has a fake young master—why would they bring in another fake to replace the real one?!"

This was unbelievable. Had the Su family become obsessed with the concept of "true and false"?

Even their own family reunion banquet had to be faked? What credibility would the Su family have left?!

Unbelievable! Incomprehensible!

Yet, deep down, Kind Bro already believed the netizens.

Ignoring the live stream, he started digging.

Just as he followed the trail to leaked screenshots of the Su family discussing hiring a stand-in for the biological son they just found, a piercing shriek pierced the air.

"Su Shengli! I’m your real mother! You’re my son—you can’t abandon your parents!!!"

Kind Bro: "......"

Had he just heard something impossible?

*Think, damn it! Was that real or a hallucination?*

The surroundings fell dead silent.

Not far away, an empty space had formed around Song Manman and Su Shengli.

In the center, a frumpy-looking middle-aged woman in her forties knelt on the ground, clutching Su Shengli’s leg and wailing.

Su Shengli, standing frozen, looked completely lost, as if he couldn’t process what was happening.

In the awkward silence, Kind Bro glanced between his live stream, the hot tea on his phone, and the stunned crowd. His expression lit up with excitement.

Unable to hold back, he shouted into the live stream:

"Oh shit! You guys told me to grab someone’s leg and cry—I didn’t do it, but someone else just did!"

The moment he spoke, the already tense atmosphere grew dead silent.

Still oblivious, Kind Bro, fueled by the scandal he’d just uncovered, was grinning like a madman.

"Holy hell, is this fate’s way of replacing the actor playing the real young master Gu Yihong with an actual main character for the Recognition Banquet?! Then... this sobbing woman must be the fake young master Su Shengli’s real mother, right? No way, if the real young master here is an actor, the fake young master’s ‘real mother’ can’t... also be fake, right?"

Everyone whipped their heads around to stare at him.

Wait, what? What actor?

The real young master beside Su Wanlin was fake?

Kind Bro still hadn't come to his senses; his mind completely tangled, he utterly failed to notice the sparkling, almost glowing eyes around him.

He tutted twice.

"How can we say tonight's Recognition Banquet wasn't successful? They just swapped the lead—replaced the True Young Master with the false young master!"

One scandalous revelation right before his eyes, another on his phone.

Kind Bro felt like a frantic badger scampering through a field of scandals, torn between choices and utterly overwhelmed.

Ironically, the guests on-site also found their brains struggling to keep up.

The Su family—hired an actor to play their real son?

Moreover, the center of attention at the Recognition Banquet had truly been replaced!