Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Su Shengli clenched his fists, feeling the world’s immense malice directed at him.

He couldn't choose his origins, yet he was forced to pay the price. Did he even want to stay with the Su family? No—it was this pair of deranged parents who had brought him here. Old Master Su first exposed his identity as the imposter heir, humiliating him publicly, then relentlessly dug into his past to uncover his true origins. That was bad enough, but now he was being told he wasn't even Liao Wei’s child.

Nor was he the love child of Liao Wei and Su Wanlin.

Su Shengli lowered his eyes. Even if he wasn't an illegitimate child, it wouldn't have mattered; as long as he was connected to Liao Wei, he would have a place in this family.

But what was wrong with Song Manman?

Seeing her overreact to the report proving he had no genetic ties to her, Su Shengli suddenly felt a surge of dread.

Had Song Manman always believed he was her and Liao Wei’s child?

A child of two women?

Hmph...

Su Shengli curled his lips in self-mockery, his heart turning to ice.

If Song Manman could grasp it, others would naturally see through it at a glance.

Su Wanlin followed Old Master Su’s gaze, his expression darkening.

He said coldly, “I thought it unnecessary, but it seems Shengli’s origins truly hide secrets. Manman, will you explain, or shall I investigate?”

His voice was chilling, completely devoid of his usual warmth and patience.

Su Linyuan flinched, but when he turned, he saw that apart from Su Shengli’s exceptionally pale face, Old Master Su and Song Manman showed no reaction, as if this was Su Wanlin’s true nature.

Su Linyuan immediately dared not speak.

He stole a glance at Old Master Su, then lowered his eyes.

He hadn’t even seen the newly uncovered documents before Old Master Su took them.

However, he had already learned that Su Shengli was neither Su Wanlin’s biological son nor Song Manman’s biological child, and that was enough.

Su Linyuan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Even if he had read those documents, it would have been pointless for him; at best, it would have put his own mind at ease. But in Old Master Su’s hands, they had inexplicably panicked Song Manman, seemingly extracting even more information.

Everyone present outranked him. Even if Su Linyuan now saw the true face beneath the Su family’s harmonious facade, he dared not say more.

Su Wanlin stared intently at Song Manman, whose expression was complex. She bit her lower lip hard, her gaze fixed on Su Shengli, her eyes a tangle of love and hate.

Song Manman suddenly stepped forward two paces, picking out the genetic identification report between Su Shengli and herself from the papers in front of him.

Old Master Su’s genetic analysis was no ordinary one. Besides standard bloodline testing and genealogical tracing, its main purpose was to analyze the cellular similarity between Su Shengli and others.

With rapid advancements in technology, male-male or female-female reproduction, or even the transplantation of already formed embryos into a third person’s body for development, could result in children who might not share blood ties with their biological parents but still had similar genes.

These technologies had long been mature, though information about them rarely reached the public. For the upper-class elite, future claims of illegitimate children would not only consider bloodlines but also analyze the cellular similarity within genes; only if both matched would they be acknowledged.

Old Master Su had previously been deceived by Su Wanlin and Song Manman’s outwardly affectionate display, truly believing his cold-hearted son genuinely loved Song Manman. After all, in his youth, Su Wanlin had rejected more suitable women from other prominent families, insisting on Song Manman as his wife.

But it was only after the true and false young master incident that Old Master Su noticed something amiss in Su Wanlin’s strange attitude toward Su Shengli.

His son still loved no one, prioritizing profit above all else; he had simply become better at disguising it than in his youth.

Song Manman meticulously read every word in the identification report, her arms trembling uncontrollably. The elegant gentleness on her face vanished, replaced by an unsettling ferocity.

Song Manman paid no attention to the Su family members around her, her eyes wide with disbelief, her usual timidity gone.

“How can this be?! Shengli isn’t my child either! She clearly said, she clearly said…”

Song Manman looked utterly distraught, but Su Wanlin had already caught the anomaly in her words. He frowned deeply.

“What exactly is going on?”

Ignoring him, Song Manman reread the identification report several times, then glared venomously at Old Master Su.

“Did you tamper with this report? How could Shengli not be my child? Liao Wei explicitly said he was cultivated using my genes! The test results from when he was born confirmed it—why has it changed now?!”

Her words contained a wealth of shocking information.

Su Linyuan’s face showed a shattered worldview, while Su Wanlin’s turned completely dark. He looked both speechless and enlightened, then sneered repeatedly.

As for Old Master Su, his face openly displayed disdain as he turned away, unwilling to look at this family.

Su Wanlin took several deep breaths, suppressing the rage in his chest, and spoke in a low voice.

“So, you two best friends were a couple?”

Song Manman, startled by Su Wanlin’s sudden question, looked somewhat dazed.

“Wanlin…”

She closed her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, the delicate and refined demeanor she once had was gone. Song Manman now appeared much more composed.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen. But Liao Wei was a lunatic. After she found out about us, she was always resentful. Before our wedding, she appeared before you to seduce you, so I sent her abroad. But I never expected that even after I married you and bore your child, she would still cling on. When I refused to abandon everything and go with her, she reappeared by your side.”

As she spoke, a hint of venom gleamed in Song Manman’s eyes.

“I love you, but I also loved her. How could she betray me repeatedly to be with you? Both of you are people I love, and I must possess you exclusively.”

“She deliberately left clues for me to catch her with you, deliberately tried to conceive your child, saying she wanted to be your mistress and stay with me forever. How could I agree to that? I’m not a fool.”

“I could be with you because the Song family could bring you benefits, because I was born noble and wealthy, because I was beautiful and knew how to act. Everyone says men and women should be together, should marry and have children. That’s why we, who grew up together, were a match made in heaven.”

“Liao Wei only had a pretty face, but she came from a poor background. If I hadn’t supported her in middle school, she might not have even afforded tuition, let alone gotten into the same university as us. I was just playing with her; I never thought of being with her forever.”

“But she wouldn’t listen to reason, like a stubborn stray dog, she dared to covet you, not only biting a piece of flesh from me but also wanting to be my equal. Her wanting to be your mistress? That’s impossible.”

Su Wanlin’s eyebrows twitched violently. He was not at all surprised by the madness and ruthlessness beneath Song Manman’s gentle and refined exterior.

Moreover, Su Shengli didn’t find anything wrong with Song Manman’s viewpoint. In this seemingly egalitarian era, class distinctions were everywhere.

The stories of Cinderellas and ugly ducklings marrying princes on screen had influenced ordinary people’s perceptions, giving them the fantasy of climbing the social ladder through marriage.

But fantasies remained fantasies. Those who benefited from the system, regardless of gender, remained clear-headed. They knew better than anyone why their families were wealthier and more influential than ordinary people.

Su Wanlin, who appeared gentle, patient, and devoted to his wife and children, and Song Manman, who seemed fragile and ethereal, were cut from the same cloth.

Song Manman looked at Su Wanlin with a cruel yet innocent gaze.

“Only my child and your child would benefit from our resources. Liao Wei had nothing—just a pretty face—and yet she thought she could stand beside us. How naive. I made Liao Wei understand this truth, and she broke down. She broke up with you, then, under others’ influence, completely spiraled into depravity.”

“She was truly greedy. I gave her love and money, but the moment I refused to let her near you, she couldn’t handle it.”

Song Manman’s lips curled into a faint smile, and she regained her measured composure.

“It was her own idea to bear a child for me, so I gave her the chance. After all, I had nothing to lose. I just never expected she would deceive me for so many years. All this time, I truly believed Shengli was her child with me.”

Song Manman sighed with feigned compassion.

“Although I loved you more, I also loved her. It was her own despair that led to her early demise. I had carried guilt for her all this time, only to find out Shengli wasn’t even my child. She must have been trying to get revenge on me.”

What a tangled mess of emotional drama.

Su Wanlin’s eyebrows twitched violently. He said coldly, “So it seems Liao Wei deceived not just you, but me as well.”

To be manipulated by a dead person.

The couple’s faces both looked grim.

They themselves remained composed, as if the talk of lovers, illegitimate children, and chaotic relationships didn’t bother them in the slightest.

But in reality, their own lives were a complete mess.

Old Master Su closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight. Su Linyuan was utterly dumbfounded, and even Su Shengli was stunned to the extreme.

Old Master Su: “Animals. No wonder you two are married.”

Old Master Su: “I’ll ask just one question, Su Wanlin. When you cheated with Liao Wei back then, didn’t you notice anything strange between her and Song Manman?”

Su Wanlin was silent for a moment before honestly replying, “I didn’t love her. I just took her up on her looks and the fact that she valued Manman as a best friend, so she wouldn’t easily reveal our affair. That’s all it was.”

Little did he know that years later, the "best friend" he thought she was turned out to be a lesbian.

A subtle discomfort stirred in Su Wanlin’s heart, but since she hadn’t taken his money, and Liao Wei wasn’t even a man—his own moral standards were low to begin with—he quickly dismissed that slight unease.

Song Manman, of course, didn’t dwell on her past romantic experiences either.

As she said, she only loved two people: Su Wanlin, her childhood sweetheart and destined partner, and Liao Wei. But she wouldn't tolerate Liao Wei using her looks to get close to Su Wanlin, nor could she tolerate someone with nothing but a pretty face, otherwise useless, trying to be her equal. Besides, Liao Wei was dead now; Song Manman naturally wouldn't think of her anymore.

Song Manman: “Wanlin and I never forced her. Everything was her own choice.”

Song Manman: “If anything, the three of us were just emotionally entangled. But we never broke any laws, Father. You don’t have to worry about us suddenly being arrested. The only downside is if this gets out, it might cause a drop in both families’ stock prices.”

Old Master Su: “...Shameless.”

Was this right? This was clearly wrong! No wonder Song Manman could swap children; to her, they were all her children anyway. Liao Wei died young, and Song Manman probably felt a little guilty.

As for Su Wanlin, he had also been deceived by Liao Wei, believing Su Shengli was his illegitimate son.

He probably realized something was amiss later but tacitly approved of Song Manman raising Su Shengli.

It seemed that from beginning to end, only his true grandson, who had been left to fend for himself, truly suffered.

The rest of them were all despicable in their own ways.

Old Master Su laughed bitterly.

“You pair of wretched creatures!”

Su Shengli was completely dumbfounded.

He thought he had only managed to stay in the Su family because of Liao Wei’s name, but he realized the truth had been right there in his life all along.

Song Manman thought he was her son, which was why she kept him in the Su family and showered him with affection.

But now that everything was out in the open, if no one was lying, the Su family might no longer tolerate him.

Su Shengli’s face instantly filled with panic.

He blurted out instinctively: “But nominally, I’m already the Su family’s adopted son. My… parents raised me for so many years, and I haven’t repaid them yet.”

His voice gradually trailed off.

Old Master Su and Su Linyuan exchanged complex glances, looking at him with pity and sympathy. Su Wanlin also turned to him, frowning slightly, then sighed.

“You are still a child of the Su family. Even without blood ties, after all these years, we’ve long treated you as family.”

Not having received enough return, how could Su Wanlin let him leave?

Su Wanlin smiled, his expression benevolent.

In contrast, Song Manman, who had always doted on him, now had coldness in her eyes.

Su Shengli suddenly sneezed, feeling a bone-deep chill.

Through the haze of shock, he vaguely felt he had made a grave mistake.