The Fake Young Master

Lin Xingmian stood in the living room of the Lin family mansion, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the handle of his suitcase.

“Xingmian, Mom and Dad are sorry about this,” Mother Lin said as she sat on the sofa with slightly red eyes, making no move to stand up.

“But Hanzhou… he is our biological child after all, and he has been stranded outside for nineteen years, so we cannot let him suffer any more grievances.”

Lin Xingmian did not say anything.

He was still the only young master of the Lin family yesterday, but today he had become a fake who occupied someone else’s place.

The true bloodline of the Lin family—Gu Hanzhou—had been found.

The butler had already packed his things, and three suitcases were neatly lined up by the door.

Everything from the first baby bottle he used when he was three years old to the wristwatch his father gave him for his nineteenth birthday was packed inside.

It was as if they wanted to uproot these nineteen years and completely clear him out of this house.

“I know,” Lin Xingmian spoke, his voice calmer than expected.

“I will move out today.”

He did not ask where he could go, as he had already asked that yesterday.

His father’s answer was that he was no longer a child and should learn to be independent.

His mother did not answer and just remained silent.

The nineteen years of upbringing turned into a tacit understanding at this moment—do not make things difficult for us, and we will not make things embarrassing for you.

Lin Xingmian released the handle and took one last look at this home where he had lived for nineteen years.

The marks left from when he bumped into the corner of the table as a child were still in the living room.

The sunflower he drew when he was seven years old still hung on the wall near the stairs, looking crooked, which his father had smiled and said he would keep for a lifetime back then.

The sound of the door opening came from the entrance.

The butler went to welcome the guest, his voice carrying cautious respect.

“Mr. Gu, you are here.”

The person who came in was very tall, his suit tailored immaculately, with his overcoat draped over his arm.

He had extremely deep and cold eyes, like a frozen lake surface in winter, showing no warmth at all.

Gu Hanzhou.

The real young master of the Lin family.

Lin Xingmian exchanged a second of eye contact with him and then averted his gaze.

He did not know what kind of expression he should use to face this person—guilt?

He had done nothing wrong, as he was just a baby when they were swapped.

Calmness?

He had indeed occupied the other person’s life for nineteen years.

Gu Hanzhou, however, seemed not to notice his inner conflict at all, as his gaze swept past him faintly and landed on Mother Lin.

“Mother.”

Mother Lin stood up immediately, her eyes turning red again.

“Hanzhou, you are here, have all your things been moved over?”

“The room is already prepared for you, it is the largest suite on the second floor—”

“No need,” Gu Hanzhou interrupted her, his tone very faint.

“I am not staying here.”

Mother Lin froze.

“But…”

“I only came here today to do one thing.”

Gu Hanzhou finally placed his gaze back on Lin Xingmian.

He walked over step by step, his leather shoes stepping on the marble floor with a soft sound, yet every step seemed to step on one’s nerves.

Lin Xingmian took a step back subconsciously.

Gu Hanzhou was half a head taller than him, and when standing in front of him, the casted shadow enveloped him completely.

He raised his hand, and Lin Xingmian thought he was going to do something, his body tensing up instantly.

But Gu Hanzhou just pried his fingers gripping the suitcase handle open one by one.

“You can take everything in this house away,” Gu Hanzhou looked down at him.

“But this person—”

He paused and held Lin Xingmian’s hand in his palm.

“Belongs to me.”

The living room became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Mother Lin opened her mouth but did not say anything.

Father Lin walked out of the study, and his brows furrowed upon seeing this scene.

“Hanzhou, what do you mean by this?”

“Literal meaning,” Gu Hanzhou turned around, his gaze calmly meeting Father Lin’s.

“What part does Father find unclear?”

Father Lin’s expression looked a bit ugly.

“He is… you are both men, and he has lived in our house for nineteen years after all, so even if there is no blood relation, by title he is also—”

“Also what?” Gu Hanzhou raised his brows slightly, the corner of his mouth hooking into an extremely faint arc that was cold enough to make one’s spine chill.

“A younger brother?”

He squeezed Lin Xingmian’s palm slightly, his tone casual.

“I have no blood relation with him, nor any legal relationship, and it is unclear whose child he actually is now.”

“But one thing is very certain—”

He lowered his head, his lips almost touching Lin Xingmian’s ear, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear.

“Haven’t you always wanted to leave this place? I will take you away.”

Lin Xingmian’s heart skipped a beat.

He remembered yesterday when he saw Gu Hanzhou for the first time.

That man sat in the car, looked at him through the half-open car window, said nothing, and then closed the window.

He thought that was hatred.

But at this moment, Gu Hanzhou held his hand, his fingertips lightly scratching his palm, like some sort of secret reassurance.

“…” Lin Xingmian looked up at him, meeting a pair of deep eyes.

There was no hatred there, but something else that made one’s heart tremble even more.

—It was a determination to win.

“Hanzhou,” Father Lin’s voice sank.

“Do not mess around, Xingmian is moving out today, so if you want to live here—”

“I said, I do not need to live here.”

Gu Hanzhou held Lin Xingmian’s hand and turned to walk toward the door.

When passing by those three suitcases, he did not stop his steps, only glancing sideways at the assistant waiting at the door.

The assistant stepped forward immediately and pushed away all the suitcases.

Lin Xingmian was led by him, stumbling out of the Lin family gates.

Mother Lin’s voice came from behind, “Xingmian—” with a sobbing tone, but she did not chase after them.

The front door closed behind him.

A home of nineteen years was shut away behind him.

A black Maybach parked at the entrance, and the assistant pulled open the rear door.

Gu Hanzhou released his hand and signaled for him to get into the car.

Lin Xingmian stood by the car door, looking back at the Lin family mansion.

Behind a window on the second floor, a figure flickered, but it was unclear who it was.

“Reluctant to leave?” Gu Hanzhou’s voice came from behind, faint.

“If you are reluctant, you can go back, I will not stop you.”

Lin Xingmian pursed his lips, bent down, and got into the car.

The corner of Gu Hanzhou’s mouth hooked into an extremely faint arc as he followed and sat inside.

The moment the car door closed, he spoke, “Go to Emerald Lake Bay.”

“Yes.”

The car drove out of the Lin family’s private driveway and entered the main road.

Lin Xingmian looked at the scenery receding rapidly outside the window, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly.

“Why are you taking me away?” he asked.

Gu Hanzhou leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed, his profile lines cold and hard.

Hearing the question, he opened his eyes and tilted his head to look over.

The light inside the car was very dim, yet his eyes were astonishingly bright.

“Because you are mine,” he said.

“After being swapped by mistake for nineteen years, the only compensation given to me—isn’t it you?”

Lin Xingmian’s heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something.

Outside the car window, the neon lights of this city began to light up.

The world he had lived in for nineteen years was collapsing and reorganizing, and the center of it all was the man beside him whom he had only met for the first time yesterday.

He should be afraid.

But for some reason, when Gu Hanzhou held his hand again, he did not pull away.

The Maybach traveled through the night, driving toward a future that was completely unfamiliar to him.

What he did not know was that while his phone was on silent, five unread messages were already lying quietly on the screen—

Lu Shiyan: “Xingxing, I heard you are moving out, I am coming to pick you up.”

Ji Beichen: “Do not move, I am already on the road.”

Shen Moting: “I booked a hotel suite for you, send me the address.”

Fu Xici: “I am broadcasting live right now, dare to ignore my messages and see what happens.”

There was also a text message from an unknown number, sent an hour ago, coming from a name he did not yet know—

“Finally found you, wait for me.”

Sender: Rong Du.