"Brother, have you really taken a liking to Gu Yufei?"
Zhao Yue ignored his earlier complaint and pressed the question again, refusing to back down.
"Will you *ever* learn to knock on a door?" Zhao Yan shot back, his tone stiff and cold. His handsome face showed no patience whatsoever.
(Internally he reminded himself: *If this were a typical novel, the villain would be scheming to ruin his adopted sister for revenge. But I'm not that Zhao Yan.*
Zhao Yue was the little sister he'd doted on since she was small—well-behaved, sensible, never once showing signs of the dark path the original plot forced on her.
And yet… here they were.)
He glared at her, a flicker of impatience crossing his features.
With exaggerated disgust, Zhao Yan said icily, "Get out. And knock properly this time."
Zhao Yue froze. Disbelief widened her eyes.
She had barged into his room countless times before. He'd always grumbled about it, but it was sibling teasing—never this sharp, never this cold.
The look of revulsion in his eyes now left her stunned and confused.
*What happened? Everything was normal this morning…*
Her gaze flickered uncertainly. Finally, she obeyed, stepping back out and closing the door.
She knocked softly.
"Brother… I'm knocking. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Zhao Yan settled into his chair, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips.
Even without knowing every detail of the original plot, he could improvise—and he was getting disturbingly good at it.
Zhao Yue pushed the door open and stepped inside. Seeing her brother so utterly changed, apprehension tightened her chest.
"Say what you came to say," he drawled smugly, "then go wash my clothes by hand and mop the floor."
*There's definitely something wrong.*
Zhao Yue's heart pounded.
She could handle chores—laundry, mopping—but the condescending, commanding tone was completely unlike him.
She took a deep breath and forced out the question burning inside her.
"Brother… they're saying you have a crush on Gu Yufei.
And that you ordered her daughter locked in the pigsty?"
She watched him nervously, her pulse racing.
"Hmm. Is there a problem?" Zhao Yan replied lazily, narrowing his eyes as he reclined further in his chair.
Zhao Yue's breath caught. Her expression grew even more complicated. She bit her lip hard.
*My brother finally fell for someone… but it's not me.*
"Brother," she said through gritted teeth, "that woman isn't right for you.
And locking a little girl in a pigsty is wrong.
It'll ruin your reputation."
She tried to steady herself. Everything she'd heard since coming home had been too shocking; she still hadn't recovered.
Hearing it confirmed from her own brother's mouth twisted her emotions into knots.
She didn't truly care about Gu Xiaohan's fate—what she couldn't bear was the idea that her brother would do something so cruel *for that woman's sake*.
"Heh." Zhao Yan scoffed, his gaze turning frigid. "Have you really forgotten who you are?
Don't get ahead of yourself. Even as an adopted daughter, you don't get to lecture me."
He paused, letting the words sink in before delivering the final blow.
"…To put it politely, you're adopted. To put it bluntly, you're a freeloader living off our family's charity."
"Have I been too lenient with you these past few years? Made you think you can interfere in my business?
Know your place."
There was no mercy in his voice. Once he'd committed to the role, Zhao Yan wouldn't hesitate—even if real abuse was off the table.
A few cutting remarks would have to suffice to push the plot forward.
Zhao Yue's fists clenched until her nails dug into her palms.
*How could I forget?*
An indescribable sadness and heartache surged through her.
A bone-deep chill spread from her feet to the crown of her head, leaving her frozen.
She knew her status better than anyone. She never overstepped.
But knowing it in her heart was one thing—having her own brother throw it in her face like this was something else entirely.
Her eyes reddened. Tears threatened to spill at any second.
*Why is he suddenly like this? What happened?*
"Brother…" Her voice trembled as she bit her lip harder.
"Get out," he snapped. "Wash my clothes by hand. Don't sleep until you're finished."
Looking into her tear-filled eyes, Zhao Yan felt a sharp pang in his chest.
But he kept his expression disdainful, as though her very presence dirtied his sight.
(Thinking of how, in the original story, this little sister would eventually become the protagonist's woman somehow made the guilt easier to bear.)
"Brother… rest well. I'm leaving."
"Wait." Zhao Yan suddenly called after her.
Zhao Yue paused, turning back with a complicated look—hope flickering faintly in her eyes.
*Maybe he'll apologize. Maybe he'll just act normal again, and we can pretend this never happened.*
"Don't meddle in Gu Yufei or Gu Xiaohan's affairs," he said coldly. "Or you'll regret it."
The hope died instantly.
The man in front of her remained hard and distant—no trace of the doting brother she'd always known.
Pain lanced through Zhao Yue's heart. She gritted her teeth, turned, and walked out.
She was going to find Gu Yufei.
She needed to know exactly what that woman had done to turn her brother into this.
The door closed behind her.
Inside, Zhao Yan finally let his shoulders drop. The cold mask shattered; he exhaled heavily.
"Phew… she's finally gone."
Even though it was just acting, forcing himself to glare and sneer at his own little sister had been exhausting.
That wasn't who he was.
Still… today's performance had been a success.
---
Regardless, Zhao Yue refused to believe her brother had changed so suddenly. Something must have happened.
During the few hours she was away, something had to have occurred—something that made her brother especially agitated, leading to this drastic shift in his personality.
If they hadn't spent so much time together growing up, she might not have recognized him at all. She knew all his little habits, his tricks, his tells.
But now… he felt like a stranger wearing her brother's face.
*Gu Yufei, you vixen. I won't let you get away with this.*
*It has to be you!*
In recent days, the biggest change in her brother's life was the rumored affair with Gu Yufei. Zhao Yue refused to believe it had nothing to do with her.
That shameless woman must have done something to him—bewitched him, manipulated him, poisoned his mind.
Family ties ran deeper than anything else. No matter the angle, Zhao Yue would always stand firmly on her brother's side.
Setting everything else aside… they could simply pin all the blame on Gu Yufei.
She stormed toward the small dormitory building behind the villa—the modest quarters reserved for maids and staff.
"Which room is Gu Yufei's?" Zhao Yue demanded coldly.
Her brother had taken in the orphaned mother and daughter out of pure pity—a life-saving act of kindness. How could this woman repay him with such shamelessness?
*Shameless… filthy… vile!*
"Miss…" The dormitory supervisor—an older auntie—stared wide-eyed in surprise. One look at Zhao Yue's expression told her trouble was brewing.
*Miss Zhao is here to confront Gu Yufei!*
The rumors had spread like wildfire through the household: the young master forcing himself on Gu Yufei, then locking her daughter in the pigsty to threaten her.
There were two main versions of the story.
One painted the young master as the villain—coercing a helpless maid and punishing her innocent child.
The other blamed Gu Yufei entirely: a scheming seductress who threw away her daughter the moment she got what she wanted.
Most people believed the second version. After all, everyone knew what kind of person the young master was—gentle, tolerant, generous.
Gu Yufei? She was an outsider. A maid with a child. Few knew her well enough to defend her.
The auntie's first reaction to the gossip had been disbelief.
She couldn't imagine the young master forcing anyone—let alone a woman who clearly harbored genuine feelings for him.
He didn't need to coerce anyone. With his status, countless women would throw themselves at him willingly.
And Gu Yufei… the auntie had watched her for years. The girl was hardworking, quiet, and sincere in her quiet devotion to the young master. She might stare at him with longing eyes, but she would never harm her own daughter.
"Um… Miss, Gu Yufei hasn't finished her shift yet. She isn't back."
The auntie tried to cover for her, but Zhao Yue wasn't the type to give up easily.
"Where does she work?" Zhao Yue asked, her voice like ice as she fixed the woman with a stare.
She was a powder keg ready to explode—desperate to find Gu Yufei and demand answers about what she'd done to corrupt her brother.
"…I don't know," the auntie lied weakly.
Zhao Yue turned and left without another word. She wasn't usually this rude.
She had always been keenly aware of her position as an adopted daughter. Her "parents" hadn't adopted her out of genuine desire for a child—they had their reasons, and they'd made it clear she was disposable.
So at home or outside, she stayed cautious, never overstepping, never throwing her weight around.
She was the most sensible, the most restrained—except, perhaps, in front of her brother, where she let her true self show a little.
She never bullied others with her status as the Zhao family's nominal eldest daughter.
She never acted spoiled or willful.
But today, rage threatened to overwhelm her restraint.
No matter what, she was still the young miss of the Zhao family.
And today, she would use that power to bully someone if she had to.
…
"Mommy, look! A little piggy!"
Gu Xiaohan beamed with pure, childlike joy, pointing at a plush toy pig.
Gu Yufei stood beside her, managing only a strained, forced smile.
Her daughter was innocent—blissfully unaware of the world's cruelty.
But Gu Yufei understood everything.
Looking at the scene before her, tears pricked her eyes.
An hour earlier, when Butler Li had found her and calmly announced that her daughter had been sent to the pigsty, Gu Yufei's first reaction had been… relief.
*If that's the case… maybe I can finally let go of feeling unworthy. Maybe I can accept that I have to give in—for my daughter's sake…?*
The thought had barely formed before shame crashed over her like a wave.
*How could I think something so despicable?*
*What's the difference between that and selling myself while pretending to be virtuous? The young master is so kind—how could I let him bear the stain of coercing someone?*
Her second reaction was pure panic.
She refused to believe her young master would do such a thing. Even if he had, there *had* to be a reason.
She rushed after Butler Li, only to find her daughter truly locked inside.
But what she saw wasn't the filthy, stinking pen she'd feared.
It was a small, clean wooden house that had appeared out of nowhere—filled with plush pigs of every size, all soft and adorable.
There were even two tiny live piglets, pink and curious, snuffling around harmlessly.
It was a "pigsty," yes—but not the kind meant to punish or humiliate.
*Young Master… why would you do this? I'm really not worth it.*
"Mommy, why are you crying? Here—have a piggy. Don't cry anymore."
Despite her young age, Gu Xiaohan was perceptive beyond her years. Uncle Li had told her everything in the little house belonged to her now.
Seeing her mother in tears, the girl offered her most treasured toy—the one she loved best.
Gu Yufei silently wept, gazing at her daughter with a storm of complicated emotions.
No one knew better than she did how this child had come to be.
Because of that origin, a quiet resentment toward Gu Xiaohan had lingered in her heart for years—hatred for the circumstances, not the innocent girl herself.
But her daughter was always well-behaved, sensible, and kind.
So Gu Yufei buried the resentment deep and tried her best to be a good mother.
…