The other possibility was that she was pregnant with Lu Beichuan's child. If this was true, it would be difficult to figure out a solution.

If this was true, it meant that not only had Lu Beichuan faked being unconscious, he also knew that she had taken Ye Qing's place in marrying him. William had previously examined her, so Lu Beichuan probably already knew that she was pregnant and that was why he had personally gone to the airport.

In the novel, the only reason that Lu Beichuan allowed "Ye Zhen" to remain at his side was because she had given birth to a son for him.

If this baby was really Lu Beichuan's, then it was all over for her.

When Ye Zhen opened the door, she saw a figure going around the corner of an outside corridor. That figure looked somewhat similar to Lu Beichuan.

However, in the next second, the old butler appeared. Smiling, he said to Ye Zhen, "Miss Ye, Young Master wanted me to pass on the message that dinner is starting."

"Old uncle, I'm Ye Zhen."

The old butler blankly stared at her. "Your Ye family's second miss?"

Ye Zhen nodded.

The old butler kindly smiled. "You and your older sister look the same. I really can't tell the two of your apart."

By the time these two had finished talking in the hallway, Ye Qing had hidden away her earlier hysterical expression. She came out of the room, looked right at the old butler, and said, "I'll go down right now."

Arrogantly strutting forward, Ye Qing passed by Ye Zhen. The old butler moved to the side so that Ye Qing could walk down first.

After the group had gone downstairs, Ye Qing took the lead by sitting down next to Lu Beichuan, and Ye Zhen took the opportunity to sit down at a guest's seat.

Mother Lu's eyes were still rimmed with red, but even if she wanted to hide away her smile, she couldn't. Beaming, she looked at Ye Zhen and Ye Qing. Sighing with emotion for a good while, she said, "The two of you really do look exactly the same. I really wouldn't be able to tell you apart from each other."

Ye Qing smiled and said, "Mom, I want to send Zhenzhen home after dinner. Our parents are sick with worry over her."

"Sick with worry?"

Ye Qing explained, "Our parents didn't approve of her relationship with her boyfriend, so she ran away from home with him. During the past period, our parents had been sick with worry over her. Fortunately, Beichuan has found her. Otherwise..." Looking at Lu Beichuan, she quietly said, "Beichuan, thank you."

Lu Beichuan remained expressionless. He didn't even respond with a simple sound of acknowledgement.

From the villa's main doorway, there was the sound of footsteps. Lu Shaoren walked into the villa. He was in a very good mood.

"I heard from far away that you were talking about running away from home. What's that about?"

Mother Lu was in a very good mood because of Lu Beichuan's recovery. She answered him, "Qingqing was talking about her younger sister running away from home and trying to persuade her to go home. Today, you..." Before she finished speaking, Mother Lu saw the person behind Lu Shaoren. Her expression suddenly changed.

"He is?"

Father Lu brought the person in front of everyone and introduced, "This is Lin Zhan. He'll be part of our family going forward."

Lin Zhan expressionlessly swept his gaze over everyone and immediately zeroed in on Ye Qing.

With the previous Lu Beifan serving as an example, it was obvious to Mother Lu why Lu Shaoren had brought Lin Zhan back and introduced him in such a manner.

It hadn't been enough for him to bring back one illegitimate child. After the first one had been kicked out only a few days ago, he was bringing another one back. It was easy to see that Lu Shaoren had been quite the Casanova during the past years!

Mother Lu slammed her bowl and chopsticks down on the table. The clamoring sound from the porcelain dishware clearly expressed her anger. She coldly looked at Lu Shaoren and directly asked, "What do you mean by this?"

Lu Shaoren had Lin Zhan sit down in the spot that Lu Beifan used to previously sit in, then he sat down directly across the table from Mother Lu and ordered a servant to bring out two more sets of dinnerware.

"Look at yourself! Look at how you're behaving in front of the children!"

"How am I behaving?" Mother Lu sneered. "Why don't you look at yourself?”

This fire had been smoldering in Mother Lu's heart for over twenty years.

Since she had married into the Lu family, this fire had never gone out.

Marriage for business reasons never had much genuine feelings in them. Mother Lu understood the need for them and how to play along. She wouldn't feel jealous, much less let herself be wronged, but everything changed when Mother Lu's maiden family's business went into decline.

Mother Lu's surname is Lin. Her full name is Lin Mei.

The Lin family had once been on equal standing with the Lu family. However, in the second year of her marriage, the Lin family's older master died. His descendants were disappointments that squandered their inheritance. The formerly large and wealth Lin family fell apart and could no longer be compared to its former self.

In a family like the Lu family, a woman could only have secure standing through two ways: a husband's love or a maiden family that couldn't be underestimated.

Lin Mei didn't have her husband's love or her maiden family's support. She didn't have any skills in a specialized area of her own either. Anyone would feel fazed by having no sense of security or stable foundation to stand on.

Fortunately, she had gotten pregnant early. In those years before Lu Beichuan had grown up, she passed her days cautiously. She knew about Lu Shaoren's affairs, but there was nothing she could do about them. It was fortunate that Old Master Lu valued propriety. Although Lu Shaoren could fool around outside, he wouldn't dare to bring any of his mistresses or illegitimate children back home!

Laten on, when Lu Beichuan had grown into an outstandingly capable adult and grasped the power in the Lu family, she had felt exuberant.

Right now, not only had her son woke up from his coma, he had also regained his ability to walk. So, why would Mother Lu continue to stifle the fire in her heart?

"First, it's a Lu Beifan, then it's a Lin Zhan. Do you think it's okay to bring just anyone home? Is this home a garbage dump or a recycling center?"

Mother Lu had previously never disparage Lu Shaoren in front of outsiders, but she had seen things clearly now. Lu Shaoren was selfish and self-centered. He had done so many reprehensible things. Why should she care about giving him face?

Lu Shaoren hadn't expected that his wife would say these embarrassing words in front of so many people. “Lin Mei! Watch yourself in front of the younger generation!"

"Watch myself? What about you then? Does dad know that you brought him back here?"

Lu Shaoren had an expression as if this was par for the course. He nodded. "Yes, dad agreed!"

Mother Lu's face froze into an ugly expression. A long time later, she incredulously spat out a question, "How could that be possible?"

"Why not?!" Displeased, Lu Shaoren sternly and self-righteously said, "Even though Beichuan woke up, the doctor has said he might not be able to stand up again. His recovery will depend on follow up medical treatments. What if he can never stand again? How could a disabled person be the Lu family's successor? That would be outrageously inappropriate."

After saying this, Lu Shaoren sighed. He turned his head to face Lu Beichuan and said, "Beichuan, don't blame dad. Your grandfather was the one that agreed to this matter. You should understand what he's having misgivings about. You haven't fully recovered, and there's too much work to do for the company. It won't be good for your recovery if you're weighed down by the company's responsibilities. With Lin Zhan here, he'll be able to share some of the burdens with you. The two of you are brothers. There's no need to draw a line between you and him."

Mother Lu trembled in anger from hearing these pompous and grandiose words.

In contrast, Lu Beichuan's expression remained coldly detached. It seemed as if nothing was capable of bothering him. "Brothers? Have you done a paternity test to confirm that he's really a member of the Lu family?"

"Of course. If you don't believe me, I can take Lin Zhan to do a paternity test."

Lu Beichuan smiled. "Sure. Bring him back once you have the results from a paternity test. But, until that happens, however you brought him here, show him the way out too."

"Lu Beichuan!" Furious, Lu Shaoren shouted, "Do you still hold any respect for me and your grandfather?! How can you not understand how hard this is on him? Everyone is just doing what they think will be the best for your health!"

"If you're really worried about my physical condition, then there's no need for you to worry. Because..." Lu Beichuan stood up, leaned over to add some food to Mother Lu's bowl with chopsticks, and continued saying, "My recovery is going quite well."

Lu Shaoren looked at Lu Beichuan in astonishment. The sight of Lu Beichuan standing up had utterly shocked Lu Shaoren. "You... can stand up?"

Lu Beichuan nodded. "Yes."

"When... when did this happen?"

Mother Lu's mood greatly improved. Feeling exuberant, she answered, "It happened during the past few days. You're always saying there's so much work at the company, but now you don't have to be so busy. Our son will be going back to the company and helping you."

Lu Shaoren's face changed colors. He had previously gotten news that Lu Beichuan wouldn't be able to stand up again for the rest of his life, but Lu Beichuan had already fully recovered a few days after that diagnosis! He was totally caught off guard!

Under these circumstances, it was laughable for him to bring Lin Zhan back!

Now that the Lu family's successor was in a good physical condition, Old Master Lu would never allow him to bring back an illegitimate child whose identity would become a pretext for gossip.

"So, do you think the Lu family needs two successors?” Lu Beichuan's sharp eyes narrowed. Looking at Lin Zhan, he said, "However he came here, have him leave that way too."

By saying these words in front of the servants and guest, he wasn't giving Lu Shaoren any face.

However, if Lin Zhan left because of Lu Beichuan's words, Lu Shaoren would be losing even more face. After a moment of silence, Lu Shaoren stiffly said, "Your grandfather agreed to this matter. He’s away at the ancestral home right now. We'll wait to discuss any issues after he comes back."

Lu Beichuan was used to bossing people around. "Do you think I don't have the power to make the final decision in this family?"

Suddenly, the air felt unbreathable from tension. A young maid, who had brought over the dishware from the kitchen, didn't dare to approach the table. The old butler had her give him the dishware, and he set the dishware down on the table.

"Mr. Lu is probably quite hungry from working all day. Let's eat first." After saying this, he smiled and said to Lu Beichuan, "Young Master, as the master of the family, how can you push out a guest? That would be against customs."

The old butler had been serving the Lu family for a long time. He had been taking care of the family since Lu Shaoren had been born. Everyone in the family would give him some face.

There wasn't anyone more suitable than him to ease the tense atmosphere.

The old butler set out the dishware and chopsticks in front of Lu Shaoren and Lin Zhan. He politely smiled at the young man, who had remained seemingly aloof since he had entered the villa.

Lu Shaoren calmed down a bit. He knew that it wouldn't be good to act too hasty over this matter. "Let's eat first."

He swept his gaze across the table and finally stopped it between Ye Zhen and Ye Qing. "This is...?"

In an unhappy tone, Mother Lu replied, "She's Ye Qing twin sister, Ye Zhen."

"Ye Zhen? They look identical. I almost thought there was something wrong with my eyes.” Lu Shaoren was trying to shift the focus to a new topic to make himself seem as if he was the one in charge of the family.

However, Ye Zhen felt as if her heart was beating as loud as thunder.

Since Lin Zhan had passed through the doorway, she spiralled into extreme anxiety. She hadn't paid attention to the earlier conversation that had occured at the dining table.

Why had the plot gone off course so much?

Shouldn't Lin Zhan be doing his best to make something of himself in the outside world? Shouldn't Lhe come to the Lu family to smack the villain down after he had obtained great success through his unending strive for self-improvement as well as the cheats that belonged to a novel's male lead? Why was he the one being smacked down by the villain?

As an illegitimate child, shouldn't he know what kind of treatment he would receive if he came to the Lu family? Lu Beichuan already had the Lu family in his pocket. Having nothing to rely on, how could Lin Zhan have any hope of taking anything out of Lu Beichuan's pocket? Did he have no sense at all?

Didn't he look down on the Lu family and look down on Lu Shaoren even more? Wasn't he supposed to rather die than come to the Lu family? Why had he banded together with someone as rotten as Lu Shaoren?

Did he come here because of Ye Qing?

Ye Zhen thought about it carefully. The novel's male lead had an unwavering love towards Ye Qing. The motivation for all of his hard work was Ye Qing. Since Ye Qing had come here, it wasn't that far fetched that Lin Zhan would follow her here.

Still... this was too messy.

Ye Qing was in a similar state of feeling troubled. Looking at the scrumptious meal before her, she had a difficult time swallowing down anything.

She had originally thought there were no secrets between her and Lin Zhan, but Lin Zhan had never told her he was the Lu family's illegitimate child whether it was this lifetime or in the previous lifetime. She had originally thought there was nothing left to say between them. She was shocked to discover that he had been hiding this from her. He had been lying to her all along!

What was he doing by sitting there and unwaveringly looking at her?!

Did he think she was still a gullible young girl that he had so easily deceived in the past life?

Lin Zhan's intimate gaze was too conspicuous. It put Ye Qing in an especially uncomfortable position.

Lu Beichuan chuckled. "Mr. Lin, why do you keep looking at Ye Qing?"

Lin Zhan's eyes sunk. Since that night when Ye Qing had left him for her younger sister's sake, he had set down his resolve to take Ye Qing away from this vortex. As soon as he entered here, he recognized his girlfriend, who he had been living with day and night.

Lin Zhan lowered his eyes. "It's nothing."

Ye Qing slightly smiled and thoughtfully added spare ribs to Lu Beichuan's bowl. "He's not looking at me. He's looking at Zhenzhen."

Lu Beichuan looked at her with a brooding gaze. His sharp eyes were like a knife that pierced through her heart as he said in a sharp voice, "He's looking at Zhenzhen?"

Ye Qing's hand slightly trembled around the chopsticks she was holding. She had been behaving very cautiously in front of Lu Beichuan this entire time and didn't dare to overstep even once. However, Lu Beichuan's attitude towards her remained cold. It could even be said that his attitude towards her was at the level of disgust. As soon as she slightly thought of Lu Beichuan's sweet as honey gaze towards Ye Qing in her past life, she would immediately feel as if her plans had been thwarted.

She forced herself to smile. "Lin Zhan is Zhenzhen's boyfriend."

"What?" Mother Lu gaze incredulously went back and forth between Lin Zhan and Ye Zhen.

Lu Shaoren also doubtfully looked at her. "What's going on?"

Ye Qing was smiling as she explained, "It's like this. Our parents wouldn't agree to Zhenzhen and Lin Zhan getting married, so the two of them ran away together. I saw how worried our parents were. Our mom even got sick from worrying too much, so I asked Beichuan to help me find Zhenzhen. Fortunately, Beichuan found her today."

Ye Qing glanced at Ye Zhen. It was obvious that she was warning her to cooperate.

"So it's like that..." Lu Shaoren looked at Lin Zhan as he continued, "So she's the girlfriend that you spoke of."

Lin Zhan's expression was extremely ugly. He knew that Ye Zhen had taken Ye Qing's place in marrying Lu Beichuan, but he could also easily tell that it was Ye Qing sitting next to Lu Beichuan right now and not Ye Zhen. However, he felt as if he was looking at a stranger when he heard Ye Qing's words. In his memories, Ye Qing was a kind-hearted, magnanimous, and prideful woman. But, the woman before him had changed into someone that was cold-blooded, cautious, and acquiescent.

She was clearly the one that had run away with him, but she had calmly pushed the blame onto Ye Zhen!

Lin Zhan tightened his grip on the chopsticks. The veins on the back of his hand were raised up.

Right at the moment when he couldn't bear to keep quiet any longer, someone kicked him below the table.

He instinctively looked at Ye Zhen. Sitting across from him, Ye Zhen had her head lowered, and her face was slightly flushed. She secretly smiled at him and shook her head. He was surprised to see that she was looking at him with a pleading gaze.

The sparkling lights from the chandelier above the dining table were reflected in her eyes. It was as if her eyes contained resplendent stars.

At that very moment, the anger in Lin Zhan's suddenly disappeared. The hand that was holding the chopsticks relaxed.

From Lin Zhan's point of view, Ye Zhen had been utterly medicorce since childhood, but she had been braver than anyone else at the critical moment. When her older sister had heedlessly run off with him, she had been willing to sacrifice her happiness and future to save her older sister and her family by marrying a comatose person.

Now that the comatose person had woken up, she was willing to step to the side without having gotten any benefit for herself. She was even willing to bear the burden of her older sister's prior actions and damage her own reputation by doing so. In contrast, her older sister was eagerly dumping the consequences of her actions onto her younger sister.