I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 54

But how could that be?

Jiang Luoyue hadn’t forgotten the numerous DNA tests she and Jing Lan had undergone, all with identical results. She was certain the issue couldn’t lie with her or Jiang Yu.

Unless the test samples had been compromised.

But Jiang Yu wasn’t foolish. Even if there were problems, couldn’t they simply redo the verification? Just as Jiang Luoyue was lost in thought, she saw Jiang Lianyan suddenly push the door open. Spotting the report, Jiang Lianyan covered her mouth with her hand.

What followed was a heartfelt confession. Jiang Luoyue distilled the key points and grasped the gist: regardless of whether Jiang Luoyue was biologically related to the Jiang family, her resemblance to Jing Lan was striking. Bringing her back to the Jiang family might serve as a form of solace for both Jing Lan and the real “Lianyan.”

The real Lianyan? Was “Jiang Lianyan” a hereditary name? After she went missing, was the new daughter given the same name?

This was the first time Jiang Luoyue had heard of such a thing. In her bewilderment, she found it both absurd and ironic. Yet Jiang Yu seemed struck to the core, tearing up the report and sternly forbidding Jiang Lianyan from speaking of the matter again.

Her expression was terrifying as she muttered, “Fakes will always be fakes.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Lianyan let out a soft laugh in the study, looking up to thank Jiang Yu’s assistant.

Witnessing this scene, Jiang Luoyue finally understood why Jiang Yu had treated her so harshly at the family recognition banquet.

To Jiang Yu, what mattered from beginning to end was “Jiang Yu’s sister.” Anyone else held no value in her eyes. Jiang Luoyue, merely suspected of being an imposter, was instantly discarded. What about Jiang Lianyan, who was undoubtedly a fake?

For Jiang Lianyan to take such a great risk to swap the samples, she must have been truly desperate.

This belated revelation did nothing to improve Jiang Luoyue’s opinion of Jiang Yu. Instead, it sent a chill down her spine. She woke from the dream with a furrowed brow, still disoriented, when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps and hushed female voices outside her door.

“Why are you pushing me?!”

“The hallway is narrow. I’m just walking. And by the way, being overly sensitive is an illness, you should get it treated.”

“Quiet.”

Still half-asleep, Jiang Luoyue found the voices strangely familiar. She was just trying to gather her thoughts when the door was abruptly knocked on.

Tap, tap two soft, almost inaudible knocks.

“Even a mouse wouldn’t hear that,” someone sneered coldly.

“Then you do it?!” another snapped irritably.

“Quiet,” a third voice interjected coolly.

The second attempt came with noticeably louder knocks, but after two raps, the sound vanished into the wind.

“Ning Fuguang, are you trying to wake everyone up?”

“Quiet!”

This time, even in her drowsy state, Jiang Luoyue realized who the visitors were.

Before the three could start fighting over the knocking, the door was suddenly opened from the inside.

Ning Fuguang had just begun to explain, “It was an accident,” when the bright light illuminated her face. She saw Jiang Luoyue, dressed in bear-print pajamas, staring at her in confusion. Her heart, quicker than her thoughts, made her lips curl into a smile. “Luo”

Before she could finish saying “Luoyue,” she was abruptly shoved aside. Fu Yunqing, freed from her cast and back in action, swept Jiang Luoyue into a hug, twirling her into the room as if dancing a tango. “Jiang Luoyue! Did you miss me? How did you get so thin? Your waist wasn’t this slender last time I held you.”

As she moved, she hooked her foot around the door, attempting to shut the other two out.

Yu Jingtang pushed away at the right moment, sounding somewhat impatient. “Let her go.”

Fu Yunqing sneered coldly. “You think I’ll listen just because you said so? You”

Before she could finish, Yu Jingtang suddenly pulled out a small homemade party popper. With a bang, shredded ribbons and confetti exploded under the light like a shower of blossoms.

Fu Yunqing: ?

“What are you doing?” Fu Yunqing asked, confused. “Do you think performing tricks will make me obey you?”

As her words trailed off, Yu Jingtang aimed another party popper at her. Though Fu Yunqing didn’t believe she would get hurt, she instinctively dodged. Seizing the moment, Yu Jingtang swiftly pulled Jiang Luoyue to her side and retracted the party popper.

“Damn it!” Fu Yunqing cursed angrily. “How sneaky! Let her go!”

But Yu Jingtang paid her no mind. Instead, she took out a wet wipe and began wiping Jiang Luoyue’s hands, as if Jiang Luoyue had just touched something filthy.

Her fingertips felt damp and chilly in the air. Jiang Luoyue blinked, just coming back to her senses, when Ning Fuguang snapped furiously, “Fu Yunqing, are you out of your mind?”

For the usually composed and refined Ning Fuguang to curse like that showed just how enraged she was. Fu Yunqing pointed at Jiang Luoyue, whose hand was now held firmly by Yu Jingtang, and the two abruptly ceased their quarrel, turning their anger toward Yu Jingtang’s underhanded tactics.

Amid the chaos, Xiang Fan suddenly shoved the door open. “Do you want to die tomorrow? What’s all this noise?”

She seemed to have been woken up just after falling asleep and was in a foul mood. But as her eyes fell on the group before her, her expression tightened abruptly.

“Why are you all here?” Xiang Fan’s gaze swept around, finally settling on Jiang Luoyue’s face. “Jiang Luoyue, you ”

Under everyone’s intense scrutiny, Jiang Luoyue, who had been fought over multiple times, finally parted her lips slightly. The room held its breath, waiting for her first words of the day. But instead, Jiang Luoyue suddenly spat out a piece of confetti that had landed on her lips with a soft “Pfft.”

If there had been any lingering joy of reunion earlier, after all the chaos, Jiang Luoyue now felt nothing but exhaustion and a hint of embarrassment from spitting out the confetti.

She struggled to maintain her composure. “Long time no see, everyone.”

Silence fell. No one responded, but three pairs of eyes burned into her, making Jiang Luoyue curl her fingers slightly, stewing in awkwardness alone.

Fortunately, Yu Jingtang would never let Jiang Luoyue be left hanging. She suddenly pulled out another party popper from her pocket and set it off above Jiang Luoyue’s head.

In an instant, rose petals drifted down, settling on Jiang Luoyue’s hair and clothes. As she looked up in surprise, Yu Jingtang smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “Luoyue, long time no see.”

Standing behind Jiang Luoyue and having taken the full blast of the party popper to her face, Ning Fuguang: “…”