33: Chapter 33: 88% chance of dying within three days.

"What's wrong? Are you going to read my fortune? Do we look like a good match?" Xiao Lu asked with a giggle.

Xiao Tan looked at her with a complicated expression.

Pretty lady, I'm afraid you won't be able to laugh for long.

At this moment, Xiao Lu's phone rang; it was a video call from her boyfriend.

"Hey, honey, how much longer until you get here?"

"About ten minutes or so. I detoured to the hospital to buy you some medicine; you were coughing a bit in the middle of the night after running the air conditioning."

"I'm fine."

"Did you miss me, baby?"

"Oh, shh, I'm eating with someone else." Xiao Lu blushed.

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Mwah, I missed you. See you in a bit, I'm almost there."

Xiao Tan was caught off guard by this sudden display of affection.

The two of them exchanged a few more sweet nothings before hanging up.

Xiao Lu's face was beaming: "No matter what the truth about my origins is, at least I still have him by my side to comfort me."

Xiao Tan looked at her meaningfully: "If the truth is very cruel, are you sure you still want to hear it?"

The smile on Xiao Lu's face froze; she vaguely guessed something.

"So, everything you said just now was true? Not just a hypothetical?"

Xiao Tan: "Partially."

"The truth might be even harder to accept than what I just said."

Xiao Lu lowered her head and thought for a long while, then gathered her courage and said: "Tell me. I want to know the truth."

"I don't want to live in confusion; that feeling is unbearable."

"Even if I was abandoned or kidnapped, I'll accept it."

"A person cannot stay in a lie they tell themselves. One must grow up and face reality."

Xiao Tan nodded: "Alright."

"Your adoptive parents have done nothing wrong to you; they didn't kidnap you."

"This matter starts with your grandparents—I mean your biological grandparents."

"Their thinking was somewhat old-fashioned; they favored boys over girls."

"Before giving birth to you, your biological mother had another daughter, which means you have an older biological sister."

"After she was born, she was sent away by your grandparents—given to someone else."

"The second child, which was you, was also a girl."

"Your biological father's distant cousin, your cousin-aunt, was a nurse."

"Coincidentally, when it was time to give birth, your biological mother and your adoptive mother were both delivering at the same maternity hospital."

"Your adoptive mother gave birth to a son, but she suffered a massive hemorrhage during labor and passed out."

"Your cousin-aunt pulled a switcheroo, deceiving everyone by swapping you, a newborn, with your adoptive mother's son."

"In other words, your cousin-aunt is suspected of child trafficking."

Xiao Tan paused at this point.

Xiao Lu's large eyes were filled with confusion and shock.

She had originally thought this was her own personal tragedy, but it turned out her adoptive parents were victims too!

They had suffered this disaster for no reason.

They hadn't done anything wrong; not only did they lose their son, but they also painstakingly raised her, the child of their "enemy."

"Cousin-aunt? How could she do this! She ruined two families!"

"I thought I might have been kidnapped by my adoptive parents, I didn't expect that they..."

Xiao Tan: "Although your background is unfortunate, your adoptive parents really treated you very well."

"Actually, they discovered a long time ago that you weren't their biological daughter."

"But they still treated you as their own daughter."

"They had also tried to search for the truth secretly, but found nothing."

"Eventually, they just stopped looking, fearing that finding the truth would hurt you."

Hearing this, Xiao Lu felt even more guilty: "I... I'm sorry to them."

Xiao Tan: "This is not your fault."

Anyone would be at a loss when faced with the truth of their origins. Xiao Lu looked at Xiao Tan helplessly: "What should I do?"

Xiao Tan: "You need to make the decision yourself."

She let out a deep breath: "I've decided. I want to call the police. Bad people should be punished, and the truth should be restored."

Xiao Tan: "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Xiao Tan looked at her deeply, feeling very reluctant, but he still said: "There is one more thing I need to tell you."

Xiao Lu looked blank: "Huh?"

"Your boyfriend," Xiao Tan said slowly, "He is your cousin-aunt's son."

"What?"

Like a bolt from the blue, Xiao Lu was stunned, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Xiao Tan pulled out a tissue and placed it in front of her: "The current situation is that the eldest son of your biological parents is actually your adoptive parents' biological son."

"Your biological parents later had another younger brother. The younger brother is in high school, and unfortunately, he has leukemia."

"They couldn't find a matching bone marrow donor, so your biological parents wanted to find you to test, and your younger brother's bone marrow happens to be a match for you."

"As for your boyfriend... fate is such a tease; he just happens to be your cousin-aunt's son."

"Of course, Heaven isn't being too cruel; you two don't count as close relatives, it's beyond three generations."

Just then, someone walked in from outside the restaurant.

It was a sunny-looking young man. He spotted Xiao Lu at a glance and waved at her from a distance.

Xiao Tan glanced at him and said to Xiao Lu: "That is the ins and outs of the matter."

"Whether or not to acknowledge your biological family is your choice to make."

"Whether or not to save that younger brother is in your hands."

"As for whether you and your boyfriend stay together or break up... the choice remains with you."

"Follow your heart and make the choice you want to make; the fault does not lie with you."

"Whether to expose this dusty past is up to you."

Xiao Lu lowered her head, and tears like broken beads pattered onto the bowls and dishes.

If she called the police and exposed the truth, her adoptive parents could be reunited with their own family.

Her cousin-aunt would go to jail, and she and her boyfriend would face the outcome of breaking up.

If she acted as if nothing had happened, everything would remain the same, living the same seemingly happy life as before.

But that was only an illusion.

Everyone is an intriguing story, and she was that tragedy.

"Xiao Lu." The young man ran towards Xiao Lu with a smile.

Xiao Tan patted Xiao Lu's shoulder, got up, walked to the front desk to pay the bill, and left silently.

This was just like a real-life version of an ancient costume drama where the lovers are separated by the hatred of their parents' generation.

Honestly speaking, if it were up to him to choose, he wouldn't be able to either.

This was a difficult puzzle to solve.

Life is often just this messed up.

Returning home, Xiao Tan didn't want to start a livestream for the time being and sat in meditation to cultivate.

This cultivation lasted until the evening, and after dinner, he casually scrolled through some videos.

He scrolled upon a live award ceremony.

That night, the Golden Hua Movie Awards ceremony was being livestreamed, and the Best Actor award had just been announced, fresh out of the oven.

The Golden Hua Movie Awards are the most prestigious of all movie awards.

The young and promising Best Actor, Nalan Qin, went on stage to deliver his acceptance speech.

What a coincidence; he met his agent during the day, and now he's scrolling past him at night.

There was a round of applause from the audience; the young Best Actor was in his prime.

Xiao Tan pursed his lips with some regret and left a comment: "Although you are more handsome than me, I will live longer than you. 88% probability of kicking the bucket within three days."