Joy Fang clutched at her chest, gasping for air as the painful realization tore through her. The weight of her mistakes bore down on her like an unrelenting storm. Tears streamed down her face as she trembled, whispering the words that had been haunting her since the truth came to light.
"I'm already very content, Little Fo. I've brought back a son. From now on, we'll raise him as our own. Don't worry, Fo, I'll keep searching for our real son."
She could still hear the words spoken to her years ago—words she had naively believed, words that had shaped her fate and sealed her greatest regret. Back then, she had feared that the Lin family would have no male heir, no successor, and had wanted to conceive another child. But Lin Jindong had stopped her in a panic, claiming he was afraid her body wouldn't be able to endure another pregnancy.
It had all been a lie.
Now, with the truth exposed, everything made sense. No wonder Lin Jindong hadn't seemed as devastated as she was when Yango was lost. No wonder he had remained so composed while she drowned in sorrow. He had orchestrated it all.
"How foolish I was to believe him back then!" she wailed.
Her hands trembled as she frantically searched for her cell phone, desperate, muttering under her breath. "Sha Mo… I want my Sha Mo back!"
Lin Xia watched her mother with a pained expression, her heart twisting. She had already called her brother countless times, yet he remained unmoved. Seeing her mother in such a state only deepened her own sense of helplessness.
"Mom, it's useless... I've called him already. Judging by his tone, I think he has completely drawn a line with us," Lin Xia said softly.
"No! That won't happen! Emo is my son, and I will bring him back!" Joy Fang declared, her voice filled with desperation.
Finally, after rummaging through drawers and tossing papers aside, she found her phone. Hands shaking, she scrolled through her contacts, searching for Sha Mo's number. But as she searched, a new kind of despair struck her like a knife to the heart—she didn't have his number at all.
How ironic.
Yango had lived in the Lin family home for an entire year, yet she had never once saved his phone number. Not once had she called him. And yet, her call history was filled with countless records of conversations with Lin Coen.
The realization crushed her.
"Yuyo… what's Sha's phone number?" she asked, barely able to lift her gaze.
For the first time in her life, Joy Fang felt ashamed—ashamed to call herself Yango's mother. How could she claim to want him back when she had never even thought to keep his number?
Lin Xia hesitated before answering, then reluctantly recited the digits.
Meanwhile, Yango was lying comfortably on his bed, scrolling through videos on his phone when suddenly, an unfamiliar number flashed across his screen. He frowned but answered anyway.
The moment he picked up, a woman's frantic sobs erupted from the other end. "Mo… Mom was wrong… Mom really deserves to die…!"
Yango blinked, confused. "Who is this?"
The woman only cried harder. "It's Mommy! Mom knows the truth now, Sha Mo! Can you come back? Mommy will make it up to you!"
Yango's expression turned cold as realization dawned on him. It was Joy Fang.
A bitter smirk tugged at his lips. "I'm sorry, Ms. Joy. Please respect others' choices. I am not your son, and you are not my mother. We have no relationship anymore."
On the other side, Joy Fang trembled, her daughters watching in silence as they understood from her reaction that Yango had rejected her once again.
"Sha Mo, I beg you, okay? Mom swears that from now on, you will be the only son. Lin Coen will have nothing to do with me ever again! As long as you come back, Mom is willing to transfer all of my Lin family shares to you!" she pleaded desperately.
But instead of joy, Yango only felt disgusted.
The Lin family always thought that money could buy anything. Now, they believed that giving him shares would bring him back?
"Ms. Joy, I don't want to repeat myself. I have no interest in the Lin family's property, and I don't care about your shares. I just want to live my own life. Please, leave me alone."
"Little Mo! Mommy really regrets it! Can't you forgive me just this once?"
Yango's voice turned ice cold. "I only have one mother, and that is Fang Dong. You and I are just strangers passing by in each other's lives. Goodbye."
With that, he ended the call and immediately blocked the number. His mood, which had been calm just moments ago, was completely ruined.
He had handled the situation correctly. Keeping his distance was the best course of action.
After all, back when he lived in the Lin family, Joy Fang had never treated him as well as a stranger would. A stranger, at the very least, would force a smile. But Joy Fang? She had only looked at him with disdain, scolded him, and dismissed him with harsh words.
"Poor people's habits."
"Wild child from the outside."
"Learn more from Coen."
And now she had the nerve to regret it?
What was the point? Could a shattered heart ever truly heal?
On the other end of the phone, Joy Fang stared at the blank screen in shock. She shakily tried calling again, only for the call to fail instantly.
She had been blocked.
Tears streamed down her face, her lips trembling. "He… he blacklisted me…"
Lin Xia, who had been watching silently, felt her emotions churn. Her brother was truly done with them.
Just then, a knock on the door interrupted the tense silence.
"Big Sister, are you guys with Mom? I couldn't find her anywhere." Lin Coen's voice came from outside the room.
He had come to ask Joy Fang about his plans to study abroad, as she had promised to handle it through a friend. But upon returning home, he had found neither his mother nor his sisters anywhere—except for the tightly closed door of Lin Xia's room. It was the only place they could be.
Inside the room, Lin Xia's expression turned sharp. "Mom, quickly wipe your tears. Right now, we cannot let Lin Coen find out that we know the truth. If he tells Dad, things will become difficult."
Hurriedly, Joy Fang dried her tears, grabbed a hot towel, and pressed it to her face. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the turmoil in her heart, forcing herself to regain composure.
Once she looked steady enough, Lin Xia turned toward the door and twisted the handle open.
The battle within the Lin family was just beginning.