CHAPTER 847: CHAPTER 847: FILLAL PIETY

The room went quiet.

Even though the children looked angry, they let him speak.

Yu Lin took a deep breath and began.

"When I was young, I was just like all of you. I had big dreams. I didn’t want to sit in a company office all day. I wanted to explore the world. So one day, I left on my own and went hiking up a mountain."

He looked down, his eyes lost in memory.

"But... I got into a terrible accident. A landslide. Rocks fell, the path collapsed, and I was trapped. I really thought I was going to die."

He paused and glanced at them.

"Then... someone saved me. A girl. Her name was Ruo Lan."

He smiled softly, sadly.

"She took me to her house in the countryside. I was badly hurt. I had cuts and fever, and I couldn’t even walk. But she took care of me. She didn’t know who I was—not my family, not my money. She just helped because she was kind."

The children said nothing, but their eyes were fixed on him.

"She fought with her parents to let me stay. They didn’t like strangers, especially one who didn’t talk much. But she protected me. Every single day."

Yu Lin looked up at the ceiling and said slowly, "She made me porridge. She cleaned my wounds. She never once asked me for anything in return."

"Later, her father tried to marry her off to someone else. But she came to me crying and said, ’Let’s run away together.’ I told her I had nothing—not even a place to live."

He shook his head, amazed.

"But she just smiled and said, ’Then we’ll live under a bridge. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care.’"

His voice trembled slightly.

"We ran away. And we really did live under a bridge. We were homeless. We had nothing. But she was happy. Every morning, she would go to work small jobs. She cleaned houses, washed clothes—anything to get a little money. And then she’d bring back food for me."

Yu Lin’s eyes became glassy.

"She never complained. Not once. She always told me, ’I want you to be proud of your choice. I want you to never regret marrying me.’ And in that moment, I swore I would protect her forever."

The room was still.

Yu Lin continued, "Later, I decided to return to Old Master Yu. I didn’t tell him I was married. I thought if I could prove myself first, I could win his approval, then bring Ruo Lan back into the family proudly."

"But things didn’t go the way I planned."

He sighed.

"Old Master Yu was furious. He wanted me to marry someone from a powerful family to help the company. And he picked your mother."

He looked down, ashamed.

"I didn’t want to... but I had no choice. He threatened to cut me off. To disown me. And I thought... if I gave in just this once, I could build power. And then I’d bring Ruo Lan back. I’d fix everything."

His voice cracked.

"But... one night, I made a mistake. I got drunk. And... I slept with your mother."

He turned his face away, unable to meet their eyes.

"From that point on, everything changed. Ruo Lan chose to stay in the shadows, because she loved me. She said she didn’t want to ruin my life. She said she’d wait until the day I could truly give her the life she deserved."

Yu Lin looked at his children again, his voice soft.

"I’ve lived with that guilt every day. I’ve hidden her for thirty years. But it was never because I didn’t love her. I did. I still do."

He paused, waiting for some kind of reaction.

Then—

Yu Holea let out a loud laugh.

A real one.

She clapped her hands together and said, "Wow. That was beautiful. Truly poetic."

Yu Sile laughed too, shaking his head. "So touching. I almost cried."

Yu Shuchang and Yu Sicong chuckled quietly.

Yu Lin was stunned. "Why... why are you laughing?"

Yu Sile wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Because you’re unbelievable, Dad. You really are."

He looked at Yu Lin with disgust. "You said you loved Ruo Lan. But you never even told her your real name when she saved your life? You let her fall in love with a lie?"

Yu Lin opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"You didn’t want her to love you for your money," Yu Sile said coldly, "but you had no problem accepting her love when she thought you were poor. You loved that, didn’t you? Being loved for free. No effort, no truth, just her kindness handed to you."

Yu Holea’s smile slowly faded. Her eyes were cold now, her voice sharper than before.

"You say you suffered," she said. "But tell me, Dad—when you and Ruo Lan were kicked out and had no money, and someone had to go find food, why didn’t you go out and work? Why did Ruo Lan have to do it all by herself?"

Yu Lin looked startled. "I was recovering from the accident—"

"For how long?" Yu Holea snapped. "A week? A month? A year? Come on, be honest. You were just lazy. You liked being taken care of."

Yu Lin opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"When Old Master Yu told you to marry someone rich, you could have said no. You could have walked away. You could’ve built your own life. If you had talent, like you say, you would’ve succeeded anywhere. But no, you stayed. You obeyed him. You chose comfort over love."

Yu Sile shook his head with a smirk. "You say sleeping with our mom was a mistake... one drunk night? Fine, we’ll believe that for a second. But then how do you explain the other three of us? Did you just keep getting drunk?"

Yu Shuchang snorted. Yu Sicong looked away in disgust.

Yu Lin’s face went pale. "It wasn’t like that... Old Master Yu kept pressuring me. He kept saying I needed more children. He said heirs were important. He was the one who—"

Yu Holea laughed bitterly. "And you couldn’t say no? Not even once?"

Yu Lin stayed silent.

"If you really loved Ruo Lan," Yu Holea said slowly, "you could’ve said, ’I already have one child. That’s enough.’ But you didn’t. You wanted both. You wanted Ruo Lan’s love and our mom’s wealth. You wanted to be the poor man with a kind wife and the rich man with power."

Yu Lin’s voice rose suddenly. "You don’t understand anything! You weren’t there!"

"I don’t understand," Yu Holea said, her voice calm again, "but maybe you can help me. Why did you switch your own babies at birth?"

Yu Lin went completely still. His lips trembled. "I... I thought you were the child from that affair... I didn’t think I could raise you..."

Yu Holea’s eyes turned sharp. "Let me make this clear. My mother never cheated on you. You tricked her. You made her sleep with someone else just to get business connections. So even if I was born from that, it was your doing."

Her hands clenched into fists.

"And even then, you had no right to swap me. No right to toss me away like trash while your ’real’ daughter got a perfect life."

Yu Lin looked down. His face had lost all color.

"You say you regret it?" Yu Holea continued. "Then why didn’t you ever tell me the truth? Why did you only care about the child who lived in comfort? Why did you let me suffer in silence for fifteen years?"

Yu Lin looked broken. "I... I made choices. I had to survive—"

"No," she interrupted. "You made choices because they were easier. And now you want us to forgive you like nothing happened?"

She pointed straight at him. "You had so many chances. And every single time, you chose the path that gave you the most."

Yu Lin’s voice trembled. "I’m still your father... You should show me some filial piety..."

"Filial piety?" Yu Holea repeated, her tone full of disbelief. "You want us to be loyal to you? Let’s see what kind of father you were."

She turned to Yu Sicong first. "Since he was a kid, you gave him everything to handle. You let him play for the first twelve years of his life, then threw him into the company at thirteen. All the pressure, all the problems—you dumped it on him. You called that love?"

Yu Lin looked at Sicong, who was staring at the ground, jaw tight.

Then Yu Holea pointed to Yu Shuchang.

"You gave him nothing. No responsibilities, no attention, no support. You ignored him. Did you ever check if he was eating? Sleeping? Breathing?"

Yu Lin’s lips pressed together.

Then she pointed at Yu Sile. "You don’t even know what class he’s in, do you?"

Yu Lin blinked.

"You didn’t even pretend to care about him."