All Who Return to the Nest Find Only Cold

For eighteen years, I suffered in a remote mountain village. I chopped wood, fed pigs, dropped out of school to work, endured the villagers’ bullying, and was beaten and berated by my father and stepmother. Going hungry was normal. Suffering was part of everyday life. When I turned eighteen, the wealthy Gu family came looking for me. They said I was their long-lost biological son. I thought I’d finally made it through the worst. At last, I’d have parents, a home, and a good life. But when I got there, I discovered the truth. This family had never needed me. The fake young master, Gu Zeyu, had been raised in luxury for eighteen years. Spoiled, selfish, and fond of acting cute, he was the apple of his parents’ eyes. But I, their real son, was nothing but a clod of dirt, an unwanted outsider who disrupted their happy life. When I worked, they called me stupid. When I stayed quiet, they gave me the cold shoulder. If I wanted even a little affection, I was being unreasonable. One wounded remark from Gu Zeyu was enough to get the whole family taking turns scolding me. Only then did I understand: eighteen years of hardship hadn’t crushed me, but this so-called biological family was suffocating me alive. I had come home, yet from beginning to end, I had nowhere to belong.