The True and False Daughters 10
The original host’s biological daughter was named Du Jiaying.
In the original story, Jin Li and Du Jiaying joined forces several times to deal with He Chunxi, who was bent on revenge and would stop at nothing, so the two of them developed a bit of camaraderie.
Du Jiaying did indeed like her older brother, Du Jiahui. When the truth about the two families’ babies being switched came to light, her first reaction was relief—a sense of liberation from that suffocating guilt.
And Du Jiaying’s husband even looked somewhat like Du Jiahui. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have agreed to the arranged marriage so readily.
Hmm, in the story, wasn’t Du Jiaying’s husband’s family in real estate or something?
Qin Jingzhou asked the System, “Does Du Jiaying have a boyfriend? If so, who is her current boyfriend?”
The System connected to the internet and found Du Jiaying’s social media account, scanning all her public photos before giving its answer. “Yes. Her boyfriend should be the same as her husband in the original story. Du Jiaying herself said she met her boyfriend through a blind date.”
Qin Jingzhou made a sound of acknowledgment and sent a message to Gao Wen: Look into his biological daughter carefully, as well as her current boyfriend.
A few days passed. The hundred bottles of intelligence potion he had personally prepared and overseen the production of were all distributed. Gao Wen, having understood the potion’s real effects, became more motivated than ever, working sixteen-hour days without a single complaint.
Qin Jingzhou was hardly a “benevolent capitalist.” Originally, he had planned to set aside a top-grade intelligence potion for his daughter and assistant once the officials finished preparing their complete and favorable report.
If Gao Wen performed even better, Qin Jingzhou wouldn’t mind covering all his potion needs for life.
The System also remarked, “Gao Wen is a shrewd young man.”
Still, Qin Jingzhou was not omniscient. He’d only asked Gao Wen to keep an eye on Du Jiaying. He didn’t expect that Gao Wen would follow her as far as her household registration book—but that’s a story for another day.
It was after nine in the evening when Gao Wen sent another voice message: Du Jiaying wants to meet you, boss.
Qin Jingzhou agreed, only he would be bringing his precious daughter along because, both in the plot and in reality, Du Jiaying was not exactly a clear-headed girl.
He still refused to contact Du Jiaying directly, since if she got his contact info, Du Jizheng would be the next to pester him. He only let Gao Wen arrange the time.
Setting his phone down, he raised his voice. “Daughter.”
In less than three seconds, He Chunxi appeared at the door, clutching her phone. “Dad?”
“In a couple of days, I need to meet Du Jiaying. Will you come with me?”
He Chunxi was startled, and before she could think, she blurted out, “I can come too?”
Qin Jingzhou beckoned her over to sit by his side. “Gao Wen told me that the two families’ babies being switched was just an accident, no plot involved.”
He Chunxi nodded firmly. “Me too. Dad, you were already a teacher at Capital University at that time, and the Du family had already made their fortune. Otherwise, how could I have been born in the same hospital as her?”
“I’m not particularly fond of the Du family’s values... But Du Jiaying is still my biological daughter, so I have a responsibility toward her.” Qin Jingzhou looked into He Chunxi’s eyes. “And my responsibility to you is more than that.”
There were feelings, too...
He Chunxi tilted her head back slightly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She brushed them away quickly and buried herself in her father’s arms.
Qin Jingzhou kept going. “I’ve always felt that blood ties aren’t everything. I have more students who are reliable than children who are.”
He Chunxi groused softly, “So I’m not your child anymore?”
Qin Jingzhou laughed. “You’re my student and my child, all in one. Absolutely perfect.”
He Chunxi pretended to protest. “Fine, then.”
After a moment’s pause, she spoke up again. “Dad, my agent was swapped out a few days ago for the company’s deputy general manager. The assistant the deputy arranged for me sold my hair to Du Jizheng. The deputy just called, saying he wants to apologize and update my contract and talk about future plans.”
Qin Jingzhou asked, “Need me to come with you?”
He Chunxi shook her head gently. “No need. I’m a classic little miss with a doting father now…” She raised her head once more. “Dad, can I ask Shang Xi to come with me?”
Just as expected.
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Of course you can. So, you’ve made up with him, huh?”
He Chunxi explained, “He told me that whenever Jin Li is around, it’s like he’s under some kind of spell. I kind of believe him, because lately he’s been… just as he used to be… And honestly, the reason I got into the talent show that made me famous was because he discreetly spent a lot of money for me. He blew through several million in pocket money. Oh, and he plans to transfer schools—for my sake, because I’m hoping to get into Capital University.”
Right now, Shang Xi was a junior at Qingmu University, located right next door to Capital University.
Capital University and Qingmu were equivalent-tier institutions. Transferring majors or schools wasn’t difficult, and Shang Xi’s mother was a professor at Capital University. As long as he applied, he’d basically be accepted.
But Qin Jingzhou wasn’t focused on Shang Xi changing schools, or his quietly spending his entire allowance for his childhood friend. “‘Just as he used to be’? Is he thinking of working for Master Qin’s Family again?”
He Chunxi pressed her reddened face. “I’ve been ordering him around just like before these past few days! And he’s moved back downstairs to our building.”
Qin Jingzhou tapped his daughter’s forehead. “Anything else? Spit it all out.”
He Chunxi said in a small voice, “Dad, he wants to apply for your graduate program—if you don’t mind him.”
With his precious daughter’s and Shang Xi’s abilities, a single bottle of his personally compounded enhanced intelligence potion should be enough for them to discover the existence of the center-of-attention system.
In the story, the true and false daughters perished together. Shang Xi, always lucid, was tormented after He Chunxi died. Though he didn’t manage to take Jin Li down with him, he did drag a few of her most devoted admirers to hell before ending his own life.
So, once these kids had their intelligence potions, letting them take revenge on the story’s counterparts themselves—including finishing off Jin Li and her followers—didn’t sound too bad.
If they failed, Qin Jingzhou would step in to crush them all.
So Qin Jingzhou said, “He can, provided he gets in.”
He Chunxi’s eyes lit up. “I’ll tell him right now so he can start preparing.” Shang Xi was a physics major! Going from physics to biology—what a leap.
The father and daughter were enjoying a warm moment together. Downstairs, Shang Xi received a message from his childhood sweetheart and slept soundly for a change. Meanwhile, Gao Wen, who had rented and immediately moved into an apartment across from the He family’s, was in for another sleepless night—just untangling the complicated web of the Du family’s relationships was enough to keep Master Qin’s Family’s official and private assistant busy for days.
Even if Du Jizheng didn’t know exactly what made Master Qin so special, the fact that the officials valued him so highly and had assigned agents for close protection must have clued in that old fox.
Gao Wen knew his mission: Make sure the Du family didn’t affect Master Qin, and absolutely do not let them ruin anything important.
Honestly, the Du family was rich, but knocking them off their pedestal wouldn’t be hard. They’d left a trail of evidence in their rise, and if it weren’t for Du Jizheng and his father’s skill at arranging marriages, the family wouldn’t have stayed trouble-free for so long.
The Du family… at least Du Jizheng was fully aware of this.
So Du Jizheng clearly wanted to use Du Jiaying to keep Master Qin in check. As long as Master Qin was not indifferent to “Du Jiaying’s marriage,” Du Jizheng would have at least three options up his sleeve.
Gao Wen rubbed his chin and scrolled through his chat with Du Jiaying that night. The bad news was that, both from the information he’d gathered and from interacting with her directly, it was clear Du Jiaying was heavily dependent on her family and genuinely willing to repay them through marriage. The good news was that Master Qin had no desire to deal directly with the Du family and even seemed a bit put off by this so-called biological daughter, leaving him, the assistant, to handle this “mess.”
Gao Wen set down his phone, poured a cup of coffee, opened his laptop, and began organizing his thoughts and outlining a highly detailed action plan.
He hammered out five thousand words. As he finished, his phone chimed. He glanced down—well, would you look at that!
At four in the morning, Du Jiaying, whom he’d just met that day, started venting to him. She’d found out, for yet another time, that her fiancé—her current boyfriend—had appeared at some fancy event with a new lover, and they had even posted vacation photos together on their social media for all to see.
Du Jiaying couldn’t sleep, her mood so agitated that she sent him a voice message. “He doesn’t even bother pretending anymore!”
Gao Wen couldn’t help but compare her to He Chunxi, who could smash an ashtray without hesitation. He realized that Du Jiaying didn’t actually trust him; she was trying to sound out her biological father, Master Qin, through him. So he stayed serious and gave his advice. “You should save all the evidence and consult his parents as well as your own.”
Du Jiaying replied, “I know,” then stayed silent until the next morning.
When she messaged again, it was to say: Mom told me to bear it, all women have to go through this.
Gao Wen took the thoughtful cup of coffee from a colleague and drank it all in one go, then replied to Du Jiaying, “I personally think that deliberately acting obedient and pitiful won’t win your biological father’s affection.”
He waited patiently, and three minutes later, Du Jiaying replied, “I know again.” After thinking it over, he immediately reported to Master Qin.
Qin Jingzhou was off today and wasn’t in the mood to work overtime. When he received Gao Wen’s message, he was having breakfast with his beloved daughter.
He was unconcerned. There was no way Du Jiaying was that foolish—for him, this little incident didn’t change his assessment of her.
After breakfast, Shang Xi came by. He and the dazzling He Chunxi headed for the talent agency together.
The agency was backed by a major parent company, its office located in the most prime real estate in the Capital City’s central business district.
After two years in the industry, He Chunxi had plenty of haters and negative press, but essentially, she was just a C-list celebrity. As she and Shang Xi walked out of the underground parking lot hand in hand and stopped at a convenience store for drinks, no one recognized her. Instead, their looks as a beautiful pair drew plenty of glances from passersby.
The childhood sweethearts entered the agency building and were greeted warmly by the receptionist, who had already been notified and was especially enthusiastic.
After a short wait, the deputy general manager came down by elevator to greet them personally, but before she could say a word, she spotted the company’s current rising B-list star entering arm in arm with a wealthy young man.
The B-list star looked at He Chunxi knowingly. “So you finally figured things out, little sis.”
The words had barely left her mouth before something landed right on her forehead with a thud. She grabbed the young man next to her to steady herself, pressed her hand to her brow, and looked up. A furious figure in white stormed toward her and, pointing at her, demanded, “This is how you promised not to embarrass the family before marriage?”
The young man chuckled, pointed at the woman in white, and explained to everyone. “This is my fiancée, Du Jiaying.”
He Chunxi and Shang Xi: Wait, what…