True and False Daughters 13
Qin Jingzhou had only ever closely examined two systems before: Ling Jing’s tiny gold orb and his own little system, which was so striking with its uniquely Cthulhu-like aesthetic… it was certainly eye-catching.
He did his best to suppress his strength, sending out a wisp of spiritual power to probe the system that was tightly latched to Jin Li’s nape. He came to a conclusion: as long as one generated spiritual power, one could vaguely sense the center-of-attention system’s existence, and when one’s intelligence surpassed 28 points, one could directly “see” the system through that spiritual power.
The center-of-attention system’s level was lower than his worst expectation. However, if he wanted to realize his goal of letting the big shots who took the intelligence potion see it with their own eyes, as well as letting Jin Li’s horde of admirers sense the system, he still had more work to do… perhaps for another two or three years.
He leaned back in his chair, withdrew his gaze, and began idly chatting with his system. “Take Senior Brother Qin for example, who is remarkably average across all stats—he’d have to take at least two more potions to reach 28 intelligence. That’s right, the intelligence potion can be taken multiple times, but the first dose is the most effective, the second dose cuts the effect in half at least, and the third cuts it in half again. After that, it’s hardly worth it anymore."
“And if the mass-market intelligence potion can be taken once a month, a user can expect to gain 1 to 3 intelligence points in the first year."
“With continued stable use, you’re guaranteed at least half a point of intelligence each year after that. The personal ceiling varies by individual, but the potion stops being effective when intelligence reaches between 25 and 30 points. Still, regular monthly use can at least prevent age-related intelligence decline.”
The system said, “Intelligence potion is a tonic. The mass-market intelligence potion is a mild tonic… So the former is for racking up prestige, the latter for boosting sales?”
Qin Jingzhou laughed. “Correct. Even national treasure-level experts have to partake in the mundane world. I don’t really care for myself, but my daughter must be raised in luxury.”
The system paused for a moment before speaking again. “Brother Zhou, the officials just transferred you some money.”
Qin Jingzhou pulled out his phone, unlocked the screen, and saw the text message from the bank. He opened the app to check the details: sure enough, an eight-figure sum, with the note reading “Special Grand Allowance”—a real warm touch.
In this world, “Research workers deserve the very best” had long since become a shared conviction.
Given that the buying power of the currency in Hua Country and Qin Jingzhou’s hometown were basically the same, the original host—a perfectly ordinary professor at Capital University—could draw a base salary of nearly thirty thousand yuan, not including stipends or performance bonuses.
And as for this “Special Grand Allowance,” by the looks of it, he guessed the authorities now regarded his status as being on par with the original host’s mentor, Academician Qin.
Smiling, he said, “This means ‘honor may take a while, but compensation comes first.’”
Meanwhile, Du Jiaying was still performing her solo drama in tears, just hoping her biological father would feel even a shred of sympathy.
But her father first wore a blank expression, then openly pulled out his phone, and for reasons unknown started smiling at something he saw… Du Jiaying’s act immediately fell apart. “Why!”
Qin Jingzhou handed the phone to his daughter and He Chunxi, who both looked on with curiosity. “Since you like Du Jiahui and want to marry him, why not ask him who he has his heart set on?”
Noticing that Uncle He was growing impatient with his own daughter, Shang Xi just smiled. “Those two have been exchanging longing glances for ages.”
Shang Xi, “sensible” as ever, chose to retreat, and went back to rekindle things with her childhood sweetheart. Seeing thus, Du Jiahui found Shang Xi even more pleasing to the eye. This time, when Shang Xi revealed his feelings in front of everyone, Du Jiahui did not feel embarrassed at all; instead, he felt the thrill of making things public. Staring sincerely at his shock-stricken sister Du Jiaying, he said, “I’ve always liked Xiao Li.”
Jin Li was awash with anxiety, but at a moment like this all she had to do was keep smiling.
Du Jiaying’s face went deathly pale, her gaze drifting back and forth between Du Jiahui and Jin Li, before finally settling on Du Jiahui. Her voice grew suddenly hoarse. “You two… are cousins!”
Du Jiahui would not allow her to question Xiao Li like this. “Back when you didn’t know your real identity, you and I were even biological siblings.”
Du Jiaying covered her face, sprang to her feet, and bolted from the room.
Du Jiahui’s father, Du Jizheng, frowned and immediately turned to look at Professor He, only to see the latter wearing the perfect bystander expression—utterly unconcerned. Feeling both relieved and troubled, Du Jizheng thought to himself: his own daughter, He Chunxi, was much more emotionally attached to her adoptive father Professor He and had no yearning for a wealthy family. Pair that with her independence, and he wasn’t optimistic about keeping her close with either family ties or wealth. As for resorting to moral pressure… unless he was completely desperate, he wouldn’t risk that move.
So his initial plan had been to let Jiaying try her best, hoping she could stir some sympathy in Professor He. The fact that Jiaying only had eyes for Jiahui wasn’t a bad thing as far as he was concerned. As long as Professor He cared about Jiaying, so what if Jiaying got her wish? But Jiaying was so single-minded and inept, it was no wonder Professor He… well, it was only natural he wouldn’t be fond of someone with Jiaying’s temperament, but to be this indifferent… That really did exceed his expectations.
He swiftly made up his mind to half-abandon Jiaying. If Jiahui really could manage to be with Xiao Li, he would throw his support behind them… Xiao Li had real capability. She had once made a few passing suggestions that helped one of his subsidiaries go from the verge of bankruptcy to booming success.
As her uncle, he had benefited too; Xiao Li would only ever be more invested in his family—after all, in the past three years, Jin Corp’s revenue had quadrupled and net profits had grown by 250 percent.
Du Jizheng, ever the consummate businessman, might be greedy, but he was not foolish enough to do things doomed to fail.
It would certainly be great if he could climb further up by connecting with Professor He, but as long as he didn’t offend him, and just stayed patient, he would eventually benefit. In addition, looking at Jiahui’s shining eyes, he thought: keeping what he already had was a result he could accept.
As for Jiahui and Xiao Li being cousins—it was no big deal to him. Plenty of countries allowed cousin marriage, and as for genetics, his family had the money to solve any issue.
So, with Du Jiaying’s exit, everyone found themselves able to chat in a surprisingly harmonious atmosphere. After some rounds of polite exchanges, the mood brightened considerably.
Only Du Jiaying, who had fled in panic and was now in the front garden of the private restaurant, found herself unable to calm down for the longest time.
Her mind was in chaos. When she lifted her head and spotted Gao Wen sitting on a bench beside the stone path, she could no longer hold back and demanded, “After discovering I was switched at birth, I realized I could finally break free from that goody-goody persona and fight to change my fate. Why… won’t he help me?! I only have this one wish!”
Gao Wen acted as if he hadn’t heard, finishing up his report and saving his work, then closing the laptop on his knees. When he noticed Du Jiaying still staring at him, he thought to himself: after all these chats, you really think you’ve got me figured out…
He pushed his glasses up and pierced right to the heart of the matter. “So your only chance to change your life is to marry Du Jiahui?”
Du Jiaying’s voice became ever more shrill. “Do you know how hard it’s been for me? The Du family has always favored sons over daughters! Out of all the rich heirs I’ve met, the only one I even like is Du Jiahui. If I marry him, I can finally live happily!”
Gao Wen looked resigned. “You just said your family values sons over daughters, which means even you don’t agree with that value. But if you’re so convinced that marrying a good man is your only ticket to a good life, aren’t you just like them—assuming women are mere appendages, denying your own value?”
Compared to He Chunxi, who had been raised by the boss, Du Jiaying really wasn’t all that clever.
Du Jiaying was momentarily at a loss for words.
After a while, she wiped her eyes and tears began to stream. “Even you think little of me… Is it because I’m just so stupid and dull that he doesn’t want to recognize me, or even contact me directly!”
Gao Wen sighed. He really couldn’t bear to see a girl cry, especially one who, on closer inspection, bore a definite resemblance to the boss.
“My time with the boss hasn’t been that long, but to be blunt, it’s possible he thinks you’re slow, though I doubt that’s the main thing. He Chunxi was willing to drop out of school and dive into showbiz just to save the boss’s life, and after the boss left the hospital she took care of him with absolute devotion. Aside from asking about the boss’s health that very first time out of politeness, have you ever checked in on him since?”
After Gao Wen laid it all out, Du Jiaying finally felt… truly ashamed.
“I…” She suddenly realized she really had been excessively self-centered. Looking back now, after the truth came out, both her mother and Jin Li had tried to “remind” her that there weren’t any truly unloving parents out there, and her biological father was hardly an ordinary university professor—she had all the resources in the world to be willful.
But what was worse was that her brother, Du Jiahui, obviously liked Jin Li!
Why had she been so blind before, unable to see or hear any of that? She hadn’t even considered Jin Li a threat. If her brother had a girlfriend before, even if she did nothing and said nothing, at the very least, knowing about it would have left her feeling defensive!
Du Jiaying felt like her mind had just been whacked by someone—an indescribable sharp pain shot through her. Clutching her forehead, she suddenly understood. “Mr. Gao, has anyone… has anyone told you or Professor He that there’s something strange about Jin Li?”
Gao Wen patted the seat next to him. “Sit down.” Only when Du Jiaying sat beside him did he speak, unhurriedly. “Of course.”
Du Jiaying wiped away her tears and rubbed her temples. “There are rumors in the industry that she can confer good fortune. Jin Li definitely lives up to her name.” She turned abruptly, looking right at Gao Wen. “Is it because there’s too much at stake, so you can’t tip her off?”
Gao Wen merely smiled.
Du Jiaying was then silent for a whole five minutes before finally speaking again, her demeanor utterly resolute. “I need to move out for a while.”
At that moment, Qin Jingzhou saw through the French windows that Gao Wen had given him an “OK” gesture. From his angle he could only see the backs of Gao Wen and Du Jiaying, sitting close together. He picked up his cup and sipped some tea. “Looks like it went well.”
His system had, in fact, witnessed its host condense a strand of spiritual power, threading it through the glass to the air in front of Gao Wen and giving Du Jiaying a light tap on the back of her head.
Once struck, Du Jiaying immediately snapped out of it.
The system said sincerely, “Kids only act out because they haven’t been smacked enough!”
Qin Jingzhou smiled, then looked over at the twinkling center-of-attention system conspiratorially plotting with Jin Li, though they seemed only brave enough to plot, not act. “Those two are pretty wary of me.”
The system replied, “Nothing to be done, you put the pressure on them… If only they’d just relax early, the cooldown would be over before they knew it. Why make things so hard for themselves?”