True and False Daughters 18
Jin Li braced herself, pinching her nose and forcing herself to fawn over that group of sycophants, completing several System tasks and gathering a pile of skill cards.
Thanks to the cautionary tales of Shang Xi and Ji Chun, Jin Li, eager to secure her gains, gave each of her most obsessed fans another Charm Card just in case. These young heirs really treated her like she was an ancestor, waiting on her hand and foot all this time—they’d never been this attentive or obedient to their own parents.
Every one of them insisted they could only marry her; though they furiously envied one another, they still managed to join forces, sincerely working together in a rare display of unity under the unspoken rule that “no more brothers are needed to share Xiao Li.”
As for the three whose favorability was hovering near zero—clearly on the verge of hating her, yet compelled to put on a show of deep affection—it amused Jin Li greatly. She knew a single extra card could solve the problem, but watching them act like performing monkeys was much more entertaining.
In short, Jin Li had been confident right up until a moment ago that, with enough cards, there wasn’t a man she couldn’t charm. Even Shang Xi’s assistant couldn’t withstand the effect of her casual Charm Card… until Du Jiaying’s slap across Gao Wen’s face shattered her dreams and luck all at once.
She could accept that Shang Xi was able to break free from a skill card’s influence. After all, he was the male lead—she wouldn’t bother with him if he wasn’t special. That Ji Chun, Shang Xi’s best friend, had also slipped out from under her control after disappearing; this, too, she could swallow.
But Du Jiaying—unacceptable!
To be safe, in order to smoothly lure out He Jingzhou and He Chunxi, Jin Li had used a rare Obedience Card on Du Jiaying as well… Yet Du Jiaying broke free from the skill card without a sound, without a trace!
Jin Li rose slowly, saying to Du Jiaying, “If you like him, it’s not like I can’t give him back to you. So why not talk it out with me?” At the same time, she pressed the center-of-attention system for an update. “Has Du Jiaying’s favorability towards me changed?”
The center-of-attention system responded instantly, “No change.” Yet, at that very moment, waves of fate surged dramatically around Du Jiaying!
Meanwhile, Qin Jingzhou sat in the monitoring room, watching the confrontation between Jin Li and Du Jiaying unfold live on screen. “The little girl has some tricks.”
He Chunxi and Shang Xi rushed there, arriving just as Sister Ji finished her summary of the situation. The young couple stared at each other with wide eyes.
Shang Xi asked cautiously, “This show hasn’t even officially started and things are already this messy. Are we really going to keep filming?”
Even someone whose spirit power had undergone a qualitative transformation, like Gao Wen, had fallen for it—if Jin Li lost her temper and targeted Xiao Xi, who knew what could happen?
He Chunxi tugged at her boyfriend’s sleeve. “You think my dad is the only one interested in Jin Li and whatever’s hung on the back of her head? She’s targeting me specifically. There’s no avoiding it, and honestly, I don’t want to avoid it. Dad and I are aboveboard; the other professors and experts are working from the shadows.”
He understood, logically, but couldn’t stop worrying. Having personally felt the thing’s power on Jin Li’s head, Shang Xi did not want Xiao Xi to “have the chance” to experience it too.
His attempts to dissuade her were hopeless, so Shang Xi simply smiled wryly and fell silent.
Qin Jingzhou got up. “Let’s go. We should head up to the thirtieth floor and bring Gao Wen and the others back.”
His second assistant, waiting by the door, nodded and immediately slipped out to make arrangements.
In the eyes of those at the top, Qin Jingzhou was a true national treasure scientist, constantly attended and guarded by professionals. Even aside from the threat posed by Jin Li, he had to be protected from any dangers or attacks both internal and external.
In less than five minutes, the assistant returned. On the monitoring screen, Jin Li was on a phone call.
When Qin Jingzhou led his team into the sky garden on the thirtieth floor, Jin Li had just ended her call. Her last words before hanging up were, “It’s settled then, Jiahui.”
Du Jiaying still had her arms crossed, seemingly indifferent, but in fact her emotions were in turmoil.
Her brother, Du Jiahui, had basically recovered after the finest medical care, and just two days ago had said he wanted to join the show, only to be dissuaded by Jin Li in a few words.
At the time, Du Jiaying thought maybe Jin Li finally had a conscience. Now it was clear Jin Li merely wanted to keep her brother in reserve as a secret weapon, to be leveraged at a critical moment.
If Jin Li was willing to fight a war of attrition… Du Jiaying glanced at her biological father, and a strange inspiration struck—could it be that Jin Li’s true goal was to win over her father?
Gao Wen grabbed Du Jiaying’s hand and quickly moved closer to Qin Jingzhou. Half of Gao Wen’s face was swelling painfully from the slap, but although the shock had only just started to wear off, his gratitude to Du Jiaying was stronger than any resentment.
Qin Jingzhou looked at Gao Wen, who seemed on the verge of tattling, smiled and shook his head before turning to Jin Li. “My own daughter and I aren’t that close, but that doesn’t mean I’ll watch you deliberately target her.”
As soon as he finished, he saw Jin Li narrow her eyes, and the center-of-attention system behind her—its tentacles drawn and ready—struck with all its power… A strange surge of spirit power swept forth.
Qin Jingzhou intentionally took the full force of the attack, but…
Even the system couldn’t help but step in. “Is that all?”
The system’s full-powered strike couldn’t affect any target with intelligence above 30. In fact, past 25 intelligence, its effect was already highly diminished.
Qin Jingzhou suddenly felt bored and asked his own system, “Is a system of this level even worth your interest?”
The system replied, “What I value is its power to ‘stow away’—it won’t be discovered by the World Will for a time after migration!”
That explanation made perfect sense to Qin Jingzhou.
He turned and walked away. “It’s getting late, time to rest.”
Qin Jingzhou came and went in a rush, leaving Jin Li standing alone with an unreadable expression.
Her pursuers behaved differently from before, cowed by Qin Jingzhou’s presence; they just hung around Jin Li’s side with no other reactions. As for the three “turncoats,” they stood a bit further off, openly watching the drama and clearly hoping for even more chaos.
The sky garden’s systems controlled the temperature and humidity. Jin Li, in her long dress and light blouse, stood outside for a long while without feeling cold.
Still, after consulting quickly with her system, she decided to return to her room before taking the next step.
She’d just used her most powerful Charm Card, only to find it ineffective against He Jingzhou. Worse—she realized, perhaps pessimistically, that she’d already alerted him. After all, when He Jingzhou had intended to stand up for his daughter, she’d caught him off guard with a skill card, and his only response was to hesitate before leaving.
The system backed up her guess. “His favorability with you is at negative one hundred. Truly rock solid.”
From its perspective, the earlier scene was quite different: the thick cloud of fate around He Jingzhou expanded instantly, enveloping his people in a single moment. Its skills couldn’t breach their defenses.
He Jingzhou’s powerful fate was too tempting, but there was simply no way to get close.
Jin Li, rubbing her forehead, asked, “If the highest-level skill card is useless on him, what should I do next? I’m starting to suspect Du Jiaying broke free of the card’s effect because of He Jingzhou!”
The center-of-attention system didn’t bother to explain fate to a host who believed “everyone for themselves, and let heaven and earth be damned,” but it also wouldn’t deny her correct deduction. “That’s right.”
Jin Li pressed, “Then what do I do?”
“Use indirect tactics.” The system suggested sincerely. “Fate’s Son Shang Xi hasn’t fully matured yet, so right now Shang Xi is actually easier to take down than He Jingzhou.”
Jin Li thought about it, then nodded. “Makes sense. As for Shang Xi’s parents, and He Jingzhou’s ex-wife, I can still work some angles; when it comes to He Chunxi and Du Jiaying, with the Du family’s resources, I only need a few words to blacken their names… Those media moguls have always trusted me.” She glanced at her points. “Exchange for a Beginner Feng Shui Card.”
The system responded, “Okay.” Not forgetting, while reminding its host, to also save some face for itself. “High-level Charm Cards only work on single targets, but there are group cards of similar strength. You could try one next time.”
Jin Li didn’t believe the system was omnipotent, but she wouldn’t doubt it recklessly, either. “True. Even if He Jingzhou himself is too strong, if I control the people around him, won’t he have to cave?” She opened the store, eyed the group Charm Card, then looked at her points and decided to lay low for a while, grind more tasks, and bide her time.
Meanwhile, when Qin Jingzhou had returned to his spacious presidential suite, he hadn’t even had time to sit down before someone came knocking.
Don’t forget—over the past two weeks, Jin Li had been subjected to intensive scrutiny from experts and professors, most of whom had taken intelligence potions. The Elders had reviewed the feedback and, tempted themselves, had arranged to observe her in disguise…
They had already confirmed the existence of spirit power and could taste some of its benefits, but the key was—none of them had any idea how to use it. After all, even the method for testing and standardizing spirit power strength had to be invented by Qin Jingzhou himself.
A consensus had been reached at a recent meeting: the BT001 at the back of Jin Li’s head seemed to influence others via spirit power! Sure, it would be great to unravel the secrets of spirit power step by step, but if they could just copy someone’s homework, why would they miss the chance?
Even if BT001 was dangerous, it was still worth pursuing!
So Qin Jingzhou worked openly, drawing most of Jin Li’s attention, while the motivated professors and experts split into several groups to operate out of sight.
The center-of-attention system used its single-target ultimate on Qin Jingzhou, which was sensed at once by He Chunxi, Shang Xi, Gao Wen, and the highly sensitive Ji Chun—not to mention the experts, all with intelligence above 25.
Eager for results, they quickly approached, hoping to share their insights with Qin Jingzhou.
Qin Jingzhou didn’t really enjoy playing the teacher, but with his precious daughter sitting next to him, chin propped in her hands, smiling sweetly at him, he figured he could offer guidance for an hour or so.
Of course, it wouldn’t be possible for the professors to master the basics of spirit power in just an hour.
Qin Jingzhou was only playing the “pathfinder,” giving his darling daughter a private lesson, letting the rest tag along for crumbs.
After an hour, Qin Jingzhou announced, “The young lady needs to head back for her beauty sleep…”
He never finished the sentence. His assistant, brows furrowed, came forward and passed him the tablet. “Boss, your ex-wife is calling you a scumbag. You’re now at the top of the trending searches.”
Qin Jingzhou put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Jin Li’s efficiency is impressive. Revenge, or, well, at the very least making things unpleasant for me, never waits till the next day.”