True and False Daughters 19
The only people the original host truly couldn’t let go of were his precious daughter and He Chunxi. He really had no lingering attachment to his ex-wife or biological daughter, and in fact, hardly cared at all.
In the storyline, after Du Jiaying learned the truth about the baby swap and that her biological father had been a vegetative patient for years, she only went to visit him in the hospital once.
Although she intended to contribute some money for medical bills, her attitude seemed a bit condescending, as if it were a handout. Of course, the strong-willed He Chunxi immediately refused.
As for the original host’s ex-wife, when she heard he was in a coma, she hurried back to the country to see him, but then left again just as quickly. Before she left, she transferred He Chunxi a sum of money.
He Chunxi also refused, sending the money straight back.
Du Jiaying and the ex-wife could not be considered heartless or ungrateful, but compared to He Chunxi... there really was no comparison.
At that moment, He Chunxi approached anxiously. After reading the “Scathing Criticism of Dad’s Wrongdoings” that her adoptive mother had posted, her first reaction was, “Can BT001 on Jin Li’s occiput really be controlled from such... a distance?! An entire ocean away!” Her tone was a little down. “I do feel a little resentful toward her, but I just can’t believe she would slander Dad for no reason.”
Qin Jingzhou patted his daughter’s shoulder. “I think so too.”
His relationship with his ex-wife had always been above average. They hadn’t been soulmates, but they were definitely able to get along in harmony.
Their daughter was smart, beautiful, and sweet; her in-laws had both passed away early, her husband was a good earner and she had a decent income herself. The ex-wife had never expressed dissatisfaction with this smooth, if slightly dull, life.
It wasn’t until the original host was poisoned by the neurotoxin Jin Li got from her beginner’s package that things changed. The ex-wife also got hit by one of Jin Li’s skill cards—one thing to note is that when Jin Li first transmigrated, she had very few points and only the weakest beginner cards at her disposal. Based on the ex-wife’s intelligence, she’d have been able to resist at least slightly.
But still, the ex-wife seemed to throw everything away to get a divorce and went back to her ex-boyfriend—who had also been hit with one of Jin Li’s beginner skill cards. It showed that, aside from the skill cards’ influence, the two of them did genuinely want to be together...
Qin Jingzhou figured that if you asked the ex-wife and her current husband now, they might have some regrets, but probably didn’t feel any real remorse. In fact, before Jin Li made any more trouble, the couple had been living quite comfortably overseas.
To be fair, if not for the original host, the ex-wife wouldn’t have been targeted by Jin Li, nor would she have been manipulated into the disastrous, drug-fueled situation in the original plot.
So Qin Jingzhou assigned tasks to Gao Wen and the others. “Let’s hold off and watch what happens with my ex-wife for now. Keep a list of anyone boosting her profile or trying to hype things for her.”
Gao Wen acknowledged the order and went off with his coworkers to work in the back.
The professors and experts present also stood up to leave, each returning to their rooms to continue their research.
Du Jiaying, who had been curled up in the corner for over an hour, was now fully awake. She watched Gao Wen leave the living room, her expression complicated, somewhere between envy and jealousy. “Does my birth mother even know about me?”
He Chunxi really hadn’t meant to show off her closeness with Dad in front of Du Jiaying. “I told her.”
Du Jiaying pressed her hand to her forehead. “She’s shown absolutely no interest in contacting me.”
He Chunxi fixed her eyes on Du Jiaying for a few moments. “But even after your true identity was revealed, you never asked about Dad’s health. I don’t know what the Du family told you, and I understand your upbringing, but you always hint that your parents owe you something... I can’t speak for anyone else, but Dad absolutely doesn’t owe you a thing.”
Du Jiaying wasn’t a bad person, but she certainly wasn’t broad-minded and could be a bit extreme.
Qin Jingzhou was confident that, like the original host, he wouldn’t go out of his way to chase after a daughter like this. He put his hand on his precious girl’s shoulder. “Xiao Xi was raised by me. Even though we haven’t spent that much time together as father and daughter—”
He Chunxi tilted her face up and muttered deliberately in a soft voice, “Dad, why do you have to say we haven’t spent much time together?”
Qin Jingzhou laughed. “Even though we haven’t spent much time together, our bond is still deep. Isn’t that even more impressive?”
He was still in the mood to tease her, proof that he wasn’t in too deep. He Chunxi grinned, showing all her white teeth. “Hehe.”
Qin Jingzhou looked over at the still-frowning Du Jiaying. “When I was lying in that hospital bed, she gave up everything—school, her future—to care for me, lowered herself to scrounge up money for my treatment, got me a room in the best private hospital.”
Shang Xi put down his phone. “Did the Du family tell you that bloodline is everything for a man? That if you get into trouble, Uncle He has to clean up your mess whether he wants to or not? But Xiao Xi is their biological daughter too. Do you see them letting her off the hook now?”
The Du Group’s media company ranked at least top five in Hua Country’s entertainment industry.
Shang Xi continued, “Auntie Xiao’s criticism of Uncle He’s misdeeds shot right to the top of trending searches. Can you believe the Du family, especially that brother of yours, didn’t do anything to help?”
Du Jiaying wasn’t very bright, but she wasn’t a fool either. She weakly tried to defend them. “They’re just under the influence of that thing stuck in Jin Li’s head!”
Shang Xi pressed the point. “But you managed to shake off Jin Li’s control...”
Du Jiaying slouched in her chair, her voice growing smaller. “Jin Li probably went after my whole family. I was only able to resist because I saw her as a love rival, so...”
Shang Xi blinked at Xiao Xi and waved his phone at her. “My parents noticed something was off, said that out of nowhere they started feeling this sudden loathing for Uncle He and Xiao Xi. Luckily, they figured it out really fast. I heard from Gao Wen that you already wanted to cut ties with the Du family. How come after just a few days out on your own, you let them talk you back? Is your resolve really that weak?”
The comparison was too much. Du Jiaying felt a crushing sense of defeat. At this point, she really was convinced that the Du family were deliberately conspiring with Jin Li. Just a few days ago, they told her it was all an act, that Jin Li actually had some mysterious abilities, she had many powerful followers, that it was best to placate her, and even if they didn’t get any benefits from her, it wouldn’t do to make an enemy. It was just like with Professor He—there were some people you just couldn’t afford to offend.
She looked up at the ceiling, nose tingling, her expression dazed.
He Chunxi figured that, in Du Jiaying’s heart, the Du family’s image had basically collapsed by now. It was the perfect time to “strike while the iron’s hot.” “Dad has another apartment in the building across from here. Do you want to move in?”
Du Jiaying’s eyes widened. She stayed silent for a long time before finally nodding.
He Chunxi turned and flashed her dad a triumphant smile. Even if Dad wasn’t particularly invested in Du Jiaying, putting himself in her shoes, he’d naturally want his biological daughter living nearby, especially in a situation like this.
Qin Jingzhou was naturally pleased. His precious girl collaborated well with her little boyfriend, and his daughter also had a big influence on Shang Xi. No wonder Jin Li was so determined to bring down Shang Xi and chose to trample his daughter into the mud.
He poked his daughter’s nose, then grinned extravagantly at Shang Xi. “Not bad.”
Shang Xi sat up straight and responded seriously, “I’ll keep working hard!” Just as he finished speaking, his phone buzzed several times. He grabbed it quickly, his expression turning odd. “Both my parents’ social media accounts just reposted Auntie Xiao’s rant, but they say their accounts were hacked!”
Qin Jingzhou wasn’t surprised at all. “Looks like Jin Li wasn’t counting on your parents’ refusal to cooperate and just threw all caution to the wind.”
There was no doubt the top management of the biggest social media platform had also been “captured” by Jin Li, putting aside all personal interests and reputation to serve her.
A moment later, Gao Wen came out of the back room. “These topics have been trending nonstop. People who don’t know the truth are getting pretty vicious online.”
Qin Jingzhou didn’t care, even though he could feel that his luck had actually diminished a bit. “Are they petitioning Capital University to fire me?”
Gao Wen pushed his glasses up. “Yes.” He glanced meaningfully at Du Jiaying. “The whole Du family has been reposting it too—including you.”
Du Jiaying hurriedly grabbed her phone, only to find... no messages whatsoever. That is, the Du family really had cut her out this time.
Qin Jingzhou waved his hand. “Let’s see how things develop overnight. Sorry to make you all work some overtime. The bonus is a six-month supply of the Public Version Intelligence Potion.”
Gao Wen perked right up. “Boss, I’ll go get some coffee. Would you like a late-night snack?” In the little room behind, the young people’s eyes all lit up. Someone even jumped up with excitement.
He Chunxi hugged her dad’s arm and whispered, “It’s like seeing a bunch of dogs’ eyes glowing in the dark...”
Qin Jingzhou laughed. “Quite the vivid description.”
Shang Xi mumbled, “Uncle He, I could do this too, you know.”
Fifteen minutes later, Gao Wen and his colleagues sipped coffee and munched on snacks. After thinking it over, he decided to send a few messages to Du Jiaying, who had already gone to her room—after all, she had helped him, and otherwise he might have made a complete fool of himself.
If Jin Li had fully brainwashed him, making a fool of himself wouldn’t matter. Hurting his spirit power was a small thing, but losing his job—that would have been terrible.
He composed himself and typed, “Are you asleep?”
Du Jiaying replied instantly. “No. I’m too worried to sleep.”
Gao Wen quickly tapped out a message. “Maybe you’re feeling wronged and resentful again, and maybe you see Professor He and the Du family as both equally bad. But let me say this, speaking only as someone who works for Professor He: even if he’s not good at being a parent, at least he wants nothing from you.”
The truth was, this was exactly what had been bothering Du Jiaying just now. She wasn’t blind to reality, she knew what was right and wrong, and she couldn’t compete with He Chunxi. She just couldn’t let it go! Especially when she realized her own value in the Du family’s eyes—suddenly she felt she had nowhere to turn, and it was He Chunxi who had reached out first to invite her to stay!
Her vision was blurry. She slowly started typing a very long message. “I feel conflicted, and it’s like my life’s become a joke. Nobody really cares about me. My biological father doesn’t want anything from me, but he doesn’t really care about me either.”
Gao Wen got the sense she was crying on the other end. After some thought, he replied sincerely, “I think you’re pretty great.”
Du Jiaying stared at those words, dazed for a moment, then sent a crying-laughter emoji. “Thanks for saying that. I think you’re pretty great too.”
Gao Wen got her response just as he was handing his boss the list of “suspected names” his coworkers had thrown together.
Qin Jingzhou glanced at Gao Wen and said to his system, “With my grade-school-level physiognomy skills, I’d say my assistant’s peach-blossom luck just arrived.”
The system tentatively replied, “Should I say congratulations? Congratulations on having one less minor headache?”
Qin Jingzhou: ...That actually makes some sense.