Not only was Xu Yanwen shocked, but Zhou Xinyi was also taken aback.
No, it should be said she was astonished. She never expected to run into Xu Yanwen here.
There was no such thing in their plan.
All actions were supposed to be carried out under the strictest secrecy from the Xu family, so they could catch them off guard.
They had fought hard to seize the initiative, using the real daughter’s jealousy and resentment to quickly win over Xu Yao, all for the moment of success when they could see the look of shock and anger on the Xu family’s faces.
But now, Xu Yaoyao suddenly wanted to leave with her, and Xu Yanwen had inconveniently appeared here, completely disrupting their plans. It was absurd!
However, the current situation did not allow her to hesitate; she had to go with the flow.
She pretended to be surprised, covering her mouth with her hand, tears quickly welling up in her eyes, teetering on the edge of falling, adding a touch of helpless sorrow to her autumn-like eyes.
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
“Zydold, kp vbyv usw?”
Dw Zydold zssjle yv bla rkvkqwz qynl, cwv qlzv ds puxryvbu.
Tl fwpv vbswtbv, bso nswze bla ynvkdt cl ps tsse? Tye bl clld czkde clqsal?
Ekvb y pvlad qynl, bl pdllale, “R pbswze cl ypjkdt usw vbyv. Ebu yal usw blal? Ebu yal usw csvblakdt xu Zysuys? Ebyv es usw oydv okvb bla?”
Jlqsal Hbsw Dkduk nswze vbkdj sq yd lmnwpl, Dw Zysuys pvlrrle kd, “Fbl’p xu ckavb xsvbla. El tsv kd vswnb qkhl eyup yts. Pye, es usw jdso bla?”
Mbkp zypv iwlpvksd oyp ekalnvle yv Dw Zydold, qkzzle okvb ellr pwarakpl.
Dw Zydold’p yvvldvksd oyp nywtbv cu vbl xldvksd sq “qkhl eyup.”
Tl pkzldvzu nyznwzyvle; oypd’v vbyv vbl eyu vblu caswtbv Zkdukd bsxl?
After comparing the timelines, Xu Yanwen became even more convinced of the authenticity and foresight of Yinyin’s thoughts.
It was possible that even the return of his biological daughter was part of a scheme.
Thinking this, Xu Yanwen laughed in anger, his tone heavy with sarcasm, “Not only do we know each other, but we are also very familiar. And now, we have another cursed connection—Yaoyao’s birth mother, right?”
Zhou Xinyi found the Xu Yanwen before her to be very unfamiliar, far from the gentle and refined man she remembered, especially when he mentioned “birth mother,” his tone laced with mockery and his eyes barely containing his anger, which inexplicably made her uneasy.
It was as if he had already seen through all the schemes.
Zhou Xinyi continued to act, nodding with difficulty as her tears finally broke free.
“I know this is hard to believe. We shouldn’t have any connection anymore, but sometimes fate is just so relentless. After all these twists and turns, we’re back at the starting point. It’s just fate playing tricks.”
Xu Yanwen really wanted to bow down to her acting skills. That pitiful, sorrowful look—anyone who didn’t know better would think he had wronged her.
And talking about fate playing tricks—I think you’re just pretending to be a saint!
“Yes, out of billions of people in the world, who else could I have met but you? We agreed never to see each other again, yet here we are, damn it. Even if Yaoyao is your daughter, so what? As a mother, you couldn’t even keep track of your child—how incompetent. Yaoyao is already part of the Xu family registry; she is one of us. I would rather die than let her go with you. You better give up on that idea!”
Listening to Xu Yanwen’s words, Zhou Xinyi suddenly had an inspiration. The daughter wants to leave, but the adoptive father won’t allow it—this was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it?
“Why can’t I take Yaoyao away? She is my child. When I gave birth to her, I hemorrhaged and passed out. My mother told me the child had died, but behind my back, she sent Yaoyao away. If it weren’t for her guilty conscience on her deathbed, I would never have known about Yaoyao’s existence. Now that I’ve finally found her, of course, I want to take her with me. No one can stop me.”
“Don’t even think about it! So what if you’re her birth mother? You haven’t raised her for a single day. Apart from giving her life, you’ve given her nothing. Even if this goes to court, our chances of winning are a hundred percent.”
“I don’t want to shout and argue with you; that would be undignified. Yaoyao is already an adult. She has the right to choose who she wants to go with, and I respect her decision.”
Zhou Xinyi wiped away her tears, her demeanor shifting from pitiful to confident as she looked at Xu Yaoyao.
Xu Yanwen suddenly felt uneasy and anxiously turned to Xu Yaoyao. “Yaoyao, you won’t let Dad down, will you?”
Although he was smiling, his eyes were filled with deep unease, and his hands at his sides clenched nervously.
According to Yin Yin’s thoughts, Yaoyao would collude with her birth parents to betray the family. He really didn’t want to see that outcome, but the current situation seemed to be pushing things in that direction.
Xu Yaoyao’s heart tightened. For now, she had no choice but to hurt her father temporarily.
She pretended to feel guilty, avoiding Xu Yanwen’s gaze, and looked down at her feet, whispering weakly, “I want to go with her. She’s my real family!”
Xu Yanwen felt his vision darken, and he slumped back onto the couch.
Xu Yao quickly stepped forward to support him, but Xu Yanwen pushed her away.
His lips trembled as he asked in a mix of grief and anger, “Do you even know what you’re saying? Do you really have the heart to abandon me and your mother? Haven’t we been good to you? Your mother and I have poured all our energy and love into raising you. Don’t you feel any pain saying such heartless things? Huh?!”
This was the first time Xu Yanwen had ever lost his temper with Xu Yaoyao and spoken to her so harshly.
Xu Yaoyao shook her head. “No, you and Mom have been very good to me. It’s just that I can’t get over the hurdle in my heart. I shouldn’t have taken my sister’s place. It’s wrong. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but I’m not your biological child. What if one day you suddenly stop loving me? Would you kick me out like Auntie did to Uncle? Auntie used to love him so much. People used to say that wealthy families are heartless, and I didn’t believe it, but now, after seeing what happened to Uncle, I do.”
Xu Yanwen was stunned by her twisted logic and immediately cursed, “Bullshit! Guo Cheng got what he deserved! You only saw Ah Wen kicking him out, but you didn’t see how he kept pushing his luck. He, he—”
Xu Yanwen glanced at Zhou Xinyi, an outsider, and stopped himself from airing the family’s dirty laundry.
But he really wanted to ask Xu Yaoyao, “Can’t you also hear Yin Yin’s thoughts? You’ve been witnessing everything along the way. How can you suddenly twist the truth like this?!”
Thinking of Xu Yinyin’s thoughts, he suddenly glared at Zhou Xinyi and demanded, “What kind of poison have you been feeding my Yaoyao? What have you been telling her? You just got in touch, and now she’s ready to leave with you without a second thought? Do you have some scheme? Are you trying to use her for some ulterior motive?”
Xu Yanwen felt it was necessary to use this confrontation to remind Xu Yao not to be deceived.
Zhou Xinyi was utterly speechless. She wanted to ask Xu Yaoyao the same thing! The last time they met, Xu Yaoyao had avoided her like the plague, so why was she suddenly so eager to leave with her now? Zhou Xinyi was just as confused!
“Even if her adoptive parents are good, they’re still someone else’s parents. Only I am Yaoyao’s real family. I didn’t have a choice before, but now I can protect her. A mother and child are meant to be together; one cannot exist without the other.” She continued to push Xu Yanwen’s buttons, trying to provoke him.
Only by aggressively provoking Xu Yanwen could she strengthen his resolve to keep Xu Yao.
This would not only show her determination to keep Xu Yaoyao but also make Xu Yanwen wary of his daughter’s wavering loyalty, leading him to tighten his control over her. In the short term, Xu Yaoyao wouldn’t be able to leave.
But since Xu Yaoyao had already expressed a desire to leave, this played right into their hands. They just needed to guide her according to their original plan, and she would become a valuable asset.
Although there had been some deviations earlier, things were now back on track.
Xu Yanwen, oh Xu Yanwen, you’re still as foolish as ever!
Listening to Zhou Xinyi’s brazen words, Xu Yanwen sneered, “If you really cared so much about your own flesh and blood, how could you have believed everything your mother said? How could you be so naive? Your mother said the child was dead, and you didn’t even bother to investigate? You didn’t question the doctors and nurses? You didn’t even call the police? If you really cared so much about Yaoyao, why didn’t you exhume the body or do a DNA test? You just accepted it? Give me a break! You’ve only ever loved yourself!”
“You’re slandering me!” Zhou Xinyi was trembling with anger.
Xu Yanwen must have lost his mind. Why was he so hostile to her? She hadn’t even betrayed the family yet. Was it necessary to be so vicious?
“Me, what about me? And also, do you even watch the news? Many parents whose children go missing spend their entire lives searching for them, even if it means losing everything. The loss of a child fills them with guilt and despair, living in constant torment, burdened by their failure as parents.”
“But you? Your child died, oh well, you accepted it, and then went on with your life. Then one day, you find out the child is still alive, and you show up looking all glamorous and well-off, saying, ‘Child, I’m your mother. I didn’t know you existed because my old mother tricked me. I’m a victim too, but I’ll make it up to you. Come with me.'”
“I laugh at that. Next time you lose a child, why don’t you put on some tragic makeup and wear some rags to really sell it? Stop treating people like fools. Are you insulting your own intelligence or Yaoyao’s? Do you even look like a mother who’s lost her child and is distraught? Flaunting your wealth and looking down on everyone—what are you trying to prove? Do you think the Xu family is poorer than you?”
“You—you—” Zhou Xinyi was so tongue-tied by Xu Yanwen’s scolding that she couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“You, you, you! Look at you stammering like that—it’s obvious you have a guilty conscience. Want to take my Yaoyao away? Have you even checked your bank balance? See if you’re even qualified to provide for a child properly. The combined assets of the Xu family, if converted into cash, would last longer than your entire existence, even if you were reborn thousands of times. You think you can put on a show and act all high and mighty in front of me? Do you even deserve to?”
“Xu Yanwen! You—” Zhou Xinyi clutched her chest in pain, feeling as if her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were all aching.
“If I were you, I’d hurry home and get that irresponsible husband of yours—who wasn’t even around when you gave birth and who lets his mother-in-law play dirty tricks—to take some supplements so he can live a few more years and protect your pitifully small fortune. Otherwise, one day when I’m in a bad mood, I might just destroy his foundation, leaving you two to sleep under a bridge and fight stray dogs for food.”
“Xu Yanwen!” Zhou Xinyi abandoned all decorum and scolded, “How can you be so vicious? Not even a shred of gentlemanly demeanor! Are you even a man?!”
“Gentlemanly demeanor is reserved for ladies. A heartless, scheming, venomous woman like you? You don’t deserve my courtesy. Let me make this clear—if you want to take Yaoyao away, it’ll only happen over my dead body!”
After throwing down these words, Xu Yanwen grabbed the dumbfounded Xu Yaoyao and left, leaving Zhou Xinyi fuming with rage, unable to vent her frustration.
“Ahhh!!!!”
A furious scream echoed, declaring her indignation and resentment.
Damn it! Today must be cursed—this is going to drive me crazy!
—
Xu Yaoyao still hadn’t recovered from the scene of her father’s ruthless, precision-strike verbal assault, even after she sat in the passenger seat and the car merged onto the main road.
In her memory, her father had always been gentle and refined, speaking in a warm tone and treating people kindly. Even when she made mistakes, he never scolded her harshly—he had never even raised his voice.
But today, he had completely shattered her limited understanding of him.
She sneakily glanced at Xu Yanwen, who was focused on driving.
His brows were furrowed, lips tightly pressed together, and his chest still heaved slightly, as if some residual anger remained.
“You’d better not say anything, or I might lose control and scold you before throwing you out of the car. When we get home, I’ll deal with you properly!” Xu Yanwen was still fuming.
Xu Yaoyao shrank her shoulders, then changed from stealing glances to openly observing him. She carefully traced his strong brows, straight nose, and that sharp tongue that left people speechless. Then, she sincerely praised, “My dad is not only incredibly handsome but also scolds people with handsomely.”
Xu Yanwen shot her an exasperated look and said coldly, “Put away your little attempts at flattery. This matter between us is far from over. You better start thinking of a way to explain your ridiculous behavior today. If you can’t convince me, I’ll ground you for at least ten days—don’t even think about stepping out of the house. I’ve spoiled you too much, and that’s what led to today’s disaster. Luckily, I pulled you back in time; otherwise, I’d never be able to rest in peace.”
If the manager hadn’t casually mentioned that Xu Yaoyao was at the club today, he would have completely missed her secret meeting with her birth mother.
Just the thought of them using Xu Yaoyao as a pawn to infiltrate the Xu family sent chills down his spine.
Who would have thought that two people, seemingly unrelated, were actually both part of each other’s revenge plans? And who could have imagined that lovers who once cherished each other would end up breeding such deep hatred—enough to drag the entire Xu family down with them?
When he first heard about this from Yinyin’s inner thoughts, he had been shocked. But after confirming it himself, he was downright furious.
He had never wronged Zhou Xinyi. Throughout their relationship, she had always been the one in control—she decided when they got together, and she decided when they broke up. No matter how hard he tried to win her back, even going against his own father, she never wavered.
In this relationship, he truly had no idea where he went wrong.
If it was really his fault, why didn’t she just take revenge on him alone? Why drag his entire family into it?
And what was even more unforgivable—she was willing to use her own flesh and blood as a pawn in her scheme for revenge.
How could any human do such a thing?
It wasn’t that he wanted to hurl insults, but her actions were truly deserving of them. If she weren’t a woman, he would have beaten her to the ground today.
Family was his ultimate bottom line. Blood relation or not, once someone entered the Xu family, they were part of it, and he would protect them with his life.
If anyone dared cross that line, he would show no mercy—even if it meant dragging them to hell with him.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I was wrong.”
“Wrong?” Xu Yanwen sneered and glanced at her. “And what exactly was your mistake?”
“My mistake was not letting you scold her a little longer—letting you vent all your grievances and frustrations and return every bit of her cruelty with your words.”
“Hm?” Xu Yanwen’s eyes widened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Dad, don’t be angry. I wasn’t really planning to leave with her. Actually, that day when you went to see my sister, I was outside the door. I overheard your conversation—I also heard my sister’s true thoughts. Everything I did today had a reason.”
“Wait, you’ve lost me. You mean… you were acting? You met with her on purpose? And our ‘coincidental’ encounter just now—”
Xu Yanwen suddenly paused.
Of course.
If his daughter had really intended to secretly meet her birth mother, she wouldn’t have chosen a place he frequented.
Not to mention, she knew that when he had private meetings, this was always his go-to location. His schedule wasn’t hard to track—after all, she was his daughter.
Understanding dawned on him, and he suddenly burst into laughter. “Well, well, well. So now even you are capable of deceiving me? Do you find it fun to trick your own father?”
Xu Yaoyao shook her head guiltily. “Not fun at all. I was honestly breaking out in cold sweat just now, afraid that I might have gone too far and made you faint from anger. If that happened, not only would my act collapse, but all the bait I set would have gone to waste.”
She had purposely kept it from her father, fearing he might not perform well in the moment, but as it turned out, his uninformed reaction far exceeded her expectations. He had left Zhou Xinyi utterly dumbfounded, clearly venting his frustrations from the heart.
With this outburst, her father’s pent-up emotions would surely be relieved. As for Zhou Xinyi’s breakdown, that was none of her concern.
Since they had been heartless, they could hardly blame her for being ruthless in return!
“My clever daughter even laid the bait in advance. It seems you came prepared. Now that you’ve spilled the beans, are you going to tell me what your plan is? Do you need my help, or do you want the whole family to cooperate?”
“Let’s find a place to sit and talk.”
“Alright.”
Catching the last five seconds of the green light, Xu Yanwen crossed the street and quickly made a U-turn, merging onto the national highway leading to the suburbs.
The sudden turn made Xu Yao, who had been tailing them, slap his thigh in frustration.
Damn it, he lost them.
He immediately instructed the driver to head to the Fengyi headquarters to report back to Xu Yinyin as soon as possible.
His plan had been simple—once the mother and daughter finished their meeting, he would tail them, pretend to bump into them while shopping, and smoothly deliver his pre-rehearsed lines. But his uncle’s sudden appearance completely disrupted his strategy.
Through his binoculars, he could only see that a heated argument seemed to be unfolding. His uncle alternated between glaring at that woman and looking at his cousin. Then, out of nowhere, he flopped backward onto the couch in shock. His heart lurched with every movement across the street—it was more intense than a rollercoaster ride.
At that moment, he wished he could detach his ears and toss them over as receivers—anything would be better than pacing in frustration, pulling at his hair, and jumping around anxiously behind a glass wall.
Never before had he wanted Xu Yinyin’s gossip tool so badly. If only she had it with her now!
Although things hadn’t gone as planned, he had continued following them, eager to see whether his cousin would be scolded after being caught red-handed.
But before he could tail them for long, they had suddenly vanished.
After weighing his options, he decided it was best to report back to Xu Yinyin first—perhaps her mysterious gossip system could provide some clues. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
Fengyi Headquarters Reception Desk
Xu Yinyin was sitting at her computer, working on a task assigned by Sun Min.
Her face showed concentration, but her mind was far away—at the meeting between Xu Yaoyao and her birth mother.
“Xiao Qi, do you think Yaoyao will be swayed by her birth mother?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t interacted with her much, but judging by the way she treats you, she doesn’t seem fake. She really wants to be a good daughter to your parents.”
“I think so too. Her wealthy adoptive parents raised her well—she’s kind and sincere. But her biological parents are despicable. Who knows what tricks they might use to convince her? Yaoyao facing them alone worries me. Sigh, I wonder if Xu Yao managed to run into them.”
“I should have gotten his contact information! Damn it!”
As frustration and worry gnawed at her, Xu Yinyin found herself restless. She couldn’t feel at ease until the schemes of Yaoyao’s biological parents were completely exposed.
Since she had taken over this life—snatching away the family and status that rightfully belonged to another—she had an obligation to help the Xu family avoid the villains’ trap. Consider it repayment for the fortune fate had granted her.
“Eh? Why is Xu Yao here?”
Xue Weiwei’s puzzled voice came from beside her. Xu Yinyin looked up and saw Xu Yao scanning the lobby, his eyes quickly locking onto her as he strode over.
“Come with me. We need to talk.” Xu Yao shot her a meaningful glance.
Xu Yinyin got the message and swiftly followed him to an empty office.
After locking the door behind them, she asked eagerly, “Well? Did you run into them?”
Xu Yao shook his head. “Uncle showed up in the middle of their meeting.”
“Huh?!” Xu Yinyin gasped before quickly covering her mouth and glancing around warily.
Xu Yao took the cue and pressed a button on the remote, drawing the curtains shut. Then, he recounted everything he had witnessed.
At the end, he added, “I originally planned to keep following them, but they suddenly turned toward the suburbs. I figured tailing them further would be risky. If I got caught, we’d lose the advantage, so I decided to come back and update you.”
Internally, he added: So you can ask your gossip system for clues.
“What’s the point of telling me? Xiao Qi is just a gossip system, not an omniscient god! Ugh, what’s the use of you?”
Xu Yinyin shot Xu Yao a sidelong glance. He rubbed his nose awkwardly—how was this his fault? He didn’t have super-hearing, after all.
She sighed. “Well, if we lost them, we lost them. You did your best.”
“What do we do next?”
Xu Yinyin shook her head. She needed to see them first—perhaps Xiao Qi would have some fresh gossip once she did.
Suddenly, an idea struck Xu Yao. “Who says we have to ‘run into’ them? Why can’t we just observe them from a distance? If someone is hiding something, they’ll give themselves away.”
Xu Yinyin blinked in realization before exclaiming, “You’re right! I’ve been too fixated on one approach. You should come home with me later. Since my aunt already knows I’m going to school, it won’t be suspicious. Let’s take care of this today.”
“Sounds good. I’ll wait until you’re off work.”
“Alright. I’ll get back to my tasks now—do whatever you want in the meantime.”
As Xu Yinyin walked out, Tang Wan walked in right after.
Sansukini: Yinyin found a partner in crime. This cousin, Xu Yao should be my fave character.
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)
You can also check out my other translations Here
Lol not the cousin following her because he likes to gossip