The Fake Daughter Want to Be Villainess - Chapter 4

Mother Jiang immediately swallowed her persuasive words.

With reddened eyes, she silently gazed at Pei Wang for a moment before taking his hand: “Even if you don’t come back, you should at least see us.”

Mother Jiang lowered her expectations: “It’s fine if you just come to stay for a couple of days occasionally.”

She took Pei Wang to tour the Jiang family’s villa. Jiang Shu moved her frozen, numb ankle and fished her phone out of her pocket, opening her roommate group chat.

Today’s events were so surreal; she had to share it.

【My Shu Shu Yu Le】: Today, I encountered a Face-Slapping System.

【Today’s Girl is Going to Meet Her Mentor for the Last Time】: Is that the name of a novel? Has Shu Shu started reading novels? Is it good?

Jiang Shu: “…”

Her urge to share was doused with cold water, and she reluctantly typed again.

【My Shu Shu Yu Le】: It’s not good; this one is good.

【My Shu Shu Yu Le】: I recommend [She thinks she is a B City socialite! A rising star in the entertainment industry! The daughter of a wealthy tycoon…]

【Today’s Girl is Going to Meet Her Mentor for the Last Time】: ? Did you base this novel on yourself?

【Today’s Girl is Going to Meet Her Mentor for the Last Time】: Oh, is there more? The real and fake rich girl? Do girls like you, the real rich ones, really enjoy such cliché novels?

Jiang Shu shook her head.

They didn’t understand; art comes from life.

Holding her phone, Jiang Shu was about to reply when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. She looked up and met the gaze of Father Jiang, who was dressed sharply in a well-fitted suit with gelled hair.

She blinked: “Dad?”

Father Jiang came down calmly, responding with a casual “mm” as he stood by the railing. He glanced around the living room and asked, “Where is he?”

Jiang Shu realized and placed her phone on her lap, leaning back against the sofa: “He went with Mom to tour the house.”

She studied Father Jiang’s attire and exclaimed, “Dad, you haven’t shown up for a while—did you go fussing over your look?”

Father Jiang cleared his throat seriously, shot her a glare, and just as he was about to speak, he furrowed his brows suspiciously, asking, “What happened to your foot?”

Jiang Shu waved her hand: “I twisted it; the doctor said I just need to rest for two days.” She pointed in the direction where Mother Jiang and Pei Wang had gone, reminding him, “They went that way.”

Father Jiang adjusted his tie seriously, turned to head over, but after taking a couple of steps, he hesitated and turned back, saying, “How about I keep you company? You look so lonely here—”

Jiang Shu raised her phone: “Who looks lonely?”

Behind her internet line, there was an entire legion!Jiang Shu urged, “Hurry up and go.”

Father Jiang walked away at ease. He took a stroll around the small courtyard and soon found Mother Jiang and Pei Wang in the gazebo on the right.

The gazebo was wooden and, although it was made of waterproof materials, its color had faded due to years of sun and rain. Next to it was a swing that looked much newer, clearly built in recent years.

Mother Jiang was trying to reminisce about the past: “You used to love playing in this gazebo when you were little.”

Pei Wang lowered his eyebrows and smiled gently: “Really?”

Mother Jiang nodded enthusiastically, gesturing, “You were just a bit taller than this, and you always wanted to climb onto the stool—”

Father Jiang walked over quickly and grabbed her arm: “The child just returned; can’t you say something they’d enjoy hearing? Stop talking about the past, alright?”

He pulled Mother Jiang aside and turned to speak to Pei Wang, but as soon as he made eye contact with him, Father Jiang suddenly fell silent. He paused for a long moment before placing his hand on Pei Wang’s shoulder.

When Pei Wang returned from touring the villa, Jiang Shu was sitting on the sofa, cuddling snacks that the nanny had handed her while watching a variety show.

Jiang Shu: “…”

She quickly shoved the snacks behind her, sat up straight, and feigned innocence, trying to sound agreeable: “Dad, Mom, Brother.”

But Mother Jiang had already seen.

Mother Jiang came over, snatched the snacks from behind her, shot her an angry glare, and then asked, “Did you take off the ice pack?”

Jiang Shu displayed her ankle: “I did.”

Mother Jiang took a quick look at her ankle, then tossed half of the opened snacks into the trash can, her face stern as she scolded, “Dinner is about to be served. Are you going to eat this stuff?”

She tilted her head and shouted, “Aunt Li!”

Aunt Li responded from the kitchen and quickly walked out carrying dishes: “I’m here, I’m here.”

The dishes prepared for the afternoon were soon spread across the table. Mother Jiang glanced over and suspiciously asked Pei Wang, “We’re having dinner here tonight, right?”

Of course, they would have dinner here. Pei Wang had dinner with the Jiang family and politely declined Mother Jiang’s offer to drive him home, leaving the Jiang household alone.

Mother Jiang felt a bit melancholy: “Xiao Wang has grown up so much.”

She looked around, not seeing Jiang Shu, and asked, “Where’s Shu Shu?”

Father Jiang was sitting on the sofa, struggling with the remote control as he finally managed to switch to a financial channel: “She went upstairs.”

As soon as he said that, Mother Jiang’s expression grew serious again. She sat next to Father Jiang, grabbed the remote from him, and pressed the pause button: “Jiang Tingyuan.”

Father Jiang tilted his head resignedly: “What’s wrong?”

Mother Jiang stared at him: “What do you think about Xiao Wang’s situation?”

She remembered that Father Jiang had come down a bit too late and hadn’t heard Pei Wang’s earlier statement, so she added, “Xiao Wang said he doesn’t want to return home.”

Father Jiang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses: “Xiao Wang is old enough to make his own decisions.”

“He doesn’t want to return, so he won’t,” he didn’t seem to mind, “Just because he doesn’t take the Jiang surname and isn’t registered under the same household means he’s no longer our child?”

“However—” Father Jiang paused and sighed: “His foster mother hopes Xiao Wang will come back.”

He placed his hand on Mother Jiang’s arm: “Do you remember how Xiao Wang was found?”

Mother Jiang nodded without hesitation.

Of course, she remembered. Pei Wang had undergone a marrow matching at the Jiang Corporation’s private hospital, and when the hospital discovered that his data closely matched that of their missing child, they reported it, which is how they finally found Pei Wang.

Suddenly, Mother Jiang understood: “Why would he go for a match?”

“Because Xiao Wang’s foster mother was recently diagnosed with leukemia,” Father Jiang took her hand: “He wanted to see if he could be a match for a bone marrow transplant for her.”

Mother Jiang’s brow furrowed tightly before quickly loosening: “Leukemia isn’t necessarily terminal—”

Father Jiang shook his head and lowered his voice: “The reason I came down late is that I received a call from Xiao Wang’s foster mother.”

“The hospital just confirmed that her leukemia isn’t primary but caused by malignant lymphoma,” Father Jiang tightened his grip on Mother Jiang’s hand: “She hopes that Xiao Wang can return to us, so that even if she passes, Xiao Wang will still have another home.”

Mother Jiang took a deep breath.

She anxiously stood up and paced around the living room for a while before lowering her head to ask, “Can’t she have surgery? What’s the prognosis? How did it reach this point…”

Was it already time to think about what happens after?

Father Jiang raised a hand to support his forehead and shook his head: “We can’t assess the situation regarding metastasis, but the doctors have advised her to opt for conservative treatment.”

Mother Jiang fell silent, and after a while, she quietly said, “There will always be a place for Xiao Wang in our home.”

She frowned, then hesitated: “But Shu Shu seems to have some conflict with Xiao Wang.”

She told Father Jiang about Jiang Shu’s fall that afternoon.

Father Jiang dismissed it: “The couches are a bit close; it was just an accident.”

Mother Jiang shook her head: “It’s not that.” She recalled, “At that time, Shu Shu said she forgot something and returned to the couch.”

She spoke softly: “At that moment, Shu Shu and I were sitting on the same couch, and there was nothing on it.”

Father Jiang paused, frowning as he thought for a moment, then comforted Mother Jiang: “Maybe you’re misremembering?”

He picked up his phone and fiddled with it for a while: “Isn’t there surveillance in the living room? We can just check the footage to find out.”

Father Jiang quickly pulled up the surveillance footage and asked Mother Jiang: “What time did it happen?”

Mother Jiang gave him a time.

Father Jiang retrieved the footage from that time segment and watched Jiang Shu’s remarkable performance on the screen, falling silent.

He remained quiet for quite a while before turning off the phone screen, looking at Mother Jiang with a complicated expression: “You were right.”

He and Mother Jiang stared at each other for a while, until his phone suddenly rang, signaling that his secretary had sent him a document.Father Jiang took a casual glance and then suddenly sat upright.

“Shi Yu,” he called out to Mother Jiang, “let’s sign the child up for a class.”