The Fake Daughter Want to Be Villainess - Chapter 48

Pei Wang sat in the driver’s seat.

The little girl’s attitude had changed noticeably; it seemed that their conversation had suggested something to her. She had finally shed her perception of him as an “older brother.”

Now, she was somewhat inclined to avoid him, so he agreed to her suggestion of going back on her own, giving her space to be alone.

Pei Wang leaned back in his seat, holding his phone, and after staring silently ahead for a while, he dialed Jiang Tingyuan.

The call was answered by the secretary: “Chairman Jiang is currently in a meeting.”

She glanced at the schedule: “The meeting is expected to conclude in about half an hour.”

This call was to Jiang Tingyuan’s private number; those who could reach him were basically family. The secretary added, “If it’s urgent, I can go call Chairman Jiang for you.”

“It’s not urgent.” Pei Wang lit a cigarette, started the car, and casually asked, “Is my second uncle also in a meeting?”

The secretary took a moment to react and then figured out who Pei Wang meant by “second uncle”: “Are you referring to Manager Jiang Tingfeng?”

She candidly said, “He doesn’t have the qualifications to hold a meeting.”

Pei Wang chuckled softly, “Alright, thank you.”

He hung up and, after thinking for a moment, engaged the clutch and prepared to head to the Jiang family residence.

This decision felt a bit rushed. Pei Wang was concerned that Song Shiyu might not be home, so he deliberately sent a WeChat message to Mother Jiang to confirm her plans for the afternoon before driving out of the underground garage.

When he arrived at the Jiang family mansion, it was Mother Jiang who opened the door for him.

She was dressed smartly, wearing a cream-colored qipao with large sleeves. The fabric was exquisite, with the dark pattern subtly showing on the clothing, and there was a jade pendant pressed onto the clasp, making her look elegant and graceful.

Pei Wang raised an eyebrow: “Mom, were you planning to go out?”

Song Shiyu stepped back slightly and shook her head, “There’s nothing that requires me to dress up like this.”

She raised her hand to tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear, smiling as she leaned against the doorway: “I specifically changed into this outfit to see you.”

Song Shiyu winked at him, “Are you touched? Shu Shu and your dad don’t receive such treatment.”

Pei Wang blinked and smiled back: “I am touched.”

He opened the door and walked in, bringing the bouquet he had behind his back to the front: “Fortunately, I bought a bouquet while walking.”

He casually shut the door and handed the bouquet to Song Shiyu: “It matches your beautiful attire perfectly.”

The flowers were magnolias, their petals glistening, and the shop assistant had even sprayed a little mist on them to create the ambiance of freshly picked blooms.

Song Shiyu happily accepted the bouquet and called for the housekeeper to fetch a vase, arranging the flowers beautifully.

Then she turned to Pei Wang and commented, “Sweet-talker.”

Song Shiyu sat on the sofa and casually asked, “Did you not go to the office today?”

“I went to the hospital to see my mother in the afternoon.” Pei Wang lowered his lashes softly and then quickly lifted them, holding a smile as he gently said, “I brought a bouquet for my mother, thinking it wouldn’t be fair to neglect you, so I came to bring you one as well.”

“Really?” Mother Jiang looked at him skeptically and leaned her head on her hand, fiddling with the bouquet. “Is there really no other reason for coming here?”

Pei Wang then furrowed his brow and smiled: “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Song Shiyu tilted her head to look at him, her eyes slightly raised, displaying a waiting expression: “What do you want to ask?”

Pei Wang slowed his tone: “I’d like to ask when you adopted Jiang Shu.”

Song Shiyu froze for a moment, then suddenly sat up straight, looking at Pei Wang in shock: “Xiao Wang.”

They exchanged glances for several seconds before she leaned back into the chair and furrowed her brows, asking, “When did you learn about this?”

They had never mentioned the adoption of Jiang Shu to Pei Wang.

Song Shiyu felt a bit flustered. She raised her hand to touch her forehead, instinctively wanting to reassure Pei Wang first: “Adopting Shu Shu doesn’t mean we’ve given up on looking for you.”

“We’ve always been looking for you, and the Jiang Corporation is also yours and hers—”

Pei Wang leaned forward slightly, taking her wrist in his hand: “Mom.”

He softened his voice, gently interrupting Song Shiyu: “I don’t mind these matters.”

Pei Wang raised his eyes, his light-colored irises studying Song Shiyu for a moment before he smiled gently to calm Mother Jiang: “Don’t worry.”

How could Song Shiyu not worry?

She rubbed her forehead, trying to sort through her muddled thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she asked again, “How did you find out?”

It was the System that told him.

But Pei Wang certainly couldn’t say that. He fluttered his lashes lightly, then folded his eyes, calmly shifting the blame: “My second uncle told me.”

Song Shiyu’s brows knitted sharply, her voice cooling a bit: “Jiang Tingfeng?”

Pei Wang nodded: “Yes.”

Seeing Song Shiyu deep in thought, he added calmly: “Today, Shu Shu also told me that she ran into my second uncle at the company. He mentioned that once I return home, I will inherit the company.”

Song Shiyu’s brows tightened even further: “What does he want?”

After pondering for a moment, she said, “Once your father gets back, I’ll discuss this matter with him.”

“Okay.” Pei Wang responded gently and asked again: “Mom, when did you adopt Shu Shu?”

Song Shiyu sighed: “About half a year after you went missing.”

“At that time, we had already been searching for you for a long time. We had explored many avenues—reporting to the police, private rewards, and printing your information on goods.”

Song Shiyu tilted her head back slightly, reminiscing: “We did receive many clues.”

She let out a bitter laugh: “We traveled all over, but we couldn’t find you.”

“The information was real, but none of it was you.” Song Shiyu’s expression went blank: “We just happened to meet Shu Shu while looking for you.”

It was a very remote village, almost situated in the mountains. Someone had given them a clue, saying they saw a boy who looked a lot like Pei Wang being brought into the village.

They had already been fooled by supposed leads numerous times and held little hope for this one.

However, the informant had provided them with a photograph. At that time, photographic technology was not advanced, and the photo they received was very blurry, but the features did vaguely resemble Pei Wang.She was filled with hope at that moment, believing that this must be her child. So, she traveled over mountains and rivers with Jiang Tingyuan to that village, only to find a child that was not Pei Wang.

She almost collapsed right then and there, barely managing to leave the village with Jiang Tingyuan, squatting by the roadside and crying out loud.

Then she heard the sound of some dry grass rustling, and a dirty-faced little child crawled out of the mud, timidly calling out to her, “Aunt.”

The child asked her softly, “Why are you crying?”

Overwhelmed with emotions, she poured her heart out to a three- or four-year-old child: “Auntie’s baby is lost and can’t be found.”

The child blinked, seemingly not fully understanding, then pouted, on the verge of tears, saying, “I can’t find my mommy either.”

It was winter, and the ground was covered with a layer of frost. The child crawled up from the lower ground, blowing on their little red hands.

The child stammered, “Mommy took me on a very long ride. She left me here and told me to wait for her.”

With a pitiful expression, the child rubbed their belly, tears welling up in their eyes, and choked out, “But why hasn’t Mommy come back yet? I’m really hungry.”

In that cold winter, Song Shiyu, who had lost her child, encountered an abandoned little one.

Then she adopted that child.

Pei Songyu sighed, “That’s how it is.”

She spoke softly, “Actually, I am very grateful to have met Shu Shu.”

If she hadn’t encountered Jiang Shu, she didn’t know if she would have collapsed from searching day after day.

Pei Wang pondered while gently patting Song Shiyu’s hand, softly reassuring her, “It’s all in the past.”

After he went missing, he was taken abroad, and those people had harmed his head, clearly not intending for him to survive.

Who would benefit most from his death?

It could be a rival company, or perhaps relatives coveting Jiang Tingyuan’s shares. After all, Jiang Shu hadn’t been adopted at that time, and once he went missing, there would be no inheritance for Jiang Tingyuan’s shares, which would eventually slip into someone else’s hands.

Moreover—

If those people could harm him, could they also target Jiang Tingyuan?

After all, in the time following his disappearance, Jiang Tingyuan and Song Shiyu had searched everywhere for him. Those people could easily have attacked them on the road and disguised it as an accident, making it nearly impossible to trace.

Fortunately, Song Shiyu and Jiang Tingyuan had encountered Jiang Shu, and after adopting Jiang Shu, Jiang Tingyuan regained his spirits. Due to Pei Wang’s disappearance, he became more vigilant, preventing those people from finding another opportunity to strike.

Pei Wang was still analyzing who those people could be when he heard Song Shiyu’s voice: “Why did you suddenly ask about Shu Shu?”

She had clearly regained her composure, picking up her teacup, taking small sips, and raising her eyebrows at him.

Pei Wang lowered his gaze and smiled softly, “Just curious.”

He wasn’t prepared to share this series of speculations with Song Shiyu.

When he had gone missing, Song Shiyu had been burdened with guilt for over ten years. Now that he had finally returned, there was no need to make her worry about this matter any further.

Pei Wang shifted the topic to something else to divert Song Shiyu’s attention. He spent nearly half the day chatting with her, then took out his phone and stood up: “I should get going.”

Song Shiyu, engrossed in their conversation, looked at him in confusion: “Aren’t you staying for dinner?”

She glanced at the time: “Shu Shu and Tingyuan will be back from work soon.”

Pei Wang lowered his gaze with a smile: “No, thanks.”

Jiang Shu’s perception of him had just shifted away from “older brother,” and her thoughts were likely still in disarray. His visit today would only heighten her anxiety.This is something unnecessary.

Pei Wang found an excuse: “There are some matters at the company I need to handle, so I’ll come back for dinner next week.” A hint of a smile played at the corners of his lips: “But you can’t dislike me.”

Song Shiyu smiled as well: “How could I dislike you?”

It’s completely normal to prioritize company matters; she stood up to see him off: “This is your home, so of course you can come over for dinner whenever you want.”

Song Shiyu accompanied Pei Wang to the door. She watched him get into the car, saw him drive away, and was about to turn back inside when something suddenly came to her mind.

Wait a minute, Xiao Wang knows that he and Shu Shu are not related by blood, yet they were still so close on the show?

He even kissed Shu Shu on the forehead!

Song Shiyu’s eyes widened in surprise.