The Fake Daughter Want to Be Villainess - Chapter 49

Song Shiyu paced around the living room, her intuition insisting that her suspicions were correct, yet she found herself unable to readily accept the idea. She kept telling herself—

“Perhaps Pei Wang only found out about it today?”

When he was recording the show, he didn’t know about this; back then, their relationship was purely sibling-like.

The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts as Jiang Shu and Jiang Tingyuan entered together.

Song Shiyu stopped her musings and smiled at them, “Back already?”

The nanny had already prepared dinner, and after eating with Jiang Shu and Jiang Tingyuan, Song Shiyu dragged Jiang Tingyuan upstairs to the study. “Keep an eye on Jiang Tingfeng at the company.”

Jiang Tingyuan raised an eyebrow, looked over, and asked unhurriedly, “What’s going on with him?”

“He’s trying to sow discord,” Song Shiyu summarized the afternoon’s conversation with Pei Wang, “I don’t know what he plans to do, but just keep an eye on him.”

Jiang Tingyuan nodded, casually pulling a book off the shelf. “Understood.”

Song Shiyu smacked him on the shoulder, looking at him disapprovingly. “You’re not taking this seriously enough.”

She watched him warily, “Do you think just because he’s your brother, he wouldn’t have any ill intentions, and so you don’t take it seriously?”

Jiang Tingyuan sighed, “There’s no brotherly affection between us.”

He didn’t share the same mother as Jiang Tingfeng, and his stepmother was not particularly affectionate. To avoid conflict, he had moved out of the Jiang family home as soon as he came of age. There was no brotherly love to speak of.

He attempted to explain himself but held back upon meeting Song Shiyu’s gaze. Surrendering with a raised hand, he said, “Alright, alright, I’ll keep a close watch on him.”

Song Shiyu huffed, pulling out a chair and sitting down, casting a sidelong glance at Jiang Tingyuan, “I suppose I’ll trust you.”

She tapped the table with her fingers, “Hey.”

Jiang Tingyuan, about to open his book, looked up, “Hmm?”

Song Shiyu continued, “Xiao Wang might have feelings for Shu Shu.”

Jiang Tingyuan turned a page unhurriedly, “So what?” He continued reading at a leisurely pace, “At twenty-four or twenty-five, having someone you like isn’t unusual—”

“Wait.” Jiang Tingyuan suddenly lifted his head, “Who did you say Xiao Wang likes?”

Father Jiang’s shock was gratifying to her, and Song Shiyu propped her chin and drawled, “Jiang Shu.”

Jiang Tingyuan was stunned for a moment, “Are you sure?”

“Probably.” Song Shiyu frowned, “Pei Wang told me today that he knows Jiang Shu is adopted by us.”

She shared her analysis with Jiang Tingyuan and then sighed, “I suspect Xiao Wang did it on purpose. He hinted at it without explicitly saying it. I can’t even have a conversation with him about it.”

Song Shiyu fretted, “Their situation is tricky. If something goes wrong, they might not even be able to be siblings.”

“And isn’t there a theory about genetic sexual attraction? Siblings who didn’t grow up together can form an attraction due to similar genes—”

Jiang Tingyuan interrupted, reminding her, “They’re not biologically related.”

Song Shiyu froze for a moment, “I somehow forgot about that.” She rubbed her temples and resignedly sighed, “Oh well, maybe it’s just fate between the two kids.”

.

Jiang Shu was entirely unaware of the complex emotional journeys Father Jiang and Mother Jiang had gone through over the course of just one evening.

Cuddled with her phone, she delightedly played games until nearly dawn before pulling up the covers to sleep—

Because she didn’t have to go to work tomorrow!

To welcome a beautiful morning, she must stay up late in its honor!

Jiang Shu slept soundly until daylight. Father Jiang had already gone to the office, and Mother Jiang had plans with friends for a spa day.

She went downstairs, had breakfast, wandered around the main area before sneaking off to the media room.

Jiang Shu locked the door behind her, turned on the projector, and resumed the horror game from before, projecting it onto the screen.

With courage, she embarked fearlessly into the game, continuing from Pei Wang’s previous save.

Though she knew the heart-wrenching ending of the game, the joy of the game itself was not solely in its ending.

The screen momentarily went black as it loaded, then flashed, revealing a bloodied figure slowly turning its head from inside a car—

Jiang Shu abruptly dropped her phone and covered her eyes with her hand.

She took several rapid breaths, only uncovering her eyes after the intense and ominous music had finished. She peeked at the screen.

The screen was now gray, the car door wide open, with the bloodied apparition raising a hand, blood steadily dripping from it.

Beneath his hand lay the character she was controlling.

A line of text appeared on the screen.[You have died.]

Jiang Shu sighed.

She picked up her phone from the carpet, exited the game, and found Pei Wang on WeChat to send him a message.

[Your Shu Shu Yule]: Crying Cat Emoji.jpg

[Your Shu Shu Yule]: The game save you helped me play is gone. Big Cry.jpg

Pei Wang might have been busy, as it took him a while to reply.

[Pei Wang]: Patting Head Emoji.jpg

[Pei Wang]: I’ll help you again if there’s a chance.

Jiang Shu lay on the sofa, clutching her phone as she pondered Pei Wang’s response.

Then, she tilted her head slightly, deciding to tease Pei Wang a bit.

[Your Shu Shu Yule]: Not listening, not listening.

[Your Shu Shu Yule]: I just want a specific answer.

Jiang Shu stood up from the sofa, stretched, and went to get an ice cream from the fridge. She had just opened it when her phone vibrated.

Pei Wang had replied already.

Instead of a text message, he sent a voice message. Jiang Shu bit down on the small plastic spoon and casually tapped to play it.

Pei Wang’s voice resonated in the media room, a soft chuckle preceding his words, which he delivered slowly and leisurely: “The next time I see you.”

The acoustics of the media room made Pei Wang’s voice seem to echo right beside her.

Jiang Shu momentarily froze.

Holding her ice cream, she stood still for a long time before hurriedly adding Pei Wang to her blocked list on WeChat.

It was too strange; it might be best if she didn’t talk to Pei Wang for a while.

After she secured the blocked list, she subconsciously exhaled a breath of relief.She sat back on the sofa and casually opened the latest variety show.

The projector began to play, and Jiang Shu scooped a spoonful of ice cream, taking a bite with her head lowered before lightly sticking out her tongue with a “hiss” sound.

It was a bit too cold for her tongue.

She placed the ice cream on the glass coffee table and picked up her phone, intending to complain to Pei Wang about it, but just as she opened their chat, she hesitated.

Hadn’t she just blocked Pei Wang?

Hadn’t she just decided not to see or talk to Pei Wang for a while?

Jiang Shu reflected painfully on her actions and then exited WeChat, readying herself to find something else to distract her.

She looked up at the projector.

What was playing on the projector was “Let’s Reconcile.” Today was Thursday, and the content from Saturday’s recording was being released.

Jiang Shu nestled into the sofa and watched for a while, then reached for her phone to check if the program had hit any hot searches.

Skillfully, she navigated to Weibo’s hot search list, scanned the top ten entries, and then her gaze settled.

#JiangShuPeiWangKiss

Jiang Shu: “?”

What on earth?

She sat up straight, bewildered, quickly tapping into the trending topic.

@WhenIGrowUpIWantToLikeScientist: Aaaaaah it’s melting my heart!! This sweet moment! I can die without regrets! [GIF]

@OneMoreBiteOfCandy: !!! Is this preview from the program team real? Why do I feel like the program team is just stirring things up? All thunder and no rain, making a huge deal of it in the trailer, but in reality, just a misaligned shot?[GIF]

@OneMoreBiteOfCandy: Is this something I can actually watch??? Is it true, is it true? I’m begging you! Hurry up and release the next episode!!! [GIF]

The GIFs all seemed identical. Jiang Shu faintly sensed that something was amiss. She hesitated several times before opening the GIF.

It was a snippet captured from the preview, with a hotel sofa as the background.

On the sofa, Pei Wang was leaning down, softly kissing her forehead.

Author’s Note:

Hiding under the pot lid qwq