Even 20 years ago, this novel world was already a modern society. Spiritual energy had been revived for many years, and the Du family had become a top wealthy family.
Is it so easy for an accident to happen when a daughter of a wealthy family gives birth? Whether it's a public or private hospital, in this age of electronic information, is it so easy to get a child wrong?
Xiang Wanwan didn't believe it was an accident. But in the original novel, until the heroine died saving the bastard Ding Zhiyuan, there was no mention of what happened back then.
After her grandfather's burial, Xiang Wanwan secretly instructed Luo Zhen to find someone to investigate what happened. Last night, Xiang Wanwan received the first report of the investigation.
The result is, no result.
Xiang Wanwan looked at the city outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, recalling Luo Zhen's words in her mind.
"Qingjia gave birth in a private hospital. Her water suddenly broke. My husband was definitely not in Jiangcheng, and we were hit by a typhoon, so he didn't return until the night after the incident. By then, Qingjia was already... gone. My husband was heartbroken, but he didn't lose his mind. He immediately investigated the cause of the fire."
"What's the result?"
"Accident."
"Accident?!"
"That private hospital was a spiritual hospital, accustomed to using talismans and formations, and rather lax with electrical equipment. One employee, feeling cold but reluctant to spend money on talismans, bought a foot warmer and placed it in the duty room for a hot water bath. That night, the foot warmer short-circuited, causing a fire. So... it affected the operating room. You had a caesarean section, and the doctors were suturing..."
A top-tier private hospital doesn't have backup power? A spiritual energy hospital doesn't have water and fire protection formations? And it caught fire?
Xiang Wanwan couldn't accept it.
Although Luo Zhen repeatedly told her that if there was a problem with the incident, her grandfather Du Jingyuan, as the richest man, would not fail to find it. In fact, when Zhu Kaiqi told her that she might have made a mistake and to start looking for it, Du Jingyuan had already investigated the incident again.
The result is still these four words——
Nothing was found.
20 years later, Xiang Wanwan once again asked Luo Zhen to investigate what happened back then. Not to mention any clues, even the people involved in the incident were almost impossible to find.
In that fire, not only her mother but also several doctors and nurses died. The culprit who used the hot pot had been burned to ashes and would be ready to get married in his next life.
There was no clue, no progress, but Xiang Wanwan still said the same thing.
She doesn't believe it.
Doesn't she have a system? Doesn't this world have a plot? If there's a written plot, there must be a hidden plot.
Could what happened back then be hidden in the plot?
System: "Based on the host's task completion rate and completion time, your ability is determined to be 'Excellent'. Based on the system's assessment, you are now allowed to query the hidden plot. This is free, but you must provide keywords. Depending on the impact of the hidden plot on the main storyline, the awakening points required to access it will vary. Please enter keywords to search."
Keywords? The keywords back then were…
Xiang Wanwan: "The reason for the wrong baby."
System: "Okay, we have found the hidden plot 'Reason for the Wrong Child' for you. Viewing this hidden plot costs 10,000 awakening points. Your awakening point balance is insufficient to view it. Please continue with the task."
“……?!” Xiang Wanwan almost fell off her chair, attracting the attention of Pei Xingyao who was concentrating on his work at another desk.
"Miss?"
Xiang Wanwan waved her hand, indicating it was fine. Inwardly, she couldn't help but curse: What kind of system is this? She only gets 100 points for changing a character's plot. After all the hard work she's done, she's only earned around 700 points. And 10,000 points just to access a hidden plot? So many points! How long would it take her to complete the task before she could access it?
Her system is indeed just a super machine brain, not intelligent at all. It seems that she can't be relied on in the short term.
Fortunately, she has another goal.
To Yongkang.
Luo Zhen's claim that the people involved in the incident have been found is inaccurate. Conventionally, when a woman is in trouble, the first suspect is her partner/husband. Xiang Yongkang is the most likely suspect, considering he's still alive and well in front of her.
"Miss."
Pei Xingyao's clear voice sounded beside him.
Xiang Wanwan turned around and saw the assistant she had specially selected, dressed in a well-fitting and elegant suit. He bowed and lowered his brows as he brought her a cup of medicinal tea.
"It's time."
Her health was extremely poor. She often became breathless after walking a few steps and fainted at the slightest stimulation. This was unacceptable. The Du family's territory was right before her eyes. If she wanted to control it, she must have a healthy body. Xiang Wanwan cooperated with the treatment and took all the required medicinal food, tea, and Chinese medicine. However, although Yu Jiani's medical skills were excellent, after examining her body, she had no other options. She could only carefully nurture her with warming and nourishing methods while contacting her master.
Because she was so weak, Xiang Wanwan couldn't eat many things and needed someone to take care of her diet. This medicinal tea was her current life-saving medicine, and she had to take it on time every day to ensure she didn't experience sudden fatigue or fainting.
"Heh..." Xiang Wanwan picked up the medicinal tea, looked at the light brown liquid in the cup, and laughed. "Yeah, I can't live without medicinal tea right now. Assistant Pei, do you know how I got sick?"
In their past lives, the Du family didn't say much about this matter, so the outside world didn't know much about it. Even Pei Xingyao could only guess, "It's because you had a difficult childhood."
"Yes, it's because of my childhood." Xiang Wanwan nodded. "It's because I was born on a snowy day and was abandoned on the roadside right after I was born. When I was sent to the orphanage, I already had a high fever. The orphanage didn't treat me, but I was still in good health at the time, so I managed to get through it. In the end, my body was completely broken, and I've been sick ever since."
What? Pei Xingyao raised his head suddenly, and for a moment, Xiang Wanwan felt as if she saw the sharp gleam of a sword in his eyes.
Doctor Yu had clearly stated that her spiritual roots were damaged, and her body was weak from lack of proper medical treatment. They all assumed she had been taken away by mistake, ending up in the orphanage. The orphanage's poor environment and the lack of medical treatment for her childhood illness were the reason for her condition.
Unexpectedly...
Did she mean that her spiritual roots were destroyed when she was born, and then she was abandoned on the roadside?
Pei Xingyao's eyes were red as she spoke word by word, "Miss, why do you still want this surname? It doesn't suit you!"
How could she still have the surname Xiang? Was she still as muddleheaded as she was in her previous life, full of illusions about that family, about those false family ties and love?
Xiang Wanwan smiled: "Even you think my last name is very meaningful, right?"
She said "very meaningful," and the calculation and murderous intent between her brows was familiar to him... Pei Xingyao's anger faded a little, and he suddenly understood: "You are..."
She did it on purpose! She deliberately brought up the inheritance matter at today's meeting, just when Xiang Yongkang's hopes were completely dashed, to remind him to destroy the evidence. Xiang Yongkang had kept it a secret for 20 years, and he must have thought everything was flawless, since even Du Jingyuan couldn't figure out his tracks. Xiang Wanwan actually dared to point the finger at him in public. Xiang Yongkang would definitely check to see if he had missed anything.
Once he starts checking, that's when the truth is revealed!
Xiang Yongkang would definitely be relieved when he found out that the clues were not exposed, and then he would come to his senses. He would think that Xiang Wanwan was already registered in the Du family, and when she returned to her ancestral home, she did not change her surname to Du, but kept her surname Xiang, which meant that she still recognized her father in her heart.
By then, Xiang Yongkang's vigilance will be reduced even more.
"I understand. After what happened last time, the bodyguards are trustworthy. I will arrange it." Pei Xingyao assured slowly, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Xiang Wanwan nodded with a smile.
She was very confident in Pei Xingyao's ability and loyalty.
It's hard to say why, but perhaps it's because Pei Xingyao is the only one in the original novel who sees through the male protagonist's stud and dies for the female protagonist. He's highly capable, quick and efficient, and, like in this case, often understands her meaning with just a single sentence. Therefore, Xiang Wanwan inexplicably trusts him.
In this world of male-oriented stallion stories, Assistant Pei is simply a breath of fresh air among men.
"Keep going, do your best," Xiang Wanwan promised, even though it sounded like the catchphrase of a gangster from a retro era. "I won't treat you unfairly."
A faint smile flashed in Pei Xingyao's eyes, but he lowered his head and brows, not wanting her to see it.
He quickly gave the order, and the dozen or so bodyguards of the Du family, who had long wanted to make another contribution and strive for another reward, immediately took action.
Things turned out just as Xiang Wanwan had expected, and Xiang Yongkang panicked.
Very panicked.
Leaving Runjia Investment, Xiang Yongkang's fingers were shaking as he pressed the elevator button. He instinctively glanced at the location of the surveillance camera before pressing his left hand on his right.
Xiang Wanwan... what did that little bitch just mean? What did she mean by keeping the secrets about his deceased wife a secret? What did she mean by praying she wouldn't find out anything? What did she mean by spending the rest of his life in prison?
Did she find out something?
How is this possible! That old fellow Du Jingyuan had been investigating for 20 years, but he couldn't find any clues about him until his death. Xiang Wanwan had only been back for a short time, and she had already found him?
"Impossible, impossible..." Xiang Yongkang kept comforting himself as he took out his car keys and opened the door. But as the car started, a voice suddenly emerged from his mind, frightening him so much that his hand slipped and the car almost crashed into the wall of the parking lot.
"What if that old fool Du Jingyuan found out something and died before he could continue, and now the evidence falls into her hands?"
Xiang Yongkang slammed on the brakes and a cold sweat broke out on his body.
Very likely!
Du Jingyuan was a shrewd man, secretly investigating the case of the wrong child, yet he hadn't revealed a single clue. DNA tests had been done, the child had been repatriated, and the outside world hadn't heard a word. If he hadn't bribed his bodyguards, he would have been kept in the dark as well.
If Du Jingyuan found out something, unless the police had already come to arrest him, Du Jingyuan might indeed say nothing, have dinner with him with a smile, and ask about his recent situation.
In comparison, Xiang Wanwan was much more naive. She was very likely to speak harshly to him based on some clues...
The question is, what clues did she see?
Xiang Yongkang thought carefully while driving.
All those who were supposed to die back then are already dead. Could it be that...
Xiang Yongkang rushed home and found Qi Yisan as soon as he entered the house. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the room, then turned around and locked the door.
Qi Yishan's legs went limp with fear, thinking he was going to attack her again. She trembled and said, "Lao Xiang, I..."
Xiang Yongkang turned around, grabbed her shoulders, lowered his voice, and asked quickly and urgently: "Is your 'relative' really dead?"
"Ah?" Qi Yishan was stunned for a long moment before finally realizing which relative he was talking about. Her face turned pale. "Dead...dead? We bought the cemetery. Did you forget?"
Yes, she was also on the death list of the fire, and they had bought the cemetery themselves. Xiang Yongkang breathed a sigh of relief, let go of her hand, and slumped down in his chair.
Qi Yishan kept pressing her chest, her heart pounding. She poured a glass of water, held it in front of Xiang Yongkang, and asked, "What's wrong? Old Xiang, what happened? Why are you suddenly... suddenly asking about her?"
"Nothing. Today, when I went to Runjia Investment, Xiang Wanwan suddenly warned me to hide the evidence and not let her find it. I thought it was..." Xiang Yongkang calmed down a little and waved his hand, saying, "Maybe I'm worrying too much, but you still have to go and take a look. Don't forget, that person can do something."
Qi Yishan's face turned pale after hearing what he said, and she nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I understand."
After Xiang Yongkang said this, she was also very scared. 20 years ago, she was the person who would be so scared that she dared not even breathe or utter a word when she saw Du Qingjia from a distance. After Xiang Yongkang finished speaking, Qi Yishan did not sleep well that night. The next day, she bought a plane ticket and went back to her hometown to visit her relatives.
In reality, her background was much better than Xiang Yongkang's. Xiang Yongkang was just an ordinary man, while Qi Yishan came from a family of magic. However, the Qi family's fortune was too vast, and she was born into a side branch, an illegitimate daughter, and had very low talent, so she was always looked down upon. When she returned home, the entire family was unaware of her situation, which made it easier for Qi Yishan to secretly inquire about the situation.
Three days later, Qi Yisan quietly returned to Jiangcheng.
"Are you sure?" Xiang Yongkang asked.
"Yes, that's for sure." Qi Yishan nodded and said, "Her parents have never seen her, and her household registration has been deleted. She is definitely dead."
Xiang Yongkang finally felt relieved, and a smile appeared on his face again: "That's good, then I feel relieved..."
Just as the two of them were looking at each other with relief, a voice interrupted: "Boss Xiang, are you going to abandon the company for three days just for something as insubstantial as this?"
"Who?!" Qi Yishan screamed, almost frightened to death, and threw herself into Xiang Yongkang's arms.
Xiang Yongkang knew who it was. He pushed Qi Yishan away, his face darkening. "Mr. Ding, do you think I dare not kill you?"
How dare you eavesdrop on their conversation!
Ding Zhiyuan leaned against the door frame, looking nonchalant. He spread his hands and curled his lips and said, "I didn't mean to do that. I just came to talk to you about something, but you didn't close the door properly. I just happened to overhear it. Mr. Xiang, there's no need to be so scary!"
This kid clearly heard their conversation. With his intelligence, he must have guessed what was going on. How could he not be afraid of being silenced?
Ding Zhiyuan was certainly not afraid, as he possessed a system and was the Long Aotian of this world. Xiang Yongkang was clearly a villain, so even if he wanted to harm him, how could he possibly kill him?
It looked more like they were delivering equipment to him.
Ding Zhiyuan said with a smile that was three parts nonchalant and seven parts carefree, "Boss Xiang, I don't think you need to take Xiang Wanwan's threats too seriously."
He...Xiang Yongkang paused in his heart.
Xiang Yongkang was a vicious villain. The more vicious he was, the more he feared people who were confident. For a moment, he didn't dare to do anything to Ding Zhiyuan. He just winked and told Qi Yishan to leave. After Qi Yishan closed the door, Xiang Yongkang asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Ding Zhiyuan pulled a chair over and sat down unceremoniously, pouring himself some water. "Xiang Wanwan doesn't hate you as much as you think."
No hatred? Xiang Yongkang frowned.
Xiang Wanwan doesn't even recognize him as her biological father. She has embarrassed him in public countless times and even said something like sending him to jail. If this is not hatred, then what is hatred?
"Mr. Xiang, have you forgotten her last name?" Ding Zhiyuan reminded him, "She was found by the Du family, registered as a hukou in the Du family, and inherited the Du family's property. If she really hated you, she should have changed her last name to Du, not Xiang."
Xiang Yongkang's heart suddenly shook and he turned around.
"You keep saying you don't recognize your biological father, but you insist on being called Xiang. Isn't that contradictory? What does her last name reveal? Don't you really know? Tsk tsk tsk..." Ding Zhiyuan shook his head, his eyes full of confusion. "With a personality like that, how did you manage to win over Miss Du back then? Do you understand women?"
The look in Xiang Yongkang's eyes had changed from defensive to questioning, and he deliberately said, "You know her very well."
"Hmm~" Ding Zhiyuan did not deny it, because he really felt that he was the only one in the entire Jiangcheng who could see through Xiang Wanwan's tsundere nature.
"Boss Xiang, your daughter is very different from Wanyi. Wanyi has had everything she wanted since she was a child. The more you indulge her, the more she thinks everything is her due. Your kindness to her is your duty. With Wanyi, you have to use methods she has never experienced before, to scare her and suppress her. For example, last time, Boss Xiang was very successful."
Last time, he was furious, beating and scolding Xiang Wanyi. After that, Xiang Yongkang's attention was on Xiang Wanwan, and he noticed that Xiang Wanyi seemed to have indeed become much more well-behaved. He didn't even dare to leave his room these past few days.
That makes some sense.
Xiang Yongkang couldn't help but ask, "What about Xiang Wanwan?"
"To Xiang Wanwan, your strategy from the beginning was wrong. Where did Xiang Wanwan grow up? In an orphanage! In that kind of place, you have to fight and be tougher than others to get food and clothes. She's not afraid of others being tough on her. The tougher they are to her, the tougher she will be. She's a little wild cat, understand? You have to go along with her and give her what she needs."
He deliberately kept his words vague, and Xiang Yongkang pressed him, "She's now the eldest daughter of the Du family and the chairman of Runjia Investment. She has endless money. She has everything she wants in this world. What is there to be missing?"
"No? I heard that when Mr. Du passed away, she was so heartbroken that she vomited blood and fainted. Do you really think that such a young girl doesn't lack anything? She insisted on having the last name Xiang, Mr. Xiang. She lacks a father and family affection."
Ding Zhiyuan leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "What she lacks is—your love."
Xiang Yongkang's body shook violently, and he showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.
That's right! How could Xiang Wanwan, a young girl who grew up in an orphanage, not lack love? She kept the surname Xiang to tell him that she wanted family affection! How could he not think of this!
"You probably wanted too much to be a father who had the final say, so you initially wanted to use drastic measures to force Xiang Wanwan to submit. To be honest, I didn't expect Xiang Wanwan, such a sickly little girl, to have such a hard temper. However, in this world, softness always overcomes hardness." Ding Zhiyuan patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Mr. Xiang, you should work hard to repair your relationship with her. But I remind you, your daughter is very..."
He originally wanted to say tsundere, but was afraid that Xiang Yongkang wouldn't understand the word, so he changed it.
"...She says one thing and means another. When dealing with someone like her, you must not take her cold words to heart. You must understand them from the other side. Even if you feel uncomfortable, for the sake of those 900 billion assets, you must smile, treat her warmly, and gently."
This kid really has some tricks up his sleeve! Xiang Yongkang nodded continuously, completely convinced by the "surname" statement. He also regarded Ding Zhiyuan as his own advisor from the bottom of his heart, feeling that he had picked up a Zhuge Liang.
He asked humbly, "But we just had a falling out at a meeting a few days ago. She must hate me to death now. How can we repair it?"
Ding Zhiyuan said nonchalantly, "Just think of her as the goddess you want to pursue. If the goddess doesn't want to see you, what will you do? Of course, you create opportunities for encounters to improve the goddess's impression of you."
The word "goddess" was too inappropriate for Xiang Yongkang to describe Xiang Wanwan. He felt very uncomfortable, but he had to admit that Ding Zhiyuan was right.
For 900 billion, what hardship would he not endure? He had already worked hard for 20 years and finally managed to make Du Jingyuan die. Could it be that he couldn't handle a 20-year-old biological daughter?
"I remember there's a business reception in a few days. Logically, Runjia Investment should be there..." Xiang Yongkang muttered, then suddenly raised his eyes and asked, "Have you been hosting the company these days?"
Xiang Yongkang hadn't been to the company since the Runjia Investment meeting. Firstly, he was genuinely worried about the news leaking out, so he stayed home, waiting for news from Qi Yishan, ready to leave the country if anything went wrong. Secondly, he hadn't been so embarrassed in years and didn't have the courage to face those looks.
So, he hasn't been to the company for three days.
Ding Zhiyuan asked back with amusement: "Yes, what else?"
Xiang Yongkang felt a little embarrassed.
He had indeed forgotten that he had only asked the company to randomly assign him a director position without real power to fool Ding Zhiyuan. Unexpectedly, Ding Zhiyuan actually went to the company, and judging by his statement, he even helped to deal with the company's affairs?
"Boss Xiang, you offered me a director position. Did you forget? I can only say that I've done my job well," Ding Zhiyuan added. "I signed a small, 20 million yuan deal for you."
Xiang Yongkang raised his eyebrows: "Is it the one made by Qiaoshun?"
"Hmm~" Ding Zhiyuan answered vaguely again.
In fact, he didn't do the business at all.
Qiaoshun Manufacturing had been negotiating this deal with Hengchen for a long time, but they had previously held back, worried about Hengchen's financial resources to meet the deadline. Qiaoshun Manufacturing was an out-of-town company, so news wasn't always forthcoming. They had only heard that Xiang Yongkang's daughter had inherited the Du family estate, and had no idea that Xiang Wanwan and Xiang Yongkang were at loggerheads.
Ding Zhiyuan first used the harem system to gain the favor of Hengchen's secretary. After knowing this, he used the harem system to conquer a beautiful woman in Qiaoshun's manufacturing team and made her happy.
Qiaoshun Manufacturing was already 80% willing to do the deal, and considering Xiang Wanwan's status, it became 90%. Even if Ding Zhiyuan did nothing, another half-hour of negotiation would still seal the deal. Ding Zhiyuan's attempt to cheer up the person in charge was just icing on the cake; it didn't matter whether it happened or not.
But because Ding Zhiyuan was so vague, signing the contract became his credit.
Xiang Yongkang didn't know the truth and actually believed it, treating him even more like a military advisor. He immediately said, "I didn't expect you to be so capable. With you by my side, my chances of winning are even greater. Zhiyuan, come with me to the cocktail party in a few days."
"Well, okay." Ding Zhiyuan agreed reluctantly, but in fact, he was very happy in his heart.
Great! He's found another chance to get close to Xiang Wanwan! This time, he'll definitely be able to successfully conquer this arrogant Xiang Wanwan!
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