Chapter 14: The Adopted Daughter of a Wealthy Family Leaks Telepathy 14 Aroused the Eldest Brother’s Suspicion…

Chapter 14: The Rich Family’s Adopted Daughter Leaks Her Thoughts 14, Arousing the Eldest Brother’s Suspicion...

Ding Yao was inherently arrogant. Given his tragic future, he had no intention of enduring humiliation for the sake of the bigger picture now. Upon hearing Xu Ziyan’s words, he immediately chugged the water in his glass and went off to stir up trouble.

Xu Ziyan glanced at the lone ice cubes left in her glass, then at Yang Anni. “He doesn’t mind the lemon water being sour anymore?”

Yang Anni waved her hand dismissively. “Who cares? He’s so impulsive—comes and goes as he pleases. Sorry for dropping by so abruptly without bringing any gifts.”

Xu Ziyan smiled. “We’re tight now, no need to be so formal. I was just bored at home anyway—let’s go for a swim in the pool!”

The two of them wasted no time. They changed into swimsuits, applied sunscreen, and dashed off to swim, even asking the servants to prepare a pool float for them to play with in the water for a long time.

Xu Ziyan thought to herself, *People really should learn contentment.* She had reincarnated as a wealthy adopted daughter—a jackpot of a life. She accepted what her family gave her without fighting or scheming, living happily day by day. If things continued like this, she could easily imagine enjoying such a life forever.

In contrast, Song Jie had been fortunate enough to receive financial support from a wealthy benefactor, escaping her rural origins, only to bite the hand that fed her by seducing her benefactor’s husband. She gained money, houses, cars, and became a big star, yet she still took the late wife’s jewelry, brought her son back to fight for the family fortune, and threw shade at a rising star.

The way she was getting dragged online now was entirely her own doing. She was already so beautiful, wealthy, and glamorous—far more privileged than Xu Ziyan was at the moment—yet she remained insatiable, always making waves.

Looking at it this way, it was crucial to maintain a good mindset, to be grateful when material conditions were favorable, and to truly enjoy life. Otherwise, greed like Song Jie’s, letting desires spiral endlessly, would only lead to losing happiness.

Xu Ziyan closed her eyes and floated on the water, a relaxed smile curling her lips. The lingering resentment and anxiety she’d felt since transmigrating had, after the Song Jie incident, miraculously settled. She was beginning to feel a sense of belonging here, truly embracing this new life.

That night, as Xu Ziyan drifted into sleep, she heard the system’s notification.

“Congratulations, Host. Completed Plot: Scheming to Force Song Jie Out of the Entertainment Industry—Reward: 1 Skill Point. Completed Plot: Arousing Eldest Brother Fu Qixuan’s Suspicion—Reward: 1 Skill Point. Completed Plot: Assisting Lin Xiaoyun in Moving into the Fu Family—Reward: 1 Skill Point.”

Xu Ziyan was stunned for a moment. She grabbed her phone and saw that the hottest trending topic was Song Jie announcing her retirement from the entertainment industry. She had posted a lengthy statement, expressing helplessness, pain, misunderstandings, and being forced into this decision—adopting an extremely humble tone as she bid farewell to the industry.

The hate train derailed because “A Big Star Forced Out of the Industry by Cyberbullying” became the new hot topic. Since the public’s accusations lacked concrete evidence, and Song Jie had “taken a beating,” some began to wonder—why kick her when she’s down? Even if she had made mistakes, wasn’t this punishment enough? What more did they want from her? Maybe she had her own struggles?

Song Jie was undoubtedly unwilling, but the Ding family’s reputation mattered, the company’s image mattered. Under Old Man Ding’s orders, she had no choice but to comply, swiftly ending the scandal this way. Moreover, this approach prevented further discussion and digging into Ding Jie’s affairs, which could affect his position in the family’s power struggles.

From the netizens’ perspective, it seemed like Ding Yao had successfully vented his anger, triumphantly owned his dad’s side piece—a satisfying outcome.

But after skimming Song Jie’s statement, Ziyan noticed she never once admitted to any wrongdoing. If an opportunity arose in the future, she could easily deny everything and make a comeback. After all, she had revealed nothing—everything was just speculation.

Ziyan sighed. “Still a pro. No wonder she rose from a small mountain village to become the queen bee of a rich clan.”

In the original plot, the original host and Song Jie had grown increasingly hostile toward each other. Song Jie repeatedly humiliated the original host at high-society parties, prompting the original host to scheme her way out of the entertainment industry.

Who knew the plot would be completed in this manner? This whole incident had indeed been triggered by Ziyan asking Yang Anni to post that group photo—so she did have a hand in it.

*How was the task related to the Fu family’s eldest brother completed? What is he suspecting me of? Did he really bring that socialite back? But I didn’t assist Lin Xiaoyun at all.* Xu Ziyan was completely lost.

Just then, Fu Qixuan, who had just arrived home and was passing by her door, paused in his tracks.

*What was that sound?*

Fu Qiming, beside him, threw an arm around his shoulders and whispered, “You heard it too, right? We’ve been telling you, but you refused to believe us, insisting she was using tricks to deceive us. What about that dirtbag Li Dong? Or that sleazy brother-in-law’s dirt—those weren’t fake, were they?”

Qixuan still wasn’t convinced. “She could’ve researched all that in advance. Given the kind of person she is, she’d naturally assume everyone else has ulterior motives, deliberately getting close to us.”

“Then what about the thoughts we heard?”

“Miniature recording devices, or some high-tech equipment we don’t know about—there are countless possibilities, all more plausible than hearing someone’s thoughts.”

Qiming scoffed. “I can’t get through to you. But be careful with that Lin… whatever-her-name-is. Xu Ziyan said she’s trouble, so she definitely isn’t trustworthy. She—”

“Enough,” Qixuan cut in, his expression darkening. “Don’t judge my friends. I had her investigated when I first met her—she checks out.”

At thirty years old, he was in charge of the entire Fu Corporation. When he wore a stern expression, he exuded an imposing aura. Fu Qiming, his younger brother, didn’t dare say another word and instead felt a sense of amused anticipation. This eldest brother was both domineering and strict, disciplining them like children. Since he refused to listen to them now, he was bound to make a fool of himself eventually—they’d just have to see what kind of spectacle he’d create when facing Xu Ziyan.

Fu Qixuan ignored his brother and went to his own room at the far end. It was very late, and Lin Xiaoyun had already been taken by the servants and settled into a guest room on the first floor.

Ever since his family told him about Xu Ziyan’s situation, he found it absolutely absurd. What kind of person would believe in something like hearing people's thoughts? Xu Ziyan had actually used such a trick to deceive his family, and even crazier, they all fell for it—even the usually aloof Fu Yazhen joined in the absurdity, even considering getting an abortion.

Now that he was back in the country, the first thing he did was to hire ten of the top private investigators to re-examine everything. What if Xu Ziyan had framed Li Dong and Zheng Wenbo? And now she was trying to frame Lin Xiaoyun—was she planning to take out everyone close to them? From his perspective, the suspicious one was clearly Xu Ziyan. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with doubting her; it was just basic common sense.

His flight had landed very late, and Lin Xiaoyun had thoughtfully insisted she didn’t need him to escort her—she could take the bus or subway back on her own. But Lin Xiaoyun’s grandmother was critically ill and in a coma, and she had long sold her house to cover the medical bills. The basement she rented was cramped and unsafe. Since he had hired her as his personal assistant, how could he mistreat an employee?

Originally, he planned to put her up in a hotel for the night, but when he contacted his family, they immediately warned him to be cautious the moment they heard he was with Lin Xiaoyun—don’t drink too much, avoid secluded places, don’t let her near confidential documents—which just annoyed him. So, he simply brought Lin Xiaoyun home.

Tomorrow, he’d let them see for themselves that Lin Xiaoyun was just an ordinary, unlucky girl in need of help. He had already confirmed her story checked out. They were the ones being fooled by Xu Ziyan’s tricks. He wanted to see what kind of "thoughts" Xu Ziyan could possibly come up with in front of Lin Xiaoyun.

Fu Qixuan’s room was farther from Xu Ziyan’s, so he couldn’t hear her thoughts. Fu Qiming, however, could hear them from the adjacent room. He listened nervously for the system’s response, afraid it would outright tell Xu Ziyan that they could hear her thoughts—that would make it impossible for them to get along in the future.

The system’s reply was: "Fu Qixuan heard about recent events in the Fu family and believes the host’s changes are part of some scheme. Upon arriving home and learning Fu Yazhen was considering an abortion, he grew suspicious of the host, suspecting you framed Zheng Wenbo."

"The Fu family, realizing those around them couldn’t be trusted, warned Fu Qixuan to be wary of Lin Xiaoyun. Fu Qixuan, feeling rebellious, brought her home to let them see for themselves."

"Both these tasks were indirectly caused by the host’s influence, so they count as completed."

Xu Ziyan was amazed again at the power of the butterfly effect. It felt like tossing a single seed and watching flowers bloom everywhere—what an awesome surprise! These were tasks completed ahead of schedule, and the more she finished, the more stable the world would become.

001 asked, "Which attribute would the host like to allocate skill points to?"

"Luck, luck, and more luck!" Xu Ziyan cheered. "When my luck peaks, I won’t even have to lift a finger—rewards will just fall from the sky! With just the butterfly effect, I’ll complete all the tasks, haha!"

Xu Ziyan rolled around, got up, and used the projector to watch a comedy. She snacked while laughing and even complained to the system about the plot. It wasn’t until 4 a.m. that she finally felt sleepy again, crawling into bed and falling asleep instantly.

Next door, Fu Qiming, who had been listening to the commotion half the night, finally relaxed and wearily collapsed onto his bed, trying to sleep. Being close enough to hear her thoughts was useful, but if this kept up, it would be exhausting.

Still, he felt reassured. It seemed the system didn’t know they could hear Xu Ziyan’s thoughts. The system’s purpose was to guide Xu Ziyan through the plot—it wouldn’t help or save them. So, their ability to hear her thoughts might truly be fate’s doing, the so-called "glimmer of hope."

This was their chance to save themselves. He had to work hard to convince his eldest brother. Fu Qixuan was more capable than them—once he believed, he’d surely find a way to secretly help Xu Ziyan complete her tasks.

The next day, Fu Qixuan woke up at 5 a.m., exercised at the gym, had breakfast on time, suited up, and prepared to leave for work—like clockwork.

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Xiaoyun hurried over. "I’m sorry, President Fu! I couldn’t adjust to the time difference and slept very late. I overslept."

Fu Qixuan nodded indifferently. "It’s fine." Then he noticed her limping. "What happened to your foot?"

Lin Xiaoyun brushed it off with a smile. "I got up in a hurry and twisted it when I stepped down. It’s nothing—it’ll heal soon. Let’s go to work."

Fu Qixuan wasn’t the type to mistreat employees. He stood up and said, "Rest and recover first. Adjust to the time difference before returning to work. Ask the servants for some medicine. We’ll discuss work matters tonight."

With that, he left, giving Lin Xiaoyun no chance to refuse. As the car drove out of the Fu residence, Fu Qixuan glanced at Xu Ziyan’s window. She used to wake up early—he had wanted to observe her schemes this morning. But Xu Ziyan still hadn’t gotten up.

Was she avoiding him on purpose, afraid of giving herself away in front of him?