Chapter 26: The Adopted Daughter of a Wealthy Family Leaks Telepathy 26 New Story Started “Mom…

Chapter 26: The Adopted Daughter’s Inner Monologue (26) New Story Released: "Mom..."

Xu Ziyan suggested hosting the birthday banquet at home, ensuring the house was well-decorated while also checking the surveillance system. She also proposed inviting Dr. Lin on the day of the banquet in case anyone felt unwell.

Fu Dongfeng knew she had the family's best interests at heart and naturally agreed, even installing additional surveillance cameras to be removed after the event.

Xu Ziyan also screened the guest list with Li Yunhui and finally found the name of Fu Dongfeng's first love, Qin Yuexiang. Pretending to be curious, Xu Ziyan asked, "Who is this?"

Li Yunhui replied generously, "She's your father's ex-girlfriend. They haven't been in contact for many years. Recently, her daughter needed medical treatment, so she asked your father to recommend a specialist. Now, she wants to bring her daughter to express her gratitude at his birthday celebration."

Fu Dongfeng nodded and added, "Earlier, you reminded us to investigate people close to us, so we looked into Qin Yuexiang. Over the years, she got married, had a daughter, and settled in another city. After her husband passed away, she and her daughter lived a normal life—nothing unusual. They only came back to the capital for her daughter’s treatment—better hospitals here."

Indeed, for Qin Yuexiang, choosing a well-off husband over Fu Dongfeng in her youth was a wrong turn in life, just fate’s whims. Later, the Fu family regained their wealth, and Fu Dongfeng became a tycoon, while her own family's circumstances remained modest. Fu Dongfeng's happy family life grew increasingly distant from her, and she never imagined any reconnection.

But when her daughter fell ill and medical expenses piled up, Ding Jie suddenly contacted her, offering financial support and promising to help her win Fu Dongfeng back, making her the next Mrs. Fu. Unable to resist the temptation, she agreed. She knew the Dings and FUs were archenemies but didn’t dwell on it, assuming Ding Jie simply wanted to spite the Fu family.

Whatever the reason, she stood to gain. If successful, she’d become a wealthy socialite, and her daughter would grow up as a privileged heiress, marrying into affluence—they’d be set for life. Even if it failed, Fu Dongfeng was a stand-up guy who wouldn’t retaliate. Any backlash would land on Ding Jie, and she could simply leave the capital with her daughter, whose illness would already be treated. Either way, she’d benefit.

With this win-win deal, Qin Yuexiang eagerly cooperated with Ding Jie, even dieting, exercising, and beautifying herself to ensure she was in top form to stir up trouble at the banquet.

Since Qin Yuexiang hadn’t done anything outright malicious yet, Xu Ziyan couldn’t accuse her of wrongdoing. She simply joked, "Dad’s old flame is coming? I’ll have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t get too close to you."

Li Yunhui laughed. "Good. Daughters really are their mom’s little confidante. You help me watch your dad."

Xu Ziyan thought, *This is just a setup for drugging and then catching them in the act. I’ll get my stepbrother to help me keep a tight watch.*

Then, she spotted Ding Jie’s father’s name on the list and asked in surprise, "We’re inviting the Ding family too?"

Fu Dongfeng smiled. "Lately, you and Ding Yao have been getting along, haven’t you? This sends a message that the younger generation is willing to reconcile. As for Ding Jie’s little schemes, we’re showing magnanimity by not holding grudges."

"Got it. Ding Jie stole the game and botched it, embarrassing the Ding family. Now, we’re twisting the knife. If Old Dingtou doesn’t show up, he’s petty. If he does, it’ll remind everyone of their disgrace. Who knew Dad could be so sneaky?"

Fu Dongfeng coughed a few times, suddenly grateful he couldn’t hear her inner monologue—at least he wouldn’t know how his seemingly obedient daughter was roasting him in her mind. Considering this was the "first love" incident, he was oddly looking forward to it. If he stopped hearing her thoughts afterward, it would mean his fate had truly changed, and their family’s tragic cannon-fodder destiny would be overturned!

So this was make-or-break—nothing could go wrong.

With that in mind, Fu Dongfeng took Li Yunhui back to their room, claiming they needed to discuss banquet arrangements, though in reality, they were strategizing how to handle the crisis—and how to outmaneuver their opponents.

Meanwhile, Ding Jie had been studying the confidential documents Lin Xiaoyun stole. Even Fu Qixuan had taken time to identify flaws in the secret project before shelving it. No matter how talented Ding Jie was, he couldn’t spot the issues immediately. Instead, he saw only its brilliance, aligning perfectly with his intel—proof that Fu Corporation was indeed preparing a groundbreaking venture.

If he presented this as Ding Corporation’s project, he could redeem himself and earn everyone’s admiration.

Most importantly, this test run proved Xu Ziyan was truly helping him—no interference, no slip-ups, and no leaks to the Fu family. According to Lin Xiaoyun, Fu Qixuan hadn’t noticed the files were tampered with and treated her as usual. Their operation had gone undetected.

This long-planted mole had accomplished something major, restoring Ding Jie’s confidence after a string of failures. His trust in Xu Ziyan was renewed. The game incident must have been Fu Qiming’s scheme—Xu Ziyan had been left in the dark.

So, ahead of the banquet, Ding Jie contacted Xu Ziyan again, meeting her at a café to discuss Qin Yuexiang.

Cautious, he avoided mentioning the plan to seduce Fu Dongfeng, instead framing it as Qin Yuexiang’s tragic past and a supposed misunderstanding with Fu Dongfeng. He asked Xu Ziyan to arrange a private meeting for them to clear the air.

Amused, Xu Ziyan agreed. Seeing Ding Jie’s hopeful gaze, she felt a thrill—Once this arc wraps up, most of the story would be resolved. She was confident it would go smoothly. Lately, luck seemed to favor her, a payoff for relentlessly boosting her fortune stat.

As she finished her coffee, the system alerted her: *Host, Bai Qingqing is nearby.*

Following the prompt, Xu Ziyan spotted Bai Qingqing hiding behind a car in the distance. She snapped a photo and slid it across the table to Ding Jie, tapping the screen with a smirk. "What’s this? Are you two serious? She followed you here—Is she worried we’re hooking up? So you two are true love, and she’s treating me like the other woman?"

Ding Jie’s face darkened at the sight of Bai Qingqing in the photo. *Now of all times?* He needed Xu Ziyan’s cooperation, and Bai Qingqing was ruining it!

He stood up immediately. "I'll go talk to her and clear things up. Don’t get the wrong idea—we've known each other for so long, when have I ever flirted with other women?"

Ding Jie walked out toward Bai Qingqing. Xu Ziyan watched as Bai Qingqing looked like a startled little rabbit and couldn't help but tut in amusement. "No wonder she's the female lead. This pure, fragile act isn't something just anyone can pull off. And guys eat that up—good thing I'm not the original host and don't love him."

Bai Qingqing took the initiative first. "Did I disturb you? I'm sorry, I didn’t plan to come, but I just couldn’t help myself when I found out you were meeting her here. I wanted to see how you two interact. After all... after all, you publicly said before that she was your girlfriend..."

"You don’t trust me?" Ding Jie frowned, his tone turning cold.

Bai Qingqing quickly shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry, don’t be angry. I just... I just lack confidence. I can’t believe you’d really choose me over her. I come from nothing, and I don’t have any special talents—I can’t compare to her in any way..."

When she positioned herself as utterly vulnerable, Ding Jie couldn’t stay harsh. This move always worked. Sure enough, Ding Jie took a deep breath and sighed. "Don’t say that. You’re wonderful—you have many strengths she doesn’t. Don’t belittle yourself. And don’t overthink things. Things between us aren’t what you think. It’s just a partnership. Do this for me—go back first..."

Ding Jie turned around and realized Xu Ziyan was already gone. His words trailed off. It suddenly struck him that this was a critical moment for his return to the Ding family, yet he’d just angered Xu Ziyan over some silly love triangle. Wasn’t he just sabotaging himself? Looking back at Bai Qingqing, his heart softened less, replaced by irritation. Why couldn’t she just listen and behave? Why cause trouble at such an important time?

Xu Ziyan had no interest in watching their performance. The moment the system notified her that she’d completed the plot point of discussing how to scheme against Fu Dongfeng with Ding Jie, she left. Ding Jie was such a dog—no matter how handsome he was, she didn’t want to look at him. And what was that nonsense he’d just spouted? That "I've never messed around" crap?

On the surface, it sounded like clarification, but it was all semantics. He and Bai Qingqing weren’t flirting—they were outright in a relationship. When he told Xu Ziyan not to misunderstand, he meant it literally, not as an explanation to a girlfriend. But someone like the original host, who loved him and was strung along, would fall for it, interpreting his words as a lover’s reassurance. Ding Jie was a master at this game.

Xu Ziyan made plans with a handsome young actor her company had just signed. "Come shopping with me for outfits. How about being my escort at my dad’s birthday banquet?"

He agreed immediately. Without hesitation, Xu Ziyan pulled out Ding Jie’s card, not only kitting the young actor out in new clothes but also buying multiple sets of men’s and women’s outfits to send to the company for their signed artists to wear.

Naturally, she didn’t skimp on herself. She even called Ding Jie, putting on her sweetest, fakest voice. "You made me angry earlier, so I’m buying a limited-edition bag as your apology. You don’t mind, do you?"

Ding Jie was used to it and replied without thinking, "Of course not. Buy two if you like them."

Xu Ziyan laughed. "They say money shows where the heart is. By that logic, I shouldn’t even worry about that delicate little flower. You’ve barely spent anything on her—how could you possibly care about her?"

Bai Qingqing was sitting right beside Ding Jie and heard every word. Her face briefly contorted before she quickly lowered her head, afraid he’d notice. Ding Jie also felt awkward. His impression of Bai Qingqing had always been that of a strong, independent girl. He respected her and never thought to win her over with money—plus, Bai Qingqing wasn’t materialistic and wouldn’t accept expensive gifts.

But hearing it laid out like this in front of her made him deeply uncomfortable, as if Xu Ziyan had hit the nail on the head—he really hadn’t valued Bai Qingqing.

Ding Jie brushed it off with a few vague words and quickly hung up, barely registering Xu Ziyan’s casual mention of buying outfits for her escort and the company. He’d already agreed without thinking.

Xu Ziyan grinned as she hung up. If they wanted to annoy her, she’d return the favor—let’s see who suffered more.

Soon, the day of the banquet arrived. The Fu family welcomed many distinguished guests, all prominent figures. Dressed in her gown, Xu Ziyan looked down from the second floor and sighed. "I never thought I’d attend a high-society event like this."

Ding Yao and Yang Anni arrived. The moment Xu Ziyan spotted them, she headed downstairs. There was still a plot point with Ding Yao to complete—today was the perfect occasion. Let's make some trouble!