Chapter 4: The Adopted Daughter of a Wealthy Family Leaks Telepathy 4 It’s the Reward She Wants Most…

Chapter 4: The Rich Family’s Adopted Daughter Spills Her Thoughts (4)

This was the reward she’d been hoping for...

After finishing her meal, Xu Ziyan immediately asked the butler, Uncle Wang, to prepare a car for her. She then went back to her room to pack her things, ready to leave. She moved so briskly, you’d think she was heading on vacation, not getting kicked out.

The Fu family, though, started panicking. Li Yunhui said, "Are we really cutting ties with her and making her move out? Once she leaves, we won’t know anything about the plot anymore."

Fu Dongfeng, unusually hesitant, added, "This is the simplest way to stay on script right now. If we don’t, all the other plotlines might deviate, and the butterfly effect could become even worse."

At that moment, Fu Qiming received two messages—the investigation he had ordered earlier had yielded results. The gangsters who’d stabbed him were locked up in Shenshi Prison, just as she’d said, though the specifics would require a visit the next day to confirm.

More importantly, Li Dong was truly addicted to gambling and up to his neck in debt.

Without waiting for the prison visit results, Fu Qiming was now completely convinced of Xu Ziyan’s words!

He spiked his phone onto the bed, pacing angrily around his room. "Damn this ridiculous plot! My ‘best friend’ is a fraud, my ‘sister’ is a backstabber, and my whole family is just cannon fodder paving the way for that bastard! Who cares about the butterfly effect? I’m going to find Ding Jie and take him down with me. Who the hell does he think he is, the ‘hero’?"

Fu Qiming was about to storm out when Fu Dongfeng grabbed him. "Enough! Calm down! What good will losing your temper do? Sacrificing yourself just to hurt them—since when is that our way? Right now, we need to figure out how to avoid the plot’s trajectory, escape our cannon-fodder fate, and prevent the world from collapsing. As long as we’re alive, we’ll make them pay, sooner or later."

Fu Qiming slumped into a chair, running a hand through his hair. "Then let’s keep Xu Ziyan here. We can use her inner thoughts to understand the plot. At least we’ll know what’s coming and where the dangers lie. If we’re gonna die, I’d rather die with my eyes open. Forget about the butterfly effect—she’s already refusing to follow the plot or help Ding Jie. What’s one more deviation?

"Honestly, right now, only the three of us can hear her thoughts, and only within a certain distance. What if one day everyone can hear them, or worse, we can’t hear them at all? It’s better to take advantage of the situation now and gather as much information as we can."

Li Yunhui nodded. "Keeping her here also means we can protect her from Ding Jie’s schemes. And we can try to exploit loopholes—didn’t the system come up with the fake-death idea? Maybe cutting ties can just be in name only."

Fu Qiming and Fu Dongfeng exchanged a glance before Fu Qiming stood up. "I’ll go. I was the one who wanted to kick her out in the first place."

Fu Qiming grabbed a new phone, blocked Xu Ziyan, and posted a post only the Fu family and Ding Jie could see, declaring that Xu Ziyan was no longer part of the Fu family. From then on, whether she lived or died was no longer their problem.

Then he banged loudly on Xu Ziyan’s door. "What’s taking so long? Hurry up and get out! Don’t even try to linger!"

Xu Ziyan had only packed some valuables, documents, and a few favorite outfits—just enough to fill one suitcase. She snapped it closed, opened the door, and rolled her eyes. "If you want me to leave faster, help me carry the suitcase downstairs. Oh, and have someone send the rest of my things to my new place."

"With you being this unhinged, I wouldn’t stay even if you begged me. Freak."

Fu Qiming took a deep breath. Did she not even consider what the original Xu Ziyan had done? And now she was calling *him* a freak in her thoughts? He was being more than patient! He thrust his phone under her nose, displaying the post. "Read. It. Carefully! The Fu family is cutting ties with you. You’re officially kicked out. Now move!"

Before Xu Ziyan could fully process the words "cutting ties," Fu Qiming grabbed the suitcase and stomped downstairs. Seething over Li Dong’s gambling lies and with no outlet for his anger, he stomped so hard the floor shook.

Xu Ziyan, however, found it oddly amusing. "001, look at him—he’s so mad but still carrying my luggage. Is he into punishment or what? And there’s an elevator right there! Haha!"

Fu Qiming nearly tripped on the stairs, his rage intensifying. Whether it was the old Xu Ziyan or the new one, she was just as much of a pain in the ass!

Once in the car, Xu Ziyan was surprised when Fu Qiming, after loading her luggage, slid into the passenger seat.

Xu Ziyan frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Fu Qiming crossed his arms. "I’m here to watch you go. No funny business."

He needed to know if this counted as following the plot and completing the task. How else could he eavesdrop on her mind?

The book described Fu Qiming as hot-tempered but otherwise decent, so Xu Ziyan wasn’t worried about him causing trouble. She cranked up her favorite playlist and peeled out of the Fu family driveway.

The Fu family's villa was massive, with beautiful scenery outside, and it was miles before another house appeared. Xu Ziyan deliberately drove slowly, taking the time to appreciate the unfamiliar surroundings she had never seen before. Listening to music, she was in a great mood.

She even had the leisure to sigh to 001: "This doesn’t feel like being kicked out at all. On TV, this would be the moment where I’d look like a wet rag, utterly miserable and crying my eyes out. But me? Driving my own luxury car, heading to my own villa, with a little brother carrying my luggage and escorting me all the way—living the dream.

Is this the perks of being the villainess? If so, I might as well struggle a bit more and complete some harmless side quests."

Fu Qiming bit back his snarky reply and perked up to listen to how the system would respond.

001: "Host, congratulations on completing the two plot points of severing ties and being kicked out. You’ve earned two skill points. Additionally, I’ve negotiated a starter kit for you—it’s a blind box, which you can open at your discretion."

As soon as 001 finished speaking, Xu Ziyan’s mind was flooded with information about the skill points. Her intellect, strength, stamina, health, looks, and other attributes all had corresponding values. An average person’s stats would be middling, and currently, only her looks were above average. The points she earned could be freely allocated to any attribute to enhance it.

These were just the foundational aspects she could unlock. Other grayed-out sections included cultivation techniques, mystic arts, shapeshifting, and many other bizarre things. Since this world didn’t have such elements, they couldn’t be unlocked. If this were a xianxia world, she could allocate points to cultivation—a massive game-breaker.

001, sensing Xu Ziyan’s joy, happily said, "This is the reward system I fought hard to negotiate with the higher-ups. Previously, rewards were just money, beauty, or love points. Now, it’s the system you truly desire deep down. Host, did I do well this time?"

Xu Ziyan froze. The system she truly desired? Thinking back, while packing earlier, she had indeed pondered rewards, wishing for something practical—something that could effortlessly boost her strength. Only by becoming stronger could she feel secure, wielding a game-breaker without the grind.

So, her subconscious had transmitted this, and the reward system was adjusted accordingly?

That… was amazing!

From now on, she wouldn’t have to kill myself grinding. She could finally coast and enjoy!

"001, you’re the best! Love you, muah!"

Fu Qiming snapped out of his thoughts at her "muah." Holy crap, this felt even more entertaining than the games he designed. He immediately straightened up. "Turn back, hurry. I just had a new idea and need to jot it down."

Xu Ziyan gave him a deadpan look. "Then get out and hail a cab. You kicked me out, and now you want me to chauffeur you back? What kind of fantasy are you living in? Forget who just told me to scram?"

"I never said ‘scram.’ I even carried your luggage—I was perfectly polite." Fu Qiming stared at her. "You’re the one who played me, right? I even gave you that game. Now you won’t even drive me back? Still mad about the post? Fine, I’ll delete it!"

With that, he deleted the post and showed his phone to Xu Ziyan, who was utterly baffled. What was going on? The firecracker's cooled off? Even the severance announcement could be deleted so casually?

But thinking about it, she had indeed taken advantage of Fu Qiming—getting a free game and using him as a pack mule. Now that he finally had a creative spark, she couldn’t just delay his work, could she? In her past life when I was grinding away, she had hated nothing more than people interrupting her tasks.

Xu Ziyan swung the car around, considerately turning off the music to give Fu Qiming a quiet space to think. She was truly kind.

She also opened the starter kit, which contained a get-out-of-jail-free card and a gold bar. These two items could follow her to any world—meaning if she didn’t use them here, she could take them to the next. If she ever faced danger or transmigrated into a penniless identity, they’d be incredibly useful.

Xu Ziyan happily praised 001 several times, then without hesitation allocated her newly earned skill points to health.

Not only was 001 stunned, even Fu Qiming was baffled. Intelligence directly affected the soul, but health and beauty were tied to each lifetime and couldn’t be carried over. What was Xu Ziyan thinking?

Hearing 001’s question, Xu Ziyan laughed. "Haven’t even figured out how to survive yet—why worry about that? All I know is, these two points cured my headache instantly. The world could glitch out any second—live in the moment, okay? Right now, I’m physically and mentally comfortable. That’s a win."

Fu Qiming realized this Xu Ziyan was scarily clear-headed. She never hesitated, agonized, or wasted energy on anxiety—not even fear. She always understood her circumstances and knew exactly what she wanted. Even the reward system and health points were the most beneficial choices for her current situation.

It wasn’t that she didn’t plan for the long term, but when the world could collapse any second, the long term was the last thing to consider. Living well in the present was what mattered most.

Fu Qiming began to understand why the system had chosen Xu Ziyan as its task-taker. With her mindset and drive, if she were even slightly more ruthless or had lower moral standards, she’d have no trouble completing missions. Thinking about it, they should probably be grateful she didn’t treat them as cannon fodder.

When the car returned to the Fu residence, Fu Dongfeng and Li Yunhui were already waiting at the gate. Seeing the deleted post, they’d guessed things had been resolved and were anxiously waiting to beg Xu Ziyan to stay.

Spotting them, Fu Qiming said to Xu Ziyan as the car stopped, "Mom and Dad can’t bear to let you go. I should also thank you for telling me about Li Dong. Don’t leave. This time, it’s my fault."

Xu Ziyan stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. "001, did Fu Qiming have a screw loose?"

Fu Qiming got out of the car and stormed off darkly, his back radiating seething resentment.