Chapter 20: The Adopted Daughter of a Wealthy Family Leaks Telepathy 20 New Story Started “Mom…

Chapter 20: The Tycoon’s Adopted Daughter Reveals Her Thoughts 20 (New story "Mom..." is live!)

When Ding Yao met Fu Qixuan, he felt instinctively awkward. However, Fu Qixuan greeted him with a smile and asked Lin Xiaoyun to bring in some coffee.

Lin Xiaoyun deliberately freshened up her makeup before entering the CEO’s office, drawing a few whispered comments from onlookers. She didn’t seem like someone who focused on work, yet both the CEO and his sister treated her well. Were they really involved?

001: "Congratulations, Host. Mission accomplished: Damaging Fu Qixuan’s image, you’ve successfully brought Lin Xiaoyun closer to him."

Xu Ziyan let out a long sigh before it even finished speaking. "Finally done. I thought it was glitched—turns out it had to affect the boss’s image among the employees. Same reward as always."

Ding Yao gave Fu Qixuan and Lin Xiaoyun a surprised glance. He never thought he’d eavesdrop on this—were they involved? Since when did Fu Qixuan do office flings? But what exactly was the reward? He still hadn’t heard it.

Fu Qixuan, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, quickly dismissed Lin Xiaoyun.

Lin Xiaoyun thought to herself, so Xu Ziyan and Ding Yao really were investing together. That D-list star, Yang Anni, was truly lucky. Just because Ding Yao and Song Jie were at odds, she went from being a fling to an 'official' girlfriend—and even sucked up to Xu Ziyan into becoming her best friend.

If Yang Anni could win Xu Ziyan over, then she could definitely use Xu Ziyan to get closer to Fu Qixuan faster.

She even snitched about Ding Yao seeking out Xu Ziyan to Ding Jie, which made him feel slightly better. He still remembered how Xu Ziyan had once defended him, saying he was the truly capable one deserving of the heir’s position, while Ding Yao was just a spoiled trust-fund brat who didn’t deserve it.

When they’d bumped into each other on the street last time, Xu Ziyan hadn’t given Ding Yao a friendly look either. Now, if she was doing this, it must be to help him. Ding’s father and the shareholders had sent Ding Yao away from the company to gain experience at a subsidiary. If they found out he was skipping work to start an entertainment company with a D-list star—and worse, with the Fu family, their archnemeses—they’d hit the roof.

It seemed that even while chewing him out, Xu Ziyan was still helping him in secret.

001: "Congratulations, Host. Mission accomplished: Gained the male lead’s trust, satisfied him, and deepened your relationship."

Xu Ziyan did a double take. "What plot was this again? In the original story, I’d cover for Lin Xiaoyun while she stole company secrets. Lin Xiaoyun would tell him I was genuinely helping him, so he’d fully trust me and reveal his father’s first love’s identity, asking for my help.

But I haven’t done anything this time—how did the mission complete? Did spending nearly ten million of his money make him satisfied? Trust me more? Haha, makes zero sense!"

Still, completing a mission was a good thing. Xu Ziyan decided not to waste time overthinking it—she never bothered with inefficient tasks. Recalling Ding Yao’s tone on the phone, she asked curiously, "What did you want to talk about? Is your little brother about to face trouble?"

Ding Yao, reminded of his purpose, visibly perked up and pulled out a report, placing it in front of Xu Ziyan.

She flipped it open. "A paternity test?! No way—Ding Jie’s getting exposed early! Let’s see how he keeps acting high-and-mighty in the Ding family now."

001: "...Host, exposing this early seems like a major deviation from the plot. The whole storyline could implode! Why are you happy about this?"

"Oh, right. But I can’t help feeling glad he’s about to suffer. What loser gets to be the male lead? Who even reads books like this?"

001: "There are all kinds of books. It’s just that the well-written worlds don’t need taskers to interfere. Stories like this exist because their illogical setups create too much resentment among the characters, requiring someone to step in and follow the plot."

Who knew the assigned tasker wouldn’t follow the plot either? Now they could only take things step by step. Whether the world collapsed would ultimately depend on how the world consciousness judged the situation—what degree counted as a severe deviation.

Ding Yao frowned. Exposing it early wasn’t an option? Then what should he do? Having such a big trump card but being unable to use it was frustrating. Especially knowing how ruthless Ding Jie was and how Song Jie had betrayed his mother—he really wanted to teach them a lesson.

Just then, Fu Qixuan walked over with coffee. "Interested in teaming up? I can’t stand illegitimate children. The Ding family only survived their crisis last generation thanks to your maternal grandparents’ help. Now, some illegitimate child is reaping the benefits—your mom would be rolling in her grave.

And given Ding Jie’s methods, if you lose, he’ll stomp on you. You won’t get a happy ending."

He wasn’t wrong. Ding Yao nodded seriously. "How do you propose we work together?"

Xu Ziyan also looked at Fu Qixuan with interest. The Fu and Ding families teaming up? That wasn’t in the original plot. Was it because she’d partnered with Ding Yao and started working by Fu Qixuan’s side that they’d met and come up with this idea?

Once again, she marveled at the butterfly effect.

Fu Qixuan laid out his plan—securing projects, leveraging shares, winning over shareholders—all typical cutthroat business moves. Even though Xu Ziyan had been outstanding in her past career, she’d never experienced business battles from a CEO’s perspective. Listening now, she felt like she was learning a lot. No wonder Fu Qixuan had taken over the Fu Group at such a young age.

She glanced at Ding Yao, who looked lost. Wow, this guy was a clueless newbie—no wonder he was called a useless playboy. He hadn’t understood a thing. But this reminded her: "Listening any further will melt my brain. I’m here to relax, not to overwork. Nope, not listening."

Fu Qixuan paused briefly before continuing. "Ding Yao, you’re the key to this plan. If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll assign someone to help you. It’d be best if you also had trusted people assisting you. Xiao Yan only needs to occasionally play along to deceive Ding Jie."

Xu Ziyan and Ding Yao nodded simultaneously, then exchanged a glance before looking back at Fu Qixuan. Fu Qixuan broke the plan into smaller steps, explaining what they needed to do now and how to coordinate.

Initially, he’d worried Ding Yao might refuse—after all, this was the Ding family’s internal affair. But Ding Yao was currently backed into a corner. His grandparents had passed away, and his own abilities were no match for Ding Jie and Lao Dingtou. Staring at disaster, he was willing to take a gamble with Fu Qixuan, regardless of the latter’s ultimate motives.

As archnemeses, he’d always been overshadowed by Fu Qixuan and deeply respected his capabilities. If they won, he’d gain control of the Ding Group and continue collaborating with Fu Qixuan. He wouldn’t even need to manage it—hiring a professional would suffice.

If they lost, it’d mean Fu Qixuan sank the Ding Group, but that father-son pair wouldn’t benefit either. For him, losing the company wasn’t the end—he still had his mom’s fat stacks. Better than being crippled and turned into a beggar by Ding Jie, right?

And so, the two reached an agreement. Even 001 short-circuited—wasn’t this a severe deviation from the plot? The descendants of sworn rivals were teaming up!

Xu Ziyan also realized this, but the world remained stable. She concluded that as long as they kept it hidden from the male lead, there wouldn’t be an issue. Just like how the system had deemed her "commission plot" complete because the male lead believed she’d demanded payment. In the world of the book, the male lead’s perception was crucial—perhaps the female lead’s too, though she hadn’t met her yet. That could wait.

Seeing Fu Qixuan had finished explaining, Xu Ziyan recalled more of Ding Yao’s plot. "I think Ding Jie set a trap for Ding Yao at the subsidiary—something about making a project blow up to prove he’s incompetent and lose the shareholders’ confidence.

What else? Ding Yao noticed something was off, confronted Ding Jie, got provoked into hitting him, was scolded by Lao Dingtou, then had a huge fight and moved out. Ding Jie successfully drove the heir out of the Ding family, and people in their circle gossiped about how the legitimate heir had been outshone by an illegitimate child—dragging Ding Yao as they fake-pitied him.

Then Ding Jie sent lackeys to rope him into drinking, partying, and gambling. Tsk tsk. Hey, if I helped play out these plots, would I get rewards? But Ding Yao’s alright—maybe skip this part."

Ding Yao, now aware of his general situation, felt slightly relieved—at least he wasn’t completely in the dark. If Xu Ziyan completing plots earned her rewards, he decided to go pick a fight with Ding Jie as soon as he got back. After all, being kicked out of the main company was Ding Jie’s doing anyway—might as well settle the score early—payback’s a bitch.

After wrapping up business, Ding Yao chatted with them for a bit. He’d snatched back his mother’s jewelry. Apparently, Song Jie had pitched a fit with Ding’s father and got scolded for it. If she hadn’t flaunted it online out of vanity, no one would’ve noticed.

Besides, this whole mess started because Song Jie had paid trolls to trash-talk Yang Anni. Whether the family approved or not, Yang Anni was Ding Yao’s girlfriend—Song Jie had brought this on herself. Ding’s father punished her by cutting off her allowance for a year and shipped her overseas, forbidding her return until the rumors died down.

Ding Jie seemed secretly seething for his mother and angry, but he couldn’t defy his father. He said nothing and quietly saw her off.

Xu Ziyan smiled and reminded him, "Your dad handles problems decisively—just like how he kicked you out of the company. If you’re going up against him, be careful."

Touched by her concern, Ding Yao said, "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to protect myself."

Xu Ziyan fake-gasped and rolled her eyes. "I don’t care if you get into trouble—just don’t drag us into it."

Ding Yao’s jaw dropped, grabbed the paternity report, and stood to leave. If he stayed any longer, he might actually get upset. Poor him, with no one who cared. Wait—no, there was still Anni. Time to find his sugar baby. Maybe transfer more assets to her, so if things went south, she could live comfortably elsewhere.

Not long after, Yang Anni sent Xu Ziyan a voice message, squealing: "Sis Ziyan! What did you say to Ding Yao? He just signed over a mega-mansion to me—the biggest one under his name! Oh my god! When I asked why, he wouldn’t say."

Xu Ziyan had no idea what had gotten into him. "Just take it if he’s giving. Who cares why?"

"Obviously! I accepted it right away and layed one on him."

Xu Ziyan loved this kind of straightforwardness. What did material things have to do with genuine feelings? It wasn’t like refusing everything made you noble. The Fu family had given her so much money, and now they were practically one big happy family!—money really does buy love.

On her first day of work, Xu Ziyan spent the morning shopping and the afternoon relaxing. In the evening, she went home with Fu Qixuan for dinner and found the whole family gathered, stone-faced.

"What’s going on?" she asked.

Li Yunhui said, "The dirt we dug up about the people around us is out. Your brother-in-law..."

Fu Yazhen calmly interjected, "Is trash. So I’m choosing to terminate."