“The car is over here.”
He Chan stopped walking. “I’m going to stay at Xiangxiang’s place.”
“If I didn’t call you, were you planning not to come home?” He Zheng opened the car door for her, his tone unusually firm. “Get in.”
She lowered her head and sat in the back seat, her expression distant as she gazed out the window.
He Zheng sighed. His daughter had truly grown up. She had probably been badly hurt this time, but without this approach, she might never have come to her senses.
“Why did you come over today?”
He Chan clenched both fists and spoke urgently, afraid of being misunderstood. “Dad, it’s not that I can’t stand Miss He doing well, and I haven’t been unable to let go of Shang Xu. I didn’t want The Shang Family to deceive you. I only recently discovered that Shang Xu has someone else he likes. The Shang Family has only ever wanted to take advantage of us.”
“You finally saw through them? Before, you wouldn’t listen no matter what I said.”
He Chan lowered her head in shame. “I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
He Zheng asked, “What if I agreed to The Shang Family’s conditions, provided that Shang Xu married you?”
“I don’t want someone with no sincerity and nothing but personal gain in mind.” He Chan’s face filled with disgust. “That family is absolutely revolting.”
“You pursued him for so many years. You’re not unwilling to accept this, are you?”
“No. I regret only realizing The Shang Family’s true colors now. I don’t even know what possessed me before. That Shang Xu is a scumbag.”
After speaking passionately, she looked awkwardly at Miss He. “You won’t be angry that I said that, will you?”
Miss He smiled at her. “You’re right. Why would I be angry?”
“Didn’t you like him too?”
“Tingting has never liked him. Since you seem to have truly given up on Shang Xu, there’s no harm in telling you the truth.”
He Father did, after all, feel sorry for his daughter. Seeing that she had recognized The Shang Family’s true colors, he decided to stop hiding it from her.
“What truth?”
“Tingting isn’t my daughter. I hired her for an impersonation.”
“What?” He Chan stared at Miss He, stunned and rigid.
Miss He nodded at her openly. “I thought this acting job could continue for a while. Looks like my part-time job has come to an end.”
“Acting? Part-time job? Then all of this…”
“It was all fake. From beginning to end, you have always been Mr. He’s daughter.”
“This… this…”
Seeing her vacant stare, He Zheng frowned. “What? Now that you know the truth, are you still thinking of pursuing Shang Xu? Dad won’t indulge you anymore this time.”
“Of course not. How could I like him again? I only want to know how you came up with this idea.”
“Ji Yan suggested it. It worked well. We’ll have to find time to thank him properly.”
He Father felt relieved, and the gloom of his former worries had vanished from his face. His disgust toward The Shang Family, however, remained.
“This time, I realized how disgraceful The Shang Family is. You pursued Shang Xu for so many years, and his parents used to insist that they liked you. Yet the moment Tingting appeared, they changed their attitude. They didn’t only wrong you—they looked down on me too! Did they think controlling you meant they could control me? Hmph!”
Hearing He Father say this, He Chan grew even more ashamed. “Dad, I’m sorry. I made you do so many difficult things before.”
“It’s not too late for you to turn back.” He Father was beaming. “It seems Dad still holds a higher place in your heart than Shang Xu. You realized they were deceiving Dad and rushed over to warn me.”
He Chan still felt uneasy. “So I really am your daughter? Dad, you wouldn’t say this to comfort me, would you? Otherwise, how do you explain Miss He looking so much like you and Mother?”
“How could we have deceived The Shang Family without finding someone who looked like you?”
Miss He smiled too. “I wish I were the True Heiress. In these few short days, I’ve seen more of the world than I had in half a lifetime, and I’ve received many gifts I used to be unwilling to buy. Miss He, Mr. He truly dotes on you. From now on, call me Xu Ting.”
He Chan paused and narrowed her eyes. “No. Please keep pretending to be He Ting for a while longer. So many strange people have appeared in a few days. I want to see how many more surprises there are.”
He Zheng asked, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll mistreat you again?”
He Chan’s chest swelled with confidence. “I’m still Dad’s daughter. What do I have to fear?”
“That’s my bright and magnanimous little girl, He Chan. You used to run after Shang Xu all day and constantly compromise for him, as if you’d been bewitched.”
“Looking back now, I think so too. In terms of family background, The Shang Family isn’t powerful enough to cover the sky with one hand. In terms of looks and talent, Ji Yan alone is better than him. As for character, there’s no need to compare. What was wrong with me before?”
The more He Chan spoke, the more disgusted she felt. Chasing after Shang Xu had become the greatest stain on her life.
“That’s why you should learn from Su Xiang. Her judgment is better than yours.”
He Chan raised her hand. “I don’t dare get involved with men again anytime soon. Someone like Ji Yan is one in ten thousand. I’m fine on my own.”
In recent days, she had not only seen Shang Xu clearly, but Fu Jia and Jiang Yi as well.
She had thought they were merely playboys who willingly dated their ex-girlfriends. She never expected that, after falling into dire circumstances, they would set their sights on her—and use such revolting expressions and tones.
Whenever she remembered their lecherous eyes and greasy voices, she nearly vomited up the food from the night before.
He Zheng said gently, “Mm. Dad can support you.”
“We might as well toy with The Shang Family a little more. They took advantage of us so many times before. We can’t let it go.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Shang Xu treats Lin Ranran differently. He toyed with my feelings, so I want him to experience what it feels like to push the person he likes farther and farther away.”
As she spoke, He Chan paused again. “But will this hurt Lin Ranran?”
Miss He said, “I think you’re saving her from a scumbag. If Lin Ranran still can’t see Shang Xu’s true colors after all this, then she has no one else to blame.”
“What you said does seem to make some sense.”
Freed from her psychological burden, He Chan excitedly shared her plan with Su Xiang.
Su Xiang asked, “Uncle He told you everything?”
“He did.” After returning to her room, He Chan felt much more at ease. “You really kept it tightly hidden. But if you hadn’t done this, I’m afraid I would have gradually lost myself and everything truly precious!”
“It’s enough that you don’t blame us for coming up with this terrible idea.”
“How is this a terrible idea? It’s brilliant! I never would have guessed that Ji Yan, who looks so serious on the surface, has so many wicked ideas underneath. Tell me honestly, as a fellow woman—does Ji Yan have a particularly hidden side in private?”
Su Xiang’s face reddened. “What are you talking about?”
He Chan chuckled. “Looks like I’m at least eighty or ninety percent right. At the very least, he isn’t as gentle and refined as he appears.”
“If you keep being so improper, I’m hanging up.”
“All right, all right, I won’t tease you. But seriously, Ji Yan really is excellent. Keep an eye on him, or someone with ulterior motives might snatch him away.”
“That won’t happen. Don’t worry. Ji Yan isn’t the kind of person who is fickle.” Su Xiang’s tone was firm.
✦✦✦