Chapter 721: Chapter 19: The Cannon Fodder Best Friend of the Tragic Romance Heroine (19)

Cai Xian’s face was expressionless.

"Jiang Lai is my daughter. Even if she wasn’t picked up by me, she would still have been born by me.

We are destined to be mother and daughter."

"Zhizhi, you are just like your father, giving birth to a second one like him is the greatest sin I’ve committed in my life."

Cai Xian, having received a higher education, never believed in things like genetic inheritance when she was young, thinking that children are a blank canvas for adults to paint on.

So she strictly required her child, not demanding good grades, but independence, strength, and a sense of responsibility.

Worried that he might be influenced by the worldview of his grandparents back home, she took Jiang Zhi to Sea City for a better education.

And the result? No matter how hard she tried, Jiang Zhi always preferred Jiang Dao Hai, who did nothing, and stood by his side during every argument.

This inherent male selfishness left Cai Xian repeatedly terrified.

Until now, he once again showed an expression identical to Jiang Dao Hai’s.

Cai Xian completely lost hope in him.

The third generation of descendants has already been born, meaning Jiang Zhi, as a father, has completely become a second Jiang Dao Hai.

Thus, she refused to help take care of her grandson and refused to interfere in anything regarding him.

She wanted to live for herself for once and did not want to accept any moral coercion.

"Mom! Are you really my biological mother!!"

"I would rather not be."

When he brought the whole family to the supermarket to crusade against her, watching Jiang Dao Hai and grandma hit her without reacting, Cai Xian mentally stripped him of his status as her son.

She had to stay clear-headed to break away from this grotesque and rotten family.

"You are so irresponsible! You gave birth to me, so you should be responsible for me!! If you truly regarded me as your son, you wouldn’t be so ruthless toward your grandson!!"

"Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be a mom! Someone like you doesn’t deserve to have descendants!"

"If I didn’t regard you as my son, I would now be living free and alone somewhere in the world.

Your glib erases the decades of my efforts in one stroke, and it seems I truly regret it.

From now on, we are no longer mother and son. I don’t need you to support me; you can consider your mom dead."

Cai Xian didn’t want to continue this meaningless exchange, so she turned and left without any reluctance.

Jiang Lai was waiting outside, exchanged a glance with Cai Xian, and then waved.

"Let’s go home."

"Yeah, let’s go home."

——

Zhao Zhaozhao rarely stayed after her shift today; instead, she waited at the sales office for a while.

Around six o’clock, Jiang Lai returned.

She walked up pretending to be calm.

"How did it go? Where’s Auntie? I saw the news about what’s happening with your family.

Those unethical media outlets are really disgusting, recklessly reporting without knowing the truth. I even spoke up for you guys online and got cursed."

Jiang Lai wasn’t aware of what the media reported.

Little Buding explained it briefly.

Someone had taken a video at the scene, and later, after the media mosaicked the faces, it was directly posted online.

Subsequent reposts by video accounts clipped and altered it, leading to a variety of storylines, most claiming Cai Xian having an affair and the original partner beating the illegitimate daughter.

Initially, it was just one of many less standout hot news items.

Later, Jiang Zhi was interviewed.

Wang Lili, beside him, tearfully accused Cai Xian and Jiang Lai of their deeds.

"Now you’ve gone viral; everyone is sympathizing with Jiang Dao Hai wearing a green hat for over twenty years, ending up being sent to the police station by the original partner, and then the son couldn’t stand it and wanted to use public power to punish you two ... uh, illegitimate mother-daughter."

Little Buding was quite good at summarizing.

Jiang Lai had a good mindset, remaining calm even when things had come to this point.

Opposite her, Zhao Zhaozhao seemed more worried than she was.

"Lai Lai, they’re saying some pretty nasty things online; you better not go online for a while."

"Oh, what else are they saying?"

"Nothing, just don’t go out these days; people will forget as time goes by."

Jiang Lai nodded.

"You’re right, why care about what they say? Look, I have a house and money now, and my mom gave me the supermarket too. Why should I care about what those people online are saying?"

Jiang Lai finished with a laugh, a laugh that was not at all forced, filled with recklessness at the bottom of her eyes.

Zhao Zhaozhao was momentarily stunned, as if hit by Jiang Lai’s smile, unable to say a word for a long time.

Jiang Lai didn’t give her time to react, waved, and turned to leave.

The security guard at the door opened the gate for her, bowed in greeting, and warmly welcomed her.

"Welcome home, Miss Jiang."

It’s such a good place, a utopia built on money. Do people who live here truly have no worries?

Zhao Zhaozhao initially intended to comfort Jiang Lai, but she didn’t expect Jiang Lai to not care in the slightest about what people online were saying.

Is she pretending? Is she feigning strength?

Can money really be more important than one’s reputation?

With this thought, Zhao Zhaozhao pressed down the sour feeling in her heart and turned back to the sales office.

The sales manager hadn’t left either, seeing her return and proactively asked about Jiang Lai’s situation.

"Your friend is pretty famous online now."

"Yeah, their family relationships are quite a mess."

"You grew up with her; you never noticed she wasn’t their biological daughter?"

Zhao Zhaozhao shook her head.

"That’s someone else’s family business. Besides, she wouldn’t tell me such disgraceful matters."

The sales manager was just making casual conversation. It’s not good to pry too much into clients’ privacy, so he didn’t pursue the topic further.

However, Zhao Zhaozhao continued on her own.

"Manager, what kind of people buy houses here with us?"

"Our house buyers here are all top-quality clients globally, mostly wealthy tycoons with quite a heritage. You’re not unaware of that."

"I used to think so too, but now..."

The manager was sharp, instantly realizing that Zhao Zhaozhao was alluding to Jiang Lai.

"Wealth that doesn’t belong to oneself will eventually return to society in some form. But your friend’s luck is pretty good; it seems the person who bought her the house must be quite a figure."

The manager clicked his tongue.

Casually gifting a house worth millions, what a generous act.

"Your friend has good fortune, something not to be envied."

"Receiving such an expensive gift surely requires giving more in return.

People like us, even if someone offers, would probably not dare to accept it.

I still think earning money through hard work is the only way to use it with peace of mind."

The manager looked at her, his expression a bit complicated.

"You just entered society, so you don’t understand yet. You’ll know in the future."