Chapter 17: The Faux Heiress Flower Vase Actress in Modern Society (17)

“I’m not going back. You should leave.” Xian Du turned her back, forcing herself to speak calmly, though the slight tremble in her fingertips betrayed her anger.

“Xian Du, it’s all in the past now. Mom has woken up, Dad knows he was wrong. Isn’t it better for our family to be reunited?” Jiang Xiuwen knew Xian Du was heartbroken, but after all, this was the family that had raised her for over twenty years. She insisted on going back to see them.

Jiang Xiuwen was the original owner’s older brother, said to have grown up alongside her. Although Jiang Xian Du was no longer his biological sister, their bond remained deep.

Xian Du had no memory of the original owner’s first seventeen years but during the five years abroad, unlike their indifferent father, Jiang Xiuwen often showed concern for her.

That was why Xian Du agreed to meet him.

They met in a vast mountain valley to talk.

Xian Du had initially thought Jiang Xiuwen came on behalf of the Jiang family to apologize, believing that while it couldn’t erase what the original owner had suffered, it might at least bring some peace to her soul.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Xiuwen began by recounting how hard their father had struggled all these years—caring for their comatose mother while pushing N-39 into the market and managing the massive Jiang Technologies empire...

He claimed their father’s decision to give her up was because no one could manage both responsibilities under such circumstances. His choice was understandable.

Xian Du wanted to interrupt, but the images in her mind grew clearer with Jiang Xiuwen’s words:

The entire kidnapping five years ago!

The N-39, which determined her fate, was actually developed by the original owner herself!

Jiang Xiuwen, trying to persuade Xian Du to return home, failed to notice the rising fury in her eyes.

Yet, out of respect for him being her brother, Xian Du turned away and told him to leave.

This was her final warning.

But Jiang Xiuwen dared to urge her to let everything go, to fulfill their father’s wish by pretending nothing had happened and playing along with this family reunion charade!

“What do you mean ‘it’s all in the past’?” Xian Du spun around and shouted at Jiang Xiuwen, tears welling up in her eyes.

“If it weren’t for Mom waking up now, would you, Jiang Lei, or the entire Jiang family ever realize your mistakes?”

“You’re all pretending! Jiang Lei is the best at it! Do you know why I lost the first seventeen years of my memory?”

Xian Du glared at Jiang Xiuwen. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she continued:

“That’s because the kidnappers couldn’t get their hands on N-39, so they changed tactics—they took my body! Because they knew that inside me was the mother solution of N-39! It was Jiang Lei who injected it into me to test the drug’s effects!”

“The kidnappers had no idea that I was the one who developed N-39, because even its release to the market was under Jiang Lei’s name!”

“He shamelessly stole my achievement and painted himself as a devoted husband! So many people believed it. Jiang Xiuwen, don’t you know anything about the kidnapping? Or are you just pretending not to?”

“He could have handed over N-39 to the kidnappers to get me back, then re-synthesized the mother solution! But Jiang Lei clung to the mother solution, unwilling to risk losing it even if it meant my death! He watched me die! The kidnappers then attacked me, stealing seventeen years of my life!”

Tears overflowed from Xian Du’s eyes, spilling down like pearls.

“At that time, I was still his biological daughter! But when he knew I had lost my memories, he abandoned me abroad. Five whole years—Jiang Lei never asked a single question!”

“The first kidnapping, I was lucky to escape. But the second time, even after that, he showed no remorse. If given another chance, he would make the same choice again!”

Jiang Xiuwen’s lips moved, trying to speak, but Xian Du raised her hand to stop him, turning her head away.

“You might say, by then I was no longer his biological daughter. When it comes to saving family or a stranger, anyone would choose family.”

“But isn’t that even more ironic? The thing I developed, controlled by someone with no blood relation, yet I lost my life because of it. You all took N-39 to save someone who couldn’t possibly have woken up then!”

Exhausted, Xian Du’s whole body swayed, but she forced herself to stand firm.

Her vengeance for the original owner was still waiting to be fulfilled!

“But you’re still alive now, standing here healthy. That means we still have a chance to start over...” Jiang Xiuwen stepped forward to steady her, but she shook him off.

Surviving the first kidnapping was pure luck; that couldn’t justify anyone holding her hostage!

Besides, after the second kidnapping, the original owner was severely injured and became a vegetative patient, with less than three years left to live!

If Xian Du hadn’t come into this body, the original owner might never have made it this far!

“I’m alive because I refused to give up on myself and fought to break free. What do you Jiang family members have to do with it?”

“Do you know what Jiang Lei told the kidnappers during the second abduction? He said, since I’m not family, if I die, so be it. He even said my life wasn’t worth that much! He discarded me like trash!”

“Even though I was his daughter for twenty-two years, he never thought to save me first. Instead, he weighed my value! Why would I go back to such a cold and ruthless family just because of an insincere apology from him?”

“And do you know,” Xian Du sobbed, her emotions overwhelming her body, “during the second kidnapping, the kidnappers even sent him photos of me, bleeding and barely alive. It didn’t stir a shred of conscience in him! After I escaped, he didn’t check on my injuries. Instead, worried about how it might affect Jiang Technologies’ stock price, he erased all traces of the kidnappers!”

Gu Qianxi had told Xian Du that the Jiang family wiped out all evidence of those kidnappers so cleanly that without Gu’s underworld connections, none of this would have surfaced.

“Do you know what it feels like to have your spinal fluid and blood drained from your body? The kidnappers didn’t even give me anesthesia, fearing it would affect the mother solution’s purity! Do you know what it’s like to have broken ribs piercing your internal organs? To choke on the metallic taste of blood with every breath?”

Xian Du pointed at Jiang Xiuwen, stepping closer and forcing him to retreat.

“You have no idea! When I was fighting for my life, what were you doing? Celebrating Jiang You’an’s birthday! That was also my birthday! Announcing my fiancé was also my boyfriend! I was kidnapped at our doorstep, and you used the money earned from N-39, bought with my life, to build the current Jiang empire and gain power—and you expect me to forgive you and rejoin this family? Aren’t you disgusted with yourselves?”

Recalling more, Xian Du gave a bitter laugh. “What’s her name again... Jiang You’an! May she be blessed with peace all her life! And me, Jiang Xian Du—refined, beautiful, obedient. I was so obedient I almost lost my life! So even he knew his child was doomed! Things I begged for all my life, she, Jiang You’an, got effortlessly! And with the money bought by my blood and flesh, she suppresses, bullies, and exploits me!”

“If I forgive you, then there’s truly no morality or justice left!”

“First and foremost, I am myself. Then, whose daughter or friend I am comes second. Only I have the right to say this is in the past. You, Jiang Lei, and the entire Jiang family have no right, nor any qualification!”

Exhausted, Xian Du collapsed to her knees. Jiang Xiuwen reached out to help her up, but she pushed his hand away.

“Get lost! Don’t let me see any Jiang family members again! Just breathing the same air as you makes me sick!”

Glancing back to see Jiang Xiuwen still standing there, she shouted again, “Go away!”

Once his figure disappeared from sight, Xian Du ignored the snow beneath her and collapsed onto it.

[Host...] Wangcai was deeply distressed—for it had never seen the usually composed, resourceful host display such emotional turmoil.

[Host, get up first, the ground is cold...]

“…I’ll just rest for a moment… just a moment…” Xian Du closed her eyes and fainted.

[Host? Host!]

Wangcai was frantic. The snow was cold, her costume thin, and she had just fainted from weakness. If this continued, she would surely fall ill, maybe even go into shock!

Someone, please save the host!