Chapter 28
Near noon, Tang Yao found a highly-rated asian restaurant not far from the mall for lunch. The environment was nice, and the service was good, but the food was somewhat disappointing. However, adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Tang Yao ate everything clean.
After putting the gifts in the hotel, Tang Yao strolled around a nearby garden in the afternoon.
During this time, Huang Hui called, saying that a friend wanted her to embroider a double-sided piece, offering a high price, but Tang Yao refused.
In fact, quite a few other people had asked Huang Hui for help, but she had turned them all down as she knew Tang Yao's personality.
When Huang Hui was free, she transferred the payment to Tang Yao's card.
The payment was eight figures higher than the agreed price. Huang Hui explained that this was a separate payment for the fabric.
The whole day passed leisurely. By the time Tang Yao returned to the hotel, it was already evening.
Because she hadn't checked her phone much that day, she was unaware that she had been posted online and subjected to a lot of insults from netizens.
Around 1 AM this morning, while everyone was still asleep, an anonymous netizen jumped out and revealed that the person Miss Xu mentioned and was looking for on the show was actually looking for the Xu Family's illegitimate daughter.
Furthermore, it was Father Xu who forced her to go.
The anonymous netizen also released a video showing Xu Wan meeting Tang Yao at the guesthouse.
There was no live broadcast at the time and the camera angle clearly indicated it was being secretly filmed.
Uninformed viewers of this video would only perceive Tang Yao as aggressive. The legitimate heiress of the Xu Family had humbled herself to beg her to come home, yet she still gave attitude?
Xu Wan's words were also somewhat ambiguous, making it difficult for everyone to discern the truth.
Xu Wan's best friend, Sun Le, also spoke out in support, stating that she despises illegitimate daughters the most.
This statement further corroborated the anonymous netizen's revelations.
Sun Le regularly shared her life on Weibo and had accumulated a following. Everyone knew she came from a wealthy family, so her words carried some credibility. By the time most people woke up, the matter had already gone viral and trended on social media.
The words "illegitimate daughter" were particularly jarring.
Netizens were quick. They soon found Tang Yao's newly registered guesthouse account and began posting sarcastic and abusive comments under her only Weibo post.
The situation escalated rapidly, even affecting the Xu Family's company.
Not only were people criticizing Tang Yao, but others were also attacking Xu Anguo.
At noon, Xu Anguo returned home with a dark expression.
"How could this happen? How did Tang Yao become my illegitimate daughter? The company's business has been significantly impacted!"
As he said this, Xu Anguo looked at Xu Wan.
"I don't know, Dad. I just listened to you and tried to appease Tang Yao to get her to come home. I don't know how someone took these photos. Lele probably misunderstood. I'll explain it to her later," Xu Wan said innocently.
“We can’t entirely blame Wanwan. Ultimately, it’s Tang Yao who’s bringing bad luck to our family. Look, everything was fine before she came back. She’s caused so much trouble since,” Sun Yulan said.
Xu Anguo sat down irritably. “We need to clarify this as soon as possible.”
“How do we clarify it? Tell everyone that Tang Yao is actually our biological daughter?” Sun Yulan frowned.
Actually, she wasn’t very willing. After all, Tang Yao wasn’t close to her, and she grew up in a small town, not at all like Xu Wan. If word got out, her close friends would laugh at her.
Xu Anguo glanced at Xu Wan, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Comparatively, Xu Wan did bring him more benefits. Even though the Chen Family was exposed for plagiarism, they quickly spent money to quell the trending topics. Besides, the Chen Family had more than just clothing businesses. Their foundation wasn’t so easily shaken.
And based on his observations, the Ji Family and Tang Yao weren’t close. If he directly announced that Tang Yao was his biological daughter, it would do him more harm than good.
After some thought, Xu Anguo rushed back to the company without even eating and immediately instructed the public relations department to release a public relations statement.
The statement changed Tang Yao's identity from their biological daughter to their adopted daughter.
Subsequently, Sun Yulan also posted on Weibo, claiming that she was the one who facilitated the whole affair.
The comments section was filled with praise for the heartwarming gesture, with many commending Sun Yulan and Xu Anguo for their kindness.
Tang Yao naturally became the primary target of online abuse.
"They kindly adopted Tang Yao, even having their daughter come and humble herself to speak kindly, and Tang Yao didn't appreciate it."
…
Tang Yao was completely unaware that she had been betrayed by the Xu Family and was being verbally abused.
Only after returning home did she learn from a waiter that someone had delivered something to her that day.
She took the gift box back to her room and opened it, discovering it contained a beautiful dress.
A champagne-colored skirt trailed on the ground, studded with tiny rhinestones that shimmered under the lights.
Just as Tang Yao was wondering who had sent it, the phone rang.
It was Lu Bei on the other end. His voice slightly distorted through the phone.
"Did you receive the dress?"
It dawned on Tang Yao, "Did you send it?"
"Yes, isn't tomorrow Grandpa Ji's birthday banquet? I passed by a shop today and felt this dress would suit you perfectly, so I bought it." Lu Bei switched hands to hold the phone. The usually composed actor now appeared somewhat nervous.
"Thank you so much! It must be very expensive. I'll transfer the money to you," Tang Yao said hurriedly.
"It's not expensive. I have a membership, so I got a discount. It's not much," Lu Bei began to make up a story with a straight face.
"I'll still transfer the money to you," Tang Yao said. She couldn't accept such an expensive gift without an eased mind. Even with the discount, the dress from this brand probably wasn't cheap.
Seeing Tang Yao's insistence, Lu Bei was a little disappointed, but he still casually mentioned a number not exceeding five figures.
Tang Yao was a little surprised. Only that much? But seeing Lu Bei's firm tone, she could only transfer the money with some skepticism.
Lu Bei knew that the road ahead was long, but he wasn't in a hurry.
"Don't go online for the next few days. I'll handle this for you," Just before hanging up, Lu Bei said.
Tang Yao asked in confusion, "What's going on online now?"
"Your identity has been exposed, and everyone's cursing you."
"My identity has been exposed? Why are people cursing me?" Tang Yao asked in surprise. Shouldn't they think of her as a pitiful girl unloved by her parents?
Lu Bei realized from Tang Yao's words that the situation might be different from what was being revealed online and that Xu Anguo and his wife were actually fueling the flames. His eyes instantly turned cold.
Tang Yao opened her phone and tapped on Weibo. Sure enough, the buzzing vibration almost made her hand numb.
Clicking in, she saw nothing but insults directed at her.
Tang Yao pieced together the truth from netizens and also checked the Xu Group's Weibo account.
She couldn't help but sneer. This family was truly something else. Not only did they let others slander her as an illegitimate child, but they also quickly distanced themselves from the situation.
Their methods of shifting blame were truly first-rate.
"Are you alright?" A voice came from the other end of the phone, and Tang Yao realized she hadn't hung up yet.
"I'm fine, thank you for telling me. I'll handle it myself."
After saying that, Tang Yao hung up.
Lu Bei sighed to the busy signal on the phone.
Lu Nan walked by, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong?"
"Elder Brother, is being too independent a good thing or a bad thing?" Though Lu Bei's tone remained flat, Lu Nan detected a hint of resentment in it.
He patted Lu Bei's shoulder, suppressing the urge to laugh, and said seriously, "Take it slow."
Just then, his phone rang: "Hello, An'an? Don't rush, tell me slowly."
After saying this on the phone, Lu Nan, who was initially heading towards the study, turned and walked towards the door, grabbing his coat from the hanger and leaving.
Lu Bei stood there. Exhaling another breath, he took out his phone to call his manager. "...Help me find someone to control the comments on Tang Yao's Weibo." After briefly explaining the situation, Lu Bei said to his manager.
"Elder Brother, do you think I'm on vacation like you? I'm swamped with work all day. Can you please stop giving me extra work?" The manager was already overwhelmed with work because Lu Bei hadn't been taking on any activities lately and this sudden addition of work was a relief. However, after complaining, he still dutifully contacted a PR company to help control the comments on Tang Yao's Weibo.
He himself found it unbelievable that he was doing this.
He had never seen Lu Bei ask him for anything because of a woman.
Meanwhile, at the Xu Family dinner table, Xu Haocheng also learned about what had happened that day.
He looked incredulous: "Dad, why did you do this? Isn't Tang Yao my biological elder sister? Can't you just admit it? How heartbroken will Tang Yao be when she finds out?!"
"You don't understand, Haocheng, sometimes it's forced," Xu Anguo said.
“What’s there to be forced? Admitting your mistakes instead of trying to cover them up is something even a three-year-old knows!” Xu Haocheng’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sun Yulan frowned at her son. “Xu Wan is your elder sister. You’ve been acting really strange lately. Did Tang Yao contact you privately? Don’t let her lead you astray. She’s from the countryside and doesn’t know any manners.”
Xu Haocheng looked at his parents, feeling a sense of estrangement. He shook his head, suddenly realizing how utterly wrong he had been.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Xu Haocheng turned to Xu Wan. “You sent out the message. You told everyone Tang Yao was an illegitimate child?”
“Haocheng, what are you saying? How can you accuse me like this?” Xu Wan blinked, and tears welled up in her eyes.
This tactic always worked on their family. Whenever Xu Wan cried, the whole family would rush to comfort her.
Xu Haocheng used to do the same, but now, standing outside the crowd, he felt those tears were utterly fake.
He went back to his room, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the house.
Busy comforting her, Sun Yulan didn't notice anything amiss. Xu Anguo did see him, but he didn't call out to Xu Haocheng.
In his opinion, Xu Haocheng was too kind. How could he possibly support the Xu Group in the future?
Near noon, Tang Yao found a highly-rated asian restaurant not far from the mall for lunch. The environment was nice, and the service was good, but the food was somewhat disappointing. However, adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Tang Yao ate everything clean.
After putting the gifts in the hotel, Tang Yao strolled around a nearby garden in the afternoon.
During this time, Huang Hui called, saying that a friend wanted her to embroider a double-sided piece, offering a high price, but Tang Yao refused.
In fact, quite a few other people had asked Huang Hui for help, but she had turned them all down as she knew Tang Yao's personality.
When Huang Hui was free, she transferred the payment to Tang Yao's card.
The payment was eight figures higher than the agreed price. Huang Hui explained that this was a separate payment for the fabric.
The whole day passed leisurely. By the time Tang Yao returned to the hotel, it was already evening.
Because she hadn't checked her phone much that day, she was unaware that she had been posted online and subjected to a lot of insults from netizens.
Around 1 AM this morning, while everyone was still asleep, an anonymous netizen jumped out and revealed that the person Miss Xu mentioned and was looking for on the show was actually looking for the Xu Family's illegitimate daughter.
Furthermore, it was Father Xu who forced her to go.
The anonymous netizen also released a video showing Xu Wan meeting Tang Yao at the guesthouse.
There was no live broadcast at the time and the camera angle clearly indicated it was being secretly filmed.
Uninformed viewers of this video would only perceive Tang Yao as aggressive. The legitimate heiress of the Xu Family had humbled herself to beg her to come home, yet she still gave attitude?
Xu Wan's words were also somewhat ambiguous, making it difficult for everyone to discern the truth.
Xu Wan's best friend, Sun Le, also spoke out in support, stating that she despises illegitimate daughters the most.
This statement further corroborated the anonymous netizen's revelations.
Sun Le regularly shared her life on Weibo and had accumulated a following. Everyone knew she came from a wealthy family, so her words carried some credibility. By the time most people woke up, the matter had already gone viral and trended on social media.
The words "illegitimate daughter" were particularly jarring.
Netizens were quick. They soon found Tang Yao's newly registered guesthouse account and began posting sarcastic and abusive comments under her only Weibo post.
The situation escalated rapidly, even affecting the Xu Family's company.
Not only were people criticizing Tang Yao, but others were also attacking Xu Anguo.
At noon, Xu Anguo returned home with a dark expression.
"How could this happen? How did Tang Yao become my illegitimate daughter? The company's business has been significantly impacted!"
As he said this, Xu Anguo looked at Xu Wan.
"I don't know, Dad. I just listened to you and tried to appease Tang Yao to get her to come home. I don't know how someone took these photos. Lele probably misunderstood. I'll explain it to her later," Xu Wan said innocently.
“We can’t entirely blame Wanwan. Ultimately, it’s Tang Yao who’s bringing bad luck to our family. Look, everything was fine before she came back. She’s caused so much trouble since,” Sun Yulan said.
Xu Anguo sat down irritably. “We need to clarify this as soon as possible.”
“How do we clarify it? Tell everyone that Tang Yao is actually our biological daughter?” Sun Yulan frowned.
Actually, she wasn’t very willing. After all, Tang Yao wasn’t close to her, and she grew up in a small town, not at all like Xu Wan. If word got out, her close friends would laugh at her.
Xu Anguo glanced at Xu Wan, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Comparatively, Xu Wan did bring him more benefits. Even though the Chen Family was exposed for plagiarism, they quickly spent money to quell the trending topics. Besides, the Chen Family had more than just clothing businesses. Their foundation wasn’t so easily shaken.
And based on his observations, the Ji Family and Tang Yao weren’t close. If he directly announced that Tang Yao was his biological daughter, it would do him more harm than good.
After some thought, Xu Anguo rushed back to the company without even eating and immediately instructed the public relations department to release a public relations statement.
The statement changed Tang Yao's identity from their biological daughter to their adopted daughter.
Subsequently, Sun Yulan also posted on Weibo, claiming that she was the one who facilitated the whole affair.
The comments section was filled with praise for the heartwarming gesture, with many commending Sun Yulan and Xu Anguo for their kindness.
Tang Yao naturally became the primary target of online abuse.
"They kindly adopted Tang Yao, even having their daughter come and humble herself to speak kindly, and Tang Yao didn't appreciate it."
…
Tang Yao was completely unaware that she had been betrayed by the Xu Family and was being verbally abused.
Only after returning home did she learn from a waiter that someone had delivered something to her that day.
She took the gift box back to her room and opened it, discovering it contained a beautiful dress.
A champagne-colored skirt trailed on the ground, studded with tiny rhinestones that shimmered under the lights.
Just as Tang Yao was wondering who had sent it, the phone rang.
It was Lu Bei on the other end. His voice slightly distorted through the phone.
"Did you receive the dress?"
It dawned on Tang Yao, "Did you send it?"
"Yes, isn't tomorrow Grandpa Ji's birthday banquet? I passed by a shop today and felt this dress would suit you perfectly, so I bought it." Lu Bei switched hands to hold the phone. The usually composed actor now appeared somewhat nervous.
"Thank you so much! It must be very expensive. I'll transfer the money to you," Tang Yao said hurriedly.
"It's not expensive. I have a membership, so I got a discount. It's not much," Lu Bei began to make up a story with a straight face.
"I'll still transfer the money to you," Tang Yao said. She couldn't accept such an expensive gift without an eased mind. Even with the discount, the dress from this brand probably wasn't cheap.
Seeing Tang Yao's insistence, Lu Bei was a little disappointed, but he still casually mentioned a number not exceeding five figures.
Tang Yao was a little surprised. Only that much? But seeing Lu Bei's firm tone, she could only transfer the money with some skepticism.
Lu Bei knew that the road ahead was long, but he wasn't in a hurry.
"Don't go online for the next few days. I'll handle this for you," Just before hanging up, Lu Bei said.
Tang Yao asked in confusion, "What's going on online now?"
"Your identity has been exposed, and everyone's cursing you."
"My identity has been exposed? Why are people cursing me?" Tang Yao asked in surprise. Shouldn't they think of her as a pitiful girl unloved by her parents?
Lu Bei realized from Tang Yao's words that the situation might be different from what was being revealed online and that Xu Anguo and his wife were actually fueling the flames. His eyes instantly turned cold.
Tang Yao opened her phone and tapped on Weibo. Sure enough, the buzzing vibration almost made her hand numb.
Clicking in, she saw nothing but insults directed at her.
Tang Yao pieced together the truth from netizens and also checked the Xu Group's Weibo account.
She couldn't help but sneer. This family was truly something else. Not only did they let others slander her as an illegitimate child, but they also quickly distanced themselves from the situation.
Their methods of shifting blame were truly first-rate.
"Are you alright?" A voice came from the other end of the phone, and Tang Yao realized she hadn't hung up yet.
"I'm fine, thank you for telling me. I'll handle it myself."
After saying that, Tang Yao hung up.
Lu Bei sighed to the busy signal on the phone.
Lu Nan walked by, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong?"
"Elder Brother, is being too independent a good thing or a bad thing?" Though Lu Bei's tone remained flat, Lu Nan detected a hint of resentment in it.
He patted Lu Bei's shoulder, suppressing the urge to laugh, and said seriously, "Take it slow."
Just then, his phone rang: "Hello, An'an? Don't rush, tell me slowly."
After saying this on the phone, Lu Nan, who was initially heading towards the study, turned and walked towards the door, grabbing his coat from the hanger and leaving.
Lu Bei stood there. Exhaling another breath, he took out his phone to call his manager. "...Help me find someone to control the comments on Tang Yao's Weibo." After briefly explaining the situation, Lu Bei said to his manager.
"Elder Brother, do you think I'm on vacation like you? I'm swamped with work all day. Can you please stop giving me extra work?" The manager was already overwhelmed with work because Lu Bei hadn't been taking on any activities lately and this sudden addition of work was a relief. However, after complaining, he still dutifully contacted a PR company to help control the comments on Tang Yao's Weibo.
He himself found it unbelievable that he was doing this.
He had never seen Lu Bei ask him for anything because of a woman.
Meanwhile, at the Xu Family dinner table, Xu Haocheng also learned about what had happened that day.
He looked incredulous: "Dad, why did you do this? Isn't Tang Yao my biological elder sister? Can't you just admit it? How heartbroken will Tang Yao be when she finds out?!"
"You don't understand, Haocheng, sometimes it's forced," Xu Anguo said.
“What’s there to be forced? Admitting your mistakes instead of trying to cover them up is something even a three-year-old knows!” Xu Haocheng’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sun Yulan frowned at her son. “Xu Wan is your elder sister. You’ve been acting really strange lately. Did Tang Yao contact you privately? Don’t let her lead you astray. She’s from the countryside and doesn’t know any manners.”
Xu Haocheng looked at his parents, feeling a sense of estrangement. He shook his head, suddenly realizing how utterly wrong he had been.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Xu Haocheng turned to Xu Wan. “You sent out the message. You told everyone Tang Yao was an illegitimate child?”
“Haocheng, what are you saying? How can you accuse me like this?” Xu Wan blinked, and tears welled up in her eyes.
This tactic always worked on their family. Whenever Xu Wan cried, the whole family would rush to comfort her.
Xu Haocheng used to do the same, but now, standing outside the crowd, he felt those tears were utterly fake.
He went back to his room, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the house.
Busy comforting her, Sun Yulan didn't notice anything amiss. Xu Anguo did see him, but he didn't call out to Xu Haocheng.
In his opinion, Xu Haocheng was too kind. How could he possibly support the Xu Group in the future?