As the saying goes, the more a person lacks something, the more they like to show off. In reality, Jiang Mingqin’s days returning to the Yin family were not as splendid as she boasted in front of outsiders. Most of the time, she felt more like a guest in someone else’s house because of her identity as an adopted daughter.
Yes, an adopted daughter.
Due to her mother’s mishandling of the situation from the beginning, she lost her agency and even gave the leverage to Yin Yunqiu, with the constant risk of ending up in prison. Of course, they couldn’t openly bring her back. At this point, the title of “adopted daughter” sounded much better. Are there not enough examples of children being adopted and raised in wealthy families? Everyone understood that it was just a way to hide the fact that she was an illegitimate child.
But since she had been officially designated as an adopted daughter, her status was undeniably inferior to that of a legitimate child.
Jiang Mingqin was initially resentful. She was clearly the legitimate daughter of the Yin family, so why should she return to the Yin family as an adopted daughter, and even worse, not as legitimately as she was accepted back in her past life! She was on the verge of trying to assert her rights in front of her father.
However, Yin Yunqiu’s words quickly dispelled her impulsive thoughts. He coldly said, “If you want your mother to go to jail, I can make that happen.”
In other words, if she wanted to return as a legitimate child, the past couldn’t be concealed, and she would have to go to jail. It was a simple exchange, and it depended on her choice.
In other words, if you want to come back with a legitimate status, the past cannot remain hidden, and you’ll have to face jail time. It’s a one-for-one trade-off, and it depends on personal choice.
Jiang Mingqin felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She was willing to do it, of course, as she didn’t have much affection for her biological mother. However, she couldn’t proceed this way. Her actions were being observed by the Yin family, and a girl who could send her biological mother to jail would be judged harshly by others. They would think she had a heart as cold as ice at such a young age, and who would dare to be close to her?
Moreover, having a mother with a criminal record in jail, what good could come to her as a daughter? Her reputation would suffer, and no one would want to marry her.
So, Jiang Mingqin could only reluctantly accept it. In private, she cursed An Meijun’s foolishness incessantly, blaming her for exposing her identity and causing her status to drop even further.
With a heavy suitcase in hand, Jiang Mingqin arrived at the Yin family. She brought with her all the valuable clothes, toys, and jewelry that the Jiang family had bought for her over the years. The cumulative value of these items was considerable, ranging from valuable to worthless. However, she thought that since she had come to the Yin family, she might as well leave the worthless items in the other house; she didn’t care about them. So she only moved the valuable possessions to the Yin family’s house.
When she moved into the villa, she faced a dilemma in choosing her room. The Yin family’s estate had over a hundred rooms, most of which were vacant. She had the right to choose her own room as the aadopted daughter.
However, many of these rooms were quite far from the main residence. If she moved to one of those rooms, she would unintentionally distance herself from her father and the others, something she didn’t want. After all, how could she cultivate relationships with them if she were too far away? She felt that in her previous life, her relationship with the Yin family was just average, mainly because of the physical distance.
If she chose a room closer to them, she could interact with them daily, be attentive and considerate, and gradually warm their hearts. People’s hearts weren’t made of stone, and eventually, they might forget all about Yin Minglu. Her father’s room was on the second floor, and she wanted to pick a room on the same floor. So she politely expressed her wish to the butler.
Unfortunately, the butler informed her that all the second-floor rooms were already occupied. She naturally didn’t believe it and said with a smile, “Uncle Butler, there are only a few of us in the family, and there are over ten rooms on the second floor. How could they all be taken?” Implicitly, she meant, “Don’t try to deceive me after accepting Yin Minglu’s benefits!”
The elderly butler, Mr. Li, was perceptive enough to detect Jiang Mingqin’s underlying meaning. He didn’t want to waste words either, so he directly took this newly emerged young lady to the second floor and started touring the rooms one by one. He said, “These rooms are indeed occupied. The second floor is for the master and the young master’s bedrooms. This largest room is the young master’s main bedroom…”
“Main bedroom???” Did that mean there was another bedroom?
Jiang Mingqin couldn’t believe her ears and widened her eyes.
Soon, the butler confirmed her suspicion and opened a room decorated exquisitely with a warm and cozy atmosphere. The walls were covered with game CG and superhero posters, balloons hung from the ceiling, and there was a pile of toys and action figures in the corner, all catering to a boy’s preferences. He said, “Yes, because the young master used to live in this children’s room. However, after the young master turned ten, this room became too small, so he moved to the main bedroom. This room became a secondary bedroom, and now the young master only comes here occasionally for inspiration when working on his games.”
Without waiting for Jiang Mingqin to withdraw her wandering gaze from the room, the butler led her to other rooms and introduced them one by one. “This is the master’s study, this is the young master’s study, except for cleaning, no one else is allowed in. Miss, please don’t accidentally wander in.”
Otherwise, if the young master got angry, they could apologize and be forgiven easily. But if the master got angry, under his thunderous rage, they would definitely suffer. The master would only think that they hadn’t kept a good eye on things. After all, both the master and the young master’s studies contained highly confidential documents and some business blueprints. If anything were to accidentally leak out, it would result in significant losses for the Yin family.
Was the butler treating her as an outsider or warning her not to wander around? While Jiang Mingqin understood the butler’s implication, she almost couldn’t contain her smile. However, she was silently cursing in her mind, “Is this the Emperor’s Council or a top-secret room? Do they think I’m eager to go in?”
Although she had such thoughts in her mind, she couldn’t forget the memory from her previous life, when she had the chance to see the young master’s study filled with game manuscripts. The room’s decor was ever-changing, depending on the type of game the young master was working on. If he was developing a Japanese-style and beautiful game, the room would become an izakaya or a sushi restaurant, and the young master would dress up as a handsome, down-to-earth shop owner. If he was working on a Western fantasy adventure game, the room would turn into an isolated tribal forest, and the young master would emerge as an elf who seemed untouched by the mortal world.
It was as if living in these backgrounds could provide endless inspiration to each other. The Yin family allowed the young master to freely modify his surroundings.
Moreover, those rooms were like treasure troves of a dragon, littered with papers filled with the young master’s ingenious ideas for games. Just by picking up one sheet and sharing it, it could provide significant inspiration to professionals in the gaming industry.
Not to mention the potential for profit. Thinking about it, a glint of excitement flashed in the young girl’s eyes.
However, she didn’t know that Yin Minglu had taken precautions against her. As soon as she moved into the Yin family, he immediately locked his study, making it impossible for anyone to enter easily. Even if someone managed to enter using some method, he had placed over ten cameras in the room! If anyone dared to steal something, well, they would meet in court.
Of course, he was also willing to play the “trap and law enforcement” game. He welcomed anyone who dared to steal, because if they did, he could make sure they had no face left.
Continuing the tour, the butler said, “This room is the master and the young master’s gym. The young master loves sports and comes here frequently. As for this room, it’s the master and young master’s private IMAX theater. It houses a collection of movies and albums that the young master has collected over the years, many of which are out of print. We don’t dare touch them when cleaning. This room is the young master’s art studio, as the living room can’t accommodate all of his artworks. He loves painting, so there’s a dedicated room to display his works. The young master believes that his artworks will fetch a good price a hundred years from now. This small room is the young master’s dressing room, connected to the master bedroom. The one at the end of the corridor is the awards display room shared by the young master and the master. Whenever they receive any honors, they put them in there. The young master has always been excellent, winning awards from a young age, so they don’t pay much attention to it. Those certificates and trophies are gathering dust on the shelves, but we still clean them regularly.”
After all, the young master didn’t care, but the master cared a lot. Once he noticed any signs of dust on the trophies, he would sternly reprimand them for neglecting their duties.
Despite Jiang Mingqin being prepared, touring each room left her still in awe. It was evident that this father and son pair thoroughly enjoyed life, and even one room per hobby wasn’t enough. There were clearly no spare rooms left for her.
Moreover, the butler kept mentioning the young master, seemingly pushing Yin Yunqiu into the background. It sounded even more grating to the young girl’s ears.
“Minglu lives so well. I’ve never lived like that at home. Our house is very small, cramped, and messy. We have to clean it ourselves. Sometimes I envy him, living in a wealthy family, receiving his father’s favor since birth.” The girl’s face showed a hint of disappointment as she murmured a few words to herself. Then she realized that she had accidentally spoken her mind and hurriedly tried to remedy the situation, saying, “I didn’t mean anything else. I just feel that Minglu is living a bit extravagantly.”
As a counterfeit, if it weren’t for taking her place, could life be so luxurious?
Seeing the girl like this, the butler didn’t have the heart to say anything. The true connoisseur of luxury was Yin Zhongyuan, the brother of the master. He had a gym, a massage room, a music room, a home theater, a golf course, and even a small underground bar in the house.
In comparison, the young master was already living quite modestly. Look, he doesn’t even have a private plane now, while the master has several.
“I’ve just arrived in this family, and I’m very uneasy. I want to be closer to my father. Can you free up a room for me on the second floor?” The girl spoke shyly, her face filled with the anticipation, unease, and nervousness of someone new to the surroundings. It seemed that even seeking opinions was done cautiously, with a humble posture that was impossible to refuse.
The butler was indeed in a dilemma. He went to seek the young master’s opinion first. The young master was in his office, and he waved his hand casually, saying, “Just let her have that room in the corner with all the miscellaneous stuff.”
The so-called “room with all the miscellaneous stuff” was the awards display room mentioned earlier. In the young master’s view, these things were just honors, so where they were placed didn’t matter much. He rarely went in there himself.
The young master’s response was casual, but the butler broke into a cold sweat. He thought to himself, “You might not go in much, but the master does, and he even brings friends for tours. I can’t make this decision easily.” So, he went to seek the master’s opinion once more.
Hearing that they were rearranging a room for Jiang Mingqin, either the room in the corner with the miscellaneous stuff or somewhere else, Yin Yunqiu frowned and spoke coldly, “Don’t touch that awards display room. It’s her first day back, and she’s already making all sorts of changes. Just find a room for her to stay in, it doesn’t have to be near me.”
He didn’t want to see the girl who bore a striking resemblance to An Meijun every day.
“Understood.” Since the master had given the order, the butler complied. So, this matter was quickly settled, and Jiang Mingqin was placed in the farthest room from the master’s bedroom.
Ignoring the girl’s tearful and pitiful questions, she even asked if Mingluo was unhappy with her and her father being close and wanted to separate them, the butler acted as if he hadn’t heard and simply placed the girl’s luggage and belongings in her room. He thought to himself that it wasn’t the young master who was dissatisfied with her; it was the master who didn’t like her. It was better for her to be as far away from him as possible. They could only follow orders.
That night, the young girl quietly arranged her room and gave herself continuous psychological guidance. She told herself, “Jiang Mingqin, you have to endure it. The other side is so arrogant and domineering. They’ve just arrived and already demonstrated their authority, asserting their sovereignty in the family. You can’t let them win. If you get angry and hurt yourself, you’ll only play into their hands. They’ll be even more pleased with themselves.”
Today was only her first day back, and she didn’t have any strong emotional ties with this family. It was normal to experience this kind of cold treatment. As long as she persevered, she would eventually be able to establish her own identity in this family and push Yin Minglu aside.
However, the young girl didn’t know that Yin Minglu didn’t care about her at all, and Yin Yunqiu was also very indifferent towards her. At this moment, he was in his study, reviewing a list.
This was something prepared by the wives of those prominent families, specifically for their daughters’ matchmaking. It was filled with detailed information about numerous young talents within their social circle, including their age, birthdays, zodiac signs, personal preferences, romantic experiences, preferred female types, and family backgrounds. It even included photos of these young men, each of them looking handsome and distinguished.
It was similar to the profiles one might find on matchmaking websites, and the level of embellishment varied from person to person.
Just like the information posted on those matchmaking websites, the level of embellishment varies, and it’s up to individuals to carefully discern.
Yin Yunqiu borrowed this list from a friend to speed up his daughter’s marriage. With the Yin family’s current status, they didn’t need to rely on marriage alliances to consolidate their power, so they were indifferent to their daughter’s marriage. If their daughter could find a good match on her own, they wouldn’t interfere with her free choice. If she couldn’t find a suitable match, he would take matters into his own hands and arrange it for her. They would provide a generous dowry when the time came, and that would settle the matter amicably.
He turned the pages one by one, patiently reviewing the information from beginning to end. His fingers rested on a few pages, seemingly lost in thought.
If his son were present, he would instantly recognize that his father was specifically focusing on candidates from rival families within the Yin clan. After all, using the strategy of marrying an unwanted daughter into the family of a competitor was something most people wouldn’t think of.
Unfortunately, his son was not present, and he had no idea that Yin Yunqiu was considering potential marriage candidates for Jiang Mingqin. Jiang Mingqin was equally unaware of this. During her time as a guest in the Yin family, she had felt stifled enough internally and had been flaunting her freedom externally. She thought that the “show of authority” on her first day back in the aristocratic world was already unpleasant, but she had no idea that even more discomfort lay ahead.
Upon learning that she had failed her college entrance exams, Yin Yunqiu had actually turned cold and was pressuring her to retake them!
Author’s Note: I originally planned to post a notice saying that the update would be delayed by an hour, but I forgot to post it. I apologize to all the lovely readers waiting for the update. qaq
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