The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 71

Xu Chengjin’s pupils trembled. Behind them was a constant stream of people moving to and fro, noisy and clamorous, yet Jin Xi’s voice was so soft that Xu Chengjin still heard every single word clearly.

Chen Fang was dead?

“I have to go back first.” Jin Xi looked very anxious. She turned to leave but was stopped by Xu Chengjin. Although Jin Xi was frantic, she still explained, “Xiaojin, I really have to go back.”

“It will be faster if I take you.” After saying this, Xu Chengjin made a phone call immediately. By the time they went downstairs, a car was already parked at the entrance of the restaurant. Jin Xi was stunned for a moment; while marveling at the speed, a wave of unease surged in her heart, but she suppressed these complex emotions deep down and did not show them.

Xu Chengjin simply assumed Jin Xi was feeling nervous and spoke to comfort her: “Don’t panic, nothing will happen as long as I’m here.”

Jin Xi first gave an “Mhm,” and then after thinking for a moment, she explained: “It’s not that I’m afraid something happened to my mom, it’s that her relatives have come to the door.”

“Before, she and my dead biological father owed those people a lot of money. If it wasn’t paid back, they would come to the door to demand it. In the past, when they couldn’t get it, they would even come to my school to find me.” Jin Xi felt irritated just mentioning these things. She felt there was no need to speak of them, as it felt like she was intentionally trying to win sympathy. “Just drop me off at the intersection later; I can handle it alone.”

Another reason for Jin Xi’s unease was that her residence was truly too dilapidated; she felt a deep-seated resistance to Xu Chengjin going there.

Xu Chengjin’s gaze rested on her very gently. She seemed to have seen through something and said softly: “No need to be afraid. I brought bodyguards; those people won’t be able to hurt me. Besides, don’t they just want money?”

At this point, Xu Chengjin gave a cold laugh: “The thing I lack least is money.”

Jin Xi opened her mouth to say something, but was promptly interrupted by Xu Chengjin: “Didn’t you call the police before? If they come to harass you, you should report it.”

“I did.” Jin Xi lowered her head. Her voice sounded somewhat muffled, like a long-accumulated grievance finally sprouting within a tender emotion. “But my mom always forgave them.”

She didn’t understand why Chen Fang forgave those people time and time again. They did owe money, but Jin Xi had done her best to pay it back. Even if they didn’t have money, they couldn’t just sell her off, right? Furthermore, Chen Fang never told her exactly how much was owed; by now, Jin Xi had already paid back sixty thousand.

Life was too bitter when she was in school; she had thought things would be better by the time she reached university.

“Always forgave them…”

Xu Chengjin secretly took note of these words. She patted Jin Xi’s hand: “Don’t think about those things anymore. If someone bullies you, I will help you.”

Jin Xi instinctively wanted to refuse, but when she met Xu Chengjin’s eyes, she couldn’t say a word. She nodded silently, the corners of her eyes slightly red.

As the car drove on, the road became narrower and narrower. In the end, they could only get out and walk. The ground was covered in oil stains and there was a lot of trash. There were many buildings here, built very densely. Because so many people lived there, the security management wasn’t great, and the environment was even worse.

Xu Chengjin frowned but said nothing. She followed Jin Xi inside, winding around a large area before reaching a small room. Outside the door stood a woman holding a child, followed by two men. They stared at Jin Xi with expressions full of hostility: “Why are you just getting back now!”

“Am I not supposed to go to school?” Jin Xi didn’t give these people a good look. “What did you come for? Didn’t I just send you money?”

“Five thousand yuan counts as money?” The woman was clearly the leader of the group. “Give us some more!”

Jin Xi let out a “Tsk.” She was in an exceptionally foul mood. “Exactly how much does my family owe you?”

The woman snorted: “Anyway, you won’t be able to pay it off in a lifetime.”

Just as she finished speaking, she spotted Xu Chengjin behind Jin Xi. Xu Chengjin’s clothes looked very expensive. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to mutter a few words to the man beside her. The next second, she spoke with a beaming smile: “This must be Jin Xi’s friend?”

“No, I’m a creditor.” Xu Chengjin looked at them with a cold face. “Are you her relatives?”

“What of it?” The woman didn’t rush to answer. She took two steps back, her gaze flickering between Xu Chengjin and Jin Xi. She also saw the group of bodyguards behind Xu Chengjin. The woman’s heart skipped a beat, wondering what kind of big shot Jin Xi had offended.

Xu Chengjin sneered, playing the role of a stern debt collector to perfection: “She owes me money. Since she can’t pay it back, then you all shall pay it.”

The woman immediately shook her head: “Why should we pay it back? She still owes us money!”

“Is that so?” Xu Chengjin looked indifferent. She let out a “Tsk.” “How much does she owe you?”

The woman was stunned. She instinctively looked at the man behind her. The man’s eyes darted around before he said: “It was a long time ago; how can it be calculated clearly now?”

“Could it be that you are tricking Jin Xi into paying you back?” Xu Chengjin crossed her arms. She lowered her brow and said sharply: “Open the door.”

After saying that, Xu Chengjin looked at the woman on the side: “She borrowed money from me to pay you back, but who knew you were actually scammers. Jin Xi, it seems you can go report this to the police now and sue them for extortion.”

The woman immediately retorted: “Who said that! If you don’t believe it, you can ask her mom!”

Jin Xi didn’t say a word. She silently opened the door and walked inside.

Her living space was very small; the whole group couldn’t fit inside. Xu Chengjin had the woman come in while the others waited outside. As soon as they walked in, they could see Chen Fang lying on the bed, unable to move. Chen Fang’s face was pale, her skin was sallow, and her whole body was thin and haggard; one could sense that her days were numbered.

“Sister.”

The woman carrying the child walked over, looking reluctant: “Quickly tell this woman, do you owe us money or not!”

Xu Chengjin didn’t pay much attention to the two of them. She found a place to sit down and watched them quietly. She didn’t look around at the furnishings in the room, giving Jin Xi full respect.

Chen Fang could still speak, and her spirit was actually quite good, especially upon seeing the child in the woman’s arms. She became even more excited and nodded without a second thought: “We owe it!”

“Jin Xi, hurry up and give your aunt the money!” Chen Fang rebuked Jin Xi. She coughed twice. “Hurry up!”

Jin Xi stood beside Xu Chengjin. She looked at Chen Fang’s face, thinking to herself, Why doesn’t she just die? If she didn’t pay this debt, people would come to cause trouble, and calling the police was useless… so Jin Xi was cowardly and afraid…

“Xiaojin.” Jin Xi’s pupils trembled and her breath hitched. Her pinky was lightly squeezed by Xu Chengjin, as if to soothe her emotions and give her encouragement.

“Is there a promissory note? Without a note, I won’t give any more money.”

Jin Xi took a deep breath and looked directly at the woman: “I have kept an account of every cent I’ve given you. If you can’t produce a note, I will sue you.”

“What nonsense are you talking!” Chen Fang suddenly grew angry. She struggled to raise a finger and pointed at Jin Xi. “You scoundrel, do you know what you are saying? I don’t agree, I don’t agree to you suing!”

Jin Xi gave a cold laugh: “Then go ahead and die. Am I stopping you?”

Since she was a child, Chen Fang had not been very responsible toward her. Aside from some school fees, she gave her no other money. Once she was old enough to work part-time, she didn’t even provide school fees anymore. All these years, she had used the “debt of upbringing” to kidnap her emotionally. Jin Xi had originally planned to leave this city once she was a bit older so that none of these people could find her.

Chen Fang’s eyes widened. She seemed suddenly unable to catch her breath, her entire face turning a flushed red: “You unfilial child!”

“That’s enough.”

Xu Chengjin interrupted Chen Fang’s words. She looked at the woman: “It seems you don’t have a note. You have been extorting a minor all this time. If we sue you… the compensation should be enough to pay back the money owed to me.”

The woman immediately shook her head: “What nonsense are you talking? Do you know this money is supposed to be given to me! That’s for the chi—”

Her words cut off abruptly, but Xu Chengjin keenly caught onto it. She stood up and was about to walk over when the child in the woman’s arms began to cry loudly. Out of necessity, the woman had to coax the child first, and it was this action that allowed Xu Chengjin to see the child’s face clearly.

“So similar…”

Xu Chengjin was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected this child to look so much like Chen Fang, as if they were carved from the same mold.

Wait.

Xu Chengjin was suddenly shocked by the thought in her own head. She immediately turned to look at Jin Xi, but seeing that Jin Xi’s emotions weren’t right, she said immediately: “You go out first. Call the two female bodyguards I brought in.”

“Okay.”

Jin Xi let out a sigh. Her shoulder was patted by Xu Chengjin, who whispered: “Don’t feel embarrassed. I will help you settle this. Jin Xi, we are friends.”

“Mhm.”

Jin Xi didn’t speak further. After she walked out, the two female bodyguards came in immediately. These two bodyguards had always followed Xu Chengjin and were very loyal to her: “Boss.”

“Did you give birth to this child?”

Xu Chengjin walked up to the woman. She looked down at the woman from a height: “Or was it adopted?”

“What nonsense are you talking? This is the child I worked hard to give birth to!”

The woman immediately began to retort, but the panic in her eyes clearly suggested that things were not so simple. Xu Chengjin closed her eyes and gave a laugh: “Take them to get a paternity test for free.”

“Her and her.” Xu Chengjin pointed at Chen Fang and the child in the woman’s arms. She ignored the woman’s crying and shouting and instead looked at Chen Fang. Her tone was very cold, and her gaze held extreme loathing. “You have been sucking Jin Xi’s blood like a vampire. Is she not your daughter?”

Chen Fang stared at Xu Chengjin with wide eyes. She pursed her lips and remained silent, adopting a posture of refusing to communicate. But Xu Chengjin didn’t care much. She leaned down slightly and warned in a low voice: “If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place. Chen Fang, how much do you guess I’ve found out?”

A flicker of mockery passed through her eyes. She straightened her body. Just as she was about to leave the house, the door was suddenly pushed open. Si Yu rushed in, her breathing ragged. She looked at nothing else and only asked Xu Chengjin:

“Are you okay?”