After Transmigrating into a Cannon Fodder Real Daughter, the Plot Changes

Chapter 139 – Dishonest Jiang Xiao Li

At first, Tong Xu had absolutely no idea why his father had suddenly exploded in rage, even going so far as to mention something as outrageous as a DNA test. No matter how many tests they did, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was his biological son!

In Tong Xu’s opinion, the Tong family had particularly strong genes. Both his father and his late uncle had been remarkably handsome, and he and Tong Yi, having inherited their fathers’ appearances, were naturally flawless in looks.

Thanks to an advantage in appearance, Tong Xu had never been short of admirers since hitting puberty.

Although he’d been in several relationships before, he always felt those girls’ affection was too shallow—they either liked his looks or his family background.

After meeting Jiang Li, he finally began to understand why those girls had fallen for him at first sight—because that was exactly how he felt about her.

With Jiang Li as a comparison, every other girl seemed to fall short in his eyes. Unfortunately, his feelings weren’t reciprocated. Even though his features bore some resemblance to Tong Yi’s, Jiang Li had never once looked in his direction.

Before she realized his feelings, Jiang Li had been polite but distant. But after he confessed, her attitude took a complete 180; she didn’t even bother maintaining politeness anymore.

Sometimes, Tong Xu couldn’t help but wonder—if Jiang Li were like those girls who constantly tried to win his favor, would he still be in love with her?

He probably would. Because she was the first girl who had ever truly made his heart race.

Forcing himself to stop thinking about Jiang Li, Tong Xu noticed his father glaring at him angrily. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he joked, “No way there’s such a mix-up. Don’t you see how much I’ve taken after you, Dad?”

Tong Bingran: “…”

That’s true. When his son was still little, many people had joked that Tong Xu was his carbon copy, even asking whether he had mastered cloning technology.

Tong Bingran had naturally been pleased by such comments. Every man wants his children to inherit his genes, and he was no exception.

And little Tong Xu had been genuinely adorable—gentle, well-behaved, sweet-mouthed. It was only natural that everyone liked him, including his late grandfather, who had doted on him a lot.

But after Tong Yi was born to his younger brother’s family, things started to change. From a young age, Tong Yi displayed intelligence and talent far beyond his peers. Once he started school, people called him a child prodigy. Wherever Tong Yi went, few paid attention to Tong Xu.

Back then, Tong Bingran sometimes felt a bit bitter, thinking that his child wasn’t as smart or outstanding as his brother’s. But since his younger brother had always been exceptionally gifted, he gradually accepted it. He never expected Tong Xu to compete with Tong Yi, though the boy himself always tried to compare.

Later, when his brother and sister-in-law died, and under the coaxing of certain people, Tong Bingran tried to sabotage the still-young Tong Yi while pouring his efforts into raising his own son.

But man proposes, and God disposes. Tong Yi’s achievements now were no less than his late father’s, while his own useless son kept doing one foolish thing after another for a woman, as if he were trying to anger his old dad to death just to claim his inheritance early.

Looking at his pig-headed son, Tong Bingran couldn’t help but think: Could it be that there really had been a mix-up at the hospital? With my genes, how could I have produced such an idiot?

So, when Tong Xu grinned and brought up their similar appearance, Tong Bingran nearly passed out from rage.

Is my son so stupid because I had once tried to sabotage Tong Yi, and now karma had come back to bite?!

Otherwise, how could it be that, out of all the smart and beautiful girls in the world, this idiot son of mine just had to fall for the same one as Tong Yi?!

Seeing his father’s expression turn worse, Tong Xu quickly dropped the joking tone and cautiously asked, “Dad, what exactly happened to make you this angry?”

The moment he spoke, Tong Bingran got even angrier. “Tell me the truth—did you bribe Jiang Ruo’s roommates to bully her on campus? And even went so far as to send people to harass and assault her at her rental?”

A flicker of guilt flashed in Tong Xu’s eyes. “Did… did Jiang Li come to you and tell you about this?”

He had indeed arranged for people to bully Jiang Ruo, but he knew nothing about assault. Had she encountered a shady landlord while looking for a place to live?

The moment he mentioned Jiang Li’s name, Tong Bingran’s fury exploded. He gave his idiot son a hard kick. “It was Jiang Ruo who came to me, you idiot! I was attending a dinner event, and she waited outside the hotel. When I came out, she confronted me in front of everyone, sobbing and begging the Tong family to spare her!”

Tong Xu snapped, “She actually dared to come to you? How dare she—”

Tong Bingran let out a cold laugh. “So it really was you, you damned idiot! You’ve lost your mind over Jiang Li, fine—I won’t lecture you about that. But you went after Jiang Ruo to please Jiang Li? You think Jiang Li would appreciate that? She probably thinks you’re a psycho!”

Tong Xu quickly tried to explain, “I didn’t target Jiang Ruo just because of Jiang Li. It’s because she pushed me to investigate that kidney incident. She said that’d break up Tong Yi and Jiang Li, and I—”

Tong Bingran’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You… you… you absolute fool! You just believe whatever anyone tells you? Can’t you see she just wanted Old Master Feng to have doubts about Jiang Li, so he would save Jiang Zhou?”

He had originally thought his son was just doing foolish things out of jealousy toward Tong Yi. But now he realized that his son was even dumber than he’d thought! Everyone knew Jiang Ruo and Jiang Li were enemies. His son liked Jiang Li, yet chose to believe Jiang Ruo? No sane person would do something that stupid!

How on earth did he turn into such an idiot? Was there really some kind of genetic mutation?!

“…” Tong Xu was at a loss for words. At first, he really hadn’t thought so far, but after the retaliation from the Feng family and a harsh scolding from his father, he naturally came to realize that Jiang Ruo had only used him as a pawn. If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have been so furious as to send people to bully her.

Seeing that he stayed silent, Tong Bingran became even angrier and couldn’t help but kick him twice again. “You were manipulated by Jiang Ruo because you’re an idiot, that’s it! If you had just wanted to teach her a lesson and give her a warning, I might have let it go. But what did you actually do?”

“I……”

Tong Bingran cut him off furiously. “What you’ve been doing lately is driving her into a dead end! She’s a terminally ill patient with few good days left. If she really decides she doesn’t want to live anymore, do you think she won’t try to take a few people down with her before she goes?”

Tong Xu didn’t dare refute his father, but he didn’t really take that warning seriously either. He didn’t believe Jiang Ruo had the power to actually do anything to him.

Tong Bingran saw through him instantly. “You think she’s just a weak woman and can’t hurt you? But this weak woman had the ability to make Jiang Zhou and Bai Guolin go robbing someone’s kidney for her! And even after they were arrested, they did everything they could to protect her. You think a woman like that has no means?”

Tong Xu: “…”

Jiang Zhou and Bai Guolin were already in detention, and once the verdict was out, it was only a matter of time before they went to prison. How could they possibly still sacrifice themselves for Jiang Ruo?

Tong Bingran slammed his palm against his son’s back in frustration. “You think Jiang Ruo is nothing without Jiang Zhou and Bai Guolin? But this so-called weak woman had you dancing in the palm of her hand—had you scheming against the very girl you claim to love! If she’s nothing, then what the hell does that make you?”

Tong Xu kept his head down, unable to utter a word.

Tong Bingran wasn’t even sure if his son had enough brain to absorb any of this, but at the end of the day, this was still his flesh and blood. So he spoke in a more solemn tone: “When you were little, I told you there are two kinds of people you must never provoke. Do you still remember who they are?”

Tong Xu: “…”

Of course he remembered. His father had once told him that there are two kinds of people in this world you absolutely cannot mess with.

The first kind are people far stronger than yourself—those who could crush you with a single finger. Offending someone like that was a guaranteed path to ruin.

The second kind are those who have absolutely nothing to lose. People like that are often more dangerous than anyone else, because they’ll fight to the death. Even if they fail, they’ve got nothing left to lose.

Over the years, he’d made sure never to cross the powerful. But as for the weak—he’d never taken them seriously.

“Dad…”

Tong Bingran sighed. “You’re staying home to reflect for now. I’ll have people keep an eye on you. I’m not asking you to become a big shot anymore—just use your brain a little when you do things, alright?”

With that, Tong Bingran turned to leave—only to find his daughter, dressed in traditional hanfu, standing at the doorway. He had no idea how long she’d been there.

He walked over, took her hand, and led her downstairs. Once outside, he asked, “Youyou, tell Dad—what’s your dream?”

Tong Youyou, mischievous as she was, could still tell their father was in a bad mood. So she answered obediently, “I want to stay at the top of my grade, win an IMO gold medal in high school, and then become a scientist.”

Tong Bingran: “…”

Youyou was indeed very clever, but she was still just a child. How could she understand what was really on her poor dad’s mind?

Even if she someday wanted to inherit the family business, that was still a long way off. Tong Yi would never give her the time or space to grow into that role.

He reached out and ruffled her hair, saying softly, “Yeah, Daddy believes you can do it.”

All his scheming had been in vain. In the end, man proposes, God disposes—the Tong family’s empire was going to fall into Tong Yi’s hands after all.

…

The news of Tong Bingran ripping into Tong Xu quickly spread, and Tong Yi naturally heard about it too. He called Tong Youyou over to ask about the details.

Tong Youyou stayed quiet for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, “Second Brother, do you really hate my brother?”

Tong Yi was stunned. “Why would you ask that?”

Tong Youyou said quietly, “I know you and my brother don’t get along. He tried to break you and Sister up and did some bad things… You must really hate him.”

Tong Yi chuckled, “Then do you think I should hate him?”

Tong Youyou was silent for a few seconds, then changed the subject. “Dad already beat him, and now he’s locked up at home with people watching him. If he promises not to do bad things again, Second Brother, could you maybe…”

Her voice grew softer and softer—she felt her request was too much, and figured Tong Yi wouldn’t agree.

“It’s not the place for a kid like you to worry about adult matters, but I can promise you that as long as Tong Xu doesn’t bother me again, I won’t do anything to him.”

Anyway, he’d already taken two projects from Tong Xu. That was enough of a price. As long as the guy behaved from now on, he had no time to waste on him.

Tong Youyou’s eyes lit up. “I’ll talk to my brother! And Dad will keep him in check too—he won’t let him cause trouble again.”

Tong Yi smiled. “Alright, then can you tell me why your dad and your brother had that big fight?”

Tong Youyou sighed and gave him the general rundown. Then she added in a small voice, “That day, Sister asked me for my brother’s number. I think it’s because she already knew he was up to something bad. She would never contact him on her own otherwise. She must’ve been worried he’d go after Jiang Ruo and drag her down too.”

Tong Yi: “…”

Jiang Xiao Li actually called Tong Xu?

No wonder Uncle found out so quickly what Tong Xu had done to Jiang Ruo! Jiang Xiao Li must’ve gotten him talking, then passed the truth to Jiang Ruo.

Did she do it because she was afraid Jiang Ruo would go crazy and hurt him?

Realizing this, Tong Yi immediately parted ways with Tong Youyou and called Jiang Li. The moment the call connected, he asked, “Jiang Xiao Li, you went to get information out of Tong Xu and then told Jiang Ruo the truth—was that because you were afraid she’d go nuts and come after me?”

Jiang Li didn’t know how Tong Yi had found out, but she had no intention of letting this smug guy get too full of himself. After a few seconds of silence, she calmly replied, “Of course not. I went with Third Brother to find Jiang Ruo because he said he wanted to watch a dog-eat-dog show between Tong Xu and Jiang Ruo. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Tong Yi: “…”

Alas, Jiang Xiao Li is getting less and less honest these days!

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Translator’s Note:

Extra chapter on Sunday!