Xia Lan nodded. "For 21 years, we believed a fake sister. We gave her everything. And now, that same person is trying to hurt our real sister."
"She even tried to kill her!" Xia Fei snapped.
"We don’t know what Xia Wei’s next move will be," Xia Lan said. "So we have to strike first."
They looked at each other and nodded.
They had made their decision.
Inside the room, Gu Jin stood near the door, listening to everything.
She smirked and whispered, "Now the real Lian Rou will never be in trouble... Xia Lan and Xia Fei will protect her out of guilt, even if they don’t want to."
She looked out the window, her mind already spinning with thoughts.
Now that Long Yifan was safely inside her space, the next step was simple.
Back to the place where Jiang Wei, Ming Rou, and Qin Ye were waiting.
Once she got there, she could create a teleportation array and leave this place.
She still had one last thing to do.
She had borrowed the identity of the real Lian Rou.
So it was only right that she give something back—something special.
And that something... was Xia Wei.
A few hours passed, and the night slowly arrived.
Just then, General Xia called for a meeting in the main hall.
Everyone was there—Mrs. Xia, Xia Lan, Xia Fei... and Gu Jin.
General Xia held a report in his hand. His expression was serious.
"The investigation results are in," he said. "It’s been confirmed—Xia Wei was the one who hired people to kidnap Lian Rou."
Everyone’s face turned dark.
But then, General Xia added, "There’s something strange, though."
Mrs. Xia frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The kidnappers who actually took Lian Rou... weren’t the same ones Xia Wei hired."
"What?" Xia Lan asked.
"Are you saying... someone else sent kidnappers too?" Xia Fei looked confused.
"We searched everywhere, but we couldn’t find who it was," General Xia said. "There’s no trace of who gave the second order. It’s like they appeared out of nowhere."
Right then, Gu Jin stepped into the room.
She looked calm as always.
"What are you all talking about?" she asked.
General Xia turned to her. "We were just discussing the results. It turns out that Xia Wei did hire kidnappers, but... the ones who actually took you weren’t hers. Someone else did it."
Gu Jin blinked and covered her mouth with her hand as if surprised.
"Oh? That’s strange," she said. But inside, she was laughing.
’Of course you won’t find them. After all... it was me. I hired those fake kidnappers to trick everyone.’
"Maybe... maybe this was just a mistake. Some kind of misinformation," she said, but her voice wasn’t confident.
Everyone turned to look at Gu Jin.
She stayed quiet for a moment, then slowly said,
"It could be that the kidnappers were actually sent by Xia Wei... but now they’re pretending not to be. Maybe they want to protect her."
"That... makes sense. Maybe Xia Wei already knew everything would be found out. So she acted smart and made the kidnappers lie."
Xia Fei agreed. "Yeah. That way, she can say the kidnappers weren’t hers. She could escape punishment."
General Xia frowned deeply, thinking about their words.
Mrs. Xia looked nervous but didn’t speak.
She looked directly at Mrs. Xia and asked, "Madam Xia... do you not want to kick Xia Wei out?"
Mrs. Xia quickly smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. "No... I do. I can’t let such danger near you. Not after what she’s done."
Gu Jin paused, then said gently,
"If you want... you can give her one last chance. After all, you raised her for 21 years. It’s only natural you feel something."
Mrs. Xia’s eyes filled with tears.
She wiped her eyes quickly and nodded. "Thank you... Thank you for understanding."
Xia Lan and Xia Fei looked at Gu Jin with surprise.
They didn’t expect her to be so kind after everything.
Even General Xia gave her a serious look of respect.
"You truly are generous," he said.
Gu Jin smiled softly, but in her heart, she rolled her eyes.
’I have to make them completely disappointed in Xia Wei. That way, the real Lian Rou won’t suffer after I leave. What if they bring her back out of pity? I can’t allow that.’
At the same time, she was filled with disdain for them. Even she was swapped at birth but her family was much more decisive; they even went to kill Gu Aihan after knowing the truth.
Out loud, she said, "For me... nothing matters more than family. If I can give her one last chance, maybe she’ll change."
Hearing this, General Xia and Mrs. Xia looked even more touched.
"All right," General Xia said. "We’ll give her one last chance. But if she messes up again, we will remove her from the family for good."
Then she looked at him and said, "While I was on my way to the execution grounds, there was an aunt who helped me a lot. She gave me free food when I was hungry. Can I repay her now?"
General Xia raised his eyebrows. "You couldn’t do it before because of the kidnapping, right?"
"Of course," he said. "We’ll bring her here right away."
He ordered someone to go call the woman.
Two hours later, the aunt arrived at the mansion, looking nervous and confused.
But the moment she saw Gu Jin, her eyes widened. She pointed at her in shock. "Y-You!"
Gu Jin smiled. "Yes, it’s me. I’ve been officially recognized as General Xia’s daughter."
The aunt’s mouth dropped open.
Gu Jin continued, "I was swapped at birth. I didn’t know the truth. But my real parents—the ones who raised me—were not mine. They had switched me. General Xia is my true father."
The aunt looked embarrassed. Her face turned red.
"I... I thought..." she began, "I thought you were the outsider..."
She lowered her head.
"When you wandered off that day at the execution ground, and then the outsider escaped... I thought maybe you were helping them. I even considered reporting you..."
Gu Jin smiled gently. "It’s okay. I understand. You were just trying to protect others."
The aunt looked up, shocked by her understanding tone.
Gu Jin turned to General Xia. "She helped me when I was lost and hungry. She gave me food and kindness without asking anything in return."
General Xia nodded and waved his hand. His assistant stepped forward and handed the aunt a bank card.
"There’s 200 million mules in this card," General Xia said. "You can use it to buy a house... or open a shop."
The aunt stepped back in shock. "No, no! I can’t accept this! I only helped her a little. I didn’t do it for money!"
General Xia chuckled. "That’s why you deserve it. You have a heart of gold. And people like you should be rewarded."
The aunt’s hands trembled.
She tried to say no again, but the assistant gently placed the card in her hand.
She stared at it for a long time before finally whispering, "Thank you... Thank you so much."
Once the kind aunt left with the reward, Gu Jin stood quietly by the window, watching her go.
She narrowed her eyes and thought, Now, all that’s left... is Xia Wei.
The rest of her plans were almost done.
She had already brought Long Yifan into her space safely. Now, she just had to meet Jiang Wei, Jiang Xuelan, Ming Rou, and Qin Ye one last time, then everything would be complete.
She had to put them into her space, too. But first, she needed to knock them out without raising suspicion.
Another part of her mind considered a different idea—what if she just framed Xia Wei tonight and ended it all right away?
If she did that, she’d have to return Lian Rou’s identity back to the real Lian Rou.
And once Lian Rou woke up and found out someone had used her face and name... she would probably expose Gu Jin right away.
Gu Jin didn’t trust people blindly, even if she had done everything to protect Lian Rou, that didn’t mean Lian Rou would be thankful.
’Why should she?’ Gu Jin thought. ’I’m using her life without her permission. That’s not something you thank someone for.’
With that in mind, she turned to General Xia and said calmly, "I want to go out for a little while. Just to get some fresh air."
General Xia’s eyebrows drew together in worry. "You were just kidnapped. You can’t be careless again."
He clapped his hands sharply. A few bodyguards quickly stepped into the room.
"If you must go, take them with you," he said. "Don’t go anywhere without protection."
Gu Jin nodded. "Alright."