Li Xudong's expression was uncertain. He was a very possessive person, and no matter how little he cared about Ji Yuxin, he couldn't allow her to be involved with others. Besides, now that he knew Ji Yuxin was the daughter of the Yan family, he certainly couldn't let go. He took a deep breath and looked at Xu Zifan, "You heard what Yuxin said. You should know what to do. Some people are not people you can afford to offend."
Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow. "You mean, even though you know you've been deceived by her, you still want to be a third party and ruin our relationship? You consider yourself of high status, do you have a penchant for stealing other people's fiancées?"
"Enough!" Ji Yuxin shouted. "I'm not a daughter of the Ji family at all, and I'm not the one you're engaged to. We have absolutely no relation!"
Xu Zifan chuckled lightly, "An arranged marriage can be said to be wishful thinking on the part of the elders, but how come you admitted it half a month ago that someone forced you? I remember I said back then that if you didn't want to marry me, we would go home and explain it to our elders. What did you say? You said we were engaged, and you were just too shy to admit it. Don't say I threatened or forced you. I've always agreed to annul the engagement, and I haven't spoken to you for the past two weeks. It was you who disagreed with annulment, wasn't it?"
"I... I'm just afraid you'll tell my parents something."
"Is this considered me forcing you?"
Finally, Yan's mother found some time to visit them, and Yan Yaru followed. As soon as she entered the room, she sensed the tense atmosphere between them. Yan's mother's face darkened slightly, and she asked, "Have you resolved your matter?"
Before they could speak, Xu Zifan preemptively said, "Ji Yuxin is trying to deny that she was two-timing, even making up stories like she's not a member of the Ji family. Aunt Yan, please be the judge. We just discussed marriage two weeks ago. Doesn't that speak for herself? By the way..." He frowned, "Li Xudong, when did she get together with you?"
Li Xudong and Ji Yuxin have been together for almost two months! He never expected this woman to dare hide such a big thing from him—having a fiancé and still going to hotels with him. Is it just because he's rich? What if she meets someone even richer in the future and cheats on him? The key point is that this woman hasn't severed ties with Xu Zifan since they got together. Not only do they talk about marriage, but she also claims she doesn't know him. What is this woman really like when he can't see her? If Ji Yuxin can be so heartless to her childhood sweetheart fiancé today, how devoted and loyal will she be to him in the future?
Seeing Li Xudong's sullen face and silence, Ji Yuxin panicked and said to Xu Zifan, "Don't be so rude anymore. Let's deal with this outside."
Xu Zifan immediately stood up. "Let's go then."
Ji Yuxin was speechless, unsure how to react, and could only nudge Li Xudong. Mother Yan had observed her expression and actions, her face growing increasingly grim. This girl clearly hadn't achieved something and didn't want to leave. Remembering Xu Zifan's earlier comment that Ji Yuxin wasn't a member of the Ji family, her heart pounded. She took Yan Yaru's hand and sat down on the sofa, coldly saying, "Li Xudong, today is Yaru's birthday party. You shouldn't be so rude. You said you had something to tell me, can you say it now?"
Li Xudong was in a dilemma. He felt it was inappropriate to reveal the truth now, but if he didn't say it now, wouldn't it be the same to say it later? With Ji Yuxin tugging at his arm and subtly urging him to speak quickly, he gritted his teeth and told the truth directly, "Aunt Yan, I discovered a couple of days ago that Yuxin and Yan Yaru were switched at birth. Yuxin is your daughter, and Yan Yaru... she is a daughter of the Ji family."
Mother Yan's expression changed drastically, and Yan Yaru was so shocked she forgot to react. Xu Zifan then asked suspiciously, "Are you kidding me? You found out they were switched at birth, and then brought Ji Yuxin to Yan Yaru's birthday party to explain? If I remember correctly, you were planning to say it in front of everyone in the hall, weren't you?"
Xu Zifan looked at Yan Yaru and asked, "Do you have a grudge against him?"
Yan Yaru came to her senses and looked at Ji Yuxin with complicated emotions. "Li Xudong pursued me for three months, but I rejected him."
"No wonder." Xu Zifan frowned at Li Xudong. "As expected, people who steal other people's fiancées can't be good people. He actually wanted to retaliate by publicly humiliating himself just because he was rejected. Luckily, he didn't cause a scene in public today, otherwise..."
Xu Zifan didn't finish speaking, but Yan's mother and Yan Yaru could already picture the scene. Yan's mother couldn't bear to think about how humiliating the Yan family would be, how many laughable figures they would become. Her gaze towards Li Xudong and Ji Yuxin was filled with hostility. Since Ji Yuxin knew she wasn't a daughter of the Ji family, she must also know Li Xudong's intentions. If Li Xudong's words were true, was Ji Yuxin trying to use the banquet to reveal her identity and force them to acknowledge her?
Mother Yan thought a lot, but she didn't let go of Yan Yaru's hand. She just said coldly, "This is too absurd. I will arrange for someone to investigate. Before the investigation results are out, I don't think we need to meet again. I don't think you're in the mood to attend the banquet either. Please leave."
Li Xudong had originally wanted to see Yan Yaru lose her composure and suffer in public, to experience the satisfaction of revenge. Instead, he ended up feeling humiliated and was even branded as the other woman. Seeing the housekeeper come to invite them again, he couldn't save face and left first. Of course, considering Ji Yuxin was Yan's biological daughter, he didn't forget to take her with him.
Xu Zifan lagged behind them by a step and politely apologized to Yan's mother, "I was really rude just now. I was also shocked by the truth that Li Xudong told me. I was just so angry that my fiancée was with another man that I didn't expect it to involve so many things. I'm sorry for disturbing your guests."
Mother Yan wasn't in the mood to say much, she just smiled politely, "It's alright, I should thank you for bringing them here and for not mentioning this in front of the guests."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Auntie, please forgive my bluntness, but I would also like to remind you that the Yan family is a large and powerful family, which inevitably attracts people with ill intentions. Although I may be worrying unnecessarily, if you have any ideas, it would be better to investigate the relevant people carefully. Even people I have known for more than ten years can lie to me. I think that sometimes you really can't tell a person's heart from their appearance."
Mother Yan nodded, taking his words to heart. She also recalled Ji Yuxin's two-timing, which deepened her doubts about Ji Yuxin's character. Xu Zifan glanced at Yan Yaru, nodded, and quickly left the Yan family home.
He sent Meng Qi a text message, telling him he was leaving first, briefly explaining the situation, but omitting the identities of the real and fake heiresses. Meng Qi, as expected, quickly called him to defend him. Xu Zifan chatted with him for a while, mostly talking about his childhood friendship with Ji Yuxin and wondering if those ambiguous feelings were just his imagination. Meng Qi, of course, sided with him, accusing Ji Yuxin of deliberately stringing him along. After revealing everything that needed to be revealed, Xu Zifan hung up and went home.
Yan Yaru knew he was brought by Meng Qi and came from an ordinary family. She specifically instructed the housekeeper to send him away by car when he left. Therefore, not only Meng Qi heard what he just said, but the Yan family's driver also heard it. Although the driver didn't say anything, Xu Zifan caught his gaze in the rearview mirror and saw his sympathy.
He has already dug enough pits for Ji Yuxin. Whether Ji Yuxin can return to the Yan family smoothly in the future depends on her own fate.
After arriving home, Xu Zifan went upstairs with a somber expression and knocked directly on the Ji family's door. Ji's mother opened the door, somewhat surprised by his attire, and then asked in bewilderment, "Zifan, what happened...did you go to celebrate Xin Xin's birthday? Why are you unhappy?"
"I didn't celebrate her birthday, Auntie. Has Ji Yuxin come back?"
"Oh? She didn't come back. She said she went out to celebrate with friends today and might not be back until late. I heard from your mom that you went to a friend's birthday party. I thought it was just a little trick you two played."
Very good, you've gotten ahead of us again. Xu Zifan invited the Ji couple to his home and recounted in detail everything that had happened at the banquet to the four elders. He also emphasized his interactions with Ji Yuxin during this period, as well as how Ji Yuxin often used working as an excuse not to go home, skipping classes to go out and play, and so on.
The four parents went from disbelief to finding clues. Xu's mother had long ago told Ji's mother to keep a close eye on their child during the senior year of high school so as not to delay her studies. Now that they thought about it, Ji Yuxin always had various reasons for going out, but upon closer examination, none of them made sense. She was clearly going out to play with that Li Xudong, which was cheating on Xu Zifan!
Mr. and Mrs. Xu were furious. They were already showing restraint by not verbally abusing Ji Yuxin in front of the Ji family; in their hearts, they cursed Ji Yuxin mercilessly, feeling they had been blind all these years. The Ji family felt ashamed and heartbroken. If Ji Yuxin wasn't their daughter, why didn't she tell them the truth before going to her birthday party? Did their years of raising her simply mean they were forgiven because the Yan family was wealthy?
The Ji couple were in a state of utter confusion. They couldn't believe that such a thing as switching babies had happened to them, and for a moment they couldn't think of anything to do. Just then, Ji Yuxin finally returned, only to be met with a barrage of questions. Her expression changed, and she pointed at Xu Zifan, shouting, "What grudge do I have against you? Are you only happy when you've killed me?"
Xu Zifan looked at her indifferently, "What grudge do I have against you? I said I wanted to break off the engagement, but you disagreed, and then you went behind my back and dated someone else. In the end, when things didn't go your way, you blamed me for ruining your plans. What is considered good? Keeping your aunt and uncle in the dark, waiting until you're sure you can become the Yan family's heiress before telling them? Have you thought about their feelings? Ji Yuxin, in your heart, is money the only measure of everything?"
Mrs. Ji's lips moved as she looked at Ji Yuxin and asked, "Yuxin, is what Zifan said true? Are you sure you're a daughter of the Yan family? Are you going back?"
Ji Yuxin didn't know if the Yan family would acknowledge her, so she decided to back down for now. She stepped forward, grabbed her mother, and said softly, "Mom, I'm not sure, and I don't want to leave you. Whatever the truth is, I'm still your daughter."
Mrs. Ji was somewhat disappointed. If that was really what she thought, then why did she go to the Yan family's birthday banquet without telling them? This child is now trying to outsmart them; she's truly blinded by wealth.
Mrs. Ji asked again, "Are you really with that Li Xudong?"
Ji Yuxin bit her lip; there was no way to explain herself, so she could only nod. The next instant, her mother slapped her, choking back tears, "How could you do something like this? What has Zifan ever done to you that you treat him like this? Apologize!"