Chapter 711: The Legendary Daughter (Two-in-One)
“Why… why did she just leave like that?”
Jiang Lu watched the black motorcade fade from view, a look of confusion on her face. “We were getting along just fine a moment ago. Could I have seemed too eager and annoyed her?”
Lin Dong frowned, trying to comfort her. “Don’t overthink it. Maybe she really did have something urgent to attend to.”
Though he said this, something felt off to him. That girl’s reaction had been too strange.
One second she was chatting and laughing with them; the next, her attitude took a sharp turn, becoming distant and cold.
This suggested the girl likely knew Yutong—maybe even quite well. Otherwise, her sudden change in demeanor was inexplicable.
Also, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen her face before, though he couldn’t place where.
Seeing his stepmother’s dejection, Lin Feng couldn’t help but say, “Aunt, should I have someone look into her? She seems quite well-known in Pearl City. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
Jiang Lu immediately shook her head. “No, that would be too presumptuous.”
Though she said this, something didn’t sit right with her.
Based on their previous conversation on the plane, the girl hadn’t seemed so fickle.
It was all too strange.
Seeing her distress, Lin Dong said, “Let’s not dwell on it. We’ll head back to the hotel and go straight to Finance University tomorrow to find her. Then everything will be clear.”
“Alright,” Jiang Lu said regretfully.
In the backseat of the Maybach.
Liu Yutong leaned back in her seat, eyes closed, trying to conceal her inner turmoil.
Gao Min sat beside her, acutely aware that something was off with her sister. “What’s wrong? Who were those people just now?”
“Nothing. Just strangers I met once,” Liu Yutong replied, opening her eyes.
Gao Min said suspiciously, “Really strangers? The way you were chatting with them earlier didn’t seem like strangers. Are you hiding something from me?”
A brief silence fell in the car.
Liu Yutong turned to watch the cityscape rushing past outside the window. After a long while, she finally spoke slowly. “Sis, if I told you… that woman just now was our birth mother, would you believe me?”
Gao Min’s body jolted as she stared at her sister in disbelief. “What did you say? She… she’s our mother?”
Liu Yutong: “Same name, right age, and she said she was looking for a daughter she lost years ago… I should have figured it out sooner.”
Actually, she’d had a feeling on the plane earlier, but just hadn’t let her mind go there. Mainly because in her previous life, she’d never met her mother.
In her previous life, her mother hadn’t come looking for her, so she’d assumed this life would be the same. That’s why she hadn’t considered it.
Gao Min took a deep breath, trying to process this sudden news.
That gentle, elegant woman who looked barely thirty was actually their birth mother?
“Are… are you sure?”
“I’m sure. But so what?”
Liu Yutong turned to look at her. “She chose to leave when we needed her most. What’s the point of coming back now?”
Gao Min looked at her sister’s cold profile, feeling conflicted.
She could understand her sister’s feelings—the pain of abandonment, the hardship of growing up alone. None of that could be fixed with a simple “I’m sorry.”
But deep down, for that mother she’d never met—a figure who existed only in her imagination—she still harbored an inexplicable hope.
“Maybe… she truly had no choice back then? And now she’s come looking for us, hasn’t she?”
Liu Yutong sneered. “Her reasons are her problem. There’s been no ‘mother’ in my life for a long time.”
She paused, then added, “Besides, she already has a new family, a new life now. That man beside her has an extraordinary bearing—he must be from some Imperial Capital family. And that young man is probably her son.”
“They’re a happy little family of three. What would we be, barging in on them?”
Gao Min fell silent.
Yes…
If Mother already had a new family, their sudden appearance might not be a good thing.
“So we just pretend we don’t know?” Gao Min’s voice was strained.
Liu Yutong was silent again for a moment before speaking. “Let’s deal with Jiang Yuan first. As for everything else… let nature take its course. What must come will come, but whether we accept it—that’s up to us.”
Gao Min nodded.
In her heart, she actually wanted more than Yutong to have a calm conversation with their mother, to ask what had really happened back then.
This was probably because they’d grown up in different environments.
She’d been raised with care and protection, and her father had been a police officer—a profession she could be proud of.
But her sister Liu Yutong’s experience was the complete opposite. Her adoptive father was a gambler, abusive, and had even tried to sell her sister…
It was perfectly normal for her sister not to want to acknowledge their mother.
But if forced to choose between mother and sister, she would choose her sister without hesitation.
“Don’t worry. I said your decision is my decision. I’ll support you forever.”
“Thanks, sis!”
A sleepless night.
The next morning, at dawn’s first light, Jiang Lu got up.
She stood before the full-length mirror in the hotel suite, trying on her fifth outfit—a light purple suit that looked dignified and appropriate. Yet no matter how she checked herself in the mirror, she remained unsatisfied.
“How about this one?”
“Too formal. Looks like you’re going to a meeting,” Lin Dong commented from the doorway.
Jiang Lu frowned anxiously. “I want to seem more approachable, like an ordinary mother, not some tough businesswoman.”
Hearing this, Lin Dong entered the room and pulled out a light blue knee-length dress with lace at the hem. “Try this? I remember blue looks especially good on you, and it’s softer.”
Jiang Lu took the dress, hesitated briefly, then changed into it.
The woman in the mirror was graceful and elegant. The blue complemented her fair skin, softening the tension in her face.
“This one, then.” She finally nodded.
Lin Feng knocked and entered. Seeing Jiang Lu’s outfit, he teased, “Aunt Jiang, if you go out like that, people will think you’re my sister.”
Though it was a joke, it eased Jiang Lu’s nerves somewhat.
“Breakfast is ready. We’ll leave after eating. I’ve already checked—Finance University has no classes this morning, so most students will be in dorms or the library. It’ll be easier to find someone.”
“Mm!”
The three of them went downstairs for breakfast.
Jiang Lu had no appetite, only drinking half a glass of milk.
Seeing this, Lin Feng tried to encourage her. “Aunt Jiang, relax. What’s the worst that could happen? That she doesn’t want to acknowledge us yet? Then we take it slow. We meet today, make a good impression, arrange another meeting later. Sincerity can open even metal and stone, as they say. She’ll accept us eventually.”
Lin Dong also nodded. “Xiao Feng is right, Lulu. We have plenty of time. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”
Jiang Lu nodded, forcing a smile, but the sweat in her palms betrayed her anxiety.
She really couldn’t help being nervous.
After breakfast, they got into the Bentley and headed toward Finance University in Pearl City.
Along the way, Jiang Lu stared out the window, mentally rehearsing what to say when they met.
“Yutong, it’s Mom…”
No, too direct.
“Hello, I’m Jiang Lu. You might not know me, but I’m your mother.”
Still no good, too stiff.
“I’ve been looking for you for so long…”
Wouldn’t that seem hypocritical?
The more she thought, the more confused she became. Finally, she decided to stop thinking and let things happen naturally.
When the moment truly arrived, the right words would come.
A dozen minutes later, the car arrived at the gates of Finance University.
After registering, they followed the information they’d gathered and found the entrance to Liu Yutong’s dormitory building.
“Excuse me, is Yutong—no, is Liu Yutong here?” Jiang Lu stopped a girl about to enter the building and asked politely.
The girl was taken aback, looking them up and down. “You’re looking for Liu Yutong?”
“Yes, we’re her…”
Jiang Lu hesitated. “We’re her relatives, here from out of town. We wanted to see her.”
The girl’s expression turned strange. “You’re really her relatives?”
Lin Dong stepped forward and nodded. “Yes, we came specially from the Imperial Capital. This is my wife. We truly have something important and would like to see Liu Yutong.”
“From the Imperial Capital, huh? No wonder. But you probably won’t be able to see her at school,” the girl said.
“Why? Is she out?” Jiang Lu’s heart tightened.
“Not exactly.”
The girl shook her head. “She rarely comes to school. If you want to find her, you’ll probably have to go to Wanlong Society Group Headquarters.”
Jiang Lu was stunned. “Wanlong Society Group Headquarters?”
The girl nodded. “Yeah, she’s the big boss of Wanlong Society Group. She’s very busy, so she rarely comes to school.”
“If you’re really her relatives, you should know that, right?”
Boom!
These words exploded like thunder in the minds of the three of them!
Yutong… is the big boss of Wanlong Society Group?
The same person those students last night described as being incredibly well-connected—no, as the self-made tycoon heading Pearl City’s giant enterprise?
Lin Dong suddenly recalled the powerful black-clad girl they’d seen at Yuyue Restaurant last night. A wild thought emerged in his mind.
Could it be her?
“Classmate, are you sure? Liu Yutong, about twenty years old, majoring in business administration at Finance University, a sophomore?” Lin Dong’s voice unconsciously tightened.
The girl nodded affirmatively. “Of course I’m sure! Who at this university doesn’t know Liu Yutong? She’s a legend at Finance University, an idol to countless people! She built Wanlong Society Group from nothing and is reportedly worth over ten billion.”
“Look, there’s a detailed introduction about her on that bulletin board over there. You can go check it out.”
Jiang Lu felt her heart skip a beat.
Ten billion? Self-made?
Could this really be her daughter?
“Then can you tell us where Wanlong Society Group Headquarters is?” Lin Dong quickly asked again.
The girl looked at them suspiciously again. “Are you really her relatives? How come you don’t seem to know anything? You aren’t scammers, are you?”
“How could we be scammers? We’re just here for the first time and don’t know the area.”
The girl nodded and gave them the address.
In Pearl City’s territory, anyone who dared scam their junior probably hadn’t been born yet.
After thanking her, Lin Dong was about to take his wife and son to leave the school for that address.
As they passed the bulletin board, Lin Feng suddenly pointed at it and exclaimed, “Dad, Aunt Jiang! Look!”
Jiang Lu and Lin Dong followed his finger to a very conspicuous bulletin board in front of the dormitory building.
In the most central, most prominent position on the bulletin board was a personal profile that occupied nearly half the space.
The profile was simply astonishing—the list of honors alone seemed endless.
“Recipient of the China Youth May Fourth Medal”
“National College Student of the Year”
“National Model College Student for Moral Excellence”
“Pearl City Youth Outstanding Contribution Award”
“Pearl City College Student Entrepreneurship Leader”
“Pearl City Safety Model”
“Finance University Person of the Year”
“Presidential Special Honor Medal”
“Honorary Student Union President”
“Outstanding Student Representative of the University”
“Founder of the Wanlong Society Scholarship”
“…”
Below the endless list of honors was a comment.
Presidential commentary: “She has redefined the boundaries of ‘outstanding student.’ The classroom is the world; the exam paper is the era. Her answer is a legend!”
—Finance University, with highest respect.
This inhumanly impressive resume left the three of them dumbfounded. Especially those first few awards—any one of them alone was incredibly prestigious.
Take the “China Youth May Fourth Medal,” for instance—one of the highest honors China awards to modern youth. Recipients must have made outstanding contributions in fields like science and technology, culture, national defense, etc.
Actually, she’d just received this award, recommended by Uncle Li and awarded after the higher-ups evaluated the Dragon Chip Project.
“National College Student of the Year”—this meant the student had reached the pinnacle among millions of college students nationwide.
“Pearl City Youth Outstanding Contribution Award”—the highest level of local recognition.
“Presidential Special Honor Medal” indicated the student had entered the university’s history while still enrolled. This meant she was no longer just an outstanding student but had become part of the school’s history—an emblem of an era.
Any one of these honors would normally be a source of immense pride, yet here they were listed as casually as everyday items, forming just a small part of this student’s halo.
Lin Feng read through to the end and couldn’t help but curse.
“Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!”
“Is this really a university student? This is absolutely insane!”
“Dad, Aunt Jiang, look at the last line of the president’s comment: ‘Her answer is a legend!’”
“Dominant! So fucking dominant!”
Students passing by saw their shocked expressions and smiled with pride.
Obviously, every newcomer who saw Liu’s profile had more or less the same reaction.
After all, this resume had transcended excellence—it was comparable to mythology!
Jiang Lu’s breathing gradually quickened.
From each of these honors, she could envision the path her daughter had walked these past twenty years.
Self-made, billionaire net worth, recipient of the nation’s highest youth honors, moral exemplar awards… each of these achievements sounded like fiction, yet they were indelibly carved into her daughter’s real life.
Her emotions became even more complicated.
Pride, heartache… How much suffering had her daughter endured, how many dangers had she faced to become such an extraordinary person?
Beyond that, she felt a deep sense of anxiety.
Her daughter seemed to have grown, during the years of her absence, to heights she could never have imagined—heights that were now perhaps beyond her reach.
“Wanlong Society, Wanlong Society…”
Lin Dong repeated the name, the scene from last night’s restaurant resurfacing in his mind.
The students’ attitude of both respect and fear toward Wanlong Society, the dragon emblem on the manager’s chest, and that powerful black-clad girl from last night.
A terrifying thought exploded in his mind.
His gaze suddenly left the text, searching across the bulletin board.
Usually, such a profile would include a photo.
Sure enough!
Above the honors list, below the heading [Liu Yutong | School of Business Management | Class of ’07], was a small but striking half-body photo.
The girl in the photo wore ordinary student clothes, very photogenic and attractive, with a hint of youthful innocence—mainly due to her age.
This photo perfectly overlapped with the girl who’d smiled and wished a younger student happy birthday at the restaurant last night, then turned cold toward them.
“It’s her! It really is her!” Even Lin Dong, the nearly fifty-year-old head of the Lin Family, had a tremor in his voice.
The daughter they’d been searching for had just brushed right past them!
Jiang Lu followed her husband’s gaze to the photo.
Time froze in that moment.
That young, beautiful face in the photo merged with the “little sister” on the plane who’d made her feel such warmth, and with the powerful, awe-inspiring young girl from Yuyue Restaurant.
So that was her youngest daughter—Liu Yutong.
PS: I really want to go home! It’s like being in prison! Staying at a different relative’s house every two days here, scrambling to find time to write—haven’t been able to properly think through the plot.