Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 91 Are you sure it was her who invited you?
Distracted by Du Anrao's words, Du Lianshuang's lips twitched twice. After calming down slightly, she gave Cui Dongmei a gentle smile: "Thank you for your trouble, elder sister. I didn't know you were coming. I just ate and I'm not very hungry yet."

Cui Dongmei nodded good-naturedly: "Then remember to drink it later. This old hen was sent by relatives from our hometown. It's home-raised and perfect for nourishing the body. Drink more so you can recover faster."

Du Lianshuang felt conflicted upon hearing this.

To this day, she still can't understand how someone could act so well, watching their lover fawn over another woman without any guilt, even helping him to care for and please her, without any complaints.

Cui Dongmei was just there to make a good impression and get acquainted with Du Lianshuang. After putting down her things and asking a few questions about Du Lianshuang's health, she left.

As for the bucket of chicken soup she brought, Du Lianshuang poured it into another thermos while Cui Jueyan was out making a phone call, and Du's mother took it with her when she left.

Xi Jingyue came with Liao Yuqian, but Du Anrao personally saw him off when he left.

"I have a lot of business to attend to in S City this time, so I might stay here a while longer. I heard that you, your sister, and the man from the Li family were all born on the same day. Your birthday is in two days. Do you have any plans?"

Du Anrao was surprised that Xi Jingyue even knew this. Then he thought that Xi Jingyue and Li Zhaoyang were cousins, and that Xi Jingyue was probably on the invitation list for Li Qianxi's birthday in previous years, so it was not surprising that he knew this.

"My parents are planning a birthday party for my sister and me, inviting relatives and friends to get together and get to know each other." Du Anrao paused, then looked up tentatively and asked, "Would Mr. Xi be attending?"

Xi Jingyue didn't say whether he wanted to or not, but instead asked, "May I go?"

"Of course, but didn't Mr. Xi just say he's been very busy lately?"

"I may be busy, but I'll still find time to attend your birthday party. Besides, some things aren't urgent; your birthday is more important."

Du Anrao blinked, and for some reason felt that Xi Jingyue's tone when he said these words was very similar to that of Du's mother and Du Yuxi.

However, since they've already said so, it's just a matter of adding another invitation, so it's not much trouble.

Therefore, after returning home, Du Anrao readily reported Xi Jingyue's name to his mother.

When Du's mother saw Xi Jingyue at the hospital, she had already anticipated this matter. However, when her youngest daughter came to her personally to bring it up, she couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy, as if her own daughter was about to run away with someone else.

"An'an, are you very familiar with this President Xi?"

"We're not that close, we've only met a few times, but he's helped me a lot."

They helped her attract several customers and accumulated a lot of merit, such as Li Zhaoyang and Liao Yuqian today.

Madam Du paused, her brows furrowing slightly as if deep in thought.

Seeing this, Du Anrao was also a little uneasy: "Is it inconvenient to invite him?"

Mrs. Du suddenly realized something: "No, no, no, there's nothing inconvenient about it. Since he's your friend, everyone can come. I'll have someone send the invitations over in a bit. Is there anyone else besides him?"

"Nothing."

Upon hearing this, Du's mother became even more distressed. "My dear, you've thought about this for so many days and only invited this one person. Don't you feel there's anything wrong with that?"

However, children and grandchildren have their own destinies, and Mr. Xi didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards their children, so she didn't want to condemn him outright. She decided to wait and see. Mrs. Du acted quickly, and since Xi Jingyue was in the city at the time, he received the birthday banquet invitation the next day at noon, and then immediately handed it to Li Zhaoyang, who was still working overtime.

Li Zhaoyang: ?

Xi Jingyue: This is an invitation to your second son and Miss Du's birthday party.

Li Zhaoyang: !!

Provoked, Young Master Li immediately called: "How did you get this?"

"I met Ms. Du yesterday when I went to the Third Hospital for an inspection. She invited me to her birthday party."

"...Are you sure she invited you?" My God, what's with this blatant boasting?

Xi Jingyue choked for a moment, it was true, if he hadn't brought up the other person's birthday yesterday, the little guy probably wouldn't have remembered to invite him.

"That's not important. What's important is that the invitation is now in my hands. Unlike some people who work hard for ages but haven't even gotten close to the door."

Li Zhaoyang was so angry that he was speechless. After a long while, he silently sent Xi Jingyue a meme of him giving the middle finger.

Xi Jingyue was completely unconcerned about his incompetent rage: "How's your situation going? Others have already had their coming-of-age ceremonies, and you still can't get here in time. Even if you want to acknowledge the marriage by then, they probably won't be happy about it."

Xi Jingyue hadn't lied to Du Anrao when she said Li Zhaoyang was currently overwhelmed with problems and couldn't get away.

However, what truly gave Li Zhaoyang a headache was not the mess at his own company, but Li Qianxi's situation.

After the banquet that evening, the Li family had Li Qianxi closely monitored and obtained clear evidence that she had been in contact with her biological father for some time and that he had been secretly preparing to harm Du Yuxi with his help.

But this woman was no pushover either. As soon as she realized something was wrong, she immediately sacrificed herself to save the king. Taking advantage of her biological father's volatile and irritable personality, she orchestrated a self-inflicted injury, portraying herself as someone who was threatened and had no other choice but to do so.

People are still lying in the hospital, pretending to be weak and pitiful in front of those who come to visit them.

If the Li family only learned of Du Yuxi's existence on the night of the banquet and hadn't investigated her underhanded tactics beforehand, they might have actually been deceived by her.

However, the Li family had already seen through her true colors through past events. Li Qianxi's actions backfired, making the Li family see even more clearly the cold-blooded ruthlessness beneath her gentle appearance.

A person who can easily scheme against and abandon even her own father, no wonder they couldn't warm her heart even after raising her carefully for more than ten years.

Perhaps it's true, as Xi Jingyue said, that some people are cold at heart.

Li Qianxi never cared about anyone; she only cared about herself. Anyone who might harm her interests was her enemy and could be abandoned without hesitation, even if that person was her blood relative or had raised her with painstaking care for eighteen years.

Upon hearing Xi Jingyue mention Li Qianxi, Li Zhaoyang's head began to ache again, but the words he uttered were unusually resolute.

"My parents will pack up all her belongings in the next couple of days and send her away. From now on, she will have no relation to the Li family and will no longer be able to flaunt our family's name. I want to see if her brainless sycophants will still fawn over her after she loses her status as the Li family's favored second young lady, and whether they will be willing to openly offend our entire family for her sake."

(End of this chapter)