Chapter 353

Young Xiao Dang.

She has lofty ambitions.

It's not merely about forming a genuine family tie with Xu Daming and Qin Jingru's relatives.

She thinks further ahead.

Her ambitions are even greater.

That is, to shift her identity from Qin Huairu's daughter to Qin Jingru's daughter; if she can make this dream come true, she can do anything.

Including betraying the Jia family, betraying Qin Huairu, kneeling before Xu Daming and his wife in front of a crowd, and clearly calling out 'Mom' and 'Dad'.

As a member of the Jia family.

Xiao Dang is no different from Bangeng.

Innate talent.

Unlike Bangeng, who taught himself the expert skill of lock‑picking and door‑prying, Xiao Dang has awakened to selfish, self‑serving scheming.

Her self‑positioning.

Very clear.

In the Jia family.

No matter how hard Xiao Dang works or how diligently she manages the household, even if she puts in more effort and hardship, she still can't measure up to her older brother Bangeng, who does nothing.

Her gender is her biggest disadvantage.

In the end, she is not male.

The male‑favoring Jia Zhangshi looks down on her, which is understandable, since the Jia family's lineage depends on Bangeng, the sole male heir, to uphold it.

In her previous life, Xiao Dang asked Shazhu for a room and took in a homeless young man as a live‑in husband; perhaps this was based on such considerations.

She wants to compete with Bangeng for the Jia family's property.

Perhaps she regards Bangeng as her enemy.

Jia Zhangshi firmly said that no matter how many wives Xu Daming takes, he is destined to have no children, ending the family line.

Under such circumstances.

If Xiao Dang truly becomes the daughter of Xu Daming and Qin Jingru as she wishes, then, speaking only of food and drink, she would leave Bangeng far behind by several streets.

Xu Daming is a film projectionist at the steel mill; if he truly became Xiao Dang's father, she wouldn't have to wear Bangeng's cast‑off old clothes, nor would she need to wear those tattered cloth shoes that show her toes.

New clothes.

New shoes.

These are things Xiao Dang can hope for but cannot obtain.

To obtain these things, Xiao Dang imitates Qin Huairu, putting on a pitiful act, looking pitifully at Qin Jingru and gazing beseechingly at Xu Daming, deliberately creating the appearance of being unwilling to leave them, for Xu Daming and his wife to see.

She never would have thought that the world still contains the idiom 'to backfire'.

For a trifling profit.

Even her own mother and grandmother are casually discarded and ignored.

Such a person.

Would Xu Daming really dare to want that?

Would Qin Jingru really dare to accept that?

The answer is obvious.

Moreover, Xu Daming himself is a morally corrupt troublemaker; he may not be able to do good deeds, but he is sure to carry out bad ones.

Qin Jingru inherently bears a hint of disdain for the poor and affection for the rich.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have, in her previous life, pretended to go on a blind date with Shazhu, enjoyed his delicious cooking, yet secretly hooked up with Xu Daming behind his back.

It's possible that Qin Huairu is scheming behind this.

But Qin Jingru is truly innocent.

As the saying goes, 'A fly doesn't bite an uncracked egg'; if she were wholeheartedly pursuing a blind date with Shazhu, Xu Daming's sweet talk and petty favors would not move Qin Jingru at all.

Precisely because Xu Daming and Qin Jingru are not exactly upstanding individuals, Xiao Dang's self‑conceived scheming is actually full of loopholes in their eyes.

Yet Xiao Dang remains unaware and continues to act out her tragic drama.

"Aunt, uncle, can I not leave?"

Xu Daming subtly gave Qin Jingru a look; the sneer at the corner of his mouth was clearly caught by Qin Jingru.

If you're not family, you don't enter the family gate.

Having learned Xu Daming's intention, Qin Jingru blinked and signaled with her gaze to Xiao Dang, who was still clutching her clothes from in front.

"Xiao Dang, listen: if you miss your aunt, come home after school tomorrow, go to the house to chat with your aunt; tonight, you must not stay."

Xu Daming stood up.

He stepped closer to Xiao Dang.

"Uncle will send you home."

Seeing Xu Daming coming to grab her, Xiao Dang hastily moved her body from in front of Qin Jingru to behind her, wrapping her thin arms tightly around Qin Jingru's waist.

Her head protruded from behind Qin Jingru.

She still wore a pitiful expression.

"Uncle, I want to stay; I don't want to go back."

She probably felt that her display of grievance wasn't obvious enough.

She quickly added a sentence.

"Aunt and uncle sleep on the bed; I can just lay a mat on the floor; at home, I also sleep like that."

It's nothing but wanting to prove that one's life is miserable.

To try one's utmost to move the hearts of Xu Damu and Qin Jingru.

Looking forward to Xu Damu and Qin Jingru being able to say the words that you will be our daughter.

A fantasy also rose in the mind: if Xu Damu and Qin Jingru were to say the words of accepting Xiao Dang as their adopted daughter, would Xiao Dang agree? If Xiao Dang agreed, would it leave a bad impression on Xu Damu and Qin Jingru? Or should Xiao Dang slightly decline, reluctantly acknowledging Xu Damu and his wife as parents?

"Aunt, uncle, I only have you two as relatives in the courtyard; please let me stay. I promise not to bother you."

"Xiao Dang, that's not right; if outsiders heard, they'd think your grandmother Jia Zhangshi, your mother Qin Huairu, your brother Bangeng, and your sister Huaihua are all dead."

It would be better if they were all dead.

Only if they were all dead would Xiao Dang have a better reason to regard Xu Damu as father and Qin Jingru as mother.

These years of Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi's struggle.

Jia Zhangshi held Bangeng, Qin Huairu held Huaihua, and only Xiao Dang, stuck in the middle, ended up with a grandmother who wasn't close and a mother who didn't love her.

There was hatred in the heart.

In the previous life, there was still Shazhu, and Shazhu protected her.

In this life, only Xiao Dang herself remains; she must seize any opportunity.

"Aunt, please tell uncle for me: I'll wash your clothes and cook, I'll help tidy the house, I promise to listen to you wholeheartedly; please let me stay. Tonight I didn't follow Grandma's intention to put a hat on my brother's head; Grandma surely hates me to death. If I go back, she'll definitely hit me with a feather duster. I don't want to go back; I want to stay."

Xiao Dang, speaking fluently, didn't know whether it was due to anxiety or an inadvertent slip, but blurted out the truth from the heart.

"I want you to be my parents! If possible, I can change my surname to Xu and my name to Xu Dang!"

Xu Damu's heart.

It rose to his throat.

He was genuinely frightened by Xiao Dang's words.

He had thought he had guessed Xiao Dang's mind, but mistakenly believed she, like Jia Zhangshi or Qin Huairu, was scheming to get a bit of the Xu family's food and drink.

He hadn't expected that.

Xiao Dang harbored grand ambitions; she wanted the whole Xu family!

This is intolerable!

A gasp escaped from Xu Damu's mouth.