Since the talent show had officially ended, Jiang Yuqi and the others were immediately arranged by Xinyu Company to move into a shared dormitory that night, while the eliminated contestants gradually returned home.
The next morning at 8 a.m., a gossip reporter showed up at Xinyu's front desk with three people, claiming they were there to see Jiang Yuqi. As a fan of the show, the receptionist immediately notified the management.
Manager Yuan promptly came out to receive them—after all, the girl group had just been finalized the previous day and couldn't withstand any kind of scandal or storm.
After clarifying their intent, Yuan Jie walked into the office hallway and called Jiang Yuqi.
"Hello, Xiao Jiang? A reporter has shown up with your supposed family members. They're definitely not here with good intentions. I've already sent a car to pick you up. You need to prepare yourself mentally."
When Jiang Yuqi hung up the call, she was shocked. In her past life, the original owner's family had never once shown up. If there was one difference between then and now, it was this—
Yes, she had successfully debuted this time and hadn't died from online abuse.
If that's the case, then these people showing up now must have ulterior motives—purely sinister.
When Jiang Yuqi entered the office and saw the greed lurking beneath the couple's excited expressions, she instinctively blocked the woman's attempt to hug her.
Wang Mother looked disappointed but said with feigned emotion, "My daughter, you're the child I've spent so long searching for. You can't just not recognize your real mother."
But what she was truly thinking was: Back then, because you were a girl, we abandoned you so we could have a second child without paying the fine. If I'd known you'd be so successful, I'd never have thrown you away. Luckily, it's not too late now.
Knowing what they were thinking, Jiang Yuqi's emotions were complex. She hadn't expected the original owner's biological parents to be this vile—and it solidified her determination not to acknowledge them.
After speaking, Wang Mother even began to sob into her hands—if you didn't know better, you'd think she'd lost her parents!
"Don't cry just yet. Whether or not you're my real mother isn't something a few words can prove. We'll need to do a paternity test. Otherwise, anyone on the street could claim to be my family."
Her blunt words stunned Wang Mother, immediately stopping her tearless fake crying. The room fell silent.
Everyone was amazed by Jiang Yuqi's composure—she was able to come up with such a definitive solution so quickly.
So, they all went to the Municipal People's Hospital to take a paternity test. When it came time for Jiang Yuqi to give blood, she used her mental power to confuse the nurse and slipped her a vial of pre-prepared blood from her storage space. She also pricked her own arm with a needle.
She had to fully commit to the act—her arm needed to show signs of having been drawn from, or else it would arouse suspicion.
When she did all this, the door to the exam room had a gap. The people outside could clearly see the needle going into her arm, but her sleight of hand was perfectly concealed by her body.
As for the blood she used—it came from a mobile donation van she'd passed by earlier. She had saved it specifically to silence people like these.
A few hours later, the test results came back:
"Based on testing by the An City People's Hospital, the two individuals do not have a mother-daughter relationship."
When the reporter saw this, he was dumbfounded—so much effort, and it had all been for nothing.
He turned and glared angrily at Wang Father, who had given him the false tip.
The Wang family, clearly unwilling to accept the result, still wanted to stir things up. But with the reporter gone, their efforts were useless.
Wang Father was about to present his "evidence" when he realized he couldn't remember any of it. He asked Wang Mother, who was equally clueless.
In fact, Jiang Yuqi had tampered with their memories beforehand. Given her current level of mental power, she could only erase their memory of anything that could prove a biological connection.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone through the elaborate charade of a paternity test—it was meant to silence the reporter and the company.
In the end, the matter was resolved cleanly. The Wang family slinked back to their rental apartment. With no proof, they didn't dare confront Jiang Yuqi again.
After all, paternity test results were hard evidence. Look what happened to Zhang Kexin, who had tried to spread false rumors—she'd ended up in jail. The Wang family knew better than to crash headfirst into a wall.
Over the next three years, Jiang Yuqi stayed active with the girl group but never gave up on her education.
In her spare time, she also ran a side account under the alias "A Justice Warrior Who Hates Cyberbullying." Through this identity, she frequently exposed dark secrets within the entertainment industry and society.
For example: which director was abusing their power, which actress lived a chaotic private life, which official was corrupt...
The key point was—every single claim came with evidence, and government investigations later confirmed all of them.
After that, government agencies began assigning people to monitor the account's activity. They even tried to trace the person's identity, but the information was sealed at a top-secret level. The state couldn't dig anything up.
After the limited girl group contract ended, Jiang Yuqi remained wildly popular. She took the opportunity to sign with a major film and television company and began her career as an actress.
Yes, she was now focused on honing her acting skills—not so much for the money, but to lay the groundwork for her future world.
After all, she'd already spent three years as an idol—it was impossible to return to a normal life. She figured she might as well advance her craft and improve her acting.
Meanwhile, Zhang Kexin had just been released from prison. Her years inside had been a living hell—constantly bullied, insulted, and ignored by the guards.
What those guards didn't know was—they were Jiang Yuqi's fans. The woman who had slandered their idol was lucky not to have been stomped on harder.
Upon release, Zhang Kexin had lost all her assets and her health. She could only survive by begging on the streets.
One day, she saw Jiang Yuqi on an electronic billboard, radiant and glamorous. She looked down at her own dirty clothes, tugged at the knotted mess of her hair, and dragged her crippled body forward.
Someone walking by saw her struggling and dropped five yuan into her cracked bowl.
But Zhang Kexin no longer felt excited—only numb and hollow. Looking at Jiang Yuqi, she was struck by the absurdity of her life. Overwhelmed, she collapsed.
By the time a nearby officer found her, Zhang Kexin had already stopped breathing. Her lifeless eyes still stared blankly at the glowing screen across the street.
At first, when Jiang Yuqi transitioned into acting, she was met with ridicule:
"She was doing fine as an idol—why overestimate herself?"
But her guest role as a martial heroine in a historical drama completely won over the audience. Her fierce and valiant portrayal stunned viewers.
Even more impressive, she performed every scene herself—no body double—proving the haters wrong.
Eventually, more scripts came her way. Jiang Yuqi only accepted roles that would challenge her acting skills. She didn't care about her billing position and enjoyed playing diverse characters.
To ensure quality, she only filmed one drama a year. The company had no choice but to accept her laid-back work pace.
Why? Because her original contract included a supplementary clause:
"Jiang Yuqi's work schedule is hers to choose. The company may not pressure her under any circumstances. Violations grant her the right to terminate the contract unconditionally."
Outside of filming, Jiang Yuqi loved traveling. She often bought local delicacies and stored them in her personal space.
As for men—they were just spice in her life. If the timing was right, she'd date someone.
She never married. She didn't like being bound by anyone or forced into a life of cooking, cleaning, and domestic chores. She especially refused to give up her career for a boyfriend.
Most men she met were arrogant and egotistical, always wanting their partner to quit the "filthy" entertainment industry and disappear from the public eye.
As for pretty-faced freeloaders—Jiang Yuqi never even considered them. She wasn't obsessed with love.
So, she only dated men from outside the industry and always made it clear up front:
"I date, but I don't marry. If you can't accept that, then goodbye."
Public opinion on Jiang Yuqi was deeply divided.
Some believed she had carved out a lasting legacy in the country's entertainment history and even reached global recognition.
Others criticized her casual attitude toward relationships, saying her decision never to marry was simply unnatural.