Starlet Taotie Chapter 32 (Part 2)
Chapter 32.2 Can You Buy Familial Love with Money?
'Found Family' had a host as well as several observers.
Their job was to stir up the audience, and right at the beginning of the show, they made a series of comments about how pitiful Jiang Tao’s parents were and how outrageous Jiang Tao was.
They successfully fanned the flames of the viewers’ anger.
At this point, the host brought Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother onto the set.
She was short and plain-looking, with extremely pronounced nasolabial folds that made her seem like someone who wasn’t easy to get along with.
【That’s Jiang Tao’s mom? They don’t look anything alike!】
【maybe Jiang Tao takes after her dad?】
The camera quickly cut to Jiang Tao’s father lying in the hospital bed.
He looked even uglier than her mother.
【…………】
【With those looks, if Jiang Tao really was their biological daughter, it’s honestly impressive that she turned out looking the way she does...】
【what does appearance have to do with anything? dont try so hard to defend her】
【I’m not defending her. I’m just raising a tiny question based on the laws of biological inheritance.】
【Sigh, I’ll just say it. They obviously don’t look like they’re related by blood, do they?】
Sun Jianxian stared at the comments, and his expression immediately stiffened.
What the hell was wrong with these idiots? Who told them to start judging people’s looks?
However, once Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother began speaking, the viewers’ attention was quickly drawn back to the main issue.
Sun Jianxian had originally taught Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother an entire script designed to provoke the viewers’ anger as much as possible.
He hadn’t expected her to forget most of it as soon as she got nervous, leaving her stumbling over her words.
The host asked her, “What kind of resolution are you hoping for today?”
Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother blurted out her true thoughts without thinking. “She has to give me at least fifty million yuan!”
Host: “…”
Only then did Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother realize she had said the wrong thing. She hurriedly tried to cover it up. “I’m just worried that a young girl like her will waste all her money, so I want to save it for her...”
But quite a few viewers in the comments were already starting to feel that something was off.
【why do i feel like she’s contradicting herself? earlier she said all she wanted was for Jiang Tao to go to the hospital and see her dad, but now she’s asking for 50mil right off the bat!】
【A slip of the tongue maybe?】
【Why do I feel like what she just said is actually the truth? She was stumbling over her words before, but she said ‘fifty million’ pretty smoothly!】
【There’s nothing wrong with asking for fifty million, is there? They raised Jiang Tao all those years. She’s made plenty of money as a celebrity, hasn’t she? Why not treat it as paying her parents back?】
【tbh I’d been firmly on her parents’ side this whole time but now I’m starting to have my doubts】
Sun Jianxian was fuming. He never would have imagined that after all his repeated warnings, Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother could still make such a blunder and nearly ruin his perfect plan!
Fortunately, the production team stepped in and salvaged the situation in time.
Several of the observers expressed deep sympathy for Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother. Some were indignant on her behalf, while others even wiped away tears.
“Our country has always placed filial piety above all else. If a person can’t even honor their own parents, how can we expect them to possess any other virtues? What’s even more heartbreaking is that someone like this is actually a celebrity. How many young people could she influence and lead astray?”
“Madam Jiang, don’t worry. 'Found Family' is here to help you resolve these problems.”
“I am deeply heartbroken. What I see before me is a mother who may not be good with words, yet even after being betrayed, still holds love for her child. Even crows know to feed their parents, and even lambs know to kneel when nursing. As human beings, how can we possibly be worse than animals?”
As a result, there was no need for Sun Jianxian’s paid posters to stir things up. Some of the more easily influenced viewers in the bullet comments had already begun attacking Jiang Tao.
Seeing that the atmosphere had been sufficiently riled up, the host invited Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother to sit on the sofa.
“Alright, let’s see whether Jiang Tao will show up today.”
At the show, there was a special family-search door. Any relatives who were found would enter the studio through that door.
It was also the biggest source of suspense on 'Found Family'.
The host paused at just the right moment, allowing the viewers in the comments to speculate.
【I’ll bet Jiang Tao won’t show up today!】
【Count me in. If Jiang Tao actually comes, I’ll eat my keyboard!!】
【If I were Jiang Tao, I’d come no matter what.】
【There’s no way she’ll dare to come.】
【Good. If she comes, I can finally give her a piece of my mind.】
【You probably won’t even get the chance. The observers there will tear into her first.】
【celebrities are all the same. once they screw up, they hide away till everyone forgets, then come back out and start making money again】
【Jiang Tao’s side still hasn’t responded. That proves there’s something wrong. She’ll pretend nothing happened and get through this, then play the victim with depression next time, and everyone will forget about it.】
【She still hasn’t responded on Weibo. She must be feeling guilty.】
【I know she probably won’t come, but I still hope she does hehehe.】
“Everyone, let’s count down from five.
“Five!
“Four!
“Three!
“Two!
“One!”
Everyone’s hearts rose into their throats.
The door on the other side of the studio slowly opened.
A young lady stood there, graceful and poised.
It was Jiang Tao.
【！！！】
【！！！！】
【Holy shit!! She actually came!】
【She actually had the nerve to come. As expected, when someone is shameless enough, nothing can stop them.】
【gotta give her credit for having the guts tho! (still think she shouldnt be so unfilial)】
【SRY but what happened to the people who said they’d eat their keyboards!!】
【Fight! Fight!】
The moment Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother saw her, she almost failed to recognize her.
The Jiang Tao in her memory had always been timid and shrinking, never daring to resist them.
Even after she became a celebrity, she had remained the same.
But the girl standing before her now was brimming with confidence, completely unlike the Jiang Tao she remembered.
The adoptive mother quickly regained her composure.
Even if Jiang Tao had changed, she still had plenty of ways to control her. This time, she would make sure Jiang Tao handed over every last cent.
With that thought, Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother straightened her back again.
Jiang Tao stepped through the family-search door.
When she saw her adoptive mother, she felt disappointed.
There was greed, hypocrisy, and viciousness in her.
But there was none of the warmth Director Zhou had described.
Not even the slightest bit.
After all that effort, she hadn’t gotten a single thing to eat.
Jiang Tao was furious.
Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother felt a chill run down her spine under Jiang Tao’s stare.
She instinctively wanted to scold her like she used to, but remembered in time that they were on camera. To maintain the image of a loving mother she had put on, she forcibly pulled the corners of her mouth into a stiff smile.
“Tao Tao, why do you not recognize your mother?”
The observers beside her immediately chimed in.
“Jiang Tao, this is your mother! The mother who raised you through all those hardships!”
“You came here because you wanted to reconcile with your mother, didn’t you? Hurry and call her mom!”
Jiang Tao blinked. “You’re my mother?”
Her adoptive mother immediately nodded. “Yes, yes!”
“But there isn’t even a trace of familial love coming from you,” Jiang Tao retorted.
Her adoptive mother froze.
Jiang Tao wasn’t surprised.
After all, she had to pay for everything she ate.
Perhaps familial love was the same.
So she asked, “Can you buy familial love with money?”
【????】
【Why would Jiang Tao say that?】
【i smell a huge scandal coming!】
【things just got interesting 👀】
【Don’t let her manipulate you with her wordplay!】
Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother had no idea what she meant, so she followed the script Sun Jianxian had taught her and began to cry.
“Tao Tao! How can you say that about your mother? Mom loves you! How can you measure a mother’s love for her child with money?”
After listening to her cry, Jiang Tao asked somewhat disappointedly, “You can’t?”
Her adoptive mother thought she had wavered and secretly rejoiced.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Tao sighed. “Then forget it.”
Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother: “???”
Jiang Tao said, “I came here because I just wanted a taste of familial love. Since you don’t have any, and money can’t buy it either, then forget it.”
There were so many delicious things in this world. There was no need to put so much effort into something she had never tasted before.
【She sounds so calm, but why do I suddenly feel like crying?】
【“Since you don’t have any, and money can’t buy it either, then forget it.” T_T what on earth did she go through to be able to say something like that?!】
【Fuck, I’m actually tearing up.】
【Is this really all Jiang Tao’s fault? It feels like her mother has been the only one talking this whole time, while Jiang Tao hasn’t said a word.】
【i kinda get Jiang Tao now. her mom knows what kind of show Found Family is, right? did she seriously come on here just to ruin Jiang Tao’s career? i genuinely dont see even a little bit of love for Jiang Tao from her】
【Remember that fifty million? Jiang Tao hasn’t even been famous for that long, has she? Could she really come up with fifty million? Asking for that much right off the bat... Does she see Jiang Tao as her daughter, or as an ATM?】
One of the observers beside them couldn’t stand it anymore and said earnestly, “Familial love is the most precious of all emotions, and the most unique. It exists deep within everyone’s heart, and nothing can replace it—”
Jiang Tao: “Do you have it?”
Observer: “…”
Jiang Tao said, “If you have it, I can pay you for it too.”
She said with complete seriousness, “Name your price.”
【I have it!!! Pay me!!!】
【Baby Jiang Jiang, Mommy doesn’t want much. Five million will do!】
【I’ll only charge three million!】
【I’ll do one hundred thousand!! My fatherly love is overflowing. You definitely won’t lose out!!】
【are we seriously bidding now?!】
【i dont want money. if i had a daughter this pretty, id be drowning in motherly love every single day】
…
The mood of the bullet comments instantly shifted.
Sun Jianxian nearly died of anger, and he hurriedly contacted the paid posters to steer the narrative.
But no one could have expected that, at that very moment, a team of police officers would walk into the studio.
They produced an arrest warrant.
“Wang Guihua, you are suspected of the crime of trafficking in women and children. Please come with us to assist with the investigation.”
Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother immediately panicked. “That’s nonsense! I haven’t committed any crimes! Jiang Tao... Jiang Tao is my daughter! I didn’t buy her...”
Police Officer: “You can make those statements in court. For now, please cooperate with us and come back to the station.”
Terrified, Jiang Tao’s adoptive mother looked around at the police officers surrounding her. Trembling and sobbing with snot flowing down her nose, she shouted, “I’ll confess! I’ll confess everything!
“Don’t make me go to prison!!”
The comments erupted into an uproar.
【！！！】
【WTFFFF】
【What an insane plot twist!!!】
【she basicaly confessed without even being asked】
【Who was it that said Jiang Tao didn’t look like their biological daughter?! What a prophet!】
【am i the only one wondering if Jiang Tao is about to earn another merit this time?】
【My Jiang jie really is a star of the police force!】
【…………】
