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

Chapter 454 My God!
An awkward silence filled the empty room. The Du family members wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, but they didn't know what to say.

After what seemed like an eternity, Du Anrao finally let out a long breath, his expression stiff, and said, "Dad, are you kidding me?"

"I'm not joking, it's true." Du's mother looked at her pitiful little daughter with a face full of guilt and heartache.

"Mom, how could even you..."

“What Mom and Dad said is true. We can really hear... what you're thinking.” Du Yuxi’s words were like the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

[How is this possible? It's not scientific at all. No, the existence of that vast library in my head isn't exactly scientific to begin with, is it? Could it be true? So all my private complaints about Dad being henpecked, Mom being a smiling tiger, my eldest brother being rigid, my second brother being fussy, my third brother being stingy, and my fourth sister being a sucker—they all know about it?!]

Everyone: "..." They might not have known before, but they do now.

No, I have to find a way to try them out.

Du Anrao cleared his throat: "You all say you can hear what I'm thinking. In that case, tell me what I was thinking just now."

Without a second thought, Du Hexuan stepped forward and said, "You said you secretly complained that Dad is henpecked, Mom is a smiling tiger, and my older brother is rigid, umm umm umm..."

Before Du Hexuan could finish speaking, Du Anrao covered his mouth tightly: "Stop talking, stop talking."

[Damn it, don't I have any pride? No, if my second brother knows this, it means what Mom and Dad said is very likely true. Does that mean what I just said is all...]

Du Junyan replied expressionlessly, "Yes, I heard you."

Du Anrao: "..."

[Oh my God, let me die!]

Du Anrao was like a pathetic cannon fodder character in a comic book who had just suffered a fatal blow, his face petrified as he spat out his transparent little soul.

Some people may still be there, but they've actually been gone for a long time!
"An'an..." Seeing this, Du's mother was really worried that her youngest daughter would be too shocked by this and become withdrawn on the spot. She was also worried that her family would be angry with them for keeping it from her.

"This was indeed our fault; we should have told you a long time ago."

"When did this happen?"

"what?"

"When did you start being able to hear... what I'm thinking?"

The Du family members froze again, but this time it was Du's mother who spoke: "When you first came home, or more precisely, when Bai Xiuqing first came to our house."

These past two days, they went to Wangjia Village to smash graves to vent their anger, instead of coming to find Du Anrao immediately after learning the truth. This was partly to vent their anger, and partly to give themselves time to organize their thoughts and explain to Du Anrao.

Before coming, Du's mother had rehearsed her answer countless times, but when faced with her daughter's pleading face, all she could do was answer truthfully.

Hearing her say that, Du Anrao calmed down instead: "That's why you were so cooperative when I suggested taking her to the hospital for a second check-up."

"Ah."

"And then there's the older brother, who suddenly appeared and said he accidentally found a hidden camera in the hotel room he was staying in..."

"I was lying to her. There were no cameras at all. I just overheard your thoughts outside and came up with this plan on a whim." Du Anrao suddenly realized, "Oh, I see."

“An’an, I’m sorry. We didn’t tell you about this at first because we were worried that you had just returned home and were feeling the most uneasy. I was afraid… I was afraid that if we told you the truth, you would distance yourself from us because you were worried about revealing your thoughts.”

As Du's mother spoke, her eyes reddened: "Later...later I admit that I was too selfish. What you said came true one after another, and we were all a little scared."

Du Anrao's expression stiffened: "Afraid...of me?"

"It's not that we're afraid of you, it's that we're afraid there will be even more terrible things waiting for your older brother and sister, and for our family, so we've kept it from you, afraid that you'll feel awkward because of this..." We can't share the gossip with them as we used to.

It was clear that Du Anrao was a little awkward at this moment. She pouted unhappily and muttered, "In your eyes, am I such a petty person?"

These words were a devastating blow to the Du family. Those who had originally planned to offer further explanations (or justify themselves) instantly lost their morale, and all their pent-up emotions boiled down to just one sentence: "I'm sorry."

Du Anrao's gaze swept over everyone, and finally he could only sigh and ask, "Third Brother can hear that too?"

"Hmm." Mrs. Du felt obligated to explain to her youngest daughter on behalf of her third son, so she carefully added, "He actually wanted to come today, but his supervisor was diagnosed with colon cancer and has been hospitalized for treatment for some time now. His research is at a critical juncture, and the research institute is unwilling to let him go..."

Du Anrao's eyes flickered slightly. It turned out that Old Master Lü had cancer. He hadn't noticed it at first, and by the time he discovered it, it was probably already in the late stage, and there was nothing he could do.

"Did Third Brother say how his advisor is doing?"

“That’s great, that’s great. Your third brother said that his advisor took your advice and went to the hospital for a checkup a long time ago. Although it’s cancer, it was discovered early and hasn’t spread much yet. Early surgery and early treatment may not guarantee a complete cure, but it should be easy to extend his life by ten or eight years.”

The main reason is that Mr. Lü is not young anymore. At his stage, every extra day he lives is a bonus. These ten or eight years may pass in the blink of an eye for young people, but they are invaluable to Mr. Lü and his family, and cannot be bought with any amount of money.

"That's good." Du Anrao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and a smile appeared on his face, seemingly unaffected by what had just happened.

The group couldn't quite grasp Du Anrao's feelings at this moment, but they knew there was an old saying: "The first decline is followed by the second exhaustion." Since things had already come to this point, they might as well take this opportunity to tell the whole story and avoid settling scores later.

The group exchanged a knowing glance, instantly understanding each other's meaning.

"Ahem, An'an, besides this, there's something else we want to tell you."

"what's up?"

"Besides us and the third brother, many other relatives also..."

Du Anrao's smile froze completely: "What many relatives mean is..."

Du's mother: "For example, your cousin Lian Shuang and her two children."

Du Junyan: "My fourth aunt's family, and my fifth aunt's family."

Du Hexuan: "Grandpa and Grandma, Cousin Bixiao, and my uncle's family."

Du Yuxi: "My uncle's family was not doing well at first, but after you sent them New Year's gifts, we've been able to hear about it recently."

Mr. Du made the final decision: "Most of the money that was transferred to you in the last auction is from that."

Du Anrao: "..."