Chapter 30 Confessions and Shocks

“Last time I saw you two, weren’t you both fine? Didn’t you like her?”

“Mom, how could you say I like her?” Xu Chengyan felt deeply wronged.

“But…”

【That’s exactly what I saw in your detailed notes, isn’t it?】

【Could the notes themselves be wrong?】

Ruan Yaoyao felt a bit confused.

Xu Chengyan pretended not to hear and said, “Mom, maybe the last time you went to my company, you saw her there and misunderstood? Isn’t it possible that heaven created all those opportunities so that she would appear before me, and I was supposed to fall for her…But for some reason, something went wrong on my end. I didn’t fall for her at first sight, I didn’t have to have her, so everything that happened afterward turned out completely different. Just like in a novel, I didn’t follow the script, and that’s why all these strange things happened afterward.”

“Is… is that really the case?” Ruan Yaoyao wasn’t entirely sure.

【So what I saw in the story was just a plot arrangement, and reality is something else entirely?】

【Sometimes even the protagonist doesn’t follow the script?】

Suddenly, Ruan Yaoyao seemed to understand. She realized why some storylines looked slightly different from the details she had seen.

【So plots can actually be changed. No wonder when I prevented my good granddaughter Lingxuan from being switched, the story changed. This is just like the butterfly effect.】

【If that’s the case…】

Ruan Yaoyao’s eyes shone brightly. She lifted her head to look at Xu Chengyan.

【If that’s the case, if the second son doesn’t want to become the domineering CEO protagonist burdened with half the criminal code, can I find a way to help him break free from the plot’s influence?】

【The reason the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law escaped the plot’s influence back then was because I did two things: first, I stopped my granddaughter from being switched.】

【The second… was preventing the eldest daughter-in-law from being possessed.】

【So with the second son, if I want to intervene…】

Ruan Yaoyao immediately began flipping through Xu Chengyan’s detailed page, searching for clues.

【I definitely can’t intervene directly and stop them from being together. If I do, it would return to the original storyline, and I’d become the hated evil mother-in-law again.】

【If I don’t want to be the evil mother-in-law, I have to welcome all my daughters-in-law, get along with them, and show my affection.】

Ruan Yaoyao’s gaze landed on a name—Yun Jinxian, a malicious female supporting character who secretly liked the second son.

Yun Jinxian?

Hearing the name, Xu Chengyan immediately recalled who she was.

The eldest daughter of the Yun family—they had previously worked together.

She was extremely competent and strikingly beautiful, though a bit too flamboyant.

By Xu Chengyan’s aesthetic, although he appreciated her charm, he would never want such a strong-willed woman as his future partner.

His ideal spouse would be gentle, graceful, and understanding, like his mother.

Well, his mom was a pretty vase.

She wasn’t career-driven, had no outstanding professional ability, but she was self-consistent.

No matter what happened, she could reconcile with herself and others.

Ruan Yaoyao sincerely suggested, “Even if it’s plot influence, you can’t force someone to be a mistress, right? Why don’t you find a girlfriend yourself? Look around for a suitable woman—whether pretending to be a girlfriend or for a business marriage, you could consider it. If you genuinely like her, that’s even better. If not, just be honest and compensate afterward. Not all women are love-crazed, after all.”

For example, she wasn’t.

If she were, she would’ve been driven crazy by her late husband long ago.

She didn’t divorce him partly because he handled money matters efficiently, and she, accustomed to spending freely, couldn’t find anyone better.

Also, she didn’t expect love—she just wanted money and stability.

And lastly, he was older than her, destined to die sooner.

Sure enough, he died early.

Once he was gone, everything in the household was hers; she became a carefree rich widow.

Even though it was late at night, Xu Lianghan still cared about the mother and son’s discussion.

After Ruan Yaoyao returned to her room, he secretly went to Xu Chengyan’s room to ask how it went.

Xu Chengyan rolled his eyes: “Didn’t you already guess?”

“True. I’ve raised you all these years as if you were my own. Of course I’d forgive you. Luckily, you didn’t do anything irreversible; otherwise, I’d be slapping myself for giving you such a terrible idea.”

“How is it a terrible idea? I just played the victim to gain Mom’s sympathy,” Xu Chengyan said disdainfully. “If you’re jealous, go sell your own tragedy in front of Mom. Think she’ll ignore you?”

Xu Lianghan: “……”

He already had several kids—he didn’t have that kind of nerve.

“So? Can Mom solve it? Did she say how?”

“She gave me a terrible idea: find a girlfriend. Even if there’s plot influence, Mom wouldn’t blatantly let the female lead be the mistress, right?”

Although it wasn’t certain this would completely prevent Li Tingting, it was at least a plan worth trying.

Xu Chengyan didn’t mention the name Ruan Yaoyao was thinking of. Yun Jinxian was capable, but too aggressive; he still had reservations.

Otherwise, why not choose another?

But Mom had only thought of this one name.

If she had thought of more names, he could have chosen carefully, at least finding someone more suitable.

“A-Qiu—”

Yun Jinxian sneezed, suspecting someone was criticizing her behind her back.

It made sense—her work style was always strict and uncompromising; it was normal for subordinates to complain.

But who said a woman can’t be firm?

Since she held the position, the company was hers to command.

The next day, Yun Jinxian arrived at the company, and her secretary handed her a large bouquet of lilies.

Another boring admirer! Yun Jinxian rolled her eyes, ready to throw it away, when she noticed a familiar name.

“Wait a second.”

She quickly walked over, took the business card from the bouquet: The weather is great today. Want to go out for a walk and have a meal together?

Signed: Xu Chengyan.

It really was him.

Yun Jinxian felt a faint sense of joy.

She had met him before during a company deal—young, promising, handsome, a bit proud but deservedly so.

She had a very good impression of him.

Later, she even inquired about him and learned that although Xu Chengyan was a Xu family illegitimate son, he had been raised as a legitimate heir, with resources poured into him meticulously.

That was why, whenever Yun Jinxian saw him, he exuded the aura of a noble young master—confident and imposing.

He had grown up this way; even after being switched back, the resources and advantages accumulated in him couldn’t be undone. His personal abilities had already been established.