Chapter 21: Shen Linyan's Dark Turn: Imprisoning You

Knowing that An Ling had told Shen Linyan about her face blindness, Jiang Mai called her early the next morning to blast her with questions.

"You really told him??!"

The exclamation shrieked through the phone. An Ling, sprawled across her bed, silently moved the device further away from her ear.

She closed her eyes and let out a dazed "Mhm." "I texted you yesterday to ask about it. Why are you only seeing it now?"

"I fell asleep the second I got home yesterday. I didn't see it. No, wait, that's not the point! Aren't you going to divorce him? What if he tells people after the divorce?"

Jiang Mai sounded frantic on the other end. "Have you forgotten how people treated you back then?"

"He won't. Shen Linyan promised me he wouldn't say anything, and I didn't tell him everything anyway."

An Ling stretched as she got out of bed, her lazy tone laced with the soft grogginess of someone just waking up. "Besides, I came up with a plan yesterday."

"What plan?"

"I've decided to change Shen Linyan. I'm going to make him stop being such a 'good guy'."

"..."

The other end went silent for a few seconds before Jiang Mai’s voice returned, sounding utterly numb.

"An Ling, how do you always manage to say such shocking things? Are you saying you want to rewrite Shen Linyan's source code?"

"What source code? Shen Linyan isn't a robot."

An Ling chuckled. "Anyway, I have to prevent him from going bankrupt now, so I might as well try this while I'm at it."

Jiang Mai mused, "An Ling, do you know what you sound like right now?"

"What?"

"Based on my experience reading novels, this is how it goes: you'll slowly fall for Shen Linyan, he'll fall for you, and you'll end up together. Or, you fall for him, but he refuses to change, things get ugly, and you end up in a messy divorce."

"..."

An Ling paused in her tracks, looking bewildered. "Why is it always me falling for him first?"

"Why else? Because he’s exactly your type."

Jiang Mai waved her hand dismissively, changing the script on the fly.

"Fine, let's swap it. Shen Linyan falls for you first, but you're so dense that you never notice until after the divorce. Then, Shen Linyan turns dark and locks you up in a gilded cage."

"..."

Just how many novels has this girl read?

An Ling questioned her, "Haven't you ever read a normal political marriage novel?"

"A normal high-society marriage novel? Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Jiang Mai cleared her throat and said in a serious, formal tone:

"Then get the condoms ready, because you two are about to have sex—"

Click!

An Ling hung up without hesitation, her face flushing as her gaze darted around the room.

Was she joking? Having sex with Shen Linyan?

Since when did the 'villainess' and the 'gentle second male lead' sleep together?

She spent a few minutes in the bathroom washing her face to calm down before stepping out.

The housekeeper had already prepared breakfast. Seeing her come out, she greeted her with a smile. "Good morning, Madam."

"Good morning, Auntie Cheng." An Ling had finally asked for the housekeeper's name the day before.

As An Ling sat down, Auntie Cheng placed a bowl of congee in front of her. "The Master told me before he left that you had some drinks last night. Having some congee will make you feel better."

An Ling nodded and picked up her spoon. Just then, her phone lit up. She glanced at it, and her movements froze instantly.

[Lu Jinggshen has transferred 2,000,000.00 RMB to your account ending in 9327.]

An Ling arched an eyebrow. That was fast.

She took a screenshot, intending to send it to Shen Linyan. It was only when she opened her messages that she remembered she hadn't added him on this account yet.

Suddenly, her brother, An Zhou, sent her a message.

[My dear princess, may I ask what this is...?]

Below the text was a link to a news report.

#Shocking! Mrs. Shen spotted at a bar again! Humiliating Young Master Lu’s friend, allegedly using underhanded tactics to lure Young Master Lu out! Was the previous clarification a lie?#

An Ling clicked the link and found that someone had filmed the incident at the bar last night.

In the footage, Huang Long was kneeling on the ground. From that angle, it truly looked like she was humiliating him.

Not only did the report take the events out of context, but it also conveniently omitted the latter half where Shen Linyan arrived.

An Ling didn't know who had intentionally leaked the story, but it was clearly aimed at Lu Jingshen.

It was a classic tactic: stir up public outrage first, then release the reversal when the heat is at its peak.

An Ling: [Don't worry, there's a plot twist.]

An Zhou: [What plot twist?]

An Ling: [I was carried out by Shen Linyan.]

The other side went silent for a full minute before a single question mark appeared.

An Zhou: [? Did you drink so much last night that you started hallucinating?]

An Ling: [Jiang Mai was with me. If you don't believe me, ask her.]

An Zhou didn't reply again, seemingly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information shattering his worldview.

An Ling scrolled through the comments for a while. Some people who were at the scene last night had already started piping up.

[Is this news for real? If I hadn't been there, I might have believed it.]

[I'm speechless! It wasn't Mrs. Shen bullying anyone; that guy was the one who insisted on paying the bill.]

[Talk about taking things out of context. Chairman Shen was there last night too.]

[And I saw Chairman Shen carrying Mrs. Shen!]

Using her alt account, An Ling silently liked that comment.

Remembering something, she messaged the "playing dead" An Zhou.

[Brother, do you have Shen Linyan's contact info?]

He replied instantly.

An Zhou: [What? Someone got a princess carry from her husband but doesn't even have his WeChat? Why are you initiating? Wait for him to add you.]

An Ling: [Why?]

An Zhou: [Because you have to keep a man on the hook. In a political marriage, you need to hold the emotional upper hand. Don't let that 'smiling tiger' Shen Linyan fool you.]

"..."

Did her brother read those novels too?

An Ling ignored him and reached out directly to Secretary Chen.

[Can you give me Shen Linyan's WeChat? I want to add him.]

Upon receiving the message, Secretary Chen’s eyes widened.

He stole a glance at the man sitting in the head seat.

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense and solemn. The man at the head of the table leaned back against his chair, idly twirling an expensive custom fountain pen between his long fingers while staring impassively at a subordinate's report.

Once the presentation ended, the man flipped through the documents and suddenly let out a soft, light laugh.

"I don't quite understand. Did you all produce this garbage because you're hoping for Shen Group to go bankrupt sooner?"

His deep voice sounded casual, yet the employees nearby were so terrified they barely dared to breathe, lowering their heads to stay out of sight.

The employee who had given the report turned pale, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, Ch-Chairman Shen."

The man looked up coldly and tossed the file onto the table.

"Take it back and redo it."

Seeing the atmosphere in the room grow increasingly suffocating, Secretary Chen felt like he was holding a hot potato.

Was this message fuel for the fire or a much-needed distraction? Should he show it to the Chairman?

He nudged the female secretary next to him, who was recording the minutes, and gave her a pleading look.

—What do I do? Do I show him?

The female secretary pushed up her glasses sharply. Giving him a look of utter disdain, she snatched the phone and placed it directly in front of Shen Linyan.

Secretary Chen was shocked and moved to tears. (My goddess!)

Shen Linyan glanced down casually. When he saw the content on the screen, his gaze flickered for a moment.

He calmly looked away, stood up, and adjusted his suit. "That's all for today's meeting. Good work, everyone."

Everyone rose immediately. "Goodbye, Chairman Shen."

In the empty conference room, Secretary Chen looked at his phone, which had been left behind on the table. He turned around in confusion. "So... is that a yes or a no?"

The female secretary calmly continued organizing her notes.

“You’re a step too late.”

Staring at the sudden friend request on her phone, An Ling blinked and smiled, sending a screenshot to An Zhou.

An Ling: [A prophet?]

An Zhou: [...Impressive.]

An Zhou: [Wait a second... Why is the Shen Linyan you’re adding different from the one I have?? Mine was given to me by Shen Linyan himself. Is yours a scammer? Don’t get conned. (Image attached)]

An Ling took a look, and he was right.

The profile picture of the Shen Linyan that An Zhou had added was the Shen Corporation building. This current profile picture, however, was a minimalist letter ‘S’.

An Ling: [I’ll ask.]

She accepted the friend request first and sent a message.

An Ling: [My brother says something isn't right. Are you really Shen Linyan? (′ʘ⌄ʘ‵)]

A moment later, a voice message arrived from the other side.

She tapped it, and a familiar, low chuckle echoed from her phone.

“No. I’m just here to scam Mrs. Shen out of that two million.”

The man’s voice was clear and infused with a smile. The slight upward lilt at the end of his words, combined with the faint static of the recording, made it sound all the more magnetic.

An Ling’s face flushed a soft red, and she reflexively covered her ears.

She definitely couldn't listen to that a second time.

Shen Linyan followed up with a text explanation: [Don’t worry, my lady. This is my private account. ^^]

She screenshotted that sentence and sent it to An Zhou.

An Zhou: [.........??]

What was that supposed to mean? He used a work account just to add his brother-in-law??