Chapter 5: Is He Worthy

An Ling had already made up her mind the moment she regained control of her body.

She would only deal with the mess left behind by that system.

The mistakes made over the past two years—especially the things done to hurt the male and female leads—had absolutely nothing to do with her.

If she apologized to the male and female leads, who was going to apologize to her?

Who would apologize for the two years she had inexplicably lost, or the massive mess she now had to clean up? Who would take responsibility for that?

The fact that she had not taken her anger out on the male and female leads was already her being incredibly generous.

An Ling had no intention of explaining herself. She would just leave the headache to Shen Linyan.

After all, the man had just sat on the sidelines watching the drama unfold from the very beginning.

Under the watchful eyes of the three people, she took her time changing her shoes, flashing a radiant smile.

"You want me to apologize? Does he even deserve it?"

The three people in the living room: ...

After telling the driver to head home, An Ling settled into the back seat, took out her phone, and skillfully dialed a number.

The call connected instantly.

"Beep... Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently busy."

She glanced at her screen in confusion. What was going on? Had she been blocked?

Refusing to believe it, she dialed the number again.

The same cold, automated female voice replied.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently busy."

An Ling stared at her phone in sheer disbelief. "Did Jiang Mai seriously block me?!"

Jiang Mai had been her best friend since elementary school. They were so close they practically shared the same clothes, and their families were on great terms too.

Out of all her friends, Jiang Mai was the only one who knew about her face blindness.

An Ling knew that the system had severed all her genuine relationships, forcing her to hang out with a bunch of fair-weather friends to fit the plot's character settings.

But she had assumed the worst-case scenario would be them drifting apart into strangers. Had it really gotten to the point of being blocked?

Frowning, she looked up. Her gaze suddenly paused, then slowly shifted toward the driver in the front seat.

Xiao Li was focused on driving when a sudden chill ran down his spine.

The next second, a woman's gentle voice floated from the back seat.

"Mr. Driver, what is your name?"

He stiffened, answering nervously and dryly, "Madam can just call me Xiao Li."

The woman leaned forward with a beaming smile. "Alright then, Xiao Li, do you have your phone on you? Lend it to me for a quick call."

Meanwhile, inside a coffee shop.

The cashier looked at the vibrating phone on the counter, turning her head to shout toward the back kitchen.

"Boss! Your phone is ringing!"

"Coming."

Jiang Mai set the freshly made coffee on the counter, wiped her hands dry, and picked up her phone.

Seeing an unknown number, she answered it without a second thought.

After all, working in the food and beverage industry meant constantly receiving calls from customers.

"Hello, this is the Jiang Du Coffee Shop. How can I help you?"

The person on the other end remained silent. Confused, Jiang Mai glanced at the screen and politely repeated her question.

"Hello? Did you have the wrong number?"

A few seconds later, the person on the other end cleared her throat. A slightly guilty female voice came through, "Jiang Mai... it's me."

Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Mai froze for a moment, her brain failing to process it right away.

But the second she realized who it was, she hung up instantly.

When the phone rang again, Jiang Mai fell silent. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside to answer it.

She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, opening with a cold sneer. "What? Did you finally commit one too many sins and get kicked out by the Shen family? When is the divorce? I should send the Shen family a few flower baskets to celebrate."

An Ling, on the other end of the line: ...

What a vicious attack! She hadn't dialed the wrong number, had she?

An Ling genuinely could not fathom how the system had managed to turn Jiang Mai into her enemy.

Although she retained some memories, many of the details were fuzzy.

After all, it was two whole years' worth of memories! How could she possibly process all of it at once?

Just thinking about those fragmented memories gave An Ling a headache. "Can we meet up? I have something to tell you, and it's too complicated to explain over the phone."

If she told Jiang Mai that her body had been hijacked by a system for the past two years, would she even believe it?

Jiang Mai read a lot of web novels, didn't she? Surely she would believe it... right?

Hearing the helpless tone in the woman's voice, Jiang Mai paused, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at her phone.

"...Are you really An Ling?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's me!" An Ling said quickly. "Take me off your block list first. I'm borrowing someone else's phone right now and need to give it back."

Jiang Mai: ...

Looking thoughtful, Jiang Mai gave a slow, drawn-out oh. Then she added, "Didn't you want to talk? Come to my coffee shop then. I'm usually here."

"Alright, I'll head over in a bit."

Hanging up, An Ling handed the phone back to the driver. "Thanks, Xiao Li."

Xiao Li took his phone back, casting a surprised glance at her. "You're welcome, Young Madam."

He had heard rumors that the Madam had a volatile temper and a vicious personality. But looking at her now, that didn't seem to be the case at all. Although she acted a bit casually, she was actually quite approachable.

He brought the car to a stop. "Young Madam, we've arrived."

An Ling stepped out of the car and took the elevator up to the top floor.

With a beep from the electronic lock, the door swung open to reveal a luxurious, sprawling penthouse.

Taking it all in at a glance, only one word came to An Ling's mind: clean.

It was far too clean.

So clean that there was absolutely no trace of anyone actually living there.

It felt like a newly purchased, fully furnished model home, completely devoid of warmth or life.

It seemed this marriage truly was one in name only. The two of them probably didn't even cross paths when they were both at home.

Following her memories, An Ling made her way to the master bedroom. She took a quick look around before slowly walking into the walk-in closet.

With a soft click, the crystal chandelier overhead lit up.

Before her eyes was an entire room filled with luxury bags, designer clothes, and exquisite jewelry. Under the warm lighting, every single item was perfectly arranged, practically radiating the extravagant scent of squandered wealth.

If you asked her why she wasn't opposed to an arranged marriage with Shen Linyan?

The answer was right here.

Shen Linyan was the absolute perfect candidate for a marriage of convenience. He was gentle, incredibly wealthy, and possessed an impeccable sense of boundaries. He never crossed the line, truly embodying the ideal of a loveless, transactional marriage.

Even though she had caused so much trouble, Shen Linyan had never once mistreated her materially.

Whether it was the latest seasonal designer pieces or fine jewelry, someone would always deliver them to her right away.

To Shen Linyan, these things were probably just a string of numbers. It didn't matter who he was giving them to.

An Ling flopped lazily onto the soft leather sofa. "Why obsess over some male lead? Isn't all this a hundred times better?"

A system was just a system after all—completely incapable of appreciating the finer things in life.

She leaned back against the sofa, raising a fully diamond-encrusted bracelet to admire it. "Still, I need to leave myself a way out," she muttered softly.

According to her memories and the plot she had received, Shen Linyan was the archetypal gentle second male lead who gave unconditionally.

Her interactions with him today certainly confirmed that.

Shen Linyan maintained a mild, accommodating attitude toward almost everything.

Even when dealing with her—the vicious female side character—he never rejected any of her suggestions. He only showed a flicker of anger when the female lead was brought up.

The plot also claimed that Shen Linyan eventually went bankrupt because of her. But that was clearly the man's own problem; everyone else had their eyes on him, ready to pounce.

If Shen Linyan really did go bankrupt, she needed to make sure she could protect herself.

Meanwhile, back at the Shen family estate, Shen Linyan only realized An Ling had left early after he emerged from the study.

He wasn't surprised. Politely declining the nanny's offer to stay for dinner, he curled his lips into a faint smile and nodded at Mother Shen. "Mother, I'll be heading back to the company as well. There are still some documents I need to take care of."

Just as he was about to leave, Mother Shen's voice rang out from behind him:

"Linyan, even though you and An Ling have no feelings for each other, you are married. She is your wife, after all. You still need to keep her in check, otherwise, how can she ever be presentable in public with a temper like that!?"

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Mother Shen's tone seemed to carry a hint of gritted teeth.

Shen Linyan paused in his tracks. He turned his head nonchalantly, his gaze sweeping across Mother Shen's face before landing on Lu Jingshen beside her, whose expression was equally dark.

What had happened here?

Standing to the side, Zhou Wen suddenly raised her hand. "Big Brother, it was me... I wanted Sister-in-law to apologize to Jingshen. After all, Sister-in-law hit Jingshen on the head. But Sister-in-law... she... she said..."

Zhou Wen trailed off at the end. Having never uttered such provocative words in her life, her face flushed slightly with embarrassment and indignation.

Shen Linyan waited for a moment but still received no answer.

He glanced down at the time, his brows furrowing imperceptibly. "What did she say?"

Seeing this, the nanny nearby squeezed her eyes shut, steeled her resolve, and blurted out:

"Madam said, 'Is he worthy?'"

As soon as those words were spoken, the air froze for a split second.

Shen Linyan's movements faltered, a fleeting trace of surprise flashing through his eyes. He casually lifted his gaze, sweeping it over the increasingly unsightly expressions of the three people sitting on the sofa.

Could just a few words from An Ling really make these people reveal such amusing expressions?

He raised an eyebrow slightly, smiling as he lowered his head to adjust his wristwatch. The curve of his lips seemed to hold a hint of apology, and his tone was unhurried:

"Is that so? That was indeed inappropriate of her."

But she wasn't wrong, either.