Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two: The Change Factor

Not only had the typhoon altered things; even the tea party, and the fate of the Song family, had all changed.

The meddling that Jian An’an and the others had planned for the tea party was supposed to begin after the variety show ended.

But because of her, because of Li Weiwei, the tea party had been moved up, and so had Jian An’an’s scheme.

What was different this time was that Jian An’an’s plot had failed.

The same was true of the Song family. In her previous life, although Song Wanning had stirred up one storm after another, in the end Wen Jingxing had never done anything to the Songs.

The family had not risen any higher, but they had at least managed to keep their business steady.

They had lived so uneventfully all the way to the ending. Apart from the period centered on Song Wanning, when their roles had been somewhat lively, they had otherwise been no different from background figures.

What Song Wanning worried about most was what butterfly effects might arise from her arrival.

For example, events beyond the plot, or outcomes she could not control.

And now, it seemed that only the intended events had simply been brought forward.

She still could not predict what would happen next, so she could only take things one step at a time.

However, at present, the greatest uncertainty that worried her was this:

Wen Jingxing, who in the book should have had absolutely no connection with the original owner of this body, and who was supposed to sever ties completely after the variety show ended!

Yet now, not only had their relationship become increasingly harmonious, but before the show had even finished, she had already moved into his house!

Worse still, Wen Jingxing seemed to enjoy giving her things. Especially now that they were in the capital and she had more freedom, he seemed to hand her one gift after another.

Take today’s dress, for instance. It had been said to be only a loan.

But after they returned, Song Wanning changed out of it and intended to give it back.

Wen Jingxing said there was no need. He said the dress looked beautiful on her, and since it had already been bought, there was no one else around him, aside from her, who could wear it. Rather than leave it unused, he might as well give it to her.

Song Wanning naturally declined politely.

Yet Wen Jingxing offered a reason she could not refute. He had said, "Giving you things makes me happy, so giving you things is simply my way of making myself happy."

She could not follow Wen Jingxing’s train of thought, so she stopped trying.

Instead, she went downstairs to look for Shen Yue, who had been loitering in the living room and refusing to leave.

When Shen Yue heard that Song Wanning had come to kick her out, she was naturally displeased. But after hearing Song Wanning’s brief explanation, she ultimately had no reason to stay. On top of that, her family was urging her to hurry home, so in the end she had no choice but to leave in a huff.

Li Shu was very attentive and even told Cheng Mu to give Shen Yue a ride down the mountain when he left. The road alone took quite a while by car, not to mention that this was Wen Jingxing’s private estate, where no taxi could enter.

Jiang Mingzhao had calculated everything, but he had failed to account for Cheng Mu, this unexpected variable.

Just as he was sighing in relief after escaping disaster, Shen Yue began grilling Cheng Mu in the car.

"Hey! You’ve been driving Jiang Mingzhao around this whole time, haven’t you? You must know him very well, right? Then do you know where he went?"

Fortunately, Cheng Mu did not like talking much to strangers.

"Mr. Jiang should have gone back, I think?"

"Should have? Didn’t you drive him the whole way? How could you not know where he went?!"

Shen Yue had every reason to suspect the two of them were in cahoots.

"But it seems, Miss, that you are the one most familiar with Mr. Jiang. Today was actually my first time meeting him."

Cheng Mu was merely stating the facts, but to Shen Yue it sounded like mockery.

"What do you mean by that? Are you questioning my relationship with Jiang Mingzhao? If I hadn’t been unable to reach him for a moment, do you think I’d be asking you?"

Shen Yue did not care whether Cheng Mu was driving at all. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

Luckily, Cheng Mu’s hand on the steering wheel was steady; the car only swerved slightly before he quickly pulled it back.

Yet Shen Yue, the one who had caused it all, began to scold him instead.

"How exactly do you drive? Can you even drive? I think it would be better if Young Master Wen changed drivers."

Cheng Mu did not retort.

He was not good with words, and he knew that with a woman like Shen Yue, if he kept arguing, she would only badger him endlessly.

At that moment, he finally understood why Jiang Mingzhao found her both detestable and terrifying.

He had only spent half an hour with her, yet already felt on the verge of going mad. How much worse must it have been for Jiang Mingzhao, who had lived under the same roof with her for half a month?

In Cheng Mu’s mind, Jiang Mingzhao’s image immediately transformed from that of a frivolous rich second-generation celebrity into that of a hero!

Once the car left the mountain roads, Cheng Mu wanted to ask Shen Yue to get out. Taxis could still be found here, though they were a bit expensive. He truly did not want to spend another moment with this woman.

Who would have thought Shen Yue would actually curse him out, saying he had not a trace of gentlemanly conduct or manly bearing, that he was abandoning a helpless woman in the middle of nowhere and even expecting her to hail a taxi home by herself!

Cheng Mu looked at the roads ahead and behind them. Every so often, a private car passed by, and if they went a few dozen meters farther, they would reach the residential district.

He fell into endless contemplation...

Indeed, Jiang Mingzhao’s choice had been the right one.

In the end, he still could not withstand Shen Yue’s pressure and personally escorted her all the way to her doorstep.

After Shen Yue left, Song Wanning did not return to her room. She simply sat in the living room, waiting for Li Shu to say dinner was ready.

As for Jiang Mingzhao, who had been hiding out in Wen Jingxing’s house all this time, he still had not appeared.

She assumed he did not know Shen Yue had left, so she sent him a message.

It took Jiang Mingzhao a long while to reply with just two words: almost there.

Then Song Wanning wondered whether he had gotten lost.

When she sent another message to ask, as expected, Jiang Mingzhao replied with a string of ellipses.

Song Wanning laughed at him while going to find Li Shu and ask someone to bring Jiang Mingzhao back.

Wen Jingxing did not appear until it was time to eat. Seeing that Jiang Mingzhao was still there, he said rather bluntly, "You can leave after you finish eating."

Jiang Mingzhao agreed out loud, but in truth he ate at a snail’s pace.

By the time everyone else had nearly finished, he was only halfway done.

As though heaven itself were helping fulfill Jiang Mingzhao’s wish, just before he could dawdle through the very last bite.

Dark clouds pressed low overhead, fierce winds howled, and rain came crashing down in sheets!

The area was surrounded by mountains and woods, so when the wind rose, the rustling of the leaves was enough to make anyone afraid.

Not to mention the flashing lightning and rolling thunder outside; anyone could tell this rain would last a long while.

Jiang Mingzhao said to Li Shu with a grin, "The rain outside is so heavy. Why don’t I just stay the night?"

Li Shu was quite fond of this boy. He had been telling her jokes the entire time and making her laugh nonstop.

So she said to Wen Jingxing, "The roads are slippery in weather like this, and it’s so terrible out there. Taking the mountain road would be dangerous. Why don’t you let Young Master Jiang stay here for the night?"

Wen Jingxing was not so heartless as to insist on driving someone out at a time like this, so he simply told Li Shu to prepare a guest room.

The end.