Chapter 164

“Cooperate? What do I get out of it?”

“You get me, you get the Ye family, you get the full support of the Ye family. How’s that?”

“Not interested. For all I know, you could be a 200-pound fatty.”

You …

But on the other end of the line, Ye Zimei didn’t get mad. Instead, she said, “Little brother really knows how to joke. Alright, let’s talk serious business. I need to become the head of the Ye family—that’s all. And out of everyone, I think you’re the best person for me to work with.”

“You should know my father plans to take down the Ye family, right?”

“I know. And everyone knows. Chen Tianqiang wants to return to the top ten families. Conveniently, my little brother’s targeting you, so there’s a perfect conflict point.”

“And you’d still cooperate with me?”

“It’s not like we can’t. I need the position of Ye family head. You need what the Ye family has. If you marry me, I think the Ye and Chen families could become a powerful force.”

“Sorry … I have someone I like. Cooperation is fine, but marriage? Pass.”

“You have that much hostility toward me?”

Honestly, if Chen Fan didn’t seem decent enough, with all the insults he’d written about her in the diary, Ye Zimei would’ve lost it long ago and had him taken out.

But Ye Zimei was curious about what kind of existence she was. After learning she was in a cooperative relationship with Chen Fan, she finally relaxed.

She was genuinely worried she’d end up as one of the female leads. Damn it, if she really became a female lead, Ye Zimei would, without hesitation, kill Ye Aotian.

But considering how this world worked, it seemed Ye Aotian was still necessary, so she started laying out her plans.

It was pretty simple. When Ye Zifeng suggested going to Qin City, Ye Zimei had already guessed it, so she reached out to Xiao Li ahead of time.

She taught her a set of ancient martial arts techniques.

A very twisted technique, quick to master. But if Xiao Li didn’t meet her true love, this technique would inevitably become something harmful.

The technique was straightforward: truly love someone, and it would help that person. If your love wasn’t firm enough, it would destroy them.

As for the outcome, Ye Zimei had no interest. She just wanted to see how things would play out.

But Cao Zijin’s call made Ye Zimei suspicious. It was likely that certain events at specific points in time had to happen. Even if the process was convoluted, the final result still had to unfold seriously.

Ye Zimei thought it over for a long time and finally decided to go along with Cao Zijin’s arrangements.

So far, it seemed like this was the most correct approach.

You had to admit, Cao Zijin absolutely deserved the title of the smartest woman.

“I don’t have much goodwill toward strangers.”

You’re just a stinking idiot. You’re the kind of person who should go to hell. You deserve to be a lonely widow your whole life, you wretched woman.

Cursing her out in his head a few times finally calmed Chen Fan down.

“What about my proposal?”

“I’ll accept it. It doesn’t harm me in any way. I don’t think it’s hard to agree to. But I don’t want you messing around anymore. I like dealing with Ye Aotian myself.”

Better protect this protagonist a bit. Damn it, with all these monster-level villains showing up, and you, the protagonist, still haven’t powered up—honestly, you’re too freaking pathetic.

The power levels don’t even match. Whatever. Take it one step at a time. This is all I can do for now.

“Alright. So … would you welcome me coming to visit you?”

“No way. Stay home. Qin City’s too small to handle you.”

“Aww, but I miss you. Just let me come see you, okay? I promise I won’t cause trouble. Really, trust me.”

“I don’t trust you. I’ll never trust a woman’s words in my life—especially yours. If I believe you again, I’ll change my last name.”

Why does he have so much hostility toward me?

She was really curious. Honestly, Ye Zimei was dying to know what she’d done to Chen Fan to make him feel so that way every time he mentioned her.

Hanging up, Chen Fan returned to the private room.

As long as Ye Zimei’s involvement was firmly rejected by Chen Fan—joking aside—if she came too, things would really go off the rails.

Ye Zifeng must be taken down. This plot point absolutely cannot go wrong. And it has to be the protagonist and Ling Xiaoyun who defeat him together.

No one else will do.

This arc was where the protagonist fully turns against the Ye family. Without it, how do you kick off the later story?

In the private room, a few women were drinking for some reason. Chen Fan couldn’t be bothered to care. The plot was over—go ahead and play mahjong together, you heroines. It’s fine.

Zhu Yeqing poured Chen Fan a glass of wine and said, “Young Master, are you okay?”

“I’m fine … By the way, where’s the director?”

“The director left half an hour ago.”

Uh.

Chen Fan froze for a second.

At that moment, in a hotel, Xiao Lan lay next to the director, lighting a cigarette. The director, meanwhile, was sleeping soundly, fully satisfied.

Qin City’s great. This Ye Aotian really knows how to play—sending his girlfriend over like this.

The phone rang.

“What’s up?”

“We’re back. Where are you? You okay?”

“I … I’m taking care of the director for you. I saw you all left in a hurry and no one was looking after him, so I figured it wasn’t good.”

“Hmm, good job. I’ll get you a gift later. Thanks for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing … Not hard at all. The director got drunk, I said some nice things, and he promised he’d definitely make you a big star, Ye Aotian.”

“Hahaha, all thanks to you. Come back. I’m a bit tired and I miss you.”

Xiao Lan felt a little touched inside.

“Wait for me … I’ll come back to be with you soon. Things are almost wrapped up here.”

Hanging up, Xiao Lan silently wiped her tears, put on her clothes, and left the hotel.

She understood what Ye Aotian meant by “missing” her—he wanted her.

…

The meal didn’t last too long, but these few people drank quite a bit, and in the end, the one who suffered was Chen Fan.

What Chen Fan didn’t expect was, why on earth did these women start fighting? What … what are you all doing?

After Ye Zifeng and Ye Aotian left, Cao Zijin directly opened a bottle of liquor and started competing with the other women.

Jin Lan wasn’t one to back down—white liquor, foreign wine, beer, all mixed together as she drank.

On the side, Lin Qingyue herself wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, but for the sake of face, she had to drink.

These women were all holding a grudge, and the reason was simple: Why do you all get so much screen time?

Why is that?

The most pitiful one was Zhu Yeqing. Everyone drinking had to drag Zhu Yeqing into it, and Zhu Yeqing naturally understood why these women hated her.

Because her ending was the most beautiful. Sure, at the end, Chen Fan died, but even so, the one Zhu Yeqing liked was a normal person—Chen Fan.