Chapter 31: An Unexpected Incident at the Shangyang Assembly

"Wait, that’s not right. Booking a place like this usually means discussing business with someone important. But tonight happens to clash with Shang Beiming’s banquet..."

"Ah, I get it, System. Shang Yang must have had to abandon his original plans for tonight to attend the banquet to avoid gossip. And since he’d already made the reservation, he didn't want to waste it, so he brought me here to eat instead!"

Lin Xianxian thought to herself, feeling quite pleased.

"I’m so lucky! A place frequented by such big shots—the private-kitchen food must be absolutely delicious!"

That sounded logical enough, but then...

Shang Yang suddenly spoke up. "I own this private kitchen. This is my reserved private room. You can come here anytime you like in the future; just give Aunt Su a call to confirm."

"Most of the time, it’s left empty."

Lin Xianxian blinked.

Outwardly, she appeared calm, but internally, she was screaming like a groundhog:

"Ahhhhh... holy crap! Shang Yang actually owns this place! Sigh, he really is the man I like most in this world—so incredibly impressive."

"And System, don't you think Shang Yang is so low-key? This was never mentioned in the original plot... Wait, no."

Lin Xianxian’s internal tone suddenly turned somber:

"I understand now. After Shang Yang had his accident and became disabled, he rarely went out. Later, he chose to leave this world... In the end, everything belonging to Shang Yang—including this private restaurant that clearly makes a fortune and serves as a hub for influential people—became Shang Beiming’s!"

"Damn it, why do the leads always end up with all the good stuff? Especially the male lead; he’s practically the child of destiny. Shang Yang is clearly more handsome, smarter, more capable, and has a better personality than him... yet he was unlucky enough to encounter such a tragedy, while Shang Beiming survives even unpredictable disasters like earthquakes..."

Shang Yang felt a sudden wave of daze.

The first time he heard Lin Xianxian’s inner thoughts, he learned he might suffer an accidental disability. Back then, he and his grandfather took it very seriously.

They had remained still, waiting to hear more of her thoughts to figure out the situation so he could avoid it...

Or, perhaps, to take out the people planning to harm him in advance!

But later on, Lin Xianxian didn't dwell on the matter, and Shang Yang wasn't the type to obsess over things that hadn't happened yet.

He had almost forgotten about it himself, but unexpectedly, Lin Xianxian had brought it up again.

His ears, which had been buzzing, gradually calmed down. Shang Yang quietly ladled soup for Lin Xianxian.

As soon as she took a sip, her eyes lit up, and they curved into satisfied crescents.

"Delicious!"

"The ingredients are great, too!"

"As expected of Shang Yang. Not only is he good to me, but he has great taste. System, I’ve made up my mind: I absolutely cannot let anything happen to him. It would be such a pity for someone like Shang Yang to be ruined like that..."

Shang Yang had originally only wanted to use her inner thoughts to find clues for his own survival. He hadn't expected to hear such words.

Lin Xianxian didn't notice his odd expression; as she ate, her internal monologue continued:

"Let me think, how did Shang Yang have that accident again..."

"It seems like it was because of Shang Beiming... Tsk tsk, the male lead lives up to his name. He indirectly caused his own uncle’s death, yet he still managed to inherit his uncle’s fortune without a hitch."

Shang Yang’s pupils constricted.

Lin Xianxian recalled the original plot.

"In the original story, Shang Yang’s car accident happened after the male lead brought the female lead into their social circle."

"Because Old Master Shang tacitly allowed the female lead to appear at the banquet, it was seen as an acknowledgment of her status."

"Madam Shang and her brother, Jiang Zihu, were extremely worried. They feared that the Old Master might abandon his grandson, Shang Beiming, if he didn't have a wife from a social equal to support his career."

"When he first took over as president, things were fine. As the male lead, Shang Beiming was handsome and wealthy, winning the support of many female employees. He even caused a stir online, with many netizens crowning him as the 'National Idol'..."

"Coupled with the fact that the leads always seem to have inexplicable luck, Shang Beiming—no matter how aggressive his work style or how complicated the process—always managed to get results."

"But shortly after he was announced as the president of the Shang Corporation, the female lead, Qin Xinxia, had an accident. To save her, the love-struck Shang Beiming completely ignored a contract that was to be signed an hour later, leaving in front of his partners and his own employees... He didn't offer a single excuse, forcing the other party to wait for hours in vain."

"Afterward, the business partner left in a huff, vowing never to work with the Shang Corporation again..."

Hearing this, Shang Yang frowned.

Shang Beiming...

He had assumed that his nephew had the capability to manage the Shang Corporation, which was why he hadn't intended to interfere.

He hadn't expected that while Shang Beiming had the ability, he would disregard his career for the woman he loved.

He could easily imagine what the people at the Shang Corporation would think of Shang Beiming after such an incident.

At the very least, as president, he would leave the impression of being a completely unreliable romantic, someone who didn't prioritize the company or the employees' interests.

Such a massive project, with so many employees having worked for months, was lost just because Shang Beiming refused to wait an hour. Not only that, but he had directly offended a partner...

Shang Yang shook his head.

Lin Xianxian continued her internal rant:

"Actually, Qin Xinxia wouldn't have died if he had waited an hour, but Shang Beiming chose to 'risk everything for the beauty'."

"Although this act made him look like a 'dominant CEO,' it deeply disheartened the employees and the company veterans, making them look down on him even more. Terrified that the Shang Corporation would be ruined by this love-struck fool, several veterans sought out Shang Yang, and others went to the Old Master..."

"The veterans hoped that the Old Master would let Shang Yang inherit the Shang Corporation, and as it happened, Madam Shang overheard this..."

"Madam Shang hated the female lead even more, blaming her for ruining her son’s career."

"She was short on cash at the time, and her family—her brother, Jiang Zihu—was seeing his own company’s business plummet. He needed a partnership with the Shang Corporation or a large injection of capital to recover."

"At this point, Shang Beiming was fighting the Old Master for the freedom to date; he was only taking a basic salary and had no money to give, nor did he have a say in which companies the Shang Corporation partnered with."

"What's more, this uncle of Shang Beiming’s... his company relied entirely on wining and dining, and was riddled with traps. Plus, the uncle, relying on his status as Shang Beiming’s relative, wanted to dictate the terms of the contract, taking all the benefits for his own firm. How could the Shang Corporation possibly agree to that?"

"The partnership agreement they submitted couldn't even pass the Shang Corporation’s assessment."

"Unable to secure funding and rejected by the Shang Corporation, Jiang Zihu grew desperate. Upon hearing from Madam Shang that the presidency of the Shang Corporation might shift to Shang Yang..."

"Jiang Zihu panicked. He decided to eliminate Shang Yang. Without Shang Yang, the Shang Corporation would be his nephew’s to control."