After the Vicious Supporting Female Character Became the Heroine's Cat - Chapter 45

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment. Cheng Jianian silently watched Shen Yunmiao, unsure of when she had overheard. She had no time to worry about what Jiang Ying might think after hearing those words.

Let her think whatever she wants.

Cheng Jianian thought expressionlessly,

The world should just end.

Soon enough, it was Jian Jingqiu, who had seen her fair share of the world, who broke the awkward silence: “Shall we eat first?”

Li Shenyang quickly followed up: “Yes, yes, yes. No matter what, let’s eat first.”

Jiang Ying smirked: “Hahaha, if anyone can still eat after this, it’d be a miracle.”

Shen Yunmiao glanced calmly at her sister, and Jiang Ying fell silent.

Fine, she wouldn’t say another word. Luckily, she had already recorded the conversation earlier, or her sister would have thrown a fit.

The group sat down to eat in an uncomfortably strained silence, the quiet almost oppressive.

Surprisingly, it was Shen Yunmiao who spoke first: “President Li, President Cheng, I wonder if you might be interested in investing in the next phase of our project.”

Li Shenyang discreetly glanced at Cheng Jianian, but before her gaze could fully reach her, Cheng Jianian had already replied: “Extremely interested. I’m willing to invest ten.”

“…”

Everyone fell silent.

After a long pause, Jian Jingqiu tilted her head: “The unit is a hundred million?”

Cheng Jianian hesitated: “Would that be enough? I know new technology projects can be very capital-intensive.”

“Heh, that would be enough to fund the project for a hundred years straight,” Jiang Ying remarked coolly.

Shen Yunmiao sighed: “President Cheng, investing carries risks. You should consider it carefully.”

“How could that be? I believe in you, Miaomiao…” Cheng Jianian’s tone was fervent, but it gradually softened as she met Shen Yunmiao’s disapproving dark eyes. “What I mean is, since you were able to save me, it shows this project has great potential. We have a strong need to invest.”

“Hmph,” Jiang Ying snorted in response.

Shen Yunmiao: “…”

She said calmly, “When it comes to making money, it’s best not to be too emotional.”

“Miaomiao, to me, money is nowhere near as important as your happiness.”

“…”

Even Li Shenyang, the only one present who supported Cheng Jianian, fell silent. She couldn’t help but interject: “Uh, let’s eat first, eat first.”

Her words only made Jiang Ying angrier as she ate, to the point where she felt like smashing a plate over that bastard Cheng Jianian’s head.

Jian Jingqiu sighed and decided it would be better to handle the business discussions herself.

After a moment of consideration, she asked: “President Cheng, I heard you’ve had a falling out with your family? Ten billion, isn’t that a bit too much?”

The question was not particularly subtle; it was a straightforward inquiry into whether she could actually come up with the money.

Cheng Jianian, displeased, immediately replied: “It’s just some of the company’s liquid funds. What does it matter? I can invest more under my personal name if needed.”

Shen Yunmiao: “…”

She massaged her temples, feeling that it would be better for her to handle the communication. She smiled gently, nearly causing President Cheng’s already fragile heart to skip a beat.

Shen Yunmiao said softly, “President Cheng, we don’t need that much investment at the moment. Moreover, we want to retain some control over the project. If you invest that much, it would be difficult for us.

Only then did Cheng Jianian realize her mistake and quickly regretted, “It’s fine, Miaomiao.” Trust me, I would never interfere. You can do whatever you want, I absolutely won’t get in the way.”

Shen Yunmiao breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, this was effective communication.

For a moment, she almost felt as if she had returned to her days in the virtual pod.

When Cheng Jianian had just transformed from a cat into a human, she had behaved exactly like this.

Only by speaking gently and accommodatingly could she make her listen.

The group continued eating in silence when suddenly, Li Shenyang remembered the real purpose of her visit and asked, “Oh, right, President Jiang, I wanted to ask is the virtual pod technology entering the next phase of large-scale experimental deployment?”

The thought of this made Jiang Ying angry. Although the virtual pod awakening technology had been accidentally used by Jian Jingqiu years ago, it had never reached maturity and had never been clinically applied. In reality, the project included numerous small-scale clinical tests, but the longest one had only lasted 24 hours. This was because maintaining human bodily functions after entering deep subconscious sleep was extremely difficult.

The breakthrough of the virtual pod lay precisely in this area ensuring the safety of those who entered deep sleep to awaken others.

But Cheng Jianian was too severely injured, her will to survive was weak, and her consciousness was in complete disarray, making it impossible for her to enter.

In the end, it was Shen Yunmiao who suggested constructing a world using her own subconscious as a container to accommodate Cheng Jianian’s consciousness.

This naturally increased the success rate of the awakening but undoubtedly also raised the risks.

Moreover, this time, Shen Yunmiao had stayed in the virtual pod for seven days.

Post-experiment analysis revealed that the moment Cheng Jianian’s consciousness entered, it unintentionally disrupted Shen Yunmiao’s consciousness, causing issues within the constructed world.

Shen Yunmiao naturally wouldn’t bring up these matters, but Jiang Ying couldn’t swallow her anger and remarked coldly, “Hah, thanks to President Cheng, we now have one successful case in clinical trials.”

“I heard this is the first time,” Li Shenyang remarked with a sigh. “President Cheng is really lucky.”

Cheng Jianian tightened her grip on her chopsticks, and for a moment, the surroundings fell silent.

What did that mean?

The first time? What about before?

Something that had never been done before did it cause harm to Miaomiao’s body?

She didn’t dare to think too deeply about it.

Shen Yunmiao immediately spoke up, “It’s nothing, just a minor issue. The technology must be reliable, otherwise, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly this time.”

Cheng Jianian abruptly turned to look at her.

Li Shenyang sensed the underlying tension at the table and realized she had misspoken again. She shut her mouth and focused on her meal.

The dinner finally concluded without further incident.

After the meal, Cheng Jianian no longer stared longingly at Shen Yunmiao. Shen Yunmiao felt something was off and frowned, wanting to say something.

But Jiang Ying gave her no opportunity. As soon as the meal ended, she said, “It’s getting late, Miaomiao. Let’s head back first.”

Shen Yunmiao naturally wouldn’t embarrass her and nodded, picking up her bag to leave. Even after the two groups had separated by several dozen meters, Cheng Jianian was still gazing wistfully at her retreating figure.

Li Shenyang cautiously suggested, “Um… President Cheng, shall we head back too? I’ll call Zuo Ying and have her send someone to pick you up?”

Cheng Jianian waved her hand dismissively. “I drove here myself.”

Li Shenyang recalled that Cheng Jianian had been driving herself during the last incident and wanted to say something but held back. There was no use in saying more.

Driving was naturally fast.

To avoid Cheng Su and Song Xianyin, Cheng Jianian was now staying in one of her own properties, located in a high-end residential complex with excellent privacy. Even so, she had no idea how much longer she could keep hiding.

The mess at home was utterly exhausting.

Cheng Su was raising her children not as a mother, but purely treating it all as an investment.

Cheng Jianian just happened to be chosen as the successor, while Song Xianyin was merely the sword nothing more.

Once the sword of Song Xianyin was drawn, Cheng Su would never allow Cheng Jianian to regain her freedom. Otherwise, all the efforts of the past decade would have been in vain.

She never bothered to ask Cheng Jianian whether she actually wanted to do any of this.

At times, Cheng Jianian even doubted whether they were truly Cheng Su’s children. If they were, what did all these years of manipulation mean? If they weren’t, what was the meaning behind all those years of care?

The complexity of human nature was truly disheartening.

After returning, Cheng Jianian first instructed Zuo Ying about the investment matter, then began taking stock of her remaining assets both immovable and movable properties.

Some of the immovable properties were difficult to transfer, and she figured Miaomiao probably wouldn’t want them anyway. She could simply donate them when the time came.

Alternatively, she could ask Zuo Ying to manage them. If Miaomiao ever found someone else in the future, these assets could be gifted as a token of her goodwill.

As for the movable assets, it was much simpler she could invest all of them in Miaomiao’s project under her own name.

That way, even if she were no longer around, Miaomiao would never lack funds.

Cheng Jianian knew she was becoming somewhat obsessive, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly how she had ended up in this situation.

In the past, if Shen Yunmiao hadn’t heard her words, she would have repeated them. But now, she was actually relieved that Shen Yunmiao hadn’t heard any of it.

Let her be the only one guarding those secrets in silence.

She couldn’t bear it couldn’t bear having seen that person’s warm, gentle smile, only to later watch an icy fortress melt away for someone else.

Shen Yunmiao, at the very least, this person had given her seven more years of life.

She desperately longed for the day they could reunite, break through all obstacles, and be together freely and joyfully.

But that day never came. Instead, she witnessed this person risking her life once again to save her.

During dinner, Li Shenyang inadvertently asked a question, prompting Cheng Jianian to have Zuo Ying investigate right at the table. Only then did she learn that the seemingly flawless subconscious awakening in the virtual pod had been anything but easy.

Shen Yunmiao had gone through hell and high water for her that was no exaggeration.

Her very existence was causing this person endless trouble.

Back in high school, someone had dug up the messy history between Shen Yunmiao and Lin Shiyuan and took it upon themselves to “seek justice” on her behalf, leading to all sorts of complications.

She had been atoning ever since.

Yet it felt as though she were still trapped in that summer night of her youth listening to the ceaseless chirping of cicadas, with nowhere to call home.

Cheng Jianian covered her face and, on this summer night so many years later, finally broke down in tears once more.

Jiang Ying and Shen Yunmiao lived together.

Truth be told, Jiang Ying and Jian Jingqiu had already overcome life-and-death challenges together, so cohabitation shouldn’t have been an issue. But Jiang Ying was genuinely afraid her younger sister might impulsively stir up trouble again.

To prevent such a scenario, she stubbornly insisted on shifting their nighttime activities to the daytime, with each returning to their own home at night.

Jian Jingqiu resentfully bought an apartment next door but didn’t dare complain after all, she had committed her fair share of misdeeds in the past.

Though it was all ancient history now, whenever she thought of Cheng Jianian’s fate, she couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine.

Tonight, after returning to her room as usual, she suddenly received a message from Cheng Jianian.

Without any unnecessary elaboration, it was simply a straightforward transfer notification.

Jian Jingqiu frowned and counted the digits one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Her eyes gradually widened in disbelief. Huh?

So much money was Cheng Jianian distributing his inheritance?

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