After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead's Stepmother - Chapter 52

Yu Sui’an’s deep, penetrating gaze fixed tightly on Zheng Yanran, her crimson lips curling into a faint, icy smile. “What business is it of yours what I do?”

Her stare was so intense it seemed capable of carving holes into Zheng Yanran’s body. Zheng Yanran found her hostility utterly baffling. Accustomed to being spoiled and getting her way, she was thoroughly irritated by Yu Sui’an’s attitude and couldn’t help itching for a confrontation. “Keep looking at me like that, and I swear I’ll have you blacklisted with just one word. You’ll never work in the entertainment industry again!”

Zheng Yanran was seething inside. Yu Sui’an’s demeanor made her feel genuinely provoked for the first time in ages.

Hadn’t everyone always treated her with utmost respect before? At the very least, they’d been polite and friendly. She’d never encountered a woman like Yu Sui’an, who radiated such open hostility upon their first meeting.

She hadn’t even done anything to warrant this inexplicable animosity!

Yu Sui’an’s smile deepened at her words. “Go ahead and try,” she said slowly, her tone dripping with provocation. “If you can actually get me blacklisted… I’ll admit defeat.”

Her deliberate, measured words instantly ignited Zheng Yanran’s fury. “Fine! Fine!” Zheng Yanran spat out angrily, ignoring Xu Chun’s attempts to mediate as she immediately pulled out her phone to complain to Zheng Jinchan. “Mom! That Yu Sui’an woman just crossed me get her blacklisted now!”

Throughout the call, Yu Sui’an remained motionless, watching her with an utterly fearless expression.

Xu Chun, observing this, felt a sudden unease. Could it be,  that Yu Sui’an’s patron was on par with Zheng Jinchan or perhaps even more powerful?

Otherwise, how could she be so brazenly unafraid?

Xu Chun couldn’t help recalling He Qingli’s words. He Qingli came from an influential family, one of the top-tier in the industry. Though her family disapproved of her entertainment career, anyone with sense knew better than to provoke her and make such a formidable enemy.

Yet Yu Sui’an’s patron had snatched He Qingli’s resources without hesitation, showing no regard for the He family whatsoever.

Staring intently at Yu Sui’an’s composed face, Xu Chun felt an intense curiosity about this mysterious patron. A sugar mommy who didn’t care about money, looks, or favors giving whatever was asked for without question? This wasn’t a patron; this was a living bodhisattva!

A sudden thought struck Xu Chun, Your sugar mommy’s fine, but soon she’ll be mine.

Unaware that her patron had just become a target, Yu Sui’an noticed Xu Chun’s gaze and turned to flash her a radiant smile, asking patiently once more, “Sister, who exactly is she?”

Just then, whatever Zheng Jinchan said on the phone made Zheng Yanran’s voice rise in disbelief, her face paling with shock. “What? You want me to handle it myself?!”

Her expression turned horrified. “If I could handle it myself, why would I be calling you. Hello? Mom? Mom!”

She shouted twice in desperation, but there was no response from the other end. Yu Sui’an smiled faintly and reminded her in a gentle tone, “It seems your mother has hung up on you.”

That kind tone of Yu Sui’an instantly drew all the hatred toward her.

Zheng Yanran reluctantly put down her phone, raised her eyelids, and gave Yu Sui’an a forced smile. “Oh, so you think this means you can escape unscathed?” Zheng Yanran sneered. “I have plenty of people backing me.”

If she didn’t get Yu Sui’an blacklisted today, she wouldn’t rest.

As the crowd of onlookers grew, Xu Chun quickly grabbed the agitated Zheng Yanran. “Come on, let it go.” Their task today was only to pick up Jiang Zhaolie, Xu Chun didn’t want any unnecessary trouble at this critical moment.

After all, her next role was that of a police officer. From pre-production to filming, and even long after the drama aired, she had to stay low-key to avoid any incidents that might get her blacklisted by the authorities.

Otherwise, she’d be crying her eyes out in regret.

Zheng Yanan refused to listen and was about to start a public shouting match with Yu Sui’an. Xu Chun had no choice but to lean in and whisper, “If Jiang Banxia finds out you’re making a scene like a shrew in public. ” Before she could even finish, Zheng Yanran immediately dropped the act and turned to Xu Chun with an obedient expression. “Fine, let’s go.”

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to hurl a few insults at Yu Sui’an. “Not worth wasting time on some low-class celebrity.”

Xu Chun finally relaxed and motioned to Jiang Zhaolie with a tilt of her chin. “Get in the car.”

Jiang Zhaolie’s unfocused gaze sharpened. She snapped out of her daze, lingering on Yu Sui’an for a moment before glancing at Zheng Yanran a few more times. She nodded. “Alright.”

Xu Chun dragged the two exhausting troublemakers into the car, completely indifferent to whether Yu Sui’an lived or died.

Yu Sui’an stood expressionless, her mind replaying the image of Xu Chun leaning so close to Zheng Yanran. Sister actually got that close to that woman so brazenly, so intimately.

What exactly is their relationship? They don’t even bother hiding it in public.

If they were alone, wouldn’t they—

She didn’t dare think further.

With a dark expression, she turned and instructed her assistant to gather their things and leave. Mimicking Zheng Yanran’s little trick, she called her sugar mommy. “Sister Zhao, someone caused trouble for me today. I want her to pay for it.”

“I don’t know her identity yet, but once I find out, I’d like your help.” She sweet-talked until she received a firm promise from the other end. Only then did her delicate, innocent face finally break into a deep smile. “Thank you, Sister Zhao.”

Yu Sui’an had absolute faith in Sister Zhao’s capabilities there was nothing in this world she couldn’t accomplish.

She even believed that if Sister Zhao ever decided to go head-to-head with Qin Yao, Qin Yao might very well lose. Sister Zhao had vast, deep connections both legal and otherwise while Qin Yao,  Yu Sui’an curled her lips.

Her gaze darkened. Lately, Sister has been getting awfully close to Qin Yao. If I want to deal with Qin Yao, I’ll need Sister Zhao’s help.

After hanging up her daughter’s call, Zheng Jinchan absentmindedly picked up the hot coffee her secretary had prepared for her, feeling utterly overwhelmed. Why couldn’t Zheng Yanran just behave herself for once? Who was behind Yu Sui’an? That ruthless, cold-blooded woman from the Zhao family, did she dare provoke her?

And more importantly, could she even afford to provoke her?

After a moment’s thought, Zheng Jinchan narrowed her eyes and weighed the situation. She could afford to provoke her, but there was absolutely no need!

Going against that Zhao woman for the sake of some nobody like Yu Sui’an simply wasn’t worth it. Most importantly, that Zhao woman was a complete hysterical lunatic. Compared to her, Yu Sui’an was like a novice trying to show off in front of a master, utterly overestimating herself.

Speaking of that Zhao woman, there was quite a story to tell.

Ruthless, cold-hearted, merciless no negative adjective was too strong for her. People in their circles reacted to her the same way ordinary people reacted to Zheng Yanran paling at the mention of her name and avoiding her at all costs.

That woman had originally entered the Zhao family when her mother remarried into it. But then, for reasons unknown, the Zhao family underwent a drastic change overnight. Her mother hanged herself, her stepfather jumped off a building, and another stepsister vanished without a trace. The once-prosperous Zhao family was suddenly left in ruins some dead, others missing causing a massive uproar at the time.

Under such circumstances, the woman naturally took over the Zhao family’s assets. Over the next decade, she steadily expanded and strengthened her own company. Thanks to her ruthless tactics, almost no one dared to defy her, and she seized the opportunity to grow under the weight of others’ fear. By now, she sat high and mighty on her throne like a queen.

These days, perhaps only Qin Yao and the Jiang family could easily stand against her.

Zheng Jinchan thought carefully: The Qin Yao of the past might not have been quite up to the task, but the current Qin Yao, having further amplified her influence through variety shows, was now fully capable of counterbalancing that Zhao woman with her own strength, keeping her from acting recklessly.

In fact, given the current momentum of the Qin family, it was likely that the Zhao woman wouldn’t be able to catch up to her for a long time to come.

In the end, good still prevailed over evil. With Qin Yao holding the line above, that Zhao woman probably wouldn’t dare go too far. At this thought, Zheng Jinchan couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose. If only Zheng Yanran would obediently return home and take over the family business, she could spare enough energy and time to push forward again.

But then again,  Zheng Jinchan reconsidered. Qin Yao and that Zhao woman had no children and yet managed to do so well. She, on the other hand, had a child, but her child was already grown. Logically speaking, she shouldn’t be lagging too far behind them.

Her eyes flickered several times before Zheng Jinchan suddenly straightened up and pressed the secretary’s buzzer on her desk. “Prepare the car. I’m going abroad.”

If Qin Yao already controlled most of the domestic market, then she’d just expand overseas.

If she could carve out her own place in such a fiercely competitive domestic market, she should thrive even more easily abroad.

Zheng Yanran had barely settled into her seat when she received a message from Zheng Jinchan saying she was going abroad for a business trip lasting ten days to half a month. She immediately had a face full of question marks even if the powerful backer behind Yu Sui’an was too formidable to provoke, Mom, did you really have to flee the country to avoid the fallout?

She suddenly felt a wave of panic. If even Mom was running away, then shouldn’t she,  Zheng Yanran swallowed hard and wondered if she should also keep a low profile for a while.

After all, without her mother around to shield her domestically, she really didn’t feel safe at all.

Zheng Yanran stayed as quiet as a mouse the moment she got in the car. Xu Chun was puzzled but more curious about how Jiang Zhaolie and Yu Sui’an had ended up arguing, so she asked. After a brief silence, Jiang Zhaolie replied flatly, “It was purely accidental.”

She hadn’t expected to run into Yu Sui’an at all. In fact, she hadn’t even noticed her it was Yu Sui’an who called out to her and started the conversation. But before they could exchange more than a couple of sentences, Yu Sui’an suddenly flew into a rage, hysterically accusing her of wrongdoing.

One moment, Yu Sui’an called her a shameless vixen who seduced her sister; the next, she accused her of scheming to drive a wedge between her and Xu Chun. Then she claimed she must have been blind to ever think Jiang Zhaolie was her salvation. In short, every ugly insult imaginable was hurled at her in those few minutes.

Jiang Zhaolie, unjustly subjected to this tirade, naturally refused to take it lying down. She methodically refuted every accusation. She admitted that, provoked by Yu Sui’an, her counterattacks had been particularly vicious. She also admitted that she had seized the opportunity to vent all the resentment she’d been harboring toward Yu Sui’an. But she didn’t regret it.

She had long been fed up with Yu Sui’an, and now, after unleashing her pent-up anger and with Xu Chun defending her right in front of Yu Sui’an,  Jiang Zhaolie maintained a stern expression on the surface, but inwardly, she was glowing with satisfaction.

No matter how shamelessly Yu Sui’an clung to Xu Chun, she still ignored her.

But Jiang Zhaolie was different. Whether Xu Chun married into the family or not, as long as she remained in a romantic relationship with her mother, Jiang Zhaolie would always be her stepdaughter. Xu Chun would always treat her with gentle patience, caring for her as if she were her own child.

That was something Yu Sui’an could never have in her entire life.

Though, Jiang Zhaolie paused. The nature of this affection had soured somewhat, but that didn’t matter. Even if Xu Chun’s feelings for her had changed, they were still feelings close enough.

At least she wasn’t like Yu Sui’an, who had become someone Xu Chun couldn’t stand to exchange more than a few words with.

Jiang Zhaolie suddenly felt immensely grateful. Thank goodness she had a mother like Qin Yao in every sense, Qin Yao was someone she deeply appreciated.

Jiang Zhaolie only gave a brief summary, omitting the details. After hearing it, Xu Chun was momentarily speechless. “She’s really getting worse, isn’t she?” Jiang Zhaolie wholeheartedly agreed. Seeing Xu Chun lost in thought with a slight frown, she assumed she was worrying about her own future and comforted her gently, “Don’t worry. If she dares to provoke you, Mom will definitely deal with her.”

“I know.” Xu Chun didn’t overthink it, merely glancing at Jiang Zhaolie. “I was just thinking, if I snatched away the sugar daddy backing her right now, wouldn’t that wipe the smug look off her face?”

Jiang Zhaolie: “?”

Zheng Yanran: “???”

Truly typical of you, the two newcomers simultaneously thought in awe.

On this matter, Zheng Yanran was undoubtedly the first to agree. She immediately seized Xu Chun’s hands with earnest sincerity. “I support you,” she declared, eyes blazing with conviction. “I fully support you stealing her sugar daddy.”

“Sister, you soar ahead, I’ll follow forever!” Zheng Yanran thumped her chest without hesitation. “If you hit any snags while homewrecking, just say the word. Even if it means spilling blood, crossing swords, or braving hellfire, I’ll help you without a second thought!”

Xu Chun’s eyes sparkled as she clasped Zheng Yanran’s hands in moved appreciation. “Dear sister, I was waiting for you to say that!”

Jiang Zhaolie stared at their four tightly intertwined hands: “……”

Had it only been a month since she’d last seen Xu Chun? How had her drama queen tendencies escalated so dramatically? And now she’d even acquired a hype woman.

If these two joined forces daily, would anyone ever know peace again?

An inexplicable wave of despair washed over Jiang Zhaolie.

The return trip to the company was short, yet to Jiang Zhaolie it felt like an eternity. After exchanging a few initial words in the car, Xu Chun had completely ignored her, chattering nonstop with Zheng Yanran as if they’d never run out of topics.

Watching them, Jiang Zhaolie suddenly grasped a fraction of Yu Sui’an’s perspective.

Perhaps it was simply jealousy and resentment envying how close Xu Chun was with others while treating her with indifference. More crucially: that bone-deep understanding that all possibility between them had irrevocably vanished.

Precisely because she understood this, the bitterness festered, the refusal to accept reality grew, manifesting in increasingly unreasonable outbursts.

She knew nothing could change their circumstances. So she resorted to these cheap, petty tactics anything to seize Xu Chun’s attention, if only for a moment.

If the old Yu Sui’an had been lofty and self-assured, the current version had fallen into wretched humility, groveling in the dirt. Yet this was entirely her own doing. Had she cherished the one who truly loved her instead of coveting what wasn’t hers, she wouldn’t have sunk so low.

Jiang Zhaolie’s heart churned with conflicting emotions.

She mentally condemned Yu Sui’an, but wasn’t she equally guilty? How was she any better? Hadn’t she ultimately reached the same pitiful state?

The sole advantage over Yu Sui’an? She still retained Xu Chun’s magnanimous maternal affection.

While Jiang Zhaolie was lost in her thoughts, the car came to a stop. Xu Chun and Zheng Yanran, as close as sisters, got out hand in hand, completely forgetting about her existence. Jiang Zhaolie fell silent. So much for the claim of coming specifically to pick her up, she must have accidentally offended Qin Yao and was just hiding from the fallout.

Walking alone behind the pair, she was unaware of the enthusiastic barrage of comments on the live stream:

[Our lovestruck CEO Jiang is back! I wonder if we’ll get to see any juicy drama in these final days of streaming? Stay tuned!]

[Oh wow, it’s been ages since we last saw CEO Jiang. She seems more composed and mature now, doesn’t she?]

[Absolutely. The current CEO Jiang looks serious and unapproachable, with a sharp, cunning glint in her eyes way more charismatic than before.]

[Hey, wake up, you guys! This is the same heartbreaker who tried to play games and ended up losing everything.]

[Honestly, Jiang Zhaolie is kind of pitiful. She gave her all for Yu Sui’an, even breaking off her engagement with Xu Chun, only for Yu Sui’an to dump her the moment she cut ties with Xu and went right back to chasing after her.]

[So Yu Sui’an did it on purpose, right? She deliberately got close to Jiang Zhaolie to seduce her, all just to ruin their marriage and set Xu Chun free.]

[What selfless love! I’m genuinely moved, Yu Sui’an really went all out for our Xu Chun.]

[This is beyond ridiculous.]

Jiang Zhaolie couldn’t see the comments, nor did she have the mind to check them. The moment she arrived at the company, Secretary Zhao called her into Qin Yao’s office.

Though she had been reporting to Qin Yao via video calls during this time, standing before her in person now still made Jiang Zhaolie tense.

Before, she had firmly believed she was Qin Yao’s biological child, acting without restraint, confident that Qin Yao would always have her back. But now, knowing they were nothing more than strangers, she couldn’t afford to be so reckless anymore.

Jiang Zhaolie stood stiffly at attention. Qin Yao looked up from her computer screen and said, “You’re back.” Noticing her rigid posture, she gestured with her chin. “Sit.”

Qin Yao was as warm and approachable as ever, showing no signs of anything amiss. Yet Jiang Zhaolie felt deeply uneasy.

She nervously gave her work report while, elsewhere, Xu Chun was already making preparations for her “resignation.” Once Xu left, Zheng Yanran would follow. Though Zheng’s constant chatter could be annoying, some colleagues would still miss her when she was gone.

But right now, everyone was too busy preparing for the upcoming half-price sale, swamped with work and barely keeping up. There was no time for sentimental goodbyes those could wait until things settled down.

Qin Yao was carefully briefing Jiang Zhaolie on the matter. The success of this event would determine the future status and development plans of the Qin Corporation, making it the top priority for the entire company. Aware of its significance, Jiang Zhaolie quickly set aside her mixed emotions and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the task.

The event would largely dictate the Qin Corporation’s future trajectory, and the abilities she demonstrated here would significantly influence her own career path. Whether for the company or her personal growth, she needed to perform exceptionally well.

The two discussed late into the night when Xu Chun happened to drop by Qin Yao’s office for a matter. After knocking and entering, she briefly explained her issue and, once resolved, prepared to leave so as not to interrupt their work discussion.

But then Qin Yao suddenly spoke up, saying, “You two have already met before.”

Xu Chun and Jiang Zhaolie both looked up at her, slightly puzzled. “Why not greet each other?”

“Huh?” Xu Chun blinked in confusion before instinctively turning to Jiang Zhaolie. Raising her right hand hesitantly, she ventured, “Hi?”

Jiang Zhaolie also looked bewildered for a moment before falling into prolonged silence. Her expression twisted with inner turmoil, as if engaged in some intense psychological struggle. After about ten or twenty seconds, she finally broke the suffocating silence in the CEO’s office with trembling lips, her face deathly pale, “Mom.”

Xu Chun couldn’t help but: “?”

Support After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead’s Stepmother