I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 53

The Jiang Residence.

Night had nearly fallen, yet the villa remained brightly lit. The moment Jiang Yu pushed the door open, she saw Jing Lan in the living room with a stern expression, while Jiang Lianyan stood beside her, head bowed and still softly sobbing.

In the past, every time Jiang Lianyan cried, Jiang Yu would feel particularly sympathetic. But after the same tactic had been used too many times in such a short period, Jiang Yu felt nothing but impatience.

She greeted Jing Lan, ignored Jiang Lianyan, and headed straight for the stairs. Jing Lan, taken aback, called out to her, “Xiao Yu.”

Jiang Yu turned around, and Jing Lan hesitated before saying, “Lianyan told me.”

“She is not Lianyan,” Jiang Yu interrupted firmly, her tone resolute.

With just that one sentence, the two people in the living room understood the test results were in.

Jiang Luoyue was the long-lost ‘Jiang Lianyan.’

Jiang Lianyan had not forgotten Jiang Yu’s blunt mention of the “test report,” cold and straightforward, as if telling her that the Jiang family could only have Jiang Luoyue or her, but not both.

For days, she had been tormented by anxiety, and now, faced with the worst possible outcome, she tried to control her emotions. But Jiang Yu spoke with disdain, “Before Luoyue returns, pack your things and leave the Jiang residence. You may keep everything the Jiang family has given you until now.”

In an instant, the tears she had held back for so long poured out, and Jiang Lianyan sobbed, “Mom.”

She had always known that Jiang Yu only cared about her own family, treating outsiders with an almost inhuman coldness. When Jiang Yu had regarded her as a sister, she had been showered with affection and care. But once Jiang Yu found her real sister, she would become disposable, no matter what happened to her, she would never again receive even a glance.

Pleading with Jiang Yu to change her mind was utterly impossible. Jiang Lianyan had no choice but to turn to her mother for help.

Jing Lan was equally stunned.

She had not forgotten that it was through the fake Lianyan that she had gained control of the family assets, gradually consolidating her power within the Jiang Corporation and achieving her current status. Naturally, Jing Lan had also come to regard Jiang Lianyan as the real ‘Lianyan.’

Jing Lan had never imagined that Jiang Luoyue could be her daughter. The only reason she had asked Jiang Yu to investigate was that, after a meeting, she had overheard subordinates gossiping and worried that if she didn’t inform Jiang Yu about the ‘real Lianyan,’ Jiang Yu might hold a grudge against her.

But after a brief moment of shock, Jing Lan quickly regained her composure. “She is not Lianyan, and the real Lianyan would not want to become Lianyan again.”

“If you drive her out in a fit of anger, what will Luoyue think? You might assume Luoyue would be happy, but she might worry that she, too, could be cast out like her someday.”

Jing Lan’s reasoning left Jiang Yu with no rebuttal, and the anger simmering inside her subsided somewhat.

Seeing that Jiang Yu had calmed down, Jing Lan asked, “Have you contacted her yet? Has the date for her return been set? I need to arrange for the banquet preparations.”

Jiang Yu’s unwavering stance made it clear that her goal was not simply to have Jiang Luoyue return to the Jiang family for a brief reunion. Assets, shares, and future inheritance rights everything Jiang Lianyan had once possessed would have to be transferred to Jiang Luoyue.

Such a significant change would inevitably become known to outsiders. Rather than hiding it and becoming the subject of ridicule, it would be better for the Jiang family to proactively host a grand recognition banquet to announce the news to the public.

Coincidentally, the public interest in Jiang Luoyue and her adoptive parents had not yet faded. By seizing this opportunity, the Jiang family could also gain considerable attention, making it a win-win situation.

After confirming she stood to benefit, Jing Lan smoothly began treating Jiang Luoyue as her own daughter. The possibility of Jiang Luoyue refusing to return to the Jiang family never crossed her mind, so she asked without any hesitation.

Jiang Yu’s expression, however, instantly darkened. “She has been busy filming lately and is a bit tied up.”

She couldn’t bring herself to mention that Jiang Luoyue had blocked her, afraid it might have been accidental, but even more afraid that Jiang Luoyue genuinely resented her intrusion. All day, Jiang Yu had been too preoccupied with this to eat or rest, and her plane ticket had naturally gone unused due to her anxiety.

“Filming…” At the mention of those words, a trace of displeasure flickered across Jing Lan’s face, though she held her tongue and only sighed softly. “Let’s discuss this another time. And you should stop taking your anger out on Lianyan. She’s too timid she’s been crying in her room for days because of something you said.”

“Luoyue’s disappearance wasn’t her fault. Do you think driving Lianyan out of the Jiang family would make Luoyue happy? There’s no animosity between them.”

As she spoke, Jing Lan patted Jiang Lianyan’s shoulder gently. “Go apologize to your sister.”

Jiang Lianyan seemed to snap awake at that, standing up abruptly. “Sis”

But under Jiang Yu’s cold gaze, she swallowed the address and timidly said, “I’ll apologize to Luoyue in person when she returns. I hope Sister Yu will give me another chance.”

Not wanting to leave Jiang Luoyue with a bad impression, Jiang Yu reluctantly accepted this promise. “Whether she’s willing to give you a chance depends on how Luoyue feels. I’m tiredlet’s end it here for today.”

She turned and went back to her room, while Jing Lan quickly began contacting people to invite to the upcoming banquet.

The living room suddenly grew quiet and cold. Jiang Lianyan sat by the lamp, her tear stains already dried, her face pale.

She couldn’t understand why, after simply asking Jiang Yu to deal with someone she disliked as usual, she had ended up in such a precarious position. Scenes flashed through her mind, finally settling on the day of the variety show, when she had fallen hard to the ground and Jiang Luoyue walked right past her.

She had clearly seen the smile on the other’s face.

At the time, Jiang Lianyan had only felt anger, but now, belatedly, she felt fear. Curling into herself, she couldn’t help but wonder, had Jiang Luoyue known everything back then? How had she found out? And when she returned, would she really allow Jiang Lianyan to stay in the Jiang family?

No, impossible. She would never tolerate Jiang Lianyan’s presence, just like Jiang Yu.

What she could do, what she must do was to eliminate Jiang Luoyue before Jiang Luoyue could eliminate her.

This was her last chance.

Unaware of the turmoil in the Jiang family, Jiang Luoyue remained dedicated to filming The Ghost Marriage. By the time the production was more than halfway through, the fifth episode of Hate Me began its live broadcast with great fanfare despite the absence of two regular guests.

“Great fanfare” was meant literally.

To keep the three remaining guests from feeling lonely, the program crew sent them directly to Hengdian to film scenes. The first guest to earn a thousand yuan would win.

Surrounded by crowds on all sides, loneliness was hardly an issue, but the three guests looked increasingly miserable. Yu Jingtang, in particular, seemed overwhelmed by the crowds, closing her eyes every few steps. Watching from off-screen, Jiang Luoyue felt her heart in her throat, afraid Yu Jingtang might pass out at any moment.

Among the three, Fu Yunqing was the most at ease. As a professional short-drama actress, she handled even the most awkward scenes with ease and unsurprisingly took the lead.

After earning nearly a thousand yuan, she didn’t continue but instead used the money to treat the extras from several film crews to a better meal. Though she didn’t give a speech, some were moved to tears.

Fu Yunqing was especially touched: “Someone as empathetic as you is bound to become rich.”

The woman whose hand she held while offering warm consolation wiped her tears and said, “I just wanted to ask could you transfer me a hundred yuan? I want to experience the feeling of being inexplicably showered with money.”

Fifty was too little, a thousand was too much, but a hundred was just right. She wouldn’t get rich from it, and Fu Yunqing wouldn’t go bankrupt.

The woman had thought it through perfectly, but Fu Yunqing instantly withdrew her hand.

She could have asked for a thousand, ten thousand, or even a million, but not a hundred.

Because Fu Yunqing actually had a hundred yuan on her at that moment.

The scene erupted in laughter. The camera then cut to Ning Fuguang and Yu Jingtang, both of whom looked extremely displeased, speechless with disbelief.

Jiang Luoyue, who had been struggling to keep a straight face, suddenly broke into a grin, as if she were right there, about to hear Fu Yunqing’s smug, punch-worthy tone.

Sure enough, after dealing with the crowd, Fu Yunqing declared, “Think you can win so easily? Dream on.”

According to the show’s rules, as soon as someone earned the required amount, the game segment would end immediately. For this reason, the two had been keeping an eye on Fu Yunqing from the start.

But it was obvious, Fu Yunqing was more likely to tear their umbrellas apart than offer them shelter.

Fu Yunqing knew exactly how to press an advantage, boasting triumphantly, “If you beg me, I might reluctantly help you win.”

Ning Fuguang took a deep breath. Fu Yunqing tilted her ear, expecting a plea, but what she got was a swarm of professionals in suits holding black umbrellas. Even Yu Jingtang was handed one: “…”

The woman at the front spoke first: “President Ning, the set for the company’s new pharmaceutical ad has been prepared. The advertising fee is two thousand yuan. Here’s the contract and the advertising director.”

The director trailing behind her, disheveled and dressed in a sweat-stained shirt and flip-flops, looked as if he’d just been dragged from a breakfast stall, bewildered: “Huh? Me?”

Ning Fuguang, however, remained unfazed and had already signed the contract with practiced ease. By the time Fu Yunqing realized what was happening, Ning Fuguang was holding two thousand yuan in cash.

Fu Yunqing stared in disbelief: “This is cheating!!”

Ning Fuguang smirked faintly: “The ad was planned months ago, and I was cast as the lead long before. We’re just changing the shooting location, does that count as cheating?”

She added cheerfully, “Why hasn’t the director announced the end of the game yet? Did she suddenly lose her voice?”

Ning Fuguang hadn’t forgotten how gleefully those people had watched, hoping to see them embarrass themselves during the acting segment.

The director under her death glare: “…”

She struggled to say, “President Ning, have you forgotten? One of the rules states that only income earned through filming counts as valid.”

“The contract is already signed,” Ning Fuguang replied.

Fu Yunqing immediately seized the opportunity: “But you haven’t filmed it yet. Didn’t you say the ad was planned long ago? Since I don’t care about winning, why don’t we all go see what kind of masterpiece you can produce?”

Ning Fuguang’s smile slowly faded, while everyone on set and watching from screens grinned even wider.

Under the scorching sun, the atmosphere grew tense and restless. In the heavy silence, Ning Fuguang suddenly shot a cold glare at the person holding the umbrella for Yu Jingtang.

The woman’s hand trembled, causing the umbrella handle to tilt slightly. Just as she was about to declare, “Your humble servant harbors no disloyalty,” Yu Jingtang took the umbrella from her hand and said calmly, “Thank you.”

Her expression was indifferent, her tone matter-of-fact. The woman scratched her head and tentatively replied, “You’re welcome?”

Ning Fuguang: “…”

What kind of employees had she hired??

At the variety show set, Ning Fuguang gritted her teeth, refusing to admit defeat. In the end, she actually led a group of people to the filming location, broadcasting the shooting process of the new advertisement live.

Over at the Yin Hun set, Jiang Luoyue was lightly tapped on the head with a rolled-up script by Xiang Fan.

“How long have you been watching?”

They had agreed on ten minutes, but Jiang Luoyue had been glued to the screen for half an hour, completely absorbed as if missing even a second would cost her millions. Xiang Fan was displeased, thinking she’d be better off spending that time on filming or, at the very least, discussing the plot with her.

What was so interesting about watching those three fools? Was the daily life of three huskies really that captivating?

Jiang Luoyue sighed and stood up. “Not that long.”

“You wasted half an hour on them,” Xiang Fan declared righteously, “which means you delayed the entire crew by half an hour.”

Jiang Luoyue: “But yesterday, you and I spent two hours just going over the plot.”

Out of those two hours, only half was actually spent on the plot. The remaining hour and a half was devoted to Jiang Luoyue and Xiang Fan discussing horror film techniques, from which she learned so much she nearly abandoned acting on the spot to become a director.

If they were going to talk about delaying the crew, the two of them would be guilty of countless offenses.

Xiang Fan immediately changed her tune. “How can a director chatting with an actor be considered a waste of time?”

Jiang Luoyue shot her a sidelong glance. “You just called it chatting yourself.”

Xiang Fan fell silent. Jiang Luoyue chuckled inwardly. But after laughing, she suddenly felt a pang of longing for the others. It had only been half a month since they parted since when had she become so attached to her friends?

For the rest of the afternoon, Jiang Luoyue diligently focused on filming. During dinner, when she opened the I Hate Me live stream again, the broadcast had already ended. She felt a twinge of regret but also thought that if the task hadn’t been completed by now, Ning Fuguang’s “money power” would have been for nothing.

In the fan-edited clips, Ning Fuguang was indeed the ultimate winner, but unusually, she didn’t taunt the other two after her victory. Aside from Fu Yunqing, who couldn’t resist making a few disparaging remarks, Yu Jingtang remained quiet throughout.

Almost as soon as the director announced the end of the game, the three of them hopped into their assistants’ cars and sped off, leaving not even a trace of their silhouettes behind.

The director was dumbfounded, and the live chat was flooded with question marks. Hours later, the hashtag #FuYunqingNingFuguangYuJingtangFleeingForTheirLives was still trending.

Many passersby were startled, thinking the trio had committed murder on live stream. But upon watching the clips and seeing how fast they ran, they concluded that even actual murderers wouldn’t have fled that quickly.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Jiang Luoyue opened her messaging app and sent a few texts, wondering where they had gone.

But ten minutes passed, and she received no replies.

This was normal, of course not everyone stays glued to their phone waiting for messages. But Jiang Luoyue had grown so accustomed to their instant replies that she felt momentarily disoriented. It wasn’t until the makeup artist called her that she snapped out of it.

She still had several night scenes to film. Once she got busy, she naturally forgot she was waiting for anyone’s reply.

On the way back, Jiang Luoyue, feeling drowsy, opened her phone and noticed that Ning Fuguang had sent her a smiley face ten minutes earlier. Meanwhile, the chat window with Yu Jingtang and Fu Yunqing remained as calm as ever.

She replied with a question mark, and Ning Fuguang instantly responded with a period. Jiang Luoyue chuckled and asked, How does it feel to win?

This time, it took Ning Fuguang a few minutes to reply: Without you by my side, winning doesn’t feel all that great.

Jiang Luoyue reminded her, Well, that feeling might stick around for a few more episodes. I still have a long shoot ahead.

Ning Fuguang sent a string of ellipses and asked, Is it too late to shut down the production crew now?

Jiang Luoyue’s eyes curved into a smile, her mood lifting.

After washing up and lying in bed, it seemed like the same routine as always, to Xiang Fan complain about the assistant director or not. Today felt a bit upside down. The producer had visited the set, questioning Xiang Fan about the delays, and the assistant director chimed in with repeated “Exactly, exactly.”

Jiang Luoyue couldn’t help but laugh softly before closing her eyes in exhaustion. Her dreams were still filled with scattered old memories. It seemed that ever since reconnecting with the Jiang family, she often dreamed of the past.

Being humiliated once was embarrassing. But being humiliated ten times? Jiang Luoyue found it almost laughable.

If she could do it all over again, she’d probably splash a glass of wine on each of them. If any onlookers dared to criticize her, she’d splash them too.

If anyone snapped out of it and tried to retaliate, she’d pull out Jiang Lianyan’s go-to lines: “I didn’t mean to,” “I didn’t want to,” “I don’t know how this happened.” If that didn’t work, she’d just hide behind Zhou Ruonian.

Hit her? They’d have to go through Zhou Ruonian first!

Just imagining the scene brought her immense satisfaction. But today’s dream suddenly had a prelude, showing events that happened before Jiang Luoyue arrived at the Jiang family. The guests hadn’t arrived yet, but the Jiang family members were already dressed to the nines, especially Jiang Yu, who was frowning deeply, looking as if she were preparing for battle.

Even when Jiang Lianyan spoke to her, Jiang Yu seemed distracted, her gaze frequently drifting toward the door as if waiting for someone.

It wasn’t until her assistant invited her to the study for a private discussion and handed her a document after closing the door that Jiang Yu finally snapped back to reality.

Jiang Luoyue had strong morals and initially had no intention of snooping, but as Jiang Yu’s expression shifted dramatically upon reading the contents, she couldn’t help but feel curious.

Her eyes dropped to the document, and she saw it was a DNA test report. One party was her, the other was Jiang Yu. The results showed that the two did not share the same biological mother.