Chapter 2: The Entertainment Industry Welcomes a God of Wealth (2)

“You don’t need to return to Jingnan for the time being.” The cold, detached voice made it clear the man was furious. Jiang Youyou looked at the man leaning against the corner, cigarette in hand, and smiled. “Alright.”

Fang Jinnian was somewhat surprised by how crisp and decisive her answer was. Usually, if he said something like that, this woman would fly into a rage within seconds. But now…

He studied the girl standing before him: a white evening gown trailing behind her, bold red lipstick accentuating an already stunning face, her complexion vibrant—were it not for the patch of red liquid at her lower abdomen, betraying a degree of disarray.

“You went too far just now.” Fang Jinnian exhaled a cloud of smoke, his gaze icy and devoid of pity as it settled on Jiang Youyou. “Stay away from me for the next few days, and remember your place.”

The implication couldn’t be clearer: you’re nothing but a stand-in, unworthy to throw tantrums before the real deal.

And forbidding her from seeing him was his punishment for Jiang Youyou.

His words made her laugh—how amusing, giving him a little face and he truly believed himself to be something special.

If not for those two foolish lovers dragging everyone else into their romance, making countless side characters mere stepping stones—some dead, some ruined, with their lingering resentment coalescing into a suffocating darkness—none of this would have happened. Yet the two leads, shrouded in their halos, remained untouched by any ill will. The resentment, unable to reach them, lashed out at the novel’s readers, causing misfortunes in their lives as a form of revenge.

Read a story by Little Ghost, and you’ll live a long, healthy, happy life—so the postscript claimed. But whether the resentment had truly been vented, she didn’t know; all she knew was that it had dragged her, the unluckiest soul, into this mess.

She could have been enjoying a retired life surrounded by handsome men, but now she was forced to extend her working years, patching up broken fictional worlds.

Jiang Youyou, compelled into this thankless job, was so brimming with resentment that even vengeful spirits would tremble in her presence.

“And what place is that?” Jiang Youyou’s gaze was deep and unyielding. “Or tell me, in your heart, what am I?”

Fang Jinnian looked at this strangely changed Jiang Youyou, irritation flickering across his handsome features. “If it weren’t for Niannian leaving, you wouldn’t have had the chance to get close to me, much less have this engagement. I’ve made our relationship clear from the start—know your place. Don’t do anything foolish that would force my hand. Some people are simply out of your reach.”

“You really think you’re something special just because I took a passing interest in you? Overestimate yourself much? If it weren’t for that face of yours, do you really think I’d care to play this little game with you?” Jiang Youyou’s words flowed effortlessly, her tone blasé, her gaze full of disdain.

Fang Jinnian’s brows knit tighter, anger welling in his chest. “Very impressive, Jiang Youyou. But even a tantrum has its limits—remember, the Jiang family stands behind you.”

“Oh, listen to you! Give you an inch and you take a mile, is Pingling City your fiefdom now? Just because you run your mouth a little, you think you’re some local despot?” With every word, Fang Jinnian’s face darkened, his expression ominous as if a storm was about to break.

Had this been the old, cannon-fodder Jiang Youyou, she might have been frightened.

But the Jiang Youyou of today, seething with enough resentment to want to slit the man’s throat right then and there—just to be spared another one of his insufferable alpha-male monologues—was utterly unmoved.

Fang Jinnian, confronted by this acerbic, sharp-tongued Jiang Youyou, could only repeat “Very well, very well, very well,” through gritted teeth, spitting out a final threat: “Jiang Youyou, you’ll come crawling back to me!”

With that, he turned on his heel, convinced of his own coolness.

To Jiang Youyou, it was nothing more than the retreat of a man who’d lost the argument.

What a piece of trash.

Can’t even win a quarrel—how did he ever become a CEO? Or do domineering male leads nowadays only know how to fall in love?