Chapter 65 Involvement

"You... you... you..." Gu Mengyan was so furious she didn't know what to say. "You shameless woman!"

Just moments ago, when Gu Mengyan believed that all of Fan Yirou’s attempts to get close to Chen Hao were for her own sake, she had been deeply moved. But before she could even savor that feeling, Fan Yirou, that infuriating girl, told her she intended to compete for Chen Hao herself. It was like a bucket of icy water poured over her head—like buying a lottery ticket, discovering she had won the grand prize, but then realizing the serial number had been smudged and she could no longer claim her winnings...

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Gu Mengyan out of a clear sky.

"Yirou, you wretch! What on earth do you want?" Gu Mengyan’s agitation left her at a loss for words, and she could only repeat herself.

"I already told you, didn’t I?" Fan Yirou’s face lit up with pride as she watched Gu Mengyan’s distress. "I want to pursue Chen Hao too! I don’t mind sharing him with you—if you don’t mind either, that would be perfect. But if you do object, then from this moment on, we’re rivals in love~"

"You... you..." Gu Mengyan stammered again. "You say you want to go after Chen Hao, but how come you’ve been acting the same these past few days? You don’t seem eager to define your relationship with him. If you genuinely wanted to pursue him, all you’d need to do is tell him you like him. I’m sure he’d agree to be with you."

Fan Yirou’s smile faded, and for the first time, she grew serious. "Because... right now, I’m not sure if being with Chen Hao is the right thing to do."

"Hmm?" Gu Mengyan was taken aback. "What is there to be unsure about? If being with Chen Hao isn’t right, then would being with someone else be any better? You said it yourself—Chen Hao is outstanding in every way: looks, family background, character—we’ve known him for so many years, we know him inside out. Not to mention his abilities.

Maybe Chen Hao isn’t the most exceptional, but he’s definitely the most suitable for us. And yet you’re still not sure? What exactly do you want?"

Fan Yirou shot Gu Mengyan a strange look, placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Are you feverish? From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re considering things from my perspective—as if you want me to be with Chen Hao, always saying such nice things about him."

Gu Mengyan slapped her hand away. "I’m not defending you; I’m just stating the facts. Even though I don’t like you pursuing Chen Hao, my objections won’t stop you. I know your personality too well—the more someone tells you not to do something, the more you insist on doing it, just for the sake of defiance. Would it help if I spoke ill of Chen Hao?

If I tried to obstruct you from being with him, you’d only chase him more aggressively. And truthfully, objectively speaking, Chen Hao really is the best choice for you. If you ended up with someone less suitable, that’s not something I’d want to see either."

"You’re really conflicted, aren’t you..." Fan Yirou muttered. "But honestly, it’s not just you—I’m conflicted too."

Gu Mengyan gazed at her in confusion. "I don’t get it. If you already know you like Chen Hao, and he likes you, and you’ve decided to be together, why are you still so uncertain?"

Fan Yirou sighed deeply. "It’s because of my family..."

---

"Hmm?"

Fan Yirou smiled faintly. "It’s been years since we’ve really caught up—things at home have changed a lot since you last knew, but I’ve never talked to you about it."

"What’s changed?" Gu Mengyan asked, puzzled. It was true—they hadn’t spent this much time together in ages. Even when they met at school, it was always in passing, never with time to talk about their lives. So she had little idea of Fan Yirou’s current family situation.

Fan Yirou considered for a moment, then said, "Well, there’s no harm in telling you. There’s no need to mention what you already know. Ever since my mother died, my father has stayed the same. The only person I’m close to at home is my brother. Even though we have different mothers, we grew up together, and our mothers got along well when they were alive. So we’re very close."

"Did something happen between you two?" Gu Mengyan jumped in, startled. "He used to be too young to understand things, but now that he’s grown up, does he want to fight you for the inheritance? Since he’s a boy and you’re a girl, and you’re younger—he’s the eldest son, and your father doesn’t care about anything, so your brother puts a lot of pressure on you? But you’re sentimental about your childhood together and don’t want to be enemies, and that’s what makes it hard for you?"

Gu Mengyan’s imagination ran wild as she rattled off her own scenarios, her face full of shock.

Fan Yirou rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What on earth is in that little head of yours? Isn’t your imagination a bit too much? Are you writing a novel or watching some melodramatic TV drama?"

"What? Am I wrong?" Gu Mengyan asked, bewildered.

"Of course you are!" Fan Yirou rapped her lightly on the head. "Big sister is talking—no interrupting!

It’s nothing like you think. My brother and I are just as close as ever. He’s never tried to fight for the inheritance. In fact, he’s always felt insecure about his birth—even though he’s the eldest, he’s always been sensitive about being an illegitimate child.

Of course, that’s not his fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the second wife, or rather, whoever put her up to seducing my father back then. I’ve never blamed my brother—he wasn’t even born yet! He didn’t choose his birth. He just happened to be born into this family."

"Wait—your stepmother seduced your father because someone else was behind it?" Gu Mengyan was shocked again.

Fan Yirou shook her head. "That’s just my suspicion, I have no proof. But let’s not dwell on that—it’s meaningless now. Back to the point: my relationship with my brother is unchanged, and my father hasn’t changed either. But the situation at home is different now."

"So what’s different?"

---

Fan Yirou took a deep breath. "It’s because of the company. You know our family business has been passed down for generations. When my father was young, before my mother died, he managed it well—it was the most prosperous period since the company was founded. But everything changed after my father fell into despair.

Without his leadership, the company’s performance declined year after year. Many long-term partners left for other companies, while rival firms did everything in their power to suppress us. Our stock price has fallen to rock bottom—it’s not even worth the market listing price anymore.

I’ve been holding on as best I can these years, but I don’t have my father’s business acumen, and maybe because I’m a woman, I lack the decisiveness and courage needed. The people in the company look at me differently because of my gender, so the whole place is a mess.

My brother is a good person, but he’s even less suited to management than I am. He knows his own limitations and never makes trouble for me, only comforts me and tells me not to worry. At worst, he says, we can just sell the company and live as wealthy heirs.

But it’s my father’s and our family’s legacy—I don’t want to see it lost in our hands. So I’ve been pushing myself to keep going."

"You..." At this, Gu Mengyan’s spirits visibly drooped, and she looked at Fan Yirou with concern. "You must be exhausted."

Fan Yirou gave a self-deprecating smile. "It’s not as bad as when my mother first passed away. But with things as they are at home, do you really think being with Chen Hao is a good idea for me? And I haven’t even told you everything! If it were just the company’s poor performance, I could do as my brother suggests and sell it, live a life of luxury.

But the problem is, with the company in this state, anyone willing to take over won’t offer much—if there’s anyone at all. And if there is, it’ll be someone looking to take advantage, driving the price down as far as possible.

Besides, our family business includes shares held by other relatives. Now they’re doing everything they can to wrest control from me. It’s not that I’m unwilling to let go—I just worry the company will collapse even faster in their hands. Even if my abilities don’t match my father’s, I’m still better than those relatives who do nothing but act superior and boss others around.

I’m really worried. If I get together with Chen Hao now, people will gossip—say I’m trying to save the family business by marrying into the Chen family, that I’m using romance to tie them to us and force Uncle Chen to help us. I don’t care much about my own reputation, but if I did that, it would bring trouble to Chen Hao and his family. I don’t want to implicate them, or you..."

At this, Fan Yirou paused, fell silent, and continued kicking at the water.

But what she didn’t expect was Gu Mengyan’s sudden reaction. Without warning, Gu Mengyan lifted her hand and slapped Fan Yirou hard across the face!