Maggie Jiang had been troubled for a while.
Chase Jiang's character had already strayed from its original path. Fortunately, his key plotline was in the later stages, much like Victor Shen, so it wouldn't directly affect her for now. Even though Chase Jiang's actions were getting more and more erratic, Maggie Jiang could only silently complain in her mind.
However, Ethan Su's situation was entirely different. As the original story's first male protagonist, his presence was felt throughout the entire book, especially in the early stages where his character was crucial. But now, his character seemed to be falling apart, which made Maggie Jiang worried. All this time, she had tried her best to correct the deviating plotlines, but now, things had become much more complicated and troublesome than she had imagined. She only hoped that the plot wouldn't collapse completely and that she could get through it smoothly. As for her performance as a character and the rewards for clearing the storyline, she had to put those aside for now.
Because of this, Maggie Jiang had to tread carefully with every step. Right now, the plot of proposing to Ethan Su was about to arrive. According to the original storyline, this was just a small subplot, likely a filler due to the author's writer's block. It was something that could be handled easily. But now, with Ethan Su's character having changed, everything had become more complicated. He harbored a deep hatred for the male protagonist Bella Yang, but strangely, he had a soft spot for Maggie Jiang, the villainess. This made Maggie Jiang cautious; until she was absolutely certain, she couldn't afford to make a move hastily.
For the past few days, Maggie Jiang had wracked her brains, trying every possible solution. Initially, she thought she could use Chase Jiang's interference to solve the problem, but that plan failed. Left with no other choice, she came up with the idea of using a fake ring for the proposal, hoping to have it exposed during the ceremony to prevent Ethan Su from agreeing to marry her. But this created a new problem: who could she get to expose the fake ring? A random passerby would lack credibility and wouldn't have much impact; someone with status and authority, however, might leak the plan.
Maggie Jiang was at her wit's end. She even considered informing Dragon Gate, but their influence was so mysterious that, given her position, she couldn't get close enough to make it happen. Telling Bella Yang was out of the question too—he was impulsive, and she didn't trust him not to cause a big mess.
Just when Maggie Jiang thought she had no more options, an opportunity suddenly presented itself. Someone from Dragon Gate came looking for her, and she was both shocked and delighted. After reviewing the materials, she was certain that it was Bella Yang's backers who were investigating her. Now the situation was much easier to handle—she could just leak the fake ring information, and Dragon Gate would take care of the rest. It seemed like a perfect plan!
Feeling in high spirits, Maggie Jiang poured herself another cup of tea and checked her watch. "It's been almost half an hour, why haven't Victor Shen and Chase Jiang come back? What are they up to?"
After another ten minutes passed without either of them returning, Maggie Jiang grew a little impatient. She decided to leave first and go back to figure out how to discreetly let Dragon Gate know about the fake ring. "Well… Chase Jiang is a grown man; he should be fine going back by himself, right?" She thought for a moment but didn't dwell on it. Leaving a note behind, she quickly left.
Time rewinds to half an hour earlier.
Victor Shen arrived at the washroom and, through the door, heard Chase Jiang's muffled sobs. "Sigh!" He sighed softly and opened the door. "Chase Jiang? Are you in here?"
"Mr. Shen? What are you doing here?" Chase Jiang asked, his head down, staring at his feet.
"I came to find you." Victor Shen smiled brightly as he walked closer.
Victor Shen looked at Chase Jiang's face and smiled. "Maggie Jiang is really strange. A handsome guy like you, and she's willing to let you go? Doesn't that make you feel anything at all?"
Chase Jiang stammered, "W-What are you talking about? Let go? I didn't!"
Victor Shen gently wrapped his arms around Chase Jiang, patting his back comfortingly. "It's okay, I know everything. You don't have to keep denying it."
Chase Jiang weakly tried to defend himself, "I really didn't…" but was interrupted by Victor Shen.
Victor Shen leaned closer to Chase Jiang's ear and whispered, "You… can you also hear Maggie Jiang's thoughts?"
Chase Jiang's eyes immediately widened, and his body stiffened. After a long pause, he hesitantly replied, "Mr. Shen, why did you add the word 'also'? Do you…?"
Victor Shen smiled faintly, taking Chase Jiang's hand and leading him out. "Let's go somewhere else and sit down. We need to have a good talk."
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。