Chapter 44: You're Overacting!

He simply felt that Jiang Zhiyun's performance today was a bit over the top.

The Jiang Corporation was such a massive business empire that it was no exaggeration to say its wealth could rival a nation.

Cutting off the capital chain of a single project might be a catastrophic disaster for an ordinary person, but for a player of Jiang Zhiyun's caliber, it should just be a minor trouble, right?

Did she really need to put on such a sky-is-falling expression?

Looking at Chen Yu's completely impervious demeanor, Jiang Zhiyun took a deep breath.

The test had only just begun.

She had to see this act through to the end, not only to deal with her father, but also to... test whether the man before her truly harbored even a sliver of warmth deep down in his heart.

Her gaze dimmed.

"Chen Yu, could you... could you help me?"

She took a step forward, standing closer to him, a thin veil of mist gathering in her beautiful eyes.

"After all... every month before, I've given you one hundred thousand, haven't I?"

These words acted like a switch, instantly touching Chen Yu's most sensitive nerve.

The lazy smile on his face vanished completely, replaced by a deeply knitted frown.

What the hell was going on?

After transmigrating into this world, he had managed with great difficulty to land such a "job"—spending his days accompanying the child and playing video games while pocketing one hundred thousand in pocket money. He had been living like an immortal.

He had even started planning how to spend the money: whether to buy a top-tier gaming peripheral first or to taste everything Michelin had to offer...

Though this world didn't seem to have Michelin.

And the result?

Before he could even enjoy this easy ride properly, his sugar daddy—oh no, his sugar mommy—was about to go bankrupt?

Bankruptcy was one thing, but now she actually wanted to take back the salary she had already paid out?

There was no such logic under the sun!

Chen Yu's expression darkened, and without a moment's hesitation, he shook his head vigorously, refusing flatly and decisively:

"No way!"

"That money is the 'salary' you gave me, and it was what we agreed upon. Now that your company is in trouble, that's your problem. How can you scheme against my tiny bit of money?"

At that moment, he was even somewhat glad he had kept his wits about him. Every time Jiang Zhiyun gave him money, he had immediately transferred it to a separate bank account of his own.

The live stream chat, after a brief silence, erupted into an even more furious frenzy!

[Holy shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[What the fuck... I have truly seen it all today! I've lived for over twenty years, and I've never seen such a shameless person!]

[Salary? He calls this a salary?! Does he even have the face to stand in court?! Not even the law can restrain scum like this!]

[My god, how could Jiang Zhiyun marry a piece of work like this? What does she see in him? His thick skin? His world-class selfishness?]

[Sisters, look closely! This is a man! This is the truth of marriage! So realistic! So cruel!]

[Jiang Zhiyun, I'm begging you, run! Run with your daughter! Stay far away from this vampire!]

[I'm starting to doubt whether Niannian is even his biological child! Even tigers don't eat their own cubs! He doesn't even care about his own wife!]

Jiang Zhiyun quietly looked at Chen Yu.

Although she knew in her heart that all of this was merely a meticulously planned performance and that their marriage was fundamentally just a piece of paper—an agreement—

She shouldn't have held any unrealistic illusions about him.

Yet, when she heard him refuse with such coldness and such a sense of entitlement,

a sharp, subtle ache still pierced through her heart.

So, in his eyes, she truly was nothing more than an "employer" who paid her wages on time.

Between them, aside from that marriage certificate and that agreement, there was nothing else.

"Fine... I get it," she said softly, her voice as low as a sigh.

Her gaze, too, carried genuine disappointment.

She stopped looking at him and turned around.

Right at that moment, Chen Yu, who had been sprawled lazily on the sofa, suddenly moved.

Watching Jiang Zhiyun's posture—as if she had been abandoned by the entire world—a jolt went through his heart.

Something was wrong.

This reaction wasn't right.

At first, he thought Jiang Zhiyun was just joking with him, or testing him using some wealthy-person method he couldn't comprehend.

After all, given the sheer scale of the Jiang Corporation, how could it possibly collapse just like that?

But now, looking at her desolate back that didn't seem faked at all, his certainty began to waver.

Could it... actually be true?

This woman, though usually as cold as ice, wasn't the type to use such clumsy acting to deceive people.

Her pride simply wouldn't allow her to do so.

In that case, wasn't her previous appearance entirely an act?

Chen Yu's frown deepened. For the first time, he took the matter seriously.

"Wait."

He spoke up, stopping her in her tracks.

Jiang Zhiyun paused, but did not turn back.

Chen Yu sat up from the sofa.

"Jiang Zhiyun," he changed his tone, his voice turning much more serious, "tell me the truth, what on earth is going on? A behemoth like the Jiang Corporation is going to suffer a fatal blow just because of a single project? Are you treating me like a three-year-old child?"

Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyun's shoulders relaxed by an imperceptible margin.

She knew this man wasn't stupid.

He usually seemed lazy and indifferent to everything, but those eyes of his could always see through many things.

Simple lies couldn't fool him.

She slowly turned around and faced him once again.

"You guessed right," she said softly. "The Jiang Corporation isn't going bankrupt."

She paused, as if weighing her words.

"It's the new energy project I'm in charge of. Its capital chain has snapped."

"I drove this project forward single-handedly, pouring all my heart and soul into it. But... as you know, in the Jiang family, I am not the only heir."

Her words were veiled, but Chen Yu instantly grasped the crux of the matter.

A wealthy family power struggle.

The most classic and dramatic plotline imaginable.

Jiang Zhiyun's father, that lofty chairman, had more than one child.

Now, by pulling the rug out from under her and cutting off the funding for Jiang Zhiyun's most crucial project, his objective was glaringly obvious—to use this opportunity to kick her out of the core circle of power and pave the way for other heirs.

This was no longer a simple business issue; it was a life-or-death power struggle.

If she lost, Jiang Zhiyun might lose everything she currently possessed.

Having figured this out, Chen Yu's gaze towards Jiang Zhiyun grew complex.

He finally understood that her plea for help just now wasn't baseless.

She really was cornered with nowhere left to turn.

A long silence settled over the living room.

The viewers in the live stream also began to perceive an extraordinary undertone from Jiang Zhiyun's words.

[Wait... not the only heir? What does that mean?]

[A wealthy family power struggle! Holy shit, no wonder—so it's a family feud! A real-life version of The Heirs?]