Although there were quite a few people in that direction, Shen Yan’s instincts still sharply locked onto the target.
After all, Lin Yu was the protagonist of the original novel. Even standing in a crowd, he seemed to have a spotlight shining on him.
As the protagonist of a harem novel, he was naturally exceptionally handsome.
Lin Yu appeared to be about 1.83 meters tall, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a heroic and unruly charm. His well-built, powerful physique with explosive muscle lines made him the type that most women would find irresistible.
In comparison, although Shen Yan was also good-looking, he seemed a bit too refined and delicate.
To put it bluntly, he slightly lacked masculine toughness.
Fortunately, with his “aura of a superior,” Shen Yan still had an imposing presence.
[Host, Lin Yu’s charm value is higher than yours. It’s clearly reflected in his appearance,] the system added fuel to the fire.
“Heh, what do you know?” Shen Yan’s face darkened.
He completely rejected this unfair judgment. “Back then, I was a versatile little heartthrob. Am I not better than some brainless muscle brute?”
“Even now, I exude the aura of a true leader. I’m elegant and refined. How can a brute like him compare?”
[Host, Lin Yu’s intelligence value is also very high! And frankly, muscles are better than being skin and bones or covered in fat!] the system laughed loudly.
“…”, Shen Yan was speechless.
He couldn’t understand why people liked these mercenary king novels. In those stories, the protagonist was always some overseas mercenary king—let’s be honest, a mercenary is just a paid killer! Doing nothing but assassin work!
What’s there to glorify? Yet so many novels made these kinds of people their main characters. Frankly, this whole “Dragon Emperor” and “Mercenary King” genre was an insult to real soldiers. A sacred profession completely defiled by such stories.
To put it harshly, someone like Lin Yu was just a thug, a rogue, a criminal.
What was so impressive about that kind of man?
Only after Lin Yu had fully entered the crowd and disappeared from view did Shen Yan finally drive off.
The whole way, Shen Yan’s face remained calm, but his fingers unconsciously tapped the steering wheel.
After a moment, he spoke, “According to the current plot timeline, Lin Yu just arrived in the capital. I’ve already disrupted his meeting with Huo Yunzhi. So now… will the plot still follow the original direction?”
Now that the two planned encounters between Lin Yu and Huo Yunzhi had been completely disrupted—what would happen in the future?
The system answered, [Host, in the world of a plot, coincidences are endless. When you disrupt one, new ones form to guide the story back on track—unless your disruption is strong enough.]
“So you mean…”
[Even if the previous events were changed, the plot world will adapt and evolve new events to maintain the main plotline.]
[Unless your strength surpasses Lin Yu in every aspect, the plot will keep trying to go back to its original path.]
Shen Yan said, “So basically, the confrontation between the protagonist and me is inevitable—just a matter of time.”
[Exactly,] the system replied lazily.
By the time the white Lamborghini returned to the Shen Family villa, it was already past 10:30 p.m.
The moment Shen Yan stepped into the hall, he saw his so-called mother, Madam Shen, sitting on the sofa with a stern expression—obviously waiting for him.
Beside her sat a middle-aged man who resembled Shen Yan somewhat—Shen Huaishan.
Madam Shen had intentionally waited up after learning about what her son did at the Platinum Club. A son she had always raised with strict discipline had actually gone to a place like that and behaved so outrageously—it was beyond belief.
As soon as she saw Shen Yan come in, she stood up and harshly questioned him.
She shouted, demanding to know why he broke off the engagement with Huo Yunzhi, her attitude as overbearing and cold as ever—maybe even more forceful than before.
In short, she was now more dissatisfied with Shen Yan than ever.
During this whole tirade, Shen Yan’s father, Shen Huaishan, remained silent, sitting there like a background prop—perfectly highlighting Madam Shen’s dominance.
As expected, Shen Yan thought. Coming home meant facing the engagement issue. Madam Shen would definitely use what happened at the Platinum Club to force him back into marrying Huo Yunzhi.
In the original novel, Madam Shen was a difficult woman. Within the Shen Family, her word was law. The original Shen Yan was a full-blown mama’s boy who obeyed her every order.
It could be said that the Shen Family’s downfall—and even Shen Yan’s death in the original plot—were largely due to her.
Even after Huo Yunzhi made it clear she didn’t like him, it was still Madam Shen who pushed Shen Yan to go make trouble for Lin Yu. In the process, she did many outrageous things.
Not to mention her shady dealings in business, which Lin Yu later exploited to strike back.
You could say that the Shen Family’s tragic ending was largely caused by her domineering, reckless behavior.
Now that Shen Yan had transmigrated, she was one of his biggest obstacles.
In the original plot, almost everything Madam Shen ordered Shen Yan to do was wrong—not one thing was right.
And Shen Yan followed her blindly.
Together, the mother and son duo had managed to avoid every correct choice—truly experts at stepping on landmines.
Under these conditions, how could Shen Yan ever hope to compete with Lin Yu? How could the Shen Family not collapse?
“You’re wrong! Don’t speak so recklessly when you don’t even know the full story,” Shen Yan finally spoke slowly, cutting off Madam Shen’s shouting.
He had to correct her way of thinking.
Tonight, he had to resolve the Shen Family’s internal conflict. If not, it would only lead to more trouble down the line.
Especially with Lin Yu as a strong opponent, any misstep could be fatal. At this critical moment, he couldn’t afford to have anyone dragging him down.
“What did you say?!” Madam Shen didn’t quite catch it. She glared at Shen Yan, “You’d better explain yourself right now!”
“My dear mother, let me start from the beginning…”
Shen Yan began speaking calmly and methodically. He spoke at length—from how he didn’t want to date Huo Yunzhi to how the Shen Corporation currently had countless hidden dangers.
He pointed out that while the Shen Group appeared strong on the surface, it was actually plagued by internal and external crises.
Then, Shen Yan asked directly, “Why do we have to marry into the Huo Family?”
“Because among the families in the capital, the Huo Family is the best match. Huo Yunzhi is the most suitable woman to be my daughter-in-law—”
“Wrong! Completely wrong! There are plenty of better choices than the Huo Family. Since ancient times, businessmen should never clash with officials. There are countless families in the capital more powerful than the Huos, and better girls than Huo Yunzhi aren’t hard to find. Why must she be the one most suited to me?”
“If I marry someone like Huo Yunzhi—so difficult and hard to get along with—we’ll end up with a household in constant conflict. How embarrassing would that be?”
In the end, Shen Yan made it clear that the Shen and Huo Families were incompatible, and this engagement would only lead to the downfall of the Shen Family.