The next day, Yan Ji bypassed the office entirely and headed straight for the equipment site. The team she had commissioned worked efficiently, delivering everything she needed right on schedule. After shadowing the technicians around the facility to master the machinery, she dismissed them all, granting them a week of paid vacation.
Yan Ji then spent the next three days locked away at the site. Just as Father Yan could no longer sit still with worry and called to check on her, she finally finished producing the last of the new batch. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, a genuine smile broke across her face.
“Dad?” Yan Ji patted the dust from her clothes, accepted the call, and stepped outside.
Father Yan’s voice drifted through the line, warm and gentle, “Yanyan, what have you been so busy with these past few days? Why haven’t you come home?”
“The company is launching a few new products, and they’re practically finished now.” Yan Ji replied with a smile. “I should be able to go home today.”
Father Yan hummed in acknowledgment, then abruptly shifted the topic to her current situation with Jiang Chen.
A faint, cold smile touched Yan Ji’s lips. “Dad, you don’t need to worry about that. I can handle it myself.”
“All right then. Jiang Chen’s father brought up the engagement two days ago.” Father Yan said, letting the matter drop since she clearly didn’t want him interfering. “Yanyan, when do you plan on calling it off?”
Yan Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Jiang Chen won’t agree to it easily. Let the father and son make a scene for now. As for canceling the engagement, I just need to find the right opportunity.”
Wisely, Father Yan didn’t press her on what that opportunity might be. He simply reminded her to come home early, and after a bit of casual chatter, he hung up.
In A City, the Jiang, Ouyang, and Yan families held roughly equal status. The Ouyang family dominated the entertainment industry. Their agency was one of the best in the business, consistently churning out A-list celebrities. The Jiang family owned A City’s largest automotive company. One of their recently launched car models had become a massive market success, allowing them to slowly eclipse the other two families.
According to the original owner’s memories of the altered timeline, the Jiang family had initially been eager to rush the marriage. But once their new vehicle became a massive hit, their ambitions swelled. The Jiang family’s appetite was no longer confined to A City.
Eventually, the Jiang and Ouyang families would join forces to dismantle the Yan family. By carving up and absorbing the Yan family’s assets, they secured the capital and leverage needed to expand across the country. Later, when Jiang Chen and Ouyang Hao took the reins, they became legendary tycoons in the business world.
Yan Ji mindlessly traced the edge of her phone screen, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
If two brain-dead idiots could become business tycoons, it would be an absolute embarrassment if she— the tyrant of the Spirit Realm— failed to do the same.
With that thought, Yan Ji loaded up the new skincare and cosmetics she had painstakingly formulated over the last three days— using the specific medicinal herbs and properties available in this world— and drove back to the company.
The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she ran directly into Su Baixin, who was carrying a stack of documents out of the office.
Yan Ji frowned. “Why are you still here?”
“X-Xiao Yan……” Su Baixin looked at her nervously, her eyes darting away. “I don’t know what I did to upset you, but…… but I hope you can calm down. If I did something wrong, just tell me and I’ll apologize, okay?”
She humbled herself completely, adopting a pitiful posture that Yan Ji found inexplicably amusing.
Raising an eyebrow, Yan Ji chuckled softly and closed the distance between them. She reached out, trapping Su Baixin’s chin firmly between her fingers.
“Can’t you understand human language?” Yan Ji spoke in a slow, deceptively gentle cadence. “I told you to stay out of my sight. Is your comprehension really that poor?”
Yan Ji tightened her grip. Her eyes narrowed, flashing with an icy, merciless chill. “I’m giving you one last chance. If you refuse to disappear, I can make your life a living hell right now.”
The sharp pain in her jaw turned Su Baixin’s eyes red. Staring into Yan Ji’s frigid expression, a wave of profound grievance washed over her. Terrified and confused, her voice trembled, “Xiao Yan, why are you treating me like this? What did I ever do to upset you?”
“Are you truly stupid, or are you just playing dumb?” The faint smile vanished from Yan Ji’s face, replaced by a gaze so deep and dark it sent shivers straight down Su Baixin’s spine. “Don’t pretend you don’t know how Jiang Chen feels about you. No matter what, he is still my fiancé in name. Since you claim to be my best friend, shouldn’t you be keeping your distance from your best friend’s fiancé? Hmm?”
Su Baixin bit her lower lip, trying to defend herself, “You’re misunderstanding. There’s nothing going on between us—”
“You really expect me to believe you don’t know his feelings?” Yan Ji cut her off smoothly.
Releasing her grip, she pulled a tissue from her handbag and wiped her fingers with unbothered disgust.
That single action hit Su Baixin like a physical blow. Her face drained of color, tears trembling on her lashes. Mist clouded her bright, clear eyes— a picture-perfect display of vulnerability designed to instantly trigger a man’s protective instincts.
“Brother Chen is your fiancé.” Su Baixin sobbed. “I would never try to steal him away……”
Tch.
Yan Ji’s patience wore thin. What a magnificent white lotus.
“I don’t care whether you can steal him or not. But if you dare show your face around here again, I guarantee……” Yan Ji laughed softly, her beautiful eyes shimmering with dangerous brilliance as she took another step forward. Driven by Yan Ji’s suffocating aura, Su Baixin instinctively shrank back.
Leaning down slightly, her orchid-fragrant breath brushing against Su Baixin’s ear, Yan Ji whispered, “Even your ‘brothers’ won’t be able to save you. Do you understand exactly what I mean?”
Su Baixin froze, looking as though she had been struck by lightning.
Without another word, Yan Ji snatched the stack of documents from Su Baixin’s trembling hands, pushed open the company’s glass doors, and headed toward the manager’s office— leaving Su Baixin standing blankly by the elevator.
It took a long time before two heavy streams of tears finally rolled down Su Baixin’s cheeks. Instinctively, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jiang Chen. The broken, fragile sob she let out over the line nearly shattered his heart on the other end.
“Baby? Xinxin, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?” Jiang Chen’s voice burst through the speaker, frantic with worry. “Where are you right now? I’ll come pick you up, okay?”
His anxious tone only fueled Su Baixin’s sense of grievance. “I-I’m at the company……” She wept, choking on her words. “Brother Chen, I feel so miserable……”
“Shh, be good, baby. I’m coming to get you right now.”
By the time she hung up, Su Baixin’s face was flushed from crying. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, her gaze suddenly hardening with resolve. Since Yan Ji was going to treat her like this, she was officially done being her best friend.
……
“Director Yan, these are……?” The manager stared at the unlabeled skincare containers in complete confusion.
Yan Ji had no intention of playing guessing games and got straight to the point, introducing each item one by one.
“The acne cream yields results within half an hour. The scar removal cream clears light blemishes within twelve hours, and deep scars in twenty-four hours at most. The blackhead remover works in ten minutes. The whitening cream works within a day…….”
As Yan Ji continued her introduction, the manager’s eyes widened further and further. She stared at Yan Ji as if she were listening to pure fantasy. “You mean to tell me…… these products can actually deliver results that quickly?”
Had she misheard? Even the world’s leading luxury brands wouldn’t dare guarantee a specific timeline for results. Had this newly appointed, airborne managing director completely lost her mind?
“Want to test it out?” Unfazed by the manager’s blatant skepticism, Yan Ji simply picked up the bottle of blackhead remover and raised an eyebrow.
“T-this……” The manager hesitated, a flicker of worry crossing her face. “There won’t be any adverse side effects on the skin, right?”
“Relax. The ingredients are entirely traditional medicinal herbs. At worst, the scent is just a bit earthy.”
Seeing Yan Ji’s absolute confidence, the manager pushed her doubts aside and gave a hesitant nod. Yan Ji immediately stepped forward and sprayed a fine mist onto the manager’s nose. Instantly, a crisp, herbal fragrance bloomed throughout the room.
The manager’s skin condition was admittedly poor. Her pores were noticeably large, she suffered from stubborn blackheads and acne, and she relied heavily on thick foundation just to mask the dark circles under her eyes.
About seven or eight minutes into the wait, a distinctly unpleasant odor began to waft through the air. The manager frowned instinctively, suddenly feeling a sharp itch on her nose. She reached up to scratch it absentmindedly, but when she pulled her hand away, the dark, grimy residue trapped beneath her fingernails startled her.
“No need to panic. That’s just the deep-seated impurities being purged from your pores. It’s a good thing.” Yan Ji explained smoothly, amused by the manager’s horrified expression.
The moment the ten-minute mark finally hit, the manager didn’t even wait for Yan Ji’s permission. She bolted straight for the restroom.
When she returned a few minutes later, the way she looked at Yan Ji had undergone a complete, earth-shattering transformation.
After thoroughly washing her face, she looked in the mirror to find that the blackheads on her nose were entirely gone! Not only that, but the pores themselves had visibly tightened, leaving the skin there looking remarkably smoother and healthier than the rest of her face.
This wasn’t just a cosmetic— this was the holy grail every woman on earth dreamed of finding.
Even using the absolute bare minimum of logic, she could already visualize the astronomical profits these products would rake in for the company.
Good heavens.
The manager stared at Yan Ji as if she were looking at a walking gold mine. Trying her best to suppress the frantic excitement bubbling inside her, she forced her voice into a semblance of professional calm, “Director Yan, how many sets of these do we currently have in stock?”
“For now, just this one.” Seeing the manager’s face instantly drop, Yan Ji couldn’t help but chuckle. “I brought this prototype over primarily for you to evaluate. If you deem it market-ready, the technicians can begin full-scale production tomorrow.”
“Yes! Absolutely! It’s beyond ready!” The manager nodded vigorously, her compliance absolute.
Yan Ji continued smoothly, “We can bump up the technicians’ salaries a bit. However, every single employee involved must sign a strict, ironclad non-disclosure agreement. We cannot afford to let the formulas or the manufacturing processes leak.”
“Of course, that goes without saying. I’ll have HR draft them immediately.”
Suddenly looking as though she had been injected with chicken blood, the manager was bursting with newfound energy. She marched out of the office, rallied the entire staff into the main conference room, and unveiled the new product line.
Predictably, just as the manager had initially done, the employees all thought she was pulling a joke.
Until they tried the samples themselves.
The room erupted into absolute chaos.
It wasn’t just the women, either; the male employees cared just as deeply about their skin. How could anyone witness these kinds of miraculous results and not lose their minds? Forget the general public— the staff members themselves were desperate to get their hands on it.
Buy it!
They had to buy it!
To pass up on a product like this wouldn’t even be human!
Under the dual temptation of wealth and beauty, the entire staff returned to their desks fired up, eager to turn the launch into a massive success. Meanwhile, Yan Ji— the very mastermind behind the revolutionary formulas— unexpectedly found herself with nothing left to do.
Since her presence was no longer required, she grabbed her handbag and decided to head home.
……
“Miss, you’re back?”
As she stepped out of the garage, Yan Ji ran into the housekeeper, Auntie Wang. The older woman looked pale and anxious. Glancing nervously toward the villa, she lowered her voice to a whisper, “Miss, the Jiang family is here. They said they’ve come to cancel the engagement.”
Yan Ji raised an eyebrow in surprise. In the altered timeline, things had never escalated to a confrontation like this so early on.
Recovering her composure instantly, she reassured the anxious housekeeper, then calmly walked down the stone path and pushed open the front door. The moment she stepped into the foyer, Father Yan’s furious voice erupted from the living room.
“Your son was the one who cheated first, and you still have the audacity to claim my family’s Yanyan has a temper?!”
“Oh, Old Yan, listen to yourself. The children aren’t even married yet, so how can you call it cheating?” A woman’s cold, grating laughter followed, laced with condescension.
Yan Ji swept her gaze across the room. It wasn’t just the Jiang couple; even the Ouyang couple was present. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly before she called out, “Dad, we have guests?”
The rage on Father Yan’s face hadn’t yet faded, but hearing his daughter’s voice made him instinctively turn around. He watched as Yan Ji bent down slightly to kick off her high heels, sliding into a pair of slippers before walking toward the group.
Dressed in a sharp, tailored business suit with flawless makeup and long, loosely curled hair draping down her back, she exuded a captivating blend of executive power and effortless allure.
“Uncle Jiang, Aunt Jiang, Uncle Ouyang, Aunt Ouyang.” Yan Ji’s eyes swept over the visitors, offering each of them a perfectly polite smile.
Her sudden entrance subtly cut through the suffocating tension in the room.
Father Jiang, a sharp and mature man, maintained a smooth facade. He offered a slow smile. “It’s been a while since I last saw Xiao Yan. You’ve changed quite a bit. Truly, a girl changes completely as she grows up.”
“Uncle Jiang, I prefer dealing with people who cut straight to the chase.” Yan Ji poured herself a glass of milk and sat down squarely between her mother and father. Though her smile remained polite, her dark eyes were cold and unfathomable.
Father Jiang froze for a fraction of a second, his smile faltering. He mindlessly turned the jade ring on his thumb, remaining silent for a moment before finding his composure. “That brat Jiang Chen came to me today demanding that I call off the engagement. I honestly didn’t want to agree to it. After all, I watched you grow up—”
“Uncle Jiang.” Yan Ji interrupted him smoothly. She took a sip of her milk, then lifted her eyes to lock gazes with him, her expression completely unreadable. “Jiang Chen got involved with another woman before the engagement was even officially dissolved. I won’t lower myself to argue over that. But if you think you can walk into my home and casually brush the arrangement aside without consequences, I won’t agree to it.”
She paused, her gaze sharpening. “Jiang Chen wronged me. How can he expect to walk away without paying a price? Uncle Jiang, don’t you agree?”
Yan Ji was still smiling, but the sheer coldness behind it sent a sudden shiver down everyone’s spines.
Father Jiang’s smile turned rigid. Leaning forward slightly, he tapped his fingers against his thigh in an unhurried, calculating rhythm. “Xiao Yan, phrasing it that way makes our families’ ten years of friendship sound awfully cheap. Since the two of you never formalized the marriage, why not just let it go? It would be best for everyone, don’t you think?”
“Who in A City’s high society doesn’t know about the marriage agreement between Jiang Chen and me?” Yan Ji sneered, her eyes flashing with blatant mockery. “Uncle Jiang, are you absolutely certain you want to slap the Yan family in the face like this?”
His words sounded pleasant enough, but everyone in A City’s elite social circles knew exactly what this meant. For the Jiang family to unilaterally break a long-standing agreement for the sake of a woman with absolutely no background or status was a calculated, public slap to the Yan family’s reputation.
Father Jiang remained silent, letting someone from the Ouyang family step in to apply pressure, “Xiao Yan, canceling the engagement won’t harm either family.” Father Ouyang chimed in smoothly. “Young people nowadays are all about pursuing true love, aren’t they? I think it’s best if you just agree to it gracefully.”
Father Jiang exchanged a knowing look with Father Ouyang. It was painfully obvious that the two patriarchs had orchestrated this entire ambush beforehand.
Before Yan Ji could even formulate a response, Father Yan— whose expression had been turning increasingly livid— finally snapped.
“Fine! Consider the engagement canceled!”
Father Yan’s face was pale with rage. Mother Yan quickly patted his back to soothe him, though her own expression was just as dark. Their precious daughter had been publicly cast aside by an arrogant family, coming directly to their home to break an alliance. What self-respecting parent could possibly swallow that insult?
Father Yan steadied his breathing, spitting out his next words with venomous clarity, “Fine. Now, all of you can get the hell out. Our Yan family clearly can’t afford to associate with people of your ‘high standing’!”
Hearing that, Father Jiang stood up with a smooth smile, entirely unbothered by Father Yan’s outburst. The moment they had walked through the front door, they had already been prepared to burn their bridges with the Yans.
But it didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
The Jiang family’s business was expanding exponentially by the day. Father Jiang was confident it wouldn’t be long before their influence stretched far beyond the confines of A City. When that day came, plenty of prominent families like the Yans would be begging for their favor. He didn’t feel a single shred of regret.
“Since the matter is settled, I won’t waste any more of everyone’s time. I still have urgent documents waiting on my desk at the office.” Father Jiang said with a dismissive smile, signaling the others to leave.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Yan Ji’s lingering smile. For some inexplicable reason, it made him deeply uncomfortable.
Just as Father Jiang opened the front door to exit, Yan Ji’s icy voice cut through the room behind him.
“CEO Jiang, I truly hope that in the near future, you don’t grow to regret what you did today.”
Father Jiang paused and looked back, but Yan Ji had already turned her back to him. He sneered inwardly, completely dismissing her warning.
She was a mere little girl who hadn’t even learned to walk in the business world yet, and she already wanted to run?
Was she not afraid of tripping and breaking her neck?
……
“Yanyan…… Dad should never have arranged this marriage for you.”
Once the front door clicked shut, the tension in Father Yan’s face crumbled into exhaustion. He let out a heavy sigh, deeply regretful of the betrothal he had initiated years ago.
Yan Ji remained entirely unfazed. She placed a reassuring hand on both her parents’ shoulders, her voice soft but firm, “Mom, Dad, don’t waste your anger on them. It won’t be long before they come crawling back to apologize, begging to pay whatever price we demand for today’s insult.”
Father Yan sighed again, quietly assuming his daughter was just indulging in defensive wishful thinking.
Of course, he was well aware of the Jiang family’s aggressive market maneuvers. Weren’t they just dreaming of stepping out of A City to soar to the absolute top of the national market?
Father Yan’s eyes narrowed, a ruthless glint flashing through them.
If Jiang Chengxu believed he could pull it off, then why couldn’t he, Yan Yu, do the same thing?
……
The news of the sudden rupture between the Yan and Jiang families instantly sent shockwaves through A City’s high society. Speculation ran rampant, with everyone trying to guess what scandalous secret had caused the sudden fallout.
But before the gossip could even settle, a revolutionary skincare and cosmetics brand named ‘Mei Ji[1]美姬; Beautiful Maiden or Beautiful Ji jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2462042_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2462042_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });’ launched grandly onto the market— leaving every beauty-conscious woman, and quite a few men, in utter disbelief.
Blackhead removal in ten minutes without stretching the pores?
Scar and acne eradication within twenty-four hours with zero side effects?
Instant skin whitening and pore refinement?
Had this new company completely lost its mind in a desperate bid for quick cash?!
References[+]