When Chen Mengyao got home, she changed her shoes and immediately took a towel from the balcony to dry her hair. This family relied solely on her now, so she absolutely could not afford to fall sick. Otherwise, their days would become even harder.
As she was wiping her damp hair, a weak voice came from the bedroom. “Yaoyao? Why are you back so soon?”
Chen Mengyao pressed her lips together and replied toward the bedroom, “Mom, it’s me. It was raining today, and the market was empty. I didn’t buy anything, so there won’t be chicken soup tonight.”
“It’s fine if you didn’t. We’ll just eat whatever is at home.” Her mother’s voice sounded relieved, as though drinking chicken soup made her feel guilty.
Chen Mengyao sighed softly in her heart and continued to wipe her hair. After quite some time, she finally dried it completely and then went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. As she chopped vegetables, her thoughts drifted, and her bright eyes gradually lost focus.
Suddenly, an anxious, crisp voice came from the bedroom. “Sister! Sister! Come quickly! Mom seems to have fainted!”
Chen Mengyao’s body jolted, and the knife in her hand almost cut her finger. She quickly put the knife down and rushed into the bedroom.
Inside, a little girl of six or seven, delicate and lovely, was leaning on the bedside, anxiously watching the unconscious woman lying there with her eyes closed.
“Mom!” Chen Mengyao’s nose stung the moment she saw her mother’s sallow, haggard face, and she nearly burst into tears. She hurried to the bed and held her mother’s hand.
At this moment, the woman’s cheeks were gaunt, her cheekbones protruding. She looked over ten years older than her actual age. Her eyes remained tightly shut, her breathing was weak, and no matter how Chen Mengyao called, she gave no response—she had already fallen into a coma.
Chen Mengyao wiped her face, took a deep breath, and calmed her voice. “Xue Ning, don’t be afraid. Mom is fine, she’s just too tired and fell asleep.” She crouched down, took out her keypad phone, dialed for emergency services, and comfortingly patted the little girl’s shoulder.
“Mm.” Chen Xue Ning nodded hard, though her eyes grew redder.
Not long after, the ambulance arrived downstairs. Doctors and nurses quickly carried Chen Mengyao’s mother down and pushed her into the ambulance. Chen Mengyao, unwilling to leave Chen Xue Ning alone at home, brought her along.
Inside the ambulance, Chen Mengyao hugged her sister tightly and kept repeating, “Xue Ning, don’t worry. Mom will be fine…”
Chen Xue Ning buried her face in her sister’s arms, sobbing quietly. “Sister, why doesn’t Dad care about Mom? Why is he always gone? Why do we have to move here… wuwuwu…”
Hearing this, Chen Mengyao’s body stiffened. Her father’s cold and distant image flashed in her mind, and sorrow swept through her heart. Life had been so hard before that when Xue Ning was younger, she had mostly lived with their grandmother. She rarely saw her father and didn’t know how terrifying he was when gambling consumed him. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Lowering her eyes, Chen Mengyao gently stroked her sister’s soft black hair and said firmly, “When Mom gets better, you and Mom will never have to move again. Alright?”
“Alright.” Chen Xue Ning nodded forcefully, then asked, “Sister, when will Dad come to see us?”
Chen Mengyao shook her head, her eyes flashing with complexity. Deep down, she thought, “It would be best if he never comes for us again…”
The ambulance was silent except for the soft sobs of Chen Xue Ning and the rhythmic beeping of medical equipment. Chen Mengyao held her sister’s hand tighter, pulling her closer into her arms.
“Sister, what’s wrong?” The little girl’s concerned voice brought her back. Forcing a faint smile, Chen Mengyao replied, “I’m fine, just thinking.” She rubbed her sister’s small head and stared at her own blurred reflection in the window, lost in thought.
It wasn’t until the ambulance stopped and the doctor told her they had arrived that she snapped back. She quickly carried Chen Xue Ning and followed as they rushed her mother into the hospital.
…
At the same time, in the Emperor Group.
Lu Chen tossed his car keys to the Steward, telling him to park the car, while he himself walked toward the company, surrounded by dozens of bodyguards.
Before even reaching the entrance, he noticed a crowd gathered in the lobby. Angry shouts echoed, accompanied by the sound of a vase shattering and, faintly, the sharp cries of a woman.
Lu Chen frowned. Who was bold enough to cause trouble in his Emperor Group?
Before he could step forward, a senior executive spotted him and quickly approached.
“What’s going on here? Who’s making trouble?” Lu Chen asked coldly, a trace of ice in his eyes.
The executive trembled, swallowing hard before bowing respectfully. “Young Master Lu, it’s Miss Liu, the daughter of the Liu Family…”
Lu Chen raised a brow, his expression showing realization. “So it’s her.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
The Liu Family was one of the prominent families in Yanjing City, with vast assets spread across jewelry, real estate, and other industries, enjoying considerable prestige. Though still far from the Lu Family’s level as a top-tier lineage, they were firmly part of the city’s wealthy elite.
Their only daughter, Liu Ruyan, was famous in Yanjing City’s upper circles as a spoiled young lady. She also had another very important identity—the female lead of the “Dragon King’s Son-in-Law” plotline.
Yes, Liu Ruyan had an extra complication—she was already married. But according to the plot, she looked down on her husband, the so-called Dragon King, Ye Chen. She often slapped him and even invited her friends to join in slapping him.
Ye Chen was the young master of an ancient martial family, the Ye Family, hidden from the secular world. But the Ye Family had a ridiculous rule: their heir could only inherit the family and become patriarch if he spent three years as a live-in son-in-law. They called it training.
During those three years, he couldn’t reveal his identity or strength. Otherwise, he would immediately be stripped of his position as heir and expelled from the Ye Family. When the three years ended, Ye Chen could return, gain the Ye Family’s support, and smoothly become the next patriarch.
In the plot, Ye Chen lived without dignity in the Liu Family, treated worse than Liu Ruyan’s dog. By day, he washed clothes, cooked, cleaned, and even had to serve the dog before eating its leftovers himself. At night, he slept on the cold floor in the living room. He was often slapped, insulted, and humiliated. Yet he never dared to speak a word of defiance. His life was utterly miserable.
It was the most cliché Dragon King son-in-law plotline imaginable.
Thinking of Ye Chen’s pathetic life, Lu Chen clicked his tongue. Truly a dog-blooded drama—even a dog would shake its head.
And in the original novel, the most miserable of all was him, the villain. According to the plot, two months later, he would attend the Liu Family matriarch’s 80th birthday banquet. There, he would take a liking to Liu Ruyan and use the Lu Family’s power to pressure the Liu Family, attempting to forcibly take her away. The Liu Family, too afraid to resist, would try to persuade Liu Ruyan to accept him.
Nobody cared about Ye Chen, the lowly son-in-law, and nobody would bother asking his opinion. Just when everyone thought Liu Ruyan was about to fall into Lu Chen’s hands, Ye Chen would suddenly stand up and shout, “The three-year term has ended, the Dragon King returns, no longer enduring!”
Then Lu Chen would be beaten miserably, even losing a few teeth, while Ye Chen, fully awakened, would take Liu Ruyan away in glory.
Saved by him, Liu Ruyan would be shocked, realizing that the man she had always despised was actually incomparably powerful. From then on, she would secretly fall in love with Ye Chen.
That was the cliché original plotline. That was the role of Lu Chen, the villain—like a lustful dog, losing all reason whenever he saw the female lead, only to be beaten down by various Dragon Kings.
But now things were different.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, the corner of his lips curving into a playful smile.