Even as she left the Yu residence, Yu Jinyao never got to taste that wasabi shrimp ball made specially for her.
Sending her to the kitchen was just for show—the real punishment was making her skip lunch.
With a stomach even emptier than when she’d arrived, and bearing Lin Shuya’s worried, guilty gaze, Yu Jinyao fled the house.
But what she hadn’t expected was that while it was easy to get a ride here, getting one out was nearly impossible.
The platform kept popping up prompts asking her to increase the fare, and Yu Jinyao gritted her teeth and did so each time.
Yet still, no driver accepted the order.
With no other choice, she could only walk down the mountain while keeping the ride request active on the app.
The Yu family had cars to ferry Yu Mingyin around, and cars for the master and mistress, but there was no car that belonged to her.
Besides, today she had “erred,” so there was no way Yu Haochuan would let a driver take her back.
She trudged along the deserted mountain road, starving, until the roar of a sports car grew from distant to near, finally slowing to a stop beside her.
Wen Jiayan was driving a Rolls-Royce Spectre that was completely at odds with his personality—a black-to-red gradient in black rose, flashy and gorgeous.
The sleek body lines refracted clean light, stinging Yu Jinyao’s eyes.
The young man turned his head to look at her, expressionless, chin slightly raised. “Get in.”
Even a clay figurine has a temper.
The System would guarantee the Host’s safety, and besides, she’d have plenty of dealings with him in the future. Yu Jinyao got in without hesitation.
Riding in a convertible in early spring was still a bit chilly.
But Yu Jinyao was dressed warmly, and having worked up a sweat from walking, the breeze felt rather pleasant.
“Where do you live?”
“Cloud Jade Manor.”
Wen Jiayan steered with one hand, and the sparse traffic on the road gave him a wide berth.
While waiting at a red light, he glanced sideways at Yu Jinyao and noticed she’d tied her hair up, making her face look even smaller.
As soon as the car stopped, that fragrance started making its presence known again.
“Did you spray perfume?”
Wen Jiayan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Yu Jinyao looked utterly bewildered. “No, I didn’t.”
The light was about to turn green, and after answering that one line, she fell silent again.
Though Wen Jiayan had known she was a pushover the moment he saw her, he still felt inexplicably irritated.
He offered an insincere apology: “Sorry about that, making you miss lunch. I didn’t mean to.”
The moment he said those words, it was as if some plot trigger had been activated.
Yu Jinyao looked at him seriously, puzzled. “Do you have weak hands? And can’t you control your own mouth?”
“If you know you can’t handle spicy food, then don’t eat it. You’re not a child. If you insist on eating it, you have to take responsibility for it. What’s the point of blaming others?”
The young man’s face immediately darkened.
This was the first time Wen Jiayan had ever encountered someone who dared speak to him like that.
He floored the accelerator, and the wind blasted into Yu Jinyao’s face.
Luckily, she’d had the foresight to tie her hair up, so it didn’t fly wildly around.
As if out of spite, the sports car tore down the road, and Yu Jinyao could only grip her seatbelt tightly, staring straight ahead without blinking.
She feared that before she could even start her mission, she’d be taken to her death by this madman, becoming the Host with the shortest mission time in history.
Fortunately, Wen Jiayan wasn’t truly insane.
As they neared the central district of the capital, the speed dropped.
Wen Jiayan kept his eyes on the road, speaking flatly: “You should know what happens when you anger me.”
He wasn’t even bothering to keep up the act anymore.
The girl couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“Aren’t you the most refined, gentlemanly, teacher-respecting, classmate-loving President Wen? Why do you act like a rabid dog in front of me?”
This probably didn’t count as breaking character—her persona was supposed to be shallow, selfish, and not particularly bright.
The Yu family was already bound to the Wen family, and with Yu Mingyin in the picture, Wen Jiayan couldn’t possibly move against the Yus.
As for herself…
This was a test of the mission.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Being called a dog should have enraged him, because it was an insult from someone of a lower class he wouldn’t normally spare a glance for.
—Even if Yu Jinyao was a daughter of the Yu family, in his eyes, she wasn’t worthy of his attention either.
But strangely, hearing her words, a peculiar sense of exhilaration surged within him.
He’d misjudged her. She wasn’t a pushover after all.
Cloud Jade Manor was right ahead, and he even politely asked which building she was in before pulling the car to a stop. Only then did he take the time to study the girl’s calm face.
Yu Jinyao was putting on that ugly pair of black-rimmed, flat-lens glasses.
Wen Jiayan was thoroughly disgusted by her taste: “This is how you dress yourself in public?”
“Do you have business with me? If not, I’m getting out.”
She smoothed her hair, making sure she looked plain and unremarkable, then reached for the button to open the door.
But the door didn’t open.
She turned to look at Wen Jiayan.
The young man had already resumed his usual gentle, courteous demeanor, his light-colored pupils fixed intently on her.
A faint, proper smile curved at the corner of his lips, yet there was no trace of warmth in his eyes.
“Sister Yaoyao—”
His tone was even gentle.
“Don’t you feel ashamed of your own background? If I had a mistress for a mother, I’d have already jumped off a building in shame.”
Such vicious words actually came from Wen Jiayan, the most popular character in the original book, whom readers called “a genuinely good person”!
“What right do you have to call my mother a mistress?”
“When Sister Yinyin was five, my aunt committed suicide due to postpartum depression. That same year, your mother entered the household pregnant with you—doesn’t that prove they were already having an affair?”
The book never mentioned whether Yu Haochuan had cheated during his marriage, and Yu Jinyao knew even less about her parents’ affairs.
She only vaguely recalled from the original owner’s memories that when she was little, a young boy would always come to play with Yu Mingyin but never paid any attention to her.
Now it was clear—that young boy was Wen Jiayan.
Yu Jinyao finally understood why he harbored such malice toward her.
“Maybe they fell in love at first sight and eloped! Don’t talk nonsense without any proof!”
She stared fearlessly into the boy’s reddened eyes.
But Wen Jiayan flinched as if burned by something, his gaze darting away.
Only then did he realize that as they’d been talking, their noses were nearly touching.
He was dizzy from her fragrance, and even the girl’s ugly, outdated glasses and bangs seemed more tolerable now.
“…In any case, my aunt’s death is inseparable from you and your mother. If it weren’t for Sister Yinyin needing a perfect home, your Yu family would have long since…”
Yu Jinyao understood his implication.
The entire Yu family existed only because of Yu Mingyin.
Wen Jiayan tossed out a cold, hard statement: “School starts tomorrow. I’ll pick you up. You’ll follow me until you’ve atoned for your mother’s and your sins.”
“Otherwise, I don’t mind keeping the Yu family intact while giving you a little lesson.”
Yu Jinyao’s eyes widened, unable to believe there was such an unreasonable person in the world.
“Even if I need to atone, I’d do it in front of Yu Mingyin—what does it have to do with you?”
“Besides, even if what you say is true, the one who cheated was Yu Haochuan. Why don’t you go after him? Why not make him atone?”