Chapter 27 (First Release)
"How come I didn't know you two were so close?"
The surroundings immediately fell silent.
Ning Wanwan's heart tightened slightly: "I've only met Shen Wu two or three times, basically the times you were there..."
Lin Ruowei gave a mocking chuckle, clearly not believing her explanation: "Then why is she so good to you?"
Ning Wanwan was speechless.
I don't know why!
If I had known, I would have done the opposite! You wouldn't have needed to tell me!
Lin Ruowei frowned, pacing back and forth, looking extremely agitated.
"Where did you meet Chen Wu before, downstairs?"
Ning Wanwan didn't understand why Lin Ruowei suddenly asked this, but she still answered, "Yes."
Lin Ruowei: "What does it mean that the man just now was called Director Shen Wu?"
"It should mean exactly what it says..." Ning Wanwan was a little confused by the question. Isn't that what "director" means?
Lin Ruowei gritted her teeth: "So, while we've been waiting here—"
"Chen Wu has already met Jiang Yuyuan."
The followers had already realized what Lin Ruowei cared about, and they secretly exchanged glances.
Sure enough, it's jealousy, isn't it? They probably never expected that Shen Wu, whom they've always disliked, could take control of the Shen family.
Even more unexpectedly, the relationship between the Shen family and the Jiang family was so close.
Could it be that the Jiang and Chen families will end up marrying each other? If so, the Lin family really won't get anything out of it.
Lin Ruowei, who shared the same thought, gritted her teeth and met Ning Wanwan's clear yet slightly confused gaze, her anger rising even higher.
"So tell me everything about how you met her!"
Ning Wanwan then recounted the entire incident of encountering Chen Wu downstairs, omitting the details of what happened.
Upon hearing a statement she absolutely did not want to hear, Lin Ruowei's eyes widened in disbelief: "So, the Jiang Group's partner who was supposed to be coming today is Shen Wu!"
Ning Wanwan finally realized what Lin Ruowei cared about, sighed silently in her heart, and nodded slightly.
"That should be true."
Lin Ruowei's face was extremely ugly. She gritted her teeth as if she wanted to curse, but swallowed it back because of her concerns.
"Chen Wu, how could it be her? What makes her qualified to be a partner in the Jiang family's business!"
What Lin Ruowei found most unacceptable was that she had initially thought the other woman, no matter how outstanding, was just another rich girl like herself who would rely on arranged marriages. Now, she was being told that the woman she had always wanted to surpass had already moved far ahead, even getting her hands on the Shen family's power.
Moreover, today, Shen Wu met Jiang Yuyuan with ease, as an equal partner.
Lin Ruowei, however, remained waiting in the reception room, racking her brains but unable to catch a glimpse of Jiang Yuyuan.
Lin Ruowei's mentality instantly collapsed.
“Miss Lin, don’t be angry. Shen Wu is probably just representing the Shen family. The cooperation is probably just a small project, which is why they sent someone as junior as her…” A follower cautiously stepped forward to persuade her.
But everyone knows that's just a comforting remark.
If it were truly a small project, would it warrant such serious attention from the Jiang family?
To put it another way, if it really is a small project, it would be even more ridiculous that Lin Ruowei would be left here waiting for several hours because she was busy with other small projects.
Therefore, Lin Ruowei's expression did not improve upon hearing this; instead, her anger grew even stronger, and she even began to hold a grudge against Jiang Yuyuan.
But as she said before, no matter how angry she was, she didn't dare to show her spoiled princess temper to Madam Jiang.
"She's not in charge of the Shen family at all; she's just using someone else's power to bully others!" Lin Ruowei exhaled, sneering repeatedly, as if she were trying to convince someone.
The other followers just thought Lin Ruowei was being stubborn. After all, the facts were so obvious; Lin Ruowei was probably just unwilling to accept it.
Ning Wanwan, however, subtly sensed something strange.
Why was Lin Ruowei so certain? It was as if she knew inside information from somewhere.
However, speaking of which, a scene from the plot inexplicably flashed through Ning Wanwan's mind, a very strange thing that Shen Wu had said.
That was during the scene where the male and female leads first officially collaborated.
At that time, the male protagonist confirmed with the female protagonist whether she could indeed make decisions regarding the Shen family.
The female lead, Shen Wu, had a rather strange expression at the time. From the male lead's perspective, it had a light, gentle smile, like that of an outsider watching a good show.
"Of course I can make decisions about the Shen family."
"But perhaps there are others who are better able to make decisions than I am."
The male protagonist frowned: "What do you mean? There's someone even more powerful hiding behind you; you're not the one with the highest status."
If that's the case, he'll need to reconsider the collaboration.
Shen Wu smiled calmly and said, "Not really."
"Don't worry, literally speaking, it's all just me, there won't be any difference."
After Shen Wu made a promise that she herself would be the supreme leader of the Shenwu Group, the male protagonist eventually cooperated with Shen Wu.
The cooperation was a win-win situation and very successful. Even until the eve of the finale, Shenwu remained the top person in charge of the Shenwu Group on the surface.
Therefore, when Ning Wanwan saw this scene, she didn't pay much attention to it, only thinking that Shen Wu might not have fully taken control of the Shenwu Group at that time.
However... Lin Ruowei's reaction inexplicably reminded Ning Wanwan of this plot.
How weird, my brain is going to grow out if I keep thinking about it.
"Should we wait?" one of Lin Ruowei's followers asked awkwardly as Ning Wanwan pondered.
Ning Wanwan also looked over; she really hoped to go back soon.
"Wait, of course we'll wait." Lin Ruowei forced a smile, squeezing out each word clearly, "We've already waited so long, what's a little longer?"
For the rest of the time, everyone fell silent. Ning Wanwan grew increasingly bored and began to stare blankly at the box.
"What, you're not going to eat?" Lin Ruowei noticed Ning Wanwan's gaze so quickly, and her tone was strange. "This was specially sent to you by Shen Wu."
Ning Wanwan hesitated.
To be honest, she was worried that if she used it, she would be attacked by Lin Ruowei, who was already in a bad mood.
"No..." Ning Wanwan hadn't finished speaking.
Her followers chimed in, "Yeah, Ning Wanwan, don't waste their good intentions."
"Yes, why don't you share some with Miss Lin too? Would you like to have some?"
Lin Ruowei, who originally intended to mock Ning Wanwan but unexpectedly found herself surrounded by her classmates who had turned against her, was speechless.
The followers didn't think anything was wrong. It seemed that Miss Lin's hopes of marrying into the Jiang family had been dashed. Although their family was not as well-off as the Lin family, they were not bad either. The reason they supported Lin Ruowei was because of her family background.
Now that Shen Wu is far superior to Lin Ruowei, and Ning Wanwan has a good relationship with Shen Wu, they all want to build a good relationship with Ning Wanwan, especially since it's just a matter of saying a few insignificant words.
Ning Wanwan was also a bit flustered by this turn of events. She didn't understand these undercurrents and didn't want to bother trying to figure them out.
Wanting to keep a low profile, she planned to distribute all the conspicuous snacks in the box.
"Do you want these? You can take them all, I can't finish them all by myself." Ning Wanwan stood up and carefully sorted through the various snacks in the box, distributing them among the customers.
"Wow, thank you!"
"This is my favorite food."
The group of followers immediately became lively. Ning Wanwan was bored while waiting, and they were just as bored. It would be great to have some snacks to eat while passing the time.
It's a pity Lin Ruowei is still here, otherwise what happened today would be enough for them to gossip and eat snacks all day.
The packaging bag was opened, releasing a pleasant aroma of snacks, filling the reception room with a cheerful atmosphere.
"Um, which kind do you want to eat?" Ning Wanwan asked Lin Ruowei in a low voice, not forgetting her either.
Lin Ruowei could never accept this: "I won't eat these."
"Oh." Ning Wanwan nodded hesitantly, then turned and walked away.
Lin Ruowei, who was putting on airs and waiting for Ning Wanwan to urge her three or four times, was speechless.
It's not an illusion; damn it, Ning Wanwan's follower is becoming increasingly perfunctory when it comes to flattering her.
Lin Ruowei's gaze towards Ning Wanwan grew increasingly suspicious.
Could this guy have actually secretly defected to Shenwu?
Ning Wanwan was unaware that her image as Lin Ruowei's devoted follower was about to be jeopardized.
"Ning Wanwan, you have such a good temper. You're not even angry with Shen Wu backing you up." A follower secretly glanced at Lin Ruowei's gloomy face and whispered to Ning Wanwan.
While feeling uncomfortable with the sudden change in these people's attitudes towards her, Ning Wanwan quietly corrected and answered, "It's alright... Besides, Shen Wu and I are really just ordinary classmates who have met a few times..."
Unlike others, Ning Wanwan felt that Lin Ruowei was relatively easy to fool; at least so far, she had only been rude and had not done anything actually harmful.
When Ning Wanwan learned that this was an SSS-level high-risk world, she had very low expectations of these NPCs; she just wanted them not to hinder her from saving her life and advancing the plot.
Currently, Lin Ruowei's existence not only does not conflict with her goals, but she is also an important character who indirectly maintains and intervenes in the plot.
In this respect, Ning Wanwan, who did not want to interact with other characters, still acknowledged her role in staying by Lin Ruowei's side.
However, this failure also made Ning Wanwan realize for the first time that relying solely on the character Lin Ruowei to maintain the plot might not be so reliable...
[Host, aren't you angry at all?]
"It's really okay. I'm a bit speechless, but... I'm not angry."
Ning Wanwan has her own temper and is very resistant to things she doesn't like. Although she doesn't usually lose her temper, she will insist on staying away from them.
When she's not angry, it's usually because she hasn't crossed the line that she cares about.
Once she crosses that line, Ning Wanwan, with her gentle and kind nature, will become the most vengeful, resolute, and difficult-to-persuade person.
[Host, you've been wronged.]
However, the system is not yet aware of this. Instead, when Ning Wanwan herself feels nothing is wrong, it becomes worried about her overly good-natured personality and feels wronged on her behalf.
Ning Wanwan: "...Uh." Today is another day where I have no idea what the system is imagining.
[Host, don't you ever get angry?] The system suddenly had a whimsical idea, wondering if it should teach the host to throw tantrums sometimes. [If I deliberately make you angry...]
"You can give it a try," Ning Wanwan said with a smile.
The system's data inexplicably jolted, and it obediently shut up like a timid wife.
...
On the other side, Chen Wu got into the car.
The mask-like smile that had been on her face faded slightly, and her expression became solemn.
Having acquired a clone with disloyalty and greed, it stands for the first time at a crossroads of choices.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 16:51:45 on December 13, 2023 and 18:08:27 on December 14, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: one fish (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Hehehe and Xiaoxiaoxue (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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