Mi Yang's eyes darted around for a moment, "Cooperation?"
Jiao Yuyin calmly said, "Jiao Yuchen can't help you with the result you want."
"You investigated me?"
"At the Jiao family, it's just a necessary background check for a newcomer," Jiao Yuyin said, awaiting Mi Yang's response.
The clock ticked away, adding a stifling, muffled pain to the otherwise silent atmosphere.
The determination in Mi Yang's eyes intensified.
Jiao Yuyin punctured the festering wound in Mi Yang's heart, saying, "You know very well that it's unrealistic for you to take back the shares that Yuwei is rightfully yours. So even though things have turned so bad today, you're still helpless. To put it bluntly, you wanted to secure a safe haven for Yuwei, but clearly, Jiao Yuchen hasn't done that."
"If he can't do it, why can you?" Mi Yang asked in a hoarse voice.
“I can.” Jiao Yuyin leaned back in the wooden chair, his eyes resolute. “Don’t doubt my methods. I not only know about your alliance with Jiao Yuchen, but I also know about the woman you care about most right now.”
Tell me about it.
“The woman you had someone photographed is named Cen Li. Actually, she changed her stage name for a special purpose.” Jiao Yuyin paused for a moment and continued, “Cen Li had plastic surgery to look somewhat similar to my mother. She looks about seven or eight parts similar now.”
"You arranged this?" Mi Yang blurted out without thinking.
"What a joke..." Jiao Yuyin rolled his eyes at her. "It was arranged by Jiao Yushen, it was arranged to seduce me. I originally wanted to use Yingyue Entertainment to blacklist her, but... she got involved with my dad. You know, my dad's chosen canary, I can't fight against him."
Mi Yang gave a wry smile. "So what? Will telling me all this solve any problems?"
“You can see what I can do for you. All you’ve done today is to get rid of this woman named Cen Li. I can promise you that.” Jiao Yuyin lowered his expression. “Even if Jiao Yuchen weren’t in prison right now, he wouldn’t stand up for you today. You and I both know that, don’t we?”
Mi Yang hesitated and said, "Aren't you afraid that if you tell me everything now, I might go back on my word later?"
"Once you're in the game, there's no going back on your moves. Everyone has their own scales of judgment. I can do what you need most, and I'm not afraid you'll back out." Jiao Yuyin took a sip of warm water. "I've always known that to gain someone's trust, empty promises are meaningless. The level of trust between us will naturally depend on the progress of our cooperation."
As Lu Yu listened to the changes in Mi Yang's thoughts, he knew that this was becoming more and more likely to happen, and he admired Jiao Yuyin's terrifying ability to read people and negotiate more and more.
Mi Yang took a deep breath. "If we... are going to cooperate, what do you need me to do?"
Jiao Yuyin, with his arm draped over the back of the chair, casually said, "Take up Jiao Cheng's wife's spot and appease the old man."
"Then what?"
“Keep an eye on him, accompany him to various banquets, and use your identity as Jiao Cheng’s wife.”
Jiao Yuyin noticed the slight worry in Mi Yang's eyes and added, "You don't need to inform me. Something so easily exposed has negligible benefits. Just do what Jiao Cheng's wife should do, and leave the rest to time. We need to wait for an opportunity..."
*
Lixiang Villa.
A plate of stir-fried sliced meat with mushrooms, and a bowl of spinach soup.
Jiao Yuyin and Lu Yu each ate a bowl of fragrant rice, making up for their late dinner.
Lu Yu gripped her chopsticks, pondered for a long time, and finally swallowed all the questions she wanted to ask, along with her favorite slices of shiitake mushroom, and shoveled down two mouthfuls of rice.
"What do you want to ask?" Jiao Yuyin's gentle voice came.
Jiao Yuyin finished his dinner quickly. He took out a tissue and wiped the grease from his lips, his elegant demeanor leaving Lu Yu speechless.
"Snap out of it," Jiao Yuyin commanded.
Lu Yu was unusually embarrassed, and smiled, revealing her two little tiger teeth. "Isn't Dad temporarily managing Jiao Yuwei's shares? It's no use for Mi Yang to insist on getting custody back, is it?"
"It's just a tactic of coercion. Shares are only one aspect. Yuwei also has a share in the Jiao family's businesses, but he's too young, and many things that should belong to him are basically in the hands of his second brother, Jiao Yuchen. After Mi Yang cooperated with Jiao Yuchen, he also saw through Jiao Yuchen's intentions. He had no intention of refining and dividing the businesses at all; on the contrary, he made the distribution of the businesses even more ambiguous. Mi Yang knows Jiao Yuchen's wolfish ambitions better than anyone else."
Jiao Yuyin looked at Lu Yu's clear, naive eyes, chuckled, and continued to explain, "She's using this opportunity to secure a future for Jiao Yuwei. She says she wants to fight for custody of Yuwei, and the person most anxious about this is Jiao Yushen. If Mi Yang were to take Jiao Yuwei out of the Jiao family and relinquish her shares at this time, with Jiao Yuchen still in prison, who could possibly understand all those unclear and complicated matters? Once Jiao Yuchen is released, all of this will be his. Mi Yang is just waiting for Jiao Yushen or me to extend an olive branch and help her resolve this huge problem with Cen Li."
"She just didn't expect that Cen Li was actually arranged by Jiao Yushen."
After Lu Yu finished speaking, she paused for a long time, then suddenly asked, "What was your childhood like...?"
Jiao Yuyin looked up at the gentle light in Lu Yu's eyes. "Why do you ask that?"
Lu Yu did not answer Jiao Yuyin's question, but said softly, "Today you are not just trying to win over Mi Yang. In my opinion, you may want to protect your younger brother Jiao Yuwei even more."
"The Jiao family already has enough monsters..."
Were you scared when you were a child?
"I don't remember." Jiao Yuyin leaned back, gazing at the dimly lit ceiling light. "After being lonely for so long, I forgot what it felt like back then."
Yes, the Jiao family is that dark furnace, where people are tempered and grow. Some develop ferocious faces, while others develop mental barriers of suspicion and overthinking.
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