Qin Yulian continued, "Just think about it, if we really wanted to acknowledge Jiang Youli as our daughter, why would we have waited until now? You already know, your father and I actually knew a long time ago that you weren't our biological daughter, and that Jiang Youli is. But to spare your feelings, we never went to bring her back. This time, if it weren't for not wanting to ruin your lifelong happiness by making you marry that crippled Young Master Qi, your father and I wouldn't have brought her back either."
At this point, Qin Yulian couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh, her face full of regret as she went on, "Who could have guessed... bringing her back would plant a ticking time bomb in our family!"
"Ah, I regret it so much! Had I known this would happen, I would rather not have coveted the Qi Family's influence and just let you break off the engagement directly!"
"Now, the marriage contract with the Qi Family isn't broken, but all the benefits have gone to your uncle and aunt's side. It's truly a case of 'suffering a double loss after throwing good money after bad'!"
Hearing Qin Yulian explain so much to her, clearly because she valued and cared for her, Jiang Yonghe felt very pleased with herself. With tears in her eyes, she threw herself into Qin Yulian's arms. "Mom, I understand your and Dad's difficulties. No matter what decisions you make, I have never blamed you in my heart."
Qin Yulian also wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. "That's good then. From now on, we won't go out of our way to please that wild girl Jiang Youli anymore. I'd like to see what kind of storm she can stir up in our Jiang Family after marrying that lame Young Master Qi!"
Jiang Zhao chimed in, "Right, that's exactly how we should be!"
Jiang Xing coughed twice. "Alright, Mom, enough crying. Since we don't want Jiang Youli to have her way, today's meeting with [Lili Yuanshang] is extremely important. If we can successfully secure the copyright for her final novel, I'm confident we can produce a massive hit for the company."
Qin Yulian quickly nodded. "Fine, I won't hold you up any longer. You two should get going now, don't keep people waiting."
...
Zhou Yi had just parked his car outside the Jiang residence, waiting to pick up Jiang Yonghe, when his phone rang.
Seeing it was Old Zhou calling, he thought it was another push for him to take over the family business soon.
"Dad, I told you, I have no plans to manage the company for you right now..."
"Who cares if you want to inherit the business or not? I wanted to tell you that Xiao Li was taken back to the Jiang Family in the capital by her biological parents a while ago. I've been busy these past few days and forgot to mention it."
Zhou Yi was stunned. He looked out the window and asked uncertainly, "The prominent Jiang Family in the capital?"
"Yes. Xiao Li is the Jiang Family's true heiress. I'm in the village now and don't know how she's been doing since returning, but before she went back, she did mention that her biological parents brought her back to take the place of the Jiang Family's adopted daughter in marrying the crippled eldest young master of the Qi Family. So I reckon Xiao Li isn't well-received by her biological family in the Jiang household. You better take good care of Xiao Li for me. If she gets bullied by the Jiang Family, you can't just stand by and watch. Get revenge for her, you hear me!"
The Jiang Family's adopted daughter... is that Jiang Yonghe?
Xiao Li was brought back to the Jiang Family... actually for Jiang Yonghe to avoid marrying Young Master Qi?
Xiao Li was right. He really had been buried in his writing for too long, neglecting what was happening outside. How could he not know about such big news in elite circles?
"I understand. With me here, I won't let Xiao Li be bullied by the Jiang Family."
After all, in the capital, in terms of status, the Jiang Family couldn't compare to his Zhou Family.
Back when the Zhou Family was at its peak, even the current top-tier Qi Family had to tread carefully around them.
Later, after his mother passed away, Old Zhou lost all interest in business, wanting only to retreat from the commercial world. He capriciously left behind the transfer contracts for all the company shares and then packed his bags and disappeared into seclusion.
Zhou Yi himself also had no desire to navigate the turbulent waters of business. He entrusted the company to reliable acquaintances for management and never showed his face publicly.
It took Zhou Yi over a year to finally learn Old Zhou's whereabouts, and it was in Jianshan Village that he met the sixteen-year-old Jiang Youli.
Jiang Youli, learning that he wrote web novels, had a sudden inspiration and started writing too. After finishing her draft, she showed it to him for feedback.
After reading it, Zhou Yi was amazed by Jiang Youli's incredible natural talent. For her first attempt at a novel, the opening was captivating, grand, and majestic.
He immediately submitted Jiang Youli's work to his own website on her behalf. Sure enough, it quickly gained an editor's favor, was successfully signed, and achieved impressive results during serialization, rapidly climbing to the top of the site's rankings.
This was a height he hadn't reached even after years in the industry!
At that moment, Zhou Yi had no choice but to believe that the gap in innate talent between people could be so vast!
The problem was, this was just Jiang Youli's casual side project. Her real main pursuits were medicine and cultivating medicinal herbs!
According to Old Zhou's admiring remarks, Jiang Youli's medical skills had also reached a miraculous level, and her understanding and experimental methods for cultivating herbs were extraordinary.
Zhou Yi suddenly felt that compared to someone like Jiang Youli, he was just a waste!
He thought, even if he couldn't compare in other areas, at least in writing novels he had to strive hard!
That's why, over the years, he had shut out the outside world, focusing solely on writing. Every time he contacted Jiang Youli, it was when she had released a new book and achieved success again, and he would personally call to congratulate her.
Later on, Jiang Youli's mere four books began selling their adaptation rights one after another.
And deciding which company to sell to was also personally overseen by Jiang Youli behind the scenes. Every book adapted into a TV series became a massive, explosive hit, known to young and old alike, incredibly popular!
It could be said that nowadays, the popularity of the author [Lili Yuanshang] was even higher than that of top-tier celebrity idols!
Now, [Lili Yuanshang] only had one last novel, "Ambition Among the Clouds," whose rights remained unsold. One could imagine what a coveted piece of meat this was for entertainment companies!
Even a D-list celebrity taking on the lead roles could probably shoot straight to A-list status!
An entertainment company on the brink of collapse could probably stage a stunning comeback!
This time, when Jiang Yonghe sought his help, if he didn't genuinely have feelings for her, he wouldn't have called in such a big favor to get Xiao Li to agree to meet with Jiang Yonghe's elder brother.
Zhou Yi had just hung up the phone and was still pondering the situation between Xiao Li, Jiang Yonghe, and the Jiang Family when a flashy, bright yellow Ferrari sports car pulled up beside him.
Jiang Yonghe sat in the passenger seat, wearing a white autumn dress that accentuated her pure, flawless, and delicate beauty.
In the driver's seat, Jiang Zhao was dressed in a hip-hop style black outfit, sporting a pair of black sunglasses. As the car stopped, Jiang Zhao pushed his sunglasses up and looked at Zhou Yi, his tone full of disdain. "You're Zhou Yi, right? I'm Xiao He's second brother. Xiao He will ride in my car, not yours. You just lead the way."
Frowning almost imperceptibly at Jiang Zhao's attitude, Zhou Yi glanced at Jiang Yonghe, wanting to know her stance.
Jiang Yonghe looked slightly apologetic and said, "Knowing that my elder brother and I were going to meet the great author Lili Yuanshang today, my second brother insisted on driving me there. Brother Zhou Yi, you don't mind, do you?"
Zhou Yi felt somewhat disappointed by Jiang Yonghe's response.
Her second brother clearly looked down on him, yet Jiang Yonghe showed not the slightest intention of defending him. After all, he had helped her with a significant favor.
Zhou Yi suddenly felt like laughing. If Jiang Yonghe was indeed the adopted daughter Old Zhou mentioned—the one for whom Youli had to return and take her place in a marriage—then perhaps in her eyes, he was just a spare tire she could use whenever convenient.
