After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 2

Although Yan Qingwen didn’t usually read novels, she had read scripts adapted from them—if one were to ask why the busy CEO of a major conglomerate would read scripts, it all started with her long-standing feud with her arch-rival, Wen Hebai.

When she took over the Yan Group, she saw the growth potential of the entertainment industry and prepared to make her move.

The entertainment industry, however, had always been one of the Wen family’s core businesses, managed personally by their youngest daughter, Wen Hebai. This move was viewed by Wen Hebai as a direct challenge to her family, leading to a fierce back-and-forth battle between the two.

During this period, to make a splash with their first venture, Yan Qingwen placed great importance on the first TV drama produced by a Yan Group subsidiary—an adaptation of a major IP. She personally read the script and the original work, thereby gaining some knowledge about web novel tropes.

Thus, at this moment, combining Jiang Yunhan’s inner thoughts with the spoilers from the [Comments Section], she finally pieced together exactly what was happening.

In short, this was the world of a novel titled After Transmigrating as a Cannon Fodder Wealthy Young Master, I Have Attained Enlightenment.

The protagonist of this novel was Jiang Yunhan, but not the Third Young Master Jiang she knew; rather, he was a stranger with the same name who had occupied Jiang Yunhan’s body.

If things had ended there, it would still be relatively simple.

However, for this Jiang Yunhan, this world was not his original world either, but the world within a “Dragon King” power-fantasy novel he had once read titled The Return of the Dragon King: History’s Strongest Live-in Son-in-Law.

The protagonist of that “Dragon King” novel was Zhuang Yi. He was originally the young master of a powerful faction in City C to the south, and everyone assumed he would be the successor. Unexpectedly, when he was eighteen, his father publicly announced that his older sister—whom his father had never looked upon with favor—would be the heir instead, and banished him abroad.

The idea that a woman, who would eventually marry out of the family, had stolen everything that rightfully belonged to him made him despise the people behind it. Whether it was his biological sister or his father, he swore to make them pay for their actions today!

He stayed abroad for several years, eventually shook off his “enemies'” surveillance, and quietly returned to the country to secretly plot his reclamation of everything.

He first approached “Yan Qingwen,” the only daughter of the Yan family—the head of the three major families in K City. Relying on his outstanding looks and unique masculine charm, he won over “Yan Qingwen” and became the Yan family’s live-in son-in-law.

But no one approved of their marriage, so they targeted him relentlessly. In turn, he constantly “slapped the faces” of these people, and with “Yan Qingwen’s” full support, he gained a firm foothold in K City.

Besides his official wife “Yan Qingwen,” he also played the field, attracting a string of elite women who had money, power, and beauty. They threw themselves at him one after another, exhausting their efforts to support his career.

Eventually, he returned to City C, defeated his “enemies,” and reclaimed everything.

In that “Dragon King” novel, the original Third Young Master Jiang served as a cannon-fodder character who competed with the protagonist for women.

After Jiang Yunhan transmigrated into the role, he decisively kept his distance from the female leads to avoid becoming cannon fodder and having the protagonist ruin his family.

What he didn’t know was that he had also become a novel protagonist himself.

In the novel where he was the lead, After Transmigrating as a Cannon Fodder Wealthy Young Master, I Have Attained Enlightenment, he came with a “cheat code”: he could make the female leads of the “Dragon King” novel hear his inner thoughts.

By relying on his internal rants about the male and female leads and his “avoid-them-at-all-costs” attitude, this contrast in character personality attracted the attention of all the female leads.

The female leads found that Zhuang Yi was no longer appealing; instead, they developed a massive interest in Jiang Yunhan.

The more he ignored and avoided them, the more uncomfortable they felt. They began to approach him eagerly, throwing themselves at him. To avoid losing face through petty jealousy, they even reached a tacit agreement to serve him together.

“…”

In short, this was a trashy story about one stallion-type man stealing the opportunities, women, and everything else from another stallion-type man.

Why did Yan Qingwen call it a trashy story?

Because she did not believe she would ever be a “love-brain.”

Setting aside the fact that she wouldn’t fall for Zhuang Yi, even if she did, her dignity would never allow her to fight over a man with so many other women—especially a man who had nothing and relied on “eating her soft rice” (being a kept man) to survive.

Furthermore, the Yan Group was a commercial empire built over decades by three generations of her family. She would have to have a hole in her brain to hand it over to a “soft rice” man.

As for the “Inner Voice” novel, where she suddenly falls for Jiang Yunhan and willingly joins his harem, she completely failed to see the logic in that either. Just because she could hear his thoughts, she was supposed to think this man was special and charming?

To be honest, after learning Jiang Yunhan had a “cheat code,” her first thought was to send him to a research institute to have his secrets studied—to see if what she heard were actually thoughts he accidentally leaked, or a suspicious virus called “inner voice” that was actually a brainwashing package.

If it wasn’t a virus, how could she possibly be obsessed with him?

“Eldest Miss, the eye drops are here,” the butler’s voice interrupted Yan Qingwen’s train of thought.

Taking the eye drops from him, she was about to use them when she noticed Zhuang Yi was still in the banquet hall. She said, “What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to arrange for someone to take him to change?”

The butler immediately winked at the nearby servers, who then walked toward Zhuang Yi.

Zhuang Yi seemed somewhat unwilling, as he knew that once he left, he would have no reason to return to this area.

He looked at Yan Qingwen with a gaze full of deep affection.

Yan Qingwen’s brows furrowed tightly; her twenty-plus years of good upbringing almost failed to suppress her rising anger.

Suddenly, a light chuckle came from beside her.

At the same time, the side of the sofa sank slightly as a woman in a black formal dress sat down. She had a face of world-toppling enchantment, wearing heavy makeup with a stroke of vivid red lipstick that made her look exceptionally glamorous. Her dress was designed by a Swedish fashion master; thin, interlaced shoulder straps and a hollowed-out center at the chest highlighted her proud figure, while the back revealed a large area of bare skin, putting her exquisite shoulder blades on full display.

Her entrance was dazzling, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

This was Wen Hebai, who had just won the Best Actress title at this year’s Golden Pear Awards.

Facing her rival, Yan Qingwen didn’t mince words: “What are you laughing at?”

“Laughing at how charming you are!” Wen Hebai said pointedly, her gaze drifting from Zhuang Yi—who was being led away—to Jiang Yunhan, who was quietly watching the situation from the side.

Yan Qingwen laughed instead of getting angry: “Speaking of which, the reason Mr. Zhuang suffered that ordeal was entirely because you attracted a group of anti-fans. Shouldn’t you show some appreciation?”

Wen Hebai raised a hand to take a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, took a sip, and said without any psychological burden: “Should I show deep sympathy?”

Having fought her for years, Yan Qingwen knew this woman was extremely thick-skinned. It was useless to trade barbs with her; the best way to handle her was to ignore her.

However, since Yan Qingwen wouldn’t speak, Wen Hebai leaned in and whispered: “I heard you and Jiang Yunhan are preparing to get engaged today?”

Yan Qingwen’s eyes turned cold: “Who is spreading rumors?”

“I heard it myself,” Wen Hebai laughed quite wantonly. “Just now when I went to use your family’s lounge, I passed the living room and heard your parents discussing it with the head of the Jiang family and Jiang Yunhan’s parents. They decided to announce the alliance between the two families at today’s banquet.”

Yan Qingwen’s heart sank.

She stood up abruptly, intending to find both sets of parents and make it clear that no one was to interfere in her marriage.

However, her grandfather Yan Liangchen and grandmother Tu Sihua had already finished their makeup and walked out hand-in-hand.

Her parents and the Jiang family followed behind them, appearing before everyone with beaming smiles.

Seeing them, guests began to speculate: “I heard the Yan and Jiang families want to form an alliance. Have they reached an agreement? Will they announce it in a moment?”

Some eyes fell upon Yan Qingwen and Jiang Yunhan.

Yan Qingwen heard Jiang Yunhan’s inner thoughts again: 【Crap, don’t mess with me! This is going to cost me my life!】

He had even begun calculating how to publicly reject the alliance in a moment, specifically to let Zhuang Yi know that he really didn’t want to steal his woman!

The originally angry Yan Qingwen suddenly calmed down.

She lowered her eyes in deep thought for a long time, until Yan Liangchen finished his speech thanking the guests for attending their golden anniversary.

At that moment, her father, Yan Aotian, walked to the microphone, looking jubilant as he prepared to announce the alliance with the Jiang family: “While we are celebrating today, I also have another piece of good news to announce—”

Sensing the right moment, Yan Qingwen stepped forward.

Yan Aotian was interrupted by her sudden appearance and looked at her with slight surprise: “Qingwen—”

Yan Qingwen gave him a smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes: “Father, before you announce the good news, I also have something I want everyone to know.”

Yan Aotian had been arrogant his whole life, but in front of his daughter, his “doting father” persona never wavered. Thus, he took a step back and gave the microphone to her.

Standing before the many guests, Yan Qingwen knew that once she made this decision, it would inevitably cause a major earthquake in the K City stock market.

But she did not want to become a puppet. She wanted to be herself with a clear mind, even if it meant paying a price!

She first congratulated her grandparents on fifty years of golden wedding happiness, then used that as a segue: “Grandpa and Grandma have made me understand what happiness is, and they’ve made me want to walk hand-in-hand through life with the person I love.”

Hearing this, the Yan parents and the Jiang family assumed that Jiang Yunhan’s years of relentless devotion had finally moved Yan Qingwen, and she had finally realized her heart and decided to accept him!

The guests also thought Yan Qingwen had agreed to the alliance, so they clapped politely. The entire banquet hall was suddenly filled with thunderous applause.

Jiang Yunhan seemed to stand apart from it all, yet the voice in his heart betrayed his mood: 【Here it comes. The female lead is definitely going to announce she’s fallen for the Dragon King lead, and then to save face, the Yan family will decide to take him in as a son-in-law…】

When Yan Qingwen heard this thought, she paused for a moment, then continued her announcement without changing her expression: “In the past, I kept this feeling buried deep in my heart because I knew the time wasn’t right, and it was destined to face many judgmental looks. But today, I’ve decided to express my feelings bravely. I want to tell everyone that I love someone—”

Her gaze swept past the crowd and landed on Wen Hebai. The crowd thought she was looking at Jiang Yunhan, who was standing diagonally behind Wen Hebai, while Jiang Yunhan himself saw Zhuang Yi, who had returned after changing his clothes.

For a split second, Jiang Yunhan’s heart skipped a beat.

In the next moment, everyone heard Yan Qingwen’s voice: “Wen Hebai, I love you.”