Rebirth: The Villainous Young Master in a Novel

Chapter 16: The Ultimate Villain!

———

At that moment, the private room fell into an eerie and chilling atmosphere. Everyone’s expressions turned incredibly colorful.

Only Shen Guotao remained calm and composed. He glanced at the shattered glass on the floor and chuckled, “Look at this child, so excited that she’s lost her composure.”

“Dad, you…”

Shen Xiaoyan’s face turned pale, devoid of any color.

“You don’t need to say anything. Your marriage is a big matter, and Dad will arrange it properly for you!”

Shen Guotao spoke with a kind and gentle tone, but his gaze at Shen Xiaoyan was filled with a deep warning!

Ji Jing suddenly stood up, her face livid. “Guotao, are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m serious. How could I joke about such an important matter?”

Shen Guotao spoke earnestly, “Xiaoyan and Shicheng have known each other since childhood. They’re well-matched in looks, age, and other aspects. They’re a perfect pair! Brother Song and I agreed on this back then. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Ah Jing?”

Ji Jing clenched her teeth but was left speechless.

The marriage agreement had indeed been a verbal promise between Old Man Song and Shen Guotao.

But Ji Jing was absolutely certain that her late husband had told her the original agreement was to pair Song Shicheng with Shen Yixian. Over the past decade, the two families had always referred to this marriage alliance, and it had become a widely accepted fact.

Who could have imagined that Shen Guotao would suddenly replace his eldest daughter, Shen Yixian, with his illegitimate daughter, Shen Xiaoyan, to fulfill this alliance!

Seeing the situation turn sour, Ye Wensheng quickly approached Ji Jing and whispered, “Madam, perhaps we should put this matter on hold for now and discuss it later?”

Ji Jing immediately realized the situation and let out a heavy snort. Without even a word of courtesy, she stormed out with a dark expression.

“Mr. Shen, something urgent has come up at the group, so Madam has to return to handle it. As for this matter… it’s of great importance, and Madam needs more time to consider it.”

Ye Wensheng awkwardly smoothed things over while subtly tugging at Song Shicheng’s sleeve, signaling him to leave quickly.

“No problem, take your time. I’ll be waiting for good news.” Shen Guotao’s smile remained as warm as ever. He even turned to Song Shicheng and said, “Ah Cheng, I’m looking forward to hearing you call me father-in-law.”

Song Shicheng mumbled a few vague responses and followed Ye Wensheng out, his mind in turmoil.

He knew Shen Guotao was reneging on the old agreement.

But unlike Ji Jing, after the initial shock, he was overjoyed and even grateful to his future father-in-law.

He had been racking his brains over how to win over Shen Xiaoyan. When he heard Shen Guotao bring up the marriage alliance, he had nearly been scared to death, thinking he was doomed to be erased by the system. But to his surprise, Shen Guotao had so “thoughtfully” handed the female protagonist, Shen Xiaoyan, over to him!

This was like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse… no, more like a wrong bride ending up with the right groom. Well, the analogy wasn’t perfect, but whatever. Marrying Shen Xiaoyan was a huge win!

However, as he left, one thought lingered in Song Shicheng’s mind.

Originally, according to his outline, the political marriage was supposed to be between Song Shicheng and Shen Yixian. But now, Shen Guotao had suddenly backtracked and pulled this switcheroo!

This completely deviated from his original plan as the author!

As he stepped out the door, Song Shicheng instinctively glanced back and saw Shen Guotao’s sly smile and Shen Xiaoyan’s despondent expression.

At that moment, he finally understood why he had felt something was off when he learned about Shen Yixian’s weight loss at the hospital.

He suddenly realized that the fictional world he had created had become a real, living world. The characters he had written were now real people with their own emotions, cunning, and ambitions. They would act based on their own interests, goals, and perspectives, completely free from the control of their original creator!

—

“It really was a banquet with ulterior motives!”

Sitting in the car, Ji Jing finally couldn’t hold back her anger and exploded, “It was clearly agreed back then that the marriage was between Ah Cheng and Shen Yixian. How could Shen Guotao go back on his word and twist the facts? How shameless! How despicable!”

Ye Wensheng remained silent until Ji Jing’s emotions had calmed slightly before speaking softly, “Madam, after all, Chairman Song is no longer with us…”

Ji Jing froze, then slammed her hand on the armrest.

This was the most shameless and cunning part of Shen Guotao’s plan.

With Old Man Song gone, there was no evidence or witness to the original agreement. Shen Guotao could say whatever he wanted, and even if the Song family tried to confront him, he could simply claim that Ji Jing and the others had misunderstood!

“Over the past decade, our cooperation with Shen Guotao has been so smooth and pleasant that I almost forgot how cunning and scheming this old fox is!” Ji Jing fumed. “He’s taking advantage of our internal and external troubles, unwilling to exchange his legitimate eldest daughter for benefits, so he’s pushing his illegitimate younger daughter onto us! What a clever plan!”

Ye Wensheng watched silently, thinking to himself that Madam’s judgment was still lacking. She was too focused on her anger and hadn’t noticed the deeper implications. Still, he dutifully reminded her, “Madam, there’s one more thing. Why do you think Shen Guotao specifically brought up the senior care base project before mentioning the marriage?”

Ji Jing’s mind hadn’t caught up yet.

But Song Shicheng had already figured it out.

If Shen Guotao believed the Song family was no longer a worthy ally, he could have simply rejected the marriage alliance outright. There was no need to pull this switcheroo and create unnecessary enemies.

Therefore, the conclusion was clear: the Song family and Fenghua Group still had value to him, and that value lay in his senior care base project!

“You’re saying Shen Guotao wants to tie us down with this marriage so we’ll help him build the senior care base?”

Ji Jing calmed down and finally grasped the situation, only to explode in anger again. “Wishful thinking! If he hadn’t brought this up today, I might have seriously considered the project. But now that he’s insulted and humiliated our family with an illegitimate daughter, does he really expect us to work with him?!”

“Madam, times have changed.”

Ye Wensheng sighed and patiently advised, “Back then, we helped Shen Guotao build hospitals across the country, helping him establish his medical empire. At that time, our relationship was close and seamless. But as he said himself, the medical industry is almost saturated, so he’s shifting to the senior care industry. That’s where our continued value to him lies.”

“Now, Shen Guotao dares to pull this switcheroo because he knows we have no choice but to agree. After all, if our relationship with the Shen family breaks down at this critical moment, it will cause significant negative repercussions. The worst-case scenario is that it could destabilize the group, both internally and externally. Right now, the group simply can’t afford any more turmoil.”

Ji Jing gasped, her anger still simmering but now mixed with a grudging admiration for Shen Guotao’s cunning.

Song Shicheng was also deeply shaken.

There was no denying that Shen Guotao’s scheming and depth of strategy far exceeded his original design as the author. Even if he were still the writer, it would be hard to come up with such a brilliant and intricate plot!

It seemed that Shen Guotao was the true ultimate villain!