Page 19

The thought left Chen Muyu stifled with frustration again. She blamed her second, third, and fourth sons for being such disappointments; not one of them spared her any worry. Her eldest, the only one who did, actually met an early death. Her eldest daughter and she herself did not end well either. In other words, without knowing the original plot, all these things could still unfold.

Only her second and third daughters would be left, lonely and without anyone to rely on.

Chen Muyu took a deep breath. In truth, she was not particularly flustered now, just disheartened by how utterly she had failed in educating her children. Among her seven children, some were mature and sensible, some clever and quick-witted, and some as stupid as pigs. They were full siblings, yet the differences between them were so vast.

But now was not the time to think about that. Nothing had happened yet; there was still time to resolve everything.

Chen Muyu cleared her throat and suddenly announced something momentous at the dining table.

"After a thorough investigation, I have found that the Gu Family is not a good choice for a marriage alliance. No matter which conditions we consider, this engagement carries tremendous risks. A marriage alliance concerns two families, and we absolutely cannot allow anything to go wrong. Therefore, I have decided to cancel Siyao's marriage to the Gu Family."

At those words, all the Fu Family's children turned to look at her. Although they were surprised, they also knew that their mother generally made her decisions after careful consideration, so they assumed that something must be wrong with the Gu Family for her to cancel the engagement so suddenly.

Still, everyone tacitly refrained from asking about it. Whatever was wrong with the Gu Family, they could investigate privately. This concerned their eldest sister's marriage; if there was anything untoward, it was not suitable for open discussion.

The Gu Family kept Gu Minghan's personal information strictly confidential. Very little about him was revealed to outsiders, and the general impression of him was that of a graceful gentleman.

But since there was a problem, if it did not lie with the Gu Family, then it lay with Gu Minghan himself.

As Fu Huaiyan thought this over, he decided to have someone investigate Gu Minghan's private life in depth later.

Just then, he suddenly saw Su Wanqiao's inner thoughts again.

[Shocking! There was no broken engagement in the original plot! Although Fu Siyao kicking up a fuss this afternoon really fit the state of a working stiff, this is straying way too far from the book's plot.]

[If the Gu Family and the Fu Family break off the engagement, Fu Siyao won't marry into the Gu Family and have her life ground away. She won't be coerced and bribed into becoming Gu Minghan's gay man's wife, much less have indecent photos taken of her and used to blackmail her into stealing the Fu Family's secrets.]

[Anyway, calling off this engagement is absolutely the right decision. That means eighty percent of Fu Siyao's tragic ending can be avoided. Without the Gu Family persecuting them, the Fu Family's lifespan gets extended by twenty percent. They won't go bankrupt so quickly, and maybe the butterfly effect can change everyone else's tragic endings too.]

[But the plot actually changed just like that. It must be because Fu Siyao's personality suddenly changed. She went from a gentle lady to suddenly flying into a rage. Maybe she discovered some clue about the Gu Family; otherwise, there's no explaining this change.]

[If that's the case, the later plotline about the Gu Family scheming against the Fu Family can be avoided. But it could very well trigger a butterfly effect. If Fu Siyao's fiancé, Gu Minghan, can't use marriage to satisfy his family, they might have to bring back the Gu Family's illegitimate]

[son]

[the male lead. If Gu Minghan can't get married, then obviously the male lead is more capable and more valuable than him, so a lot of the plot will unfold ahead of time.]

[The male lead is the fuse that ultimately leads to the Fu Family's destruction. With his innate male lead halo, he has the Fu Family's second daughter, Fu Qingshu, loving him to death and back. She lends him one of her eldest brother's limited-edition luxury cars, and the male lead gets into an accident and nearly kills someone. The person he hits happens to be Fu Yichu.]

[Fu Yichu is injured in the crash, so badly that he nearly loses his life. Since it also happens on a rainy night, and because of the lighting, he only gets a clear look at the license plate. There aren't any surveillance cameras around, either. Add in Fu Qingshu covering for the male lead, deliberately concealing things and intentionally steering him in the wrong direction, and almost all the evidence points to Fu Huaiyan having something to do with it.]

[Poor Fu Huaiyan is still kept in the dark, completely unaware that his own younger brother and sister have already become estranged from him. Two of his own family members stab him in the back together. After all, if Fu Qingshu hadn't lent the car to the male lead for the sake of having fun, Fu Yichu wouldn't have mistakenly suspected Fu Huaiyan. Fu Yichu believes that, of this super luxury car with only a few hundred made worldwide, the only one in South City is in his eldest brother's garage. And afterward, he even goes to Fu Huaiyan's private garage and finds traces of that car, practically deciding then and there that Fu Huaiyan wants him dead.]

[The strange thing is that the Fu Family members act like mutes with no mouths. They never say anything when something happens and rely entirely on guessing. If Fu Yichu had gone straight to Fu Huaiyan and confronted him about the car, none of what followed would have happened. But of course he doesn't. Instead, he starts being cautious about everything. Later, when he clashes with Fu Huaiyan over several major company projects, he becomes utterly convinced that his eldest brother is deliberately targeting him and wants to kick him out of the game altogether.]

[Besides, this plot had me dying of frustration. Fu Huaiyan doesn't communicate with his third brother either. In the end, the conflict between the brothers deepens, and their misunderstandings grow. A few little incidents and the male and female leads' instigation turn into hatred that won't end until one of them dies. One of them has to lose his life before it can end. You all deserved to go bankrupt in the end.]

[Fu Huaiyan, do you want to live? If you want to live, you absolutely have to use your mouth and speak. Your younger brothers' brains are already so deficient that their mouths at least have to work. They can't be defective in every way, can they? Tell them mouths aren't just for eating; they're for communicating effectively and solving problems effectively. You're a family. Can't you sit down and have a proper heart-to-heart when something happens? If you won't communicate, just wait for the male and female leads to exploit your vulnerability and tear you apart from the inside.]

[Honestly, this Fu Family. They've exchanged fewer than five sentences over this entire meal today. It's suffocating to watch. Come on, repeat after me: if the Fu Family is to avoid bankruptcy, you have to open your mouths and speak...]

The moment those words ended, everyone's expression turned exceedingly strange.

Chen Muyu in particular suddenly had a dark, heavy look in her eyes, her thoughts unreadable.

After a long while, she suddenly spoke.

"Sons, daughters, do any of you have something weighing on your minds?"