Villain – Peeking at the Diary, the Female Leads’ Personas Collapse

Chapter 23: The Protagonist’s Mysterious Confidence

“Is there some kind of misunderstanding between us? I don’t quite understand. Why do you hate me so much?”

Lin Qingyue stopped walking and turned her head to look at Ye Aotian.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I have helped you before. I never asked for your gratitude, but as a friend, you could at least give me a chance.”

Ye Aotian was a bit flustered and exasperated. No woman had ever been able to resist his charm. This was his innate pride and confidence. As long as it was a woman, none could resist the power of the Dragon King. When it came to wooing women, it never took him more than three days. Lin Qingyue had touched his reverse scale*.

[*Literally “reverse scale,” this term refers to something that, when touched, provokes intense anger or a violent reaction. It originates from the idea that dragons have a reverse scale, and anyone who touches it will incur the dragon’s wrath.]

Ye Aotian indeed had his eyes on the Lin Corporation. But not only the Lin Corporation, he also had his eyes on Lin Qingyue.

“I’ve heard this line before. Chen Fan said it.”

“That useless rich second-generation? A guy who only relies on his family? You like him?”

Looking at Ye Aotian, Lin Qingyue responded, “What does it matter to you whether I like him or not? Even if his family forced me, I still wouldn’t like him. I like to control my own fate.”

In truth, the first part was Lin Qingyue making things up. The Chen family had never pressured her. As for the second part—about controlling her own fate—she was referring to the novel’s plot.

She disliked being controlled by others, even if it was by the overarching worldview of this world.

However, to Ye Aotian, it sounded like Chen Fan had forced her using his family’s power to make Lin Qingyue submit.

My woman is not allowed to be hurt, not allowed to cry.

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“I will help you, trust me.”

“I advise you to mind your own business.”

This statement essentially meant, Mind your own damn business. What does this have to do with you? Who the hell do you think you are?

But to Ye Aotian, it felt soothing to his heart.

She was concerned about him. So, it turned out she had always liked him but was just worried about him getting hurt, especially considering the massive force that was the Chen family.

All the problems boiled down to Chen Fan. As long as he dealt with Chen Fan, then he could have Lin Qingyue.

“I know you’re worried about me. Don’t worry, the little Chen family is nothing to me.” After saying this, he turned around and left proudly.

The secretary standing on the side had a look of admiration, as if saying, What a good man, daring to take on the Chen family head-on.

A man like this, well, she should probably marry him. In fact, in the original novel, this secretary was not a heroine, just one of those women who occasionally had some ambiguous relationship with the protagonist.

To put it bluntly, when Ye Aotian got Lin Qingyue, this secretary was just part of the bonus package.

There’s a saying about wooing women: If you can win over the best friend, you’ve won. This secretary was, in a way, a supporting player in this scheme.

“Xiaolan, I think your thinking is a bit off.”

“Boss, what’s wrong? I’ve always thought Ye Aotian was pretty great.”

“Whether he’s good or not has nothing to do with me. He’s just a passerby. Why do you think he’s capable of taking on the Chen family directly?”

“Uh … I don’t know. I just thought it was cool. So young, and he could buy a house in full. I checked, it’s a detached mansion, worth more than 20 million, and he didn’t even bat an eye before buying it. If Chen Fan wants to buy a house, he’d have to rely on his family, right?”

Lin Qingyue chuckled and said, “Without the Lin family, what do you think I am?”

The secretary was stumped by this question.

“Uh …”

“Forget it, I can’t explain it to you. It’s understandable that you see Ye Aotian that way.”

Lin Qingyue knew Ye Aotian was the protagonist. The world naturally revolved around him, but so what? She had spent her whole life resisting. To her, this little protagonist wasn’t all that terrifying.

Later, Lin Qingyue sought out her second uncle.

The two sat in the office.

“Xiaoyue, your second uncle made a mistake. I misjudged someone.”

“Second Uncle, I didn’t come to talk about that. I think you’re not suited for the position of sales manager.”

Ah, was he going to be fired?

As expected, Xiaoyue was strict and impartial.

“Then, I’ll go pack my things.”

Lin Qingyue shook her head and said, “Second Uncle, I still remember you taking me everywhere to play when I was little. I’m not firing you.”

“This … Xiaoyue, what do you mean, then?”

“I want you to find some people.”

Find people?

Second Uncle thought for a moment and asked, “Find who? What kind of people?”

“People who can fight. I think this Ye Aotian deserves a good beating. Find someone to give him a rough beating. Even though our Lin Corporation has been riddled with problems due to the involvement of family members, that doesn’t mean outsiders can insult us.”

Damn.

Second Uncle felt a cold sweat trickle down his back after hearing this.

The meaning was simple: She already knew what the various relatives in the company were doing.

She was just maintaining a bit of dignity for them. She would step in if anyone bullied her own people, but she hoped that her family wouldn’t act out of line either.

A warning for him?

Indeed, with Lin Qingyue in charge, the Lin family was bound to rise to power.

“I understand, Second Uncle will resign as sales manager today.”

“There are other positions for you. The company is falling apart, and I hope you can help me fix it. I don’t mind taking care of family, but I won’t tolerate family sabotaging me.”

“I understand, don’t worry. As for that kid, I’ll find someone to take care of him. Do you want him … taken out?”

“That’s not necessary for now. Just rough him up.”

The man nodded and left the office. After pondering for a while, he picked up the phone and called the finance department.

“Second Uncle, why are you calling me?”

“Stop messing around with company funds. This is your last warning.”

“Second Uncle, what’s gotten into you? Didn’t we used to do this together? The Lin family is so big, what’s a little money?”

“I’ve said all I needed to say. What happens next is up to you.”

After Second Uncle left, Lin Qingyue looked at the information the secretary had brought in on the computer, sinking into deep thought. Indeed, there was a huge financial gap in the company. It seemed that Chen Fan was right. She did need an influx of capital. Without new shareholders, the Lin family would likely go bankrupt.

Suddenly, she felt a strong urge to drink, as if all the exhaustion had caught up to her.

In her mind, she instinctively thought of a bar.