After Becoming the Mother of the Scumbag Stand-In Female Lead - Chapter 39

In a bedroom on the third floor, the door was quietly opened, revealing a tiny crack.

Zhang Lanyou peered through the gap, looking downstairs. The distance was too far for him to hear the conversation below, but he could see Sheng Yunjin’s bandaged hand.

The door closed again, and no one noticed that someone had been spying from there.

Zhang Lanyou picked up his phone and dialed a contact.

Ring… ring… ring…

The call went unanswered. He tried several more times before impatiently tossing his phone aside, deciding to go out in the afternoon to personally visit the Taoist priest and ask for an update.

…

Sheng Yunjin’s grand return that morning had caused such a stir that even Zhang Lanyou, who hadn’t left his room, couldn’t miss it.

In the Sheng family, whether it was the servants, the butler, or even the usually stern Sheng Mingzhao—everyone adored and doted on Sheng Yunjin.

They were the real family, while he, Zhang Lanyou, an unacknowledged illegitimate child, was despised by all.

Hah, how laughable.

After contacting the Taoist priest, Zhang Lanyou had arranged for him to stay in a villa in the suburbs.

Though Sheng Mingzhao had never recognized him as his son, he was at least generous, providing Zhang Lanyou with an unlimited black card for his allowance.

The amount of money in it was something Zhang Lanyou could never have imagined in his previous life.

The life he had only begun to experience at thirteen was something Sheng Yunjin had grown up taking for granted.

How could he not hate him?

Using the card, Zhang Lanyou had his driver rent a villa specifically to house the mysterious Taoist priest.

Originally, he hadn’t believed in supernatural things, but that day, he had witnessed something unbelievable with his own eyes.

Besides, the priest had been recommended by his mother. Thinking of this, Zhang Lanyou trusted him even more.

His mother might be foolish, but she had always been wholeheartedly devoted to him. He believed she wouldn’t harm her own son.

…

Since settling the priest in the villa, Zhang Lanyou had visited him every afternoon after school. He was both anxious and curious—what method could the priest possibly use to subdue Sheng Yunjin?

But for several days in a row, the priest had simply meditated in the living room. Whenever asked, he would say the time wasn’t right yet.

Zhang Lanyou didn’t know if he was being brushed off, but given the circumstances, he had no choice but to trust him.

…

The moment Sheng Yunjin returned that morning, Zhang Lanyou had immediately called the priest, urging him to act quickly.

Yet the priest had already guessed the purpose of his call and simply told him to be patient before hanging up.

…

He couldn’t focus on his books or homework. The mere thought that Sheng Yunjin might be harmed by the illusion today filled Zhang Lanyou with uncontrollable excitement.

He forced himself to stay calm in his room until he heard movement downstairs.

Finding an excuse, he had a servant bring him a glass of juice and took the opportunity to ask a few questions. That was how he learned that Sheng Yunjin had accidentally broken a glass, cutting his palm.

The wound was reportedly quite long, with bl00d spilling all over the table.

The servant’s expression had been uneasy while recounting this.

After sending the servant away, Zhang Lanyou was nearly delirious with joy.

He didn’t believe for a second that excuse about accidentally breaking a glass. No matter how sharp the shards were, could they really cause such severe hand injuries?

This had to be the Taoist priest’s magic at work—using Sheng Yunjin’s broken glass as an opportunity to compound her injuries.

Pacing excitedly around the room, Zhang Lanyou finally understood what the priest had meant by “the timing wasn’t right.”

Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Zhang Lanyou became convinced there must be a way to make Sheng Yunjin disappear from this world completely.

A method that wouldn’t implicate him while remaining completely undetectable.

His face openly displaying his glee, Zhang Lanyou was so excited he nearly ran downstairs to find the priest immediately.

If they joined forces, not just Sheng Yunjin, but even Sheng Mingzhao would be at their mercy…

…

While Zhang Lanyou upstairs was lost in his daydreams, Sheng Yunjin downstairs remained unaware her life was being plotted against.

Her hand injured and her conversation with Sheng Mingzhao ending in discord, she nonetheless felt this trip back home was worthwhile—if only because she’d likely seriously wounded whoever had been secretly observing her.

Wondering if she was being overly confident, Sheng Yunjin realized that compared to that person, she might actually be quite powerful.

In every aspect, really.

Smiling wryly to herself, she stared absently at her palm.

While she’d never believed herself the only one in the world capable of such extraordinary magic, the sudden appearance of someone with similar abilities and malicious intent nearby…

This realization made Sheng Yunjin resolve to be more cautious going forward.

…

Not wanting to stay at the Sheng residence any longer, she glanced at her heavily bandaged left hand, then couldn’t resist sending Si Mu a message despite herself.

“Xiao Mu, still at the hospital?” (Peeking puppy.jpg)

Ding dong. Ding dong.

The consecutive phone notifications made Si Mu pause her design sketches. Picking up her phone, her expression immediately softened when she saw the messages.

Instinctively saving the sticker Sheng Yunjin had sent, she replied: “At the office now.”

Checking the time—11:30 AM, nearly lunch—she added: “Had lunch yet?”

Her fingers hovered hesitantly. She’d noticed last night that Sheng Yunjin wanted to ask her out, though the moment passed when hospital plans came up.

With the whole afternoon ahead, Si Mu thought—they still hadn’t had a proper date.

Ding dong.

The rapid series of incoming messages snapped her from her thoughts.

“Not yet.” “You eaten?” “Can I bring you lunch?” “I’ll stay at your office this afternoon.” “Won’t disturb your work.” (Puppy eyes.jpg)

The image of a blushing, chin-propping puppy made Si Mu press her lips together in a smile, as if seeing Sheng Yunjin gazing at her just as sweetly.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

…

With Si Mu’s agreement, Sheng Yunjin immediately rose from the sofa, her steps light and face radiant as she headed out.

“Young Mistress, leaving already?”

Housekeeper Li hurried down the stairs after her, looking concerned.

Nodding, Sheng Yunjin glanced at a certain corner upstairs before deliberately showing her bandaged left hand to Butler Li with a troubled expression.

“My hand still hurts. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

Butler Li opened his mouth but didn’t know how to persuade her further.

She had finally come back, only to end up injured. What a shame.

“Then… where would you like to go? I’ll have the driver take you.”

Sheng Yunjin looked at her heavily wrapped hand and nodded in agreement.

The cut on her palm was quite long. Though not deep, it probably wasn’t wise for her to drive herself.

…

On the third-floor balcony, Sheng Mingzhao watched the car gradually leave the courtyard before sighing after a long pause.

He had never imagined Sheng Yunjin would get hurt.

Earlier in the tearoom, he had indeed been angered by her words. He figured any person in power would be furious hearing such things.

Especially when those words came from his personally chosen successor—his own daughter.

So, he had lost his temper. The porcelain cup in his hand was slammed onto the table with such force that it shattered into pieces.

Some fragments even flew toward Sheng Yunjin.

Sheng Mingzhao wondered—if she hadn’t raised her hand to block them, where would those shards have landed?

Would they have struck her face… or even her neck?

Closing his eyes, he lowered his gaze to his own palm.

For the first time in his life, he felt he had acted impulsively.

…

On the way, Sheng Yunjin picked up food from a restaurant they often visited and brought lunch, along with a box of desserts from the Sheng family, to Si Mu’s company.

On the weekend, the entire floor was empty, save for one office at the far end with its door left open.

Part of her marveled at how her girlfriend seemed like a workaholic, while another part ached with concern.

Her footsteps instinctively softened. She considered knocking but, glancing at her right hand holding the food and her bandaged left, decided against it.

Ever since exchanging messages with Sheng Yunjin, Si Mu’s focus had been divided—slowly revising design drafts while counting down the minutes until her arrival.

Eventually, she even left her office door open just to spot Sheng Yunjin the moment she came.

So, when a sound came from the doorway, Si Mu instinctively looked up.

Frowning, she stood and walked over.

Noticing her gaze fixed on her hand, Sheng Yunjin gave an awkward smile and quickly explained,

“I had an argument with my father. When he threw the cup, he didn’t notice… and the shards cut me…”

Setting the food down on the table, Si Mu glanced up at her before speaking.

“Your father is reckless.”

Her tone was as cool and composed as ever, yet Sheng Yunjin somehow detected a hint of anger beneath it.

With a playful grin, she hooked her right fingers around Si Mu’s and nodded in agreement. “Absolutely! The old man’s insufferable!”

Si Mu didn’t respond, only lowering her eyes to the hand cradled in her palm.

“Does it hurt? Is it serious?”

Hearing the concern in her voice, Sheng Yunjin shook her head and hurried to reassure her. “Just a little. It looks worse than it is. The doctor said it’ll heal quickly.”

Hearing this, Si Mu furrowed his brows, clearly not comforted by Sheng Yunjin’s words.

“What do you mean it looks serious? Is the wound deep?”

Sheng Yunjin, who had accidentally let it slip, quickly shook his head. “No, no, it’s not deep—just a bit long…”

When the shards flew toward him, Sheng Yunjin had been entirely focused on the spell-casting in his right hand, so he had somewhat underestimated the situation.

Whoever was hiding in the shadows had held nothing back, as if they intended to slice Sheng Yunjin’s palm clean off with those small fragments.

Fortunately, the attacker seemed unskilled—though the attack appeared fierce, the damage to his palm wasn’t as severe as it could have been.

Otherwise, the porcelain shard Sheng Yunjin had retaliated with wouldn’t have merely struck the assailant’s eye.

It would have landed right between the brows.