Marrying the Ugly Woman of a Rich and Powerful Family - Chapter 9

Shen Qingyuan’s brows were deeply furrowed. All sorts of thoughts popped into her mind. She didn’t know much about the original owner’s family, but her impression of Shen Tongtao was not good.

Although Shen Tongtao wore glasses and looked refined, she always felt he was a hypocrite.

Yin Ruyun, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her emotions.

Yin Ruyun hadn’t dared to call her daughter for the past two days. When she finally called, she immediately started rambling: “Who knew that after you woke up from falling into the water, you suddenly disagreed to the marriage? We had no choice. We couldn’t very well break the engagement, so we could only really force you. Yuanyuan, did you hit your head? Your tone of voice wasn’t like this before.”

Yuanyuan’s tone of voice before was much fiercer, as if the whole world owed her something.

“Just leave me alone!” Shen Qingyuan thought of how the original owner was already dead while Yin Ruyun was still nagging, and her tone involuntarily became harsh, startling even the driver, who turned his head to look at her.

Yin Ruyun, however, felt much relieved. She was afraid her daughter was deliberately suppressing herself: “Yes, that’s the tone.”

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

“It’s all Mommy’s fault. Since divorcing your father, I haven’t taken good care of you. Tongtao is relatively young and focused on his career. He doesn’t particularly like you either and hasn’t fulfilled his fatherly duties. Songsong is still small…”

Yin Ruyun kept spilling information like pouring beans.

Shen Qingyuan’s mouth gaped wider and wider.

Shen Tongtao is a stepfather?

No wonder she always felt that Shen Tongtao and Shen Songsong had the same skin tone, while Yin Ruyun was slightly paler, which was why she wasn’t so dark.

The amount of information was overwhelming. Shen Qingyuan didn’t have time to process it and didn’t even know how the call ended. She was still distracted when she reached the dormitory and accidentally bumped her head into the ceramic tile wall.

A small bump immediately appeared on her forehead, with faint signs of broken skin.

When Li Xinyan opened the door and saw her looking like this, she covered her mouth and exaggeratedly said, “Was it that intense?”

Shen Qingyuan rubbed her forehead, wincing in pain. It took her a while to recover. She asked blankly, “What was intense?”

“Look at your dark circles, and look at your complexion. Didn’t you say Cang Yan’s health was poor? Is she just pretending to be frail?” Li Xinyan came from an ordinary well-off family and considered herself to be very ordinary-looking, so her view of Cang Yan was mostly envy—envy of her wealth.

Cang Yan specifically called Shen Qingyuan back last night. Both she and Mu Qing thought it was related to what happened in bed.

Shen Qingyuan remembered how her roommates often talked nonsense when she was in university, which gave her a sudden sense of familiarity. However, she didn’t want to explain that she stayed up late reading erotic fan fiction and just vaguely passed it off.

She asked, “Are there any exams coming up soon?”

Hearing her mention exams so suddenly, Li Xinyan glanced at the class schedule and said, “There will be midterms later. There are the CET-4 and CET-6 exams in December, followed closely by finals. But they are still far away, no need to rush.”

Shen Qingyuan quickly calculated in her mind. With these successive exams, if she didn’t prepare in advance, she wouldn’t be able to handle it. She asked, “Did I pass CET-4 and CET-6?”

She said it with a hopeful expression.

Li Xinyan looked at her as if to say, “You’re dreaming,” and said mercilessly, “No, you didn’t pass CET-4, and you also failed a bunch of core courses in your freshman year. I estimate you’ll have to take over a dozen final exams. It’s very unlikely you’ll get first place in your major. Wax dripping is a certainty.”

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

“Then did I register for CET-4?” she said in a voice of exasperated disappointment.

Other people who transmigrate come with a cheat code and have a great time. She was practically starting over with a new account, and she was studying Chinese Language and Literature, a subject she had never studied before.

Li Xinyan said strangely, “You register every time, you just never go. You didn’t forget, did you?”

“…” Shen Qingyuan glanced at the brand-new book on the desk, opened the academic affairs system, and checked her freshman grades. Sure enough, besides the general education courses, several core major courses had been failed.

Adolescent psychological problems need to be taken seriously.

The original owner seemed to have very severe psychological issues.

Shen Qingyuan couldn’t do much except start studying hard. She had studied for so many years in her past life. Although she wasn’t overly conceited, she would absolutely not allow herself to fail a course.

Shen Qingyuan carried a pile of books to the classroom.

Li Xinyan kept asking her on the way why she couldn’t remember so many things, feeling like she had become a different person, which was too strange.

Shen Qingyuan fabricated an excuse, saying, “I hit my head when I fell into the water. The doctor said it was a slight concussion, so some things are hard to remember.”

Li Xinyan’s eyes widened, half-believing and half-doubting.

Shen Qingyuan then asked, “You and Mu Qing look so alike, are you twins? But why do you have different surnames?”

Li Xinyan and Mu Qing were both ordinary girls. They were not very pale, but definitely not very dark. They had healthy, sturdy figures and were just two of the masses, like herself.

In contrast, Tang Zhiqing was dark, tall, and strong, looking very aggressive. No wonder some wealthy people disliked her.

“Hey, you asked the exact same question before.” Li Xinyan was immediately relieved and no longer found Shen Qingyuan strange. She happily explained, “Qingqing and I are indeed twins. I took my father’s surname, and she took my mother’s surname, so it’s different.”

Mu Qing’s mouth twitched.

Shen Qingyuan thought that any stranger would have this question. She just hadn’t expected to smoothly turn this page over by chance.

Once in the classroom, Shen Qingyuan followed the class schedule and first looked at what she needed to study this semester. She opened a book on Ancient Chinese. The evolutionary process of Chinese characters gave her a headache.

She found that she simply didn’t have any literary flair.

Although Shen Qingyuan was discouraged, she forced herself to continue reading. As the class was about to start, the classroom filled up. She felt someone looking at her.

She had already told herself that being watched was normal, as she was Cang Yan’s newlywed wife and had a special status.

But that gaze seemed very guilty, constantly darting away from her, as if trying to confirm something.

She suddenly turned her head unexpectedly.

It was Zhou Chuan.

She continued reading. Zhou Chuan started looking at her again.

She turned her head, and Zhou Chuan recoiled again.

Ugh…

Why is this Zhou Chuan acting like a pervert?

Before Shen Qingyuan could think more, Tang Zhiqing said loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Zhou Chuan, you two aren’t dating, are you? Now that Shen Qingyuan is married, you need to be careful and only exchange flirtatious glances.”

Everyone in the classroom stared at the two of them.

Shen Qingyuan acted as if it had nothing to do with her and continued reading.

“You’re f***ing sick, go get treatment,” Zhou Chuan cursed.

Tang Zhiqing wasn’t angry at all and said to everyone cryptically, “Listen, someone’s getting embarrassed. It seems some rumors are true.”

The class was about to start, and the classroom was packed. Everyone started discussing in hushed tones.

Shen Qingyuan was confused and asked Li Xinyan, “What rumors?”

Li Xinyan was angry but didn’t act on it, saying, “Nothing, she’s talking nonsense.”

“What’s so hard to admit? Do some people really think they’re high society just because they married into money? I’m referring to someone being a public bus, accessible to anyone, except this ‘bus’ is too ordinary-looking, so not many people are willing to ride.” Tang Zhiqing spoke sarcastically as usual, and her female friends next to her chimed in agreement.

A public bus, huh?

Investigative gazes pierced Shen Qingyuan.

Ever since they learned that Shen Qingyuan married Cang Yan, everyone was already very interested in her. Now they were even more like onlookers eager for gossip, craning their necks, impatient to hear the rest and see the reaction of the person involved.

The person involved, Shen Qingyuan, showed no reaction.

She intensely disliked this metaphor.

It insulted both women and public buses.

She composed herself, suddenly stood up, said “Oh,” and made eye contact with Tang Zhiqing, saying in a tone of sudden realization: “So you’re also a public bus? But you’re the kind of public bus that a lot of people are willing to ride?”

Tang Zhiqing said disdainfully, “I’m certainly not a…”

Shen Qingyuan interrupted her before she could finish: “Oh, you’re certainly not a public bus. You’re a noble private car, casually ordered around by its owner. In short, you are a car, and I, Shen Qingyuan, am a person, not a car!”

Tang Zhiqing: “…”

Shen Qingyuan was quick-witted and didn’t give Tang Zhiqing any time to react. She continued, “If you still have any self-awareness, please voluntarily park yourself in the garage instead of occupying human public resources here.”

“Wow!” some boys cheered, making the matter worse.

Tang Zhiqing’s face immediately flushed with anger. She glared angrily at the people around her. Just as the class bell rang, she was so frustrated that she could only stop talking.

Shen Qingyuan had never had an argument with anyone, but she knew that arguing meant being deliberately obtuse, changing the subject, giving a taste of one’s own medicine, and not leaving any room for the other person to speak. She had just offered a small rebuttal.

Total victory!

During class, Shen Qingyuan listened and read. During the break, she intended to use class time to research how to write erotic fan fiction, but she still only knew how to read, not write.

She chewed on the pen cap, starting to worry.

Li Xinyan was enthusiastic and comforted her, saying, “If you don’t understand it, don’t read it. You can’t learn so much all at once. Also, don’t listen to Tang Zhiqing’s nonsense. She’s just jealous of you.”

Shen Qingyuan completely dismissed the erotic fan fiction from her mind and asked curiously, “What is she jealous of me for?”

Li Xinyan whispered, “Sigh, that’s simple, isn’t it? She’s determined to marry into a wealthy family, but she can’t, no matter what, while you married in so easily. Although Cang Yan’s reputation is terrible, of course, she’s jealous of you.”

Shen Qingyuan understood. Although Cang Yan was “ugly,” she was rich, and many people wanted her money. Sure enough, money was king everywhere.

Shen Qingyuan shook her head and continued reading. While she was pondering, a paper suddenly appeared on her desk.

Academic Warning Notice?

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

Cang Yan armed herself with a suit to appear less frail and had the driver take her directly to the company headquarters.

The Cang Group headquarters was located in A City. Its branches were spread across the country. Her father, Cang Hong, had been the richest man in A City for years and was one of the wealthiest in the nation. As the first heir, Cang Yan’s net worth was naturally not low.

It was October, and the weather was not yet cold.

On the sidewalk, several lively girls in skirts were eating ice cream, chatting and laughing. Their exposed arms and legs were either plump or very toned.

Cang Yan looked at them coldly.

She had also worn cuter princess dresses than that when she was little, but unfortunately, she couldn’t fill them out. Even her exposed calves were like thin bamboos.

Since then, she had never worn a skirt in public. She only wore suits outside.

Upon arriving at the building’s parking lot, Cang Yan was escorted by bodyguards to the Vice General Manager’s office. Her secretary and assistants were all fair-skinned and clean, which immediately made Cang Yan feel more comfortable.

She was petty. Everyone around her had to be pale.

Moreover, staff working under her nose must not have insulted her on any social media platform.

Cang Yan nestled in her boss’s chair, staring intently at the ink wash landscape painting on the wall. Her thoughts gradually drifted far away.

Cang Yan had suffered endless verbal abuse since she was a child, solely because when she was five, unscrupulous media, in a bid for attention, held an “Ugly Contest,” and she unsurprisingly took first place.

Since then, her childhood, besides illness, was filled with all kinds of negative news, but her parents protected her very well.

In elementary school, her parents hired a private tutor for her. Later, under her constant pleading, they sent her to a private middle school. Money talks. At the time, even her classmates were handpicked, and the teachers and students were all very nice to her.

But she was no longer a simple child. She understood what was flattery and what was insincere.

She had long learned to use her phone and computer and knew how everyone really felt about her.

Cang Hong and Wen Jinshu originally wanted to find a live-in son-in-law to inherit the family business, but they were afraid that a “phoenix male” or “phoenix female” would bully their daughter, so they never made a decision. Now, they were somewhat fond of Shen Qingyuan, thinking she was just a little rebellious. As long as she was young, she would be easy to control and train.

Cang Yan was speechless at this idea.

She would never “graze on young grass” in this life.

Cang Yan’s work was relatively light today, mainly reviewing reports and having people follow up on safety plans.

The most important thing for the company’s instrument production was safety. Every instrument had to be handled carefully, minimizing data errors to the smallest acceptable range. In addition, the factory where the bottom parts were manufactured also required caution, as accidents were frequent, and precautions were needed everywhere.

Lunch break time.

“President Cang, the new model of the phone you requested.”

Cang Yan thought about it but couldn’t recall. She asked expressionlessly, “When did I ask for it?”

The assistant was quite familiar with her temper and said, “You ordered it last time. Whenever the phone you are used to using releases its latest model, I am to keep one aside for you through internal channels.”

“Is that so?” Cang Yan looked at the latest phones.

She liked collecting phones, not because she loved them, but because her temper was bad and her mood was easily affected by online comments. In the past, she didn’t know how to vent and would just sulk alone after seeing negative news. Later, her father taught her a method: smash whatever object the news came from.

She started smashing phones, so many that they needed constant replacement. She even had a dedicated display cabinet at home for broken phones. Later, to control her emotions, she also controlled the number of phones she smashed. She only kept a few phones at home.

Cang Yan tested the feel of each one and finally chose two that felt good to put in her drawer. She told the assistant to keep the others until she needed them.

Since she had decided to get along peacefully with Shen Qingyuan, she probably wouldn’t need many phones lately.

While Cang Yan was thinking, her private phone suddenly rang with a call. She looked at the unfamiliar local number and hesitated before answering.

She had received calls specifically meant to curse her for being disgusting before, so she answered with a degree of caution.

“Hello, are you Shen Qingyuan’s parent?”

Cang Yan: “???”

What was going on?