The Cannon Fodder Alpha Who Made the Heroine Pregnant - Chapter 10

10:

The Zhou Family Mansion

Zhou Lan had intended to message Chu Zhao to remind her, but when she sent the message, it showed that she had been blocked.

Well, that answers that.

She had no choice but to go to the Zhou residence alone.

Arriving alone at the Zhou estate, she took in the sprawling modern compound. The entrance road was wide enough for three cars, cut through manicured lawns the size of soccer fields. Beyond them, exotic flora framed the glass-walled mansion where every room boasted panoramic balconies.

To the right, there was a pavilion overlooking an Olympic-sized pool; to the left, was her father’s favorite fishing platform jutting over a koi pond. The entire scene screamed old money pretending to be new money, a gaudy display of power she found suffocating.

Zhou Lan parked her car at the entrance of the villa. A servant greeted her and hurriedly took the car keys and parked the car for her.

The Zhou family villa was quite large, with over a dozen servants on duty 24/7. It was clear that the life of the wealthy was simple and unpretentious.

But in preference she would still personally want the apartment; a separate, private space where she could be alone, making it easier for her to produce music.

Give me a cramped apartment any day, Zhou Lan thought. Solitude fueled creativity; even a weekly cleaner felt like an intrusion. Her friends had joked she would die alone unless forced into marriage, a prophecy now ironically fulfilled.

The Confrontation

Zhou Lan, lost in thought, entered the villa. Chu Zhao had already arrived, her head bowed, listening to Ling He’na’s scolding.

Zhou Lan’s anger suddenly flared. Chu Zhao had married into the Zhou family under threat, and now, after arriving, she was constantly being harassed.

Inside, she found Chu Zhao enduring Ling He’na’s lecture:

“—as Zhou Lan’s wife, you will manage household affairs and network with board members’ spouses. The company may be ours, but—”

“Really now?” Zhou Lan’s interruption startled both women.

Ling Hena turned to look and saw Zhou Lan. Her already stern expression hardened. She was still fuming over Zhou Lan’s defiance yesterday.

As for Chu Zhao, she had been lost in thought as she listened to Ling Hena’s words. Zhou Lan’s voice startled her awake, and a flash of disgust flashed across her eyes.

Zhou Lan’s eyes had been fixed on Chu Zhao, and she naturally noticed her dislike for her.

“I don’t recall agreeing to work at Zhou Corp,” Zhou Lan continued. “I have my own dreams.”

Her words made Ling Hena’s face turn ashen.

The statement hung in the air. Chu Zhao’s eyebrows lifted before her expression hardened again, clearly interpreting this as another manipulative ploy.

Chu Zhao’s face was clearly filled with surprise when he heard her words. It was indeed surprising that a notorious and evil rich second-generation man would say such a thing.

Ling He’na scoffed.

“Dreams? Name your price to drop this act.”

Ling Hena’s tone was full of disdain, and more of a suppression.

This world was similar to her last one. Parents really liked to suppress their children, whether it was their dreams or anything else.

Parents who supported and encouraged their children were still in the minority.

“Oh, so music was fine when you forced it on me to keep me docile abroad. But now that I genuinely want to become a music teacher, suddenly it’s worthless?” She leaned in. “Or is it because your golden boy died, leaving only your failure of a daughter?”

“You made me marry the woman my brother wanted, then raised me to be useless. Now, when you need me, you despise me for being useless?”

The room chilled. There were things they knew all too well, things Zhou Lan’s parents had settled with money for the sake of so-called family harmony. The original host, so as to ensure her monthly allowance arrived on time, pretended to know nothing.

Her parents were disappointed, even disgusted, with her. Why didn’t they consider that her current state was the product of their own deliberate efforts?

Perhaps, if Zhou Lan hadn’t traveled through time, the original host would have endured it for the sake of money, but she wouldn’t.

“You can’t stop me from going back to school. The Zhou family empire, you can give it to whoever you want. I don’t care.”

At this point, not only Ling He’na, but also Chu Zhao, was genuinely surprised.

Zhou Lan could actually say such words. Thinking of Zhou Lan’s father and Ling He’na’s suffocating behavior, it was impossible not to be crooked growing up in such a family.

But Chu Zhao didn’t sympathize with Zhou Lan. No matter the reason, some things were done and couldn’t be pretended to be nothing.

The Zhou family must be destroyed. Zhou Lan… you piece of trash. Without the Zhou family, you are nothing.

As long as the Zhou family was overthrown, Chu Zhao was determined. Whatever Zhou Lan had done to her, she would make her pay back tenfold.

Zhou Lan didn’t know what Chu Zhao was thinking. She silently reviewed her performance in her mind, and she was still very satisfied.

The Ultimatum

“You can’t walk but you already want to fly?”

Zhou Xianling’s voice boomed across the marble foyer. The patriarch stood ramrod straight, his tailored suit failing to hide the cruelty in his hawkish features.

The Zhou family tree has a generational name, and the original host’s brother was also named according to the generational name, but the original host was not. It is conceivable that the Zhou family did not intend for the original host to inherit the Zhou family from the beginning.

Now that the excellent heir is gone, they want to force the duck to the tree. How can there be so many good things?

However, Zhou Xianling did not insist on letting Zhou Lan inherit the Zhou family: “You haven’t grown wings yet, but you are talking a lot more confidently.”

“Two choices,” he said without preamble. “First, report to Zhou Corp on Monday morning.”

“Two, get out of the Zhou family, and I will publish a statement in the newspaper that the Zhou family’s property has nothing to do with you.”

Zhou Lan almost laughed out loud when she heard his words. She said without hesitation, “I choose the second one.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed, the first real interest he’d ever shown her.

As Zhou Xianling reassessed this unexpected defiance, Zhou Lan’s gaze flicked to Chu Zhao.

Please, she willed silently, just give me a chance to show I’m not that monster anymore.