Chapter 8: The Villainess Doesn’t Fight for Love, Only for Control of Her Own Life

That evening, Lin Qian went to Gu Yichuan’s office to discuss the results of the project review.

She brought the latest report, which clearly separated the problems that had been verified, the signs that needed further investigation, and the risks that still remained.

Gu Yichuan read the documents for a long time.

“Do you know that if these suspicions are confirmed, the Lin Group could face a major governance crisis?”

“I know.”

“And you still want to go on?”

“Of course. If I give up just because I found problems, the people who caused them will never have to answer for anything.”

Gu Yichuan looked at her.

“You’re nothing like what I’ve heard.”

Lin Qian leaned back in her chair.

“What have you heard about me?”

“That you loved Lu Xi to the point of losing your mind. That you were willing to trade money for affection. That you were hot-tempered and hard to control.”

She laughed.

“Sounds a lot like who I used to be.”

“And now?”

“Now I’ve realized love isn’t an investment. And it’s certainly not a reason to let someone else decide my life for me.”

Gu Yichuan was silent.

In his eyes, Lin Qian was no longer simply the heir to a conglomerate. She was learning to take responsibility for her decisions, including the mistakes she herself had made.

He closed the report.

“I can help you find more independent experts to review the project. But I won’t get involved in the Lin Group’s internal dispute without clear grounds.”

“I don’t need you to solve everything for me.”

“Then what do you need?”

Lin Qian thought for a moment.

“A partner who respects the truth, who’s willing to work together on the basis of clear mutual interest, and who won’t ask me to give up my independence in exchange for help.”

Gu Yichuan looked at her, something in his eyes shifting.

“That’s not a low bar.”

“Because I’ve already paid far too much for one wrong choice.”

He stood and walked to the window.

“All right. Let’s try working together.”

Lin Qian held out her hand.

“I hope you’re nothing like Lu Xi.”

Gu Yichuan shook it.

“I have no interest in being a copy of anyone.”

She laughed.

“Good. And I have no interest in being the villainess in anyone’s story anymore.”

As Lin Qian left the Gu Group, her phone received a message from an unknown number.

It said only one thing:

If you want to know who put your father in the hospital three years ago, stop investigating Chen Kaiming.

Lin Qian stopped dead in the corridor.

She knew her father had once been hospitalized after a serious financial crisis, but the original novel mentioned it in only a few short lines.

No clear cause.

No one held responsible.

And certainly no explanation of why Chen Kaiming had been able to reach for control of the Lin Group so easily afterward.

She took a screenshot of the message, saved it, and forwarded it to legal to trace the sender.

Then she looked out at the glittering city.

The fight with Lu Xi and Bai Lian was only the beginning.

Behind them was someone trying to hide the past.

Someone who might have been planning to take over the Lin Group for years.

Lin Qian slipped her phone into her bag.

“Fine.”

The corners of her lips curved.

“If you want to play big, I’ll play to the very end.”

— THE END —