Chapter 21 Almost Forgot Her Identity

"Retaliation against Liu Yanyan reward: Retaliation progress increased by 1%."

The system’s voice rang out.

"Only 1%? It seems the blow wasn't hard enough. I need to pull a few strings... System, can you impersonate Li Jingyan and call me? Make it as sappy as possible."

"Of course I can. I’ve just upgraded, so let’s give it a try."

Wen Yan glanced at Liu Yanyan, whose face was green with rage. Dropping the pretense, she sat elegantly on the sofa and looked at her provocatively.

"Why stop acting? Keep it up!" Liu Yanyan sneered.

Wen Yan smiled without answering. Just then, her phone rang—it was a video call from the system, simulating Li Jingyan.

She gestured for Liu Yanyan to be quiet, answered the call, and instantly switched to a sweet, cloying tone: "Hello? Honey, how are things over there?"

Liu Yanyan was stunned. In the past three days, Li Jingyan had called her fewer than two times, and each time he hung up quickly, claiming he was busy with work.

Every time, it was Liu Yanyan who initiated the contact; Li Jingyan had never once called her first.

And now, he was actually initiating a call to this bitch, Qin Wenyan!

"I'm fine, just missing you. How are you holding up?" the system responded in Li Jingyan’s voice, dripping with affection.

"Oh, I'm okay. I just came over to see our son and check on how Sister Yanyan is raising him," Wen Yan said, deliberately raising her volume.

Liu Yanyan was furious. Li Jingyan had never spoken to her in such a tone. She wanted to throw a tantrum, but fearing she would ruin her image, she restrained herself and put on a high-pitched, affected voice: "Brother Jingyan, are you doing alright?"

"Oh, is that so? Then take good care of our son. I’ll come home as soon as I finish up here, and I'll bring you a gift." The system acted as if it hadn't heard her, intentionally ignoring her.

Wen Yan started acting spoiled: "No, I don't want anything. I just want you to come back."

Liu Yanyan watched their intimate exchange from the side, unable to believe that Jingyan was being so cold to her.

In all the time they had spent together, Li Jingyan had never been this gentle with her.

Just as she was about to say something else, Wen Yan said, "Bye-bye!" and hung up.

"You vixen! You actually seduced Brother Jingyan!" Liu Yanyan rushed over, ready to strike, but the moment she raised her hand, Wen Yan caught it and slapped her firmly across the face.

"Get your position straight. My husband and I are flirting—what does that have to do with you, the mistress? Do you really think you’re Mrs. Li?"

"This is the life you were chasing, isn't it, Sister Yanyan?" Wen Yan sneered.

"Think carefully about whether all of this is worth it." She shot Liu Yanyan a look of contempt and turned to leave.

Liu Yanyan slumped before the mirror, looking at her disheveled hair, sallow complexion, and out-of-shape figure. She couldn't help but ask herself: Is this really worth it?

However, anger quickly replaced her self-doubt. She gritted her teeth and hissed:

"Qin Wenyan, I have sacrificed so much and planned so much; I won't let you ruin my plans. All of this will be mine sooner or later!"

Thinking that her grand scheme was still in motion, she took a deep breath to control her emotions.

Just then, Wang Xiulian walked in and walked right into the line of fire: "Why are you standing there like a fool? My grandson is hungry, go breastfeed him!"

Liu Yanyan, already suffering from depression, was triggered by Wang Xiulian and completely snapped.

"Qin Wenyan is living the good life, while I have to suffer under the pressure of this old hag." Jealousy twisted her features.

She gritted her teeth and whispered: "I'm sorry, Mother, but I won't give you another chance to blame me again!"

Wang Xiulian was confused: "You'd better not! Go feed him..."

***

Liu Yanyan knew that directly harming Qin Wenyan would ruin her reputation, making it impossible to execute her plans. With the power of the Qiao family, once Li Jingyan and Old Master Qiao investigated, they would surely find out it was her, and becoming the matriarch of the Qiao family would be impossible.

Wang Xiulian was different; she was just a stepmother. If she couldn't deal with Qin Wenyan, surely she could handle an old woman.

She returned to her room and immediately sent a message.

"Father, no matter what, find someone to take care of this old hag. As long as she is in this house, Li Jingyan won't come back, and our plan won't succeed."

"The longer he stays with Qin Wenyan, the harder it is for me to succeed! I have a plan; let's take out Wang Xiulian first."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before a reply came:

"What is your plan? Just execute it yourself. We'll discuss the rest when I return to the country."

Liu Yanyan hung up, used the number her father provided, and sent a message with a photo of Wang Xiulian and a 100,000 deposit:

"It would be best if she never gets up again, no matter the method. I don't want her appearing in front of me on her feet ever again."

The other party replied quickly: "Received."

After arranging everything, Liu Yanyan went to Wang Xiulian, speaking in a gentle voice: "Mom, I was wrong earlier. I was too extreme in the way I viewed Sister Wen Yan."

Wang Xiulian glared at her, refusing to speak.

"Mom, it was my fault. This is a small token of my sincerity." With that, she transferred 5,000 yuan via WeChat.

Seeing the money, Wang Xiulian’s face lit up, and she was no longer angry: "It's fine, it's fine. I was just driven crazy by the child; I won't hold it against you."

"Then, Mom, let's make some soup tonight. I haven't had much milk lately, let's have some soup together."

Wang Xiulian got up hurriedly: "Alright, alright! I'll make sure my grandson gets enough! I'll go buy a nice, fatty fish right now. If I wait too long, there won't be any fresh ones left."

"Great! Watch your step on the road." Watching Wang Xiulian’s retreating back, Liu Yanyan’s smile slowly faded.

"She’s out. I hope it succeeds on the first try," she texted.

"Rest assured." Seeing the message, Liu Yanyan felt a sense of relief she had never known before.

That evening, Wang Xiulian went to the vegetable market as usual.

To take a shortcut, she walked into a dilapidated alley. This intersection was old and poorly maintained, usually deserted, but because it was close to the market, many middle-aged women passed through it in the mornings and evenings.

Just as Wang Xiulian was heading back with her groceries, a black motorcycle suddenly rushed out from the shadows and slammed into her, sending her flying.

The rider glanced at Wang Xiulian lying on the ground and vanished into the night without a backward glance.

Wang Xiulian’s cries in the dark were bone-chilling. But soon, her voice grew hoarse until she couldn't make a sound, and she lost consciousness.

When other women passing by found Wang Xiulian in a pool of blood, they hurriedly called an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

The first to receive the news was Li Jingyan, who, faced with the choice between work and his mother, chose work without hesitation.

Ever since Wen Yan married into the family, Wang Xiulian had become a regular at the hospital, needing attention almost every two months. The Li family had gotten used to leaving everything to Wen Yan and never bothered to care.

Wang Xiulian also felt this was Wen Yan's duty and never felt any gratitude.

This time, they were just as indifferent, knowing Wen Yan would take over everything, so they didn't have to worry.

Unfortunately, Wen Yan didn't pick up the phone, so Li Jingyan had to contact Liu Yanyan to go check on her.

Wang Xiulian’s previous waist injury hadn't fully healed, and this new, heavy trauma, combined with excessive blood loss, left doctors struggling to save her life. Whether she would wake up was another question, and she was immediately sent to the ICU.

The doctors stated that she only had a 20% chance of survival and might never wake up.

Outside the ward, Liu Yanyan held her child, secretly rejoicing.

"Now no one can annoy me anymore, and Brother Jingyan will move over." Watching Wang Xiulian behind the glass, she felt incredibly happy.

"Host, the mission to retaliate against Wang Xiulian was a success. Reward: 8 points. Current revenge progress updated to 37%."

Wen Yan paused, her face full of surprise: "How much?" Knowing the score was this high, she realized something major must have happened.

"Wang Xiulian? What happened to her?"

"Wang Xiulian was in a car accident. Liu Yanyan hired someone to do it," the system explained immediately.

"A car accident? And it was Liu Yanyan's doing? You can even find that out?" Wen Yan was even more surprised.

"Can you identify the culprit?" Wen Yan asked curiously.

"Still no, only that it was a hitman hired by Liu Yanyan. This scene wasn't in the original plot," the system said after checking its database.

"Right. I almost forgot Liu Yanyan's true identity—she's the daughter of the Liu family; it’s not hard for her to use such tactics. Qin Wenyan might have endured Wang Xiulian's harassment, but Liu Yanyan certainly wouldn't."

"Especially with her postpartum depression—50% of which was caused by Wang Xiulian. Attacking this hard, she really lives up to being a vicious female antagonist."

After a pause, the system added, "Host, this can be considered a successful 'killing with a borrowed knife.' You don't need to worry about the rest; at least you got the revenge points you deserved."

Wen Yan was silent for a moment but decided to check on the situation: "I should go to the hospital and take a look." She turned and headed toward the nearest hospital.

On the way, she learned from the system that Li Jingyan had also received news of the accident, but he was in the middle of a critical project phase and refused to give up his promotion opportunity, ultimately deciding not to return.

Hearing this, she immediately called Li Jingyan to make her presence felt. "You keep busy; I'll arrange everything else." Wen Yan's voice was reliable and gentle, which eased Li Jingyan's anxious heart.

"I'll transfer some money to you. If the hospital needs money, don't let it run short. Tell me if it's not enough." Li Jingyan's voice still held a hint of a sob.

"Don't worry, I'll handle everything," Wen Yan said before hanging up.

Arriving outside the ICU, she looked through the glass at Wang Xiulian, who was lying on the hospital bed, covered in tubes. Wen Yan couldn't help but think of the original owner's life.

The original owner had been harassed by Wang Xiulian at every turn, suffered many grievances, and most of her life-threatening crises were indirectly caused by Wang Xiulian. Now that Wang Xiulian had met this fate, it felt like long-overdue retribution.

She stood in the hallway, her eyes calm, devoid of sympathy or excessive emotion, simply watching that pale face.

Staring at Wang Xiulian, Wen Yan suddenly remembered something and asked the system in her mind:

"I remember in the original story, Wang Xiulian becoming a vegetable happened late in the plot. How did it happen now? Is the plot moving forward?"

The system was silent for two seconds before replying:

"Yes, in the original plot, Wang Xiulian wouldn't have had an accident so soon, and there was no conflict between her and Liu Yanyan that would escalate to hiring someone to hit her."

"In the later stages, it was because Wang Xiulian blackmailed her that she killed her to silence her. It’s highly likely that your appearance disrupted the original plot line, causing all these conflicts to erupt prematurely."

"My appearance..." Wen Yan repeated in a low voice, her fingertips turning slightly cold.

She had only thought about using the plot to advance her revenge, but she hadn't expected to become a "variable."

She suddenly realized something was wrong—if Wang Xiulian’s plot could be moved forward, then other subsequent plots might also deviate completely from their original tracks. Without the plot as a reference, she had no idea what she would encounter next, and her situation would only become increasingly passive.

A sense of crisis, unlike anything she had felt before, slowly crept up her spine.

At this moment, Qiao Chenye in M Country was also facing a new crisis.