I’m a Villain! Why Are You Trying to Date Me?

Chapter 16: Bai Bing’er: “Mr. Jiang, use another title!” Jiang Yifeng is speechless!

Jiang Yifeng’s intellect and personality were top-tier, even in the original story.

Otherwise, as the prestigious Second Master of the Zhao family, Zhao Dongshan wouldn’t have treated him so courteously, even encouraging his son to learn from Jiang Yifeng.

In the earlier conversation, Zhao Dongshan had already, perhaps unconsciously, placed himself on the same level as Jiang Yifeng.

And now, the moment Jiang Yifeng sensed something was off in the banquet hall, he instinctively connected all the dots.

The scheme against Xinghai has been exposed!

Even the plan to seize power might’ve been revealed!

His heart sank. But as a chosen one of fate, Jiang Yifeng was never unprepared. The moment he realized this, he discreetly slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed a button on his phone.

On stage, Shang Chan also noticed Jiang Yifeng and Zhao Dongshan’s group enter.

But she said nothing more. The look in her eyes as she gazed at them was cold and indifferent—no trace of hatred, only detachment.

Having clawed her way through countless commercial wars, Shang Chan had long grown used to deception and betrayal.

Perhaps it was precisely because of that, she treasured those words she’d heard from Lin Tian’s heart all the more.

…

Zhao Dongshan, Zhao Xinghui, and Jiang Yifeng walked slowly to the center of the banquet hall. Midway, Jiang Yifeng broke off from the other two and made his way over to Bai Ze and his daughter, Bai Bing’er.

Today, he’d relied on their influence to enter the Zhao family estate, but the infiltration of the Zhao family had clearly begun long ago. The reason he didn’t rely on Zhao Dongshan and the others from the beginning was precisely to avoid exposing their collusion too early.

However, when he reached Bai Ze and Bai Bing’er, he immediately sensed that their attitude toward him had cooled significantly!

Jiang Yifeng kept his expression calm, but his eyes darkened.

He had only gone off to have a quick strategy meeting with Zhao Dongshan, and suddenly it felt like everything had changed?

According to his calculations, everything today should’ve gone flawlessly.

Zhao Dongshan had long harbored ambitions of seizing power. As long as Zhao Dongyun was taken down and Xinghai’s funds were cut off, most of the Zhao family’s foundational industries would be crippled. With Zhao Dongshan’s cooperation and support from the fence-sitter Zhao Dongshui, the entire Zhao clan would practically be Jiang Yifeng’s to command!

Jiang Yifeng had orchestrated everything so carefully that even in the thick of it all, he would never be exposed.

He would simply appear as the chairman of Fengchen Group, stepping in to “assist” the Zhao family, taking Shang Chan under his wing, and then slowly plotting to seize Zhao family assets.

It was Ice Eye Group that had targeted Xinghai, Zhao Dongshan who sought to seize power—what did any of that have to do with him, Jiang Yifeng?

Even someone like Elder Zhao couldn’t stop him from getting Shang Chan once the Zhao family had lost its authority. That was part of the deal he’d struck with Zhao Dongshan and Zhao Dongshui from the very beginning.

In this entire game, Jiang Yifeng’s only investment had been his intellect.

By aligning with both Bai Bing’er and Zhao Dongshan, he had leveraged their power, rewarded them with gains, and secured plenty of benefits for himself—it had been a triple-win scenario.

But now… it seemed something had gone wrong.

“Uncle Bai, Bing’er.”

Jiang Yifeng greeted them with his usual poise and politeness.

Bai Ze didn’t even glance at him. Bai Bing’er did look his way—but her gaze was cold, completely devoid of warmth.

“Mr. Jiang, you’d better change how you address me.”

Bai Bing’er spoke flatly.

Truth be told, she had never liked Jiang Yifeng all that much. In a way, her targeting of Xinghai Group had just been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Her previous interest in marrying Jiang Yifeng was simply because she found him… intriguing.

But now? Seeing him exposed for colluding with others so easily—what a useless man.

Her interest had completely vanished.

If Lin Tian knew about all the twists and turns behind the scenes, he’d probably understand a whole lot more in an instant.

For example, why someone as cunning and perceptive as Bai Bing’er, who could see straight through people, had been so seemingly loyal to Jiang Yifeng.

The truth? She hadn’t been loyal at all. Launching Ice Eye Group’s attack on Xinghai had just been a whim, nothing more.

No one could predict what someone like her would do next—her personality was as mercurial as it was dangerous.

Maybe that’s the price of being a prodigy. The sharper your insight into the hearts of others, the more easily you’re swayed by their ever-changing emotions.

……

Ignored by Bai Ze and then coldly rebuffed by Bai Bing’er, even someone as composed as Jiang Yifeng couldn’t help the sharp twitch that passed over his face.

Right now, he was feeling stifled—utterly frustrated!

The worst part was, he had no idea what had gone wrong or where things had started to unravel.

In the corner of the banquet hall, Lin Tian sat enveloped in a haze of smoke, as if hiding in the fog made him more mysterious. In truth, he was just too engrossed in the drama and had lost track of how many puffs he’d taken from the cigar…

Watching Jiang Yifeng flounder in embarrassment, Lin Tian couldn’t help but chuckle.

This is the so-called son of destiny?

But honestly, the way things were unfolding had gone way beyond anything Lin Tian had expected.

He thought hard about it but couldn’t pinpoint what had caused the deviation in the plot. Maybe, just maybe, he was the only anomaly.

But Lin Tian knew—at least he thought—that ever since he transmigrated here, he hadn’t done anything too outrageous. If anything, he was careful not to trigger any butterfly effects that could drag him into trouble.

From resigning to quietly disappearing from the public eye, Lin Tian had always acted with utmost discretion.

What he didn’t know, however, was that Shang Chan had long since discovered many of his secrets—thanks to her eavesdropping on his inner thoughts.

Jiang Yifeng is the so-called child of destiny. If he were that easy to take down, that would be the real problem. There’s no way this guy didn’t prepare some backup plans…

Lin Tian sighed inwardly.

Even in the original novel, Jiang Yifeng’s mysterious master—the so-called divine healer—had left him with an extensive web of connections and plenty of hidden support.

And now, as the major shareholder of Fengchen Group, Jiang Yifeng already held a position powerful enough to ignore pressure from most noble families.

That’s exactly why I never wanted to get involved with him, Lin Tian thought. Even if I’m a transmigrator… I’m not suicidal.

Lin Tian knew all too well—Jiang Yifeng, as the protagonist of the original novel, was practically dripping with protagonist’s luck.

“No matter what happens, it has nothing to do with me. The only way to live a long life in this mess… is to stay the hell out of it!”

Hidden in the corner, Lin Tian silently swore to himself.

But right at that moment, a crisp, deliberate sound echoed from the front of the banquet hall.

Ka—ka—

It was the sound of a huanghuali dragon-headed cane striking the floor.

The patriarch of the previous Zhao generation, the last remaining elder of the family, the father of current Zhao family head Zhao Dongyun, and Shang Chan’s grandfather—Zhao Zhong had arrived!