Chapter 430: Day 35 into the Mary Sue Story
Chapter 430: Day 35 into the Mary Sue Story
Chapter 430: Day 35 of Being Trapped in a Mary Sue Novel
Leng Bingning wasn't stupid—if anything, she was sharp as a tack.
She had long noticed the natural, effortless intimacy between An Yi and Lu Lu that went way past just being friends.
The way Lu Lu looked at An Yi—that raw, unfiltered heat, dependence, and possessiveness—and the way An Yi indulged Lu Lu's goofy antics and clingy behavior, occasionally letting slip a faint smile or an affectionate gesture... it all spoke volumes.
Like right now, for example. Leng Bingning watched as Lu Lu nonchalantly took the book from An Yi's hand, then quickly planted a kiss on the back of An Yi's hand. An Yi merely shot him a look that said "really?"
She suddenly stopped in her tracks, looked at them seriously, and said, "An Yi, Lu Lu, I'm happy for you two."
Lu Lu froze for a second, then his face split into a huge grin. He slung an arm around An Yi's shoulder and nodded at Leng Bingning. "Thanks for the good wishes! Hehe!"
He couldn't hide that smug, over-the-moon look if he tried.
An Yi gave a small nod and smiled at Leng Bingning. "Thank you."
A small smile curved Leng Bingning's lips.
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As for Ye Ming, An Yi figured handling him was even easier than dealing with Huang Fuxiao.
The Ye family had started out in the underworld. Even though they'd tried to clean up their act recently, their roots and way of doing business were still steeped in gray areas. They'd made plenty of enemies and threw their weight around.
The An family had been fed up with the Ye family's overreach for a while. Ye Ming's harassment and threats against An Yi gave the An family the perfect, justifiable excuse to strike back.
This wasn't just about getting payback for their kid. It was a golden opportunity for the An family to openly go after the Ye family, boost their own power and rep, and rally anyone else who had a bone to pick with them.
The An family teamed up with the Lu family and a few other factions that had old scores to settle over the Ye family's land grabs and profit-snatching, and they launched a coordinated offensive.
Business blockades on the Ye family's key industries, tax and compliance investigations kicked off by the authorities, information blackouts and resource squeezes in underground networks... wave after wave of pressure came crashing down.
The Ye family's sprawling gray empire looked tough on the outside, but inside it was a mess of warring factions and contradictions. Under this kind of premeditated, multi-pronged attack, it started to crumble fast, with everyone scrambling to put out fires.
Ye Ming, as the direct trigger of this storm, was under insane pressure from his own family.
The indulgence and perks he'd once gotten as the "underworld prince" had all turned into accusations and disgust.
The family elders ordered him to formally apologize to An Yi, but An Yi wouldn't even see him.
With no other option, he rushed through the paperwork to drop out of school.
A few days later, his family shipped him overseas overnight to lay low—basically exiling him like a discarded pawn.
But no matter how furious he was, it didn't matter.
The Ye family paid a hefty price just to keep from collapsing outright, but their momentum was shot and they were badly weakened. Their so-called top-dog status in the underworld was hanging by a thread, and it was only a matter of time before they came crashing down.
Meanwhile, the An family and their close ally, the Lu family, not only got rid of the Ye Ming problem for good, but also gobbled up some serious profits, pushing their family businesses and influence to a whole new level.
Ye Ming—served him right!
Lu Lu hadn't been sitting around during all this either.
It was totally because of him that the Lu family had come knocking, looking to team up.
When the Lu family learned that Lu Lu had glommed onto An Yi, their reaction was: "!!!"
After the initial shock wore off, they didn't put up much of a fight.
An Yi's family background, character, and skills were on full display during this whole thing. Lu Lu had that "it's him or no one" attitude, plus the huge benefits and smooth teamwork the An-Lu alliance showed during this mess, and the Lu elders, after taking a moment to process it, quietly gave their blessing.
Lu Lu proudly bragged to An Yi about his contributions, laying it on thick about how much the Lu family had done to take down the Ye family and how thrilled they were about his and An Yi's relationship, then blinked those big, watery puppy-dog eyes, his face screaming "Praise me, praise me!"
An Yi thought his "please praise me" look was hilarious. He reached out, gently pulled Lu Lu down by the neck, and kissed him.
Lu Lu: "!!!"
He was over the moon!
He took control and deepened the kiss, only pulling away when they were both gasping for air.
Lu Lu wrapped his arms around An Yi, burying his face in his neck, grinning like an idiot for a long while before mumbling, "An An... I'm so happy."
Man, An Yi loved him so much, always kissing him.
Life was good!
With Huang Fuxiao gone and Ye Ming exiled, plus the info and clear stance An Yi had let slip along the way, the tide of opinion about Leng Bingning at Shengjing Academy turned fast.
Most of the envy, jealousy, sneering, and gossip—whether out in the open or behind her back—faded fast.
Even if some people still felt bitter and looked down on her, thinking "What's so special about her?" at least nobody dared to talk smack to her face or give her those nasty, judgmental looks anymore.
She could finally walk around campus with her backpack like any other normal student and put her energy into studying.
But trouble hadn't completely disappeared.
The Ouyang siblings were still at it.
With Huang Fuxiao suddenly gone, Ouyang Qian's jealousy hadn't cooled off—it had only gotten worse.
In her mind, this was all Leng Bingning's fault!
She had no proof, but she could make up whatever she wanted—after all, she hated Leng Bingning anyway.
She kept picking on Leng Bingning, who was clearly under An Yi's protection. She didn't think An Yi would keep protecting Leng Bingning for long.
An Yi had a boyfriend now, didn't he?
Lu Lu would definitely lose it!
As for Ouyang Lie, he was even worse.
Ever since he found out about An Yi and Lu Lu at the stables, something had set him off. He was more irritable than ever, with these weird, creepy silences thrown in.
With Leng Bingning, he didn't have the same interest or need to conquer her like Huang Fuxiao did, and he wasn't driven by pure evil like Ye Ming either.
But since she was the only woman who didn't make him physically recoil, he'd just decided she was his, free for him to watch and meddle with however he wanted.
Lately, with the rumors about the An family going after the Ye family and all the chaos in his own head, he'd backed off a little—but this twisted, obsessive fixation was still going strong.
Guys like him never learn unless you hit them where it hurts. They don't get boundaries or respect otherwise.
Dealing with a purely business family like the Ouyangs was a lot simpler and more straightforward.
The Ouyang family's business empire was huge, spanning all kinds of industries—a classic corporate giant. But the bigger a business empire, the more it depends on tightly linked supply chains, smooth sales channels, solid partnerships, and trust from the capital markets.
The An family was different—they had political power.
All they had to do was subtly let it be known they were "displeased."
No need for a big speech—just a pointed comment that the Ouyang kids had been acting out of line at Shengjing Academy lately. That alone would make people start thinking the Ouyang family... might not be worth doing business with.