Chapter 193

Chen Fan’s face darkened as he looked at the situation before him. He understood that the plot was stuck. This should have been something to be happy about, because at least the plot was correct up to this point. Only a correct plot could get stuck like this.

But Chen Fan wasn’t happy, because Ye Ziyue didn’t laugh.

Damn it, would it kill you to laugh?

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The only thing that didn’t change was Ye Aotian doing somersaults. It had been nearly ten minutes, hadn’t it? This guy was still flipping.

“I’m gonna puke, seriously,” Liu Feifei said, feeling dizzy. “How is this guy still doing somersaults? This is just too absurd.”

Cao Zijin asked, “What’s he doing?”

Chen Fan replied, “No idea, but I think Ye Aotian’s probably confessing or something. Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Of course, I know he’s confessing, but this guy’s been at it for ten minutes already!

Suddenly, Cao Zijin glanced at her watch and noticed that time was moving unusually slowly. She was certain that time shouldn’t be behaving like this.

In reality, the watch showed that only a dozen seconds had passed. But the situation before her had already surpassed her understanding. Was this the contraction of the world line?

Damn, this is way too ridiculous.

Ye Ziyue also noticed something was off. This was clearly abnormal.

Chen Fan sighed helplessly, pondering a solution. “What do you think would make Ye Ziyue laugh?”

Cao Zijin said, “I think, honey, if you say a couple of words or do something, she’d probably laugh.”

Me? Make her laugh? Do I have that kind of power? You’ve got the wrong guy.

But it seemed that only he could resolve this awkward situation. With no other choice, Chen Fan waved at Ye Ziyue, who looked over.

He made a funny face, but Ye Ziyue didn’t laugh at all.

It wasn’t funny in the slightest.

Chen Fan hesitated for a long time before smacking Cao Zijin on the butt. Cao Zijin touched the spot and said, “Honey, what was that for?”

“It didn’t work. Forget it, I’m out of ideas.”

Cao Zijin burst out laughing and said, “I’ll teach you. It’s simple.”

She whispered something in Chen Fan’s ear.

Chen Fan looked at her. Are you serious?

Cao Zijin just stared at him and nodded. She was confident this would work. When it came to women, Cao Zijin was quite knowledgeable.

Chen Fan sighed, stood up straight, and traced a heart shape in the air with his hands. Then, softly, he said three words: “I love you.”

Ye Ziyue froze, then let out a pfft and laughed.

Her face turned red. She really couldn’t hold it in, because she was a professional—unless she couldn’t help it.

In truth, this scene was also a contraction of the world line. The author’s intended emotion was simple: when Ye Aotian actively showed off, he was doing something silly and naive.

For someone as intelligent as Ye Ziyue, romantic clichés often didn’t work. But if you used the silliest methods, they could actually be effective.

Ye Ziyue didn’t laugh because of Ye Aotian’s somersaults; she didn’t laugh because the person doing the somersaults wasn’t Chen Fan.

Sometimes, the flower isn’t the problem—it’s the person delivering it.

At that moment, Cao Zijin glanced at her watch and saw time moving forward again. She knew everything had returned to normal. As expected, this plot point was crucial. She hadn’t realized that when the plot got stuck, time would freeze. Now she understood Chen Fan’s perspective a bit better.

So, this world really did revolve around the protagonist’s storyline. At the right moments, the right events had to happen.

Looking at Chen Fan, Cao Zijin suddenly felt a pang in her heart.

Did that mean if her husband died in the end, he would simply leave, and while this world would continue, it would lack a vital presence—Chen Fan?

Ye Ziyue was also worried about this. She had thought of the same thing, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

Ye Aotian said, “Why are you crying? I can’t stand seeing women cry. Weren’t you just laughing? Don’t cry. Crying isn’t a privilege for beauties.”

Go to hell, you idiot. I’m not crying over you. Stop being so full of yourself all the time.

Suppressing her anger, Ye Ziyue said, “It’s nothing. I want to be alone. Thanks for today.”

“No problem. Be careful, alright?”

With that, Ye Aotian left with a swagger, clearly feeling sweet inside. So interesting, really interesting.

Ye Aotian could tell whether a woman liked him or not. In his mind, Ye Ziyue definitely had feelings for him. Perhaps she was just unwilling to accept that he would take over the Ye family’s assets.

Hahaha, but how could Ye Ziyue know? I don’t care about becoming the head of the Ye family. What I want is the truth—the truth about my father.

But as for Ye Ziyue, he wouldn’t mind taking her for himself.

Chen Fan yawned and said, “I’m outta here. You sisters can have your bonding time.”

Cao Zijin ignored him and went to Ye Ziyue’s side, saying, “That must’ve been tough for you.”

“I’m starting to understand now. I suddenly get why you did those boring, perverse things back then. Now I realize what you did wasn’t even that extreme.”

Cao Zijin said, “No choice. If I could go further, I’d kill Ye Aotian. But sometimes, we don’t have a choice.”

In truth, there were still choices—like how some people had started to like Chen Fan. That was allowed. But the core plot couldn’t change. As long as that was maintained, perhaps freedom in love was a nice touch.

“If one day Chen Fan leaves, I think I’ll miss him.”

Cao Zijin said, “Sigh, I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m powerless.”

Liu Feifei said, “My mom told me that when we encounter things we can’t handle, we shouldn’t overthink them. We just need to follow our hearts and act. When the time comes, the problem will definitely be solved, right?”

Yeah.

They still didn’t know how long this novel world would last.

If Chen Fan knew their thoughts, he’d probably burst out laughing. When have you ever seen a novel end normally?

That was impossible. As long as the author wanted, they could keep writing indefinitely. At this point, the story’s progress hadn’t even reached 600,000 words. And this damn novel was over 10 million words long.

Ye Aotian returned to the banquet, where many people were drinking. Not recognizing many of them, he found a spot to sit and eat something by himself. By coincidence, Ye Aotian spotted a chubby guy gorging himself at a table.

“Who are you?”

“Qian Daode, the useless son of the Qian family.”

Hahaha!

Ye Aotian laughed unrestrainedly and said, “You’re calling yourself useless?”

Qian Daode put down his food and said helplessly, “No choice. Earlier, I went to chat with another ‘useless’ guy, Chen Fan. That jerk actually looked down on me. I mean, I’m at least second-to-last, but he’s dead last, alright?”

Ye Aotian found the guy in front of him incredibly amusing and said, “A toast to you. I think you’re really interesting.”

“Me? … You’re the rising star of the Ye family. Associating with me might … tarnish your reputation.”

“No way. When I, Ye Aotian, make friends, I follow my heart. I don’t care what others think. If I find you interesting, then you’re interesting.”

Qian Daode put down his food and said, “You … If you’re willing, I think I can help you if you need it.”

Ye Aotian asked, “For real? What can you help me with?”

Qian Daode pointed to his head and said, “I know a lot of things. My memory’s pretty good. My ancient martial arts talent is average, but I think I can still be your right-hand man. To be honest, I came here looking for a partner.”

“Hmm, I’ve heard that major families never shy away from seeking outside help.”

Qian Daode nodded and said, “Yes. You might look down on me, and if you think I’m being too bold, just forget it.”