My Villainous Persona Collapses as My Family Reads My Mind - chapter 16

Shen Que glanced at Meng Zhiyi, who was already somewhat withdrawn, a faint trace of amusement flickering in his eyes.

He sent the screenshot to himself, then made sure to completely delete the photo from Song Wei’s phone.

After finishing all this, Shen Que placed the phone on the table and said coolly, “From now on, I’ll handle matters like this. Don’t let Grandma worry anymore.”

Anyone could hear that Shen Que was warning Song Wei.

Except for Meng Zhiyi.

She looked at Shen Que with a hint of disappointment, secretly gritting her teeth.

[Handle it, my foot! Can’t you just follow the script?]

[Damn it, did I get a murder mystery script instead?!]

Meng Zhiyi was actually a little unhappy.

The misunderstanding was resolved, which meant her mission progress was back to zero.

But with such a good opportunity, she felt it would be a shame not to do something.

Meng Zhiyi looked at Meng Mother. Before anyone could react, she slammed the spoon in her hand onto the table with a loud smack.

The porcelain-white spoon instantly broke in two, startling everyone present.

“Yiyi, you…”

Even the Shen Matriarch was taken aback, looking at her with concern.

Meng Zhiyi suddenly stood up, first looking at Meng Mother sitting across from her, squeezing out a tear and accusing, “Are you happy now? You embarrassed me in front of Brother Shen Que, stomped my dignity into the ground-are you satisfied?”

“I know, ever since I came back to this family, none of you wanted to accept me. You think I’m a village girl, unworthy of the Meng Family’s heiress status, and my very existence embarrasses you.”

“If that’s the case, why did you look for me in the first place? Why not just let me stay dead?”

After her accusations, Meng Zhiyi didn’t give Meng Mother any chance to respond. She turned and fired at Song Wei: “And you-aren’t you just scheming to ruin my engagement with Shen Que so you can take my place?”

“How does it feel to have your plan fail? Didn’t get what you wanted-doesn’t that feel suffocating?”

Meng Zhiyi looked at her triumphantly, completely disregarding the presence of the Shen Matriarch.

After her outburst, she waited, hoping to salvage a bit of mission progress.

[If this doesn’t get a reaction, do I really have to go find a male homewrecker?]

[But even if I do, he’d have to be better-looking than Shen Que, right? Otherwise, I’d be the one losing out!]

Shen Que felt a headache coming on. He glanced at the stunned Meng Mother and at his grandmother, who was looking at Meng Zhiyi with concern. To prevent Meng Zhiyi from causing more trouble, he could only get up and pull her away.

“Where are you taking me?” Meng Zhiyi tried to shake him off, but found Shen Que’s grip was firm.

He didn’t answer, just led Meng Zhiyi all the way to the restaurant in the back garden.

“Not hungry?”

Shen Que released her just as Meng Zhiyi was about to throw a tantrum, asking the question first.

Meng Zhiyi stopped mid-turn, and her stomach growled right on cue.

“If you don’t want to see your mother, then don’t go out. After you eat, you still have to go see your Eldest Brother.” Shen Que sat down, pouring her a glass of coconut milk as he spoke.

Meng Zhiyi stood there thinking for a few seconds, then sat down across from Shen Que.

She looked at the man before her, whose noble temperament and every gesture exuded elegance and grace.

“How did you know the person in the photo was my Eldest Brother?”

“Is that so hard to figure out?” Shen Que didn’t answer, but asked in return.

Meng Zhiyi pursed her lips, thinking about Shen Que’s background. It really wouldn’t be hard for him to find out the truth through certain means.

“It’s no fun at all,” Meng Zhiyi muttered.

“Why didn’t you explain?” Shen Que stared straight at Meng Zhiyi and asked.

Meng Zhiyi: “Explain what?”

Shen Que fell silent. From the inner thoughts he’d heard these days, he could only confirm that the girl before him had changed inside, and was carrying out some kind of mission.
Thinking this way, not only the Meng Family, but even he himself, were just mission targets in Meng Zhiyi’s heart.

So it was perfectly normal for her not to explain herself in the face of everyone’s misunderstandings.

With this thought, Shen Que suddenly felt that his earlier question had been unnecessary.

He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Meng Zhiyi rolled her eyes lightly.

[Looks like it’s another day with no progress. Useless!]

*

After Shen Que took Meng Zhiyi away, only the Shen Matriarch, Song Wei, and Meng Mother were left in the living room.

None of them had anticipated what had just happened.

The Shen Matriarch stared at the spoon that Meng Zhiyi had smashed. After a moment, she said in a deep voice, “Madam Meng, Yiyi is the granddaughter-in-law I have chosen. From now on, I don’t want to hear the words ‘break off the engagement’ again. Unless she personally tells me she doesn’t like Xiao Que and doesn’t want to be the Shen Family’s granddaughter-in-law.”

“As for you, or the Meng Family, if you don’t like Yiyi, let me make it clear: the Shen Family can afford to support her. If the Meng Family doesn’t want her, the Shen Family does.”

“My words may be a bit presumptuous, Madam Meng, so please bear with me. Yiyi suffered enough when she was young, and I don’t want her to be wronged again. If you don’t welcome her, just let her live here with me.”

Every word the Shen Matriarch spoke was filled with affection for Meng Zhiyi.

If Meng Zhiyi hadn’t done a DNA test back then, Meng Mother would have suspected she was actually a child of the Shen Family who had been lost.

Even Song Wei racked her brains but couldn’t understand what exactly the Shen Matriarch liked about Meng Zhiyi.

But that didn’t stop her from feeling a sense of crisis. “Grandmother, Meng Zhiyi and Shen Que aren’t married yet. Isn’t it improper for her to move in?”

The Shen Matriarch glanced coldly at Song Wei. “What’s improper about it? You’re not a member of the Shen Family, yet you’re still living here, aren’t you?”

At these words, Song Wei’s face instantly turned pale.

She bit her lip tightly, her hand at her side clutching her clothes, unable to say a word.

But the Shen Matriarch didn’t stop. Instead, she said meaningfully, “If you were smart, you’d hold on to your status as the ‘martyr’s orphan’ and live your life well, instead of scheming.”

In the more than ten years Song Wei had lived in the Shen Family, this was the first time the Shen Matriarch had spoken so harshly to her.

From the very beginning, the Shen Matriarch hadn’t liked this two-faced child. But considering her parents had died and she was alone, she had turned a blind eye to her son and daughter-in-law’s decision to take her in.

However, that didn’t mean she would tolerate her meddling in the Shen Family’s affairs or bullying the granddaughter-in-law she had chosen.

After all, as the one who held up the entire Shen Family, how could she not see through Song Wei’s little schemes?

Song Wei’s face was ashen, her slender body swaying as if she might collapse, her lips bitten so hard they turned purple.

After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a faint “I understand,” then walked out of the living room as if her soul had left her.

After watching Song Wei leave, Meng Mother felt a bit awkward.

“Madam Meng, you should go back too. I don’t think Yiyi will go home with you today. This old lady will keep her for a simple family meal.”

Meng Mother hesitated, but recalling Meng Zhiyi’s accusations just now, she could only give up in the end.

She stood up and bowed slightly, her tone humble. “Then I won’t disturb you any further. I apologize for today’s offenses, and I hope you won’t be angry, Matriarch.”

The Shen Matriarch waved her hand. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

Meng Mother was immediately put in a difficult spot.

Seeing this, the Shen Matriarch said earnestly, “A mistake is a mistake, and it shouldn’t be hidden because of your status. Yiyi grew up away from you, and your relationship was never close. If you let these things create a rift, you’ll regret it sooner or later.”