Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, during breakfast time, the entire Luo family gathered in the dining room.

Luo Qianjian sat at his seat, quietly observing his family members.

Perhaps more absurd than finding oneself in an old-school domineering CEO novel was being in a world composed of a series of such novels.

Everyone in the Luo family, except for Luo Qianjian, were the protagonists of this series of domineering CEO novels.

Luo Chen, Luo Qianjian's father, and He Ruyan, his mother, were the main characters of the first installment in the series.

Luo Chen and He Ruyan had six children in total, with Luo Qianjian being the third child and also their only biological offspring. The other five children were adopted by the couple—

In their youth, the couple had been quite extravagant, leading to difficulties conceiving after they finally got married. They had initially believed that they would not have their own children, which led them to adopt their eldest son and second daughter successively.

Then, unexpectedly, He Ruyan became pregnant with Luo Qianjian, who was born with a weak constitution.

This sparked another argument between the couple, each blaming the other for the child's condition.

Luo Chen accused He Ruyan of crying too much and having a temper, causing stress during her pregnancy and leading to her selective eating habits, which he believed resulted in the poor health of their child.

He Ruyan, in tears, brought up old grievances, blaming Luo Chen's past alcoholism and its impact on his health. She also mentioned a previous pregnancy before their marriage, which ended in a miscarriage after she was intentionally pushed down the stairs by Luo Chen's white moonlight, leaving her body damaged.

Luo Chen insinuated that the miscarriage was intentional on He Ruyan's part, as she still harbored feelings for her first love and resented him for forcefully taking her away. He suggested that she had always intended to terminate the pregnancy, and the incident of being pushed down the stairs merely facilitated her plans.

He Ruyan cried even harder, stating that it was because Luo Chen had professed his love for her while simultaneously bringing his white moonlight home to take care of, causing her heart to turn cold.

After their argument and subsequent cold war, the couple inexplicably reconciled through intimate relations, agreeing never to mention Luo Chen's white moonlight or He Ruyan's first love again.

—This part of the story occurred in the epilogue of the first installment in the series, considered an elevation of Luo Chen and He Ruyan's relationship.

Following this, through the second and third installments of the series, Luo Chen and He Ruyan adopted four more children: two daughters and a son, the latter two being twins.

As Luo Qianjian sat at the breakfast table, watching them, he compared the scene to the plotlines he knew from the books.

The first installment of the series centered around the romance between Luo Chen and He Ruyan, now both advanced in age.

The second installment was a BL (Boys' Love) genre, featuring the domineering CEO protagonist, Luo Hefeng, the eldest son of the Luo family, and Shen Dongyi, Luo Qianjian's college roommate, as the main characters. Their relationship bore some resemblance to that of their parents, beginning with a substitute lover arrangement. However, according to the current timeline, their relationship had yet to develop.

The third installment was a yuri genre, with the domineering female CEO, Luo Gongyou, and the innocent male lead, Bai Yusheng. This pair had already caused a commotion in the middle of the night, their relationship centered around forced love dynamics.

The fourth installment was a campus romance, starring Luo Suiyun, the fourth miss of the Luo family, who had dated Jiang Chengchen, the school bully, during high school. In their final year, fearing the impact on her studies and the potential discovery by her family, Luo Suiyun broke up with Jiang Chengchen. Years later, they reunited when Luo Suiyun, now a successful businesswoman, crossed paths with Jiang Chengchen, who had risen from humble beginnings to become a domineering CEO. After enduring various trials and tribulations, they eventually reconciled.

According to the current timeline, Luo Suiyun and Jiang Chengchen were still in a relationship, but Luo Suiyun was contemplating a breakup.

The fifth installment was a rich family romance, focusing on Luo Wenhuan, the fifth miss of the Luo family.

The sixth installment was a BL novel with a pregnancy plotline, featuring Luo ShanTin, the sixth young master of the Luo family, who possessed extraordinary talents. After a passionate encounter with the domineering CEO protagonist, Li Zhijin, Luo ShanTin discovered he was pregnant and fled. However, due to Luo Wenhuan and Luo ShanTin being twin siblings, Li Zhijin mistakenly identified Luo Wenhuan as the person he had a brief liaison with. To take responsibility, Li Zhijin proposed a marriage alliance with the Luo family.

Luo Wenhuan only realized after their engagement that Li Zhijin had mistaken her for someone else, but Luo Shanting begged her not to expose the truth. Thus, Luo Wenhuan painfully maintained their engagement for a while, during which she developed feelings for her leading man—Li Zhijin's twin brother, Li Jifeng.

Eventually, Li Zhijin discovered his mistake, but faced with the recently graduated Luo Shanting, who had returned from abroad with a child, he went through a period of confusion over his sexuality, insisting, "I'm straight, I don't like men."

After a period of awkward interactions with Luo Shanting, Li Zhijin learned from the mouth of Luo Shanting's child that "there's a very nice uncle chasing after Daddy." Jealousy struck, and Li Zhijin, having finally understood his own feelings, pursued the already resigned Luo Shanting in a game of cat and mouse, until they finally ended up together.

In short, it was twisted and complicated.

And this series of domineering CEO novels wasn't done yet; starting from the sixth book, it branched out along the Luo family's relationships, telling stories centered around other characters from the Li family, and then extended to other families.

But those were a bit distant from Luo Qianjian, so he didn't bother thinking about them.

Luo Qianjian couldn't quite understand why the Luo family, where everyone was a protagonist, needed an extra character like him—just to serve as a tool, convenient for advancing the plot within the Luo family?

When the rest of the Luo family reached their happy endings, he, the tool, would naturally step back, dying young and exiting the story, which made perfect sense.

...

At the breakfast table, Luo Chen, as a father, expressed concern for each of his children as usual, while He Ruyan, as a mother, looked at each of them with gentle affection.

Two years ago, Luo Chen had stepped down from the forefront of the Luo Corporation and handed it over to his eldest son, Luo Hefeng. Luo Chen was quite satisfied with this eldest son, so he simply reminded him, "A'Feng, remember to balance work and rest. Don't always bury yourself in your work. You came home from the company late last night again. You still need to take good care of yourself."

Luo Hefeng nodded indifferently. "I know, Dad."

Then there was his second daughter, Luo Gongyou, who didn't work at the headquarters of the Luo Corporation but instead relied on the family's resources to start her own entertainment company, becoming her own boss.

Regarding this daughter, Luo Chen sighed. "You You, regarding that Bai Yusheng boy, if you like him, Mom and Dad won't stop you, but the butler mentioned that you called the doctor again in the middle of the night? You should still have some restraint."

Luo Gongyou smiled and nodded. "Okay, I understand."

Luo Chen then looked at Luo Qianjian, who was focused on eating his breakfast. This was his and He Ruyan's only biological child, unfortunately also the least like them, and he had been frail and often sick since childhood.

Luo Chen said, "Qianjian, how's school lately? Remember, health comes first. Don't overwork yourself."

Luo Qianjian raised his eyes. "It's going well, I know."

The fourth, fifth, and sixth children were all around the same age—the fourth was only a few months older than the fifth and sixth. They were all in their final year of high school, with only two months left before the college entrance exams.

Luo Chen routinely asked about their studies and reassured them not to be nervous about the exams.

With that, breakfast could end, and anyone who wanted to leave could get up from the table.

Eldest son Luo Hefeng stood up, ready to bid farewell to his family and head to work, when Butler Wang happened to walk over and said to Luo Qianjian, who was still engrossed in his meal, "Third Master, someone has arrived at the front gate claiming to be your classmate. They say they have an appointment with you today to discuss academic matters. Her name is Shen Dongyi."

Upon hearing Shen Dongyi's name, Luo Hefeng paused slightly before sitting back down without showing any change in expression.

Luo Qianjian raised an eyebrow.

Last night, he had replied to Shen Dongyi's WeChat message, telling her not to come. After waking up this morning, Luo Qianjian checked his phone and saw that he hadn't received any further replies from Shen Dongyi.

The outcome was still the same as in his previous life; Shen Dongyi had arrived early at the gates of the Luo family's residence.

Luo Qianjian, now a junior, had initially lived in the dormitories upon entering university, where Shen Dongyi was one of his roommates.

However, accustomed to having servants since childhood and with his own health issues, the dormitory environment proved unsuitable for long-term residence. Thus, not long after the start of his first year, he moved back to the Luo family home.

He didn't officially withdraw from the dormitory, which remained available for occasional rest during school hours when he felt too lazy to commute. The dormitory management was lax, with no curfew or bed checks, so an empty bed at night posed no problem.

Some courses required group projects, and as roommates, Luo Qianjian and Shen Dongyi naturally teamed up at the beginning. Due to their lack of conflicts and convenient communication, they continued to work together out of habit over the years, growing quite familiar with each other.

Last month, while Luo Qianjian was bedridden due to illness, there were some paper documents that needed his signature at school. Shen Dongyi collected them on his behalf. Luo Qianjian planned to have the driver make a trip to retrieve the documents for him.

Coincidentally, Luo Hefeng was out running errands that day and happened to be passing by the school. In an effort to show concern for his younger brother, Luo Qianjian, he offered to pick up the documents himself.

Thus, Luo Hefeng met Shen Dongyi.

Upon their first encounter, Luo Hefeng was startled to find that Shen Dongyi bore an uncanny resemblance to his first love who had abandoned him for money. Overcome with emotion, he invited Shen Dongyi to visit their home to check on Luo Qianjian's health and casually drop by as a guest.

Shen Dongyi had visited the Luo residence once before, so this time she knew her way around.

However...

Luo Qianjian glanced over at Luo Hefeng and then said to Butler Wang, "He's here? I told him there was no need for him to go out of his way, but he came anyway. Perfect timing, I've finished eating. Have the driver take us back to school."

Luo Qianjian wanted to see how things would play out. If he didn't invite Shen Dongyi inside, what would be Luo Hefeng's reaction, and how would Shen Dongyi respond later?

After all, in his previous life, he had already played the role of an oblivious villain who tried to split up the main couple. This time around, he genuinely wanted to be the antagonist obstructing the development of the main couple's relationship.

Butler Wang replied, "Alright, then..."

"Qianjian," Luo Hefeng spoke up simultaneously, his usual expression of aloofness bordering on coldness, "It's quite a distance from your school to here. Since your classmate went through the trouble of coming, it's only polite to invite him in for a sit. Moreover, you can discuss your coursework at home, saving you the trouble of traveling back and forth."

The other members of the Luo family hadn't paid much attention until they heard Luo Hefeng specifically speak up, surprised that he was getting involved in such trivial matters.

Luo Qianjian, however, stood up, "No, thank you. After his last visit, he mentioned feeling uncomfortable when he returned to school. I'll endure the travel then, and it will give me the chance to send him back to school."

Upon hearing this, Luo Hefeng hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately held his tongue. He simply got up, "Suit yourself. I should head to the company now, let's go to the garage together."