Chapter 113

Chapter 113

Wen Jueqian was at work when Qin Jingqiu's call came in. He hesitated for a moment before picking up.

Qin Jingqiu's voice was frantic: "Jueqian, your sister-in-law is going to get an abortion. Contact the doctors at Ruiping Kanghe immediately and make sure they stop her—don't let her do anything stupid."

Before hanging up, Qin Jingqiu added, "Jueqian, if your sister-in-law has ever offended you in any way, your mother apologizes on her behalf. For my sake, don't hold it against her, alright?"

Wen Jueqian: "I understand. I'll contact the hospital first and let you know once I have news."

He immediately dialed Dr. Zhang at Ruiping Kanghe, briefly explained the situation, and asked him to stabilize her emotions if he saw her, while also notifying Wen Jueqian.

99 had been watching a drama but now leaned in, thoroughly confused: "She wants an abortion—how are we supposed to stop her? And why is she telling you not to hold it against her? It's not like you're the one making her get an abortion..." Its voice trailed off slightly toward the end.

Wen Jueqian was equally puzzled.

Wen Juelang called again.

His voice was tired and annoyed: "Jueqian, did Mom call you?"

"Yes. She said your wife is going to get an abortion and asked me to contact the hospital to stop her."

"Don't get involved. Whatever Li Yi wants to do, stay out of it. Her business has nothing to do with you."

Qin Jingqiu's muffled voice came through the line: "How can you not get involved? She's carrying your child!"

He muted the call, and after a moment, the background noise faded. "Jueqian, this is between Li Yi and me. It has nothing to do with Mom and Dad, and even less to do with you. Don't meddle in this."

With that, Wen Juelang hung up directly.

Wen Jueqian stared at the screen, frowning slightly.

Wen Juelang and Li Yi were a high-compatibility alpha-omega couple. Their marriage had always seemed solid, at least on the surface—no visible cracks.

Now Wen Juelang was treating Li Yi almost ruthlessly.

Was it because of that dream? But Wen Jueqian hadn't asked 99 to include Li Yi in any dream plot.

Zhou Jing knocked and walked in, looking a little off: "Mr. Wen, there's a woman in the lobby downstairs claiming to be family, asking to see you. She's a pregnant Omega, and the security robots can't get close enough to force her out."

Wen Jueqian: "What kind of woman?"

Zhou Jing pulled up the surveillance feed.

In the footage, Li Yi stood in the middle of the lobby, one hand on her belly, pale-faced and red-eyed. She had a pitiful, vulnerable look about her, surrounded by security robots, drawing stares from everyone around.

Wen Jueqian sighed: "Bring her up."

While waiting, he texted Wen Juelang to let him know Li Yi had shown up at Lingjing Era.

Wen Juelang replied quickly: "Just kick her out. Don't bother with her."

Zhou Jing showed Li Yi into the meeting room, then stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Wen Jueqian gestured to the sofa across from him. "Sister-in-law, have a seat. What do you need?"

Li Yi didn't sit. She stood in front of Wen Jueqian, hands clasped, head down, looking deeply conflicted. After a long moment, she seemed to finally make up her mind. "Brother-in-law, Xiyuan Group is in serious trouble. I'm at the end of my rope, so I've come to beg for your help."

Wen Jueqian didn't respond, waiting for her to continue.

"I know I've been a jerk to you in the past. That was wrong of me. But Xiyuan is my parents' whole life's work. For the sake of family—" She lowered her head, one hand gently touching her belly. "—for your nephew's sake, can you help me?"

Wen Jueqian said calmly, "Sister-in-law, Xiyuan makes daily chemical products. Lingjing Era is a holographic gaming company. The two industries have nothing in common. Even if I wanted to help, I couldn't."

Li Yi shook her head, her voice urgent. "You don't need to do anything. Just ask Young Master Wen to go easy on us."

Wen Jueqian's gaze sharpened. "What does this have to do with Wen Yanxu?"

"Xiyuan's recent troubles—they all trace back to Young Master Wen." Li Yi's voice grew quieter as she spoke.

Wen Jueqian, though unaware of the details, instinctively came to Wen Yanxu's defense. "If Wen family businesses are competing with Xiyuan in the market, that's just normal business."

Li Yi's voice rose. "Would normal business competition drive Xiyuan to the brink of collapse?" Then, as if realizing she'd lost her composure, she lowered her voice again and put on a pleading look. "If I said something that upset you at the hospital that day, I'm sorry. Brother-in-law, please spare Xiyuan."

As she spoke, she suddenly started to sink, knees bending—she was about to kneel in front of Wen Jueqian.

Wen Jueqian quickly stood up from the sofa, reaching out to catch her.

Just as he was about to touch Li Yi, 99 spoke directly in his mind: "Something's wrong! Her optical device has the camera on—she's live-streaming!"

Wen Jueqian adjusted his move. His outstretched hand, meant to support her, smoothly grabbed her arm instead, covering her optical device to block the camera, while lifting her up so she never actually knelt.

"Sister-in-law, what exactly are you up to?"

Li Yi stood there, half-supported by him, tears still wet on her face, her voice choked with sobs. "I just want you to spare Xiyuan. It's my father's life's work. It can't be destroyed over a few words."

"Axu and I have no motive or reason to go after Xiyuan. There must be some misunderstanding." Wen Jueqian's hand remained pressed over her optical device.

In his mind, he told 99 to check if she was recording or livestreaming.

99: "Give me a minute."

Li Yi trembled slightly. "Brother-in-law, is it because I mentioned the pregnancy that day and it got you overthinking? If it bothers you, I'll get rid of the child as an apology to you. Can you and Young Master Wen just back off?"

99: "She's livestreaming. I cut her signal. She came fully prepared!"

Wen Jueqian let go.

Li Yi, losing her support, stumbled back two steps and fell onto the sofa.

He stood there, looking at Li Yi, his voice ice-cold. "Tell me. What exactly are you planning to do?"

The woman on the sofa, who had been crying, slowly raised her head and smiled smugly—a completely different person from the pitiful figure moments ago.

"If you won't spare Xiyuan, I'll expose how you forced me to get an abortion." Her voice shook with excitement. "Let everyone see—Wen Yanxu's fiancé, a beta who can't have kids, is so jealous of his pregnant sister-in-law that he pressures her to abort. What do you think the public will say about you?"

Wen Jueqian looked at her twisted face, but at that moment, he thought of someone else.

When it came to manipulating public opinion, Li Yi's methods were far too crude compared to Qiao Yuexun's.

Setting aside the fact that 99 could block any form of dissemination, even without the system—

Even if Li Yi somehow managed to livestream "Wen Yanxu's beta fiancé, out of jealousy, forces his sister-in-law to get an abortion" and it spread unchecked across the internet, his PR team and legal department could easily clear things up, gather evidence, and file a counter-suit within twenty-four hours.

Not only could they clear Wen Jueqian completely, they could also turn around and send Li Yi to prison.

Because Li Yi's methods were so foolish, Wen Jueqian even looked at her with a hint of sympathy.

"Using abortion to threaten me—who would even care besides my mom? Even Wen Juelang wouldn't care, and the public definitely wouldn't. They'd just grab the popcorn for some rich-family drama."

"Do you really think the public will sympathize with you just because you put on a pitiful act?"

"You!" Li Yi, flustered and furious, tried to get physical with Wen Jueqian again, planning to use it later to frame him.

But as an omega and a pregnant woman, she was nowhere near as quick as Wen Jueqian, and just ended up winded.

With the act already dropped, she showed her true colors.

"You're just a Beta—what right do you have to marry into the Wen family? My compatibility with Young Master Wen is 80%, and I was on Mrs. Wen's shortlist back then too. If it weren't for you—"

Wen Jueqian finally figured out where all that random hostility was coming from.

He found it ridiculous.

"Even without me, you'd have had no shot. Qiao Yuexun's compatibility with Wen Yanxu is 90%, and he's an S-grade Omega. By your own standards, he's a better match than you. Are you gonna go make a scene with him too?"

Li Yi shook her head, glaring at Wen Jueqian like she wanted to eat him alive, her voice getting shriller: "No—you stole my chance!"

Wen Jueqian had no desire to keep arguing with her. Deadpan and cold, he said, "Given the scale and size of the Xiyuan Group, Wen Yanxu wouldn't bother targeting it personally. You're overestimating Xiyuan."

At that moment, Wen Juelang hurried over. Dark circles hung heavy under his eyes, stubble shadowed his jaw, and he looked completely wrecked.

Standing at the door, his gaze landed on Wen Jueqian first—complicated and heavy. His lips moved like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words.

Then he turned to the disheveled woman on the sofa. Wen Juelang didn't scold Wen Jueqian. His voice was hoarse: "What the hell are you doing?"

Li Yi looked up, saw Wen Juelang, and her twisted expression froze. Her lips quivered a few times, but nothing came out, and she lowered her head again.

Wen Juelang's voice was rough. "She insists that you and Wen Yanxu are targeting Xiyuan." He scraped together an excuse. "Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones—Li Yi's not in her right mind. I'll take her home."

Wen Jueqian nodded. If Li Yi stayed at Lingjing Era, she'd likely stir up more trouble, and whatever happened next could easily be blamed on him.

Wen Juelang taking her away was for the best.

"Sorry, Jueqian, for all the trouble."

Wen Juelang walked to the sofa and reached out to pull Li Yi up. When she shook him off, he grabbed her harder and half-dragged, half-guided her to her feet.

As he passed Wen Jueqian, Wen Juelang paused briefly and said in a low voice: "From now on, I'll try not to drag you into my and the Wen family's business. I'll handle things on my own."

The words came out of nowhere. Wen Jueqian was taken aback, realization dawning on him, and guilt flickered across his face. He wanted to stop Wen Juelang, but the man had already led Li Yi out of the reception room, their footsteps fading away.

Once the room fell quiet, Wen Jueqian stared at the sunlight outside the window and asked, "Was I too harsh?"

99 was about to say something when Qi Yi pushed the door open and walked in.

"I heard someone came to the company to stir up trouble? You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Wen Jueqian quickly filled him in on what had happened.

After listening, Qi Yi's expression shifted from amusement to a sneer. "So first she fakes a miscarriage to pressure you through your mom, then she comes to the company to put on a livestream show? And then your brother shows up playing the good guy to take her away?"

He didn't wait for Wen Jueqian to answer, letting out a scoff: "Are they all crazy? You don't owe them anything."

Wen Jueqian lowered his eyes. "I really don't owe them."

Even as he said it, the words felt hollow to him. Only Wen Jueqian knew how many sleepless nights it had taken to finally accept that truth.

Human greed knows no bounds. As long as Wenyuan Medical could keep getting help from Wen Yanxu, they would keep taking.

Even though those resources meant nothing to Wen Yanxu, Wen Jueqian refused to let his relationship with him become an ATM for the Wen family.

After the last visit to Ruiping Kanghe, Wen Jueqian had realized that maybe from the moment Wen Qishan urged him to let Xu Zeqiao go and not call the police, he was no longer just a son—he was a bargaining chip waiting to be priced.

The longer he stayed with Wen Yanxu, the more benefits he could bring the Wen family, and the more valuable he got.

The more valuable the chip, the more it would be used and reused.

Wen Jueqian was completely disappointed. He didn't want to be used anymore.

He had 99 expend energy to craft an incredibly vivid dream custom-made for Wen Juelang.

In the dream, after Wenyuan Medical received investment from Ruijia, blinded by greed, they overlooked loopholes in the contract and traps set by others. They recklessly expanded production and poured money into R&D, leaving themselves almost no defense when Ruijia closed in.

At the same time, the Wen family faced a crisis of their own. Wen Yanxu and Wen Jueqian were too busy to help them at all.

In the end, Wenyuan Medical went bankrupt. Wen Juelang took on all the responsibility and debt, and while fleeing from the authorities, he fell into the sea and died.

The dream worked better than expected.

Wen Juelang was tormented into a state of haggard anxiety. Having always had his parents to back him, he was used to relying on connections and family influence. In the dream, no one was there for him, and only when truly cornered did he realize that no one could be counted on but himself.

Wen Jueqian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the shuttles zip through the sky.

Humanity had developed so many modes of transportation, capable of reaching anywhere—yet people still trapped themselves in cages of their own making.

Wen Jueqian had received so little love from his parents that he always thought if he were good enough, valuable enough, their eyes might linger on him just a moment longer.

Now he knew he was wrong.

People need to suffer to truly grow up.

Although 99 could delete the video, Wen Jueqian still needed to contact Zou Xingzhu to help get ahead of public opinion. As for Xiyuan, logically, Wen Yanxu wouldn't bother targeting it. But if Wen Yanxu had noticed something off and stepped in for him, that was entirely possible.

Still, Wen Jueqian didn't ask Wen Yanxu about it. Whether or not it was him, his intentions were always for Wen Jueqian's sake. Wen Jueqian couldn't blame him, so he chose not to bring it up.

What Wen Jueqian hadn't expected was that Wen Juelang would request a meeting through official business channels—and bring a proposal with him.

==========Author's Note:==========

Reborn: Not Leeching Off Little Brother