Chapter 42: The White Moonlight’s Substitute (8)

On the hospital lawn, patients sat in scattered groups, basking in the sunlight.

After sitting for a while, Yao Rong asked Yao Shiyun to check the time, as she needed to take her afternoon medication on schedule.

Yao Shiyun took out her phone, which had been in her pocket all along. As she unlocked the screen to check the time, she realized something—she had forgotten to turn off the recording function.

This meant her phone had been recording everything since Yun Letao’s mother and Grandmother Yun had first appeared.

Hurriedly, Yao Shiyun tapped pause and saved the recording.

“It’s almost three in the afternoon.”

Yao Rong said, “Then let’s head back.”

“Okay.” Yao Shiyun nodded in agreement.

Back in the hospital room, Yao Rong took her medication and lay down for an afternoon nap.

Yao Shiyun lay on the caretaker’s bed, put on her Bluetooth earbuds, and began playing the recording.

The first voice she heard was her own.

As she listened, she silently critiqued herself—

That part was spoken too softly; she should have been more assertive.

And here, she needed to slow down her speech.

The best line was undoubtedly when she said: “Now you’re the ones begging me to forgive her, so you should follow my conditions.”

After listening to her own part, she moved on to the conversation between Yao Rong and Grandmother Yun.

Yao Shiyun carefully studied Yao Rong’s tone—it wasn’t rushed or aggressive, yet it carried a quiet, overwhelming pressure.

If she could master that tone, then the next time she faced Grandmother Yun, she wouldn’t be left speechless in fear.

After all, the Grandmother Yun who had once terrified her into silence had been completely subdued by her mother’s presence.

“What are you up to?”

Just then, Yao Shiyun heard Yao Rong’s voice—she had woken from her nap.

“I’m studying.” Yao Shiyun sat up from the caretaker’s bed, smiling as she waved her phone screen at Yao Rong to show the playing recording.

“Studying?” Yao Rong looked puzzled.

Feeling embarrassed, Yao Shiyun coughed lightly. “Well… I’m studying how you put Grandmother Yun in her place. You were so impressive! If I can learn to talk like that, I won’t be afraid of her anymore.”

Yao Rong chuckled in surprise.

Still, it was a good sign that Yao Shiyun was taking the initiative to learn how to stand up for herself.

“Then study well. I’m getting up to do some work.”

After a quick freshening up, Yao Rong turned on her laptop and discreetly accessed the backend of the Yao Group’s management system.

Though the company’s firewall was world-class, it could only hold her off for three minutes.

Once inside, she began reviewing all major decisions the Yao Group had made in recent years, while examining the manufacturing processes and design philosophies of their automotive brands, as well as specific parameters of core components like engines and transmissions.

Scanning through the data at lightning speed, Yao Rong tapped her fingers against the desk thoughtfully.

The performance of Yao Group’s automobiles was hardly exceptional.

The quarterly reports confirmed her suspicion—sales had been steadily declining year after year.

While the overall numbers remained respectable, the downward trend clearly indicated their vehicles were losing market competitiveness.

The future of automobiles clearly lay in autonomous driving^[1]self-driving and electric vehicles.

While achieving breakthroughs in autonomous driving technology in the short term seemed unrealistic, making rapid advancements in electric vehicle technology was within reach.

With that in mind, Yao Rong opened two new documents.

In one, she typed the title: “Electric Vehicle Engine Parameter Adjustments.”

In the other: “Yao Group Structural Reform Proposal.”

Of course, completing these documents would require extensive research and a detailed market analysis.

But once she finished them, she would have the leverage she needed to persuade the board of directors.

*

Meanwhile, at Yun Letao’s home.

After leaving the hospital, Yun Letao’s mother and Grandmother Yun went straight home.

Upon hearing the news, Yun Letao’s father rushed back from work and sat on the sofa, waiting for an update.

When he saw them return, he immediately asked about the situation.

With a grim expression, Yun Letao’s mother handed him the compensation list. “Take a look at this.”

He flipped straight to the last page.

When he saw the total amount, he was stunned. “This is outrageous! Are they trying to rob us?”

Yun Letao’s mother glanced at Grandmother Yun. After coaxing her to take a nap, she pulled her husband into the study and recounted everything that had happened.

As a fellow daughter-in-law, she had long found Grandmother Yun’s behavior intolerable.

“I can tell Yao Rong won’t back down. She won’t compromise, no matter what. And seriously, that old woman just says whatever she wants!”

“Enough of that,” Yun Letao’s father rebuked her, though he privately agreed with her assessment.

A daughter-in-law from such a powerful family—would treating her well and being considerate really hurt?

Not only would it not hurt, but even the smallest favor from the daughter-in-law would be enough for Grandmother Yun to live comfortably for life!

Now look what had happened—they’d pushed too far, and Yun Letao would bear the consequences.

“What do we do now?” Yun Letao’s mother asked anxiously. “To pay this amount, we’d have to sell the house.”

But the house was meant for their son’s future marriage.

If they sold it because of Yun Letao’s mess, their son would surely resent them.

“We’ll make Yun Jun pay!” Yun Letao’s father gritted his teeth. “I’ll call him right now and tell him to come over immediately!”

When Yun Jun received the call, he hurried over.

As soon as he arrived, Yun Letao’s parents began pleading poverty and playing the victim, subtly and openly shifting most of the blame onto Grandmother Yun.

Grandmother Yun, who had held her own against Yao Rong earlier, nearly lost it dealing with Yun Letao’s parents’ accusations.

Finally, Yun Jun couldn’t take it anymore. With obvious annoyance, he agreed to handle the compensation.

“What?! You’re actually paying that brat?” Grandmother Yun’s eyes widened in fury.

Most of Yun Jun’s money was under her control. In her mind, that money belonged to the Yun family. Even though Yao Shiyun was Yun Jun’s biological daughter, she carried the Yao surname.

Paying her so much money? That was like enriching an outsider.

It made her heart ache.

“Pay it,” Yun Jun said decisively.

Right now, he was in the middle of his power grab.

His influence in the Yao Group wasn’t strong enough yet. Many long-time executives still relied on their seniority and didn’t respect him.

His only leverage over these old-timers was his connection to Yao Rong.

If he angered her now and pushed her into a confrontation ending in divorce, all his carefully laid plans would crumble.

He hadn’t accompanied Grandmother Yun and Yun Letao’s mother to the hospital earlier precisely because he couldn’t afford to openly oppose Yao Rong.

“Mom, once this matter is settled, why don’t you and Second Sister-in-law take a trip abroad? The scenery is beautiful overseas. You’ve worked so hard for us all these years—it’s time for you to relax.”

To prevent Grandmother Yun from further provoking Yao Rong and Yao Shiyun, Yun Jun decided to send her abroad for a while. Once his plans were complete, he could bring her back.

Soon after, Yao Shiyun received a call from Lawyer Tao.

Learning that the Yun family had agreed to pay according to the compensation list, Yao Shiyun smiled and told him, “Then I’ll leave the rest in your hands, Uncle Tao.”

Lawyer Tao agreed and reminded her: “The Yun family will transfer the money in a few days. Remember to check your account.”

“Okay!” Yao Shiyun was particularly excited.

However, her good mood didn’t last long.

—She received a message from Yun Jun.

Dad: 「Consider that compensation money as your living expenses from me. Take good care of your mom during this time. She probably doesn’t want to see me, so I won’t come to the hospital to visit.」

Yao Shiyun: Bah, this compensation was rightfully hers!

And that excuse about not visiting the hospital was so hypocritical!

Looking at the contact name “Dad” in her phone, Yao Shiyun found it increasingly irritating and quickly changed it.

Not bothering to reply to Yun Jun, she angrily tossed her phone back beside her pillow.

Yao Rong was reading a book and noticed Yao Shiyun’s actions from the corner of her eye. “Weren’t you just in a good mood?” she asked softly.

“No, Yun Jun sent me a message,” Yao Shiyun said.

Yao Rong closed her book and asked curiously, “What did he say? Let me see.”

After reading the message twice, Yao Rong detected an attitude of “letting things slide.”

Calculating the timing, Yun Jun should be in the middle of his power grab.

Once he succeeded, the Yao Group would quickly become the Yun Group.

So at this crucial moment of seizing power, he didn’t want any more conflicts with her.

This was fine.

She had just arrived in this world anyway..

While Yun Jun needed time to seize power, she also needed time to recover her health, raise her child, and develop her strength.

When she and Yun Jun confronted each other again, it would be at the Yao Group’s board meeting.

Yao Rong returned the phone to Yao Shiyun. “Anyway, we don’t need to pay attention to the Yun family for now. They probably won’t show up to bother us for a while.”

“Mm!” Though she didn’t know how Yao Rong had reached this conclusion, Yao Shiyun trusted her mother’s judgment completely.

In the afternoon, Dr. Tao came by for his rounds.

After examining Yao Rong’s condition, he smiled and announced, “You can be discharged tomorrow. Just make sure to rest well at home and remember to come back for regular checkups.”

Hearing this good news, Yao Rong thanked him.

After Dr. Tao left, Yao Rong and Yao Shiyun began packing their things.

The next morning, when Yao Shiyun returned from handling the discharge paperwork at the front desk, she found Tao Zijin chatting with Yao Rong.

“Wait for me in the room for a bit,” Tao Zijin said as she entered. “My shift’s almost over—I’ll drive you home.”

Yao Shiyun nodded. “Okay.”

When he returned shortly after, he had removed his white coat, revealing a simple white shirt underneath, and held car keys in his hand.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking the luggage from Yao Rong’s hand.

On the drive back to the villa, Yao Shiyun was in high spirits and even put on some rock music.

“It’s just going home, why so excited?” Tao Zijin asked with a smile, glancing at Yao Shiyun through the rearview mirror.

Yao Shiyun explained earnestly: “Before, going home meant seeing faces I didn’t like, but now those people have been thrown out. How can I not be in a good mood?”

Tao Zijin thought for a moment and nodded. “Indeed, that’s worth celebrating.”