Meng Shuyan had always suspected that the man was his biological father, but years of resentment toward his father led him to deliberately avoid finding out the truth about his lineage. It wasn't until the heartfelt confession of the antagonist Big Boss before his death that Meng Shuyan found himself consumed by conflicting emotions.
Afterward, Meng Shuyan was informed by Li Yibai that the antagonist Big Boss was indeed his biological father. He was devastated, his world crumbled. At that time, the male and female leads kept comforting him, saying it wasn't his fault, that it was all a result of the antagonist Big Boss's own misdeeds. But even so, Meng Shuyan could not find solace. Especially when the people around him learned that he was the son of the antagonist and began giving him strange looks, which made him more taciturn than before. Later, as Li Yibai and the female lead's son grew older, Meng Shuyan watched their family of three, and an invisible sense of isolation crept over him. He had an unhappy childhood; he had a father, but fate separated him from his biological father for so long. Just as they had the opportunity to reunite, his father passed away. His father's form of love etched a dramatic and indelible mark on Meng Shuyan's heart through his death. Meng Shuyan began numbing himself with alcohol, and in the eyes of others, he became a wastrel, a failure. A once promising talent was buried, reduced to being a foil to Li Yibai and his son, living a life of seeming insignificance and sacrifice.
On a dark and windy night, Meng Shuyan accidentally fell into the water and drowned to death. The official explanation was that he drank too much and drowned. However, as a soldier, could he not know how to swim? Even drunk, he should have been able to escape, right? There was definitely something fishy about it. Yet, the matter was left unresolved, with no one caring about a drunken man with no relatives or connections, despite his remarkable potential in the past.
Tian Sangsang had only skimmed the beginning and end of this book without paying much attention to the middle, as the story didn't align well with her worldview. She couldn't help but feel a fleeting moment of pity for the antagonist. Perhaps it was in that fleeting moment of pity that she transmigrated?
Since ancient times, antagonists seem unable to escape the ridicule of fate. Many villains are no less capable than protagonists; they simply lose to destiny. She couldn't quite understand why, to make the protagonist stand out, authors always assign the antagonist or supporting character an unfair and tragic destiny. Can't they just have a fair one-on-one duel? It was downright infuriating. Like in a certain film, the antagonist was adopted by a foster father, who instilled in him the idea that a certain woman was his sworn enemy and must be killed. The antagonist eventually killed the woman, only to discover afterward that she was his biological mother. The foster father, driven by selfish revenge, used him for years and later regretted it, saying he had deceived him and urged him to turn back from his dangerous path. Was this not absurdly laughable? You harm someone's life with one sentence for decades, and then absolve yourself with "turn back from the dangerous path," but what does the person you've deeply wronged use to turn back? He had already killed his own mother with his own hands!
And now, as fate would have it, it seemed she had transmigrated into this book as Tian Sangsang—the mother who died young!
She remembered that the beginning of the book described how Meng Shuyan's mother had been killed when he was three and a half years old, likely at this very moment. But now that she had transmigrated here, would the original plot still hold? Thinking of the adorable little boy before her and the harsh fate awaiting him in the future broke her heart. Since she had become his mother, she must take responsibility for him!
The gears of fate began to turn anew, and with the arrival of this little butterfly, perhaps the original story could be changed! In short, she couldn't allow her son to repeat past mistakes, nor could she let Li Yibai manipulate her son!
To call it "manipulation" might be too harsh, but it wasn't entirely off the mark either.
Tian Sangsang thought about how the author of *Rebirth of Business Genius* had worked hard to portray a compassionate, kind-hearted, and upright male lead, but due to a lack of literary skill, the male lead often came across as a hypocrite.
For instance, the novel described how, in his previous life, the male lead was an illegitimate child who amounted to nothing and ended up destitute on the streets. Seeing how prosperous Meng Shuyan's family was, he felt envy and sorrow before being hit by a car. He then reincarnated and resolved to defy the odds and change his fate. First, he listed Meng Shuyan, a future success story, among his subordinates, and then leveraged his talent for photographic memory to gradually build his empire.
Given that he had reincarnated, he must have known all along who Meng Shuyan's biological father was; yet he only revealed it to Meng Shuyan at the last moment. Isn't that a bit pretentious? Thinking further, the implications were even more disturbing!
He took the antagonist Big Boss's childhood sweetheart—was there perhaps an underlying motive of revenge? After all, he was the illegitimate son of the antagonist Big Boss's father, and he had always envied his biological brother.
Currently, it's 1980. To make the story easier to write, the cultural and economic context of the novel features intentional deviations, allowing the protagonist to exploit loopholes. For example, the cultural backdrop is fabricated, and famous names in the business world are altered. To showcase the protagonist's talents, the author even had him produce books like *Harry Potter* and *Game of Thrones*, works that became immensely popular in later generations. He even produced sci-fi blockbusters and apocalyptic films that garnered widespread acclaim.
People of the 1980s and 1990s were bewildered. While the nation was still struggling with development and basic food needs, the male lead was discussing apocalyptic crises and global pandemics, concepts far too advanced for the times. Naturally, his works found success overseas.
Meng Shuyan's home was located in a remote mountain village called Tian Family Village, under Sangren County in Nanyang City, East Sea Province. The surrounding area was predominantly mountainous, encircling several villages—Tian Family Village, Li Family Village, Meng Family Village, Chen Family Village, and Zhong Family Village—all connected. Together, these villages had only one primary and middle school. The middle and high schools were separate, and attending high school required going to Xiakou Town. Traveling from the villages to the town by ox cart took over an hour, which underscored the area's backwardness. Every household here had its own land, with people living a self-sufficient lifestyle, working from sunrise to sunset. Life was tight, though some enterprising individuals would take unique items from their homes to sell in town for a little extra income.
Tian Sangsang resisted the urge to eat another bowl, scooped a bowl for the little boy, and placed it on the table. Just then, she heard footsteps in the courtyard.
She was about to go out, but as she reached the doorway, she happened to run into Aunt Zhong.
Based on the original owner's memory, Aunt Zhong and Tian Sangsang's grandmother were good friends. The two families were neighbors and had a strong bond.
Aunt Zhong knew Tian Sangsang was bad at managing things, but seeing Meng Shuyan, such a small child, left in the care of this kind of mother, she felt sorry for him and came by to check on them. "Sangsang, it's already noon. Have you and Yanyan eaten yet? Also, your injury hasn't fully healed yet. I left the medicine I brought for you on the table. Make sure to take it on time."
Noticing Aunt Zhong's uneasy expression, Tian Sangsang tactfully refrained from saying anything. The fact that Aunt Zhong could show such concern was already much better than the scornful behavior of the others outside, who all wore their disdain openly. She had long known that the original owner's life in the village was as bad as that of a rat crossing the street, with everyone wanting to strike her down.