Chapter 13

Chapter 13

He asked, how to thank him.

He Wei hadn’t forgotten that she was currently the female lead of an angst novel. According to the clichés of melodramatic romance novels, she had no money, and wouldn’t give her life. Next, Yan Huai’s line would very likely be—

“Since you don’t know how to thank me, then use your body to repay me.”

He Wei had no doubt the author would write such a line.

According to the system, the novel “The Ex-Wife Above” wasn’t an old romance from ten years ago, but rather a product created recently, when sweet romances were popular, by an author trying to take revenge on society.

Since it was revenge on society, it certainly couldn’t just be talk.

Almost every female character in the book was hostile toward her. As for the male characters, most of the balding, beer-bellied ones wanted to keep her.

There were many supporting characters, and He Wei had died nine times at the hands of supporting characters.

The total duration of those nine times added together was less than three months, not even as long as the previous single run.

This kind of transmigration without knowing the plot was like playing Minesweeper. The difference was that Minesweeper at least had patterns to follow, but the plot of this novel was completely random.

You thought that kind old grandma who handed you an umbrella in the rain did so because she couldn’t bear to see a girl getting wet?

Actually, she wanted to fall to the ground when you took the umbrella—commonly known as staging a collision scam.

Such a novel that didn’t align with socialist values had traps everywhere.

Having died so many times, He Wei had basically grasped the routine. People she didn’t know well, she now couldn’t trust.

Especially the wolf in front of her wearing the skin of a gentleman.

He Wei’s gaze flickered. She wanted to grab something to ease her tension, but was afraid of drawing attention, so she only curled her lips into a smile and pretended not to understand, asking, “Then I’ll treat President Yan to a meal another day. Is that okay?”

After thinking it over, this seemed the only workable plan.

It wasn’t intimate, nor was it perfunctory.

Yan Huai didn’t look at her.

His gaze lowered slightly, noticing He Wei’s fingers unconsciously tighten, then quickly relax.

She was nervous.

When she was in front of him, she was always nervous.

He wasn’t going to eat her, was he?

The room in this clinic wasn’t big, only two narrow single beds and a chair.

Probably just over ten square meters.

There was the smell of alcohol on He Wei, and the fragrance of shampoo in her hair. Mixed together, it drifted over, seeming to scent the air inch by inch.

Yan Huai hadn’t drunk today, but he suddenly felt a bit unclear-headed.

He raised his eyes, stared at He Wei’s slightly pressed lips for two seconds, then looked away. “No need.”

The corner of He Wei’s mouth lifted slightly.

Yan Huai: “……”

She looked as if she had even let out a sigh of relief.

Yan Huai instead felt a breath stuck in his chest, not very smooth.

He tugged at the corner of his lips. “You just need to answer me one question.”

He Wei looked at him cautiously; this time she answered readily: “What question?”

Her eyes were bright, and set off by her snow-white skin, she looked even more delicate and pretty.

Yan Huai’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.

There were quite a few questions he wanted to ask.

For example, why He Wei was afraid of him.

And for another, whether He Wei had slept with Yan Chen.

And furthermore, if she had, then how many times.

But these questions only flashed through his mind; before they reached his lips, they were aborted.

He Wei was already afraid of him. If he asked such questions now, she would probably think he wasn’t a good person.

Although he indeed had nothing to do with the words “good person.”

Yan Huai wasn’t a patient man, but when dealing with He Wei, his patience was unexpectedly abundant.

After two seconds of silence, he supported himself with one hand on the bed beside He Wei, leaning his upper body forward and moving slightly closer. “Do you like Yan Chen?”

He Wei was stunned.

The man’s voice was low and soft; she almost thought she had misheard.

Such a pure question… did this dog of a man really ask it?

He Wei felt that either her brain was broken, or Yan Huai’s brain was broken.

She pressed her lips together, then swallowed hard, thought for a few seconds, and dragged out an “Mm,” giving an ambiguous answer.

But Yan Huai took it as an affirmative.

His eyes gradually cooled, the corners of his lips straightened, and he narrowed his eyes to look at her. “How much do you like him?”

He Wei lowered her head, the corner of her mouth moving.

The next second, just when Yan Huai thought she was about to answer, she softly said, “You said you’d only ask one question.”

“……”

Very good, extremely good.

Yan Huai felt he might have some masochistic tendencies. When He Wei said that, the breath that had been stuck in his chest for a long while suddenly flowed out.

Only, that bit of air came out, and a certain other fire rose up again.

Yan Huai didn’t look at He Wei again and directly got up to leave.

When he reached the door, the clinic aunt happened to push the door open and come in. She carried a bag in her hand, inside were a box of anti-inflammatory ointment and a box of painkillers.

“Little He, remember to apply the medicine on time these few days. Don’t walk around too much. If it really hurts, just take one painkiller,” she handed the medicine over. “Your body really is too weak. Just this month alone, how many times have you been sick?”

Yan Huai’s footsteps paused.

He didn’t turn around, only tilted his head to glance at her.

The coat on He Wei’s body had been taken off and set aside. Her shirt was chiffon, with a good drape, the hem tucked into her pants, making her waist look even more slender.

As if it would break with a single fold.

Strangely, her clothing was proper, even conservative, yet Yan Huai still couldn’t quite bear it.

But even if he couldn’t bear it, he had to.

Yan Huai took a cigarette from the pack in his pocket, then turned around. As he walked out of the clinic door, he lowered his head slightly and lit it.

Cheng Yan was leaning against the rear car door, looking up at the night sky to get some air. Hearing the movement, he turned his head back. “She’s alright?”

“Mm.”

Cheng Yan pulled open the car door. “What are you planning to do?”

Yan Huai took a drag of the cigarette. When the white smoke came out of his mouth, he said, “We’ll talk later.”

That night, He Wei had another nightmare.

She couldn’t remember the content of the dream clearly, only that she woke up covered in sweat.

He Wei went to the bathroom and took a hot shower, and only came out after her whole body felt dry and comfortable.

Cheng Yan’s drama started filming at nine this morning.

He Wei got up early. After getting dressed, she sat in front of the dressing mirror. Looking at the beauty in the mirror, with a face like peach blossoms, she silently sighed.

Yan Huai had been abnormal yesterday.

His gaze was too deep, his tone too gentle—he had clearly developed feelings for her.

He Wei had no idea where the problem lay.

She raised her hand and rubbed her face, and simply didn’t bother putting on makeup. She just applied toner and lotion before going out.

Because of her sprained foot, it wouldn’t heal in a day or two. Not only did He Wei wear flat shoes today, she even spent a large sum to take a taxi to the set.

When she arrived, it was a little past eight-thirty.

Perhaps because it was the first day, the set was especially lively. Everyone looked energetic, and the lighting technicians had already set up the lights early.

After a few minutes, Cheng Nuo sent her a message: 【Weiwei, I have a surprise for you!】 The staff ahead were calling actors with the first scene to go for styling. As He Wei walked over, she replied: 【What surprise?】 Just after asking, the makeup room door opened, and Cheng Nuo’s voice came through: “I’m in charge of styling the third and fourth female leads. Surprised? Unexpected?”

He Wei almost dropped her phone from the fright.

Cheng Nuo had already linked arms with her and led her inside. “I looked at the concept designs the designer made a few days ago. Among the female leads, yours looks the best.”

“When it airs, our Weiwei will definitely outshine everyone.”

He Wei smiled. “Starting with just a mouth?”

Cheng Nuo froze for a moment, then after reacting, laughed and scolded her, “Get lost, I’m serious.”

This time, He Wei didn’t refute.

She hadn’t been doing nothing at home these past few days.

She had read through the script of “The Imperial Princess Ascends Naturally” several times, and had basically memorized the lines for the first few scenes thoroughly.

As for the fourth female lead Mu Pinging’s character setting, He Wei naturally knew it much better than Cheng Nuo.

Mu Pinging and the female protagonist were in the same batch of girls entering the palace selection. Compared to the daughters of chancellors and generals, these two girls of relatively ordinary backgrounds naturally found it easier to grow close.

Because the fourth female lead was more beautiful, she alone initially gained the favor of the dog emperor. However, since Mu Pinging only had a pretty face and little substance, after some time the emperor grew tired of her, and turned to favor the female protagonist instead, who could fluently recite the Four Books and Five Classics, was reasonable, considerate, and understanding.

As a result, the fragile sisterhood between Mu Pinging, who deeply loved the dog emperor, and the female protagonist completely collapsed. After turning dark, she repeatedly plotted against the female protagonist.

In other words, the Mu Pinging that He Wei had to play was the most vicious and also the most beautiful supporting female character in the entire drama.

She wasn’t a white lotus; she was clearly a venomous femme fatale.

During the makeup process, He Wei flipped through the script for the first scene again.

The script didn’t start with the palace selection, but began with Mu Pinging, for her involvement in the female protagonist falling into the water, being punished to kneel outside the Liufang Pavilion on a night of pouring rain, listening to the increasingly passionate sounds of the two people inside.

This scene happened to be the climax of Mu Pinging’s complete descent into darkness.

He Wei lowered her eyes and read through the lines and plot word for word, her hand holding the script tightening slightly.

Cheng Nuo was inserting golden hairpins and dangling ornaments into her hair. Seeing He Wei frown and bite her lip, she smiled. “Nervous?”

He Wei was just about to nod when Cheng Nuo hurriedly steadied her head. “Don’t nod… don’t you think your head is heavy?”

“……”

Only then did He Wei raise her eyes.

The woman in the mirror had delicate makeup, upturned eyeliner, and vivid lip color—clearly not some kind-hearted consort.

“Nuo Nuo, your makeup skills have improved.”

As soon as she finished speaking, with a “beep,” the system’s voice sounded: “Host, there is a torment point in this scene.”

He Wei’s expression tightened, alarm bells instantly ringing.

“The female protagonist will deliberately fail takes during the intimate scene with the emperor, just to make you get drenched in the rain a bit longer.”

“If the female protagonist fails more than three takes, you will be considered successfully tormented.”

He Wei: “……”

She felt this novel could officially be renamed “The Ex-Wife Above: The Author Isn’t Human.”

System: “Good luck, host.”

He Wei: “Luck my ass.”

System: “There will be a benefactor helping you today!”

He Wei: “…???”