After Becoming The Malicious Female Supporting Character, I Was Pursued By The Third Female Lead - Chapter 3

“Recovered from your cold?” Lin Sheng asked in a gentle tone.

“I recovered a long time ago. It’s just that Mom was worried, so she asked the teacher for two extra days of leave.”

As Wen Ning spoke, she curiously looked at the little girl standing beside Lin Sheng. What a beautiful Omega, she looked so much like Auntie Lin. Was this Auntie Lin’s daughter? She knew Auntie Lin had a daughter, they even had a group photo together when they were young, with Auntie Lin’s daughter being held in the arms of another auntie.

At that moment, Wen Man also got out of the car and walked over. She was a careless, sunny, and cheerful Alpha whose pheromone scent was white peach soda.

Seeing the young child whose temperament closely resembled Yu Keqing’s, Wen Man slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and gasped in surprise, “Is this Xiaobao?!”

Back then, Yu Keqing had left behind a signed divorce agreement and taken the three-year-old Xiaobao away from the Lin family. Wen Man had been heartbroken for a long time and had never stopped searching for Yu Keqing, but she had never been able to find her. Because of this, she had argued fiercely with Lin Sheng several times, she had entrusted her best friend to Lin Sheng, yet now Lin Sheng had lost her friend.

Xiaobao was startled, so Lin Sheng shielded her by her side, nodded to the loud and dramatic Wen Man, and said, “Xiaobao, this is Auntie Wen.”

“Hello, Auntie Wen,” Xiaobao greeted politely despite her reservations.

Lin Sheng looked at Wen Man. She had known Wen Man for a very long time, and having been drawn to that sunny disposition, she had fallen hopelessly in love with her.

She had hidden this affection deep in her heart for years, wishing to remain by Wen Man’s side as a friend to guard her and keep anyone from hurting her.

Later, Wen Man fell in love with Jiang Shuang. Although Lin Sheng was jealous that Jiang Shuang could receive Wen Man’s wholehearted affection, as long as Wen Man felt happy, she was happy for her and continued to protect her in the name of friendship.

Jiang Shuang was a university professor, gentle, refined, and incredibly popular at school. The number of people who harbored unrequited crushes or confessed their love to her was countless, and Yu Keqing was one of them. Upon discovering that the person she secretly loved was dating Wen Man, Yu Keqing used all sorts of filthy methods to slander and harm Wen Man, incurring Jiang Shuang’s disgust without even realizing it.

Lin Sheng hated Yu Keqing to the bone. Thus, she joined forces with Jiang Shuang to drive the Yu family into bankruptcy, leaving them with astronomical debts. Overstimulated by the shock, Yu Keqing’s parents fell bedridden and passed away shortly after.

Yu Keqing was injured by debt collectors who came knocking on her door. When she woke up, she seemed like a completely different person, running to apologize to Wen Man. Out of nowhere, Wen Man actually forgave that kind of person and even became friends with her.

Lin Sheng, however, consistently believed that Yu Keqing was putting on an act. To make Yu Keqing give up on Jiang Shuang completely, to stop her from destroying Wen Man’s happiness, and out of a desire for revenge against Yu Keqing, she agreed to Wen Man’s matchmaking and married Yu Keqing.

After the marriage, she feigned kindness to Yu Keqing in front of others, but in private, she would scold and slap her whenever she pleased. Even so, Yu Keqing never got angry and remained completely submissive to her.

Lin Sheng would now subconsciously avoid these old matters because she didn’t want to admit that she had developed feelings of love for Yu Keqing. She preferred to attribute this feeling to her craving for Yu Keqing’s pheromones, physical pleasure, physiological gratification, nothing more. It was impossible for there to be anything else, nor would she allow herself to have anything else. Once she did, she would regret what she had done to Yu Keqing in the past. If she regretted it, she would be letting Wen Man down and defiling her feelings for Wen Man.

“You found Keqing?” Wen Man pressed urgently, unable to wait to see her friend.

Some matters were not suitable to be spoken of in front of the children. Lin Sheng gently patted Xiaobao’s arm, “Class is about to start. Go on in.”

In order to see her mother sooner, Xiaobao didn’t dare to disobey her wishes. Carrying her backpack, she looked back with every three steps she took.

Wen Ning caught up with Xiaobao, proactively took her arm, and chatted with her with a beaming smile.

“My name is Wen Ning. What’s your name?”

“My name is Yu Xiaobao,” she answered softly.

“Can I call you Bao’er from now on?”

“Whatever works.”

“Bao’er, Bao’er,” Wen Ning was truly Wen Man’s daughter, even her personality was perfectly inherited.

Watching the two children enter the school gates, Lin Sheng finally withdrew her gaze and asked, “Why are you the one dropping off Ningning today?”

The marriage between Wen Man and Jiang Shuang hadn’t lasted, the two had divorced peacefully a few years ago, and Wen Ning lived with Wen Man.

However, after Wen Man founded her own pastry brand, she became very busy and didn’t have much time to take care of Wen Ning. She could only send Wen Ning to Jiang Shuang’s place first, so Jiang Shuang had been the one picking up and dropping off their daughter these past few years.

“Professor Jiang went on an emergency business trip. Oh, don’t change the subject! Tell me quickly, did you find Keqing? Where is she now? Did she say why she left without saying goodbye back then? Where has she been living all these years? Why didn’t she contact us? I want to see her. I won’t feel at ease unless I see her with my own eyes,” Wen Man asked like a rapid-fire machine gun, she was genuinely concerned.

Lin Sheng, however, did not want to reveal too much, let alone have Yu Keqing interact with Wen Man. “It’s not convenient right now. Let’s talk about it after some time.”

Wen Man frowned, “Not convenient? Why? Is she not in City A?”

Lin Sheng raised her wrist to check the time on her watch and said, “I have things to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first.”

If it were in the past, she absolutely would not treat Wen Man with such a cold attitude. Times change, and human emotions ultimately shift.

This was a so-called aristocratic school. The classmates were either daughters of wealthy families or from highly educated households. Xiaobao was very poorly adjusted, although her classmates were very friendly to her, she still felt uncomfortable and desperately wanted to go home, back to her and her mother’s home in Mang City. Everything she was familiar with was there. She didn’t like this strange place, and she disliked the strange auntie who locked her mother up even more.

The strange auntie said that she was also her mother and the person who gave birth to her, but she didn’t believe it.

She was in the same class as Wen Ning, and it turned out that the seat that had been empty all along belonged to Wen Ning.

From Wen Ning’s chattering, she learned that the Auntie Wen they met at the school gate that morning was very good friends with her mother. Wen Ning even pulled up a group photo from her phone album, showing her mother, Auntie Wen, and that strange auntie. The two little babies being held on their laps were her and Wen Ning at three years old.

She spent the whole morning feeling uneasy in her seat, not registering anything the teacher said. When school let out, she was enthusiastically pulled along by Wen Ning toward the school gate again. She hesitated for a long time before deciding to ask Wen Ning for help.

“My mom is locked up. Can you ask your mom to help plead with that strange… auntie?”

Wen Ning was shocked. Auntie Lin locked up Bao’er’s mom?! How could that be? Auntie Lin was such a gentle person.

“Bao’er, is this true? Did you make a mistake?”

Xiaobao shook her head firmly, “No mistake. My mom is locked up in a big house, and there are people in black clothes guarding the door so she can’t go out. I haven’t seen my mom for several days.”

Filled with a sense of justice, Wen Ning immediately patted her chest and promised, “Don’t worry, Bao’er. Leave this matter to me.”

“Thank you, Wen Ning,” Xiaobao said full of gratitude.

“You’re welcome! And you can just call me Ningning from now on.”

“Ningning.”

Wen Ning was delighted and praised her, “Bao’er, your voice sounds so nice, just like a kitten acting spoiled.”

Before even reaching home, Wen Ning told her mother about this on the road when she came to pick her up. Wen Man’s face turned flushed with anger. No wonder Lin Sheng had that kind of attitude this morning, refusing to let her see Keqing no matter what. It turned out she had locked the person up.

During the day when Lin Sheng was away, Yu Keqing was finally able to catch her breath.

On a sunny afternoon, she sat on the small sofa on the balcony reading an anthology of prose when she heard a tapping sound on the glass window.

She looked up.

A butterfly that had accidentally flown in through the open window crack couldn’t find its way out and was bumping blindly against the glass, making thudding sounds.

She quickly closed her book, stood up to open the window wider, and guided the trapped butterfly toward the blue sky outside.

“You are free…” She stood by the window watching the butterfly fly away, her expression filled with envy.

As the spring breeze blew in, she couldn’t help but lower her head and cough, pulling the cream-colored woolen shawl tighter around herself.

This was found for her from the closet by the maid. Her illness had just cleared up, and she didn’t want to push her luck, so she put it on.

She went back to the sofa to resume reading her book. Before she could read a couple of pages, the maid came up and said to her, “Are you and Ms. Wen friends? She wants to come in to see you, but she was stopped by the bodyguards at the door.”

Ms. Wen? She froze. Was it Man’er?

Wen Man had known Lin Sheng for so many years, so she knew how many properties Lin Sheng owned in City A. She had searched through them one by one. Seeing the bodyguards at the door, she knew Keqing must be inside. Good for you, Lin Sheng, to actually dare to place my best friend under house arrest.

“Are you going to move or not?” She was dying of anger, trying to push away the bodyguards blocking the path.

The bodyguards knew her and didn’t dare to forcefully stop her, but their employer had instructed that no one was allowed to come in to see the Madam without her permission.

“Ms. Wen, please don’t make things difficult for us,” the bodyguards said with miserable expressions.

Wen Man rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and called Lin Sheng, “Lin Sheng, what is the meaning of you locking Keqing up? I want to see her right now.”

The bodyguards had already called Lin Sheng to report the incident earlier today. Lin Sheng raised her hand to signal a pause in the meeting, stood up, and left the conference room.

“Man’er, stop throwing a tantrum, alright?” she advised indifferently.

“How am I throwing a tantrum? I’m just asking you, what is the meaning of you locking Keqing up? You must give me an explanation today.”

“It means nothing. She was sick the past two days, and I wanted her to rest properly at home. If you want to see her, then go on in. Don’t stay too long, her body has just recovered, and she can’t overexert herself.” Lin Sheng made a compromise.

Only then did Wen Man’s anger subside. Hanging up the phone, she raised her chin at the bodyguards, “Did you hear that? Your employer agreed. Move aside quickly.”

The call had been on speakerphone, so the bodyguards heard it and obediently stepped aside to let her in.

Wen Man snorted.

She was anxious about Keqing, so she didn’t settle scores with the bodyguards too much, even if this account were to be settled, she should find Lin Sheng for it.

“Keqing!” Seeing the person coming down from the second floor, Wen Man was incredibly excited and ran over to envelope her in a tight hug.

Caught off guard, Yu Keqing fell into an embrace filled with the scent of white peach soda, only snapping out of it after a long moment.

“Man’er, you… how did you get here?” Having not seen each other for ten years, Wen Man’s appearance hadn’t changed much, she was still as beautiful as before.

After the initial excitement, Wen Man finally let go of her. Seeing how emaciated she was and how poor her complexion looked, she instantly felt heartbroken to the extreme. With reddened eyes, she said, “How did you end up like this? Why are you so thin? Where did you go all these years? Why didn’t you contact me? You have no idea how worried I was about you, how much I missed you. I even called the police to look for you but couldn’t find you.”

She had even called the police? Yu Keqing lowered her head and remained silent. When she left, she was afraid that Lin Sheng would track her down to continue her revenge, so she didn’t dare to take planes or high-speed trains. Instead, she chose to find an unregistered car at the station entrance and paid the driver extra to take her and Xiaobao away from City A. Afterward, she used the same method to flee all the way to a small town near the border.

She was both constrained and terrified. She slowly pulled her hand back from Man’er’s grip, looking behind Wen Man several times, terrified that Lin Sheng would suddenly appear and use that terrifying, murderous gaze to warn her not to have physical contact with Wen Man. She already had psychological trauma from these things, and it had formed muscle memory.

Regarding Wen Man’s concern, she didn’t dare to respond, fearing that if Lin Sheng found out, she would have to endure another round of humiliation.

“Keqing, what’s wrong with you? Your hands are so cold. Lin Sheng said you were sick the past couple of days, have you recovered now? Your face looks so pale.” Wen Man pulled her to sit on the living room sofa, finding the hand she touched to be ice cold.

Yu Keqing applied force trying to pull it back but was unsuccessful. “Did Lin Sheng let you come over?”

“No, she didn’t even tell me. I found my way here myself. Those two guys at the door even tried to block me, so I called Lin Sheng and gave her a piece of my mind, and then she let them release me.”

“You called her because you wanted to see me?” She shivered, her heart plunging to rock bottom, her voice laced with dread.

“Keqing?” Seeing her face turn deathly pale, Wen Man was startled, “What’s wrong? Where do you feel unwell?”

She forcefully gripped her pant leg, her back hunching over as layer after layer of cold sweat seeped out, “No, nothing, I’m fine…”

Lin Sheng was very good at putting on a front in front of Man’er. Whatever request Man’er made, Lin Sheng would agree to it without hesitation. In the past, when Man’er wanted to take her out to play, Lin Sheng would also agree with a smile. But when it was down to just her and Lin Sheng, Lin Sheng would cast off her disguise and use all kinds of nasty words to humiliate her, reducing her to dust. She could no longer remember how many times this had happened, it was so frequent that she was terrified.

Unaware of the underlying reasons, Wen Man thought she was physically unwell and reached out to test the temperature of her forehead.

“You don’t have a fever. I’ll take you to the hospital to get checked out.”

Her body shrank into the corner of the sofa, “No, there’s no need. I’m fine, really fine. Quite well.”

Wen Man frowned as she looked at her, finally noticing something amiss, “Are you afraid? Afraid that Lin Sheng won’t agree to let me take you out.”

In the past, she didn’t know what was going on between Keqing and Lin Sheng and just felt both of them were strange. It wasn’t until Keqing went missing that she accidentally learned Lin Sheng had done so many excessive things to Keqing, and even Professor Jiang was involved, which made it very hard for her to accept.

“I’m not,” Yu Keqing denied flatly, forcing a smile, “Thank you so much for coming to see me today. I’m really fine.”

Wen Man didn’t believe her, “Really fine? Then come out with me.”

“I…” She wouldn’t even step out the main door, but she didn’t want Wen Man to worry about her.

Wen Man had an ‘I knew it’ expression and said, “I’m going to call Lin Sheng right now. I refuse to believe this, in broad daylight and a law-abiding society, what does she think she’s doing!”

Yu Keqing couldn’t stop her and could only watch helplessly as she dialed Lin Sheng’s number.

Lin Sheng was already in the car on her way back. Her eyes were very dark, and her voice was lowered, “Man’er, I will explain this matter to you, but you cannot take her out today.”

“Lin Sheng, you are restricting Keqing’s personal freedom. No way, I must take Keqing away today.”

Lin Sheng took a deep breath and said, “This is a matter between her and me. Can you please stay out of it?”

“Keqing is my friend, I am definitely getting involved in this. Are you going to let her go or not?”

“You can leave at any time,” Lin Sheng turned her head to look out the window, “but she cannot.”

The icy voice leaked from the phone like a hissing electrical current. Yu Keqing’s entire body went cold. She clutched Wen Man’s hand, looking at her with a pleading gaze, begging her to stop speaking. Lin Sheng was already angry, and she could not bear the consequences of Lin Sheng’s anger. If it were just her alone, so be it, she could live or die but she still had Xiaobao. If she died, what would happen to Xiaobao?

Pissed off by Lin Sheng, Wen Man walked in circles in the living room, grabbed Yu Keqing, and walked toward the main entrance, saying, “I refuse to believe it. I am going to take you away. Can Lin Sheng actually eat me? She wouldn’t dare!”

The bodyguards blocked her, refusing to let her take Yu Keqing away. She took a few steps forward and glared at them.

“Move!”

The bodyguards didn’t budge an inch, staring dead at Yu Keqing behind her.

Wen Man wanted to push the bodyguards away, but Yu Keqing pulled her back and pleaded in a low voice, “Forget it, Man’er, forget it.”

She knew Man’er wanted to vent anger on her behalf, but she really could not leave.

“Forget it.” She pulled the furious Wen Man back to the living room.

Sitting on the sofa and seeing her emaciated, pale face, Wen Man’s heart ached in waves. She lowered her head guiltily and said, “Keqing, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t set you and Lin Sheng up back then, you wouldn’t have married her, nor would you have to suffer so much. It’s all my fault. Lin Sheng wasn’t like this before. I don’t know how she turned into this current state. I can barely recognize her anymore.”

Yu Keqing quietly accompanied her by her side, bitterness welling up from the depths of her heart in waves as well. She really wanted to tell Wen Man that Lin Sheng had always been like this, she just knew how to put on a show in front of you. Lin Sheng was only gentle to you alone, while to others, she was cold, ruthless, and completely heartless.

But she didn’t say it. Wen Man had done nothing wrong; Wen Man was a kind and righteous person who had helped her a lot in the past. After the original owner’s parents passed away, she had to face the massive debts left behind alone. It was Wen Man who helped her find a lawyer to fight the lawsuit, proving she renounced the inheritance of the Yu family estate so she wouldn’t have to carry those debts. Later when she had no place to live, it was also Wen Man who helped her rent an apartment and find a job.

Wen Man was a friend who genuinely treated her well, and she was one of the very few people in this strange time and space who treated her well without asking for anything in return.

“Man’er, this is not to blame on you. Don’t blame yourself. To be able to make such a good friend like you, I can die without regrets.”

Wen Man broke into a smile through her tears. As the two talked on the sofa, Yu Keqing’s fear of Lin Sheng also gradually dissipated a bit.

When Wen Man asked why she left without saying goodbye back then and didn’t contact anyone, she didn’t know how to explain, so she avoided the topic altogether.

Wen Man sighed and hugged her, “If you don’t want to say it, don’t say it. I won’t ask.”

“Thank you…” Man’er had always been so understanding.

“Raising Xiaobao all by yourself all these years must have been very hard on you. Look how thin you’ve become.” Wen Man felt deeply for her.

She smiled and said, “It was alright, I didn’t suffer much. People saw me raising a child alone and felt I was pitiful, so they helped me a lot. Xiaobao and I lived in Mang City, it’s a small place, but the community warmth is very strong, so we lived quite happily.”

Aside from the initial period which was a bit rough, it was really fine later on. She spent very little money to rent a dilapidated courtyard in a rather remote location, gradually modifying it herself to its current state.

The landlord lived right next door and was very easy to talk to, often helping her watch Xiaobao. Her job at the coffee shop was introduced by the landlord because she knew how to brew coffee and make all kinds of pastries, which attracted quite a few tourists for the owner, so the owner paid her double the salary.

Wen Man also chatted with her about her own pastry brand, which had already opened branch stores in many cities with excellent business. She even said she wanted to thank her because the top-selling breads in the store were all based on versions Yu Keqing had made for her to eat before. She had also said that if she really opened a shop one day, she would definitely give Yu Keqing a share of the dividends, but then Yu Keqing lost contact.

“Now it’s fine since you’re back. I’ll have the lawyer draft a dividend agreement and bring it over later, so you can just sit back and collect money in the future.”

She shook her head, “No need, no need. That is a business you worked hard to build.”

“But you gave me the creativity! You rightfully deserve this dividend, you are not allowed to refuse, or I’ll get angry.”

“Man’er…”

She still wanted to refuse; that wasn’t money she should take. If Lin Sheng found out, she would definitely use nasty words to humiliate her again. Lin Sheng would surely think she was scheming against Man’er to make Man’er foolishly give her dividends.

Wen Man intentionally put on a stern, fierce face, “If you say it again, I’ll ignore you.”

She had no choice but to obediently close her mouth and stop talking, though she definitely still thought in her heart that she couldn’t accept it.

Afterward, Wen Man told her about many things, including the incident where she met Xiaobao at the school gate today.

“Xiaobao is so smart, knowing to seek help from me, otherwise I wouldn’t even know you were… Lin Sheng is truly unreasonable! Xiaobao must miss you very much. I originally wanted to take you to see Xiaobao this afternoon and bring you both over to live at my place, so Xiaobao and Ningning could go to and from school together in the future.”

Yu Keqing thanked her for her kindness with a bitter smile. She and Xiaobao certainly could not move into Man’er’s house. Putting aside whether Lin Sheng would agree, Jiang Shuang would also not be pleased to see her.

The original owner had used crazed and extreme methods to intercept and corner Jiang Shuang back then; every time Jiang Shuang saw her, she would never have a good expression. She also didn’t want to insert herself between Man’er and Jiang Shuang to affect their relationship.

But Wen Man suddenly mentioned, “After I divorced Jiang Shuang, I’ve been living alone. The house is big, and when Ningning goes to school, the home feels quiet and lonely. It would definitely be lively if you and Xiaobao moved in.”

“You divorced Professor Jiang?” Yu Keqing was very surprised, and suddenly connecting it to something, her heart grew even more bitter.

No wonder Lin Sheng wanted to lock her up, she was afraid she would find out about Man’er and Jiang Shuang’s divorce, thinking she would go pester Jiang Shuang.

“Leaned out a long time ago,” Wen Man leaned back against the sofa and sighed, saying, “The feelings faded, so naturally we divorced. Afterward, I threw myself entirely into my career, and Jiang Shuang did much the same. The two of us are now just whoever has time takes Ningning. If neither of us has time, we can only have the nanny take care of her. Fortunately, Ningning’s personality is like mine, careless and open, so living on either side doesn’t affect her mood, otherwise I really… really would feel so sorry toward her.”

“Then have you two never thought about remarriage?” From Wen Man’s words, she knew Professor Jiang hadn’t remarried either.

Wen Man waved her hand and said, “There are no feelings left, why remarry? To look at each other blankly at home every day?”

Yu Keqing fell silent, remembering how she used to swallow her anger in the face of Lin Sheng’s various difficulties, thinking that no matter what, she had to give Xiaobao a complete home.

Looking back now, she was truly foolish and naive. Lin Sheng’s mind wasn’t on this home at all, so what was the point of her bitterly maintaining it alone? Xiaobao wouldn’t grow up happy and joyful in such an atmosphere either.

After chatting for an unknown amount of time, a beep sounded from the entrance door.

Every muscle in Yu Keqing’s body tensed up, her waist and back locking rigid, not even having the courage to turn her head to look.

Beside her, Wen Man stood up to confront Lin Sheng, “You came back just in time. Explain.”

Only after confirming that Yu Keqing was still safely inside this house did Lin Sheng feel at ease. Facing Wen Man’s questioning, her expression remained unchanged as she walked straight over, yanked Yu Keqing up from the sofa, and despite Wen Man’s angry dissuasion and attempts to block her, forcefully dragged Yu Keqing up to the second floor bedroom, shutting her inside and locking the door from the outside to prevent her from leaving.

“What are you doing?!” Wen Man was truly going crazy, stepping forward to twist the doorknob.

Lin Sheng had come back from the company and was still wearing a cream colored skirt suit, with a small leather belt with a metal buckle fastened at her waist, making her waist appear even narrower and her hips rounder, presenting an arrogant curve.

She brushed back her falling long, curly hair, blocking the doorway to prevent Wen Man from approaching.

“You’ve seen the person. Since there’s nothing else, go back first.”

Wen Man grabbed her arm extended across the doorframe, her eyes wide with anger: “Lin Sheng, have you lost your mind? Let Keqing out.”

Lin Sheng licked her full red lips, a dark gleam flashing in her fox like, charming, and fetching eyes, “I haven’t asked you yet, who told you Yu Keqing was here?”

“It’s none of your business who told me. Move aside.”

“I don’t want to fight with you. Go back.”

“Let Keqing out first.”

“Go back.”

“Lin Sheng!”

“Wen Man,” Lin Sheng lost her patience with her for the first time, warning implicitly, “I’ve said it, this is a matter between her and me.”

The sound of the two deadlocked and arguing at the door continuously drifted in through the door crack. Yu Keqing was anxious, gripping the doorknob and twisting it hard, but it wouldn’t open.

The lock on this door had been changed by Lin Sheng, locking from the outside specifically for the convenience of shutting her away.

“Open the door! Lin Sheng, open the door!” She didn’t want Wen Man to argue with Lin Sheng for her sake.

But no matter how she pounded on the door, it wouldn’t open. The argument outside also grew increasingly fierce. She heard Wen Man say, ‘Lin Sheng, are you sick? How long ago was all of that? And Keqing knows she was wrong and has apologized, and I have already forgiven her, so why are you still holding onto it and not letting go? Is it interesting to you?!’ then Lin Sheng said, ‘I haven’t forgiven her. She is getting what she deserves now.’

Yu Keqing helplessly slid to the floor, tears streaming down her face, her head buzzing, and her chest stinging in waves.

Stop fighting, please stop fighting, both of you…

She opened her mouth only to find she could no longer make a sound. Her ears were filled with the fierce argument outside the door. She found it difficult to withstand this stimulation, her vision went black, and her head spun. She bit down hard on her teeth, her fingertips digging into her palms to prevent herself from fainting.

By the time the argument outside ceased, her clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

After a long while, the door was finally opened.

Lin Sheng stood at the door with her arms crossed, looking down at her from a height, her gaze icy, “Yu Keqing, I really underestimated you.”

Supporting herself against the wall, she stood up shakily, her face as white as a sheet of paper, not understanding the meaning of Lin Sheng’s words.

“When did you start instigating Xiaobao to complain to Man’er?” Lin Sheng questioned coldly.

She froze. What?

Lin Sheng just kept watching her like this, wanting to see how long she could keep up the act. But seeing her teetering and unable to stand firmly, her face pale as paper and completely oblivious, her heart couldn’t remain entirely hardened.

“I’m warning you, this is the first and last time. If there is a second time, I absolutely will not let you off easily.”

“I didn’t…” She wanted to explain herself.

But Lin Sheng had no patience to listen. With a cold face, she stepped over to grab her slender, fragile wrist and dragged her toward the bed inside.

Lin Sheng knelt down with one knee pressing over her, her snow-white skin wrapped inside her clothes seeming as though it would pop out from where the buttons were undone, and the thick scent of rose tightly enveloped the Yu Keqing beneath her.

She wanted to escape but couldn’t, and could only watch helplessly as Lin Sheng used a fingernail painted a ruby red color to trace circles on her collarbone. The red lips approached, breathing out air that was both fragrant and scalding, burning against the white side of Yu Keqing’s neck.

“From today onward, you stay inside this room obediently for me and go nowhere. Because you weren’t good, I won’t bring Xiaobao over. When you become compliant, I’ll let you see Xiaobao again.”

Yu Keqing shook terribly, trembling as she begged her, “You promised to let Xiaobao live with me, you promised.”

She couldn’t break her word, she couldn’t treat her like this.

Lin Sheng caught her trembling lips and sucked on them, stealing the unique and natural sandalwood fragrance from inside her mouth, staining her pale lips with some red.

“I can also back out on my word.”

Terrified, Yu Keqing shook her head blindly to avoid her enticing red lips, but she was pinned down as Lin Sheng used the small leather belt unfastened from her waist to tie her hands above her head, then gripped her chin to kiss her over and over again. It felt like a punishment, yet also like a way to confirm something, sketching out her contours in this manner. The rose fragrance invaded every cell of her body, pinning her firmly to the bed.

Lin Sheng possessed a seductive charm, her eyes could speak love words and captivate people, and her pheromones acted like an aphrodisiac, drawing the Yu Keqing who tried to hide out from the corner. She personally fed her this cup of wine that would ignite burning desire, forcing her to pleasure herself, unwilling, yet unable to resist the enticement of the pheromones, forced to leave an indelible mark upon her.

“These ten years, did you ever think of me, hmm? Did you?” She rubbed against Yu Keqing, her voice lingering and sweet.

Yu Keqing kept her eyes squeezed shut, her body shivering violently under the other’s touch. She didn’t want to think about it, couldn’t think about it, and didn’t dare to think about it.

Lin Sheng didn’t seem to need her answer either, saying to herself, “I certainly missed you terribly.”

The red lips shifted from the collarbone back to the lips, until Yu Keqing had no way to breathe and her face flushed deeply. Only then did Lin Sheng let her go reluctantly. Had she not taken into account that her fever had just broken and her body was weak, she absolutely would not let her off easily.

Even so, having endured too much stimulation during the day, Yu Keqing ran a low-grade fever and lay limp on the bed unable to get up, coughing continuously. Lin Sheng had the doctor come to examine her, and after an injection and medication, the fever finally subsided in the latter half of the night.

Groggy and exhausted, Yu Keqing was alternating between clarity and confusion, muttering in her sleep, “I didn’t, I didn’t.”

Lin Sheng guarded by the bedside, staring at Yu Keqing for a long time, as if wanting to make up for these missing ten years.

It wasn’t until the next day that she confirmed Yu Keqing hadn’t instigated Xiaobao, it was Xiaobao herself who sought help from Wen Man through Ningning. This time she had misunderstood Yu Keqing and angered her to the point of illness, but she would not apologize, nor would she take back what she had said. However, she would use another method to compensate Yu Keqing. Thus, two days later, Yu Keqing saw the dog named Tuantuan that she and Xiaobao had adopted.

“Tuantuan?” Yu Keqing was pleasantly surprised. Disregarding her weakened body, she knelt down to embrace the dog running toward her.

Tuantuan was a mutt that looked a bit like a native Chow Chow, with light yellow long fur, fluffy and very cute. Its ears were small and erect, and its temperament was exceptionally gentle, it never scratched at people, never barked at people, and wasn’t a picky eater, eating whatever was given to it. It was very well-behaved and easy to raise.

“Tuantuan, Tuantuan, why are you here? Who brought you?” She held the dog and kept asking.

The maid responsible for bringing the dog up stood nearby, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing her finally show a semblance of a smile.

These past few days, the Madam had been locked in this bedroom. Just as an old illness left, a new one was added, making her look haggard beyond recognition. Her clothes hung loosely on her body, and she didn’t speak or eat much. The Madam wanted to go out, even if just downstairs, but that person wouldn’t allow it, even throwing down words that if the Madam didn’t become more compliant, a chain would be placed on her ankle.

Look, that chain was right in the drawer, and it might find its way onto the foot any day. Truly pitiful, to have provoked such a person.

The maid said, “It was just flown in this morning. According to instructions, its fur was washed, and the vet checked it over with no other issues found. Only then did I bring it up to keep you company and relieve your boredom, so you could be a bit happier with it around.”

Yu Keqing picked Tuantuan up and scratched it at its neck.

Seeing her, Tuantuan was also exceptionally happy, continuously licking her hand and trying to lick her chin, its eyes as bright as stars filled entirely with its owner. Perhaps in a dog’s world, the owner is their everything.

Lin Sheng only allowed the maid to bring the dog up to play with Yu Keqing for a while, having no intention of letting the dog stay in the bedroom to live. She didn’t like dogs, in the past, she kept her distance from such creatures that shed fur anytime and anywhere, and now it was a concession made just to make Yu Keqing happy.

“I want to keep it here,” Yu Keqing couldn’t bear to let Tuantuan go, negotiating in a low voice.

The maid was very put in a difficult position, “That won’t do. If that person finds out, she will get angry.”

Yu Keqing’s body shuddered, and her face turned pale by another fraction, the light that had managed to kindle in her eyes entirely swallowed by darkness.

She lowered her head to stroke Tuantuan’s head, “Can I still see it tomorrow?”

“You can. It’s being raised on the first floor, and the doghouse has already been set up,” the maid couldn’t bear to see her so crestfallen. She first looked cautiously toward the doorway, then whispered quietly, “Endure for another two days. When that person’s anger subsides, you’ll be able to go downstairs.”

Yu Keqing tried very hard to twitch the corners of her mouth to show a smile to the maid, but she failed.