After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Venomous Snake

After a week of effort, Fang Ziyue and Ling Qiu’s house had undergone a world-shaking transformation. Two sets of apricot-colored tables and chairs sat inside, one positioned by the window adorned with fresh flowers. Sunlight flooded the room, making the plush rugs look exceptionally bright and warm.

Pushing open the window revealed flowers Fang Ziyue had brought back from the mountains and a vegetable patch nearby a serene and comfortable living environment.

Ling Qiu took a deep breath of the morning air, filled with the fragrance of greenery and soil, feeling relaxed. Before this show, she was constantly flying all over the country, working non-stop with very little rest. Now, she had found the relaxation she craved most, as if her soul itself was being purified.

Of course, this was largely thanks to Fang Ziyue.

Ling Qiu looked through the window at the woman busy planting vegetables in the yard. Her slender, fair fingers were covered in mud, and even the bracelet on her left wrist was stained with muddy water. If those who knew her as “Z” saw this, they would surely scream: “My God, you are desecrating the hands of a god! Your hands are meant to create miracles, not to plant vegetables!”

Yet Fang Ziyue herself was willing to get up early while the morning dew still soaked her clothes, busying herself just to provide a comfortable environment for her wife.

“It’s all thanks to Fang Ziyue. If it weren’t for her, I certainly couldn’t have managed such a beautiful courtyard on my own,” Ling Qiu remarked to the live stream audience. She was famous in the industry for being a straight-shooter—an honest person.

Many of Ling Qiu’s fans in the live stream weren’t as repulsed by Fang Ziyue as they had been; at least they didn’t curse the moment they saw her face. This was due to the fact that within a week, Ling Qiu had gained a beautiful “princess room” and a yard full of flora. The luxury and comfort of their courtyard and room had long since surpassed Lin Mengyan’s side.

The reason was that the Lin family didn’t want to go into the mountains for ingredients, so they had to constantly exchange their furniture with the program team for food. Meanwhile, on this side, Fang Ziyue not only gathered mountain goods every day but even had extra to trade for meat.

“I heard a guest visitor is coming today. I wonder who it is,” Ling Qiu said while kneading dough. The white, plump dough seemed to transform like magic in her hands into cute little animals exactly fourteen of them, matching the number of wooden carvings Fang Ziyue had given her.

The bullet screen was already wailing with comments like “I want to soul-transmigrate into Fang Ziyue” and “I want to eat them too!”

Ling Qiu, who was currently using flower juice to dot the eyes and color the little animals, sighed inwardly. It was all because of that photo. Ever since seeing the image titled “Negative Space,” Ling Qiu’s mind was filled with Fang Ziyue’s fragility and loneliness. This led her to instinctively treat Fang Ziyue a bit better—cooking her favorite dishes, making her little animal buns…

Still, she told herself this was just a return for Fang Ziyue’s care during this period. Anything more… she couldn’t give. Her heart couldn’t get past the hurdle of liking “the other woman” who had intervened in her past relationship.

Ling Qiu’s internal conflict had long been noticed by Fang Ziyue. She washed the dirt from her hands in a basin, as if washing away complex emotions. Her wife’s care was her best medicine.

Even Chen Yueyu had teased her: “I might as well give you my license tomorrow so you can be a doctor yourself. Incredible, Fang Ziyue you’ve even learned to use ‘underhanded’ tricks?”

“How is this an underhanded trick?” Fang Ziyue chuckled. “I’m using it openly.” Methods for chasing a wife couldn’t be called underhanded; at most, it was just a good application of military strategy.

“So you’re out here expanding territory and conquering cities, are you?” Chen Yueyu said sarcastically. Seriously, did this shameless creature really think she was in the right? “If Ling Qiu found out you were intentionally playing the pity card, do you think she’d still pay any attention to you?” Chen Yueyu huffed.

That bastard Fang Ziyue had transferred Mumu back to the country. What was worse was that Chen was tied down by too many things to leave, unable to accompany Mumu back. Her “wife, kids, and warm bed” were all ruined by this jerk.

“Don’t dawdle. Once I’ve won over my wife, I’ll give Mumu a long vacation,” Fang Ziyue said, narrowing her eyes as she turned to the matter she cared about most. “How is the investigation into Lin Mengyan going?”

“There’s progress, but not much,” Chen Yueyu replied, sounding a bit frustrated. “Don’t look at her lack of talent; her methods are very sophisticated.” Lin Mengyan’s own natural qualities were poor her singing and songwriting were lackluster, and her face had undergone extensive plastic surgery. For such a “fake” person to stand firm in the industry for so long, she was naturally not easy to deal with.

“But the good news is we found evidence of her stealing songs from others.” Lin Mengyan had over a dozen award-winning songs, and it was those songs that propelled her to the status of a “Best Singer.” However, according to Chen Yueyu’s investigation, not a single one of those songs was clean.

They were all plagiarized, stolen, or obtained through coercion and bribery of the original authors. “The witnesses and physical evidence are all there. Whenever you want, we can release them.”

“No rush,” Fang Ziyue narrowed her eyes, running her fingers over radish seeds as she put them away. Dealing with Lin Mengyan should be like pulling up a radish bring out the mud along with the root. She wanted to create a “team battle” opportunity, a chance for the “fence-sitters” and black-hearted people in the industry to show their hands. Whoever stood behind Lin Mengyan would be clear at a glance, revealing who was worth knowing and who was unreliable.

“A swan has landed in a heap of toads. I need to point out a clear path for my wife which ones have ill intentions and which ones are kind and worth befriending.” Though she no longer intended to stay in this circle, her wife was still in it. Fang Ziyue had to help Ling Qiu watch the road ahead.

“It’s not that serious. Best Actress Ling has been in this circle for twenty years. You’re overprotecting her; you’re worrying over nothing.” Chen Yueyu felt Fang Ziyue was being too cautious. “Besides, excessive protection becomes a squeeze on the other person’s freedom, interfering with her life.” Chen Yueyu frowned, reminding the “love-brain”: “Don’t mistake harm for love.” If Fang Ziyue really did that, she promised to fly back and knock some sense into her.

Fang Ziyue shook her head with a slight smile. “I haven’t had an ‘episode’ today, so you don’t need to remind me of that.” She was simply making the demons and monsters reveal their true forms; as for who her wife wanted to befriend or be kind to, that was entirely her wife’s own choice. Fang Ziyue wouldn’t interfere at all.

She was simply afraid—afraid of Ling Qiu being hurt, just like when she was set up by Lin Mengyan and the original owner of this body, sinking into the mire with no one to pull her out.

“As long as you know your limits,” Chen Yueyu relaxed, then remembered another matter. She asked: “Even though only half the evidence has been collected, when do you plan to clarify to Best Actress Ling that the drugging incident back then had nothing to do with you?”

Chen Yueyu had been following the variety show. Seeing Fang Ziyue chasing her unilaterally, while Best Actress Ling wanted to be kinder but was repeatedly forced to pull away due to the disgust of past events… it was actually quite painful to watch. She had spent a lot of time with Fang Ziyue and seen how much she suffered for Ling Qiu, but she couldn’t say Best Actress Ling was wrong either. After all, the misunderstanding about the drugging was truly nauseating.

“Wait a little longer.” Fang Ziyue leaned against the door, watching Ling Qiu as she flipped the little animal buns out of the steamer. Her gaze was soft and warm, forming a massive contrast with the words coming out of her mouth. “To kill a snake, hit the seven-inch mark; to kill a tree, dig the root. Those documents must be shown to my wife when her psychological defenses are at their weakest.” To ensure a lethal blow.

Fang Ziyue pressed the bracelet on her left wrist, the curve of her lips turning both charming and dangerous. She was like a venomous snake coiled in the brush, watching her prey motionlessly, waiting for her to slowly approach, and then…

“Hiss!”

In the kitchen, Ling Qiu suddenly felt a flash of panic. Her hand shook, and the hot soup from a bowl splashed onto her hand. She endured the stinging pain in her fingers and held her hand under cold running water, her brows furrowed.

Strange. Why did she suddenly feel so uneasy? It felt… it felt like being targeted by a predator.

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