After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Cudgel

Once Ling Qiu’s wound was treated, Fang Ziyue began tending to her own.

Ling Qiu, who had been watching intently, suddenly gasped—not out of shared pain, but out of sheer annoyance at this woman’s clumsy movements. The disinfectant cotton and iodine were poked straight onto the wound without any hesitation or pause; it was a secondary trauma to an already injured area.

Without a second thought, Ling Qiu slapped her hand away.

“Ouch!” Fang Ziyue’s claws were hit hard, and she couldn’t help but let out a yelp.

After the slap, Ling Qiu pushed Fang Ziyue’s hands aside with a cold expression and snorted, “Pull them back. You’re an eyesore.”

As she spoke, she huffed and took over, carefully helping Fang Ziyue treat the injury on her knee. The woman whose hands had been slapped held them up awkwardly, looking a bit pitiful yet a bit ridiculous. Fang Ziyue blew on the spot where she’d been hit, feeling a bit puzzled as to why Ling Qiu was suddenly upset. Although it made her happy that her wife cared enough to treat her wound personally, she had just been hit…

Fang Ziyue sighed inwardly. Her wife was truly hard to understand.

Back in the real world, Fang Ziyue had served as Ling Qiu’s gardener and bodyguard. Being a bodyguard meant inevitably getting bumped and bruised, and since Ling Qiu was so beautiful, there were always blind “butterflies and bees” rushing in to court death. Fang Ziyue was constantly covered in major and minor injuries. Ling Qiu had suggested she do something else, but she refused.

Her parents were the stewards of the Ling family, having traveled the country with the elder Master Ling and helped him build the estate from nothing. They witnessed the family’s rise and accompanied two generations of masters for a long, long time. When it was her turn, she also wanted to stay by Ling Qiu’s side—to accompany this beautiful, aloof little princess for a lifetime.

But clearly, she hadn’t done a very good job back then.

Every time she got hurt, Ling Qiu would silently brood while treating her wounds. “How can a young mistress take care of a servant?” the old gardener who taught her the ropes used to sigh. “I’ve worked for many employers, but our young mistress is the most special, and she’s most special to you.”

He’d never seen someone pay a servant’s salary only to turn around and take care of them. Hey, aren’t rich people strange?

The news eventually reached her parents’ ears. Having been dutiful and rule-abiding their whole lives, they naturally lectured her to stay in her place. After that, Fang Ziyue learned her lesson: whenever she was injured, she would stay far away from Ling Qiu.

Thinking back now, she remembered Ling Qiu standing in the distance, holding a first-aid kit with a face full of disappointment and humiliation. A perfectly pampered rich girl had suffered so much grievance because of her. It was from then on that Ling Qiu hid all her affection for Fang Ziyue in her heart, not daring to speak or ask. She bottled it up until she became ill, lost control, and began to loathe herself.

After Ling Qiu passed away, every time Fang Ziyue thought of the past, she felt like a total jerk. If there’s a problem, it should be spoken plainly; bottling it up eventually leads to disaster.

So, she reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Ling Qiu’s ear, carefully tucking it back. Touching Ling Qiu’s earlobe, which was red enough to bleed, she asked in a low voice: “What’s wrong? Why are you still angry?”

In the Ling household, everyone from the elders to the servants knew that Fang Ziyue had a famous nickname: “The Wooden Person.” This nickname was muttered by her father in a fit of rage.

“If I say you’re wood, you’re actually quite smart and human. If I say you’re a person, you’re just a block of wood!”

Fang Ziyue didn’t admit it at first, but later she understood if she hadn’t been a “wooden person,” she wouldn’t have caused her wife to bottle up her feelings until she got sick. But as a block of wood, the “wood was already carved into a boat,” and one couldn’t expect a dry tree to blossom; she couldn’t get that much brighter.

“With her temperament, she won’t wise up in eight lifetimes,” her elegant and cold mother had evaluated.

Fang Ziyue disagreed. Look at how shy her wife was now wasn’t this the result of her flirting? How could someone who knows how to flirt be called “wood”?

Ling Qiu, her ears red, gave her a glare that lacked any real threat and warned: “Don’t touch me, or I’ll pour this entire bottle of alcohol on your wound.”

“Don’t, don’t! I was wrong, okay?” Fang Ziyue pleaded. “I was wrong, please don’t be angry.”

Seeing how quickly she apologized, Ling Qiu thought this person was quite sensible. Earlier, Dr. Chen had said this person didn’t “get it” and was a block of wood, telling her to be mentally prepared. Ling Qiu shook her head inwardly in disagreement. Fang Ziyue had sent wood carvings, built bridges, and now knew to apologize immediately when she was angry.

So, it was actually okay; she was probably just a little “wooden” in certain areas.

Thinking this, Ling Qiu revealed a slight smile, gentle and warm under the sunlight, exuding sweetness and a light fragrance. This emboldened the “indecent” Fang Ziyue to playfully tease her for quite a while.

Teased until she felt like smoke was coming out of the top of her head, Ling Qiu’s inner “little deer” raised its head proudly. She felt that staying in this ambiguous state wasn’t a long-term solution. So, after tidying the medical kit, she took Fang Ziyue’s hand and lowered her eyes, saying bashfully: “Does your previous confession… still count?”

Deep down, Ling Qiu always wanted a home and someone to accompany her. Living in an empty house for a long time made her lonely and afraid. But she was also afraid of getting hurt—just like the wedding day, being pierced until she was bloody. Yet, Fang Ziyue’s kindness was real, and she was moved.

“It counts! Of course it counts!” Fang Ziyue’s eyes brightened instantly. Her hands were itching to pull the person in front of her into a tight embrace.

Ling Qiu saw her intent, so she pursed her lips with a smile and opened her arms. She was pulled into a full embrace by Fang Ziyue. Held tightly, she whispered her response into the other’s ear: “I accept.”

So, from now on, please treat me well.

Some time passed, and Fang Ziyue’s condition stabilized completely. The two returned to the program.

Half a month later, many “black materials” regarding Lin Mingcheng appeared on the internet one after another. Many industry insiders took Lin Mingcheng’s side. However, others were hesitating. Ling Qiu didn’t mind giving these unreliable “fence-sitters” a bit more time. Once they jumped into the pit, she would release the big evidence to slap their faces and teach them a lesson.

She had suffered a lot because of such people; they traded the betrayal of one side for the trust of the other. Calling them fence-sitters was actually a compliment.

Lin Mingcheng’s side could be resolved, and Lin Mengyan had been very quiet lately. Only the “Ling Qiu” from her mind followed her like a shadow, staring with gloomy eyes and muttering things Ling Qiu ignored. A paper tiger that only knows how to howl isn’t worth worrying about.

What she cared about most was the replacement guest Director Chang had invited: the popular starlet Mei Yueling, a cute and sunny young girl. What was rare was that she was a fan of Fang Ziyue.

Initially, Ling Qiu didn’t care about the girl. She had confidence in herself and even more in Fang Ziyue. She even felt comfortable letting Fang Ziyue do as she pleased; she wasn’t the jealous type and could see things clearly.

And so, Fang Ziyue spent her time telling Mei Yueling how wonderful her wife was. It just so happened that Mei Yueling also admired Ling Qiu and her acting skills. The two of them truly hit it off.

However, the subject of all this praise started to feel a bit “off” in her heart.

Cang Jinyu, who had just come back from taking out the trash, saw Ling Qiu gritting her teeth and cracking her knuckles. She couldn’t help but ask: “Ling-jie, what’s wrong?”

To her surprise, Ling Qiu gave a “kind” smile and said very amiably: “Jinyu, have you noticed a vast grassland in our house? The kind that’s lush and oily green.”

“Huh?” Cang Jinyu was bewildered.

“It’s right on top of my head. Look closely.”

Ling Qiu’s “nuclear kindness” scared Cang Jinyu into making an excuse and vanishing in a flash. She wasn’t getting involved in a young couple’s spat.

Ling Qiu stared at that bastard who was currently in a heated discussion with Mei Yueling—stuck together like glue, acting like soulmates who wanted to brag to each other day and night. Her white teeth were nearly ground to dust. She’d never seen someone ignore their wife in the house for a whole week! An entire week! Just to run outside and tell someone else how great her wife was.

Fang Ziyue wasn’t a block of wood she was a cudgel!

Perhaps Ling Qiu’s resentment was too heavy. Fang Ziyue sensed it, said goodbye to Mei Yueling, stopped her bragging, and trotted over to ask her wife: “What is it? Why are you unhappy?”

Hearing this, Ling Qiu let out a short “Ha!” She was rarely jealous, and her tone twisted through nine bends and eighteen turns: “I’m fine here by myself. If you have time to run over here, why don’t you spend a bit more time chatting with Yueling?”

Ling Qiu thought she was being sarcastic enough that Fang Ziyue should understand her meaning. Unexpectedly, Fang Ziyue smacked her lips, thought for a second, and said very honestly: “True.”

True?! She dared to say ‘True’?!

Ling Qiu couldn’t hold it in anymore. She suddenly pinched the soft flesh at Fang Ziyue’s waist and gave it a hard twist, her face flushing with anger. She shouted: “Fang Ziyue! Are you a cudgel?!”

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