After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Plotting

“Ziyue, you’ve misunderstood.” Lin Mengyan bit her lip, her innocent expression carrying a trace of hard-to-detect stiffness, while her heart surged with resentment.

She blinked and casually flaunted: “I really wanted to help Cheng-ge, but he won’t let me do any heavy work.”

As she spoke, Lin Mengyan sighed, complaining with an air of helplessness: “You know how it is; Cheng-ge is great in every way, but he’s just too cautious. It’s not like I’m made of glass, but he’s always worrying over nothing.”

It must be said that if the original owner of this body were here, Lin Mengyan’s “Green Tea” style of flaunting would have infuriated her to death on the spot.

The live stream comments were already exploding with messages like “Killing the heart with words” and “Best Actress Lin did a great job.”

Fang Ziyue could even feel a probing gaze from behind her one that carried a hint of watching a show which gave her a bit of a headache.

Good grief, her wife was right behind her watching the fun; who would want to know what kind of personality that idiot Lin Mingcheng had?

Fang Ziyue lowered her gaze, remaining unexpectedly calm and composed: “Best Actress Lin must be joking. I wouldn’t know anything about your husband’s business, being an outsider.”

Failing to make Fang Ziyue lose her cool, Lin Mengyan couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Originally, the more uncomfortable Fang Ziyue was, the happier she would be. She hadn’t expected that after a few years of living abroad under an assumed name, this person had become much more steady.

Having said that, Fang Ziyue wore a faint smile and casually shared an anecdote as if to lighten the mood: “Speaking of which, the last time I encountered a situation like this was when I was living in Case Town. An auntie knocked on my door holding a pitch-black iron pot, very enthusiastically trying to sell me the ‘black pot’ (scapegoat/blame). Interestingly, she said: ‘Young lady, you know this black pot of mine is very good; you won’t lose out if you buy it.'”

At this point, Fang Ziyue looked down at Lin Mengyan, who was quite a bit shorter than her, with an imposing gaze. She curled her lips and asked back: “Best Actress Lin is well-traveled and knowledgeable. Tell me, should I buy this ‘black pot’?”

Lin Mengyan’s face turned ugly. Fang Ziyue was using a metaphor to say she was throwing “black pots” (unjust blame) at her, stopping just short of naming names. The audience in the live stream wasn’t stupid; now that the other party had put it this way, she couldn’t continue to play dumb and gloss over it.

“You shouldn’t buy it.” Lin Mengyan said these three words with considerable suppressed frustration.

“Best Actress Lin is right.” Fang Ziyue nodded, for once not arguing further.

Seeing the other party turn the page on that topic, Lin Mengyan actually felt a sense of relief.

Who would have known that Fang Ziyue’s next sentence would almost make her snap.

She heard her suddenly apologize: “Oh, look at my memory. You are clearly a Best Singer, yet I mistakenly called you Best Actress earlier.”

Fang Ziyue raised her hand, offering a seemingly sincere apology: “My fault, my fault. I’m still too young and only see the surface. Best Singer Lin, everyone knows you are broad-minded and gentle, so please don’t be angry with a junior like me.”

These words left Lin Mengyan with no face at all. Fang Ziyue was implicitly saying Lin Mengyan was a “performer” and a “fake,” while also making an innuendo about her age. Yet, she had conveniently invoked Lin Mengyan’s public persona of being gentle and patient. Now, Lin Mengyan could neither win the argument nor curse her out; she was so frustrated she couldn’t stay a moment longer.

She had come to find trouble, but who knew Fang Ziyue had turned into a hard nail. Not only did she fail to gain an advantage, but she was also pricked full of holes by the other party.

Lin Mengyan endured the foul mood in her chest, her face grim. After managing a strained “It’s fine,” she turned and left.

But even as angry as she was, she didn’t forget to limp, pretending her foot injury was very serious.

Fang Ziyue clapped her hands on the spot, sighing that she was indeed “Best Actress” Lin putting so much effort and professionalism into acting; she was truly a role model among “Green Teas” and “White Lotuses.”

Ling Qiu, who had been peeking at this “great drama” from behind, found to her complex surprise that she actually admired Fang Ziyue a little. Being able to drive Lin Mengyan away in anger showed that Fang Ziyue was the superior player.

Although Lin Mengyan hadn’t entered the house just now, the volume of her conversation with Fang Ziyue wasn’t low, and it carried over to where Ling Qiu was. Because of this, many comments in the live stream were already criticizing Ling Qiu for being unkind, saying she just watched Lin Mengyan get bullied without helping.

Some of Lin Mengyan’s fans even ran to Ling Qiu’s live stream to call her shameless, accusing her of being in cahoots with Fang Ziyue to bully their “Mengmeng.” This caused many passersby to get swept up in the sentiment and start saying nasty things.

Closing the door, Fang Ziyue walked over to Ling Qiu and casually asked: “Is your ear still ringing?”

After taking medicine and sleeping, Ling Qiu’s illness was much better and her mind was sharp. She naturally followed the other’s lead: “Much better.”

“Is that so?” Fang Ziyue frowned, her eyes full of distrust: “You said earlier you didn’t have a fever, but it measured thirty-nine degrees.”

As she spoke, Fang Ziyue suddenly lowered her voice and said something. Ling Qiu instinctively leaned forward and then suddenly checked herself, but her gaze still shifted from Fang Ziyue’s eyes to her lips.

Although these movements were subtle, they were enough for the observant audience to realize Ling Qiu was lying; her tinnitus was clearly quite severe.

No wonder Best Actress Ling didn’t go to mediate; it turns out she couldn’t hear due to tinnitus. Ling-jie is too brave for her own good. She’s clearly unwell but insists on acting like she’s fine. My heart aches for Ling-ling. She’s unwell and still gets cursed at. Have those foul-mouthed people apologized yet? Don’t bother. Those people would never apologize. Don’t forget their fanbase’s reputation a pack of mad dogs.

Comparing them like this, that Fang person seems a lot more tolerable now. Wait, wait, wait. She’s still a troublemaker. Since being grouped with her, how many times has Ling-jie been scolded? It’s always a disaster for no reason! That Fang person is just as disgusting as LMY.

The audience in Ling Qiu’s live stream had a very poor opinion of Fang Ziyue. However, Fang Ziyue had just used the excuse of tinnitus to act out a scene with her to help her out of a bind. Now that Fang Ziyue was being spoken of this way by her own fans, Ling Qiu felt a bit uneasy.

She straightened up, looked at the camera, and began: “Actually…”

“Actually nothing. You’re just stubborn. If you’re sick and uncomfortable, you must say so in time. Avoiding the doctor when you’re ill is never good.”

The explanation was cut off by Fang Ziyue, causing Ling Qiu’s brow to furrow slightly.

She didn’t really need Fang Ziyue to protect her like this. To put it plainly, the relationship between them was no better than hers with Lin Mengyan. She had the right to refuse the goodwill Fang Ziyue was projecting, and the right to return it.

“Alright, I’m going to tidy the room.” Fang Ziyue understood her wife’s temper all too well, always stopping just before Ling Qiu’s bottom line.

She patted the dust off her hands, pointed out the location of the cellar to Ling Qiu, and said naturally: “I hope you get better soon. After all, I don’t know how to cook.”

“Don’t know how to cook,” my foot.

In the real world, her lover had once suffered from anorexia. During that time, Fang Ziyue had to find ways to make delicious food every day, hoping Ling Qiu would eat just a little more.

But for now, it was fine. Fang Ziyue turned her back to the camera and Ling Qiu, her face looking relaxed.

Although in this world, her Ling Qiu had forgotten everything and their relationship was discordant, at least she didn’t have those life-threatening symptoms. This was better than anything.

The “exit strategy” Fang Ziyue provided was so swift that Ling Qiu didn’t have time to react before she was forced to follow it. Even the unhappiness Ling Qiu felt just now dissipated into frustration; she wasn’t someone who got angry easily, and the little bit of fire she had managed to gather with great difficulty had struck thin air, vanishing without burning anything.

It was like punching cotton aside from the frustration, there was the helplessness of being overprotected. This was not what she wanted.

Ling Qiu stood up and avoided the camera’s shot, her eyes growing a bit more solemn.

When things are abnormal, there must be a catch. Now that Fang Ziyue was accommodating her and helping her at every turn, Ling Qiu had to raise her vigilance toward her by several degrees.

Fang Ziyue had a track record. She didn’t know what Fang Ziyue was plotting to get from her this time, but it was best to be careful.

Support After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead’s Love Rival