After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Trap

The struggle finally concluded with Fang Ziyue forcibly pulling a pair of long johns onto her wife.

Having exerted every ounce of her strength to get those pants on, Fang Ziyue was now sprawled exhaustedly across the bed, panting and drenched in sweat, feeling as though her wife had nearly cost her half her life.

Lying beside her, the little mermaid bared her tiny, sharp white teeth, squinting as she tugged dissatisfiedly at the skin-tight long johns. Fang Ziyue, watching with one eye open, saw her wife looked ready to tear the fabric to shreds. She couldn’t help but marvel that a mermaid a species hailed as the overlord of the ocean really didn’t lack stamina. Even with the aura of death having receded only slightly, she was already finding it difficult to restrain her wife.

It had to be said that Ling Qiu was only held back by her fear of hurting Fang Ziyue; she hadn’t truly put her full effort into struggling.

Rolling over to embrace the little mermaid who was still battling the pants, Fang Ziyue pinched the tip of her ear and sighed: “My good Qiuqiu, let that poor pair of pants go. Besides, the weather has been turning cold lately. If you don’t wear them and end up with rheumatism, what then? You should know that many young people prioritize style over warmth, only to end up with chronic joint pain when they’re older, regretting it when it’s too late.”

The little mermaid, who was busy gnawing on a piece of fabric to grind her teeth, was full of question marks: “???”

What is this human talking about? Since when do merfolk get rheumatism?

Isn’t that as nonsensical as saying a fish might drown?

Having just been “educated” by Fang Ziyue on what rheumatism was, the little mermaid turned around and took a bite out of the big liar in protest. Her sharp teeth bit into Fang Ziyue’s neck with moderate force—like a little vampire who hadn’t grown up yet, greedy but unwilling to actually pierce the skin of the person she liked. Instead, she could only rub against the skin with her soft, warm lips in a fit of bashful rage, leaving behind a touch as smooth as a feather.

A certain someone, so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, let out a symbolic cry for mercy, treating it as a way to give her wife some “face.”

The little mermaid, highly sensitive to emotions, was clearly dissatisfied with this half-dead reaction and couldn’t help but thrash about on the bed in a huff. However, despite the waves she was making on her side, Fang Ziyue remained as steady as a mountain in a storm; no one was going to stop her from closing her eyes.

Perhaps because Fang Ziyue’s exhaustion was too obvious, the little mermaid eventually stopped her thrashing.

The afternoon sun filtered through the thin gauze, casting gentle shadows that fell upon the sleeping woman’s exquisite features, making her beautiful face seem to glow with a soft luster.

Light shimmering in the deep sea always attracts fish, regardless of whether danger lurks there. Just like now, the little mermaid propped up her cheek, her dark blue eyes watching the other woman intently, like a deep ocean wrapping the other person firmly within itself.

The sea accepts all rivers; Ling Qiu’s gaze held a depth of tolerance that most would find hard to understand. She parted her pinkish-white lips slightly, and a melodious song began to rise softly.

Waves breaking on the reefs, fish swaying their fins, grains of sand drifting through the tracks of the water, traversing step by step from East to West, from South to North, observing the entire vast ocean.

Fang Ziyue felt herself become a grain of golden sand, carried by the seawater, listening to the voices of all things in the deep. A light mist rose, gently lifting her to the heights, passing through colorful coral forests, breaking the surface, and reaching the clouds.

Fang Ziyue slept exceptionally well; from the seabed to the clouds, even her mental energy seemed to have smoothed out.

When Fang Ziyue woke up and opened her eyes, it was already the next morning.

She tilted her head to look beside her. A certain someone, curled into a ball of fish, was leaning firmly against her, sleeping peacefully.

Of course, if one were to ignore the fact that the aura of death on Ling Qiu was even heavier than when she first arrived, Fang Ziyue might have rewarded her little mermaid with a sweet morning kiss. But now, connecting her dream to her stabilized mental energy, Fang Ziyue’s expression changed instantly.

Torn between anger and distress, she raised her palm, so anxious she felt like striking out. She truly wanted to flip her wife over and give her a spanking for discipline, but she couldn’t bear to do it. Ultimately, the raised palm fell gently. Full of heartache and helplessness, Fang Ziyue picked up the sleeping little mermaid and went to the garden.

The pond had been cleaned once and was very clear. The moment Fang Ziyue put her in, the sleeping Ling Qiu instinctively manifested her fish tail. From Fang Ziyue’s perspective, her heartless wife simply rolled over underwater and went back to sleep.

Fang Ziyue could roughly guess what Ling Qiu was thinking.

Previously, when she took Ling Qiu in, Ling Qiu gave her a box full of pearls. Now that she was feeding her various fruits and vegetables for free, Ling Qiu naturally thought of repaying the human who was good to her hence that dream.

It was also the first time Fang Ziyue realized that having one’s mental energy soothed by a mermaid felt like this. Light, and comfortable.

But while she was comfortable, someone else was not.

Back at the Liang house, Ling Qiu had soothed Liang Xiuyue’s mental energy almost every other day. Liang Xiuyue often dreamed of an endless sea. This had gradually given him an illusion—he wondered if he was a “dragon” from ancient Earth legends, born of the sea and destined to rise to the clouds.

He felt he shouldn’t be confined to the Desolate Planet; perhaps, as Qiaorou said, the Imperial Planet was the place where he could truly show his worth. Holding power in the safe zone and being flattered by the locals, a conceited Liang Xiuyue thought: There’s no reason my father could carve out a world on the Imperial Planet but I can’t.

As the saying goes, “a tiger father does not have a canine son.” He was determined to go to the Imperial Planet.

However, for the past few days, he had no longer dreamed of that sea.

Liang Xiuyue sat behind his desk, propping up his head in pain. His mental energy was still stable, but he felt uneasy. Did the disappearance of the sea in his dreams mean fate was hinting that he shouldn’t go to the Imperial Planet?

The more he thought, the more frustrated he became, so he summoned his subordinates. “The matter I asked you to investigate what’s the result?”

He wanted to know which bastard had spread the rumor that his healthy mental state was due to the help of that crazy woman at his house. By now, who on the Desolate Planet didn’t know this rumor? Now, whenever Liang Xiuyue went out, he felt like everyone was laughing at him, their gazes filled with mockery.

The subordinate, under his impatient gaze, broke into a cold sweat. He carefully weighed his words and whispered: “Young Master, the other party’s technological level is significantly higher than ours. We’ve done our best, but we can’t find them yet.”

Liang Xiuyue kicked the desk in fury. “Trash! A pack of useless trash!”

Having cursed them countless times, Liang Xiuyue didn’t even have the energy to stay angry at these weaklings. He waved them out and immediately notified the old housekeeper to settle their commissions. “Tell them to get lost!”

His face was ashen. If they couldn’t even handle such a small matter, why was he keeping these parasites? To suck his blood?!

The Liang family’s old housekeeper was a legacy left by Liang Xiuyue’s father. He was fiercely loyal and worried constantly for the young master. He thought for a long time before finally deciding to offer a reminder.

“Young Master, have you considered that perhaps the person who started this rumor wants you to give up on the Miss?”

The old housekeeper saw things clearly. He had been promoted by the elder Liang and owed him a debt of gratitude. He trusted the elder’s vision and arrangements, so he always believed the mentally unstable Miss Liang served a great purpose. Even if everyone called her a lunatic, he didn’t recommend his master kick her out.

But his status was such that he couldn’t control Liang Xiuyue’s thoughts especially with Gu Qiaorou whispering in his ear. Seeing his master’s intent to expel Miss Liang becoming more obvious, he couldn’t hold back: “The old master told you to take good care of her. Even for the sake of his entrustment, you shouldn’t leave her outside.”

Liang Xiuyue let out a cold snort: “Why are even you taking the side of an outsider? Others are stepping on my head and nearly cursing me to my face! And you still want me to keep that lunatic?!”

If it weren’t for that crazy woman, would he be a target for rumors, making him unable to even leave his house? Liang Xiuyue had lived on this planet for twenty-odd years, and this was the first time he had been so humiliated. How could he tolerate it?

“That lunatic is at the home of that woman surnamed Fang, right? Tomorrow, gather everyone for me. I want everyone to see clearly that aside from being lazy and causing trouble, that crazy old woman can’t do a single thing!”

Having fallen completely into the trap, Liang Xiuyue ignored the old housekeeper’s earnest persuasion and hung up. Sitting in his chair, he grew angrier the more he thought about it. He used to think the old housekeeper was a great asset left by his father, but now he saw the man had developed a different heart. If it weren’t for the fact that the Liang family’s affairs still relied on his management, he would have kicked him out too!

“What? The old housekeeper has a different heart?” Receiving the call from a frustrated Liang Xiuyue, Gu Qiaorou was surprised. In her view, anyone might betray Liang Xiuyue, but the old housekeeper was the least likely.

However, that old man didn’t like her and always looked at her like she was one of the “lowly commoners.” It was as if she were a vixen bewitching their young master into neglecting his duties. This left the usually popular Gu Qiaorou very dissatisfied.

Thus, without a second thought, she added insult to injury: “Is he not just relying on the fact that he manages the family’s affairs and that you can’t easily do without him? That’s why he doesn’t treat you, the Young Master, as the true owner.”

Gu Qiaorou’s eyes darted as she thought of a way to frame it. She smiled coquettishly and soothed him: “Why don’t we leave him here when we go to the Imperial Planet? Since he loves managing the family’s trifles so much, why not fulfill his wish?”

Aside from that old geezer, everyone around Liang Xiuyue listened to her. If she could just get rid of that old man who always looked down on her, her Brother Liang would be firmly in her grasp, unable to escape.

Gu Qiaorou’s words hit the mark. Liang Xiuyue immediately made the decision. “Good! When we go to the Imperial Planet, we’ll leave that old thing right here!”

Unaware of how foolish this move was, Liang Xiuyue was smug, even becoming intimate with Gu Qiaorou. He thought that, in the end, Qiaorou was the one who cared for him most.

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