After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Conspiracy

It was a huge blunder, but Fang Ziyue didn’t regret it.

She placed the chicken, which had finally grown tired of struggling, between them, inadvertently revealing the scraped wound on her left hand. The skin was rubbed raw, red, swollen, and bleeding; it was clear Fang Ziyue hadn’t treated it at all.

Yet she acted as if she couldn’t feel the pain, shaking her hand and chuckling softly: “Everyone else has flowers; I wanted you to have them, too.”

Ling Qiu froze for a moment, her grip on the flower stems tightening. After a long while, she sighed and carefully set the flowers aside. She grabbed Fang Ziyue’s left hand and said in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Tricks for coaxing little girls don’t work on me. I haven’t planned on forgiving you.”

Four years ago, thanks to Fang Ziyue, she had become the laughingstock of half the entertainment industry. Programs, scripts, and even endorsements she had negotiated were canceled one after another. During that period, she lived a life worse than an 18th-tier starlet. Worse still, her manager at the time actually wanted her to entertain clients and trade her body for resources.

Wasn’t it the scandalous sight of Lin Mingcheng and Lin Mengyan rolling together that ruined the wedding? Why was it that she was the one being restricted and suppressed at every turn? What did she do wrong? If Designer Z hadn’t helped her back then, she would have probably quit the industry long ago.

“Hearing isn’t always believing, and seeing isn’t necessarily the truth.” Fang Ziyue wasn’t discouraged; she rebutted with a smile: “Some things might not be what they seem.”

Back then, the idea to drug Lin Mingcheng came from Lin Mengyan, the person found was arranged by Lin Mengyan, and the person who slept with Lin Mingcheng was also Lin Mengyan. But the idiot original owner of this body was fooled by Lin Mengyan into taking the blame for the drugging. In the end, she was not only loathed by Lin Mingcheng but was also blacklisted across the entire internet.

She lacked discernment and harbored malicious thoughts; the original owner deserved to be hated. However, to raise her wife’s favorability, Fang Ziyue had long since started investigating the events of that year, slowly collecting evidence. She wasn’t going to carry this “black pot” (unjust blame) anymore.

Ling Qiu’s movements paused. She looked up, her gaze sharp, filled with scrutiny and an imposing pressure. She asked tonelessly, “What do you mean by that?”

The only grievance between her and Fang Ziyue was the drugging incident. If Fang Ziyue was framed, then…

“When I’ve clarified the events of that year, I’ll naturally tell you.” Fang Ziyue looked into Ling Qiu’s clear eyes and smiled: “For now, let’s just film the show properly. After all, the program team pays quite well.”

Fang Ziyue intentionally used banter to divert the topic, and Ling Qiu didn’t press further. To her, the past was the past; the truth Fang Ziyue found would only offer a possibility of breaking the ice in their relationship.

Her primary concern right now was Fang Ziyue’s wound. “How did you hurt your hand?” The program team shouldn’t have arranged such dangerous tasks.

“The Strychnos had to be traded for Atractylodes growing at the peak. When I was digging for it, I had bad luck and stepped on some loose gravel. I nearly fell, and the injury came from scraping against the rocks while trying to grab on.” Fang Ziyue waved her hand dismissively, clearly unbothered. “It’s a minor injury, no big deal.”

No big deal??

Ling Qiu’s lips pressed down. She glanced at the live stream comments. Everyone was saying Fang Ziyue had nearly fallen off a small cliff, risking her life just to trade for the Strychnos.

The most important thing is that the Strychnos were for Ling-jie. Honestly, watching Lin Mengyan get outshone just now was so satisfying. Right? All these years, that Lin bitch has been snubbing Ling-ling at every turn. Ling-ling doesn’t like to argue and ignores her, which made her think she could fly to heaven!

Even though what Fang Ziyue did before is unforgivable, looking at her behavior now, I get the feeling she’s turned over a new leaf and wants to make it up to Ling-jie. You’re not alone; I feel like Fang Ziyue is protecting Ling-jie, too. Sending the Strychnos felt like ‘You must have what others have, and I won’t allow anyone to show off in front of you’! Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly the feeling!

Those comments made Ling Qiu feel conflicted. She had to admit that when Fang Ziyue sent the Strychnos to help her out of the jam, she had felt a sense of relief. She even felt a sense of having someone to rely on. This was a feeling she had only experienced with Designer Z even though they had never met, Z gave her a very safe sense of protection.

Looking at Fang Ziyue, who had put the chicken in the coop and was now starting to fix the fence, Ling Qiu felt a trace of reliability and peace. Moreover, Fang Ziyue’s hand was injured just to get her those flowers. Ling Qiu looked at the white flowers and bit her lip, thinking that perhaps she should treat Fang Ziyue a bit better in the future.

After all, she seemed to have truly changed for the better.

Observing secretly that Ling Qiu was carefully transplanting the Strychnos near the bamboo fence, Fang Ziyue hummed a little tune in a good mood. Her wife was the typical “sharp tongue but soft heart” type—the kind who would return a hundredfold of kindness if someone treated her well.

It wasn’t in vain that she “accidentally” got hurt once.

Unaware of what this “white-cut-black” (innocent-looking but devious) woman was thinking, Ling Qiu was still foolishly thinking about giving Fang Ziyue an extra meal at lunch to help her recover.

“What were you doing looking for Ling Qiu!” Having removed his mic, Lin Mingcheng pulled Lin Mengyan into the room and roared at her impatiently: “Lin Mengyan, how many times have I warned you? Don’t go looking for trouble with Ling Qiu again! Do you want a divorce?!”

Lin Mingcheng’s expression was distorted. He truly had a moment of confusion when he got involved with this poisonous woman; if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have separated from Ling Qiu. If he had married Ling Qiu, with her status and ability, what resources could he not obtain? Why would he have to beg Director Chang for a spot on a lousy variety show like he was doing now?

“No! We can’t divorce!” Lin Mengyan’s expression changed instantly. She lunged forward and grabbed Lin Mingcheng’s clothes, begging humbly: “Cheng-ge, you can’t divorce me. I won’t be able to survive if we do!”

Unlike Lin Mingcheng, who was a blatant scumbag wanting to have his cake and eat it too, Lin Mengyan truly loved him. Seeing her submissive and subservient appearance, Lin Mingcheng’s terrible mood finally improved slightly.

In truth, he wasn’t angry just because she went to trouble Ling Qiu. It was only after seeing the comments that he realized Lin Mengyan had taken the flowers he gave her to show off, only to be outshone by the Strychnos Fang Ziyue brought back. This made him feel humiliated he was actually outdone by a woman! How could he accept that?!

Thus, he took his anger out on Lin Mengyan. He had grown tired of living with this woman over the years anyway. Lin Mengyan was thirty-five an old woman. He was truly bored of her.

Lin Mengyan wept piteously; she was terrified. She knew Lin Mingcheng could leave her at any moment. Only by providing him with enough profit and value could she keep him. She wiped her tears, a look of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. She looked up and said to Lin Mingcheng: “Cheng-ge, I’ll help you get Ling Qiu. Just don’t divorce me, okay?”

Lin Mingcheng’s brow furrowed in suspicion: “Are you telling the truth?”

A woman he couldn’t even get his hands on Lin Mengyan had a way?

“A week at the latest, and she will be lying in your bed obediently.” Lin Mengyan’s eyes flickered with a poisonous, sinister light.

It was all that bitch Ling Qiu’s fault! If she hadn’t seduced Cheng-ge, he wouldn’t always be thinking about divorcing her. Since she wanted to destroy her family, she couldn’t blame her for playing dirty!

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