After Failing To Win Over the Yandere Best Actress, I Got Marked - Chapter 22

Seeing the words on the screen, Ye Qinglan’s gaze remained cold and devoid of emotion.

Su Jin also saw the message on Ye Qinglan’s phone; the line of text felt like a needle dipped in ice, piercing her heart and making her tremble.

Ye Qinglan’s father?

【 Her dad is actually this kind of person? 】

The System replied indifferently:

【 Just a stepfather. 】

【 Stepfather? 】

Su Jin suddenly remembered that Ye Qinglan came from a reconstituted family.

Ye Qinglan’s mother, Ye Hui, had taken her along when she married Fang Qi’s father. Unexpectedly, the man had violent tendencies. Whenever a conflict arose between Ye Qinglan and Fang Qi, it was always Ye Qinglan who was beaten.

And Ye Hui had turned a blind eye to it all.

It wasn’t until Ye Qinglan went to university that she finally left the Fang household.

Yet, to her surprise, the Fang family had no intention of letting her go.

【 This time, Ye Qinglan is in real trouble. 】

The System sounded gleeful.

Su Jin’s brow furrowed deeply as she looked at Ye Qinglan with heartache. Because the System was present, she didn’t go over to comfort her, pretending she knew nothing.

The phone continued to ring stubbornly, each vibration like a heavy hammer striking the stagnant air of the living room.

Exasperated, Ye Qinglan simply blacklisted the number.

The world finally fell silent.

But moments later, it rang again. This time, it was an unfamiliar string of numbers.

Ye Qinglan stared at it for two seconds before hitting “Accept.”

The moment the call connected, a woman’s cold and detached voice came through.

“Ye Qinglan! Fang Qi is threatening suicide. Your father said you must handle this!”

Sitting nearby, Su Jin could clearly hear every word from the phone.

“As for Producer Song’s side, you are to issue a statement immediately. Say that your love was unrequited and you intentionally framed Fang Qi. Once things settle down, the company will clear your name.”

Su Jin’s brow tightened even harder.

Pressuring her own daughter to save someone else’s daughter.

If the System hadn’t said otherwise, she truly wouldn’t have believed this was her biological mother.

“My father is already dead.”

Ye Qinglan spoke nonchalantly, but her knuckles gripping the phone turned white, and a suppressed tremor escaped through the gaps between her fingers.

“If you want to handle this, you’d better contact Song Jing. After all, Fang Qi slept with her and is using bed photos to threaten her. She won’t just stand by and watch.”

The moment she finished speaking, Fang Qi’s wailing erupted from the other end of the line.

“I worked so hard to get to where I am today, and now it’s all ruined! I don’t want to live anymore!”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I can’t take care of you properly. You must look after your health from now on.”

“Qi Qi!”

The other end was a chaotic mess of noise.

After a while, Ye Hui’s weary voice returned. “Qinglan, Qi Qi is your sister regardless. You both work in the entertainment industry; you know how much this affects her. Just help her. Do it for my sake.”

Ye Qinglan let out a cold laugh. “If it weren’t for your sake, Fang Zhiqiang would have been behind bars long ago!”

“I promised you back then to let Fang Zhiqiang off to repay the debt of birth. Why do you think I would agree to your terms now to give up my future to save someone who tried to drug me?”

Hearing this, the person on the other end was stunned. “…Drug? What drug?”

Ye Qinglan didn’t elaborate. “Tell Fang Qi for me: this is her retribution!”

With that, she hung up the phone.

Tossing the phone aside, Ye Qinglan leaned back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Su Jin, who had been watching her closely, didn’t miss the flash of pain and disgust in her eyes. It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing Su Jin’s heart.

Fang Zhiqiang’s violence, Ye Hui’s partiality, and Fang Qi’s framing and insults it was like a suffocating net that had covered Ye Qinglan since childhood.

She only became a villain because she was pushed to the brink.

After a moment, Ye Qinglan seemed to remember the person sitting next to her. She turned her head. “I won’t hold what happened today against you, but don’t let there be a next time.”

Su Jin nodded submissively. “I understand.”

Ye Qinglan gave a brief hum, stood up, and went upstairs, never looking at Su Jin again.

Ye Qinglan’s back remained as straight as a pine as she climbed the stairs, but she swayed almost imperceptibly at the landing.

Su Jin stared at the spot where she disappeared. It wasn’t until she heard the faint click of the bedroom door on the second floor that she dared to release her clenched, white knuckled fists.

The System chattered incessantly in her mind:

【 Look at her cold-blooded attitude. As expected of a blackened villain even her own mother’s pleas are useless. 】

“Shut up,” Su Jin roared internally. “What do you know?”

“A mother like that is better off not existing at all.”

It really wasn’t easy for Ye Qinglan to have survived until now.

Meanwhile, in the Fang family villa on the other side of the city, Fang Qi was disheveled, smashing things. Expensive cosmetics were shattered all over the floor. “I don’t care! Ye Qinglan ruined my life; I’m going to make her lose everything!”

Fang Zhiqiang took a harsh drag of his cigarette and crushed the butt into the coffee table. “Don’t rush. I’ve already hired water armies and marketing accounts. The smear campaign will break soon. We’ll say Ye Qinglan acted out of unrequited love and intentionally framed you. Then we’ll dig up her old ‘black history’ and stir it up.”

Ye Hui held her phone, lost in a daze.

Hearing Fang Zhiqiang’s words, she spoke up without thinking: “Qi Qi, what was Qinglan talking about with the drugging?”

Fang Qi’s body stiffened, and she immediately dodged the subject. “How should I know?”

Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she said firmly, “She probably tried to climb into Song Jing’s bed and failed, so she drugged me to make me lose my reputation! It must be that!”

It was unclear if Ye Hui believed her, but she stared at her with eyes that seemed to see right through her.

“If you hadn’t provoked Qinglan, why would she drug you…”

“What’s the point of saying this now?” Fang Zhiqiang interrupted her sharply. “The most important thing is Qi Qi’s career. If she loses her job, we’ll all be out on the street!”

Fang Zhiqiang’s eyes were red with rage. Seeing Fang Qi crying and sobbing, he couldn’t restrain his inner violence. He raised his hand and slapped her hard, cursing, “Stop crying, you useless waste!”

Fang Qi slumped to the floor, clutching her face and biting her lip, her eyes filled with poisonous resentment.

She would make sure Ye Qinglan suffered the exact same fate as her!

Fang Zhiqiang moved quickly. That very evening, a video began circulating online.

In the video, a beautiful and dignified woman appeared, her face filled with the pleasure of an intimate act.

Simultaneously, an audio recording was leaked.

Why doesn’t she like me? Since I can’t have her, I won’t let anyone else have her! Find someone to drug Fang Qi and send her into Song Jing’s room. Have the paparazzi wait outside. This is the consequence of rejecting me!

The video and audio immediately caused a massive uproar.

#YeQinglanUnrequitedLove

#YeQinglanFramesFangQiAndSongJing

#YeQinglanDrugging

#YeQinglanVideo

A series of hashtags regarding Ye Qinglan climbed the trending charts, replacing the heat of Song Jing and Fang Qi.

The two women were having dinner when the news broke.

Hearing Zhao Man’s report over the phone, Ye Qinglan was unsurprised. She said calmly, “I know.”

Su Jin, sitting nearby, heard Zhao Man’s voice and was so shocked she dropped her chopsticks.

Su Jin pulled out her phone and stared at the looped, synthesized video. Her fingertips turned white from the force of her grip.

Although the woman in the frame had Ye Qinglan’s face, her expression was distorted and unfamiliar. Combined with the edited audio, it painted Ye Qinglan as a “mad beauty” driven by unrequited love.

“This is too much!” Su Jin slammed her phone onto the table, the impact making her chopsticks jump. “The pores on this video don’t even line up. Do they think netizens are idiots?”

Zhao Man’s voice faltered for a second. “Su Jin… is still at your house?”

Ye Qinglan didn’t answer that. She simply said, “File the lawsuits. Every account that posted it sue them all.”

Ye Qinglan daintily wiped the corner of her mouth as if reading someone else’s gossip. “A third-rate hacker hired by Fang Zhiqiang reaching this level of quality is already an over performance.”

Su Jin’s hands were balled into fists, her anger reaching its peak. “How can they be so shameless? Fang Qi is the one doing evil; why should you have to pay the bill for her?”

Ye Qinglan reached out and took Su Jin’s phone away. “Don’t look at it. Don’t let these things affect your mood.”

“Aren’t you even a little angry?” Su Jin asked.

Ye Qinglan pushed a glass of warm water toward Su Jin, her tone gentle. “If you make yourself sick with anger, wouldn’t that just be letting them win?”

“But this is about your reputation!” Su Jin’s eyes grew red with anxiety. “How can they turn black into white like this…”

“Turning black into white?” Ye Qinglan chuckled softly, though there was no mirth in her eyes. “That is what the Fang family is best at.”

She pressed a tissue over Su Jin’s trembling hand. “Don’t worry, the company’s technical department isn’t useless. We won’t let them succeed.”

“No matter who it is, they will pay the price!”

Ye Qinglan’s tone was ethereal, her voice as light as a snake’s hiss.

Strangely, a chill ran down Su Jin’s spine.

Late at night, Su Jin tossed and turned in the guest bed, Ye Qinglan’s voice echoing in her mind.

‘No matter who it is, they will pay the price.’

She seemed to be talking about the Fang family, but also perhaps about others.

Su Jin couldn’t figure it out. She stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

Suddenly, the System’s notification sounded like a thunderclap:

【 Ding! Emergency Mission Issued: [Consolidate Mark] Before 24:00 tonight, engage in sexual relations with Ye Qinglan to complete the secondary marking. Reward for success: 20 million Energy Coins. Penalty for failure: Forced electric shock (duration: 60 minutes). 】

Su Jin bolted upright, nearly rolling off the bed. “System, are you crazy?!”

【 Host, please stay calm. This is the best time. 】

The System tried to entice her.

【 Go and comfort her; won’t this mission be a piece of cake? 】

“Cake my ass!” Su Jin hissed under her breath. “Look at what time it is! She’s being blackmailed by the entire internet, and I’m supposed to do that? What’s the difference between that and taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability?”

【 The mission is above all else! 】

The System began to threaten.

【 Don’t forget our agreement. If you dare to defy… 】

“Agreement?” Su Jin sneered. “You promised me before you wouldn’t forcibly take over my body! And now you’re playing this game?”

“Fang Zhiqiang is causing trouble. What Ye Qinglan needs right now is support, not some messy mission! If you have any shred of humanity, delay the mission time!”

The System’s tone weakened.

【 Delay until when? 】

Su Jin’s mind calculated rapidly. “At least until this situation is resolved, right?”

Walking into her room now would just be asking for a beating.

Thinking of the last marking, Su Jin felt a flush of heat. She quickly shook off those distracting thoughts. “Anyway, until this matter is over, I’m not in the mood for missions. If you forcibly take over my body, just wait to be reported!”

【 … 】

The System went silent. After a long while, it uttered,

【 Maximum delay of 72 hours. If not completed within 72 hours, the penalty will be doubled. 】

“Only three days? You”

【 Host, this is the maximum extension I can provide. If you do not agree, then the mission must be done tonight. 】 The System refused to back down further.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a silver edge on the floor.

Su Jin thought of Ye Qinglan. She wondered what she was doing right now.

Fine, 72 hours is better than nothing.

After a moment of silence, Su Jin suddenly asked, “What if… I mean if… I don’t want to complete this mission?”

The System didn’t answer. There was only the sound of cold static buzzing in her mind a silent warning.

Su Jin closed her eyes and buried her face in the pillow, pretending she hadn’t heard.

Since the System agreed to the delay, I’ll deal with the future later.

Now, sleep!

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Ye Qinglan stood by the window. She watched the light in the guest room turn off, then on, then off again, her fingers unconsciously rubbing together.

She suddenly missed Su Jin’s embrace warm and clean, like a beam of light illuminating her dark world.

Her phone screen lit up. It was a message from the technical department:

【 President Ye, we’ve traced the IP address Fang Zhiqiang used to buy the trending searches. Also… your mother’s bank account recently received a massive sum from the Song family. 】

Ye Qinglan looked at the screen, a cold arc forming at the corner of her mouth.

So that’s how it is. No wonder Ye Hui was helping them so much.

She deleted the message, tossed the phone aside, and looked back out the window.

The night was deep. A much larger storm was quietly brewing.