After Failing To Win Over the Yandere Best Actress, I Got Marked - Chapter 29

Ye Qinglan leaned against the wall, listening to Zhao Man’s rapid-fire report, her gaze as cold as ice.

Standing to the side, Su Jin watched Zhao Man stuff a throat lozenge into Ye Qinglan’s hand while she spoke. Su Jin suddenly remembered a detail from the original novel. Zhao Man had been Ye Qinglan’s manager since her debut. She had stayed by her side even after the exposure of those explicit photos, never giving up on her.

An indescribable feeling welled up in Su Jin’s heart.

In the original story, she was just a “scum Alpha” who didn’t even have the right to stay by Ye Qinglan’s side, let alone care for her the way Zhao Man did…

But she quickly pulled herself together. Why am I thinking about this?

The most important thing now was to wait for Ye Qinglan to accumulate enough energy to strip the System away; otherwise, that blade would forever hang over her head.

Unaware of Su Jin’s thoughts, Ye Qinglan unwrapped the candy and turned to press the mint into Su Jin’s mouth.

“What is the company’s attitude?” Ye Qinglan asked.

Zhao Man’s eyes sharpened. Su Jin was equally stunned, the cool flavor spreading through her mouth, instantly lifting her mood.

“What else could it be?” Zhao Man glared at her, gritting her teeth. “The company is definitely on your side. If they decide to protect Fang Qi, the company will issue a statement to withdraw from the production! At worst, we lose some penalty fees, but we can’t work with a mad dog. Besides, I’ve already contacted the director for your next project. I sent the script to your email…”

Vibrate… Vibrate…

The buzzing of a phone interrupted Zhao Man. She looked at Su Jin with dissatisfaction.

Su Jin apologized and, seeing the name “Sister Li” on the screen, instinctively ducked into the kitchen.

The moment she swiped to answer, Sister Li’s voice boomed like thunder: “Su Jin! Where the hell are you? I went to your apartment and there wasn’t a soul there. Where’s your luggage? Did you move?”

Su Jin gripped the phone, peeking at Zhao Man’s scrutinizing gaze in the hall. She lowered her voice: “Sister Li, I… I wanted a change of environment lately, so I moved out.”

“Change of environment?” Sister Li’s voice rose sharply. “Do you have any idea what’s happening? The mess between Ye Qinglan and Fang Qi is huge! Paparazzi have almost surrounded your old complex! And you dare to run around? I’m telling you, find a safe place and stay there. Don’t cause trouble for me…”

“I know, I know,” Su Jin replied vaguely, feeling their eyes on her. She whispered, “The place I’m staying now is very safe, really! I’ll tell you the specific address after a while, don’t worry…”

“Don’t worry?” Sister Li sneered. “Are you with Ye Qinglan? Let me tell you, Su Jin, don’t you know what kind of person she is? She’s someone who could play Fang Qi right into a jail cell. Watch yourself, or else…”

“Sister Li!” Su Jin interrupted her sharply. “She’s not like what you think!”

The other end went silent for a few seconds before Sister Li huffed, “Fine, fine. Your wings are strong now, you have a backer, so of course you look down on our small temple.”

“Sister Li, I didn’t mean it like that…” Su Jin was cut off before she could finish.

“I don’t care who you’re with. Do not act rashly regarding the online situation. Ye Qinglan has fans and traffic. if she trips, she can get back up. If you fall in, you won’t even know how you died.”

Sister Li issued a few more warnings before hanging up.

Leaning against the cold kitchen wall, Su Jin realized her palms were covered in sweat. She took a deep breath and walked back into the hall, just in time to hear Zhao Man saying to Ye Qinglan: “…and that Su Jin, what’s her deal? She was glued to you in today’s news. Her manager just called me to ask…”

Ye Qinglan looked up, her gaze crossing the hall to land on Su Jin. Her voice was flat: “She’s living here.”

Zhao Man: “…”

She whipped her head toward Su Jin, her expression shifting from shock to scrutiny, finally settling into a long sigh. “Fine, you two… forget it, I can’t be bothered.”

She pulled out a tablet. “Let’s talk about the next step. I’ve already found a lawyer for Fang Qi’s side. As for Song Jing…”

Su Jin stood still, watching Ye Qinglan analyze the situation point by point under Zhao Man’s questioning. The scene felt surreal. This person, who had been paranoid to the point of madness in the rain, was now calmly deploying her next moves as if the loss of control in the car had been an illusion.

“Su Jin?” Ye Qinglan’s voice broke her thoughts. “What did your manager say?”

“Ah?” Su Jin snapped out of it, waving her hands. “No…nothing. Just told me not to run around.”

Deliberately ignoring Sister Li’s warnings, she walked to Ye Qinglan’s side and lightly brushed her fingers against the back of her hand a soothing gesture she had learned at the police station.

Ye Qinglan’s fingertips trembled imperceptibly before she quietly grasped Su Jin’s hand back.

Zhao Man took all this in, rubbed her brow, and ultimately said nothing more. She just handed the tablet to Ye Qinglan. “Look at this. This is the capital flow of the Song Group over the last six months. I had a hacker friend look into it. Guess what…”

Seeming to avoid Su Jin, her voice grew quieter until it was a whisper.

Watching the two of them huddled over the data, Su Jin felt lost for a moment. Outside, the rain had stopped. A faint ray of sunlight pierced the clouds, landing on the crown of Ye Qinglan’s head and giving her cold silhouette a warm glow.

[Host, I couldn’t find it.]

The System’s voice suddenly rang in her mind.

Su Jin froze: Find what?

[Ye Qinglan’s blackened progress!] The System paused, its mechanical voice carrying a strange fluctuation. [However, looking at it now, although the progress is a bit fast, it’s consistent with the original work.]

Su Jin remembered the situation. She couldn’t think of a rebuttal and just gave an “Oh.”

So Ye Qinglan started blackening this early.

[Emotions certainly accumulate before exploding. Your abandonment was the final fuse.] The System continued, issuing a new task: [The mission enters the next phase. Complete a roleplay task within 24 hours. Reward: 20 million.]

Su Jin: ?

What kind of thing? She didn’t react immediately.

The System sighed and displayed a blue screen before her eyes.

What came into view was a set of black lace lingerie the hem was so short it barely covered the thighs. Beside it was a cat ear headband and a leather collar.

Her face flushed crimson instantly. She slammed the interface shut: System, you’re crazy! What is this?!

[Play! If you don’t like this, there’s also a bunny girl, leather suit, or this kitten outfit.] The System offered no room for negotiation.

[Any style is fine, as long as the task is completed. Don’t get hung up on the details.]

Su Jin’s face was so red it looked like it might bleed. It’s not a matter of details! Is this even clothes? Are you sure this can be worn?

If she wore this, wouldn’t she be killed by Ye Qinglan? Thinking of that scene, Su Jin shivered.

No, no, no. Change the task. Anything else, but not this.

The System ignored her: [Since the Host will not choose, the program will choose for you.]

Ding…

[The mission props have been placed in the Host’s room. Wishing the Host an early completion of the task~]

The System vanished immediately.

Su Jin clenched her fists, stealing a glance at Ye Qinglan in the living room. Ye Qinglan was frowning at the tablet, her profile as sharp as a blade, showing no sign of “needing to be cheered up.”

But since the task was issued, she had no power to refuse. Su Jin bit her lip and decided to go take a look first.

“Um… I’m going upstairs first,” Su Jin muttered from the kitchen, fleeing to the second floor before receiving a response.

Zhao Man watched her back with a strange look. She really didn’t feel at ease leaving someone like this around Ye Qinglan. But meeting Ye Qinglan’s cold gaze, she couldn’t say it. Forget it, she’d deal with it later.

Su Jin hurried upstairs. Entering her room, she saw the eye-searing garment on the bed. Her fingers recoiled as if burned when they touched the lace.

“Ah! How am I supposed to wear this out?!” she muttered to herself.

She picked up the edge of the skirt with two fingers. Once unfolded, she found the fabric pitifully sparse just enough to barely cover the hip line. The shoulder straps were as thin as spider silk.

When the fur of the cat-ear headband brushed her palm, she yanked her hand back. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked at her reddened ears in the mirror, her mind uncontrollably imagining Ye Qinglan’s reaction to this outfit.

What would she do? Some images flashed through her mind, making her face turn even redder.

Su Jin closed her eyes and threw the clothes far away. No, no, no. I absolutely can’t wear this.

“The System is doing this on purpose!” She hugged a pillow over her face and rolled around on the bed, her voice muffled. “What roleplay? It just wants to kill me!”

Her movements were too large; a bell on the leather collar suddenly gave a light chime. Su Jin was so startled she nearly rolled off the bed. She scanned the room warily, only to realize she had accidentally knocked the collar over.

She picked it up. The metal buckle pressed into her palm, engraved with tiny rose patterns and polished to a smooth finish. Clearly, it was a meticulously prepared prop. Furthermore, there were two other small, delicate bells. They were quite cute if only their purpose weren’t so erotic.

Su Jin looked at the scraps of fabric on the floor again, stood up with a blushing face to pick them up, and then stuffed them all under the duvet.

Ignore it, ignore it. Out of sight, out of mind. Anyway, the time limit was twenty-four hours. She could think about it tomorrow. With that self-consolation, the heat from her shame finally dissipated a little.

“I wonder if Ye Qinglan and the others are done talking,” she murmured.

She wanted to go downstairs but was afraid of disturbing them. In the end, she just sat in her room scrolling through Weibo on her alt account.

Downstairs, Ye Qinglan and Zhao Man finished their discussion. Once the next steps were decided, Ye Qinglan stood up to see her out. Zhao Man looked stiffly at the “guest-expelling” gesture and swallowed the words she had planned to stay and say.

She glanced toward the stairs inconspicuously and smiled at Ye Qinglan. “Then I’ll head back. Contact me if anything happens.”

Ye Qinglan gave a hum of acknowledgement. After seeing her out, she turned and headed upstairs.