After Failing To Win Over the Yandere Best Actress, I Got Marked - Chapter 32

Morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating fine dust motes dancing in the air. Su Jin woke up enveloped in a cocoon of warmth.

She tried to stretch her body, but the aching soreness radiating from her lower back made her knit her brows in pain this feeling was more grueling than filming an entire day of action scenes.

“Mm…” She let out an unconscious whimper, only then realizing that Ye Qinglan’s arm was firmly circled around her waist.

The person behind her was sleeping deeply, nose pressed against the gland at the back of Su Jin’s neck. Warm breaths brushed against her sensitive skin, sending a ripple of fine tremors through her.

Memories of last night flooded back like a tide: black lace, rabbit ear headbands, Ye Qinglan’s smiling “punishments,” the repeated cries of “Wife” and “Sister,” and the persistent, rhythmic tinkling of the bell…

Su Jin’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson.

Just as she attempted to turn over, the arm around her waist tightened.

Ye Qinglan held her from behind, her breathing steady and long. Strands of her hair were scattered across the pillow, entangled with Su Jin’s, making it impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

Su Jin couldn’t get up and feared waking the person behind her, so she could only remain lying down.

[Ding! Roleplay complete! Reward of 20 million has been credited!]

The system’s electronic voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

Su Jin rolled her eyes internally. She carefully reached out a hand to rub her aching waist, complaining in her heart.

“What kind of trash tasks are these? Can’t you give me something normal? If it’s another task like this next time, don’t blame me for turning on you!”

The system hummed twice.

[You should be secretly rejoicing that you can get rewards at all!]

It muttered softly,

[You’ve saved up so many points and haven’t used a single one.]

Next time, I’ll have to give her a difficult one. It’ll be trouble if she becomes uncontrollable.

Su Jin ignored its internal monologue and tried to gently move Ye Qinglan’s hand away.

However, the movement startled the person behind her. Ye Qinglan unconsciously tightened her grip, nuzzling her cheek against the back of Su Jin’s neck. Her voice was thick with sleep: “Sister… don’t go…”

She seemed to be dreaming of something; her voice was filled with unease.

Su Jin froze, instinctively looking toward the void where the system resided, her heart hanging high in her throat.

If the system found out, then their plan…

Unexpectedly, the system simply whistled, not suspecting a thing. [Host, you’re amazing! This stand-in act is so good it looks real.]

Su Jin breathed a secret sigh of relief and immediately adjusted her expression.

She lowered her eyelids, her long lashes casting a shadow. Her lips trembled slightly as she pursed them the perfect image of a pitiful stand-in who was being used but was powerless to resist.

“Quite the act,” Ye Qinglan suddenly spoke. Where was the sleepiness in her voice?

Before Su Jin could react, her cheek was pinched.

Ye Qinglan had woken up at some unknown point and was looking at her with a half-smile: “Weren’t you quite vocal last night? Why the act of grievance now?”

“You…” Su Jin’s cheeks burned from the pinch, feeling both ashamed and angry. “Ye Qinglan, watch your words!”

“Watch them?” Ye Qinglan leaned in, her nose almost touching Su Jin’s. Pheromones mingled with the languid scent of someone just awakened, enveloping her entirely.

“What, shy now? When you dressed up like that to seduce me last night, why weren’t you shy then?” Her fingertip traced the faint red marks on Su Jin’s neck, her voice intentionally low. “Don’t you just love being treated like this by me…”

“No… I didn’t…” Su Jin lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting shadows.

“No?”

Ye Qinglan’s finger slid from her chin to her collarbone, lingering over those ambiguous red marks. “Crawling into my bed wearing such provocative clothes, and now you’re acting pure?”

Su Jin’s face turned bright red. This jerk clearly knew it was a system task, yet she was saying these things on purpose!

She bit her lip. “I… I just…”

“Just what?” Ye Qinglan suddenly leaned closer, nose nearly touching hers. “Want to say you were forced?”

She let out a low laugh, her fingers pinching the soft flesh of Su Jin’s waist with just enough pressure. “Then who was the one holding onto me last night crying ‘more’?”

[Holy cow!] The system let out a spectator’s gasp. [This plot direction is too intense! Host, your acting is incredible!]

Su Jin was so embarrassed her toes curled, yet she had to force herself to continue the play: “Ye Qinglan, please behave yourself!”

Seeing her bristling, the smile in Ye Qinglan’s eyes deepened, but she intentionally straightened her face: “The word ‘behave’ doesn’t suit you or me. I think you enjoyed it very much.”

Ye Qinglan suddenly flipped back the quilt, revealing the mottled marks on Su Jin’s body. “These weren’t forced by me.”

Su Jin scrambled to pull the quilt back up, but Ye Qinglan pinned her wrist down.

In the morning light, she saw a flash of mischief in the other woman’s eyes and suddenly understood this person was doing this on purpose!

As Ye Qinglan sat up, the collar of her pajamas slipped, revealing several ambiguous red marks on her neck and shoulders.

Su Jin’s gaze fell there uncontrollably. Remembering the madness of the previous night, her heart skipped a beat.

“You…” Just as she was about to snap, Ye Qinglan suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear: “Don’t forget your identity.”

The warm breath puffed against her ear, and Su Jin instantly wilted.

She bit her lower lip indignantly, her eyes reddening, looking every bit the part of someone who had been bullied severely.

Ye Qinglan let go of her with satisfaction. As she stood up, the hem of her shirt barely covered her thighs, her slender legs looking dazzlingly white in the morning light.

She looked back at Su Jin’s staring eyes and hooked her lips: “Seen enough?”

Su Jin snapped her head away, stammering, “I wasn’t looking at you!”

The system called her out ruthlessly: [Liar! Host, your drool is practically falling out!]

Ye Qinglan walked toward the bathroom, intentionally slowing her pace. The waistline visible under the shirt made Su Jin unconsciously swallow.

This subtle movement was sharply caught by Ye Qinglan. She suddenly turned around and strode back to the bed in three steps.

“Since you like watching so much…” She hauled Su Jin up from the bed.

Su Jin’s legs were weak as she was pulled into a full embrace.

“Why don’t we go together?”

“Wait! I haven’t”

The protest was ineffective.

Su Jin was picked up by the waist, the system’s voice fading into the distance: [Tsk tsk tsk, and she said she didn’t want to follow the plot. Isn’t this development great?]

Su Jin flipped it off in her mind.

The moment the bathroom door was kicked shut, the shower head was turned on. A column of cool water poured down.

Su Jin gasped, her black lace pajamas instantly soaked through. The semi-transparent fabric clung to her skin, outlining every curve.

She instinctively crossed her arms, droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes. “Ye Qinglan!”

She shouted, her voice tinged with annoyance. “Are you crazy!”

Ye Qinglan pinned one of her slender wrists against the tiles with one hand. The cold marble sent a shiver through Su Jin.

With her other hand, she brushed the wet hair away from Su Jin’s face, her fingertips grazing the earlobe as if by accident. Water slid down Su Jin’s delicate jawline. “The stand-in lover being forcibly claimed by the benefactor…”

Warm water timely replaced the cold, and the rising steam blurred her expression. “This plot should suit the system’s appetite perfectly.”

“You” Su Jin’s protest was cut off by the suddenly approaching figure.

Her back was against the cold tiles, but in front of her was Ye Qinglan’s burning body heat. The alternating sensations of cold and heat made her toes curl.

She bit her lip and retorted, “Who said we had to act it out this way…”

The curtain of water formed a transparent barrier between them.

Ye Qinglan’s slightly calloused thumb stroked the pulsing vein at her wrist. She suddenly lowered her head to affectionately nuzzle Su Jin’s nose. “Then you tell me, how should a benefactor treat a disobedient lover?”

Su Jin’s breath hitched as water slid down her collarbone.

She tried to break free but was held tighter. A lace sleeve slipped off her shoulder in the struggle. “At least… at least not in the bathroom…”

“Why not?” Ye Qinglan suddenly pressed against her ear, her damp breath entangling with her. “The soundproofing here is very good.”

Her fingertips slid down the soaked fabric to her waist, her voice dropping to a dangerous register. “Besides, you’re shaking so hard. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

The tips of Su Jin’s ears turned scarlet. Through the mist, she saw a dark surge of emotion in the other’s eyes that was definitely not just “acting.” “You… you’re clearly using this as an excuse…”

“Shh” Ye Qinglan suddenly pressed a finger to her lips. The water from the shower tangled their long hair together. “Careful, the walls have ears.”

She spoke the most logical reason, yet her fingers were suggestively tracing the line of Su Jin’s lips. “If it finds out we’re ‘consorting’ behind its back, what do you think its reaction will be?”

Su Jin’s heart chilled. She glanced around and didn’t see the system, only then remembering Ye Qinglan’s abilities.

“You’ve already blocked it, and you’re still lying to me!”

She turned her face away in embarrassment, droplets of water flying from her hair. Before she could finish, she let out a soft moan, Ye Qinglan’s teeth were lightly nipping at her sensitive earlobe.

“Save your strength. Don’t be like last night, where you couldn’t even make a sound at the end.” Ye Qinglan’s voice faded in and out amidst the sound of the water. Her fingers toyed with the bell collar on Su Jin’s neck, the metal bell made fine, crisp sounds that were exceptionally clear in the steamy bathroom.

Su Jin’s eyes were rimmed with red from the steam. The black lace strap had slipped down her arm at some point. “That… that was different…”

“How was it different?” Ye Qinglan suddenly turned off the shower.

In the abrupt silence, Su Jin could hear her own frantic heartbeat. Damp fingers stroked her flushed cheek. “Then I’ll have to listen closely to find out exactly how it was different.”

By the time Su Jin was wrapped in a bath towel and carried out, even her fingertips were a faint shade of pink.

Ye Qinglan gently dried her wet hair with a towel, her movements a world away from the dominance in the bathroom.

“Is the system gone?” Su Jin asked weakly.

“Mm.” Ye Qinglan kissed the corner of her reddened eye. “Good acting.”

Su Jin glared at her. “You were absolutely doing that on purpose…”

“I was.” Ye Qinglan admitted candidly, twining a strand of Su Jin’s hair around her finger. “But…”

She suddenly lowered her voice, her gaze softening. “That ‘Sister’ was real.”

Su Jin froze, her heart skipping a beat.

Before she could react, she was tucked back into bed by Ye Qinglan.

“Rest.” Ye Qinglan pulled her into her arms, her fingers gently massaging Su Jin’s aching waist. “There’s more ‘acting’ to do tonight.”

Su Jin buried her face in the pillow, unable to hide her burning ears.

She suddenly realized that she seemed to be… getting more and more used to this life.

This realization made her heart beat even faster. She could only lament in her heart: This life… I really can’t go on like this!