The Salted Fish And Protagonist A Ended Up Together - Chapter 1

Stepping out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Wen Mian was still in a daze. She turned her head to look at the woman beside her.

The woman wore a slim, black windbreaker. Her expression was cold and aloof, a single diamond glinted on her earlobe, and her long hair draped over her back, revealing a slender neck.

Wen Mian stared for a long while, still unable to believe that she had actually married someone she had only just met!

The story began two hours ago.

Amidst a cacophony of noise, Wen Mian had just opened her eyes when she heard a voice filled with loathing: “Now that the contract is signed, you don’t have anything else to deal with, right?”

As her blurry vision cleared, Wen Mian looked up. Before her sat a woman, beautiful… so beautiful she didn’t seem real. At the very least, Wen Mian had never seen anyone like her in reality.

The woman’s sleeves were rolled up, revealing pale, cool skin on her arms.

Wen Mian paused. In this moment, she didn’t have time to admire the beauty; her mind held only one thought: Who is she? Where am I?

Receiving no response from Wen Mian, another woman standing nearby couldn’t keep still. She slammed her hand on the table. “Wen Mian, what are you thinking about now? Let me tell you, we aren’t agreeing to any more of your conditions!”

Wen Mian looked at her with a bewildered gaze. What conditions?

The sensation of paper brushed against her hand. She looked down abruptly to see four large words written on the document: Marriage Agreement!

Marriage? Who’s getting married? Me? But how could I possibly be getting married?

Utterly confused, Wen Mian flipped through the file. The terms inside were familiar tropes:

During the duration of the marriage, Party A and Party B shall not interfere with each other and shall not engage in intimate behavior. … Final Addendum: Party A voluntarily agrees to accompany Party B to participate in the show “First Heartbeat of Love.” Afterward, Party B shall not request Party A to do anything else.

Wen Mian looked up again at the woman sitting quietly in front of her. Her brain was a complete jumble. Really getting married? To her?

Unsure of how to respond, Wen Mian let out a faint, “Mm.”

The manager was momentarily stifled. “Fine. Since the contract is signed, go and register now.”

Finally, Wen Mian saw the woman in front of her turn her head. She spoke calmly, “I understand, Sister Wang.”

With that, she stood up quickly, leaving behind a brief, “Let’s go.”

Sister Wang grabbed the bewildered Wen Mian. The three of them left through the back door.

The car sped away and eventually stopped in front of a building with a bright red sign. The three characters for “Civil Affairs Bureau” were eye-catching.

She was whisked through the process taking photos, registering until it came time to sign her name. Wen Mian took a casual glance and immediately froze.

Gu Man? Wen Mian’s hand stopped. That name?

She remembered seeing that name in a novel. So… had she transmigrated into a book world?

One copy of the contract was kept, while the marriage certificates were taken by Sister Wang.

Sister Wang’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly as she urged, “Manman, we have to go.”

Gu Man nodded slightly and walked ahead. Her movements brought a cool breeze, and a faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air.

Clutching the contract, Wen Mian thought for a moment and followed at a distance, deep in thought, unaware she was getting closer and closer.

At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Gu Man stopped, turned sideways to look at the head lowered Wen Mian, and suddenly asked, “Still following?”

Wen Mian looked up instantly and shook her head slowly and hesitantly. “No… not anymore.”

At this, Sister Wang sneered and opened the car door with disdain.

Gu Man ducked inside, staring straight ahead.

Sister Wang gave Wen Mian one last look, as if looking at something filthy. “Good luck to you.”

As the two drove away quickly, Wen Mian finally pulled out her phone.

Fortunately, the phone used facial recognition, so she was able to find her contacts.

There weren’t many. Wen Mian thought for a second and chose the one named “Sister.”

After a few rings, the call was answered.

A cold voice came through: “What is it?”

Wen Mian sighed. It seemed the original owner’s relationship with her family wasn’t great either.

But she had no choice. She had no memories and didn’t know where the original owner lived.

Wen Mian forced herself to greet her. “Um… Sister, I’m lost. Can you come pick me up… or just send me the home address?”

The sound of turning pages on the other end stopped. “Understood.”

With a beep, the call was hung up decisively.

Wen Mian made a bitter face and wailed inwardly: Who did I offend to end up in this place where I don’t know a soul? Not only do I have no connections, but I have no memory!

While complaining, her phone vibrated. Wen Mian checked it immediately and suddenly felt happy again.

She hailed a taxi and sat in the back, starting to search for the name “Gu Man.”

Though she suspected she had transmigrated into a novel, there was a chance she was wrong.

Holding onto a shred of hope, she typed in the name. When an overwhelming amount of videos and news appeared, Wen Mian’s face dropped. Her fantasy was ruthlessly crushed.

Out of sight, out of mind. Wen Mian turned off her phone and began to recall the plot of the novel.

The novel Shadow Queens Fly Together told the story of Movie Queen Gu Man and the popular starlet Mu Ya striving in the entertainment industry, eventually leading to Gu Man winning the beauty and Mu Ya becoming a Movie Queen.

It seemed like a normal showbiz story, but it was actually a fusion of various tropes: a one night stand at first sight, secret crushes coming true, a “chasing wife in the crematorium” arc…

Importantly, this was an ABO setting. The protagonists’ first meeting happened because Gu Man was in her “Enigma/Alpha” heat period.

Thinking of this, Wen Mian reached out to touch her own neck. An isolation patch was stuck there, but the moment she pressed it, a sensation like an electric current surged through her body. A faint blush rose to the corners of her eyes.

Wen Mian quickly withdrew her hand. If she had known it was that sensitive, she wouldn’t have touched it.

After taking a moment to recover, Wen Mian continued to think about her role in the novel. Well… she had no impression of it.

She searched her own name. If Gu Man had an overwhelming positive reputation, Wen Mian had an overwhelming negative one.

She clicked on a video and slowly pieced the situation together.

The original Wen Mian had debuted only two months ago. Normally, she should have been a complete “nobody,” but she was a persistent “clout-chaser,” and her target was the top-tier Movie Queen, Gu Man.

Gu Man’s fans initially thought nothing of it—newcomers are expected to be ambitious and Gu Man always told them not to be led by public opinion.

But the original Wen Mian had escalated things, especially during an airport incident where she blocked Gu Man from leaving, causing a traffic jam. The incident was maliciously interpreted by marketing accounts, leading to Gu Man being criticized for half a month. Gu Man’s fans were furious.

As a result, the original owner had no real work to her name, but was known by everyone for all the wrong reasons.

Wen Mian sighed repeatedly. In her previous life as an orphan, she had worked herself to the bone to become a Vice Chair, only to end up in this difficult situation before she could enjoy her success.

A worker’s resentment could fuel a mountain of evil. Wen Mian immediately decided to “lie flat.” Why work hard? No more! Let whoever wants to work do it! I’m going to be a salted fish!

She briskly exited the search and started browsing short videos with great interest.

When she stepped out of the car, Wen Mian’s jaw dropped.

Before her stood a medieval-style castle nestled within a garden, looking grand and imposing.

As Wen Mian walked in, the carved wooden doors opened automatically. With a chime, a group of servants filed out.

Seeing Wen Mian, they looked a bit surprised, but their professional training kicked in instantly as they bowed in unison. “Hello, Miss.”

Wen Mian nodded hesitantly and greeted them back. “Hello?”

The servants glanced at each other, eyes full of confusion, before straightening up and leaving quickly.

Wen Mian walked into the main hall, where a chandelier cast a soft glow.

Just as she sat down, a woman brought over a plate of fruit. “Hello, Miss Mian.”

Wen Mian nodded, ate a strawberry, and said, “Auntie, I’m a bit tired. Please take me to my room.”

Auntie Li immediately wiped her hands and nodded. “Of course, Miss. I’ll take you right away.”

Following the spiral staircase to the second floor, Wen Mian looked around, silently memorizing the location of her room.

After saying goodbye to Auntie Li, Wen Mian flopped onto the bed, rolling around in a minor breakdown.

Fine, I have no memories, but how can such a major ‘villain’ have no name in the original novel?!

After a few seconds of frustration, Wen Mian observed her surroundings and began “investigating.”

Nothing here… nothing there… still nothing?!

After searching for a while, sweat beaded on her forehead, yet she found no useful information.

She slumped onto the wool carpet and looked down, suddenly spotting a white box lying quietly under the bed.

Wen Mian reached out, pulled the box out, and opened it. Inside was a photo album.

She flipped through it. Most of the photos were of a girl doing different things. Her smile was brilliant, covering her life from birth to her teenage years.

However, what surprised Wen Mian was that the original owner looked exactly like she did when she was a child. Even for a transmigration, this was too familiar!

The last photo was a family portrait of four people, looking happily at the camera.

Wen Mian couldn’t help but think of the phone call from earlier. What could have happened to make such a happy family so cold?

Wen Mian didn’t find the answer yet, but she did find information about her family.

The original Wen Mian was the youngest daughter of the Wen Group. She had an older Alpha sister, and her two mothers were deeply in love, a rare model family among the elite.

However, everything stopped before she turned eighteen. For some reason, the family fell apart, and her mothers rarely came back.

Wen Mian closed the album and placed it carefully back in the box.

Having a general understanding of the situation, her “salted fish” nature resurfaced. She took a quick shower and went back to bed to scroll through her phone.

At six o’clock, Auntie Li called her down for dinner.

She had to admit, a meal in a wealthy household was truly lavish. The dinner was mainly Jiangsu cuisine, plus soup and seafood. Wen Mian’s appetite soared.

Her eyes lit up as she sat in the chair, chopsticks ready.

Auntie Li couldn’t help but offer a kind smile. “Eat up, Miss Mian. The eldest miss isn’t coming back.”

Wen Mian looked at Auntie Li and wondered if she should invite her to sit and eat, but fearing suspicion, she simply nodded in silence.

Since she was alone, Wen Mian ate her fill. One bowl of rice wasn’t enough, she got up to go to the kitchen for more, but Auntie Li caught her and took the bowl to refill it.

Wen Mian didn’t refuse. While waiting, she continued to pick at the dishes, squinting her eyes in satisfaction and swinging her feet under the table, feeling quite leisurely.

After dinner and a short walk in the garden, Wen Mian lay in bed. She thought she might not sleep well, but she had clearly underestimated her own adaptability. She slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a golden streak across Wen Mian’s face. She opened her eyes groggily and rubbed them.

The room was dim and quiet. Wen Mian shuffled over in her slippers to draw the curtains and took a long stretch. Her mood skipped along with the sunlight.

So comfortable! It’s been so long since I’ve slept until I naturally woke up. Being a salted fish is definitely the right choice.

With a sigh of contentment, she went to the bathroom. The warm water running over her shoulders felt wonderful.

Just as she was enjoying her bath, her phone suddenly let out a piercing “Beep beep beep..”

Wen Mian opened her eyes and hit the answer button.

Immediately, a roar came through: “Wen Mian! What did you do this time?!”

Her heart jumped. Wen Mian replied shakily, “Nothing.”

The person on the other end seemed furious, heavy breathing was audible through the speaker. “Nothing? If you did nothing, why did the ‘First Heartbeat of Love’ program suddenly announce your name? Do you not want fans anymore, or do you just not want to stay in the industry?!”

Wen Mian thought for a moment and said hesitantly, “Maybe I don’t want to stay in the industry?”

She didn’t expect that answer to stun the other person. The sound of high heels clicking on tiles was clear. After a long pause, the voice returned with pure rage: “Fine! If you want to quit, I can’t stop you. But as long as you haven’t quit, you must listen to me. Now! Immediately! Get over here!”

With a bang, the phone was hung up. Wen Mian was helpless and secretly annoyed. Wen Mian, Wen Mian, being a salted fish doesn’t mean your brain should be waterlogged. Why did you talk like that?

She dried herself, got dressed, and walked out, asking the driver to take her to the company.