The Supporting Female Lead Chooses to Mark the Villain [Rebirth] - Chapter 106

Despite having a premonition, the moment the actual proposal happened, Shen Zui still couldn’t stop herself from covering her face and sobbing.

The wedding was grand. Sang Nian couldn’t wait to announce to the world that she was married and had a child, yet she protected Shen Zui and Sunny so well that not a single piece of personal information leaked. Reporters outside were pulling their hair out, thinking they would return empty-handed, only to see a fleet of luxury cars. Aside from Sang Nian’s friends in the industry, the guests were all prominent faces from the financial news—the elite of the elite.

The media finally realized that the other bride was likely someone of immense wealth or status.

The smart outlets backed off, reporting quietly. However, there were always those seeking fame through controversy, slapping shocking headlines like: “Is Shen Nian’s Bride the Sugar Mommy Who Has Kept Her for Years?”

The articles were a mess of fabrications, but because netizens loved celebrity gossip, the topic shot to the top of the trending charts, even bumping the official #ShenNianMarriage hashtag down a spot.

Sang Nian found out about this while on the plane for their honeymoon. After reading the made-up content, she burst out laughing. Far from being angry, she leaned over to tease Shen Zui.

“President Shen, they say I’m a canary you’ve kept in a cage. After years of hard work, I’ve finally ‘sealed the deal’ with my rich older sister.”

Shen Zui spared her a glance, her expression calm.

Dissatisfied with the reaction, Sang Nian moved closer. “Aren’t you going to say something on my behalf?”

Shen Zui took out her phone, seemingly uninterested. “The innocent need no explanation.”

Sang Nian arched an eyebrow.

By the time they stepped off the plane, all the content regarding “sugar mommies” and “patrons” had been scrubbed clean. Confused, Sang Nian opened the page of the tabloid that broke the story, only to see a prompt: [Account banned due to violations].

Realizing what happened, she laughed so hard she collapsed against Shen Zui. Shen Zui caught her, her fingers resting against Sang Nian’s supple waist. Sang Nian had maintained a strict fitness regimen for the wedding; under the thin summer fabric, the lines of her lean muscles felt wonderful to the touch.

Shen Zui took the opportunity to stroke her a few times before asking slowly, “What is it?”

“You did this?” Sang Nian waved her phone.

Shen Zui nodded in admission.

“Tsk, tsk.” Sang Nian rubbed her chin, looking at her playfully. “This is bad.”

“Hm?”

“Initially, it was just a baseless rumor; people would have moved on in two days.” Sang Nian sat on the large hotel bed, pulling Shen Zui close. “By suppressing it like this, haven’t you just confirmed… that I really am being kept by a rich sister?”

Shen Zui straddled her lap. “And do you want to be?”

“Want what?”

“To be kept.” Shen Zui spoke with such gravity it felt like they were conducting a serious business negotiation. “I could acquire Chengyue Entertainment.”

Sang Nian gasped. “And then?”

Shen Zui brushed a stray hair from Sang Nian’s cheek. Her fingers were cool, yet they ignited small sparks of desire wherever they touched. Leaning in, she whispered words that sounded like a spell: “And then you can settle down and be my canary.”

Sang Nian couldn’t help herself. She dove into Shen Zui’s embrace, her pouting and acting spoiled even more practiced than their two-year-old daughter’s. Shen Zui was pressed back onto the bed; as soon as she stretched out, a rain of dense kisses fell, planting red plum blossoms across her fair skin.

The room, originally smelling of air freshener, was soon taken over by their mingling pheromones. When Shen Zui was finally breathless from the kissing, she heard her lover’s reply.

Sang Nian shook her head. “That won’t do.”

Shen Zui’s gaze was blurry, but she forced herself to focus on Sang Nian’s face. The movie star straightened her back and said with mock righteousness: “As the head of the household, I must shoulder the burden of providing for the family. How could I let President Shen do all the hard work?”

“Actually, I make quite a lot.” Sang Nian grew spirited again, circling the woman to mark her repeatedly. “How about President Shen tries letting me keep you?”

Shen Zui’s breathing began to steady as she watched her with interest.

“If nothing else…” Sang Nian’s eyes twinkled. “I can at least guarantee that President Shen is ‘well-fed’ every single day.”

Shen Zui looked puzzled. “Is the standard for being ‘kept’ that low now?” Just being fed?

Seeing her take the bait, Sang Nian gave a seductive smile. Her hand slipped under the hem of Shen Zui’s shirt, moving upward like a pianist playing a fiery concerto. “Low? Then I’ll have to put in a lot more effort from now on.”

Shen Zui only managed a short gasp before the world spun—she was pinned to the bed by her self-proclaimed “patron.”

Sang Nian stared into her eyes. “Little Canary,” she said daringly, scratching Shen Zui’s chin like one would a cat. “Do you know how to please your rich benefactor right now?”

Shen Zui grabbed her hand and bit down on the tender skin.

“Ow!” Sang Nian cried out in mock pain, but she didn’t struggle, letting the other woman have her way. Once Shen Zui finished biting, Sang Nian pulled her into a tight hug to settle the “debt.”

After living together for years and having a child, Shen Zui thought married life would be the same as before. She soon realized she was wrong.

New endearments began to appear in their lives with increasing frequency. Every time she heard them, Shen Zui felt like her ears were being nibbled.

“Wife, give me a kiss.” “Wife, I’m taking Sunny to the supermarket.” “Wife… say something sweet…”

Fortunately, that “nibbling” grew lighter, eventually turning into actual kisses. Occasionally, when Sang Nian was busy filming and she didn’t hear it for a few days, Shen Zui would start to sulk privately—a childish feeling she never let Sang Nian notice.

However, she soon discovered that the role of “Wife” in Sang Nian’s life was applied far more extensively than she imagined.

The first time she noticed something was off was when Sang Nian was playing with their little princess. Fearing her movements were too big, she asked Shen Zui to hold her phone. Soon, the device began buzzing incessantly in Shen Zui’s palm.

It was a barrage of texts from Mo Huai. A famous brand had invited Sang Nian to be their spokesperson, but the commercial storyboard involved a scene where Sang Nian would hold hands and gaze into the eyes of another actor. Frankly, it wasn’t a big deal, but Sang Nian had specifically flagged it for removal.

Fuming, Mo Huai demanded a reason.

During a break when Sunny was drinking water, Sang Nian took the phone back to reply. After that, no more messages came through. Curious, Shen Zui used her status as the legal spouse to unlock and check the phone.

The chat was filled with Mo Huai’s long-winded persuasions and questions, followed by a single line at the bottom:

Sang Nian: [My wife won’t let me.]

The message was marked as read, and Mo Huai hadn’t uttered another word.

Gradually, the excuse “My wife won’t let me” appeared more and more often.

When a young girl on the street asked for help, Sang Nian: “My wife won’t let me.” When the audience at a movie promotion cheered for the two leads to hug, Sang Nian: “My wife won’t let me.” Even for business events arranged by Mo Huai—as long as Sang Nian didn’t want to go, she brushed them off with those five words.

In her spare time, Shen Zui liked to browse Sang Nian’s fan forums. Some “candid” shots taken by fans had more atmosphere than the official photos, and Shen Zui would save them one by one.

Lately, she noticed a recurring topic: [Serious discussion: Is Shen Nian henpecked?] [I can’t be rational about this. She won’t do this, won’t do that—what exactly DOES her wife let her do?]

Someone tried to play peacemaker: [She’s a rich woman who ‘keeps’ Shen Nian, after all. It’s normal for a benefactor to be strict?]

Usually, the conversation would derail here: [Hmph, that ‘benefactor’ is probably old and ugly, some stubborn old hag.] [Poor Shen Nian, I feel for her.] [Tch, if I could keep Shen Nian, I wouldn’t let her show her face in public either! A woman that beautiful should be kept as a private treasure!]

Shen Zui froze. When she snapped out of it, she realized she had accidentally “liked” the last comment.

The “old and ugly rich woman” herself stared at the screen for a long time. She felt she should clarify, but after drafting several messages, nothing felt right, so she decided to ignore it. Her break was over, so she turned on her camera to continue her online meeting.

Two hours later, after the meeting ended, she unlocked her phone to find the post had trended on the hot search. Beneath the topic was a retweet from Sang Nian’s official account:

[Not henpecked. My wife is more beautiful than me. My life is very happy.]

The original poster, a die-hard fan, commented: [Why aren’t you clarifying the ‘sugar mommy’ rumors?]

Sang Nian, currently on vacation and likely bored, actually replied: [You wouldn’t believe me even if I did.]

Netizens: [You said she’s prettier than you—we don’t believe that either. Not unless you post a photo.]

Sang Nian was blunt; she simply wouldn’t show her wife: [No.]

After some back-and-forth, the netizens compromised: [Then post a selfie. We’re starving for new photos of Niannian.]

The conversation ended there. Shen Zui refreshed the page just as the latest reply popped up.

Sang Nian was uncharacteristically cold: [No selfies either.]

Instantly, thousands of fans began to wail in the comments: [Why?!] [Shen Nian, you’re being too much!] [Just hand over the photos!]

Shen Zui found it hilarious. She clicked on the most vocal protest, thought for a moment, and let her fingers dance across the screen to type a reply:

[Her wife won’t let her.]