What Should I do After Binding the Wrong System and the Female Lead comes Knocking at my Door? - Chapter 49

“Aqing, are you going shopping with your sister-in-law today? I can have the driver take you there,” Pei Yuanxi asked impatiently.

Her package had arrived yesterday. She had been resisting the urge to open it, and now she finally had the chance while Aqing was out of the house.

Gu Qing nodded, but then looked at Pei Yuanxi suspiciously. “Why do I feel like… you’re really happy about this?”

Pei Yuanxi shook her head like a rattle-drum, righteously denying it. “No way! Absolutely not!”

“In fact, I’m going to miss you a lot. Come home early, okay? I’ll be thinking of you~”

Gu Qing didn’t bother figuring out whether Yuanxi was being serious or not she had important things to do.

On the other side, Pei Muchen was already waiting for her low-key at their agreed meeting spot.

After putting on her shoes, Gu Qing ruffled Yuanxi’s head. “Be good at home, wait for me to come back.”

“Okay, take it easy on the road.”

Pei Yuanxi waved goodbye like a waving lucky cat as she watched Gu Qing get in the car.

“Bye-bye~”

As soon as Gu Qing left, Pei Yuanxi rushed to change and hurried out the door.

Sneaking around all the way, she finally retrieved the long-awaited package and rushed home to hide it.

She now had the wedding dress never mind what kind of dress it was but there was no way she could do this without a ring, right?

Exactly.

Pei Yuanxi had already planned to buy a ring while Gu Qing was out.

She imagined the scene again:

Aqing sees her in the sexy wedding dress and starts teasing her seriously. Then suddenly, she pulls out a ring how could Aqing possibly keep a straight face?

If she couldn’t, Pei Yuanxi would ask, “Aren’t you moved?”

If she could, Pei Yuanxi would challenge, “Am I not attractive to you anymore?”

And once Aqing was rendered speechless, Pei Yuanxi would make her move and smoothly take the lead.

Having everything planned out, Pei Yuanxi eagerly called Wen Liang.

“Hey, Wenwen, are you ready?”

They had already arranged this in advance. Why Wen Liang and not Bai Zhou?

Simple Wen Liang had reached out to her a few days ago, secretly planning to buy a ring for Bai Zhou and asking for recommendations.

So the two immediately hit it off and agreed to go shopping together today.

…

“Have you been waiting long?”

Gu Qing sat down across from Pei Muchen with her bag in hand.

Pei Muchen took a sip of tea and shook her head. “I just got here too. Where should we go first?”

Gu Qing thought for a moment. “Let’s try on wedding dresses first, then go look at rings. Sis, what’s your plan?”

“Yan Yan likes romance, so on Valentine’s Day night, I’m planning to make sure everyone can see the words ‘Chu Qingyan’.”

Gu Qing was surprised. “That high-profile?”

Pei Muchen smiled softly. “Like you said it’s time to go all out. If fireworks were allowed, I would’ve gone even bigger.”

“And you? Are you really planning to announce your retirement after the movie release? What are your plans after that?”

Gu Qing skipped over the first question and directly replied, “I haven’t thought that far yet. I’ll see what Yuanxi wants. If she’s focusing on running the studio, then I’ll probably become her assistant like you and Yan Yan.”

Pei Muchen saw the resolve in her and sighed.

“Xiaoxi is really lucky to have you.”

After a pause, Pei Muchen continued, “After you retire… would you be interested in working with me for a while?”

Gu Qing was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Pei Muchen explained, “Even though Xiaoxi is my sister, I don’t think your whole life should revolve around just her.”

“Of course, I’m not trying to separate you two. Since you want to help her with the studio, why not first come to me and learn a few things?”

“Once you’re trained, it’ll be much easier for you to support Xiaoxi, and the path ahead for both of you will be smoother.”

“If you end up liking it here, you could even stay with us. Yan Yan and I will give you all the support you need.”

“Aqing, you and Xiaoxi live nearby so just like any ordinary couple, you can each pursue your careers during the day, and come back to a loving home at night.”

“I think Xiaoxi would definitely agree with me.”

Gu Qing was tempted.

Mainly because that first point made a lot of sense.

If she started as Yuanxi’s assistant right after retiring, she’d be completely clueless.

Yuanxi would probably be swamped during the early stages of building the studio, and if Gu Qing couldn’t help and even needed Yuanxi’s help, that would be a burden.

“Would that really be okay?”

Pei Muchen chuckled. She could already see that Gu Qing was swayed.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. Besides, maybe you have a real talent for business? Then I might not want to let you go.”

Gu Qing laughed. “If it’s really like you say, I probably won’t want to leave either.”

…

Chu Qingyan was alone at home, since Pei Muchen had said she was going to see Yuanxi.

As she sat there bored, her phone kept buzzing.

It was the company group chat she had secretly joined using an alt account.

Everyone was talking about whether they had dates for Valentine’s Day.

Chu Qingyan scoffed, wanting to flex that she had a girlfriend.

But then she realized she’d probably get flamed for it and thought better of it.

Wait a second!

Valentine’s Day?

Chu Qingyan smacked her forehead. She had actually forgotten!

This was going to be her first Valentine’s Day with Pei Muchen since officially getting together.

It had to be special.

It had to be a surprise!

Chu Qingyan sat on the sofa thinking hard, finally deciding: she would give Pei Muchen a ring with her name engraved on it.

But shopping alone was boring. She needed a companion.

Pei Yuanxi?

No, she was probably with Pei Muchen those sisters were like a hive mind. If Yuanxi spilled the beans, the surprise would be ruined.

Gu Qing?

Also a no-go she was on Team Yuanxi.

Who else?

Suddenly, Chu Qingyan’s eyes lit up.

She thought of someone.

Someone also related to Yuanxi… wait, why was everything connected to Yuanxi?

Chu Qingyan shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued.

This person would never dare spill the secret, and she was trustworthy.

It was

Bai Zhou!

Without hesitation, she called her.

“Hello? Ah Zhou?”

A surprised voice came through the phone. “Yan Yan-jie?”

Chu Qingyan held back a laugh. “It’s me. You’re not hearing things. What are you doing right now?”

Bai Zhou looked around and whispered even though no one was home. “I’m at home. What’s going on?”

Chu Qingyan: “Want to go shopping with me? I’ll be honest I’m planning a surprise for Muchen for Valentine’s Day. She’s out meeting Yuanxi, so I thought I’d pull someone in to help me buy a gift.”

“And the first person I thought of was you, my dear Zhou Zhou~”

“Boohoo  Even though I haven’t contacted you in a while, you won’t say no to me, right?”

Bai Zhou, thrilled, patted her chest. “Of course not, Yan Yan-jie! I’m honored you thought of me. What are you planning to buy?”

Chu Qingyan thought for a second since they’d be shopping together anyway, she might as well tell her in advance.

“A ring. Do you have any good recommendations?”

Bai Zhou: “Actually, yes! When Yuanxi did a jewelry endorsement, I looked into their ring collections they’re really pretty.”

Chu Qingyan: “Perfect! Send me the location, I’ll drive over and pick you up.”

After hanging up, Bai Zhou sat there thinking.

Maybe she should get one for Wen Liang too?

She had been thinking about forever with her, even if she acted all tough.

Besides, Wen Liang had always been the one giving maybe it was time she did something for once.

Bai Zhou sighed. “You really got lucky, didn’t you…”

…

“Not that lucky,” Wen Liang muttered, staring at the giant diamond ring in her hand.

Pei Yuanxi rolled her eyes. “Couldn’t you pick something smaller? Who wears a rock that big on their hand?”

Wen Liang thought for a second. “Bai Zhou would.”

“…True.”

Pei Yuanxi was stunned into silence. That was exactly something Bai Zhou would do and then flaunt it to them all.

Suddenly, Pei Yuanxi’s eyes flicked to the store entrance, and she froze.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Wenwen, look, is that your girlfriend… walking in with another woman to buy rings?”

Wen Liang didn’t even look. “No way. Ah Zhou’s not like that.”

“No, seriously…” Pei Yuanxi was dazed. “That other woman with her… looks a lot like my sister-in-law.”

Wen Liang turned around.

Sure enough, Bai Zhou and Chu Qingyan were chatting and laughing as they walked in.

The two pairs of eyes met.

For a second, the whole store went silent.

Pei Yuanxi was dumbfounded.

Then she quickly pulled everyone into a secluded corner for an emergency meeting.

Wen Liang was the first to speak. “Why are you here?”

Bai Zhou scratched her head. “Well… I…”

Before she could finish, Pei Yuanxi jumped in. “Sister-in-law… weren’t you out shopping with Aqing?”

Bai Zhou quickly shut her mouth and tugged at Wen Liang’s sleeve let’s watch this unfold.

Chu Qingyan frowned. “Where’s your sister? Didn’t she say you needed to see her about something?”

Pei Yuanxi looked completely innocent. “I didn’t say that! And even if I did, I’d go to my sister!”

Chu Qingyan & Pei Yuanxi: “…”

Then Wen Liang suddenly pointed at the store entrance, frozen. “Yuanxi… look, isn’t that your sister and Aqing coming this way?”

Both Pei Yuanxi and Chu Qingyan turned and locked eyes with Gu Qing and Pei Muchen.

Gu Qing & Pei Muchen: “…”

Pei Yuanxi & Chu Qingyan: “…”

Bai Zhou & Wen Liang: “Anyone got popcorn?” 🍿