Ye Wan smiled gently. "Sister Rourou. It's been a while."
Qingxue resisted the urge to hiss. "So long. How… surprising to see you." She sayed sarcastically.
Mo Chen entered right behind her. His expression unreadable, arms crossed like he was trying not to commit murder on sight.
"Ye Wan wants to talk to you." He said quietly.
And that was when Qingxue's stomach dropped.
Because Ye Wan, the sweet, tragic, weepy Ye Wan pulled out a manila envelope.
"I came… to return this." She placed it gently on the coffee table.
It was divorce agreement.
Qingxue stared at it.
Baozi gasped. "OH. SHE'S TRYING TO BE THE BIGGER PERSON."
"She's trying to steal the moral high ground!" Qingxue whispered back, nearly biting her tongue.
"I told Mo Chen to not take drastic decision to give you divorce." Ye Wan's voice was soft, like flower petals floating in soup. "I don't want to come between the two of you. I know I was Mo Chen's past, but I won't be his obstacle."
Qingxue blinked rapidly. "I-uh… what?"
Mo Chen looked at Qingxue, waiting. His eyes weren't angry this time.
Worse.
They were… curious.
For the first time, it was like he actually wanted to hear what she had to say.
Qingxue scrambled for words. "I…uh. Well. That's… considerate?"
Baozi whispered in her ear. "Say you're changed. Say you're reborn. Say you joined a Buddhist retreat and came back enlightened."
"I… had a lot of time to reflect recently," she began slowly. "And I think it's time we start over. Don't you think sister RouRou?"
Mo Chen's brows lifted slightly.
Ye Wan smiled again, this time almost… smug.
Qingxue's inner villainess alarm blared. She might be sweet, but Ye Wan definitely wasn't innocent. This move was a trap.
But she couldn't react. Not yet. Not when she finally had a chance to change the story's direction.
So she took the envelope, calmly.
"I won't sign anything," she said softly, "until I finish making things right. So don't worry. I won't leave Mo Chen any time sooner."
Mo Chen stared at her like she was a malfunctioning vending machine.
"…Okay," he said at last. Not believing this conversation didn't end up in violence like last time.
Ye Wan smiled politely and stood. "Then I won't disturb you two. Thank you for your time, Sister Rourou."
And like that, she left.
The moment the door closed, Qingxue exhaled so hard she nearly passed out.
Baozi let out a low whistle. "You're lucky he didn't call the psychiatrist."
"I was this close to confessing I have amnesia," she muttered.
Mo Chen stood there for another moment. "I'll be working late tonight."
Qingxue nodded. "Of course. Take your time. Enjoy your cold CEO lifestyle."
"…Right."
He turned to leave.
Then paused at the door.
He didn't look at her, but his voice was quieter now. "Why didn't you scream at Ye Wan?"
Qingxue blinked. "Did you want me to?"
He didn't answer.
Then he left.
The silence that followed was so thick, Baozi could only flap awkwardly.
"Did we just unlock a new expression from him?"
"I think so," Qingxue whispered. "Was that… confusion? Or mild respect?"
"Maybe even 0.1 points of affection?"
Qingxue checked her system panel.
Affection Score: 10.
She gasped. "Progress!"
Then she sneezed.
Baozi frowned. "Wait… you don't look so good."
Qingxue slumped into the couch again. "I'm fine. Just a cold. Or exhaustion. Or the internal collapse of all my organs. Small things."
Her head was pounding harder now. Her limbs felt like lead.
Baozi floated closer. "You need rest."
"I need Mo Chen to fall in love with me before I die. That's what I need."
"You also need fluids and probably medical attention."
But Qingxue waved him off, crawling under the blanket like a sulking ghost.
As her eyelids fluttered shut, she whispered, "Tomorrow. I'll win his heart tomorrow."
***
Meanwhile after seeing Ye Wan off, Mo Chen sat at his desk staring at the divorce agreement that Ye Wan had brought with her.
She hadn't told him she was coming.
And Shen Qingxue… hadn't thrown a tantrum.
She hadn't cried, accused, begged, or even shouted.
She'd looked… calm. Strangely calm.
Like a different person.
He looked over at a side drawer, where an old photo sat tucked away-one he never looked at anymore. It was of him and Ye Wan back in university. They were smiling, youthful, stupidly in love.
But it felt like a photo of someone else's life now.
He shook his head.
What was wrong with him?
He was starting to feel something suspiciously close to curiosity about his own wife.
The same woman who once locked his assistant in a spa for three days just for booking Ye Wan's birthday dinner.
Maybe she was playing a game.
Maybe this was her latest manipulation.
But still… he hadn't expected her to surprise him.
He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping against the polished wood.
"…Strange woman."
***
Back in the bedroom, Qingxue was scrolling through her phone thinking of a plan.
Her face pale. Breath uneven.
Baozi sat at her side, frowning.
"She's burning up," the little system muttered. "This isn't just drama queen syndrome anymore."
Baozi tried to look that's when his eyes went near the window.
It was ye wan sitting in her car- Talking to someone. But the weird part was… no one was sitting next to her.
A faint smile played on Ye Wan's lips.
"Well," she whispered, "let's see how long she lasts."
Baozi tried to get into her head by his character hacking program to see what she was thinking but that's when a electric force stopped him from entering her head.
"This is weird!" Says baozi looking scared as this never happened before.
***
Shen Qingxue was sitting at the edge of her bed, wrapped in a fluffy robe the color of disappointment. Her legs were crossed, her expression thoughtful, and her hand held a steaming mug of ginger tea-because apparently, the body she'd inherited came with a deluxe side of weak lungs and seasonal flu.
Her eyes, however, were glued to the window.
Downstairs, Mo Chen had just seen off Ye Wan.
"Childhood friend my left heel," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as Ye Wan fluttered into her luxury car like she hadn't just dropped a bomb on the entire storyline. "She was supposed to be a cinnamon roll. Why does she suddenly give me 'backup plan' energy?"
From behind a throw pillow, Baozi peeked out nervously. "Host, we need to talk about the deviation in the script."
"No sh*t."
"Technically speaking, Ye Wan was not supposed to have villainess potential. Her original arc trajectory was to suffer quietly, be misunderstood, win over the male lead with sincerity, and die tragically in a car accident that teaches everyone the meaning of love and loss."
Qingxue rolled her eyes. "That's just manipulation with extra mascara. What changed?"
"Well…" Baozi blinked. "It could be your interference. Or maybe the simulation got corrupted. Or… hear me out—maybe Ye Wan was never that sweet, and the script writers were just into morally confusing heroines."
"I knew it," Qingxue growled. "She had too much poise. Too much modest giggling. Anyone who giggles that much while poor is hiding something."
She stood up too quickly and immediately regretted it.
A wave of dizziness washed over her like karma. Her legs wobbled.
Baozi zipped over. "Host?! Oh no. Oh no. Your health bar just dropped by five points!"
"Chill, I'm not dying… yet." She coughed into her sleeve, frowned at the faint trace of red, and stuffed the sleeve out of sight.
Nope. Not the time for drama. Not when Ye Wan just pulled a character arc reversal in front of the male lead.
And speaking of male lead…
The door opened.
Mo Chen stepped in, looking tall, expensive, and emotionally unavailable. His tie was slightly loose, his sleeves rolled to the elbows, and his whole aura screamed, I am one coffee away from having feelings.
They stared at each other in silence.
Qingxue blinked. "You're back already? I thought you'll come back after dropping her home only." She said taunting.
He raised a brow. "Were you watching?"
"Don't flatter yourself. My eyes just happened to be in your direction for twenty minutes."
Mo Chen gave her a look. The kind of look that said, I know you're lying, but I don't have the energy to fight.
He walked past her and picked up a folder from the side table. "Ye Wan just came to return a book."
"Must be a very emotionally significant book to make her sniffle like she was at a funeral."
He didn't respond. He didn't need to. His silence was louder than a slap.
Qingxue folded her arms. "I'm just saying. If she's the victim and I'm the bad guy, why does she look like she just won the prequel?"
His hand paused mid-page flip. "Is that what this is about? You being jealous again?"
And there it was. That classic, deep-voiced, male lead accusation, soaked in cold detachment and mild condescension.
She forced a sweet smile. "Oh no. I've evolved. I don't get jealous. I get curious. Like how a your secretary who is from poor family suddenly gets Chanel perfume and front-row tickets to gala openings."
"Wanwan isn't like that."
"She isn't?" Qingxue's tone sharpened.
"Then what is she, Mo Chen? Pure? Fragile?"
A fallen angel with student loans?"
"Enough."
His voice cut through the room.
Qingxue snapped her mouth shut. Her heart thumped-not from fear, but from the sheer drama of it all. If this were a soap opera, thunder would've cracked in the background.
Mo Chen looked at her, and for the first time in weeks, his eyes weren't cold. They were… conflicted.
He spoke again, quieter this time. "Why are you acting so different lately?"
Because I'm not your original Yandere wife, she wanted to say. I'm just an intern from the chaos division with lung issues and a bad track record.
Instead, she said, "Maybe I'm just tired."
He narrowed his eyes. "Of what?"
Of trying. Of pretending. Of hiding the blood on the handkerchief in her pocket.
She smiled faintly. "Of fighting for someone who never wanted to be kept."
It hung in the air, heavier than her hospital bills would be in three chapters.
Mo Chen said nothing. He turned and left.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Baozi floated beside her, mouth open in a dramatic O.
"Host. HOST. That was SO EMOTIONALLY MATURE. Did you just… not scream at him? If original RouRou was here. She would have cursed Mo Chen for defending his ex. But you didn't! That's a character development."
"I'm reinventing myself," Qingxue muttered.
"Like a phoenix. A sickly, underpaid phoenix with a bonus system."
Baozi wiped a fake tear. "I'm so proud."
She sat back down, dragging her fuzzy blanket over her shoulders. Her hand trembled as she reached for her planner.
"Okay. Operation Earn The Iceberg's Affection is clearly not working. Time to pivot."
She opened her planner to a new page titled: AFFECTION STRATEGY—v2.0
Underneath it, she began listing.
1) Stop being emotionally explosive. (Difficult.)
2) Cook something without setting fire. (Research YouTube.)
3) Casual conversations without manipulation. (What do normal people talk about? Weather?)
4) Stop stalking him. (Or at least do it less.)
5) Have a near-death experience to build emotional connection.
Baozi hovered nervously. "Uh… about number five…"
"Don't worry. It'll be natural. Subtle. Organic."
"Like a coughing fit in the rain?"
"Exactly."
***
Meanwhile, Mo Chen sat in his study, staring at nothing.
There was something wrong with her.
The woman who used to storm into his meetings, throw public tantrums, and threaten to sue his ex-girlfriends had suddenly become… fragile.
No, that wasn't the right word.
Real.
She looked at him now not with obsession, but something else. Something like… resignation?
It unsettled him.
He was used to chaos. To her over-the-top declarations. To the madness.
But now she barely spoke unless spoken to. She coughed into her sleeves and hid the evidence. She refused medicine unless someone forced it down her throat. She smiled when she was clearly in pain.
And worse—she hadn't tried to track Ye Wan's movements for a week.
He closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair.
She was up to something.
Or…
Something was happening to her.
***
The next morning, Qingxue emerged from her room wearing soft makeup and a scarf big enough to cover both her dignity and her chronic illness. She floated into the dining room like a dying swan and collapsed into a chair.
"Morning," she rasped, like a Victorian heroine begging for a second chance.
Mo Chen looked up from his coffee. "You look… pale."
"Oh, this?" She waved a limp hand. "Just a seasonal death. No big deal."
He blinked. "Seasonal what?"
"Don't worry about it." She flashed a brave smile. "It's nothing a little love can't cure."
He choked slightly on his drink.
Baozi whispered in her ear, "Host. You're overshooting. We agreed to subtle."
Qingxue ignored him. She had bigger problems. Like the fact that her health stats were dropping again and her next assignment payment was still pending.
And then—
Ding.
A notification flashed in her vision. A random system glitched with her own.
New Storyline Development Triggered
Ye Wan's hidden objective has been unlocked: RECLAIM THE MALE LEAD AT ALL COSTS.
Qingxue blinked. "Wait. What?"
Baozi screamed.
"PLOT REVERSAL! PLOT REVERSAL! SHE'S A HIDDEN VILLAINESS! A WHITE LOTUS! I KNEW HER BANGS WERE TOO STRAIGHT! YE WAN IS DIFFERENT PERSON NOW! THE ORIGINAL FEMALE LEAD IS GLITCHING AFTER YOUR ENTRY!"
Qingxue stood up so fast she swayed.
Mo Chen grabbed her arm to steady her.
"What's wrong?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide.
And for the first time, her panic wasn't fake.
"She's not who you think she is."