The result of her over-the-top flattery was being kicked out in a fit of rage before she even got to watch Hou yuancheng eat. Wen xueqing wasn't angry this time.
At least, through this ordeal, she discovered that her boss—no, her partner—didn't seem as difficult to get along with as the book described.
For example, no matter how much he disliked something, he wouldn't resort to violence. The worst he did was toss a sweater onto the sofa.
Also, when someone targeted him, she would stand up and protect him. The key was that he was seriously hot. If he weren't a character in a story, Wen xueqing might have actually considered trying to pursue him.
Of course, Wen xueqing herself was very much against office romances. That last point was strictly for fantasizing.
After dinner, Wen xueqing blissfully returned to her room and soaked in a comfortable hot bath.
Only after the eventful day had ended did Wen xueqing have time to properly look at her current self.
This body's face was almost identical to her own in her past life, except the hair was dyed pink and slightly curly. If it weren't for this face, she would have almost forgotten that she used to have so much flesh on his cheeks. A long time ago, it seemed many people had complimented her baby fat, saying it looked very pinchable.
She was an orphan, and her ambitions since childhood had been simple: study hard, work hard, and then own her own house so she could have a safe haven.
Even though she attended an arts college, she never got involved in messy relationships with other men. Many people wanted to pursue her, but Wen xueqing knew all too well what she needed most.
She took on acting roles during her school years, accepting any part, big or small. Once, she was squeezed out of a decent third female lead role she had auditioned for by someone an investor suddenly brought in. She didn't get angry. After all, she had been accustomed to class disparities since she was young. She happily accepted the fourth female lead role in the drama.
Even though the fourth female lead was unlikable and she was cursed out on trending topics after the show aired, she had gained some fame. This meant she could get more work.
A year after graduating, she had made the down payment on a house in the suburbs of this incredibly expensive city.
But just as she felt everything was heading in the right direction, the agency she signed with actually tried to pimp her out because some boss had taken a liking to her.
Wen xueqing knew the unwritten rules of the entertainment industry; refusal meant being blacklisted. But she never expected that boss to be a pervert, the kind who could take half your life in one night.
Wen xueqing sold the house she bought at a low price and still owed tens of thousands to terminate her contract with the agency. She had thought that if she couldn't be a proper actor, she could still earn some money to pay off her debts as an extra with her looks. But that boss had no intention of letting her go.
He casually spread some rumors, causing Wen xueqing to suffer from cyberbullying for half a year. At that time, let alone being an extra, she couldn't even get a job in a regular office.
After several painful struggles, she started doing manual labor, waitering during the day and delivering food at night. It took her a year to pay off her debt. But just then, her stomach pain became so severe she fainted.
A kind person sent her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. Until her final death, Wen xueqing never understood why someone like her was born into this world.
Was it to serve as a reference textbook for all the suffering in the world?
But now, Wen xueqing understood what it meant to endure the bitterest of hardships to rise above others!
With a salary of one million a month, even if her boss only kept her for a year, she could save enough money to travel the world and then find a small city with pleasant scenery to buy a house.
During the day, she could find a small job to enrich her life. People's evaluation of her would always be: "Little qing, huh? A pretty smart young woman, and good-looking too. Just doesn't have a partner. I should introduce her to someone next time."
And then at night, she'd be the princess of the nightlife, searching for true love and all that.
Hehe~
Wen xueqing chuckled to herself again.
Oh, right. She had to nurse her boss back to health before she left. Otherwise, she would be failing the high salary her boss was paying her!
As for the love-brain persona, she'd just have to keep acting for now. Otherwise, she couldn't think of any legitimate reason to stay here.
Lying in bed, Wen xueqing habitually picked up her phone to browse Weibo. As soon as she opened it, she saw 99+ private messages.
Hiss.
Based on her experience with being slandered, it was best for her own good not to click on them.
She backed out and checked the trending topics. Wow! Of the thousands of trending topics, the main Protagonists occupied half of them!
Something about the two of them exchanging meaningful glances across an aisle at some banquet.
Something about them holding hands with tacit understanding at the press conference for a movie they co-starred in.
On some variety show, the main top Gu yen deliberately teased Zhou yunyi, looking just like he did when they were young.
Hiss!
Wen xueqing teeth ached with cringe as she exited. She should go buy some sensitive toothpaste with Uncle Hou sometime. At her age, seeing this stuff really made her teeth ache."
But just as Wen xueqing was about to exit Weibo, a conspicuous entry on the entertainment chart caught his eye: #UniversallyDislikedCP#. If she wasn't mistaken, this was about her and Hou yuancheng.
Wen xueqing's hand slipped and she clicked on it.
Inside were a few of the original owner's promotional photos and a blurry photo of Hou yuancheng's back, probably taken by paparazzi when he was still at Zhou's Chips. The comments section had over ten thousand entries.
[I say this is karmic justice, anyone disagree?]
[To be honest, I'm so jealous of Baby Yi's life. It's like she's living in a universally adored protagonist novel. One minute that annoying Wen xueqing is shamelessly hitting on Baby Yi's fiancé, the next someone takes care of her and packs her off to his annoying brother. Hahahaha, I'm so satisfied.]
[Why are there no front-facing photos of Mr. Hou? Is he too ugly to look at? After all, he's not Baby Yi's biological brother!]
[Then Wen xueqing is a perfect match for him. She's always wearing fakes and insisting she understands fashion. It's hilarious. Now she can go talk fashion with the old man!]
[Aaaaaah! So this is what it feels like when two people you simultaneously hate get together. Double the joy!]
The comments below were almost all in this style. Although it was Wen xueqing's body being insulted, Wen xueqing found it hard not to understand the joy of this generation of netizens.
But the insults directed at Hou yuancheng were a bit much. If someone of Hou yuancheng's caliber was considered ugly, then there were no beauties left in the entertainment industry. Wen xueqing scrolled for two minutes before exiting with a snort.
She would start by refusing to be mentally drained! Just as she was turning off her phone to sleep, a message popped up on WeChat. She clicked on it. It was from someone named Brother Zhang:
[Wen xueqing, all your upcoming schedules have been canceled. The TV series you signed on for a while ago, I've had a new company talent replace you. The public opinion pressure is too great right now, and you didn't inform the company in advance about your marriage to Hou yuancheng. But the Zhou family's influence is what it is, so I won't rashly terminate your contract. In short, keep a low profile for a while, don't say anything reckless on Weibo. I'll let you know when there are new schedules.]
Wen xueqing thought, Bro, you've basically just said your inner monologue out loud.
This "Brother Zhang"must be the original owner's manager, Zhang Dian. He was a workaholic and the company's second pillar. His motto was, "There's nothing that can't be solved with overtime,"with the second line being, "Only incompetent people wait until overtime to solve problems,"and the banner reading, "Heh."
He was ruthless in his methods but disdained shady tricks. He was also protective of his own.
Otherwise, with the original owner's dramatic antics, she would have been kicked out of the entertainment industry long ago. The fact that she was only facing online ridicule now was all thanks to this manager taking time out of his busy schedule to manage public opinion.
Wen xueqing didn't neglect someone who had helped him. She replied politely: [Okay, thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhang.]
The other side paused for a moment. The interface showed that he was typing, then stopped. Just as Wen xueqing was about to exit, the other side started typing again. It was truly nerve-wracking!
Wen xueqing: [Is there anything else, Brother Zhang?]
Zhang Dianhuai: [Wen xueqing, are you being abused at Hou yuancheng's place? Or did you just take the wrong medicine? This is the first time I've ever seen you be so polite to me.]
His words were sharp and sarcastic. As expected of the sharp-tongued Zhang.
Wen xueqing typed back furiously: [(Shy) Brother Zhang, I'm currently being transformed by love!]
The other side was silent for thirty seconds before replying with a single word: [Scram!]
Alrighty then. Wen xueqing promptly pulled up her covers and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the sound of drizzling rain came from outside. The temperature seemed to drop with the rain. Wen xueqing groggily picked up the quilt she had kicked onto the floor and wrapped herself tightly in it, determined not to let a cold invade her body. Getting sick would cost money!
The little miss turned over, mumbled something, and went back to her sweet dreams.
The next day, Wen xueqing woke up bright and early. The temperature had dropped, and a light rain was falling outside. Wen xueqing grabbed the cardigan Hou yuancheng had tossed on the sofa yesterday and put it on. After washing up, she went downstairs to prepare breakfast. At that time, Uncle Hou had just woken up and was startled to see Wen xueqing up so early.
"Xueqing, you're up so early for?"
Wen xueqing sharpened a knife like a good wife. "To prepare breakfast for my husband."
The blade scraped with a "shh-shh" sound.
While frightened, Uncle Hou also felt a little emotional. It seemed this kid wasn't just putting on a show yesterday. Although he didn't know what young people were thinking, at least she was being good to the master now, and the master was willing to eat. To him, that was the most important thing.
Wen xueqing planned to make a simple sandwich this morning. It was nutritious, not too stimulating, and paired with a glass of milk to soothe the stomach.
But just as she brought it out, Uncle Hou came downstairs with a grave expression. "The master has a fever. I've already contacted the doctor and am going to pick him up now. Xueqing, please bring the master some warm water to drink, and make him eat something no matter what. If his stomach acts up now, the fever will get worse."
Wen xueqing nodded quickly, but instead of just preparing warm water, she turned around and went to the kitchen to boil some ginger and brown sugar water. It seemed the book's description of Hou yuancheng's weak constitution was true. The temperature had just dropped last night, and he already had a fever.
Wen xueqing, who hadn't even thought about entering Hou yuancheng's room before yesterday, was now facing a special situation. She gently knocked on the white door a few times. There was no response from inside. After a moment of mental preparation, Wen xueqing pushed the door open and went in.
Seeing the room's decor, Wen xueqing was slightly surprised.
If her room was in a simple, modern style, Hou yuancheng room was just heavy. The deep gray color scheme made the already spacious room feel somewhat claustrophobic. The curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out any light, leaving only the small night light by the bed emitting a pale glow. She could even faintly smell the scent of medicine in the room. It was extremely oppressive.
The white light cast on Hou yuancheng's pale, almost transparent profile. His handsome face was flushed with a sickly red. Uncle Hou had pushed back his bangs to place a small ice pack on his forehead. His beautiful lips were slightly parted, allowing oxygen to enter weakly. His brows were knitted so tightly they almost touched.
It had to be said, in this situation, the hidden face-con Wen xueqing's heart ached for him.
She carried the ginger water in and closed the door behind her.
"Husband?" Wen xueqing sat down by the bed, her soft, sweet voice calling out to Hou yuancheng.
Perhaps due to an ingrained dislike for this title, Hou yuancheng, who hadn't even been woken by Uncle Hou, managed to pry his eyelids open. His eye sockets were red, and his eyes were hazy. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had been thoroughly bullied by Wen xueqing.
"I told you, don't call me that! Cough, cough, cough!" Hou yuancheng couldn't help but cough after saying just those few words. The coughing grew more intense, and unable to bear it, he turned his head to the side and buried it in the covers, leaving only his shoulders trembling pitifully.
Wen xueqing put down the cup and quickly patted Hou yuancheng back. This scene was like seeing her former self. Having cancer and then catching a cold was like adding frost to snow. She would wake up in the middle of the night in her small rental room, coughing violently, the pain pulling at her stomach until dawn.
The fever would come and go, the pain would come and go, and there wasn't even anyone to hand her a glass of water.
"When your fever is gone, I won't call you that anymore." Although it was a great pity not to be able to call him husband, Wen xueqing made a concession for the sake of this stubborn donkey's speedy recovery.
After coughing for a while, Hou yuancheng finally caught his breath and lay on the bed, panting. "You mean it?"
Tsk, look at that. He doesn't trust me now, does he?
Wen xueqing pouted and said mournfully, "I've already made a huge concession. If you still don't trust me, husband, that would be impolite."
Perhaps because his brain was fuzzy from the fever, Hou yuancheng now had a childish streak. Hearing this, he immediately shut up and lay quietly, and although his complexion was still poor, a hint of pleasure could be seen in his eyes.
Tsk~
Wen xueqing was even more annoyed.
"Here, drink the ginger soup first."
Hou yuancheng closed his eyes, his refusal swift and decisive.
Wen xueqing never understood why Hou yuancheng repeatedly tormented his own body.
The book said that he was the one who always initiated conflicts with Zhou yunyi, painting him as a selfish person. How could a selfish person torture himself like this?
Regardless, Wen xueqing was on duty now, and she couldn't allow his boss to kick the bucket!
"Husband, do you want me to be a widow?" Wen xueqing said mournfully.
Hou yuancheng was so provoked that his eyes flew open, filled with disbelief, as if to say: How can you say such a thing?
"…Hand it over." He was completely giving up.
A minute later, Wen xueqing cheerfully took the empty bowl. The ashen color on Hou yuancheng's face had receded quite a bit, but unhappiness was still written all over his face. No one likes to be threatened, especially not the once-glorious Hou yuancheng.
"You rest well. I'll go down and make you some congee!"Wen xueqing stood up. Hou yuancheng gave a resigned "mm" and haphazardly closed his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Wen xueqing felt like she was looking at her past self. But Hou yuancheng was different from her. Even if he was loathed by everyone, he could still find a place to settle down in the end, and he had Uncle Hou who genuinely cared for him.
She didn't know how long she stood there. Hou yuancheng's eyelids, which had been fluttering at first, finally stilled.
Wen xueqing took a deep breath. Although she couldn't say it to his face, now that he was asleep… "Since you chose to live, why make yourself live so miserably? At least you still have a home. Suffering just becomes entertainment for others to watch. You might as well live happily and make those who hate you green with envy."
Even during that most difficult year, being a waitress during the day and delivering packages at night, she still reminded herself to be happy.
After speaking, Wen xueqing left the room.
A long time later, Hou yuancheng opened his eyes. They were now clear. He curled his fingers under the covers, his gaze on the door gradually deepening.