When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 2

Volume One: Those Years I Was a CEO

Smoky Scent

As soon as the plane landed in B City, Wen Nuan felt a sense of familiarity.

After all, she had lived in this world for five or six years, so she felt a bit nostalgic.

Wen Nuan pushed her luggage, looking at the motorcade waiting for her at the airport gate and the man in black standing in front of her.

She looked helplessly at Wei Cheng and said, “Did Grandpa find out about my return?”

Wei Cheng nodded and said, “The Second Miss bought the plane ticket, the Old Master knew the information about your return.”

Wei Cheng opened the car door and respectfully said, “Miss, please get in the car. Chairman Xu is waiting for you in the car.”

Wen Nuan got into the car and saw her grandfather looking at her with a gloomy face. She gave a dry laugh: “How is Chairman Xu’s health recently?”

Chairman Xu sneered, “You’re willing to come back? I thought you were going to play crazy outside.” He threw a stack of photos to Wen Nuan, “Playing pretty wild, huh?”

Wen Nuan looked at the people in the photos. It was her, yet not her.

Because after she left, the original body [原身 | yuánshēn | original body/host] took control of this body.

The original Wen Nuan played wild; under the condition of no one controlling her abroad, she frequented various bars and parties, having a whale of a time.

Wen Nuan put away the photos, wrapped her arms around Grandpa Xu’s arm, and said with a flattering smile: “Not really. Isn’t it because I missed Grandpa that I came back?”

Grandpa Xu snorted haughtily and turned to look out the window, looking like he wasn’t paying attention to her but wanted to be coaxed.

At the moment, Wen Nuan didn’t have the mood to coax Grandpa Xu. Her mind was full of the blackened female lead and the male lead who was about to get engaged to the female supporting character.

Now that the main storyline of the world has been distorted like this, how should she deal with it?

【Your current mission is no longer to help the male and female leads achieve a great life harmony, but to eliminate the blackening value of the main characters. This is the only way to unfreeze your points, understand?】 the System prompted.

Wen Nuan’s eyes lit up: “The final mission has changed?”

【Yes, it has changed. I also received the notification temporarily. Actually, it’s not difficult to understand. As long as the main characters’ blackening value is eliminated, their great life harmony can also be achieved.】 The System carefully read the mission requirements and explained.

Wen Nuan also looked at the latest mission requirements and breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s pretty good. I didn’t expect you guys to be so humane.”

The System chuckled: 【We are quite humane, but if the host doesn’t act humanely, there’s nothing we can do.】

Wen Nuan: “…”

The words were filled with complaints and displeasure.

Wen Nuan understood. After all, it was her own misbehavior that had implicated the System, so she could only endure its sarcasm.

Grandpa Xu felt the silence beside him and turned to look at Wen Nuan. Seeing her worried expression, he frowned: “What’s wrong? Are you so unhappy to be back? Why did you come back if you’re unhappy?”

Three questions in a row, each one fatal!

Wen Nuan shook her head and said, “No, it’s just that I’m a little tired from the flight.”

Grandpa Xu saw that Wen Nuan had lost a lot of weight and touched her head with heartache in his eyes: “You silly girl, running around like that, are you exhausted? Don’t run around outside after you come back this time, understand?”

Wen Nuan replied obediently, “Okay, I’ll stay in the country from now on, accompany Grandpa, and find him a second spring [第二春 | dì èr chūn | finding love again], okay?”

Grandpa Xu: “…”

A roar and a muffled cry of pain suddenly erupted from the luxurious Lincoln traveling on the highway.

“You silly girl, are you looking for a beating!?” Grandpa Xu threw a punch.

“Ow—” Wen Nuan rubbed her arm, grimacing.

B City First People’s Hospital.

Inpatient Department, Third Floor.

You Jiayi held the payment slip, slumped in the corridor chair, looking at the amount due.

She couldn’t afford this much money anymore.

She could delay the cost of medicine and surgery, but she couldn’t delay the hospitalization fees any longer. If she couldn’t pay the hospitalization fees within three days, her mother would be kicked out of the ward and would have to stay in the hallway.

You Jiayi pulled at her hair weakly, her sobs stifled in her mouth.

She didn’t dare to enter the ward, didn’t dare to look at her mother’s sallow face, didn’t dare to listen to her mother say again and again to give up treatment and let her die.

What should she do?

She had borrowed from everyone she could. Some people were even afraid of her borrowing.

Some even blocked her, not wanting their money back, just to avoid her.

The payment slip in her hand was tightly clutched, as if she was desperately suppressing something.

You Jiayi took a deep breath and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

She had to be strong. If she gave up, her mother would really not survive.

You Jiayi opened WeChat and looked at her contacts.

Qi He.

He had already lent her 200,000 yuan. You Jiayi couldn’t bring herself to ask him for another loan.

But faced with the huge medical expenses, no one else could lend her money.

Except—

Her finger stopped on a contact named “Fang Kebao” [方克保 | Fāng Kěbǎo].

Fang Kebao, a shareholder of Ruifeng Company [瑞豐公司 | Ruìfēng Gōngsī], a man who had once wanted to keep her as a mistress.

In this situation, she seemed to have no other way out than to sell herself.

Just as she was about to click on it, a message popped up in the notification bar at the top of her phone, making You Jiayi’s pupils constrict.

—Shocking! Xu Corporation CEO Xu Wen Nuan returns to China. B City will no longer be peaceful!

Her finger moved upwards involuntarily and clicked on the message.

Looking at the figure in the photo, unlike her usual high-class and formal attire, she was wearing the most ordinary hoodie and jeans, pulling a black suitcase. Even without makeup, one could see her delicate and beautiful features.

This outfit made her look less like the CEO of Xu Corporation who could stir up trouble and more like a young and tender university student, full of youthful vigor and sunshine.

One year.

She had been gone for a year.

When she left, she did so without any hesitation.

Coldly and indifferently, she sent her into that room, then turned and left, without looking back at her once.

Not only did she block her on WeChat, but she also deliberately canceled her phone number, blocking all possible ways for her to reach her.

Was she that afraid of her finding her?

If she hadn’t seen the financial daily that day, she wouldn’t have known that Xu Wen Nuan had even gone abroad to avoid her.

After going abroad, Xu Wen Nuan was like a fish swimming in the sea, wantonly playing and spending money, frequenting bars and parties, changing men one after another, living a carefree life.

Even the paparazzi who secretly photographed Xu Wen Nuan sighed that she really knew how to play.

And her?

This year had been like a nightmare, from beginning to end, filled with terror, despair, and helplessness, and this dream seemed to never end.

Tears fell onto the phone screen. You Jiayi bit her lip hard, but she still couldn’t suppress her sobs.

She murmured over and over again, as if questioning, yet also admitting.

“Why did you come back?”

“Why didn’t you stay abroad?”

“Why did this news have to pop up for me to see?”

“Why did you drug me?”

“Why did you give me to Qi He?”

“Why couldn’t you see… my feelings for you?” Her voice trembled more and more, her tears fell more and more, and the phone screen gradually blurred.

…

And what she wanted to ask the most was, “Why does it still hurt so much to see you again?”

【Ahem, the female lead’s blackening value has increased. The current target’s blackening value is 9!】 the System said coldly.

“??!!”

Wen Nuan was lying in bed, thinking about how to eliminate the female lead’s blackening value when the System informed her that it had increased.

“Why?” Wen Nuan wondered.

The System shrugged: 【I don’t know, it suddenly increased.】

It was also the first time it had encountered a mission related to blackening values, so it wasn’t very proficient.

Wen Nuan frowned and asked, “You said that this blackening value is a ten-point scale. What will happen if the blackening value reaches ten?”

The System checked the manual and said: 【It seems that you will be expelled from this world, and the mission will be considered a failure!】

Wen Nuan: “…”

Oh, damn. She had finally been able to return to the original world. If she were expelled again, her frozen points would be completely gone.

“No, I can’t let the plot develop freely.” Wen Nuan jumped out of bed, grabbed her coat, and rushed out. “I have to take the initiative.”

【How do you plan to take the initiative?】 the System asked curiously.

“Since the problem lies with the female lead, I’ll go to her first and see what happened.”

Since the female lead of this world had blackened, Wen Nuan could only focus on her.

Chairman Xu watched his granddaughter run out not long after returning, stood on the balcony, and roared, “You silly girl, where are you going to run off to again?!”

Wen Nuan opened the car door and said with a grin, “I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back soon. Bye!”

Chairman Xu watched Wen Nuan drive away, so angry that he threw a potted plant down and cursed, “You silly girl, always running around. Just wait until you come back; I’ll teach you a lesson!”

The butler looked at the potted plant that landed in front of him and let out a long sigh of relief. He had almost prepared for a funeral.

Wen Nuan was driving and opened WeChat on her phone. It was a message from Ren Kai [任凯 | Rèn Kǎi] containing the information she had asked him to find about the female lead from his buddies in B City.

—Ren Kai: This is the information you wanted. You Jiayi’s mother is currently at B City People’s Hospital, Inpatient Department, Third Floor, Ward 3002.

—Xu Wen Nuan: Thanks.

—Ren Kai: No problem, small matter. You’re back in the country. Want to hang out tomorrow?

—Xu Wen Nuan: Sure, let’s talk tomorrow. Gotta go.

It was drizzling outside, and the late autumn wind was a bit chilly.

Wen Nuan put on the hood of her hoodie. Just as she reached the entrance of B City Hospital, she stopped abruptly.

Seeing her stop, the System wondered: 【What’s wrong?】

Wen Nuan touched her chest, puzzled: “Why do I have a feeling of guilt and panic?”

A kind of shame, as if she had done something wrong.

【You should feel guilty and panicked. After all, you bear a large responsibility for the female lead’s current situation.】 The System explained one by one, 【Look, if it weren’t for you drugging the female lead and sending her into the male lead’s room, would she have been photographed by the paparazzi? Then she was mocked by the public, shelved by her company, and finally had to pay a large sum of liquidated damages to escape from that bloodsucking company. All her money went into that, so when the female lead’s mother got liver cancer, she had no money for treatment, which led her into a desperate and helpless situation, and ultimately ended in suicide.】

If the original plot of this world had continued to develop, the female lead’s mother would have died without money for treatment, the female lead would have jumped to her death in despair, the male lead would have married the female supporting character and had children, and finally, the world would have collapsed.

Wen Nuan was poked in the back by the System again and again, unable to refute.

She lowered her head guiltily and said in a low voice, “It’s my fault.”

Seeing her like this, the System earnestly advised: 【Ancestor, let’s do the mission properly, don’t take any crooked paths. One reliable time doesn’t mean every time will be reliable.】

Wen Nuan choked slightly: “Alright, I know.”

Her phone buzzed. Wen Nuan opened it; it was a WeChat message from her grandfather.

—Grandpa: You silly girl, I didn’t expect you to be so kind-hearted, even going to the hospital to get medicine for me?

Wen Nuan: “..??”

Ah, she remembered. Grandpa’s blood pressure medication was supplied by B City People’s Hospital.

He must have checked her location again.

Not taking the offered steps would be foolish.

—Wen Nuan: Oops, Grandpa caught me. I’ll be back after I get the medicine.

—Grandpa: Okay, be careful on the road. Tell me next time; I won’t stop you from getting it. You silly girl, so stubborn #grinning#

Wen Nuan put away her phone. The pharmacy window was on the first floor.

Turning to the right, Wen Nuan stood at the VIP window and said to the nurse inside, “I’m Xu Deqiu [许德丘 | Xǔ Déqiū]’s granddaughter, here to pick up his blood pressure medicine. Thank you.”

The nurse checked the name, looked at Wen Nuan, and immediately got up to get the medicine, “One moment.”

“Okay.” Wen Nuan planned to go upstairs to see the female lead after getting the medicine.

“Hello, I’d like to pick up Zhu Liya’s [祝丽雅 | Zhù Lìyǎ] medicine. Here’s the prescription.”

Wen Nuan froze. The voice was too familiar; it was the female lead’s.

She was standing at the pharmacy window not far from her.

Her voice wasn’t as soft and clear as before, but rather hoarse and low, as if she was exhausted.

“Hello, Miss Xu, this is Mr. Xu Deqiu’s blood pressure medication. Please take it.” The nurse respectfully handed over the medicine bag.

Wen Nuan came back to her senses and took the medicine bag: “Thank you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, there were a few sounds of cardboard boxes falling to the ground next to her.

Along with a woman’s annoyed complaint, “Can you watch out? There are people behind you, and you’re still bumping into them?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” You Jiayi quickly apologized, squatting down to pick up the medicine boxes on the floor, her movements overly hurried and flustered.

At this moment, a fair hand, with slender fingers and a small, familiar burn scar on the ring finger, picked up the medicine box in front of her and handed it to her.

“Here you go.”

It was her voice.

Her eyes immediately stung, and her nose was blocked by a strong surge of sorrow.

Clenching her jaw, relying on her current messy and disheveled appearance, she lowered her head, quickly took the medicine box, mumbled a thank you, and turned to run.

However, as soon as she turned around, she bumped into someone again. The person was about to curse at her for being blind when they watched in horror as the person who bumped into them fell backward.

You Jiayi didn’t feel the coldness of the floor tiles or the pain of falling.

It was as if she had fallen into a mass of cotton, a soft embrace, and worried calls filled her ears.

She smelled a faint, fragrant smoky scent, not as strong and pungent as other cigarettes, but rather a unique freshness and sweetness.

This was Xu Wen Nuan’s unique scent.

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