When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 241

Volume Ten: Those Few Years After She and I Broke Up

Cohabitation

As the end of the year approached, [Miracle]’s¹ year-end concert was also drawing near.

Zhou Hao stopped accepting other jobs for the four of them, letting them prepare for the concert with focused heart and determination.

Except for Wen Nuan.

“Where are you going again?” Zhou Hao asked, a helpless look on his face.

Wen Nuan gave an awkward smile. “Going out for a little stroll. I’ve been singing all day, so I’m just letting my throat relax a bit.”

Zhou Hao snorted coldly. “There’s a super blizzard today. You’re going out for a stroll? Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?²“

He had an “I knew it” expression on his face. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning to do. You don’t know yet, do you?”

“What!?”

“President Yi has resigned.” Zhou Hao had only just received this news yesterday.

Wen Nuan was startled. “Why?”

Zhou Hao shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s news from Feili Group’s internal network. I have a friend in Feili’s upper management who mentioned it to me.”

Seeing Wen Nuan’s surprised and confused expression, Zhou Hao asked, “President Yi didn’t tell you?”

Wen Nuan shook her head. “She didn’t tell me.”

“Maybe she was afraid you’d worry and overthink, so she didn’t tell you. She hasn’t gone to work at Feili these past few days, and no one at the company can contact her. There’s no one at her home, either. Do you know where she might be?”

A thought flashed through Wen Nuan’s mind. “I’m going out for a bit. I probably won’t be back tonight.”

Zhou Hao understood. “Alright, be safe and come back early. The concert is approaching, so there can’t be any more mistakes.”

“Mm.”

Wen Nuan put on her hat, pulled the brim down low, and walked out, braving the heavy snow.

Di Yi walked over holding a cup of hot coffee. Watching Wen Nuan disappear into the wind and snow, she asked, “What’s she off to do again?”

Zhou Hao calmly took Di Yi’s coffee and took a sip. “She’s gone to find her disappeared lover.”

Di Yi looked at her empty hand. “…”

Damn!

On the way, Wen Nuan also contacted Secretary Li. Secretary Li hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally telling the truth.

Yi Jing had recently investigated everyone she’d been in contact with and all her spending records for the past three years. She’d also made a trip back to the Tan Family Compound and then suddenly submitted her resignation to the board of directors.

Wen Nuan was stunned for a moment before understanding dawned on her. So that’s why Yi Jing had deliberately hidden it from her.

They had been so affectionate these past few days, even going out for meals and dates. But there was one thing that wasn’t quite right: Yi Jing wouldn’t let her sleep over at her house.

After all, with her current status, it was inconvenient to bring Yi Jing back to the dorm. And if they were to open a room³, they could easily get snapped by the puppies⁴. She wasn’t afraid—her reputation was already stinking—but Yi Jing was different. She couldn’t let Yi Jing get dragged through the mud, so the best place to go was Yi Jing’s home.

Unfortunately, every time she brought it up, Yi Jing would find some excuse to refuse.

Now that everything was clear, Wen Nuan finally understood the cat’s trickery⁵ Yi Jing was hiding.

That girl was secretly making big moves behind my back. She’s probably drowning in self-blame, regret, and guilt, right?

Wen Nuan drove to the rented house where she and Yi Jing had lived three years ago.

Seeing the light on inside, she knew Yi Jing was indeed hiding here.

Given Yi Jing’s stubborn temper, she definitely wouldn’t move back into the house Tan Yiping had prepared for her. Her only refuge would be this rented house.

Wen Nuan climbed the stairs to the fifth floor from memory. It was an old-style residential complex with no elevator, dated decorations, and peeling paint on the walls. In old complexes like this, the higher the floor, the cheaper the rent, since plenty of people didn’t like climbing stairs.

The door was still the same old, large iron door, its lock covered in rust.

In the past, it took so much effort to turn the lock. We almost broke the key off inside it several times.

Wen Nuan knocked. Yi Jing’s voice came from inside.

“Who is it?”

Wen Nuan took off her hat so Yi Jing could see her through the peephole. “It’s me.”

Before she could even say her name, the heavy iron door swung open.

Yi Jing stood at the door in loose loungewear, completely at a loss. “You… how did you get here?”

She was certain she hadn’t told Wen Nuan she was here, and there was no way Secretary Li could have known either.

Wen Nuan stepped inside, shutting the cold wind out. “Have you eaten?”

Yi Jing blinked. “I have.”

“What did you eat?”

Wen Nuan glanced at the kitchen, where there were indeed signs of the stove having been used.

Yi Jing answered truthfully, “Scrambled eggs with tomato.”

There was another problem with old residential complexes: the heating was terrible. This was mainly because the building was ancient, and many of the facilities were failing.

A complex like this should have been demolished, but the location was too good. The government couldn’t afford the demolition fees, so they just left it as it was.

Wen Nuan glanced at the thermometer on the living room wall: ten degrees Celsius.

She sat on the spring sofa, which was a bit hard. “This place is still the same as before.”

Yi Jing couldn’t figure out why Wen Nuan had come, so she could only follow her lead. “Mhm, a lot of things haven’t changed.”

“Are you cold?”

Wen Nuan reached out, pulled Yi Jing over, and sat her on her lap. Feeling her ice-cold hands, she asked, “Is the water heater not plugged in?”

Yi Jing lowered her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s not too cold.”

“Your whole body is cold.” Wen Nuan’s hand slipped into the loose loungewear, feeling her smooth, cold back. “How many days have you been sleeping here?”

Yi Jing suddenly straightened up, but Wen Nuan grabbed her by the waist, and she limply fell back into her embrace. “Five days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s nothing,” Yi Jing explained. “I come to stay here often.”

Her old clothes and belongings were still in this house.

Wen Nuan held Yi Jing, her chin resting on her shoulder. “I’m talking about the resignation.”

Yi Jing paused, then said in a low voice, “It’s not a big deal. You’ve been busy with the concert lately. You should be more focused.”

“If I can say something shameless and irresponsible,” Wen Nuan smiled, “you’re more important than the concert.”

Yi Jing’s expression was filled with emotion. “Wen Nuan, I…?”

Wen Nuan cut her off. “If you’re about to say you’re sorry, then please shut up.”

Yi Jing’s eyelids trembled as she tried again. “Wen Nuan, I…?”

“If you feel guilty and want to blame yourself, please shut up too.”

Yi Jing bit her lip.

Wen Nuan caressed her cheek and said softly, “Let the past be the past. Let’s start over, okay?”

She didn’t want to get tangled up with Yi Jing over past matters again. Her own self-blame and guilt, Yi Jing’s self-blame and guilt—bringing them up would only make them both suffer again.

Wen Nuan knew that Yi Jing was taking everything too seriously. She must believe that my departure back then wasn’t voluntary after Wen Xiuning gave me five million, but that I was forced to leave by Tan Yiping. Yi Jing investigated my spending records for the past three years, so she must know I never spent the five million Wen Xiuning gave me. The major banks have no record of me cashing a five-million-yuan check because I tore it up when I left that mission world. As for the examination report, Yi Jing must have also learned that I was a virgin. This would completely shatter the ‘debauched and extravagant’ false image I had painstakingly created back then. All of this must have made Yi Jing confused, flustered, and endlessly pained. She’s probably denying herself, blaming herself, and feeling terribly guilty, thinking she wronged me greatly.

A pent-up frustration seemed to emanate from Yi Jing. Hearing Wen Nuan’s gentle words, the tears that had long refused to fall finally slid down her cheeks.

She hugged Wen Nuan tightly and began to cry her heart out, ceaselessly calling her name.

“Wen Nuan… Wen Nuan…”

Wen Nuan picked Yi Jing up in a princess carry, and the two of them snuggled on the small bed from their past.

Only this time, they weren’t lying estranged, back-to-back, but embracing face-to-face.

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In the early morning, they were woken not by sunlight and a gentle breeze, but by the irritating ringing of a telephone.

Yi Jing looked at Wen Nuan, who was continuously squeezing into her embrace, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “The phone has rung several times. Don’t you want to answer it? It might be something urgent.”

“I have urgent business too.”

Wen Nuan rolled on top of her, leaned down, and buried her face in Yi Jing’s neck. “Let’s take care of our urgent business first.”

Yi Jing gave a weak push and laughed. “Answer the phone first, or it’ll just keep ringing.”

“You answer it for me,” Wen Nuan said as she kissed her way downwards. “Just say I’m busy.”

Yi Jing flinched slightly, her fingertips trembling. She took the phone, answered the call, and put it on speaker.

“Hello? Wen Nuan, where are you? Are you going to practice or not?” Zhou Hao shouted at the top of his lungs.

Hearing no sound from the other end, he shouted again, “Wen Nuan, get your ass back here and practice, or you’ll see how I deal with you!”

“Mmph…” Fearing Zhou Hao would hear, Yi Jing quickly covered her mouth.

Her eyes were moist and glistening.

Piece by piece, their clothes were scattered on the floor.

Zhou Hao’s angry roars continued from the bedside table, while Yi Jing bit her lip, holding back. Only Wen Nuan, hidden under the covers, was completely free and unrestrained.

It wasn’t until noon that Wen Nuan finally called Zhou Hao back. She was subjected to a verbal struggle session by him, after which she shamelessly asked for another day off, licking her face⁶, and promised she would be back to practice tomorrow, telling him not to worry that she would run the road.⁷

The sound of running water came continuously from the bathroom. Wen Nuan’s eyes shifted, and just as she was about to get out of bed to join Yi Jing for a wash, she heard a knock on the door.

Wen Nuan’s brow furrowed slightly. She picked up the clothes from the floor, got dressed, and went to answer it.

She looked through the peephole. The visitor was, unexpectedly, Tan Yiping.

Wen Nuan opened the door for Tan Yiping with a calm expression. The moment he saw her, however, his own face darkened considerably.

The corners of Tan Yiping’s mouth pulled down. “Why are you here?”

Wen Nuan sneered. “This is my home.”

“Have you ever paid a cent of rent here?”

Tan Yiping had known about this rented house for a long time—since three years ago, when Yi Jing was earning money to support this improper woman.

Wen Nuan leaned against the doorway, deliberately revealing the marks on her neck. “I contributed my strength.”

When Tan Yiping saw the marks on her neck, his blood pressure shot up with anger. He raged, “Where is Yi Jing?”

Wen Nuan grinned, baring her teeth. “In the shower.”

Why was she showering?

It was all obvious without being said.

Tan Yiping’s face grew even uglier. He had his bodyguards stand at the door while he walked in, leaning on his cane. He looked at the decor with disgust. “You can actually live in a place like this.”

“Of course. Not only can we live here,” Wen Nuan pointed to the bed in the bedroom, “we sleep comfortably, too. No matter how much we toss and turn, it won’t break.”

Tan Yiping gritted his teeth. “Shameless.”

Wen Nuan touched her cheek. “You, old sir, are still too polite. You should go see the people cursing me online. They all start with ‘mom,’ use relatives as the radius⁸, and extend cordial greetings to my eighteen generations of ancestors.⁹“

Tan Yiping was speechless.

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with such a shameless person.

Tan Yiping looked around and finally, with extreme reluctance, sat on the spring sofa. An exposed spring even poked him in the butt, which was a bit painful.

Wen Nuan grabbed a stool from the kitchen and sat opposite him.

The two of them crossed their arms, unable to see eye to eye.

From the bathroom, Yi Jing had heard someone come in, though she didn’t know who it was.

She got fully dressed and walked out, drying her hair. “Who’s here… Grandfather?”

Tan Yiping looked at Yi Jing, especially at her neck, where her originally fair skin was completely covered with the marks of being gnawed by a dog¹⁰. He closed his eyes for a moment and said in a deep voice, “Have you made enough of a scene? Isn’t it time to come home?”

Yi Jing put down the hand towel, her expression sinking. “Grandfather, do you think I’m just making a scene with you?”

“Aren’t you?” Tan Yiping tapped the floor with his cane. “You should be done throwing your childish temper tantrum by now.”

“I will not go back. Grandfather, please leave.” Yi Jing showed him the door.

Tan Yiping’s expression twisted with fury. “I’ll say it one more time, Yi Jing. Come back with me.”

“My Little Jing already said she’s not going back with you. Why is Old Master Tan being so stubborn?” That Wen.dog.Nuan picked up the towel from the floor, pulled Yi Jing over to sit on the stool, and stood up to dry her hair for her.

Tan Yiping looked at Wen Nuan’s arrogant appearance—relying on favor to become arrogant¹¹, the hen crowing at dawn¹²—and his blood pressure shot up again.

He pointed at Wen Nuan, then looked at Yi Jing, angry at her for not fighting. “Are you going to defy me again for her?”

Yi Jing said indifferently, “Do I need a reason like ‘for someone’ to defy you?”

“Grandfather, you’re used to being revered and respected. You’ve forgotten that there are people in this world who can defy your demands and refute your decisions.”

“As my father’s daughter, I will naturally not be outdone in the resistance and struggle he was capable of.”

“Even if it means I, like my parents, must pay with my life.”

Tan Yiping’s face went a spell of green, a spell of white¹³. A look of incredulous humiliation appeared in his eyes.

He opened his mouth, his whole body swaying as he stood up.

His once-firm spine suddenly bent, like a mountain that had stood tall and not fallen¹⁴ for many years had suddenly collapsed.

“Good. Good. Good…”

After saying “good” three times in a row, Tan Yiping left the rented house with his body hunched over.

Wen Nuan hugged the trembling Yi Jing from behind, kissed her earlobe, and said with heartache, “Little Jing, don’t cry.”

Yi Jing turned and buried herself in Wen Nuan’s embrace, letting out a soft sigh. “I’m not crying.”

I’ll never cry for anyone else again, nor will I show weakness in front of others. They aren’t Wen Nuan.

“Then why are you trembling?”

Wen Nuan assumed Yi Jing felt ashamed and didn’t dare to speak.

Yi Jing raised her head and pouted. “You played with it until it’s all swollen. I’m crying from the pain.”

The originator of the trouble gave an awkward smile. “…”

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