When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 58

Volume Three: Those Years I Was a Wangye

Henpecked¹

Night fell.

After they both finished their baths and came out, they looked at the food on the table and fell silent.

Lin Tinghan sat down. She ladled a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup and passed it over, “Have some hot soup.”

Wen Nuan looked at the familiar egg drop soup, a slight curve forming on her lips, “Alright.”

“You came today just to tell me that there’s absolutely nothing between you and Fang Yongsi, that you’re completely innocent in that matter, is that right?” Lin Tinghan asked.

Wen Nuan took a sip of soup and nodded, “Mm-hmm, I won’t admit to things I haven’t done. So I wanted to tell you the truth of that day. I don’t want this incident to become an irresolvable knot in our hearts.”

Lin Tinghan lowered her gaze. “But that day, when I asked you for an explanation, why did you remain silent and not answer?”

If it weren’t for Wen Nuan’s silence, Lin Tinghan wouldn’t have been angered to the point of losing her reason.

At that time, Wen Nuan was only thinking about making a clean escape², so of course, she wouldn’t explain clearly, afraid that if she did, it would be difficult for her to withdraw from the mission world later.

Since she could eliminate the scourge Fang Yongsi and perfectly withdraw from the mission world, Wen Nuan thought her plan was excellent at the time.

The System pouted: 【However wonderful you thought it was then, is how miserably you regret it now.】

Wen Nuan: “….”

That’s going too far, ha!

Wen Nuan sighed. “It all happened so suddenly back then. I was completely stunned and didn’t know what to say to defend myself, so I just stayed silent.”

“Then why did you leave Jiajing later?” Lin Tinghan frowned slightly.

“Because I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore. So I thought of leaving for a while, to roam the pugilistic world³, and then come back to find you after you’d calmed down.” Wen Nuan said aggrievedly, “Then I could even tell you interesting stories from the jianghu to cheer you up.”

Lin Tinghan’s eyes trembled, her fingertips curled, and she said, her voice hoarse, “We… we missed each other for a year just like that…”

Just because of such a misunderstanding, they missed each other for a year.

She really felt so unreconciled.

Wen Nuan looked at the hand Lin Tinghan had placed on the table, slowly moved closer, and held her hand. “It’s alright. Now that the truth has come to light, it’s not too late for anything.”

Lin Tinghan looked at their hands, clasped tightly together, and smiled. “Mm-hmm, it’s not too late.”

No matter when you come back, it’s not too late.

Lin Tinghan remembered Wen Nuan bringing Qi Hanrong today and asked, “Why did you bid for Qi Hanrong? Why did you say that day that you wanted to give him to me?”

Wen Nuan thought for a moment. “At that time, I saw you glance at Qi Hanrong a couple of times and thought you might like him, so I planned to bid for him and give him to you.”

After all, in the original plot, the female lead fell in love at first sight with the male lead.

“….” Lin Tinghan flung her hand away and said coldly, “Just because I glanced at him a couple of times, you thought I liked him? Then what about when I look at you….”

The rest of the words stuck in her throat; Lin Tinghan didn’t dare to say them out loud.

Wen Nuan, you blockhead! I often gaze at you, why can’t you see my feelings?

Wen Nuan, seeing her stop mid-sentence, asked, “What?”

Lin Tinghan looked at the table full of food. Although she hadn’t eaten much, she felt stifled and had no appetite at all.

She stood up, shot Wen Nuan a glare, and said in an unfriendly tone, “Eat by yourself. Eat more fish eyes; they can improve your eyesight.”

Wen Nuan watched Lin Tinghan’s departing figure, completely baffled by the scolding.

“System, did I say something wrong just now?”

The System said calmly: 【Don’t panic. As long as the blackening value doesn’t rise, everything else is a minor issue.】

Wen Nuan: “….You really are a materialist⁴.”

Halfway through the meal, for some unknown reason, the host of the dinner put down her chopsticks and left.

Regarding this—

Wen Nuan sighed and looked at Ruilin, who was standing by to serve, “Has your Young Miss had her monthly period recently?”

Ruilin: “…..No.”

Right, after all, she hadn’t seen anything when they bathed together earlier.

Wen Nuan got up to find Lin Tinghan. The blackening value had finally decreased after so much effort; if it rose again because Lin Tinghan was sulking with her, it would be utterly exhausting.

If Lin Tinghan had run out deliberately because she was angry, Wen Nuan could still find her easily, because she would absolutely not run more than a hundred meters away from her.

For example, right now, as soon as Wen Nuan stepped out of the main hall’s entrance, she saw Lin Tinghan standing in the center of the courtyard with her back to her, gazing up at the bright moon.

The System chimed in opportunely: 【Lowering her head, she thinks of home?⁵】

Wen Nuan: “…..Why are you everywhere?”

The System smiled: 【To better serve the Host, this is our duty.】

Wen Nuan: “…..”

Listen to you brag⁶!

Lin Tinghan heard the footsteps behind her and was a little too nervous to turn around.

Suddenly, she felt her sleeve being tugged. An almost imperceptible curve appeared on her lips. She shook her sleeve free and said irritably, “What do you want?”

Wen Nuan, finding her hand empty, tugged at Lin Tinghan’s other sleeve. “Are you angry?”

Lin Tinghan shook it off. “No.”

With both her hands empty, Wen Nuan knew for sure that Lin Tinghan was angry.

“Angry that I took it upon myself to give Qi Hanrong to you, is that it?” Wen Nuan naturally knew why Lin Tinghan was sulking with her.

Lin Tinghan turned around. Her beautiful, expressive almond-shaped eyes⁷ rolled, and the beauty mark⁸ at the corner of her eye seemed to faintly fluoresce in the moonlight.

“So the Xian Wang knew all along, huh?” she said in a sarcastic tone.

Wen Nuan awkwardly rubbed her nose. “If you don’t like it, I won’t do it next time, okay?”

Lin Tinghan glared at her. “There’s a next time?!”

“No, no more.” Wen Nuan hurriedly waved her hands. “There won’t be a next time. If there is, you can hit me or scold me however you want, alright!?”

Lin Tinghan pressed her lips together and walked back to the main hall. “Alright, let’s eat.”

Seeing that her anger had subsided, Wen Nuan breathed a sigh of relief. “Tsk tsk, she’s really getting harder and harder to coax.”

The System teased: 【There’s an academic term for this kind of behavior of yours. Want to know what it is?】

Wen Nuan raised an eyebrow. “….An academic term? What’s that?”

【The academic term is ‘henpecked’ ahahaha….】 the System mocked.

Wen Nuan: “…….”

Her eyes darted, and she said smugly, “Aha, This Laozi⁹ has a wife, and you don’t, hahaha…”

System: 【……】

That’s going too far, ha!

Wen Nuan had just returned to the dining table when she heard Lin Tinghan ask, “If you don’t plan to give Qi Hanrong to me, are you going to keep him in your manor?”

“Mm, if a mere weak man is left unattended, I’m afraid he’ll die a miserable death.”

After all, Qi Hanrong is the male lead. If he’s left to fend for himself, those assassins from Ji Ge will definitely have an opportunity to strike. Although the male lead has the halo of the Heavenly Dao, he’s not immortal. If someone were to pull out his tendons and bones, or cut off his head, he would also die. You should know, Ji Chenwei was cruelly killed by the Ji Ge assassins in just such a way back then. Since Wen Nuan got to know Ji Chenwei, she found this person quite interesting and really couldn’t bear to see her meet her original tragic end. She’d help if she could.

Lin Tinghan lowered her gaze. “Do you like Qi Hanrong?”

That man is so outstandingly handsome; I’m afraid all the women in the world would be infatuated with him.

Wen Nuan paused. “I don’t like him. I’m keeping him by my side for someone else.”

“Someone else?” Lin Tinghan gripped her chopsticks tightly and asked tentatively, “A man?”

“No, it’s a woman. Qi Hanrong’s childhood friend, named Ji Chenwei. She’s the one who was bidding against Boss Zhang that day before I started bidding.” Wen Nuan explained, “She’s an older sister figure who grew up with Qi Hanrong. Seeing him sold to Qingfeng Lou, she specially came to Jiajing to save him, and then we met. I saw that this person is exceptionally talented and knowledgeable about many things, a capable individual, so I thought of keeping her by my side.”

Wen Nuan picked up a piece of pork rib with her chopsticks and placed it in Lin Tinghan’s bowl. “You also know I’m someone who loves and cherishes talent. When I encounter such an interesting and talented person, naturally, I wouldn’t let them go.”

Lin Tinghan looked at the pork rib in her bowl, took a bite, and a sweet taste spread in her mouth.

“So you’re keeping Qi Hanrong in your manor to control Ji Chenwei?”

Wen Nuan nodded. “That’s also part of the reason.”

But Lin Tinghan had it backward. She was keeping Qi Hanrong by her side because she was afraid the male lead would suddenly be killed by Ji Ge. After all, in this world, the male lead’s strength was too weak. In the original plot, the female lead was there to protect him. Now that the female lead no longer liked the male lead, he could fall into mortal danger at any time. To maintain the stability of the world, she had to protect the male lead. As for Ji Chenwei, it was just that she couldn’t bear to see such a good person die tragically.

“I see that Qi Hanrong is exceptionally handsome. Aren’t you moved?” Lin Tinghan deliberately teased.

Wen Nuan paused, looking at her. “In your eyes, am I the type to fall in love with everyone I meet?”

Lin Tinghan: “….Aren’t you? Otherwise, where did all those male confidants¹⁰ of yours from before come from?”

In the past, any man who showed affection for her (Lin Tinghan) would be flirted away by Wen Nuan. Most importantly, even if Wen Nuan no longer liked those men, they wouldn’t harbor resentment towards Wen Nuan. Whenever Wen Nuan was mentioned, they would only lament that they hadn’t done well enough, causing Wen Nuan to leave them, which left people utterly perplexed.

Wen Nuan chuckled sheepishly. “That was all because I was young and foolish, and very playful. Look at you, still holding a grudge?”

Lin Tinghan shot her a glare and lowered her head to drink her soup.

The meaning in her eyes seemed to say: Do you think I believe your nonsense?!

Wen Nuan: “…..”

Back then, she was also doing it for the good of the male and female leads! If the female lead already had many men when she met the male lead, the male lead would definitely be unhappy, thus affecting later developments, right!? So she could only flirt away all the men who were interested in Lin Tinghan, making them give up early, so they wouldn’t make a move on ‘her’ female lead and affect her mission. Now, Lin Tinghan had remembered all these things and was bringing them up to taunt her, truly making her feel quite ashamed.

The System sighed with emotion: 【I have to say, you’re very skilled at handling both men and women, but when it comes to ‘her,’ you’re always at a loss. Why is that?】

“…..” A corner of Wen Nuan’s mouth lifted in a smug expression. “See, this is what you don’t understand, right? That’s because of love! Love is about mutual tolerance, mutual accommodation, and supporting each other through thick and thin¹¹.”

She glanced at the System and said with pity, “Ah, I forgot, you’re just an intelligent machine. You don’t understand these human emotions and affections, so naturally, you can’t enjoy the beauty of love.”

【…..】

It really was asking for it, couldn’t help but run its mouth and ask.

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The author has something to say:

Wen Nuan (smugly): Love is truly wonderful, makes one feel so happy.

System (scoffs): Who was it that used to say they didn’t believe in true love?

Female Lead (coldly): Hmm?

Wen Nuan (panicked): Let me explain!

(Raising my head, I gaze at the bright moon; lowering my head, I think of my old home) – From Li Bai’s 《Quiet Night Thought》.

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