Chapter 3
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Jiang Sheshe’s face flushed red with anger.
Ning Xi calmly explained, “I thought you had body odor, so you didn’t want anyone sitting next to you. Looks like I misunderstood.”
Jiang Sheshe: “I clearly just think you…” Not worthy to sit beside me!
“Alright, Sheshe, Miss Ning is just joking with you. We’re still live streaming,” Jiang Sheshe’s opposite-sex friend, Wei Xuan, interrupted in time.
The previously ruffled Jiang Sheshe instantly quieted down.
She awkwardly glanced at Wei Xuan, “It’s her fault for saying I have body odor first.”
Wei Xuan didn’t argue, just gently patted Jiang Sheshe’s head to comfort her.
Then he looked at Ning Xi, “Miss Ning, sorry, Sheshe grew up abroad, so sometimes her words don’t come out quite right. She didn’t mean to target you just now, she just thought that seat was a bit out of the way, and your camera might get blocked.”
Ning Xi’s gaze fell on Wei Xuan.
The man was refined and handsome, with a gentle restraint in his brows, like spring water.
If this were an old-school romance novel, he’d definitely be the gentle, affectionate second male lead.
But this was a Mary Sue, male competition, drama-filled novel.
Normal people don’t make it to the table, let alone become supporting male leads.
The book clearly wrote that Wei Xuan was the most fawning, darkest, and hardest-to-control “fish” in Ning Mingyue’s pond.
On the surface, he seemed upright and gentle, but in reality, he was obsessively and pathologically in love with Ning Mingyue.
Privately, he crazily collected all information about Ning Mingyue.
Even knowing Jiang Sheshe had a long-standing crush on him, he ruthlessly used Jiang Sheshe and Ning Mingyue’s friendship to pursue Ning Mingyue.
Even more explosive, Jiang Sheshe, the hopeless romantic, actually enjoyed it, and even proactively invited Wei Xuan to join the variety show to help him pursue Ning Mingyue.
To this, Ning Xi’s evaluation was: These hopeless romantics are all absolutely bonkers.
Just then, some rustling noises came from the villa’s foyer.
A few seconds later, a man’s figure appeared before everyone’s eyes.
The man stood tall, his profile clean and sharp, black hair falling over his pale forehead, below which were cold, sharp eyes and brows.
His aura was noble, carrying an innate sense of pressure.
[Ahhh that face! Those shoulders! That waist! Those hands! I’m drooling!]
[Everyone’s constitution is different, I’ll take the lead and pay my respects first [wink][heart]]
[Everyone, please fly your children in an orderly fashion, don’t trample each other]
[Do it! Do it! Once you start, you go wild, lose yourself, go all out! Hundreds of young men with slanted drums, dancing madly before you. Like a sudden rain, the drumbeats are urgent; on the Loess Plateau, what a grand, bold, fiery dance explodes-Ansai Waist Drum!]
“Yo, isn’t that Shen Yibai? Why is your fiancé here with someone else for the variety show?” Fu Zhi sidled up to Ning Xi and whispered in her ear.
“Quiet, I’m thinking,” Ning Xi frowned.
But Fu Zhi wasn’t about to give up so easily. He’d already replayed in his mind a thousand times how he’d lost the last argument with Ning Xi, and now he was bursting with words:
“Shen Yibai is the future head of the Shen Family. Of course, he’ll marry a proper young lady. You’re just the adopted daughter of the Ning Family. Even if you relied on childhood ties to get engaged to him, you’re not worthy of him. When this variety show ends, Shen Yibai will definitely break off the engagement. If you don’t want to lose face, you should take the initiative and call it off yourself.”
After speaking, Fu Zhi looked at Ning Xi smugly:
Hit your sore spot, didn’t I? Hurts, doesn’t it? Speechless, aren’t you?
Counterattack successful!
But Ning Xi only responded slowly with a “Meow.”
Fu Zhi: ?
What the heck!
Ning Xi really didn’t have time to deal with this elementary school chicken, Fu Zhi.
Seeing Shen Yibai, she couldn’t help but recall the scenes in the book where she tried to win him back, clashing with Ning Mingyue on the variety show and getting slapped in the face.
Heavens! Earth!
Shen Yibai used to be so strict with her, always thinking she wasn’t good enough here, needed improvement there…
Now she could finally escape her misery, and Shen Yibai would go nitpick someone else. Why on earth would she want to win him back?
The book even described her humbly begging Shen Yibai not to break off the engagement…
How was that any different from pooping in public?!
Ning Xi screamed and raged inside, dark and twisted, wishing she could slap her book self awake.
Just then, Shen Yibai’s cold gaze swept over Ning Xi.
Ning Xi’s mind automatically recalled the book’s plot where she clung to Shen Yibai, and her toes curled in embarrassment.
Luckily, Shen Yibai showed no special reaction to his nominal fiancée, his gaze quickly passing over her and landing on the others.
Ning Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey, why are you alone? Where’s your Female Guest?” Jiang Sheshe asked after greeting Shen Yibai.
“She…”
Shen Yibai had just begun to speak when a cheerful, smiling voice came from the entrance.
“I’m here! Sorry to keep everyone waiting, I just answered a call.”
The universally adored Female Lead, Ning Mingyue, finally made her entrance.
Although her temperament and appearance leaned more toward the delicate, gentle “little white flower” style, today she was unexpectedly wearing a dazzling red gown, the hem adorned with large, vividly blooming roses.
As she walked, she swayed with grace and charm.
It was a truly stunning sight.
[Ahhh, my wife’s beauty is killing me! No wonder she debuted starring in a major Director’s film! She can pull off any style perfectly!]
The barrage of comments was full of praise.
Only one comment voiced doubt:
[Why do I feel like Ning Mingyue’s outfit and styling today are a bit similar to Ning Xi’s viral red carpet look from before? Not a fan of either, just saying.]
[Even as a bystander, I have to say this is bad luck for Ning Mingyue. Do Ning Xi’s Fans really think their idol is so stunning that everyone knows her? Someone like Ning Mingyue, who debuted at the peak, probably doesn’t even know who Ning Xi is.]
[Maybe Ning Xi and her Fans are just jealous of Ning Mingyue. After all, though they both have the surname Ning, one is on the rise while the other is stuck at home, plagued by scandals.]
[……]
The barrage of comments overwhelmingly criticized Ning Xi.
Meanwhile, Ning Xi’s Fans, suddenly saddled with accusations of being “jealous of Ning Mingyue,” were completely baffled.
Come on, even if Ning Xi hasn’t been in the public eye much lately and has attracted some inexplicable haters, she’s still a Top-Tier Actress. Why would she be jealous of a newcomer?
Even if Ning Mingyue is surging in the industry, Ning Xi is a Singer-Dancer and Ning Mingyue is an actress – there’s no resource conflict at all!
These people making wild accusations are just…
Inside Youai Villa.
As the person involved, Ning Xi also noticed Ning Mingyue’s styling.
The book mentioned that, in order to help Ning Mingyue become famous quickly, Father Ning would have Ning Mingyue’s Agent arrange for her to wear outfits similar to those of other female stars of her generation.
Then, by making all kinds of comparisons, they would elevate Ning Mingyue’s popularity.
Among her peers, the most popular was naturally Ning Xi, who became the primary tool for these comparisons.
In the book, Ning Xi was so annoyed that, during an interview, she directly said, “Those who imitate me live; those who resemble me perish.”
But with manipulation by the company and Father Ning, netizens all felt Ning Xi was too sensitive and petty, afraid that Ning Mingyue’s rise would threaten her popularity and so deliberately suppressed Ning Mingyue.
In short, anyone who went against Ning Mingyue would have bad luck. After all, as a little antagonist who always got slapped down, what good could come from going against the Female Lead?
“Why are you pinching me? Are you crazy?” Fu Zhi hissed in pain.
Ning Xi quickly let go of Fu Zhi. “Sorry, I just suddenly realized something important and wanted to see if I was dreaming.”
Fu Zhi: “Then why didn’t you pinch yourself?!”
Ning Xi replied, perfectly justified, “I’m afraid of pain.”
Then her gaze swept thoughtfully over Jiang Sheshe, Wei Xuan, Shen Yibai and the others gathered around Ning Mingyue, recalling their endings in the book.
Jiang Sheshe, Ning Mingyue’s best friend, only daughter of a hundred-billion-dollar family, international top singer.
Wei Xuan, who loved Ning Mingyue but could not have her, eventually left the country to heal, crying in a Church in Rome, by the Paris Seine Riverside, in the cold Rolls-Royce.
Shen Yibai, Ning Mingyue’s official match, took over the Shen Family business, with a net worth of one hundred billion.
Fu Zhi, Ning Mingyue’s loyal devotee, ended up alone, with only the cold comfort of several tens of billions in his bank account.
…In the book, any character who treated Ning Mingyue well, even if they didn’t get her love, was at least consoled by cold, hard cash!
New train of thought: If she started clinging to the Female Lead now and stopped opposing her, could she also catch a bit of the Female Lead’s fortune aura?
Ning Xi: (◔◡◔)
“Ning Xi, why have you been staring at Mingyue? Do you have something to say to her?” Jiang Sheshe noticed Ning Xi’s odd expression and deliberately raised her voice.
Everyone turned to look at Ning Xi.
Then they noticed that Ning Xi’s eyes seemed a bit red.
Was she… crying?
Could it be that seeing her fiancé Shen Yibai participate in a show with another woman made her so sad she cried?
Everyone who knew about this love triangle guessed as much in their hearts.
But the next second, they saw Ning Xi rub her reddened eyes, then say to Ning Mingyue with an expression of utter adoration:
“Worst case of wife withdrawal ever. I love my wife so much, I think about my wife all the time – my perfect wife, my holy wife, my beautiful wife. I don’t even dare think about my wife when I go to the bathroom, afraid the stinky air will defile her!”
Ning Mingyue: ?
Shen Yibai: ?
Everyone else: ?