After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 14

As things stand, obsessing over winning or losing has become meaningless.

Besides, Yan Qingwen did not regret using her marriage as a bargaining chip, because this chip was at least held in her own hands, rather than being pinched in the hands of others.

“If you regret it, we can get a divorce,” Yan Qingwen said.

Under the cold white light, Wen Hebai’s eyes grew dim and deep. She suddenly flashed a meaningful, shallow smile: “Except for the time I didn’t listen to your advice and caused trouble, no other decision has ever made me regret.”

Yan Qingwen was slightly surprised, unexpected that she would actually feel regret over that incident.

She naturally knew which incident Wen Hebai was talking about.

It was something that happened when they were eighteen.

At that time, Wen Hebai had already stepped into the entertainment industry, but because the Wen family never quite approved of their dignified Wen heiress running off to be a performer, she had hidden her identity. Everyone assumed she was just a minor artist discovered by a talent scout, and so she witnessed the hidden, dark side of the entertainment circle.

This dealt a massive blow to her, having been protected by her family since childhood. She discovered that the industry was not as beautiful as she had imagined; all the glitz and glamour came at a price.

But she was equally aware that what she saw was precisely what the Wen family wanted her to see, specifically to kill her desire to enter show business.

A late-blooming teenage rebellion sparked a contrary mindset; the more her family forbade something, the more she wanted to do it.

Perhaps it was because the Wen family’s attitude in handling the matter was too forceful and self-centered, or perhaps after a fight with Yan Qingwen, her restless heart had nowhere to settle, making her desperate to act against everyone just to find a sense of existence.

While filming, she befriended a group of stunt performers. Seeing them risk their lives to pull off crazy stunts, she suddenly developed a desire to seek thrills.

And so, this group of stunt performers took her to the city center late at night for street racing, speeding through empty streets where there was almost no one.

She loved the feeling of adrenaline surging; it seemed that only this way could she avoid feeling the emptiness in her heart.

Then—she was caught by the police.

She didn’t dare let the Wen family know, so she asked Yan Qingwen to bail her out.

Ever since they had a fight at Yan Qingwen’s eighteenth birthday banquet and coming-of-age ceremony, Yan Qingwen hadn’t seen her for a long time. She didn’t expect the next meeting to be at the police station.

Regardless, Yan Qingwen eventually got her out and suppressed the news, avoiding a scandal where the headlines the next day would read “Wen Heiress Street Racing at Night, Detained at Police Station.”

“This is the first time, but also the last.” Yan Qingwen looked at this childhood friend who had become a complete stranger at some unknown point, and issued her warning.

Wen Hebai stiffened her neck and said nothing.

Out of years of friendship, Yan Qingwen tried to persuade her earnestly: “Street racing is illegal. If they lead you to do illegal things, how can they be good people? Stop associating with them.”

Wen Hebai was annoyed by her attitude and tone, which matched her father, brother, and sister. She said petulantly: “Mu Rong and his group of rich brats race cars too, and no one cares?”

“Only a profligate brat would look up to him,” Yan Qingwen’s expression was stern. “There are many ways to seek excitement; you don’t have to choose an illegal method that easily endangers your own life and injures the innocent.”

Wen Hebai’s face turned pale and then flushed with anger at the reprimand. She spoke recklessly: “When did you become so wordy? After starting to take over the Yan Group, do you also enjoy standing on a high pedestal, lecturing others self-righteously?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had misspoken. She was the one who proactively sought Yan Qingwen’s help; Yan Qingwen owed her nothing, and she had no right to judge whether Yan Qingwen was “acting superior.”

Sure enough, she met Yan Qingwen’s icy gaze.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Yan Qingwen had already gotten into the car, saying: “If you are impatient to listen, I won’t say it again. You’d better handle your own affairs; I won’t handle them for you a second time.”

After that, Yan Qingwen truly stopped minding her business. When she heard news of her again, her reaction was extremely cold, as if eighteen years of friendship had been crushed into the silent dark night along with those words.

Wen Hebai wanted to say she regretted it, but Yan Qingwen never gave her the chance to say it.

Not long after, the police caught a gang of street outlaws. The gang dragged her into it, trying to use her identity to force the Wen family to protect them.

Only then did she learn that those stunt performers filmed at the studio during the day and transformed into a gang that robbed pedestrians at night. After meeting her and knowing her status, they had systematically designed this link, wanting to use the Wen family as their umbrella of protection.

Because she had not participated in the crimes, she naturally received no punishment in the end. But this incident dealt her a heavy blow; she woke up instantly and emerged from her state of dejection.

After having a serious, heart-to-heart talk with her family, her father, brother, and sister finally agreed to let her continue acting and would no longer interfere. But likewise, she could no longer ignore her responsibility as a member of the Wen family and act willfully.

She got into a drama academy, filming while attending school, and after graduation, she began learning business management at her family’s film and media company.

She never hid her identity again, so her path in the acting world over these years was smooth sailing. People privately joked that she was the “Little Princess of the Entertainment Industry.”

Family background brought her advantages, but she also suffered backlashes. Some were simply jealous of her good birth, some didn’t recognize her acting skills, and some disliked her style of doing things… in short, she attracted many anti-fans.

The street racing incident was also leaked by that gang of outlaws back then, and to this day, it is still frequently brought up by anti-fans as “black material” to scold her.

Facing a “I regret it” heard after so many years, Yan Qingwen showed no excessive emotion other than a bit of surprise.

Wen Hebai did not harbor extravagant hopes that Yan Qingwen would change her opinion of her because of this. She stood up, pushed the bowl full of black sesame paste, and said: “It’s getting cold, eat up!”

Was this not a way of her proactively seeking a “step down” (a way to end the tension)?

Yan Qingwen picked up the bowl, her gaze landing on Wen’s head. The bandage wrapped for her in the evening had already come loose, and her hair was messy.

Sipping the flavorless sesame paste, Yan Qingwen said: “Go find Auntie Lan to help you re-handle the gauze and bandages!”

Wen Hebai said: “It’ll just come loose again when I shower and sleep later anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

Yan Qingwen had long stopped meddling in her business; hearing this, she did not comment further.

Wen Hebai propped herself on the desk, trying to find a topic: “What were you going down for just now?”

Yan Qingwen paused, then said: “Nothing.”

“Tell me! If you don’t finish what you originally planned to do, don’t you feel very unsettled?”

“Weren’t you going out to eat a midnight snack?” Yan Qingwen glanced at her.

Hearing her say this, Wen Hebai knew the opportunity to make her stop being angry had come. She said without hesitation: “I changed my mind. I think what you said, wife, makes a lot of sense. If even I don’t cherish my own body, who else will care about me? So, after realizing my mistake and undergoing deep reflection, I decided to stay home and recover properly.”

Yan Qingwen: “…”

Is this how this person’s acting skills were trained?

After another spoonful of sesame paste, Yan Qingwen said unhurriedly: “That’s good. I originally went downstairs to tell you that if you were hungry, you could ask Auntie Lan to cook some easy-to-digest midnight snack. Since you put it that way, there’s no need to prepare a snack anymore.”

Wen Hebai froze, then her eyes widened: “No—wait—I thought you weren’t letting me eat a snack?”

Yan Qingwen looked up at her: “When did I ever say I wouldn’t let you eat a snack?”

Wen Hebai was speechless. After a long while, she said through gritted teeth: “Fine, you win.”

Yan Qingwen gave her a professional smile.