After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 18

Yan Qingwen wanted to find an excuse to refuse, but Wen Hebai showed absolutely no tacit understanding on this matter. She complied very obediently: “We’ll listen to Grandfather.”

The muscles in Yan Lianchen’s cheeks twitched; he had finally, in his own way, acknowledged her as his granddaughter-in-law.

Seeing that the old patriarch seemed to have accepted Wen Hebai, Yan Su struck while the iron was hot and asked about Wen Hebai’s injury again.

Earlier in the living room, she had been the only one showing concern. Bringing it up now was naturally intended to win Wen Hebai more sympathy and attention from the rest of the Yan family.

Unsure of what Yan Qingwen’s plans were regarding Zhuang Yi and Jiang Yunhan, Wen Hebai said nonchalantly: “I accidentally wandered into a fight and got caught in the crossfire.”

In front of her own family, Yan Qingwen had no intention of covering for the culprits. She said: “Mu Rong had a conflict with Xiao Yue. The restaurant staff came out to intervene and enraged Mu Rong. When he lashed out, he accidentally injured Hebai.”

The Yan family members furrowed their brows.

Second Aunt Hai Hou clutched her chest: “Is Mu Rong so lawless these days?”

Yan Ritian’s authoritative aura flared: “Have they been dealt with?”

Wen Hebai looked at Yan Qingwen with a face full of sweetness and said: “Of course. With A-Wen personally stepping in, they’ve all apologized and paid compensation.”

Yan Qingwen: “…”

Even though I know it’s acting, I still can’t help getting goosebumps.

Xiao Baihua, who had been silent, couldn’t help but say to Yan Qingwen: “If it were your father, he would have definitely made the Mu family go bankrupt.”

“That goes without saying. No one can hurt you and get away with just a simple apology and a pittance of compensation,” Yan Aotian said, looking deeply at his beloved wife.

Yan Qingwen pressed her hand to her forehead.

This was exactly why she didn’t want to stay at home.

This couple was constantly performing a melodramatic “Overbearing CEO Falls for Me” script, while she felt like the child of the leads in a romance novel’s side story, raised on a steady diet of “dog food” (displays of affection).

Once the food was served, Yan Lianchen spoke up to end the topic.

After dinner, everyone spent the evening in various ways—some sat in the living room to digest, while others took a stroll in the manor gardens.

A manor with little entertainment couldn’t hold people for long, so Yan Ritian and Hai Hou found an excuse to return to their own home.

Seeing that her second brother’s family had left, Yan Su also bid her farewell.

Xiao Bailian, as the only one present who was neither surnamed Yan nor a daughter-in-law of the family, naturally had no reason to stay the night.

Thus, the Yan manor soon grew quiet.

Under the watchful eyes of the Yan family, Yan Qingwen naturally couldn’t let Wen Hebai sleep in the guest room. She led her back to her own room and found a set of pajamas and the disposable underwear kept in the Yan guest rooms for her.

“No nightgowns? It’s inconvenient to apply body lotion wearing pajamas!” Wen Hebai lay on Yan Qingwen’s bed with a critical gaze.

Yan Qingwen threw the pajamas at her: “Can’t you put it on before you come out?”

Wen Hebai let out a light chuckle but ultimately accepted the suggestion.

Yan Qingwen needed to wash her hair, so she let Wen Hebai shower first.

She thought that by the time she showered, washed her hair, and blew it dry—a process taking dozens of minutes—Wen Hebai would be asleep. Unexpectedly, when she emerged, Wen Hebai was still playing on her phone.

Lying on her side, Wen Hebai had taken off the silk top of the pajama set, leaving only a lace camisole underneath and her pajama pants. It revealed her well-proportioned arms and beautiful shoulder blades.

Hearing the movement, she propped up her upper body. Her phoenix eyes tilted slightly at the corners in a seductive pose, her voice full of temptation: “Wife, how old were you when you got these pajamas? They’re a bit tight!”

Yan Qingwen inexplicably understood exactly where she meant they were tight. Her gaze was involuntarily drawn away, but she immediately looked back.

Wen Hebai gauged the fit and said: “This size looks like a pajama set from when you were around twenty.”

Fearing that Wen would spit out more suggestive words and ruin her night’s sleep, Yan Qingwen quickly stopped her: “Is the only reason you’re not sleeping late at night just to tell me this?”

“As a qualified wife, I naturally have to wait for you to sleep together.”

Yan Qingwen: “…”

There is really no need to be this dedicated to the role.

She stood there, motionless.

Wen Hebai patted the empty space beside her: “Wife, what are you thinking? Are you thinking of something ‘naughty,’ so you’re afraid to come over and sleep?”

Yan Qingwen nearly lost her composure. She turned to leave: “I’m going to organize tomorrow’s work.”

Before she could open the door, Wen Hebai had slid off the bed and was behind her, one hand around her waist and the other covering the hand on the doorknob.

“It’s late. Don’t go disturbing your subordinates’ nightlife. We have our own nightlife to attend to, don’t we?”

Warm breath hit the back of her neck, and Yan Qingwen’s body instantly went weak on one side.

Wen Hebai pressed against her, pinning her against the door bit by bit, whispering: “Wife, why is your body so hot? Do you have a fever?”

“You’re the one who’s ‘hot’ (acting slutty),” Yan Qingwen retorted through gritted teeth.

“Wife, I’m just concerned if you’re sick. You really were thinking of something naughty.”

Yan Qingwen’s toes curled in embarrassment. It took her a while to steady her mind and regain the initiative, whispering back: “Wen Hebai, stop being in heat everywhere.”

Wen Hebai let go of her and said: “You really can’t take a joke.”

Yan Qingwen turned her head to glare at her. By the time she turned around, the temperature on her face had dropped and her expression had returned to calm; no one could tell that her eyes had shown a brief moment of daze.

Click. Yan Qingwen turned off the room lights and switched on the bedside nightlight. She ignored Wen Hebai, climbed into bed, and closed her eyes to banish all distracting thoughts.

However, some thoughts are beyond control. Feeling the other side of the bed sink slightly, the corner of the sheet being lifted, and another body appearing in this private space, her body tensed up as if every cell were screaming.

In all these years, she had never shared a bed with anyone. Even though the bed was 1.8 meters wide and both could stay on their own side without disturbing the other, she still wasn’t used to it.

Fortunately, Wen Hebai stayed quiet and didn’t lean over, only smiling and saying goodnight.

The nightlight was dimmed to a sleep-inducing orange, but Yan Qingwen didn’t feel sleepy at all.

The dim light cast the shape of the lampshade onto the ceiling. She counted the holes in the shade, but somehow, the image of Wen Hebai holding her and whispering those intimate words in her ear resurfaced in her mind, unsettling her spirit.

Though it was hard to admit, she had to acknowledge that she felt something at that moment.

But as soon as she thought about how involving herself in romance was too troublesome and would drain her energy, she didn’t want to deal with it.

Especially since the other person was Wen Hebai.

It wasn’t that she loathed Wen Hebai, but she couldn’t act as if their past confrontations, clashes, and hurtful words had never happened.

Like a bubbling wall surface—it might not compromise the structure, but it looks unsightly.

She had no intention of repainting the wall… In the end, she still couldn’t fully let go or stop caring in her heart.

Suddenly, an arm reached over from beside her. Before she could react, her right hand was taken.

She turned and saw that Wen Hebai still had her eyes closed, but her breathing had grown slightly heavy.

Wen Hebai’s voice was deep: “Yan Qingwen, do you mind fulfilling our duties as a couple…”

“Shall we do it?”