After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 20

A corner of the flower garden at the Yan family manor.

Having shed her school uniform and changed into a stylish, elegant white long dress, Yan Qingwen seemed to have also cast off the youthful innocence of her student days. With precious and exquisite accessories adorning her, she had become mature and charming.

Third Young Master Jiang looked at her, his eyes filled with infatuation.

Yan Qingwen responded to him in a dignified and appropriate manner: “Third Young Master Jiang, thank you for your affection, but please allow me to decline your pursuit.”

Third Young Master Jiang did not hide the disappointed look on his face and asked unwillingly: “Why? I feel that given our family backgrounds, we are the best match.”

“Because I do not like you and cannot accept your feelings.”

“We haven’t spent time together yet. If you just give me a chance to be with you, you will surely see my charm,” Third Young Master Jiang tried to persuade her.

Yan Qingwen listened to him politely and patiently, but her attitude remained firm: “You don’t need to say so much to me. I only need you to understand one thing, which is that I will not accept your feelings, and you needn’t waste your time on me.”

Catching sight of a figure flashing by not far away, a hint of surprise crossed Yan Qingwen’s eyes. She said to Third Young Master Jiang: “Apologies, I have something to attend to. Please excuse me.”

Having said that, she slightly lifted her long dress and walked toward the back garden.

Third Young Master Jiang gazed at her back—elegant and dignified, yet still possessing the slight greenness unique to an eighteen-year-old girl—with a hint of determination to win her in his eyes.

Walking to the swing set in the garden, Yan Qingwen looked at Wen Hebai, who was sitting on it, swaying aimlessly, and said: “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Wen Hebai spoke in a cold, distant tone: “You were certainly hoping I wouldn’t show up.”

Yan Qingwen frowned. What kind of nerve was this person acting on?

Her silence was taken by Wen Hebai as an admission, making her chest feel as though it were stuffed with a ball of cotton: “Am I interrupting the good thing between you and Jiang Yunhan?”

“Wen Hebai, if you know how to speak properly, then speak well. If not, shut up.”

Today was supposed to be a good day, but Yan Qingwen couldn’t find a reason to be happy. First, she was confessed to by Third Young Master Jiang in front of everyone, making it nearly impossible for her to save face. After finally escaping his pestering, Wen Hebai arrived late only to lose her temper at her.

Did all these people take her for a soft bun, thinking they could knead her however they pleased?

Jian Fengren’s words echoed in her ears. Even though Wen Hebai didn’t really want to fight with Yan Qingwen, her teenage pride made it impossible to stay calm. She sneered: “You thought I wouldn’t come? Heh, without an invitation, what right did I have to come?”

Yan Qingwen rubbed her brow, not expecting that she was actually angry over this.

“Is your right to be here determined by a single piece of paper? If you really care that much about an invitation, then what do you take our ten-plus years of friendship for?”

“In ten-plus years of friendship, you couldn’t even give me an invitation!” Wen Hebai felt hurt just thinking about it. “When I was blocked at the gate, did you think about our ten years of friendship? They all laughed at me, saying I was like a lapdog, shamelessly coming even though I wasn’t invited! This is the kind of insult ten years of friendship has brought me!”

Yan Qingwen suddenly realized something. Looking at Wen Hebai’s reddened eyes, she softened her edges and explained: “The contract between the Yans and the previous security company expired. We switched to another company last month, and they sent new people. You haven’t been here for a long time since you went off to film. The people at the gate didn’t recognize you. You should have called me.”

“I did, you didn’t pick up!” The more Wen Hebai thought, the sadder she got.

Yan Qingwen instinctively felt the side of her leg, only to realize she was wearing a long dress today with no pockets. Plus, as the protagonist today, she was busy socializing and had no chance to check her phone, so she had left it in her room.

She was someone who would admit her mistakes: “Apologies, I forgot I didn’t have my phone. But you could have looked for Uncle Qi, or even your sister.”

“You don’t understand at all. It’s not a question of who I could have looked for!”

Yan Qingwen gazed at her—who was being somewhat unreasonable—feeling a bit exhausted: “It was my lack of proper arrangement. My fault. I’m sorry. Is that enough?”

She turned to leave after speaking, but suddenly felt a bit unwilling. Why did she have to take all the blame?

She turned back again: “I told you about this over a month in advance. If you had cared just a little bit and arranged your schedule early—even returning to City K just one night ahead—you would have had plenty of time to come with your sister, and this misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened!”

Touching upon this old dispute, Yan Qingwen realized there was still a lingering trace of bitterness in her heart.

She didn’t quite know why she was so hung up on that incident.

Perhaps it was because she had held too much anticipation when she called Wen Hebai to invite her to the party; or perhaps it was because the anticipation was drained away by the person she hoped would appear in the morning only arriving late in the afternoon.

As a result, on her birthday, never mind a gift—she didn’t actually care that much about gifts—there wasn’t even a “Happy Birthday.”

This massive gap, combined with the conflict at the time, twisted into a knot in her heart, buried quietly until it was unearthed today.

Tu Sihua held each of their hands, saying earnestly: “It’s good to clear up misunderstandings. Don’t be like Wenwen’s parents when they were young—refusing to explain when misunderstandings arose, wasting their mouths, and ending up in some melodramatic ‘body-and-soul-torturing’ love affair. The dramas I watch aren’t even as exaggerated as they were!”

Yan Qingwen: “…”

Cough, Grandma’s roasting is actually quite sharp.

However, the issues between her and Wen Hebai weren’t something that could be cleared up just by having a mouth.

Wen Hebai, likely realizing she was also at fault for that quarrel, remained silent.

Tu Sihua patted Yan Qingwen’s hand and said: “Alright, let’s go back inside. There are too many mosquitoes out here. Look, they’ve bitten a bump on your neck.”

“Pfft.” Wen Hebai turned her face away, pretending to look at the scenery.

Yan Qingwen raised her hand to touch her neck. Realizing what it was, her heart tightened, and the temperature of her cheeks rose quietly.

Fortunately, her grandmother had presbyopia and couldn’t see clearly. She said with a fake smile: “Indeed, it was a very large mosquito. I should have slapped it to death before I realized it was moving in on me.”

Tu Sihua didn’t catch the hidden meaning and waved them away.

Yan Qingwen went back to the room to apply concealer. Wen Hebai knew that following her now would lead to no good, so she wandered around outside for a bit before slowly returning: “Accompany me to get the stitches out this afternoon.”

“I have work. Go by yourself.”

Wen Hebai, whose acting skills were peak, took only three seconds to make her eyes well up: “Putting on clothes and acting like a stranger… Yan Qingwen, your heart is so cruel!”

Yan Qingwen shot a sharp look over: “Take your theatrics elsewhere.” She then added, “We agreed last night. Like most elite couples, we only fulfill our duties as spouses. Do not expect me to have time to play the game of romance with you.”

This was the agreement they reached last night so that neither would have a psychological burden.

Wen Hebai’s tears came and went at will. She took off the mask of the tragic female lead and shrugged: “Fine then, I’ll have to go alone. If I’m caught by paparazzi and tomorrow’s headline says ‘President Yan and Golden Pear Best Actress Suspected of Marriage Trouble! On the fourth day after marriage, Best Actress looks lonely heading to the hospital alone, President Yan nowhere to be seen,’ well, there’s nothing that can be done.”

Yan Qingwen guessed Wen Hebai wanted to keep hyping their marriage. She wouldn’t be led by the nose, saying: “There is a private doctor at home. No need to go specifically to the hospital.”

The Yan family, after all, had two elders in their seventies, one of whom suffered from Alzheimer’s. To be safe, they had arranged for two private doctors to take turns on duty at the Yan manor. With one call, a doctor could arrive in five minutes.

Wen Hebai sighed as if resigning to her fate and collapsed onto the sofa, looking listless.

A few minutes later, the private doctor had not yet arrived, but an uninvited guest had.