After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 35

Qi Zange was trembling with fear. She could not understand why, after coming to K City, she had exposed her identity one after another in front of Jiang Yunhan and Yan Qingwen, when she had never failed before.

She discovered that having Yan Qingwen know her identity was far more terrifying than having Jiang Yunhan know it. After all, when she went to work tomorrow, she would still have to face Yan Qingwen.

Although the purpose of her coming to Yan Corporation was not to steal trade secrets, what if Yan Qingwen treated her as a commercial spy and got her sent to prison?

It was not that she was greedy for life and afraid of death. After all, from the moment she accepted sponsorship and training, she had already prepared herself to go in after being exposed. However, she still cared very much about why Jiang Yunhan said she would betray the Deputy Sect Master for some bullshit “male lead.” If she did not figure this out, she would not be at ease even if she went to prison!

Qi Zange returned to the bar and looked at the relaxed Xiao Chen. Inwardly, she thought, This person is really pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger. So black-bellied!

“Chen Zhien,” Qi Zange said.

By now, Xiao Chen could be considered to have a name in her heart. She was no longer an irrelevant passerby in the course of carrying out a mission, and was enough to be regarded as an opponent.

“Why were you gone so long?” Chen Zhien did not seem to mind that Qi Zange called her by her full name.

Qi Zange really wanted to tell her to stop pretending, but then felt that if they laid everything out now, it would be too boring.

She laughed softly, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, then took off those fake black-framed glasses and swept up the bangs on her forehead, revealing her original face.

“A glass of Water of Life.”

The person who had only been drinking milk suddenly ordered a strong liquor with an alcohol content of over ninety percent. Both the bartender and Chen Zhien froze slightly.

After a while, Chen Zhien raised a brow, concealed the surprise in her eyes, and lifted her glass toward her.

When Qi Zange relayed Zhuang Mei’s request to meet, Yan Qingwen was surprised at first, but soon understood that her intentions had been exposed.

However, she did not feel flustered because her intentions had been seen through. Instead, she developed a trace of interest in Zhuang Mei, this “villain boss.”

In Jiang Yunhan’s inner thoughts, Zhuang Mei was someone Zhuang Yi only had the ability to confront head-on after swallowing up the assets and influence of many powerful, wealthy, and influential female confidantes. It was clear that the other party’s ability was beyond imagination.

Through this indirect clash, she had already clearly realized that Zhuang Mei was a ruthless character whose intelligence bordered on demonic. Just because Yan Qingwen had people investigate the major families in C City, the other party had sensitively detected something and turned around to plant a chess piece on her side.

If not for Jiang Yunhan’s inner thoughts, she might still know nothing about the other party’s existence!

This was not to say that she did not know of Zhuang Mei. After all, as a businesswoman, Zhuang Mei was also a figure on the rich list. It was simply because she was extremely low-profile, rarely appeared in public, and had never dealt with the families on K City’s side that she had not attracted much attention. Yan Qingwen simply had not expected that Zhuang Mei was openly a businesswoman, but was actually the one in power behind the underground organization “Shenji Sect.”

Yan Qingwen was not willing to get involved in their Shenji Sect’s internal power struggle. But who let that unknown force drag K City’s wealthy families and elites onto the chessboard? If she did not want to be a chess piece, then she could only fight to become a player.

Yan Qingwen agreed to meet with Zhuang Mei, but how and where they would meet still needed to be discussed.

Yan Qingwen could go to C City under the name of inspection, but the waters in C City were very deep. Moreover, Zhuang Mei’s side might not be without nails planted by other forces. Once Yan Qingwen came into contact with her, she would be watched by C City’s forces, thereby attracting unnecessary trouble.

If Zhuang Mei came to K City, it would very easily alarm Zhuang Yi and the forces behind him, alerting the snake and causing him to shrink back into the shadows. This was a situation Zhuang Mei did not want to see.

Yan Qingwen suddenly thought of something and asked Wen Hebai, who was packing her luggage, “Where are you going next to record the show?”

She was a flying guest for two episodes of the previous reality show. Last time, she had gone to western Hunan, so this time it would not be the same location.

“Qiong Island.” Wen Hebai suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked at her with slight surprise. Since when did President Yan care so much about her schedule?

Yan Qingwen asked, “Do you need me to accompany you?”

Wen Hebai looked as if she had heard some earth-shattering news, her face full of astonishment. “You… you said you want to accompany me to record the show?!”

Had this woman finally grown a love brain?

Although it was hard to believe, her brows lifted slightly, a brilliant light appeared in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth stretched open. Her mood visibly became delighted.

Seeing this, Yan Qingwen’s heart stirred slightly. Was this matter worth making her this happy?

The corners of her own mouth almost followed upward, but fortunately, she quickly suppressed them and said, “It just so happens that I still have three days of marriage leave I haven’t used.”

While happy, Wen Hebai could not help worrying on her behalf. “What about your work?”

“Xiao Chen will arrange it.”

“Then let’s go buy swimsuits!” Wen Hebai pulled Yan Qingwen’s hand and prepared to go out.

Yan Qingwen braced herself against the doorframe and asked, “What are we buying swimsuits for?”

“This episode is being recorded by the sea. If we go to the seaside and don’t wear bikinis, wouldn’t that be a wasted trip?”

Yan Qingwen: “…”

She had not planned to go into the sea this time at all, and she absolutely would not wear a bikini.

She was just about to refuse when, in the next second, Wen Hebai changed her mind again. “Forget it. There will be so many people there. If you wear a bikini, people will definitely take pictures and post them online. The shareholders of Yan Corporation will definitely think it damages your image.”

It was rare for Wen Hebai to consider these things for her. While Yan Qingwen felt gratified, she also felt there was no need to constantly care about how Yan Corporation’s shareholders viewed her image.

Yan Qingwen quickly made a decision. “Forget the bikini. But we can still prepare a swimsuit.”

She went out to call Chen Zhien and change her schedule, but she did not see the triumphant smile that appeared on Wen Hebai’s face.

Yan Qingwen’s decision was very sudden. When Yan Aotian wanted to act as a lobbyist for Jiang Zanghua and persuade her to invest in the Jiang family, only to fail to contact her, he learned that she had already arrived at Qiong Island to visit Wen Hebai on set.

Before long, she posted on Moments and attached a photo. It was a picture taken from inside a yacht, showing blue sea and sky. A short-tailed albatross resting on the yacht’s guardrail also entered the frame.

Sharp-eyed people noticed that the yacht’s glass seemed to reflect two figures. One wore a light purple two-piece skirted swimsuit and looked like Yan Qingwen herself. The other wore sunglasses and a floral bikini. Whether in appearance, hairstyle, or figure, she looked like Wen Hebai!

Su Jinyue quickly left a comment: “Sister Yan, did you and Sister Bai go on a honeymoon?!”

Of course, her question was destined not to receive a reply, because after Yan Qingwen posted on Moments, she put her phone aside.

Wen Hebai picked up her own phone and glanced at it. Her sunglasses immediately slid down her nose a little, revealing her surprised gaze. “You… didn’t you say you weren’t doing fan service?”

Yan Qingwen said calmly, “It’s very ordinary to post a photo when you go out to have fun.”

“It’s indeed very ordinary for other people, but when it’s you, it feels a little off.” Wen Hebai believed she still understood Yan Qingwen quite well. There was only one purpose behind Yan Qingwen doing this, and that was to let people know the two of them were vacationing together.

Could it be that Yan Qingwen wanted to show affection publicly? Just thinking about it made it obvious that this was impossible. If Yan Qingwen could publicly show affection, then Wen Hebai’s name would be written backward!

Therefore, Yan Qingwen’s real purpose was definitely something that could not be known. She had to use a hot topic to attract everyone’s attention in order to better cover up her true purpose.

After figuring this out, a trace of disappointment flashed through Wen Hebai’s eyes, and a bitter taste spread across the tip of her tongue.

Yan Qingwen opened her mouth to explain, but then felt there was nothing to explain. People could not possibly remain unchanged forever. Just like how she had once declared that she would not use Weibo, yet in the end, had she not registered an account and opened it to take a look whenever she was free? Wen Hebai thought she understood her and always viewed her through past impressions. Was that not also a kind of prejudice?

When she had first proposed accompanying Wen Hebai to record the show, she had indeed wanted to take the opportunity to meet Zhuang Mei. But after arriving here, smelling the salty sea breeze, listening to the waves and birdsong, looking at the clear blue sky, and tirelessly helping Wen Hebai analyze which bikini was suitable for the trip… she felt that casting aside all work and social obligations to leisurely enjoy a three-day vacation was also quite a beautiful thing.

She could treat this outing as making up for the regret of spending so many years only busy with work and forgetting to let her body relax. On a sudden impulse, she took a photo and posted it on Moments. She had not expected Wen Hebai to question her like this.

Her mood was like a stone thrown into the sea, sinking continuously into the bottomless, deep blue depths.

“Is that so?” Yan Qingwen said coolly. “Then what do you think the normal me would do when going out for fun?”

Wen Hebai silently pushed her sunglasses back up, trying to use them to block Yan Qingwen’s icy gaze.

Of course she would not say something like “the normal President Yan would never abandon work to travel.” As long as she said it, Yan Qingwen would definitely turn around and return to K City.

Once a person obtained a precious treasure, they would hope to obtain even more. Yan Qingwen had agreed to accompany her to record the show, so Wen Hebai hoped Yan Qingwen could do more for her. In the end, Yan Qingwen posting on Moments was also something included among what she longed to receive. Her questioning was contradictory and lacking in confidence.

Regardless of why Yan Qingwen had accompanied her here, it was enough that she had obtained it at this moment. Once she thought it through, her heart suddenly became much more open.

“She should wear a matching couple-style bikini with me, then lie with me on a private beach to sunbathe. I apply sunscreen for you, and you apply it for me…” Wen Hebai imagined aloud.

Yan Qingwen laughed in anger because of her words. “There’s no private beach. There is one private yacht, though—the one you’re lying on right now.”

This yacht was something she had bought after arriving on Qiong Island, because she did not want to rent someone else’s yacht for their trip. Besides, perhaps they might come here once a year in the future, so she treated it as purchasing property here in advance.

Wen Hebai took out the sunscreen, her gaze burning and carrying a trace of eagerness. “Help me apply sunscreen?”

Yan Qingwen reminded her, “You already applied it before going out.”

“But there are still some areas on my back I didn’t apply it to. And sunscreen only lasts a few hours. It’s already been two or three hours since the last application.”

Yan Qingwen stared at her. Through the sunglasses, Wen Hebai looked back at her with an open and honest face.

A few seconds later, Yan Qingwen took the sunscreen.

Wen Hebai turned over and lay on the sofa, untied the straps of her bikini, and swept her hair to the side, revealing her smooth, fair back.

On quite a few nights, Yan Qingwen’s hands had stroked this back, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily. So in truth, even without looking, she already knew very clearly how soft and smooth that skin was.

Without any distractions, she poured sunscreen onto Wen Hebai’s butterfly back and evenly spread it out.

“Mm~” Wen Hebai suddenly let out a comfortable sigh.

Yan Qingwen’s movements paused, and she said, “There’s no one else here. There’s no need to make sounds that are so easy to misunderstand.”

Wen Hebai had her own logic for this. “It’s precisely because there’s no one else that I don’t need to deliberately suppress my voice and can freely express my true feelings!”

Yan Qingwen deliberately increased the force, and applying sunscreen turned into a massage.

After suffering under her “cruel hands,” Wen Hebai let out an “Aiyo,” and her bones seemed to go soft. “Wife, harder~~”

Yan Qingwen was both angry and amused. She slapped Wen Hebai’s back neither lightly nor heavily and said, “It’s done. Apply the rest yourself.”

After saying that, she prepared to wash her hands. Unexpectedly, Wen Hebai suddenly raised her hand and hooked Yan Qingwen’s fingers. The sticky sunscreen was like a layer of soft glue, binding their pale, slender knuckles together.

Yan Qingwen lowered her eyes and met Wen Hebai’s soul-stealing fox eyes. Her heartstrings seemed to be suddenly plucked. Heat surged up to her cheeks, and a faint restlessness arose.

With a gentle tug, Yan Qingwen fell into Wen Hebai’s arms, just right to cover the spring scenery that should have been exposed.

Familiar kisses came one after another. Yan Qingwen’s long, curved lashes trembled, and her clear eyes gradually became stained with a trace of complicated color.