Chapter 116: Does the Female Lead Like Shen Linyan [Word Count Fulfilled]

"Ding-dong—"

Hearing the doorbell, An Ling put down her book and got up to open the door.

Her gaze paused slightly, landing on the familiar head of red hair. She asked curiously, "Don't you know the passcode? You could have just come in."

Shen Fuyuan peeked inside. "Is Big Brother really not here?"

An Ling stepped aside with an amused smile to let her in. "I told you he had something to do and went out today. He won't be back until tonight."

How rare. Shen Fuyuan was actually afraid of Shen Linyan.

After entering, Shen Fuyuan made a beeline for the sofa.

She scooped up Huihui, who was sunbathing, and showered the cat with frantic kisses. "Baby Huihui! Did you miss your auntie?"

Huihui's short little legs struggled wildly, but to no avail, and finally gave up.

Watching their interaction, An Ling found it a bit funny. She turned and went into the kitchen, put on oven mitts, opened the oven, and then fell silent.

After getting her fill of sniffing the cat, Shen Fuyuan turned and saw An Ling in the kitchen.

Remembering what happened at noon, she put Huihui down and walked over. "Sister-in-law, do you know what I saw at noon..."

When she saw the contents of the baking tray, she instantly exclaimed, "Holy crap! What is this tray of black, mushy stuff?"

Inside the baking tray lay a dozen or so black, charred, unidentified rectangular objects.

An Ling, without changing her expression, picked one up and handed it to her.

"Chocolate cookies I made myself. Try one."

Shen Fuyuan took it suspiciously, examined it from all angles, and leaned in to sniff it. "Are you serious? Aren't these burnt?"

An Ling also picked one up for herself. "You'll know once you taste it."

Seeing this, Shen Fuyuan took a half-believing bite. A few seconds later, her chewing abruptly stopped.

A bitter taste instantly filled her mouth, like eating a mouthful of sweetened Chinese medicine dregs raw.

Holding the cookie, Shen Fuyuan stood frozen in place, her expression indescribable, wanting to spit it out but not daring to.

Looking at her expression, An Ling silently put down the cookie in her hand. She took a bottle of water from the fridge, thoughtfully unscrewed the cap, handed it to her, and said with a smile, "Sorry, it looks like they really are burnt."

Shen Fuyuan: "..."

After spitting out the cookie and chugging several mouthfuls of water, she looked at the cookies on the tray.

"Why are you suddenly baking cookies yourself? Auntie Cheng should know how, right? You could ask her to teach you."

"I saw a video about it and just wanted to try." An Ling had originally wanted to let Shen Linyan taste them, but now that probably wasn't going to happen.

She took a picture of the burnt cookies and then turned back to the sofa.

Shen Fuyuan had originally wanted to talk about what happened at noon, but with this interruption, she almost forgot.

She quickly followed her. "Oh right, do you know what huge gossip I heard at noon?"

An Ling picked up her phone and sent the picture to Shen Linyan.

[Baking failed. TT]

Hearing this, she turned back to Shen Fuyuan: "What huge gossip?"

Shen Fuyuan cleared her throat tactically. "Second Brother and Zhou Wen are fighting and getting a divorce."

An Ling blinked, and after a good while, she slowly let out an "Oh."

Shen Fuyuan was astonished: "What kind of reaction is that!? You weren't like this the last time I said they were fighting."

Isn't a divorce more explosive than a fight?

An Ling also wanted to gossip, but she really didn't have the energy for it.

The last time she gossiped a bit, she ended up being dragged into the mess.

At this moment, Shen Linyan replied to her message.

[Next time I'll keep my wife company and we'll remake them together ^^]

An Ling: [Okay (⸝⸝•‧̫•⸝⸝)]

She put away her phone, picked up the book on the table, and said lazily, "Those two will eventually make up anyway. Divorce is impossible."

She just didn't know what method they would use to make up this time.

They couldn't possibly use her again, could they?

Seeing this, Shen Fuyuan leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "This time is different. They're fighting really fiercely! It's like a fight to the death, completely throwing away all dignity."

Pausing, she hesitantly added, "And there's another super, super explosive piece of news. I'm only telling you, you absolutely cannot tell Big Brother I said it."

Explosive news?

An Ling glanced at her, not taking it to heart. She didn't want to get involved in anything related to the male and female leads anyway. She looked down, turned a page of her book, and asked casually, "What is it?"

Shen Fuyuan spoke mysteriously:

"Zhou Wen used to like Big Brother."

An Ling's movements instantly stopped. She looked up at her. "Who said that?"

"Zhou Wen herself, of course!"

Shen Fuyuan quickly explained, "I told you they were fighting really fiercely. Second Brother wants a divorce so he can marry a wealthy heiress of equal status and secure his position as chairman. Zhou Wen said if she had known it would be like this, she would have gotten together with Big Brother back then. She even said she'd go find Big Brother after the divorce."

"..."

An Ling paused slightly and closed her book.

...The female lead likes Shen Linyan?

Before she could sort out her thoughts, she heard Shen Fuyuan speak again:

"And then Zhou Wen also said that the previous scandal was intentionally spread by Second Brother."

An Ling actually knew about this.

But... Zhou Wen actually said it out loud?

Back then, when she had specifically told Zhou Wen, hadn't the other party refused to believe it? She had even told An Ling not to think like that.

An Ling frowned slightly, sensing that something was off.

"Are you sure Zhou Wen said all this? How could those two fight like this? Doesn't Zhou Wen really like Lu Jingshen?"

Shen Fuyuan scoffed, leaning back on the sofa disdainfully. "What 'like'? I was confused at first too, but looking at their reactions later, Zhou Wen seemed more furious than anything. She was angry that Second Brother kicked her to the curb right after becoming chairman. I've seen this kind of thing a lot in my circles—just climbing the social ladder for money."

Over the past few years, Shen Fuyuan had seen all sorts of monsters and demons in the entertainment industry; people like Zhou Wen were nothing new.

Hearing this, An Ling didn't speak, but her frown deepened.

She stayed silent for a long while before looking down at her book again.

"Don't worry about their affairs. In the end, the divorce probably won't happen..."

Shen Fuyuan found it strange. "Why? Even though Mom brought it up, Second Brother agreed to it too. Right now it's just Zhou Wen making a fuss because she's unsatisfied, but I'm guessing if they give her money, she'll agree."

"..."

An Ling kept her head down, but in reality, she wasn't taking in a single word of the book.

The phrase "Zhou Wen used to like Shen Linyan" kept echoing in her mind.

After a moment of silence, she closed the book and sighed.

"Then let's talk about it if they actually get divorced."

Shen Fuyuan thought about it and agreed. Those two had fought so many times, and every time they miraculously made up despite being angry. Maybe a miracle would happen this time too. So she put it out of her mind and went back to playing with Huihui.

An Ling sat on the sofa, her gaze falling on the person and the cat. Then she slowly withdrew her gaze, gently rubbing the corner of the page with her thumb, her eyes looking thoughtful.

At first, she only felt that the male lead didn't match the description in the plot, and now it was the female lead too.

Earlier at the banquet, she had indeed noticed some anomalies.

But she had never completely considered that the female lead would actually have an issue.

If it kept rotating like this...

An Ling's movements suddenly stopped.

Her eyes grew slightly sluggish as she stared blankly ahead.

Shen Linyan?

Would Shen Linyan also have a problem?

Impossible... right?

An Ling didn't know why the plot had turned out like this.

At night, she lay in bed, staring wide-eyed at her phone on the nightstand, her mind a mess.

Zhou Wen and Lu Jingshen might get a divorce.

Zhou Wen might like Shen Linyan.

The character settings of the male and female leads might be at risk of collapsing.

Shen Linyan might change too.

If Shen Linyan changed, what would he be like?

An Ling fell silent for a moment, slowly rolled over, and looked up quietly at the sleeping face of the man in the dim light of the night lamp.

When she first got together with Shen Linyan, it was exactly because she had taken a liking to his gentle second-male-lead persona, which was why she had shared all her secrets with him.

An Ling pursed her lips, clutched the blanket tightly, and turned to roll over again.

The next second, she was gently embraced from behind, and a crisp cedar scent enveloped her.

"Can't sleep, my wife?" His hot breath brushed the top of her head. The man's voice was deep and gentle, carrying a newly awakened huskiness that sounded like the vibrato of a cello.

An Ling turned her head to meet his gaze. "Did I wake you?"

In the night, the man's dark eyes rippled with tenderness. His eyes curved as he lowered his head to kiss her cheek. "No, I was waiting for you to fall asleep so I could hold you."

Ever since she was caught intentionally watching Korean dramas last time, An Ling, considering her need to go to work, had forbidden Shen Linyan from seducing her anymore. Even hugging was off-limits, because hugging always led to him getting handsy.

Shen Linyan had originally planned to wait until An Ling fell asleep, but he hadn't expected his little wife to keep tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He kissed her eyes. "What is my wife thinking about?"

In the darkness of the night, the man's deep voice, warm embrace, and familiar crisp scent enveloped her completely.

It was as if she had fallen into a warm spring; she felt no suffocating pain, but was instead pulled down to slowly drown in it.

It was an almost addictive indulgence.

She had long grown accustomed to Shen Linyan's gentleness, and she couldn't imagine what it would be like if he were to change.

An Ling blinked at him and called out softly, "Shen Linyan."

"Hmm?" The man looked down at her. After watching her for a moment, his eyes suddenly curved into a smile, and he lowered his head to rub his nose against her cheek. "I'm here, my wife. What's wrong?"

An Ling pursed her lips, the words pausing at the tip of her tongue.

She closed her eyes, shifted her body forward, and buried her face in the man's chest. Her voice was muffled.

"I can make an exception today and let you hold me while we sleep."

Perhaps there was no need to worry about what Shen Fuyuan had said today.

Maybe the female lead had just said that on purpose to provoke the male lead.

It was possible that she was just using Shen Linyan as a shield this time.

If that was the case, it would make sense.

The dim bedroom returned to silence. Shen Linyan held the woman in his arms, his chin resting gently on the top of her head.

He lowered his head to place a slow kiss there, his eyelids drooping carelessly.

His wife... was hiding something from him.

...

Early the next morning, Shen Fuyuan was awakened from her sleep by the ringing of her phone.

She rubbed her hair, looking furious. "Damn it, who is calling this early in the morning!"

All her morning crankiness instantly vanished into thin air when she saw the caller ID.

[Eldest Brother.]

Her eyes immediately froze, and all her sleepiness dissipated.

Her eldest brother never looked for her unless something was wrong; if he called, it meant trouble.

Did An Ling tell him about what happened yesterday?

Shen Fuyuan answered the phone and spoke cautiously, "...Eldest Brother?"

The man's familiar, cold voice came through the phone. "Shen Fuyuan, did you come to my house yesterday?"

"Uh... y-yes, I did. What's wrong, Eldest Brother?" Shen Fuyuan felt a bit guilty.

"What did you say to your sister-in-law yesterday?"

"Huh?" Shen Fuyuan was stunned.

Sister-in-law didn't tell him?

She hesitated before speaking, "I... I didn't say much. I just mentioned that Second Brother and Zhou Wen are getting a divorce, and also said..."

She paused here.

After hesitating for a moment, she opened her mouth and blurted everything out.

"Eldest Brother, Zhou Wen said she used to like you. She said it herself, and she also said she plans to come find you after the divorce. I don't know if it's true or not, but that's what they said when they were arguing, and I just told Sister-in-law everything."

Whatever!

These words were said during Zhou Wen and Second Brother's argument anyway; she was just passing the message to her sister-in-law.

Hearing no response from the other end of the line, she quickly added, "Eldest Brother, I really didn't exaggerate anything. Zhou Wen said it all herself! Sister-in-law didn't even believe it at first, and I didn't keep going..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the call was already disconnected.

The man stood by the window and put down his phone.

He lowered his eyes, his dark pupils staring at the screen. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. His fingertips tapped gently against the edge of the phone, the corners of his lips pressed into a straight line.

...

For three consecutive days, An Ling didn't hear any more news about the male and female leads getting a divorce.

At noon, she went out to visit the filming set. The weather was gloomy and drizzling. Taking advantage of her lunch break, she went to Jiang Mai's cafe to sit for a while.

After she went inside, the rain outside grew heavier. The wind howled, and the rain poured down, pattering loudly against the eaves.

An Ling sat at a window seat. She withdrew her gaze from the rainy scenery outside, picked up her coffee cup, and looked at Jiang Mai, who was playing on her phone across from her.

"Chatting with your online boyfriend again?"

Previously, Jiang Mai had suddenly messaged her saying she was in a relationship. What surprised An Ling the most was that this relationship was an online one.

She heard that when Jiang Mai posted a video online, someone private messaged her asking for her contact info, thinking she was pretty and wanting to get to know her.

Over time, the two of them developed feelings through their chats.

Jiang Mai looked up from her phone. "I told you it's not online dating. We live in the same city, he's just working out of town right now. We're going to meet up in person soon."

"..."

Isn't that online dating?

An Ling changed the subject and asked curiously, "Do you guys chat every day? Can you really develop feelings without meeting?"

"Of course you can. Chatting is all about emotional value." Jiang Mai put down her phone and cupped her face with a smile. "Plus, his voice is really nice. He calls to coax me every night. Who wouldn't fall for that?"

Saying that, she raised an eyebrow. "Before you and your husband remarried, didn't you two also get all lovey-dovey on the phone every night?"

An Ling's face flushed, and she turned her head to cough lightly.

Put like that, she could somewhat understand.

Back when she used to talk on the phone with Shen Linyan, his voice was indeed very pleasant. Every time she listened to it, she would feel sleepy.

An Ling suddenly thought of something and looked at her. "So when are you guys meeting up?"

Jiang Mai had shown her a photo. The guy in the photo looked clean and handsome, and he also worked out. He was definitely Jiang Mai's type.

She just didn't know what he was like offline.

Jiang Mai looked down to reply to a message. "Probably in the next few days. It seems like he's coming back soon."

She glanced at the front counter. "There are quite a few people because of the rain. I'm going to get back to work."

"Alright, go ahead."

An Ling checked the time on her phone and felt it was about time to head back to the company.

Just then, a message suddenly popped up on her screen.

Shen Fuyuan: [Holy crap, Second Brother and Zhou Wen actually got a divorce!]