Chapter 139: Player 11

Just as Tang Shiyu and Mi Rou were about to step forward, they silently took two steps back. Although they were long used to Yu Liuxue’s outrageous antics, watching her spout nonsense so convincingly that a professional doctor began to doubt his ears, his life choices, and even the entire world still left them both with a deep sense of existential despair.

Yu Liuxue stared at the doctor with wide, expectant eyes, making even his highly intelligent brain freeze for a moment. He thought it over carefully and was just about to respond when Yu Liuxue suddenly raised her hand and stopped him with a serious expression. “You don’t need to say anything. I already know everything.”

She solemnly patted her belly. “It’s jackals, tigers, and leopards, right? These little brats are fighting in my stomach every day. Just wait till they’re born—I’ll teach them a lesson!”

The doctor couldn’t help but sigh softly, then turned to Mi Rou and Tang Shiyu. “Which one of you is the pregnant woman’s family member?”

Perhaps he’d been brainwashed by Yu Liuxue, because as he looked at the two of them, he subconsciously wondered, Could both of them be her family? “Forget it. Just make sure she eats properly, and take her out for walks more often. She shouldn’t be lying in bed all day. Moderate exercise is important.”

He paused, then added tactfully, “Also, mental health is very important during pregnancy. Please keep an eye on that too.”

Such a fine young lady—who would have thought pregnancy would drive her mad?

As soon as the check-up was over, Yu Liuxue threw herself into Mi Rou’s arms. Tang Shiyu took a deep breath and followed behind them with a blank expression. How did she look like a fiancée? More like a bodyguard and emotional punching bag. Her wound started aching again, and she strongly suspected that she hadn’t lost her memory because of a flowerpot falling from the sky, but because Jian Yin had pissed her off so badly she blacked out on the spot.

Tang Shiyu still had company matters to deal with, so as soon as Yu Liuxue’s check-up was finished, she hailed a cab and left. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Yu Liuxue asked the System, “How’s the mission to win over the child’s second mom going?”

Nan Xu had plenty of time alone with Tang Shiyu. Not only was she the first person Tang Shiyu saw when she woke up, sparking a special fondness, but she had also been caring for her meticulously ever since. Professionally, she was indispensable to Tang Shiyu. With such overwhelming advantages, even if this were an epic-level mission, Nan Xu should have completed it by now.

With that kind of head start, Yu Liuxue could’ve seduced Tang Shiyu a dozen times over already.

Resting her cheek on her hand, she sighed in sorrow. “Who would’ve thought I’d be facing divorce at such a young age, left to raise a child alone as a beautiful, divorced housewife.”

The System watched her put on an expression of heartbreaking sorrow, but didn’t believe a word of it. The Host was probably dying for Nan Xu and Tang Shiyu to end up together, so she could break up with dignity and go flirt with every pretty girl in the world.

The System smiled faintly and said in a dramatic voice, “Oh my God! Host, the mission to win over the child’s second mom has stalled!”

Yu Liuxue immediately looked up and reflexively asked, “How could that be?”

Lately, Tang Shiyu had been keeping Nan Xu by her side constantly. The only thing left was for them to sleep in the same bed. With circumstances like that, how could Nan Xu’s mission possibly fail?

She frowned. “That’s not funny at all.”

“I’m not joking, Host. Nan Xu’s attitude toward Tang Shiyu has been… strange lately. I can’t quite explain it, but you’ll understand when you see it.”

Yu Liuxue mulled over that sentence again and again, then suddenly let out an enlightened “Oh!” and said, “I get it now!”

Playing hard to get!

The System immediately perked up, eager to hear more, but Yu Liuxue didn’t continue. Disappointed, the System pulled its metaphorical ear back and began to spiral into wild speculation. Could it be that Nan Xu had suddenly realized her true love was actually the Host? Was she planning to give up on her ten-year crush on Tang Shiyu and turn around to pursue the woman who was, at least officially, pregnant with her child?

The System shivered. That would be way too melodramatic!

Mi Rou had taken the doctor’s advice to heart. To prevent any accidents, she had indeed been keeping a tight rein on Yu Liuxue. Under that kind of pressure, it wasn’t too surprising that Yu Liuxue would do something outrageous or say something earth-shattering. Gripping the steering wheel, Mi Rou spoke softly, “I’ll be moving out later. Starting tomorrow, I’ll come by every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to check on your health.”

Yu Liuxue snapped out of her thoughts and immediately looked like she was about to cry. “Sister Mi, are you abandoning me? Was all the affection we shared these past days just a lie?”

She clutched her chest in anguish, looking every bit like a poor little thing who’d just been dumped. Mi Rou turned her head with a blank expression and took a long moment to find her voice. “I just don’t want you to feel too pressured. Starting tomorrow, you can go out and shop or relax a bit.”

“You can also eat some of your favorite snacks.” She paused, then added, “But I’ve already told you what you can’t eat. You’d better not try it. It’s bad for both you and the baby.”

Yu Liuxue didn’t hear a word of the second half. All she could think about was that the beautiful woman she could see twenty-four hours a day was about to leave her. With tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, she looked pitifully at Mi Rou, though her mind was racing. It had been nearly a hundred days since she’d had anything remotely indulgent…

“Oh, System! No wonder I like her—Sister Mi really does care about me!”

The System couldn’t help lighting a candle for Tang Shiyu. With Mi Rou gone, only the Host and Tang Shiyu would be left in the house. Given the Host’s shameless personality, Tang Shiyu was probably going to be squeezed dry over the next six months.

And she had amnesia. She didn’t even know how badly the Host had tormented her before, didn’t know how she’d ended up pregnant, and had no idea what tricks the Host had pulled to win her over in the first place.

Truly the most tragic tool character¹ in history.

Mi Rou was nothing if not efficient. That very afternoon, she moved out of the Tang Family villa. As the car drove out of the city, she let out a long sigh of relief. If she’d stayed with Jian Yin any longer, she might’ve ended up with a workplace injury. But then she remembered she’d still have to spend three out of every seven days with Jian Yin, and a wave of despair washed over her.

That day, Tang Shiyu didn’t have to work overtime. Mi Rou had specifically told her to come home early, since Jian Yin would be alone at the house that night. Worried something might happen, she canceled her social engagements and rushed home at unprecedented speed.

The entire villa was lit up like a festival. Yu Liuxue had turned on every single light, inside and out, making the house glow like a fairyland.

Tang Shiyu set down her bag and looked at the cold, lifeless mansion. Her heart softened a little. Jian Yin might be annoying, but back when she used to work late and didn’t come home on time, had Jian Yin also been this scared? Was that why she turned on all the lights, trying to make the house feel less eerie and lonely?

Tang Shiyu took off her coat, changed her shoes, and quietly went upstairs.

Yu Liuxue had just finished her bath. She was wearing a silky black nightgown that clung to her like melted chocolate. Her head was slightly lowered as she applied hair oil. Her dark eyes were focused intently on her reflection in the mirror, so engrossed that she didn’t even notice Tang Shiyu had returned. Tang Shiyu didn’t interrupt her. She simply leaned against the doorway, quietly watching her.

Beautiful light spilled over her body, and her quiet demeanor was irresistibly endearing. Though her belly had grown noticeably rounder, her waist remained slender and supple. Because of the pregnancy, she exuded a certain inexplicable radiance that made her all the more pleasing to the eye.

Tang Shiyu watched as she finished applying hair oil, then carefully peeled open a face mask and pressed the sheet meticulously onto her face. Even after that, she didn’t idle—she took out body lotion and began smoothing it over her fair, flawless skin. Only after completing all that did she finally put on hand and foot masks, one after the other.

By the time her entire skincare and beauty routine was complete, half an hour had passed.

After pampering herself to perfection, Yu Liuxue finally blow-dried her hair. She casually grabbed a bottle of perfume, spritzed some on her wrist, then rubbed a bit behind her ears and through her hair.

Seeing that it was about time, Tang Shiyu stepped forward and entered the room. “Jian—”

“You still remember to come home?” Before she could finish a word, Yu Liuxue turned around with a cold face and immediately started arguing. “Weren’t you supposed to be off work today? Your secretary told me you left the office at six. Look at the time now!”

Tang Shiyu’s mind hadn’t caught up yet. She was about to explain, “Actually, I’ve been home for a while. I just didn’t want to disturb you and was watching you fuss over yourself,” but Yu Liuxue came at her aggressively, raising her voice like a storm rolling in. “Is it because of Nan Xu? Did you go on another date with her?”

“Ha! I knew it! You two definitely have something going on! You think just because we broke up, you can be with her? Let me tell you, not a chance! I’m the daughter-in-law personally chosen by your mother. As long as I’m alive, I’ll always be your fiancée!” After rattling off her lines in one breath, Yu Liuxue added with a smug flourish, “And I’m pregnant with the heir to your family fortune.”

Tang Shiyu’s head started throbbing again.

So all that meticulous grooming just now was so you could look your best while picking a fight with me?!

Her brows furrowed tightly. “Don’t make baseless accusations. There’s nothing going on between me and Xiao Xu.”

Yu Liuxue curled her lips into a mocking smile. “Nothing going on, and yet you call her Xiao Xu so intimately? Who gave you permission to call her that?”

“Don’t think I don’t know you rush to the office early every day just to see her. I’ve seen right through you two!” Yu Liuxue planted her hands on her hips, lifted her chin, and pressed on relentlessly, full of arrogance. “Tang Shiyu, if you don’t want to get married, just say so. No need to torment me and the child in my belly.”

“You think just because you leave me, no one else will want me? Let me tell you, there are plenty of rich men out there who love delicate beauties like me—divorced, young, and charming! I might even find someone better than you, more powerful, more influential…”

Veins bulged on Tang Shiyu’s forehead, one after another. When she heard that last sentence, she finally snapped. Reason fled her mind. Before she even realized it, she had already pulled Yu Liuxue into her arms and kissed her fiercely, turning the world upside down between their lips.

When she opened her eyes, Yu Liuxue’s tear-filled gaze struck her straight in the heart. “Your mouth tastes like Xiao Xu. And you still dare say there’s nothing between you two?!”

Tang Shiyu: “…?”

I really am innocent with Xiao Xu, not even the slightest entanglement. But how do you know what she tastes like?

A sudden fury surged through Tang Shiyu. Am I the one being cheated on?!

Her anger exploded with unstoppable force. In no time, Yu Liuxue was pushed down onto the bed. She struggled weakly, like boneless silk, which only made Tang Shiyu hold her tighter. As their skin brushed, Tang Shiyu caught the scent of her freshly washed hair—still damp, laced with shampoo, a faint cherry blossom fragrance. There was also a trace of sweet perfume, the same one she’d dabbed behind her ears.

Yu Liuxue clutched at Tang Shiyu’s clothes and shouted loudly, “You’re even so practiced at pushing me down. I bet you’ve done this countless times in your office with her!”

Tang Shiyu, completely exasperated, silenced her with another kiss—only to discover that Yu Liuxue’s lips were soft and fragrant too, like peach-flavored jelly.

The woman’s scent stirred Tang Shiyu’s senses, her exposed, snowy skin overwhelmed her vision, and her constant accusations and scolding in her ear sounded more like teasing. Tang Shiyu’s mind was instantly clouded by desire, and she couldn’t help but taste forbidden fruit again and again.

This was the first time they had been intimate since she lost her memory—fully conscious, and while Jian Yin was still pregnant.

Three months in, things weren’t as delicate anymore. Even so, once it was over, Tang Shiyu was filled with regret. As the fire Yu Liuxue had stirred in her faded completely, she sat on the edge of the bed in a daze, questioning her life choices. Was her self-control really this terrible?

So Jian Yin got pregnant not because she used some underhanded trick, but entirely because of me? Because I couldn’t resist her beauty and lost control?

A wave of guilt washed over Tang Shiyu.

Yu Liuxue had gotten exactly what she wanted. She let out a satisfied burp and lay back lazily like a well-fed cat, her face full of smug contentment. “Turns out, some skills really are innate.”

She sighed to the System, “Maybe this is what they call talent.”

After mentally struggling with herself for a while, Tang Shiyu couldn’t help but glance back at Yu Liuxue. That one look instantly reignited Yu Liuxue’s interest. “What are you looking at? You’ve already gotten my body—what more do you want?”

“Let me tell you, even if you’ve gotten my body, you’ll never get my heart or my babies. My heart and children will always belong to Xiao Xu, Sister-in-law, and Sister Mi! I’m carrying four little ones, and the four of us will each get one! You’re not getting any!”

Tang Shiyu clenched her fists tightly and finally muttered to herself, “Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If others get angry, I won’t. No one benefits if I get sick from rage. If I die from anger, who would be happy?” Then she marched into the bathroom.

If Yu Liuxue weren’t so physically exhausted, she would’ve loved to have another round of shouting. She pulled the blanket over her face and closed her eyes with a hint of regret. What a shame.

Ever since that night’s accident, Tang Shiyu had been deliberately managing her emotions at all times. No matter how composed and elegant she appeared in public during the day, the moment she stepped through the door and got into another argument with Yu Liuxue, she would lose control and fall into temptation.

And every time they were done, that woman would lie in bed and mock her without fail. “Who would’ve thought? You act so proper in front of everyone during the day, but come nightfall, your true beastly nature comes out.”

Tang Shiyu often wanted to tape her mouth shut.

But every time she tried to say something, Yu Liuxue would slyly clutch her belly and put on a pained expression. “The babies… they’re fighting again in my belly.”

“It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t yelled at me, they wouldn’t be so eager to stand up for their mother.”

Tang Shiyu: “…”

And so, after barely surviving the final three months, Tang Shiyu hurriedly asked Lu Ling to bring Mi Rou back. She thought, with Jian Yin being so unpredictable, having Mi Rou move in would give her another person to share the burden. Otherwise, at this rate, she was going to lose her mind.

Yu Liuxue warmly welcomed Mi Rou’s arrival, even going so far as to host a grand banquet and invite both Nan Xu and Lu Ling to celebrate Mi Rou’s return.

Mi Rou set down her luggage with a complicated expression, her legs frozen in place as she stared at the room filled with balloons. It was as if she could see giant, invisible words floating in the air: “Welcome to Hell.”

Fortunately, Yu Liuxue didn’t focus her attention on Mi Rou. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed on Tang Shiyu. Whenever Tang Shiyu so much as exchanged a few words with Nan Xu or stood a little too close, Yu Liuxue’s narrowed eyes would sweep over like a blade, causing Tang Shiyu to immediately step back.

Yet Nan Xu showed no trace of sadness or disappointment on her face.

Yu Liuxue couldn’t help but feel puzzled. That’s not right. Wasn’t Nan Xu head over heels for Tang Shiyu, to the point of life and death? Why was she completely unfazed by Tang Shiyu’s distance now? Could it be that the System really hadn’t lied to her?

Noticing Yu Liuxue’s scrutiny, Nan Xu turned her head and smiled, then immediately walked over to her. “Are you still throwing up a lot lately? I know a few skilled massage therapists. I can take you to see them sometime. It might help you feel better.”

Looking at her gentle expression, Yu Liuxue felt like she was dreaming.

A dagger hidden behind a smile? Yu Liuxue shivered on the spot, quickly grabbed Nan Xu’s hands, and pulled her to the side to whisper, “Xiao Xu, don’t worry. Tang Shiyu still doesn’t know about the baby in my belly…”

“I was just about to talk to you about that,” Nan Xu interrupted with a soft smile. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Even though that day wasn’t what I intended, everything you’re going through now is ultimately because of me. I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Both Yu Liuxue and the System felt a sudden sense of dread.

Nan Xu let out a gentle sigh. “I used to be terrified that CEO Tang would find out. I was afraid that once she knew the truth, she’d push me away, and I’d lose my chance forever. But every time I saw how much you were suffering, I felt awful too. You two are about to get married, and what worries me even more is that if CEO Tang finds out the truth after the wedding and decides to divorce you, then you and your child would lose her protection. How would you survive in this society as a single mother?”

“So, Jian Yin, I’ve decided to take responsibility for you and the child.”

“Let’s go tell CEO Tang the truth right now.”

Yu Liuxue: “!!!”

She was scared out of her wits and quickly grabbed Nan Xu, who was about to head out, stammering, “Don’t you like Tang Shiyu? You’ve had a crush on her for so long. Are you really willing to give up just like that? Won’t you regret it?”

“I’m not willing.”

Nan Xu blinked and tilted her head innocently. “But can’t I have both the fish and the bear’s paw²?”

“You and Shiyu—I want you both.”

The System, which had boldly guessed everything, could only respond with a stunned, “?” I may not be human, but you’re a real piece of work.

Translator’s Notes