Shi Jiaojiao froze for a moment, her eyes widening in disbelief before she began nodding enthusiastically, as if her head were a drumstick pounding a drum.
If Zhuo Wenshu really allowed her to stay by his side, then neutralizing his resentment would just be a matter of time!
“Wenshu…” Shi Jiaojiao executed the perfect ‘tears of joy’ performance.
Zhuo Wenshu’s dark, piercing gaze lingered on her for a while before he grabbed the half-empty bottle of liquor from the table and drained it in one gulp. A bit of it spilled from the corner of his mouth, which he wiped off carelessly with the back of his hand.
His eyes roamed over Shi Jiaojiao, up and down, before he finally spoke: “Pick up your stuff and come upstairs with me.”
Shi Jiaojiao, ever the sycophant, immediately responded, “Yes!” as she hurriedly began gathering the items that had been scattered when Zhuo Wenshu knocked them away earlier. As she picked them up, she couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. So much for acting like a tough, principled guy who scorns money! Turns out, just a few words were enough to sway him?
Once she had most of the items gathered, she paused, reaching into her bag for something extra.
“Brother, here, take this,” Shi Jiaojiao said, pulling out a jade Guanyin pendant and handing it to the burly man who had helped her pick things up.
“In our culture, men wear Guanyin and women wear Buddha. This suits you.” She had already figured out that, aside from Zhuo Wenshu, this burly man was the leader here.
With a look of innocence and gratitude, Shi Jiaojiao said, “Thanks for looking after Wenshu. His temper…”
“What the hell are you dawdling for?” Zhuo Wenshu’s voice boomed from the stairwell. His shout startled Shi Jiaojiao so much that she trembled, looking pitiful enough to soften even the roughest onlookers.
Having achieved her goal, Shi Jiaojiao clutched her bag and hurriedly scampered toward the stairs, her demeanor one of complete submission.
The second floor was just a single room, originally used for storage, cramped and stifling. Now, part of it had been partitioned off to make a small living area—bare and simple, with only a rickety spring bed in the middle. The peeling paint on the walls made the space feel even more depressing, and it was likely in worse condition than the prison Zhuo Wenshu had just left.
After five long years in prison, Zhuo Wenshu had come out penniless. He couldn’t even wear the clothes he went in with, and no one had visited him during his entire sentence. The clothes he wore now were old labor uniforms that a prison guard had fished out of storage. If it hadn’t been for him saving the burly man’s life once in prison, Zhuo Wenshu would likely have ended up homeless on the streets. And now, the very person responsible for all his suffering was standing before him, using those same over-the-top, manipulative tactics to worm her way back into his life.
To Zhuo Wenshu, it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
Now, stripped of everything, he couldn’t help but wonder: What did this manipulative woman really want from him after destroying him so thoroughly?
Shi Jiaojiao stood at the doorway, clutching her bag, her eyes scanning the room. Despite her efforts to hide it, a flicker of disgust crossed her face.
Though Zhuo Wenshu could only see out of one eye, he didn’t miss a single detail of her expression. A cold sneer crept into his heart. He leaned back on the bed and, with a squint, said, “Close the door.”
Shi Jiaojiao obediently shut the door. You created this character, so you better play the part, even if it kills you, she thought. After placing her bag on a nearby shelf, she wrung the hem of her dress in her hands, her face full of concern as she slowly approached Zhuo Wenshu. “Wenshu, this place isn’t suitable for living. Tomorrow, I’ll rent us a proper apartment. You can stay there, okay?”
Zhuo Wenshu’s cold sneer finally reached his lips. He sat up, stared at Shi Jiaojiao for a moment, and commanded, “Take off your clothes.”
Shi Jiaojiao: … What?
Zhuo Wenshu watched her reaction carefully. As expected, he saw hesitation and resistance. Let’s see how long you can keep up this act.
“Take them off,” he repeated, tilting his head with a mocking smile. “Didn’t you say you wanted to stay with me? I’ve spent five years inside without knowing what a woman feels like. You want to stay with me? Then let’s see what you’re like.”
The heat started from Shi Jiaojiao’s ears and spread across her entire face. Despite writing countless spicy scenes in her novels, she had zero practical experience. In reality, she didn’t even have a boyfriend. Zhuo Wenshu’s blunt demand left her completely flustered.
“What’s the matter? Not willing?” Zhuo Wenshu stood and began walking toward her, step by step. Shi Jiaojiao backed away, swallowing hard, trying to mentally prepare herself.
It wasn’t that she clung to notions of purity or chastity. If she had, she wouldn’t have thought up such a bold plan to begin with. It was just that she had no experience at all.
Now backed into a corner, Shi Jiaojiao stole a glance at Zhuo Wenshu before quickly looking down, her eyelashes fluttering.
Admittedly, Zhuo Wenshu, despite being a minor character, was devastatingly handsome. Even with one blinded eye, his looks weren’t affected. His body proportions were near-perfect, all long legs and sculpted muscles. What a sight…
To Zhuo Wenshu, however, her shy glances were just signs that her act was unraveling. Just as he was about to sneer and tell her to get lost, Shi Jiaojiao reached out and poked him in the chest with her finger.
Despite having died several times already, Shi Jiaojiao still couldn’t fully treat this world as real. After all, she could die and come back to life. In her mind, everything felt more like a game. She knew this entire world was something she had written into existence herself.
Why not just treat it like a fantasy? And with someone as good-looking as Zhuo Wenshu in front of her, it wasn’t a bad choice for a romantic fling. Emboldened by her own thoughts, Shi Jiaojiao pressed her palm flat against his chest, her cheeks flushed, and then leaned her head against him, whispering softly, “Just… be gentle. I’ve never…”
“Get out!” Zhuo Wenshu’s veins bulged in anger as he recoiled, pushing her away forcefully.
He stepped back several paces, his expression twisted with disgust.
Pointing toward the door, he barked, “Get out now!”
Shi Jiaojiao found herself yanked by her collar and thrown out of the room, landing in a heap on the stairs.
Rubbing her bruised leg, she muttered curses under her breath. Damn it, I should’ve known better! This guy’s ancestors are my own creations!
Limping down the stairs, Shi Jiaojiao left the tattoo shop, her departure met with sympathetic glances and awkward comfort from the men inside.
Instead of driving home, she curled up in her car and slept there for the night.
The next morning, when she saw the tattoo shop open, she rushed in with breakfast in hand. What she had given Zhuo Wenshu yesterday was just a secondary card—her system had plenty more. For now, money wasn’t a problem.
People rarely refuse food, especially when they’re starving first thing in the morning.
The burly man and another guy’s eyes lit up as they quickly devoured the food she brought. Shi Jiaojiao glanced upstairs and asked, “Is Wenshu still sleeping?”
The burly man, stuffing a giant bun into his mouth, mumbled, “He left early this morning.”
“He left? I didn’t see him.” Shi Jiaojiao had been keeping an eye on the shop the whole time, only leaving briefly to wash up at a nearby motel. She had returned as soon as the shop opened.
“Prison habits. Hard to shake,” the burly man explained, noticing her confusion. “There’s a back door.”
This run-down place even had a back door. Shi Jiaojiao spent the entire morning waiting, but Zhuo Wenshu didn’t show up.
She didn’t believe he was avoiding her. What could he be doing? As she mulled over the situation, she stepped outside to grab lunch, only to find her adoptive father, Shi Yuecheng, waiting for her at the door.
At the fanciest restaurant nearby, Shi Jiaojiao wolfed down her food while Shi Yuecheng fumed, his face red and his neck bulging with rage.
“All you know how to do is eat!” Shi Yuecheng, usually calm and collected, was so enraged he tried to flip the table. Unfortunately, the table was bolted down, leaving him even more furious.
Just as Shi Jiaojiao finished eating, she made a statement that silenced Shi Yuecheng instantly.
“Let’s sever our father-daughter relationship,” Shi Jiaojiao said calmly, wiping her mouth.
If it weren’t for the system forcing her to deal with Zhuo Wenshu for the sake of her survival, Shi Jiaojiao wouldn’t have bothered with the supporting characters in her own story.
“What did you say?” Shi Yuecheng’s hand instinctively reached for the back of his neck, fearing that he might literally die of rage right there.
“Sever the relationship. That way, you won’t be embarrassed anymore. Haven’t you always thought I was a disgrace?” Shi Jiaojiao’s original backstory was that she was the daughter of a prostitute, and Shi Yuecheng had only taken her in because she had emotionally manipulated him using his social status and public image against him.
Shi Yuecheng had always resented her, and only when she had latched onto the male lead, Dan Qin, did his attitude soften. But now that she had ruined the engagement, it was no wonder Shi Yuecheng wanted to tear her apart.
“If people find out about my origins, you’ll be humiliated,” Shi Jiaojiao continued. “Dear father, severing ties is the best solution. It’ll calm the Dan family’s anger, and it’ll also cover up the fact that you fell for a prostitute while your wife was pregnant.”
“You—!” Shi Yuecheng’s hand trembled as he pointed at her, unable to speak. Shi Jiaojiao grabbed his arm, pulled him into a chair, and poured him a glass of water.
“Why get so worked up? It’s not like you have any real fatherly feelings for me. I’m not ruining your plans. By the way, hasn’t your precious eldest daughter been absent lately? She’s already cozying up to Dan Qin. Isn’t this what you wanted—your favorite daughter marrying into the Dan family?”
Shi Yuecheng’s eldest daughter, Shi Feifei, was indeed the main protagonist of the story. She was destined to endure a long string of tragedies—car accidents, miscarriages, misunderstandings, memory loss, and even running away pregnant—before finally reuniting with Dan Qin in a million-word gǒuxiě epic.
Shi Jiaojiao had remembered it all last night. This novel was titled The Tender Wife, a tale of endless suffering and melodrama.
Shi Yuecheng actually calmed down after hearing this. Shi Jiaojiao didn’t waste any time and said, “I’m sure you’re here to persuade me to step aside, right? You don’t want me competing with your precious daughter, do you?”
Ignoring the dark expression on Shi Yuecheng’s face, she sneered and waved her hand. “Don’t worry. You’ve seen for yourself—I’ve fallen for an ex-con. It’ll be easy to keep me out of the way. Dear father, I need some money right now. I promise I won’t get involved anymore. You have power, so if you give me too much, I’m afraid I’ll get killed for it. As for Dan Qin, I’ll play the villain and make sure he’s disgusted with me, which will only make him love your daughter more.”
Shi Yuecheng, now listening closely, no longer appeared as enraged. He wasn’t panting, his veins weren’t bulging, and there were no signs of an impending stroke.
After staring at her for a long time, he finally spoke. “How much?”
“Now you’re talking!” Shi Jiaojiao clapped her hands. “Just don’t cut off my card yet. And as for the hush money, there’s an elderly woman with dementia named Wen Guiyan in Yunshan Elderly Care. Make sure she’s comfortable for the rest of her life.”
“Who is that?” Shi Yuecheng asked.
“That’s none of your business, Mr. Shi,” Shi Jiaojiao replied, standing up and knocking on the table. “I spent all my money on that con man last night, so you’re paying for this meal.”
Shi Yuecheng’s face twitched in frustration as Shi Jiaojiao left the restaurant and headed straight for her car. As she drove, a sudden recollection hit her: Zhuo Wenshu is about to go racing and get himself killed!
t/n: hello! i’m nuage 🙂 i’ll be translating two novel series and hoping to finish it quickly. your support from patreon and ko-fi would help me greatly. thank you <3