Chapter 4: The Malicious Plot

Gu Ye handed the enamel basin to Jiang Yue and turned to grab the chopsticks. Suddenly, he heard a sound of puffing and panting. He quickly turned around and saw Jiang Yue’s entire face buried in the enamel basin.

“Jiang Yue!” Gu Ye was startled and hurriedly reached out to grab the back of Jiang Yue’s neck, lifting her up.

Jiang Yue licked the oil at the corner of her mouth, squinting at Gu Ye while showing her teeth. “So delicious!”

Gu Ye’s lips twitched, and his handsome face darkened. He had just thought Jiang Yue had fainted again, but it turned out she was just indulging in her craving and sneaking a bite?

“Little cat, little dog, only they eat like this! Who eats like that?” Gu Ye looked at the circle of marks on Jiang Yue’s face left by the enamel basin, speechless. He released his grip on the back of her neck and handed her the chopsticks.

Jiang Yue didn’t mind being called a little cat or little dog. Her eyes were sparkling, still focused on the enamel basin.

What Gu Ye had brought her was a bowl of clear soup noodles, with floating green scallions, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

Because of Jiang Yue’s unique physical condition, she had always been particular about food. She had initially thought that, in such a resource-scarce era, the food would be nothing special. However, to her surprise, the noodles tasted quite good.

It was 1978, and the private economy hadn’t opened up yet. The noodles Gu Ye had brought her were likely bought from a State-Owned Restaurant, and it seemed the master chef there had some skills.

Jiang Yue ate the entire bowl of noodles in one go, not leaving a single drop of soup behind. After finishing, she still looked unsatisfied.

Gu Ye watched Jiang Yue devour her food like a hungry wolf, his lips twitching again. His usually serious face was on the verge of losing its composure.

“Is there more? I’m still hungry!” Jiang Yue stared at Gu Ye, her big eyes blinking like a little cat begging its owner for food.

“You’ve just recovered from a fever; you can’t eat too much!” Gu Ye shifted his gaze awkwardly.

He took the chopsticks from Jiang Yue’s hand, closed the enamel basin, and put it into the net bag.

Jiang Yue tilted her head slightly, watching Gu Ye. His movements were so natural that it was clear he did housework regularly.

A man who was both handsome and capable of doing housework—he had always been her ideal husband in her past life.

Jiang Yue had already accepted that she had transmigrated into a book, but if the plot from now on turned against her, especially if it became malicious, her heart would be filled with unease.

Suddenly, Jiang Yue furrowed her brows suspiciously, feeling something was off.

According to the original plot in the book, the Original Owner didn’t die after crashing into a wall at the Ji family’s house. But just a few days later, after a fight with Ji Youyou, the Original Owner was kicked out by Mother Ji. In a fit of anger, she jumped into the river and soon after, her life ended.

Gu Ye had indeed come to the Provincial Capital to look for the Original Owner, but he had not found her. In the end, the matter was left unresolved. A month later, he went on a blind date with the Female Lead and married her.

In the original plot, after the Original Owner jumped into the river, she drifted downstream and was carried to a village of human traffickers. Because of her beauty, she was sold to a Brothel. There, due to her soft and delicate body, her business thrived. Later, after serving too many clients, she contracted a venereal disease. The madam of the brothel, seeing her as useless, sold her again to a fool in the deep mountains. She then gave birth to seven or eight children for that fool…

This was the life that Jiang Yue’s so-called “good best friend” had arranged for her!

However, in the current reality, Jiang Yue had fallen into the lake but had been rescued by Gu Ye. Someone who was supposed to be removed from the story was now still properly occupying the position of the Male Lead’s legal wife.

Jiang Yue’s heart suddenly pounded wildly a few times, and her eyes lit up in an instant. This plot line… seemed different from the one in the book! If she no longer drifted to the traffickers’ village, and didn’t end up in the Brothel, did that mean her fate as a cannon-fodder Female Supporting Character was already starting to change?

Gu Ye noticed the excitement in Jiang Yue’s eyes and turned to glance at her. Today, Jiang Yue was acting strangely. Normally, she would not even meet his eyes, but today, her gaze was almost too intense. Could it be that she was traumatized after being kicked out by the Ji family? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have jumped into the lake!

Their gazes met, and Jiang Yue’s heart trembled inexplicably. A wave of disgust and fear flashed through her, a reaction she knew came from the body’s instincts.

She hadn’t expected that even though the soul of the Original Owner was gone, her body would still instinctively fear Gu Ye.

Having just taken over the Original Owner’s body, Jiang Yue hadn’t yet gone through all the memories. When she later sorted out why the Original Owner feared Gu Ye, she found it both ridiculous and exasperating.

However, Jiang Yue did not dislike Gu Ye. She wasn’t afraid of him either. Besides, this man had saved her life.

At this moment, Jiang Yue tilted her head slightly to look at Gu Ye. She couldn’t help but admire inwardly—he truly was the Male Lead. That handsome face of his was something one could never tire of.

But soon, Jiang Yue sighed in her heart. Why was she merely a cannon-fodder Female Supporting Character?

Recalling the scene she had witnessed upon waking, Jiang Yue asked curiously: “Why didn’t you explain just now?”

“Explain what?” Gu Ye asked.

There were other patients and family members in the ward. Jiang Yue and Gu Ye’s appearances were too striking, and Gu Ye was a soldier. People had been stealing glances at them from the moment they entered.

Jiang Yue had just been curious about why Gu Ye hadn’t explained when the doctor misunderstood and thought he had quarreled with her, driving her to jump into the lake. But after asking, she realized this wasn’t the right place to talk, so she said: “Nothing.”

“Jiang Yue, do you feel unwell anywhere?” Gu Ye looked at Jiang Yue. From the moment he had found her and pulled her out of the water, she had been acting strangely.

Gu Ye recalled what the housekeeper at the Ji family had said when he found them—that Jiang Yue had run headfirst into the wall that morning. Could it be that she had hit her head so hard it caused some brain damage?

Hearing his question, Jiang Yue thought Gu Ye was concerned about her. She flexed her wrists and stretched her waist. “No! I’m not feeling unwell. I feel perfectly fine!”

Her head did ache where she’d hit it, but Jiang Yue didn’t plan to tell Gu Ye. She found what the Original Owner had done rather shameful.

Gu Ye reached out and tested Jiang Yue’s forehead. She had no fever, but his expression grew even more serious. “If you’re feeling unwell anywhere, you must tell me.”

Jiang Yue blinked her big eyes twice, then suddenly grabbed Gu Ye’s large hand, her face filled with tension. “Gu Ye, tell me the truth. Do I have some kind of terminal illness? Am I dying?”

By the end of her question, her voice was trembling.

Gu Ye glanced down at her small hand clutching his, his brows furrowing tightly. “Who told you that?”

At those words, Jiang Yue’s mind exploded like a bomb going off. She almost burst into tears on the spot, her little face collapsing.

“I knew it! The Transmigrated-into-a-book Deity would never allow the plot line to deviate. Even if the cannon-fodder original wife didn’t exit the stage as planned, the deity would just use a golden finger to give her a terminal illness and make sure she dies anyway.”

After all, the Female Lead was the biological daughter of the Transmigrated-into-a-book Deity. Nothing could be allowed to get in the way of the Female Lead meeting the Male Lead!

“Jiang Yue, what are you talking about?” Gu Ye looked utterly confused. He couldn’t make heads or tails of her mutterings—what deity? What deviation of plot line? He understood what cannon-fodder meant, and he knew what a first wife was, but when put together in that sentence, it made no sense at all.

Jiang Yue’s face turned ashen. She was in no mood to explain anything to Gu Ye. Wuwu, she really wanted to cry.

She had only just come to terms with this new identity, and now she was going to die—of a terminal illness no less! In an era with such poor medical resources, dying of a terminal illness meant a long, painful death.

Would dying here send her back? If so, then maybe death wouldn’t be so bad.

But what if she couldn’t go back?

“Gu Ye, you must be hoping I die soon, right? That way you can marry the Female Lead…” The more Jiang Yue thought about it, the angrier she got. Her tears fell even faster.

“Jiang Yue, what nonsense are you talking about?! What do you mean you’re going to die?” Gu Ye was starting to lose his patience. He didn’t understand half of what Jiang Yue was saying, but how could she accuse him of wishing her dead? Was he that kind of person? And what was this about marrying some Female Lead? Utter nonsense!

“Didn’t you say I had a terminal illness and was going to die?” Jiang Yue pouted, tears brimming in her eyes, completely heartbroken.

She couldn’t believe her fate was this tragic. She had only just transmigrated into the book and was already facing death.

“If I was just going to get a terminal illness anyway, I might as well have drowned in the river! If I’m going to die either way, at least make it quick!” Jiang Yue sobbed again. “Wuwu! Why did you even bother saving me!”