Chapter 8: A Slip of the Hand

Under the moonlight, Tong Yue didn’t stay on the balcony for long. She followed Meng Yuqi back inside, lest he think she was about to jump off.

She really hadn’t thought of jumping. She didn’t think about dying.

She was already over twenty. At this age, dying wouldn’t make much of a lasting impression. If she had been eighteen, in the prime of her youth, maybe people would remember her, saying the young actress’s life had tragically wilted too soon.

Even though she was a film queen now, her fame wasn’t enough yet. She wasn’t a legend. After a few years, people would forget about her.

So she had to keep going, make more films, and build her legacy.

Tong Yue thought to herself: This world is so beautiful, why would I jump?

Meanwhile, Meng Yuqi worried that his beloved might be too absorbed in her roles. Was she working on any heavy, dark projects lately?

It was better not to. Working on gloomy films could easily sour her mood.

“Don’t take the script too seriously,” Meng Yuqi advised, trying to comfort her. “In the film, you might play a goddess, but in real life, you’re not actually one.”

“Of course,” Tong Yue nodded. “Even less believable than our contract marriage.”

“Exactly, but at least we have the potential to turn fake into real,” Meng Yuqi said earnestly.

Tong Yue fell silent. She thought it best not to engage him in this topic anymore or use this as an example.

Tong Yue mused: Haha, who would dare blur the lines between fake and real?

She certainly wouldn’t. A contract marriage was a contract marriage. Stick to the agreement and benefit from it.

Breaking the contract could turn her into nothing but cannon fodder.

Tong Yue prided herself on her professional ethics. She was a disciplined actress. There was no way she’d get too lost in her role. All the joking around was just that—jokes. She knew where she stood.

The big shot was still a big shot. There was no sense in imagining he’d suddenly come down to earth.

Tong Yue thought: As a goddess, I will not dying so easily!

Meng Yuqi, on the other hand, wondered if her thoughts weren’t the result of being too absorbed in her roles but rather a sign of her own narcissism. What a cute, self-absorbed little thing.

Hmm, he liked that!

There was no need to always stay so tense. What if her words and actions didn’t match? As long as it didn’t hurt anyone, she could be as inconsistent as she wanted.

Meng Yuqi gave her a gentle pat. “Go to sleep.”

Meanwhile, in the deep mountains, rescue team members had come across a parrot. Every now and then, the bird would squawk, “Help! Help!”

The rescuers thought the parrot was mimicking a voice and suspected someone might be nearby.

The parrot led them to a nearby ravine. Luckily, the rescue team had flashlights and plenty of experience.

They avoided falling into the ravine and soon discovered it.

Earlier that evening, it had rained, and the undergrowth didn’t show any obvious signs of being trampled. Most likely, the rain had washed it away. The wind and rain had made the surroundings look different than usual.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the rescue team sent someone down into the ravine. They hadn’t yet searched this area, and they hoped for a breakthrough.

Half an hour later, the rescue team found the missing hiker. He had fallen into the ravine, broken his leg, and had no idea where his phone had gone. He hadn’t been able to call for help.

The signal in the mountains was poor anyway, which was why so many hikers got lost here. The more people who got lost, the more others were drawn to the challenge.

It’s like Mount Everest—people die every year, yet many still attempt to climb it.

“Help… help me,” the hiker croaked, after being trapped for three or four days. If no one had found him, he would have surely died.

If this mountain hadn’t been part of Tong Yue’s domain, she wouldn’t have sent the parrot to guide the rescuers to him.

These people were always the same. One person caused so much trouble, wasting so much manpower and material resources. Signs warned them not to enter, and yet they did, thinking they could handle it.

Once they got lost, their friends would contact the police, demanding a search and rescue operation.

The police were helpless. They had to serve the public. They couldn’t just refuse to rescue someone. And yet, they couldn’t charge for it either. If they asked for money, people would post about it online, accusing them of price-gouging.

This put the police in a tough spot. Search and rescue operations took up a lot of manpower resources. Charging a few thousand yuan wouldn’t even cover the costs. But if they asked for that much, they’d face public backlash. So they couldn’t charge anything at all and still had to do their best to find people.

If they didn’t, and the body was found later, people would accuse the police of negligence.

No matter what, it was always the police’s fault. People treated them like servants they could order around.

The police couldn’t stop people from entering dangerous areas, so they had no choice but to keep searching.

“Take it easy. Here, drink some glucose drink first,” one of the rescuers said. They couldn’t immediately give him solid food. After having some glucose drink, they’d figure out how to get him out of the ravine.

The rescue team had come to this mountain more than once or twice, but even they didn’t dare venture deep into the forest. It was easy to get lost, and some rescuers had entered the forest in the past, only to never return.

Despite people constantly urging the police to go deeper into the mountains, they didn’t dare.

Even with ropes, it wasn’t necessarily safe. In this kind of terrain, ropes weren’t always useful, and they certainly weren’t long enough.

Among the rescue team was a rabbit spirit. Even the rabbit spirit didn’t dare venture deep into the mountains. Even mystical creatures have their fears. They also have to follow certain rules, and not every place is safe for them.

The rabbit spirit reported to the Monster Management Bureau that the parrot had spoken and led them to rescue the lost hiker. The Bureau wondered if the parrot had become a spirit.

The Bureau instructed the rabbit spirit to observe the parrot. If it had indeed become a spirit, it would need to register with the Bureau. Even if the parrot had only gained some intelligence, they’d still need to watch over it, lest it be captured and killed as a pet.

Meanwhile, Tong Yue had no idea her actions had drawn the attention of the Monster Management Bureau. She only saw the crowdfunding campaign started by the family of the hiker with the broken leg, claiming the medical bills would be high.

“Here, have some cake.” Meng Yuqi placed a small piece of cake in front of Tong Yue.

He wanted his beloved to see how wonderful life was and stop feeling down.

He definitely didn’t want her jumping from the balcony. Meng Yuqi thought actors should watch their diet, avoiding high-calorie foods. He remembered that as a child, Tong Yue had loved cake, so he bought more for her to enjoy.

He’d heard that sweets could improve mood, but Meng Yuqi believed he was sweeter than any cake. Unfortunately, his beloved didn’t seem to notice.

Tong Yue stared at the cake in surprise.

“Your agent isn’t here, and neither is your assistant. Eat up,” Meng Yuqi said. “Gaining a little weight isn’t a crime for an actor. You could even play a pregnant woman.”

Tong Yue suddenly wanted to smash the cake into his face—he was teasing her!

“There’s no show where an actor plays a pregnant woman from start to finish,” Tong Yue rolled her eyes and reminded herself: Don’t throw the cake. This man is the boss. He holds the resources. Stay calm.

But the next moment, she couldn’t resist. She flung the cake at Meng Yuqi’s chest.

Tong Yue thought: Better not hit his face—that’s too much of an offense.

“Oh no, my bad. My hand slipped,” Tong Yue pretended to be calm as she grabbed some napkins from the table and started wiping the cake off Meng Yuqi.

But as she wiped, the frosting spread, making his clothes even messier.

“Are you trying to check out how many abs I’ve got?” Meng Yuqi teased. If he couldn’t read minds, he wouldn’t have known what was going on in her head. “Wait, no. You’re not just looking, you want to feel, don’t you?”

Tong Yue froze and looked up at him, her face flushing. Damn, this guy is even more shameless than I am!

Meng Yuqi grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest.

Tong Yue tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. Was he really going to make her use her divine powers? Her ancient strength…

Forget it, this guy’s just a regular human after all, so she decided not to use her powers.

“Did you put on makeup today?” Meng Yuqi asked, brushing her cheek and smearing the white frosting on her face. “Oops, my hand slipped too. Should I help you wash up?”

“You…”

“See, I’m straightforward. Learn from me!” Meng Yuqi said. “If you want something, just say it.”

This is just a contract marriage, Tong Yue thought silently.

Just then, Meng Yuqi’s mother walked into the living room, witnessing the scene of them gazing into each other’s eyes, with him holding her hand to his chest.

Mrs. Meng cleared her throat. “Your aunt is coming over. If you don’t want to deal with her, you should go back to your room.”

Mrs. Meng didn’t like her sister-in-law much. That woman constantly urged her to convince Meng Yuqi to divorce Tong Yue, arguing that as the heir of the Meng family, he shouldn’t have married the daughter of a driver, much less an actress.

This irritated Mrs. Meng. Her sister-in-law had never liked her, and now she didn’t like her daughter-in-law either. But her son should be with whoever he wanted—there was no need for his aunt’s approval.

Mrs. Meng could see the affection in her son’s eyes when he looked at Tong Yue. As for Tong Yue, her feelings seemed a bit more distant, sometimes as if she were acting, like in one of her dramas.

Who cared about being a good match or not? Mrs. Meng thought that if they really divorced, Tong Yue would likely agree without much fuss. She had watched Tong Yue grow up and knew the girl was smart, well aware of what she could gain and what wasn’t worth fighting for.

“Go on, go on,” Mrs. Meng waved her hand. “Your aunt just talks too much. Better not waste your time with her.”

“I’m going up then,” Tong Yue said, feeling the frosting on her face. She didn’t want to stand there looking ridiculous.

Meng Yuqi watched her leave but didn’t follow right away. Instead, he looked at his mother and scoffed, “Who’s she bringing this time? Another shameless woman who wants to be a mistress?”

“Go upstairs,” Mrs. Meng said. “Soon, you’ll have your chance to show off.”

Mrs. Meng thought that with Tong Yue around, perhaps this visit could actually strengthen the bond between her son and daughter-in-law. Maybe her sister-in-law had a use after all.