Chapter 31

The crew of Under the Sky was shooting scenes for the supporting couple. When Film Emperor Shen Yanzhi finally made his appearance, all the women on set were ecstatic—except for Tang Xin, whose feelings were… complicated.

Shen Yanzhi was the second male lead in her novel, the male protagonist’s best friend, and secretly in love with the female lead—the protagonist’s woman. A warm, tragic character and an absolute heartthrob.

Tang Xin stayed in a corner, clutching the pearl milk tea that Qi Shu had just bought her, sneaking glances at the newly arrived film emperor.

Wow, what a face.

A beauty to rival that of the male protagonist Yue Yuze.

What a worthy rival in love!

If she could see these two handsome men fight over the female lead before returning to her own world, it would be the highlight of her life. Unfortunately, that scenario didn’t even exist in her book. In the original story, Shen Yanzhi harbored unrequited love for the female lead and chose not to interfere with the couple’s relationship.

Shen Yanzhi was just so warm, so perfect, so tragic… Tang Xin’s starstruck gaze morphed into one of motherly affection.

“Wife?”

Suddenly, a handsome face loomed close. Tang Xin froze.

“…Huh?”

Shen Yanzhi smiled faintly. “Aren’t we playing a couple? That makes you my wife, doesn’t it?”

“Oh… AHHH!” Tang Xin jumped, pointing a trembling finger at him. “You-you-you’re talking to me?”

In the original story, he was the second male lead! He was supposed to hate her cannon-fodder character!

“Who else? Is there anyone here cuter than you?” Shen Yanzhi chuckled, his smile dazzling.

His mind added: No wonder someone is so taken with her.

“Wow, that’s amazing! Let’s go for it—couple moment! Hug time!” Tang Xin, overwhelmed with excitement, threw her milk tea aside and hugged Shen Yanzhi tightly.

Not far away, someone discreetly recorded the entire scene.

“You’re such an enthusiastic cutie,” Shen Yanzhi said with a grin.

He thought to himself: Good thing that uptight Yue Yuze isn’t here. If he saw this, he’d probably act indifferent on the surface but find a way to kill me later.

But what could he do? The “little sister-in-law” was just too passionate.

The supporting couple’s first scene together followed soon after. To everyone’s surprise, Tang Xin, the shameless fangirl, performed exceptionally well. Even the director praised her acting.

Of course, half of the credit went to Shen Yanzhi.

Tang Xin didn’t care, though. She figured she wouldn’t act again after this project wrapped. In fact, she might not even make it to the end of filming—she’d be long gone, back to her original world.

All in all, she had become indifferent to everything in this world.

But that night, something unexpected happened.

Tang Xin found herself trending on Weibo after a short video clip went viral. The headline was glaring:

#Third-Rate Star Seduces Film Emperor Shen Yanzhi#

The clip showed none other than Tang Xin’s excited embrace of Shen Yanzhi.

“What happened?” Qi Shu asked. He hadn’t been on set and hadn’t witnessed the incident.

“Oh, just that.” Tang Xin shrugged, her tone nonchalant. She didn’t care at all.

Even being bashed online meant nothing to her.

I’m practically “dead” anyway—what’s the point of caring?

Qi Shu raised an eyebrow. “Wait… you like Shen Yanzhi?”

“Of course I do! Every female author has a perfect warm second male lead in her heart. I created him—how could I not like him?”

Midway through her response, Tang Xin noticed something strange. Qi Shu’s gaze wasn’t focused on her; it was aimed… behind her?

Slowly, she turned her head.

And froze.

“…What?”

Why was Yue Yuze here?

They were in the underground parking lot near the shooting location.

And standing beside Yue Yuze was… Shen Yanzhi.

This is bad. This misunderstanding is massive.

“Wait, I didn’t mean—”

“Let’s go,” Yue Yuze interrupted, giving her a brief glance before striding off. The “let’s go” wasn’t directed at her but at Shen Yanzhi.

“Little sister-in-law, we’re off to grab something delicious. Want to join us?” Shen Yanzhi teased, casually slipping a hand into his pocket and winking at her.

Tang Xin: “…” Something feels off here.

Film Emperor Shen, can’t you feel Yue Yuze’s cold, murderous stare?

He looks like he’s ready to stab you—twice.

“No, no, I’m good. I already promised Qi Shu we’d eat together. Bye!” Tang Xin grabbed Qi Shu and fled toward their car.

Better safe than sorry.

She was so close to “going home”; she couldn’t afford to die now.

After they left, Shen Yanzhi got into Yue Yuze’s car and stared at his friend’s dark expression for a long moment. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter.

“Wow, I never thought I’d live to see the day you, of all people, got jealous. This is priceless—absolutely priceless!”

Yue Yuze shot him a sharp, icy glare. “Shut up.”

Still grinning, Shen Yanzhi added, “I think your little wife is afraid of you. You act all grumpy and adorable, but if you’re not careful, you’re going to scare her away.”

“She’s afraid of me?” Yue Yuze sneered.

Clearly, Shen Yanzhi had never seen that woman trying to seduce him!

That woman… she wasn’t afraid of him at all. She simply didn’t care about him deeply. She wanted the benefits of being with him, yet she kept her heart closed. If she truly… truly cared for him…

Forget it. What was he even thinking?

Shen Yanzhi fell silent for a moment before adding, “On the contrary… I think your little wife is quite close to her manager. She seems to trust him a lot. Better watch out, or someone might steal her away from you…”

Yue Yuze’s handsome face remained expressionless, but his hands clenched tightly.

…

“I want to divorce Yue Yuze,” Tang Xin suddenly said to Qi Shu.

Qi Shu’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. He turned to glance at her, then back at the road ahead. After opening his mouth to speak, he finally managed to ask calmly, “Why? Don’t you… like him?”

The original Tang Xin did harbor some genuine feelings for Yue Yuze. It wasn’t just about his money and status—otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone so far as to risk her life for him.

“But he doesn’t love me,” she said. She figured she couldn’t outright deny her love for Yue Yuze. That wouldn’t be true to the character of “Tang Xin.”

Qi Shu’s lips curled into a faint, bitter smile, though he masked his emotions well. After a pause, he said, “Loving someone and having a connection with them… it’s worth waiting for. Maybe one day, he’ll realize the one who’s been by his side all along… is pretty great. Tangtang, I just want you to be happy.”

The traffic light turned red, and the car came to a stop. Qi Shu turned his head to look at her, his gaze serious yet gentle.

“Ashu…” Tang Xin stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

If she returned to her original world, this version of Tang Xin would effectively “die.” At that time, Qi Shu might be the only one grieving for her.

Come to think of it, she shouldn’t remain so detached in this world. She should leave Qi Shu with some “memories” to hold on to.

“Ashu… once I finish shooting this drama, let’s go start a tea farm together!”

“Pfft…” Qi Shu chuckled.

“I’m serious.”

“Alright,” Qi Shu said, smiling. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll… go with you.”

Tang Xin returned his smile. Yet deep down, she knew that while she could still offer him companionship, there was little else she could give.

She hoped that when she left, Qi Shu would at least have some memories to cherish.

That night, back at home, Tang Xin thought about it and decided she couldn’t drag things out any longer.

Under the Sky would wrap filming in about three months, but her scenes would likely finish next month. She made up her mind.

“Sweetheart, I’m going to find an opportunity to divorce Yue Yuze in the next few days!”

Then, she could start planning her tea farm.

After all, once the divorce was finalized, she’d have money. A decent amount of alimony, no doubt—Yue Yuze didn’t seem like the stingy type.

But when would be the right time to bring it up?

There had to be some kind of pretext, right?

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense…

Tang Xin lay in bed, thinking it over, but she couldn’t come up with a suitable excuse. Little did she know, that “pretext” was about to arrive much sooner than expected.

A week later, it happened to be Shen Yanzhi’s birthday. Since he and Yue Yuze were close friends, Shen Yanzhi naturally invited Yue Yuze to the celebration.

For once, Yue Yuze took the initiative to speak to Tang Xin. “The birthday party is on a yacht, and everyone needs to bring a date. I’m not used to taking anyone, but Ah Yan said he invited you as well. So… you can be my date.”

Tang Xin had heard that Lin Shiyin, the novel’s female lead, would also attend. Sensing some drama in the making, she readily agreed!

That evening, they arrived at the yacht.

Sure enough, Lin Shiyin was there.

The yacht was enormous. Shen Yanzhi truly lived up to his image as a wealthy film emperor—a luxury yacht fit for the ultra-rich.

Of course, Shen Yanzhi was also a second-generation heir. He was “so poor” that all he had left was money.

Since they’d be staying overnight, everyone was assigned a room. Unfortunately, there was only one room allocated for her and Yue Yuze.

Tang Xin discreetly asked Yue Yuze about it. He replied, “We arrived late… no more rooms were available.”

“There’s always the storage room… want to sleep there?” Yue Yuze offered casually.

Tang Xin: “…” The storage room? Seriously?

Fine, whatever. They’d share the room. Who was afraid of whom?

After a lively banquet, Lin Shiyin finally made her move and sought out Yue Yuze.

The two began chatting and, inevitably, left together.

Tang Xin stealthily followed them and saw Yue Yuze being led into Lin Shiyin’s room.

“Oh no. Earlier, when I checked the rooms, I noticed there weren’t any… precautions. If those two get involved and something happens… No way! I’m still married! If they end up with a baby, Yue Yuze might skimp on my alimony to raise his kid!”

Determined, Tang Xin went around asking and finally managed to get her hands on a box of… supplies.

Armed with the items, she marched to Lin Shiyin’s room, determined to present them directly to Yue Yuze as proof of her “main wife” generosity.

“Maybe when I propose the divorce in a few days, he’ll be so impressed that he’ll throw in a few extra million in alimony…” Tang Xin thought to herself, gleefully rubbing her hands in anticipation.