Shi Ning approached the dressing table, her hand reaching for a lipstick, when a flurry of question marks erupted across the barrage.
[His wife doesn’t want him. The big villain Qin’s eyes turned red, and tears rolled in his eyes: Woo, crying like a kettle.]
[How cold he was just now, how pitiful he is now! Like a little puppy abandoned by his owner, this contrast, love it.]
[A man’s best dowry is tears, vicious female supporting role! Look back quickly, the big villain who cried like a kettle for you! Bully him to death! Satisfy my pleasure!]
Qin Heye… cried? The thought was astonishing. Qin Heye, the man who never showed emotion, so domineering and cool, reduced to tears? This realization sent a thrill through Shi Ning. Clutching the lipstick, she practically flew back to him, looking up into his face. “Qin Heye?”
Her swift movement caught Qin Heye completely off guard. He had been battling his own inner turmoil, trying desperately not to upset her, when her gaze, sharp and direct, met his. And there it was—just as the barrage predicted. Qin Heye’s eyes were indeed red, shimmering with unshed tears. Another blink, and they would fall.
A strange excitement bubbled within Shi Ning. “There are tears in your eyes,” she announced, unable to hide her delight.
Qin Heye immediately averted his gaze, his voice hoarse. “No! You’re wrong!”
Shi Ning, emboldened, stood on tiptoe, cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. “Your mouth is so soft when kissing, why are you talking so hard?”
His eyes grew even redder, his voice deeper and more muffled. “Shi Ning!” He sounded utterly wronged, a sound that oddly made her want to tease him more.
Shi Ning smiled, her voice softening. “Don’t be so fierce. I know you’re usually tough with everyone else.” She gazed at his reddened eyes, at the sight of the mighty villain shedding tears for her, and a profound sense of accomplishment swelled within her. Her mood brightened considerably. She playfully rubbed his handsome face, her eyes lingering on his lips. “But with me, it’s from soft to hard.”
“Shi Ning!” Qin Heye’s voice was now a low growl, laced with a raw intensity that seemed to promise to devour her whole. “Do you know what you’re talking about?”
The barrage erupted into a frenzy. Shi Ning cleared her throat, swiftly changing the subject with a serious expression. “I’m serious, I want to ask you a few questions.”
Qin Heye looked down at her, his face composed, his mind racing to anticipate her next words. “The first time,” he began.
Shi Ning looked at him, puzzled. “What?”
A faint flush crept across Qin Heye’s face. “Everything with you is the first time.”
Shi Ning still didn’t quite grasp it. She needed the barrage’s help.
[What Qin the villain means is: the first heartbeat, the first secret love, the first marriage, the first FDIY fantasy object, the first time with a woman…all are with vicious female supporting roles!]
Shi Ning’s thoughts raced: “The first time I heard Chinese, I still need to rely on translation.” She watched Qin Heye, who was clearly still deep in thought, ready to answer more profound questions.
“I’m not asking you these questions. I’m asking you something else,” she declared, her tone playfully commanding. “Don’t let your mind wander, don’t talk nonsense!”
Her decision to stay had already quelled Qin Heye’s frantic thoughts. “You ask,” he conceded.
“If Shi Qingyin seduces you, will you take the bait?” Shi Ning inquired.
Qin Heye frowned. “Did she do it?”
Shi Ning pursed her lips. “She winked at you, lowered her collar in front of you. Isn’t that enough to attract you?”
Qin Heye’s response was chillingly direct. “I thought she had a cramp in her eyes. I’ve never seen the action of lowering her collar.”
[In addition to being polite, you must look at the other person’s face when speaking. The villain Qin was too lazy to share his peripheral vision with other women!]
[I’m going to make a note. Whenever the female supporting role appears, the eyes of the villain Qin are always on her. That kind of love cannot be hidden!]
Shi Ning’s thoughts again: “Okay. Shi Qingyin’s attempts at seduction were clearly for naught.”
She pressed on with her second question. “What if Shi Qingyin showed you the love letter I wrote to Shen Xizhou in the past ? What would you do?”
Qin Heye’s body tensed, an almost imperceptible tremor. He wanted to burn those letters, to drag Shi Ning home, lock her away, and force her to write only to him until her fingers ached, until she begged for mercy. No! He couldn’t harbor such dangerous thoughts that would hurt Shi Ning. She would hate him. He hated the thought of becoming the shadowy figure who stole love. He would rather hurt himself than harm her.
Qin Heye clenched his fists, summoning every ounce of his willpower to suppress the dark impulses. He looked at Shi Ning, his expression carefully neutral. “That’s your past. It’s your freedom. It won’t matter to me now .”
If it weren’t for the insightful barrage, Shi Ning might have actually believed his feigned indifference. She angrily pinched his abdominal muscles. “Why are you pretending! Will you die if you say you’ll be jealous? I didn’t ask you to say…” She couldn’t bring herself to utter the words “imprison her.”
The barrage included her fans and the fans of the male and female protagonists. They knew she could see their comments. What if the protagonists’ fans tried to trick her into doing something foolish? After all, her character was supposedly “stupid,” a “brainless female supporting role.” Even with the barrage, she wasn’t inherently smart; she could only rely on advice to alter the plot.
Qin Heye looked down at the spot on his abdominal muscles where Shi Ning had pinched him, a sudden surge of heat igniting within him. He looked at her intently, his voice muffled. “Will it work if I say it? Will it work if I’m jealous?” His voice was so soft, Shi Ning almost didn’t hear it.
She pinched his abdominal muscles again, harder this time. “Louder! I’m hard of hearing! I can’t hear!”
Qin Heye looked at Shi Ning cautiously, hesitating to speak.
[The villain’s mouth is too hard! Female supporting role, kiss him hard! Kiss him until he softens!]
[Dishonest villain! Keep pinching his abdominal muscles! Pinch hard! No, remove the abdomen!]
[It’s useless, learn from our housekeeper Zhao: Son-in-law, the young lady doesn’t want you.]
Seeing Qin Heye’s continued silence, Shi Ning decided to adopt the barrage’s strategy. “Don’t say it?” she taunted, still pinching his abdomen. “Your wife doesn’t want…”
Before she could finish, Qin Heye’s voice exploded, quick and loud. “Will it work if I say it? Will it work if I’m jealous?” He rushed out the words, fearing that another second of delay would bring the dreaded phrase “his wife doesn’t want him.” He couldn’t bear to hear it.
His rapid response pleased Shi Ning, and her anger dissipated. “How can it be useless? You’re my husband, and I’m your wife. If you say it out loud, there will be no misunderstanding. I’ll even be jealous for you and coax you.”
Qin Heye’s pupils contracted, then expanded. “Coax me?” The formidable Qin Heye, cold and respected by all, the undeniable center of attention, was visibly flattered by Shi Ning’s promise.
Shi Ning’s vanity and desire for conquest were thoroughly satisfied. She smiled and nodded. “Well, I’ll coax you now.” With that, Shi Ning uncapped the lipstick in her hand and twisted it up. Then, using it as a pen, she pressed it against Qin Heye’s chest, beginning to write stroke by stroke.