Chapter 41

Decision made, they continued working until the end of the day.
During work, Wen Jiu sent Qin Yao a WeChat: Miss, are you dining with Chu Yan tomorrow?
Qin Yao, sensitive in matters of love: No… could it be,
But on Chu Yan matters, the young lady’s brain was all romance: I don’t think he would cheat.
Worried the young lady might slip back into the “villainess supporting character” mindset, Wen Jiu quickly interrupted: Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll keep a close eye on him. If anything happens, I’ll investigate and tell you immediately.
Better for her to take the lead than the young lady.
Qin Yao: Mm.
Qin Yao: Transferring 50,000 yuan.
Qin Yao: Work can be tiring, this is your winter allowance.
Wen Jiu: !!!
Wen Jiu: Thank you, Miss
She had heard of high-temperature allowances, housing allowances, and meal allowances, but this was her first winter allowance.
Suddenly, the gray, barren view outside seemed brighter.
Going to work felt effortless!
Not tiring at all!!
She immediately transferred 10,000 to Lan Mingyan.
Lan Mingyan, working at her desk, nearly fell out of her chair when the WeChat notification popped up.
Three months of experience had made her steady at work, but a surprise transfer from a friend still caught her off guard.
“Wen Jiu, what’s this?” she whispered, afraid to disturb anyone.
“Winter allowance from the young lady. She gave me 50,000; I’m giving you 10,000.”
Lan Mingyan hugged her phone to her chest. “Waaah, I actually get some too?”
“Yes, you do.”
Growth in the president’s office was fast. Lan Mingyan understood from Wen Jiu’s explanation that the 50,000 was all for Wen Jiu, but she voluntarily shared one-fifth with her!
“Wen Jiu, you’ll always be my best friend!”
“This time I’ll definitely help you figure out the reason for Chu Yan’s odd behavior and give the young lady an answer.”
Wen Jiu: “……”
The young lady was still too righteous, giving the illusion that the male lead was already guilty.
Assistant Li didn’t give Wen Jiu any tasks, so she didn’t know what to do all day. After helping Lan Mingyan with some work, she realized it was faster to do it herself, so she returned the tasks.
Just then, the lawyer Wen Jiu borrowed from the Qin family replied, and she checked the email.
The young lady’s subordinates worked especially fast.
The lawyer she borrowed last night had already found the target this morning and contacted the poster. By the afternoon, the lawyer’s notice arrived.
The phone call came before the lawyer’s letter, probably because the poster didn’t expect they would hit a steel plate.
Last night, seeing Su Yaoyao’s comment section in chaos, the poster’s dark, twisted thoughts had kept them awake.
This morning, still reluctant to get up, they stayed in bed. When the call came, their face showed displeasure, but hearing the content, they felt guilty and didn’t even think the other party was lying.
Swallowing nervously, they wanted to hang up, but then got an email from the editor.
The post was already deleted by the platform, but about the apology…
No. They couldn’t apologize. They were just venting, even for the platform’s and majority’s benefit. Many agreed, so why attack Su Yaoyao’s comment section?!
Before calming down, they first received the lawyer’s notice, uneasy.
Usually, they threw mud and provoked fights online without expecting lawsuits. Panic-stricken, they finally chose to apologize and compensate.
Once the real-name apology appeared, copycat haters in Su Yaoyao’s comment section quickly fled.
But Little Green River required review for comment deletion; stubborn commenters couldn’t continue and endured every second of torment waiting for removal.
The truth revealed, Su Yaoyao hid alone in her room, crying.
She didn’t tell Wen Jiu, but Wen Jiu could guess.
Wen Jiu: I’ll have someone pick you up in Haicheng. Come to Beicheng and hang out with me for the next few days. I feel really lonely living alone.
Wen Jiu was referring to her hotel suite on the top floor, there was plenty of space for Su Yaoyao. She had eight months left in her stay.
Without Wen Jiu, Su Yaoyao hadn’t even used ice or warm eggs to reduce the swelling around her eyes, they were still red from last night’s crying.
Seeing the flood of apologies just now, knowing Wen Jiu had done this for her, she was moved and continued to cry silently.
She wouldn’t wail loudly; her tears fell one by one, projected onto the screen, strikingly beautiful.
Su Yaoyao: Jiujiu, you’re too good.
Su Yaoyao: Jiujiu, I’ll come to Beicheng right away. You won’t be lonely anymore!
She didn’t send a voice message, as her crying would be obvious.
Even so, Wen Jiu could still tell she was quietly wiping her tears.
Wen Jiu: Don’t cry, go eat. It’s too hot; don’t use ice to reduce swelling, use eggs instead.
Wen Jiu: I’ll have my boyfriend pick you up. His name is Shen Xingzhou, chestnut curly hair, 185 cm tall. If you’re unsure, take a photo and send it to me, don’t let anyone take you away.
Su Yaoyao: Okay (flower emoji.jpg)
Pulling herself together from her emotions, Su Yaoyao’s eyes locked on the three words: “my boyfriend.”
Wen Jiu’s boyfriend, she had never heard him mentioned before. Was he important? Or not important?
A sense of hesitation when facing a stranger arose. Su Yaoyao opened the window, breathed in the cold air, and bolstered her courage.
She needed to overcome it, she had to get to Beicheng quickly.
When the president’s office didn’t have overtime, everyone left work on time. No one stayed behind.
Wen Jiu and Lan Mingyan lingered five extra minutes. The office was otherwise empty, making the two of them highly conspicuous.
Li Xuan knew from assigning Wen Jiu’s workstation again that Mrs. President had other plans. When he stepped out and saw the two peeking around, he said nothing and simply gestured for them to follow.
Chu Yan closed his eyes as soon as he got in the car. His long fingers were interlaced on his lap, his long legs resting quietly under the seat. In the dim light, his sharply defined face looked as cold as the wind outside.
Wen Jiu muted her phone and quietly took a photo to report the journey to the young lady.
Just as she finished typing, Chu Yan opened his eyes.
His icy gaze met hers briefly, subtly revealing curiosity about Wen Jiu.
Not a man-woman curiosity, but the curiosity of an animal in a zoo seeing a new creature for the first time.
The male lead’s thoughts were always hard to predict. Chu Yan, Ji Yanting, Su Heng, none of them were simple. Every glance felt like her brain might explode, a hundred impressions swirling at once.
Su Tan was younger and less subtle. The only predictable one left was Ji Yujing, whose thoughts were always written plainly on his face.
At first, she thought Ji Yujing was a paranoid, dark secondary male lead, but later realized he was a stubborn, naive sweetheart.
“Afterwards, Miss Wen, you’ll come with me to meet someone.”
Chu Yan’s voice startled her.
Wen Jiu pointed to herself. “Me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Nothing unusual happened at the dinner, just a regular business meal. At most, a toast, no vulgarities.
Having arrived and found nothing unusual, Wen Jiu focused on eating.
Lan Mingyan mainly focused on observing, ears perked, smiling softly, occasionally checking her notes.
Li Xuan didn’t even glance at Wen Jiu, only nodding at Lan Mingyan’s performance, thinking she was a promising junior.
When the dinner ended, Lan Mingyan reverted to her usual lively self.
During a restroom break, she grabbed Wen Jiu. “Do you know who you’re meeting with Chu Yan? If there’s danger, call me immediately.”
“If Assistant Li doesn’t offer to take me back, I’ll take a taxi and follow you behind.”
Being escorted by Li Xuan was practically surveillance, so she couldn’t directly follow.
Wen Jiu patted her chest. “Don’t worry.” The male lead didn’t know yet.
Feeling that the truth behind the male lead’s recent odd behavior was about to be revealed, Wen Jiu was energized the whole way.
She didn’t even need to wait until tomorrow, tonight, she would find out.
Chu Yan brought her to a luxury residential area. The car stopped in the underground garage, and the two took the elevator directly to the floor.
With one apartment per floor, the door of the unit was already open as if the owner had been expecting them.
“Chu Yan, you’re here.”
“Why…did you bring someone else?”
A clear female voice came from inside. Upon seeing Wen Jiu, the tone broke slightly.
“Who is she?” The woman pointed at Wen Jiu as she asked Chu Yan.
Wen Jiu looked at Chu Yan. She also wanted to know, who was this woman?
Had the male lead really cheated on the young lady?!
Hadn’t they just registered their marriage three months ago?
Although the facts were unclear, Wen Jiu couldn’t stop cursing him in her mind.
“She’s probably like you. You two can talk first.”
Every word Chu Yan said made sense individually, but together they were a riddle.
“Wen Jiu, she’s Yaoyao’s attendant. She’s different from how you described the book.”
“You said Qin Yao is the female supporting character. You’re calling her by her nickname, so intimate, this could collapse the world.
And how could you mention the ‘book’ in front of this paper-thin stranger?”
The woman hurriedly tried to cover Chu Yan’s mouth, but he stepped back, avoiding her touch.
Casually, he pushed Wen Jiu into the flustered woman’s embrace.
It was the first time Wen Jiu had been held by a stranger.
From these few sentences, she already had a rough picture, but didn’t know if the woman’s intentions were good or bad.
She lifted her head and smiled slightly. “Hi?”
The woman, pushing Wen Jiu away, still didn’t scold her.
“Come with me.”
Wen Jiu followed, asking, “Sister, do you need to change shoes?”
The woman’s expression twisted again, unable to comprehend Wen Jiu’s logic. “Whatever.”
Opening the shoe cabinet, Wen Jiu found no guest slippers and had to keep her own shoes on.
Sitting on the sofa, the woman politely poured her a cup of tea.
“You’re also a transmigrator?”
Wen Jiu choked on her water. She swallowed with difficulty and laughed awkwardly. “So straightforward?”
“I’m the author of Mistook the Boss for My Boyfriend. I’ve been in this book for five years. This world has restarted five times, roughly once a year.”
Wen Jiu opened her mouth. “Ah?”
“You’re transmigrated, but I understand that this time you paired the female supporting character with the male lead.”
Wen Jiu meekly: “I never said I am a transmigrator.”
The author’s gaze was sharp, like when they first met at the door.
Wen Jiu quietly retracted her denial. “Fine, I am.”
Everyone now spoke openly.
“What do you mean by ‘restart’?” Wen Jiu asked directly.
The author thought for a moment. “I’ve been pondering this for five years. I believe it’s due to the male and female lead. This world is based on my book, which centers on their relationship. If their relationship experiences irreversible change, divorce, betrayal, cheating, the world collapses.”
“At the normal timeline, the male and female leads would have completed their story and be preparing for their wedding. The following six months aren’t in my book, so I don’t know what happens.”
“Whenever I hear online rumors in the last two months, saying the story of the Chu CEO and the President’s wife, like Cinderella marrying into a wealthy family, is fantasy, the world collapses.
Can you imagine dedicating yourself to this world for twelve months, building it from scratch, only to have friends, family, and partners from previous cycles treat you as a stranger?”
The woman was not only sharp but borderline crazy.
Wen Jiu quickly poured her some warm water. “Author, please, take a sip and calm down.
No hurry. Slowly. The world isn’t destroyed yet, it’s all fine.”
Wen Jiu regretted choosing her university major; she should have been a preschool teacher instead of this “pitfall” profession.
After a sip, the woman’s mood stabilized slightly.
“In the fifth restart, I finally appeared before the male lead. He outwardly didn’t trust me but didn’t dare to deny me either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have arranged a residence for me.”
Wen Jiu glanced around. Like the young lady, the male lead was generous; both spouses loved giving houses.
But hers was a gift from the young lady, with property papers. The male lead didn’t know.
“I told him, the male lead and the female supporting character cannot be together. The world could collapse at any moment. Only if he and the female lead maintain a proper marriage can the world continue.”
Wen Jiu finally understood why the male lead had changed when the young lady returned.
He wanted to approach but dared not, fearing everything would vanish like foam. Beneath his icy exterior, he was this way.
Indeed, one could never guess the male lead’s thoughts, who would have thought he truly cherished the young lady?
So their marriage registration was genuine!
“That’s not right, according to what you’re saying, wouldn’t Chu Yan have to divorce the young lady and marry Lan Mingyan instead?” Wen Jiu realized belatedly.
The author nodded, firm. “That’s the only way to keep the world from collapsing.”
Suddenly, she caught on to a certain word and veered off topic. “Why do you call Qin Yao ‘Young lady’?”
Wen Jiu answered matter-of-factly, “Because I’m her lackey.”
The woman still couldn’t understand. “You’re a transmigrator. To you, they’re all paper characters. You’re on a higher level, don’t you feel this is undignified?”
Wen Jiu blinked and replied without hesitation, “Not at all.”
“The young lady treats me incredibly well. She pays me thirty-five thousand a month. If I say she’s in a good mood, she casually gives me a 1,000-yuan red packet. If I compliment her looks, that’s another 2,000… This is all everyday stuff. Even the clothes I wear, head to toe, all designer, were bought by the young lady.”
For a brief moment, the author opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound. As Wen Jiu spoke, her head tilted slightly, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
They were both transmigrators. She was even the biological “mother,” the author herself, yet she’d gone through five world resets and was on the verge of madness.
Wen Jiu, a random passerby, on the other hand, ate well, slept soundly, had food practically fed to her mouth, and lived an absurdly comfortable life.
The author who had experienced five resets cast Wen Jiu a quiet glance. “You’re really lucky.”
“So if the young lady were truly the vicious character from the book, why would she give money just because her lackey talks sweetly, or treat her so well in all sorts of ways? That proves the young lady is a living, breathing person with her own thoughts, not some rigid ‘paper character’ like you say.
When a novel becomes a world, everyone in it is alive and thinking for themselves. Like earlier, when the male lead dodged you and didn’t let you touch him, it doesn’t necessarily mean he was following your setup of guarding his virtue for the female lead. It could’ve been for the young lady, or maybe he’s just a clean freak.”
The author pressed her lips together. “That detail didn’t need to be mentioned.”
“Oh, right, do you know this world has also fused The Film Emperor’s White Moonlight Stand-In and Everyone Loves the Popular Female Supporting Character?”
The author frowned. “Those weren’t there before. Did they appear after this reset?”
Wen Jiu spread her hands. “I don’t know either.”
“So now it’s not just the characters, even the novels are different. You can’t focus solely on Chu Yan and the young lady.”
The author took another sip of water. “You’re the young lady Qin Yao’s lackey. Since you managed to matchmake her with Chu Yan, there must be some genuine affection there.
Chu Yan is too smart. After getting the full plot from me, he actually figured out that you were the transmigrator and even brought you here to see me.
If there really are two other books running, then as long as those operate properly, your young lady doesn’t need to separate from Chu Yan. That outcome should be what you want.”
Wen Jiu: “……”
That was true, but the remaining two books…Anyone could tell the author was teetering on the edge of an emotional breakdown, swinging between hysteria and calm.
How was Wen Jiu supposed to tell her that the developments of the remaining books had also been altered beyond recognition?
“I think that in a world derived from romance novels, the core is love,” Wen Jiu said, carefully steering the conversation. “Even if the male and female leads get together, once the marriage falls apart, the world collapses. It’s not about the people, it’s about their feelings.”
Avoiding the topic of the other two books, Wen Jiu took a long detour to guide the author along her thinking. “As long as we maintain the relationship between the young lady and the male lead, let it progress smoothly, the world won’t collapse, because they’ve formed ‘the protagonists’ love.’”
“You make sense,” the author agreed.
More importantly, she could see that Chu Yan would rather bring Wen Jiu here than divorce Qin Yao and marry Lan Mingyan. Forcing things back onto her original plotline was simply impossible. She knew her own male lead, stubborn as a mule.
“Actually, I’m also the author of The Film Emperor’s White Moonlight Stand-In and Everyone Loves the Popular Female Supporting Character. Since you know about them, what’s the current state of the romantic plotlines in those two books?”
The room was warm. Wen Jiu felt her lips drying again and took two more sips of water.
“How about you open your phone and check Wen Ling’s Weibo, her most recent post.”
Author: ?
“Wen Ling publicly supporting Yue Ling? And Yue Ling and Ji Yanting actually have scandal rumors?”
Author: ??
The author looked at the screen, then at Wen Jiu, repeating this motion three times before realization dawned. “It was you again?!”
Having dismantled CPs right in front of their creator, Wen Jiu felt a bit guilty, but thinking of the young lady who treated her so well, she straightened up.
“I already told you, once characters exist in reality, they change on their own. Your ‘pure and flawless gentleman’ Ji Yanting, aside from his looks and physique, nothing about him fits. His heart is black.
Logically speaking, if he were truly noble and unstained, how could he secure control of the Ji family in just three months?
Meanwhile, our young lady Yue Ling, a top university graduate student, didn’t become that with a single sentence. That was ten years of hard study. She’s level-headed and nothing like the obsessive love-brain in your book. Even without my interference, Yue Ling wouldn’t have destroyed Ji Yanting and Wen Ling’s relationship.”
As Wen Jiu spoke, a sudden clarity struck her. “I get it now. Following this logic, if Yue Ling made any move, it was probably Ji Yanting manipulating things behind the scenes. He really is that black-hearted.
Author, reality doesn’t follow scripts. If you let this book’s male lead act freely, once the female supporting character exits and he locks someone up for forced love, the world will still collapse.”
Author: “……”
She asked sincerely, “How are you this good at making connections? Are you sure you’re not in the same line of work?”
Wen Jiu replied, “Not at all. I’m just an ordinary wage worker. It’s just that my boss doesn’t pay me, so I carry a lot of resentment.”
“Author, now you understand why I firmly stand with the young lady, right? Compared to my boss, she really gives way too much!”
The author was silent for two seconds. “I agree, she gives a lot. If you’re willing to bring me in, I won’t instigate the male lead to get together with the female lead.”
“Author, what’s your name? Come work with me. I’ll split my salary with you. I also know a place that’s perfect for you, you can fully put your talents to use there.”
Writers stuck together. Once things settled, Wen Jiu could even send her to Lin Yu’s studio as an editor, working on game worldbuilding and storylines.