NWWNL – Chapter 41

The more Yi Yang thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

Xu Xinyi, this woman, was really good. She used to think about the fresh meats, but now she had turned her attention to the kindergarten.

And she wanted to use Xu Weiyin to mess around and find a way to divorce him?

That was a beautiful dream.

When he was angry just now, Yi Yang didn’t think about it very carefully. He just felt that the name Xu Weiyin sounded familiar. But now that he was alone in the study he calmed down and thought about it carefully.

He seemed to remember he was classmates with her in college. They had a short period of communication, but they didn’t have much contact after graduation.

Wait–.

Four years ago, it seemed…

But then if Xu Xinyi hadn’t been messing around today, he really wouldn’t have remembered the woman named Xu Weiyin at all.

So how on earth was Xu Xinyi’s brain circuit constructed to connect the two of them and even make up a child?

Yi Yang sighed powerlessly and leaned back in his chair.

He just wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while, but when he reclined back in his chair, the fatigue swept over him.

In the dead of night, the whole villa was filled with the roar of the thunder storm.

Xu Xinyi lay on the bed, twisting and turning while clutching her quilt.

The clock on the wall was moving steadily towards 12:00.

That narrow-minded Yi Yang had left her an hour ago and still hadn’t come back to bed until now.

She just made a little fuss and he left without saying a word. Was it really interesting to always act so cold and temperamental?

If he had the ability to be angry, why didn’t he have the ability to divorce her?

Host, why did you make that little fuss though?

Xu Xinyi turned over. “All his old lovers outside already have children. What’s wrong with me making a little fuss? If he’s in the right, why is he mad? He clearly has a guilty conscience.”

Life was not easy, Xiao A sighed: Yi Yang asked to have you give birth to his child, obviously he fell in love with you, if you had chosen option one the task would already complete.

Option one?

“So what? I never regret my choices.”

What was option one?

In order to survive, she must endure humiliation from then on. She had to strive to get rid of her vicious image in the hearts of the people around her, get them all to accept her, and get Yi Yang to sincerely fall in love with her. Then, she would get rid of the terrible fate awaiting a villainess using the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world.

At a glance, this option looked like asking to be wronged.

When had she ever let herself be wronged?

Or option two, comply with the plot, continue to do bad things, and follow the path of a vicious woman until Yi Yang was willing to divorce her.

Everything seemed to be going well, she was just stuck on the divorce.

She didn’t understand. When she had done so much, how could Yi Yang refrain from divorcing her?

Was he an M?

Or did he really love her so much now?

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed down.

The heavy winter rain added to the coolness of the night.

Xu Xinyi sat at the head of the bed with a quilt and listened to the patter of rain outside the window while looking at the clock on the wall. Her expression was tangled and hesitant.

Host, shouldn’t you go…

“I’m not going to look for him!”

I’m not finished talking yet. Of course, Xiao A didn’t say that. Instead: But according to your character setting, you are a woman with deep feelings for him. It’s so late and Yi Yang hasn’t come back yet. As his wife, shouldn’t you go and see him?

“Well…” Xu Xinyi thought about it.

You can’t break character now. You’ve been acting for such a long time, if you give up it will be a waste of all your previous efforts.

Xu Xinyi nodded. “What you said is very reasonable. I should go to see him. I can’t fail now!”

She got up and put on her coat and walked to Yi Yang’s study.

The door of the study was half open. As soon as Xu Xinyi came to the door, she saw a figure sitting at the desk.

He was still working so late.

She stood at the doorway of the study, thinking hard about what to say.

An hour ago, they were at loggerheads with each other, and he had walked away angrily, but now he wanted her to come and bow her head.

This damned ‘deep love’ character setting!

Xinyi stood at the door but did not go in. She only cleared her throat and said, “Husband, it’s so late, why don’t you go back to the room to rest?”

There was no sound from the study.

“Just now… I didn’t mean it. Wasn’t it just because I lost my temper when I saw your old lover Xu Weiyin? Will you stop being angry? The only reason why I lost my temper is because I love you so much.”

Xu Xinyi shivered.

These kind and warm words really didn’t suit her. It was so creepy.

There was no response from inside the study.

She had already lowered herself to say such things but why didn’t Yi Yang react at all?

Wasn’t he just too petty?

“Besides, when you talked about giving birth, I just thought that we are still young and have a long road ahead of us. We are in no hurry. Grandpa is in good health and you are still young and strong. Having an heir can wait longer.”

There was still no movement.

Xu Xinyi frowned slightly.

She was already so humble but the dog man was still angry.

He really couldn’t tell good from bad!

If she had known, she wouldn’t have come.

She poked her head past the door and opened her mouth to speak again but then she saw Yi Yang, who was sitting behind the desk, more clearly. He was leaned back against his office chair and his eyes were closed as if he were asleep.

Xu Xinyi lowered her voice, “Husband?”

No response.

“Honey, you didn’t die suddenly, did you?”

She tiptoed into the room.

Yi Yang usually had a heavy workload so it was normal for him to only get to sleep in the early AM. Thinking of this, Xu Xinyi stepped forward quickly and put two fingers under the tip of his nose and waited for a while.

It was okay. He was still breathing.

He didn’t suddenly die.

He was breathing slowly and his chest moved regularly up and down. It should be that he was just too tired and fell asleep at his desk.

It seemed that the Yi throne really wasn’t something a person would want. He had worked himself so hard that he couldn’t even respond when she stood right in front of him.

There was another peal of thunder outside the window.

Yi Yang’s eyebrows twitched and he frowned slightly, as if he was going to wake up.

Xu Xinyi was surprised. But since Yi Yang did not hear what she had said before, she did not want to explain why she was here and hurriedly left the study on her tiptoes.

When Yi Yang awakened from his sleep he felt refreshed.

He looked at the time on his watch and was about to get up to go back to the room when he paused.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion but there seemed to be a slightly sweet smell in the air, and he could see the dim hallway outside the half-open door of the study.

It seemed like someone had been here.

Xu Xinyi?

Yi Yang left his study and went back to his room.

Xu Xinyi had fallen asleep on the bed, and there was only a dim light at the head of the bed.

He stood by the bed and examined her for a long time. But Xu Xinyi seemed to be fast asleep and he didn’t find anything unusual.

He supposed it was an illusion.

Yi Yang rubbed his tired eyebrows and lay down.

–“I was scared to death. I thought he had found out.”

Covered by the quilt and wrapped in her faint sweet smell, Yi Yang closed his eyes and smiled knowingly.

———-

It had rained all night and the big tree in front of the bedroom window had shed all of its leaves. A clear sign that they were already in the depths of winter. Soon it would be New Year’s Day.

When Xu Xinyi came downstairs, sleepily rubbing her eyes, everyone else was already at the table.

She sat down beside Yi Yang but, as if she were at odds with him, she ate her breakfast without saying a word.

Old Master Yi and Mrs. Yi made eye contact.

“Xinyi, shouldn’t you rest for a few days now after your work on the drama is over?”

Old Master Yi said that Xu Xinyi’s work on “The Way of the Phoenix” was over, but his words had another meaning in Xu Xinyi’s ears.

She felt guilty for no reason.

“You should take a few days off.”

“That’s right, and you, Yi Yang, you should also take a little rest these next few days. Take a vacation with Xinyi and relax.”

Xu Xinyi and Yi Yang looked up dazedly.

The two looked at each other.

“Grandpa, I… I still have some promotional work to do.”

“You still have to work? Didn’t you just say you were going to take a few days off?”

Yi Yang put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, “Grandpa, I have too much work to do right now. I can’t spare the time.”

Old Master Yi frowned. “Are you really so busy every day these days? You can’t even take a few days off to relax?”

“The company always has a lot of things to do at the end of the month, so I can’t get out of working for the time being,” he said. Then, looking at Xu Xinyi, he continued. “Let’s talk about it again after the New Year.”

Xu Xinyi nodded hurriedly.

“I’ve finished eating. I’ll head to the office first.”

“Be careful on the way. Don’t stay out too late. Try to come back early.” Mrs. Yi worried.

Yi Yang nodded and looked over at Xu Xinyi.

Xu Xinyi saw his look out of the corner of her eye, she looked up at him and smiled, “Good-bye, husband.”

Yi Yang walked out with large strides.

“Xinyi, Yi Yang explained to us clearly what happened last night. It’s fine, we both understand.”

Xu Xinyi had a bad feeling. That dog man, Yi Yang, didn’t play any tricks, did he?

“He explained?”

“You’re still pretending to be confused. Didn’t you say all that because you want to get pregnant now that you’ve finished filming?”

Sure enough.

“Mom, I… I did say something like that before, but I have a lot of work on my plate right now, so I think we’ll have to take our time with the baby.”

“OK, you can take it slow if you want. We won’t interfere between the affairs of you husband and wife,” Mrs. Yi sighed. “Xinyi, to be honest with you, I had thought you and Yi Yang were just pretending to be in love for the sake of Dad’s health. But now that I see that you two have a good relationship, I feel relieved.”

Xu Xinyi looked over at Old Master Yi in shock.

Did grandpa know about them pretending to be in love?

The Old Master said with a smile, “You young people like to play the same tricks that I played myself back when I was young, when I wanted to put on a show in front of my grandfather. Grandpa saw through you a long time ago! But that doesn’t matter. The past is in the past and we don’t have to bother with it. The important thing is that in the future, grandpa will be waiting to see his great grandson!”

Xu Xinyi had an awkward smile on her face.

It was all over. Now he was talking about giving birth.

———

Afraid of hearing words about giving birth again at home, Xu Xinyi quickly fled to the company to take refuge after breakfast.

Anya’s first sentence when she saw her was to ask her, “Did anything happen last night?”

Xu Xinyi stammered a bit but finally said: “I couldn’t help myself last night, so I asked him some questions.”

“You asked him? Didn’t I tell you to pretend you didn’t know anything?”

“As soon as I saw him, I couldn’t help it.”

Anya snapped, “And then what?”

Xu Xinyi frowned. “He was very angry, and then he left.”

Anya looked at Xu Xinyi with a pair of eyes that said ‘You are hopeless’ all over them.

“Anya, what should I do?”

“Don’t ask me now, Xu Xinyi. If he didn’t divorce you already, it must mean Yi Yang loves you deeply.”

Xu Xinyi sighed heavily.

In the future, Xu Weiyin would definitely try to come between the two of them. She could only hope that Yi Yang would change his mind then.

“Oh right!” Anya seemed to suddenly remember something. She hurried to her desk and picked up a document. “I almost forgot such an important thing after you interrupted me.”

“What’s this?”

“See for yourself.”

Xu Xinyi took a look.

It was a termination document.

“They want to terminate the contract?”

It was a termination document sent by a cosmetics brand. Xu Xinyi had been working with this cosmetic brand for three years. Three years ago, Xu Xinyi was an unknown actress and this cosmetic brand was also unknown. Now, three years later, Xu Xinyi had gained some fame and the cosmetic brand had gradually occupied a large market share.

It could be said that she and this brand grew up together, so Xu Xinyi cherished it.

When the contract expired recently, she expected that it would be renewed. But the representative of the company did not send a contract to be renewed, instead, a termination document was sent.

“Why?”

Anya sneered. “What else could it be? They want to change their spokesperson.”

“Change the spokesperson? Who are they changing to?”

“Xu Weiyin.”

“What?” Xu Xinyi could not believe it. She looked at Anya with surprise, “Xu Weiyin robbed my endorsement?” Did the company give a reasonable explanation?”

“What reasonable explanation? They only spoke a bunch of evasive and official-sounding words. “

Xu Xinyi grimaced.

“And one more thing.”

“Didn’t you have a magazine shoot next week?”

“Yes, why? What happened?”

“The editor-in-chief of the magazine said that the magazine might be replacing you with Xu Weiyin next week.”

Xu Xinyi was shocked, “Why?”

“The editor said that they have a male star who is going to be co-filmed on that issue, but the male star said that he didn’t want to work with you, so they changed to Xu Weiyin.”

“A male star? Who has such a grudge against me?”

Anya said heavily, “You should know him, Xie Chi.”

Xu Xinyi closed her eyes.

It seemed a person really couldn’t avoid their enemies.

And misfortunes never came alone.

The matter with this Xie Chi was really her sin.

Anya pondered for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure whether or not to say the next thing.

“Xinyi, there’s one more thing.”

“Stop it,” said Xu Xinyi, while theatrically clutching her heart. “Let me adjust a bit first.”

Anya said heavily, “Let’s just face the reality sooner.”

“…go ahead.”

“Various movies and TV dramas that we had contacted before have all rejected us, saying that Xu Weiyin is more suitable.”

“Xu Weiyin is more suitable?” Xu Xinyi spoke like she had heard a joke, “Anya, don’t hide it from me, just tell me what they said.”

“What can I say? They said that they feel that Xu Weiyin has now returned home. She has her fan base from four years ago, her temperament is similar to yours, and…”

“And she doesn’t have as many rumors and scandals, right?” Xu Xinyi gritted her teeth.

This Xu Weiyin wanted to rob her husband and now she also wanted to rob her endorsements and TV series?

She could bear it when her husband was robbed but she couldn’t bear when someone snatched her endorsements.

Xu Weiyin made such a big move against her as soon as she came back. Did she really think Xu Xinyi was a vegetarian?

“Take it easy, Xinyi. I think there’s someone behind Xu Weiyin, otherwise, she wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant. I’ve been paying special attention to the movements of the paparazzi in the next circle these two days and do you know what those paparazzi have photographed?”

“What?”

Anya handed a stack of photos over, it was full of Xu Weiyin.

In one, Xu Weiyin got off from a luxury car. In another, Xu Weiyin came out of a mansion.

“As soon as this woman returned to China, she started living in a luxury house and driving a luxury car. And she started rampantly snatching endorsements and scripts. It’s too much! You tell me, who do you think she’s with?”

Xu Xinyi looked at Maybach in the photo and her eyes flashed with an imperceptible cold light.

——–

Eight o’clock that night.

The darkness of night fell so heavily that there was no glimmer of light.

The wind was cold and there were few passers-by on the street.

Xu Weiyin, who had just finished recording an interview show, was sitting in a car with her eyes closed to recuperate.

“Sister Weiyin, you performed very well today. I saw many viewers who were on set were moved to tears. I believe that after this program gets broadcast, you will gain a large number of fans.”

Xu Weiyin, kept her eyes closed, and replied. “The audience likes to hear people tell sad stories about the past. As long as you tear open your bloody wound and show it off in front of them, they will shed some tears and become kind like the Virgin Mary. Even if they had never heard of you before, they will love you, care about you, and want to protect you from now on.”

She opened her eyes and asked, “What about the endorsements and the shooting of the magazine?”

“The brand invited us to sign on with them this weekend, and the editor-in-chief of the magazine said we could shoot in the studio next Tuesday.”

“Good. Keep an eye on it yourself and let me know as soon as you hear anything.”

“Alright.”

“By the way, I asked you to pass Han Xiao the script for that movie. Did you do it?”

“Yes.”

“What did Han Xiao say?”

“His team replied that Han Xiao was taking a rest and would not be taking any scripts for the time being.”

“Not taking any scripts?” Xu Weiyin frowned slightly. “How could he possibly not take the script? Didn’t he say on that show that he would not give up on any interesting scripts?” 

“I’ll contact his team again tomorrow.”

Xu Weiyin nodded.

Then her phone rang.

Xu Weiyin saw the caller ID, and answered in a gentle tone, “Hey, baby, what’s wrong? Afraid of the dark? Don’t be afraid, just let auntie accompany you first, mommy is still busy right now and it may take a while to come back. If you obediently go to bed at night, mommy will take you out to play this weekend, okay? Be good. Mommy loves you. “

The assistant hung up her phone for her and asked, “Sister Weiyin, are you going back to the apartment?”

Xu Weiyin thought for a moment and shook her head. “No, the other place.”

The assistant understood and gave the driver a location.

Half an hour later, Xu Weiyin, wearing sunglasses and a mask, entered a quiet and stylish high-end villa area.

She used her fingerprint to unlock it and then opened the door.

The room was warm. Xu Weiyin took off her coat, put it over her arm, and went upstairs. She pushed open the door of the study.

“Mr. Jiang*, I’m coming in.”

————————–

The entertainment industry would decide if something big was big or if it was small, or if something small was actually not small. And right now everyone knew that there was a bit of something stirring in the wind.

Xu Xinyi’s endorsements had been robbed one after another, her place on a magazine cover had been changed, and people in the circle were all telling stories about the scripts she had missed recently all over the place.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that there was someone behind Xu Weiyin, otherwise, she would not have been able to easily snatch so many resources after being away for four years.

She was clearly trying to step on Xu Xinyi to make a comeback.

It was not something anyone wanted to mess with.

“Xinyi, there may be no room to negotiate regarding the endorsement. The magazine has also said that they have already released a notice and it is impossible to change. As for the scripts we were looking at…”

“If there is no room for negotiation regarding the endorsement, then forget it. There is no need to contact the magazine, and the scripts can be put aside for the time being.” Xu Xinyi spoke with a rare dignified expression.

“Xinyi, have you made up your mind?”

“Xu Weiyin came well prepared. We can’t fight her. Since we can’t fight her, let’s not waste time on these things.” Xu Xinyi said with a smile: “This is the way it is in the entertainment industry. If you have a strong backing, you can do whatever you want. If you have no backing, you can only be beaten and wait patiently.”

“What do you want to do next? Xu Weiyin is not a nice person, so we have to be careful.”

“Xu Weiyin is not a nice person, but am I? Do two things for me,” Xu Xinyi said.” First, help me keep an eye on Xu Weiyin and find out who is behind her. Second, make an appointment with CEO Gao of Tianyu for me tomorrow. I will settle the contract for Jiang Nian. “

“Alright.”

Looking Anya’s solemn face, Xu Xinyi smiled breezily and said, “Don’t worry, I’m still here.”

The next day, Xu Xinyi successfully met with CEO Gao. Because of Yi Yang’s interference when Xu Xinyi terminated her contract, CEO Gao thought that Yi Yang was her backer.

When Xu Xinyi said that she had come to solve a contract problem regarding Jiang Nian, a small star, CEO Gao agreed to Xu Xinyi’s request without saying a word.

The whole process was friendly.

After settling the contract, Xu Xinyi made a phone call to inform Jiang Nian of the matter and asked him when he could come to the studio to sign the contract.

“I’m free all the time,” Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment but then asked, “Sister Xinyi, I’ve heard some rumors about you recently…”

Xu Xinyi raised his eyebrows and said, “What? You think I’m in trouble and don’t want to sign? It doesn’t matter. It’s fine if you don’t sign on. If you want to…”

“No, Sister Xinyi, I didn’t mean that!” Jiang Nian interrupted anxiously. “I just wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help.”

Xu Xinyi smiled, “It’s alright, this is my business and you can’t help me with it anyway. But don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll send you an address and then tomorrow you can head to the studio by yourself. I’ll ask Anya to prepare the contract for you.”

With that, she hung up the phone.

Jiang Nian looked silently at his phone that had been hung-up. His face was hard.

After taking the time to settle Jiang Nian’s matters, it was already ten o’clock at night when Xu Xinyi got home.

Xu Xinyi was tired but she still forced her eyes open and watched all the news about Xu Weiyin from the past two or three months.

Now that the battle between her and Xu Weiyin had begun, she needed to know herself and know her enemy before she could fight a hundred battles.

Xu Weiyin was on an interview program.

The fans could be heard shouting in the background.

Xu Weiyin slowly analyzed her love history from that year and said bluntly that she regretted it.

Xu Xinyi took a look at some entertainment news. It was a piece of news that summed up Xu Weiyin’s interview program.

On the program, Xu Weiyin talked about going abroad and said bluntly that she was young and too impulsive. She said that she had met the right person but at the wrong age, which was the biggest regret of her life.

The host joked around and tried to find out who the mysterious man was. Even though Xu Weiyin was secretive the host still dug out a lot of information from her few words.

Male, about 28 years old, from a good family, was already the head of the company at a young age, once gave her a global limited edition sports car as a proposal, but she refused.

While she was looking at the information revealed by Xu Weiyin, the more Xu Xinyi saw it, the more she felt that it was the dog man called Yi Yang!

Although it was only mentioned unclearly in the novel, now she saw that there was a period of time that the dog man called Yi Yang had clearly lied to her about!

That kid could really be his!

“Madam, we’ve arrived.”

Xu Xinyi returned to her senses and put away her cell phone. “Thank you.”

She got out of the car and walked inside.

The Old Master and Mrs. Yi both kept a stable schedule. Now they had already gone back to their rooms to rest and the whole villa was very quiet.

Xu Xinyi adjusted her mood and went upstairs.

“I’m back.” When Xu Xinyi spoke it was clear she was not in high spirits.

Yi Yang looked up at her. “What’s the matter?”

Xu Xinyi took off her coat and laid it down on the sofa. She seemed as if she had been badly beaten. She leaned weakly against Yi Yang’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist. When she spoke she sounded very insecure, “Husband, will you abandon me?”

“Hmm?”

“I feel so tired. I don’t know what to do next. I know that between me and her, you will choose her.” Xu Xinyi muttered to himself, “Yes, she is so beautiful, so excellent, while I… although I am a little better than her, the relationship between you and me is not as good as the one between you and her.”

Yi Yang’s eyebrows tightened.

“Yi Yang, I don’t want to fight. I can’t compete with her. She is too powerful and resourceful. I am like a blank piece of paper in front of her**. I throw in the towel.”

“Xu Xinyi, did she bully you?”

Xu Xinyi tears streamed down, “She did not bully me. Although Xu Weiyin robbed me of my endorsement and my scripts, but because I didn’t fight with her for them, I do not blame her.”

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*First, yes this is the same Jiang(江) as in Jiang Nian’s name (江念). Second she calls him ‘先生’ which as far as I can tell it just a generic respectful term for someone older than you – hence ‘Mr.’

**I looked it up and when she says she is ‘like a blank piece of paper’ my understanding is that it means that she is more simple and untainted by the world – i.e. she doesn’t have as many tricks and schemes as Xu Weiyin

tl note: Tomorrow is father’s day and I’m going to spend time with my father so not sure if I’ll get the next chapter up or not. We’ll see.