Mu Yue flipped through the novel and discovered that at the XX gala, there were countless scenes in which a group of women targeted the heroine. The sequence of events and the usual clichés were more or less the same: mocking and humiliating her, throwing water on her, ruining her dress, drugging her, and so on.
Mu Yue found the most interesting part was the verbal abuse. Usually, the heroine would simply listen in silence, suffer her grievances alone, and then, once word reached the male lead, he would give her new opportunities or help her get even. After all, although she was only his stand-in, she was still not someone others could bully at will while under his protection.
If the torment went beyond words and became physical, the male lead would show up to defend her. As for drugging her, that was even more straightforward—obviously, it would lead to the male lead doing this and that with her.
The male lead’s reason was that he couldn’t stand seeing that face treated so badly. Even if she was only a stand-in, it was still unacceptable.
Hmm… Judging from what she had read, the heroine didn’t seem to suffer much at all. In fact, she even seemed to come out ahead.
Mu Yue was becoming more and more interested in this delicate little white-flower heroine. A waiter brought her a freshly cooked steak, and she ate while waiting for the heroine to appear.
Before the heroine arrived, a woman in a red dress carrying a glass of red wine came to Mu Yue’s table. The woman wore exquisite makeup, with slightly upturned outer eye corners. To put it nicely, she looked rather overbearing; to put it less nicely, there was a sharp, unpleasant edge to her features.
“Miss, I’m sorry to bother you. Would you mind if I sat here?” the woman asked with a polite smile.
It was a small round table covered with dark velvet. A vase of flowers sat in the middle, while Mu Yue’s plate of steak already took up nearly half the tabletop. At most, the table could seat two people.
“Go ahead,” Mu Yue replied, then waved for a waiter to clear away her plate.
The woman was about to hand her a business card, but Mu Yue ordered several more dishes from the waiter. The portions at this auction were pitifully small, and she was nowhere near full.
The woman in red still wore a polite smile, but inwardly she felt rather disdainful. What was this place? It wasn’t a restaurant, so why had this person come here to eat?
She had spotted Mu Yue from a distance and found herself unable to look away from that face. So young and beautiful—if she could sign her to the company, she would certainly be praised for her ability.
Only after ordering her food did Mu Yue turn her attention to the woman. The woman began introducing herself. She was an agent from an entertainment company, and she asked whether Mu Yue had any interest in entering the entertainment industry.
“Not interested,” Mu Yue refused.
The woman hadn’t expected such a blunt rejection, but then she suddenly said, “Eating like that will make your stomach show later. You won’t look as good on camera.”
Mu Yue turned to stare at her. “???”
The woman looked as though she had a great deal of experience. “Cameras are very unforgiving. If a woman wants to be beautiful, she has to know how to restrain herself. Even if you don’t want to become an actress, you should still manage your figure properly. Otherwise, men won’t—”
Mu Yue laughed in exasperation. “Excuse me, but who exactly are you?”
Several people were approaching Mu Yue’s table. Leading them was the property manager assigned to her, accompanied by a few others who wanted to make her acquaintance.
In fact, the seating arrangements at this auction were quite particular. Owners like Mu Yue were assigned to specific areas, while the invited business representatives and celebrities each had their own designated sections. As for Mu Yue, at such a young age, she already owned an entire floor worth 180 million yuan. How could she not attract attention?
Mu Yue’s expression was clearly less than pleased. The property manager discreetly glanced at the visibly flustered woman in red before asking Mu Yue in a gentle voice, “Miss Mu, is there anything I can help you with?”
The woman in red nervously clenched her hands. Mu Yue’s gaze was fixed on her, and the manager and the others who had come over were looking at her as well.
She felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles. Yet she had already realized that Mu Yue’s identity was far from ordinary, and she didn’t want to leave. All she could do was give Mu Yue an awkward smile.
[+300 Comeback Points]
Mu Yue raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Had she actually run into one of the characters on her own?
She ignored the woman and exchanged a few brief pleasantries with the people the manager had brought over. Before long, a pile of business cards had accumulated on the table. The titles printed on them made the woman in red’s eyes practically stick to the cards.
Mu Yue’s food arrived, so the others stopped disturbing her and tactfully left. Before departing, however, they all gave the woman in red strange looks. It wasn’t anything complicated—this woman had some nerve. The table had been reserved exclusively for Miss Mu, and she had clearly come over to strike up a conversation. She had apparently displeased Miss Mu, yet even now, when Miss Mu was about to eat, she still refused to leave.
Miss Mu was young and simply too polite.
Mu Yue picked up her utensils and, as if she had only just noticed, looked at the woman. “You’re still here? Oh, I know. You’re waiting until I start eating so you can continue telling me how women need to maintain their figures or they’ll never get married, right?”
The woman hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, of course not—”
Mu Yue didn’t even listen to the rest and interrupted her. “I’m curious. In what capacity do you think you have the right to lecture me?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, Miss Mu. I’m just not very good with words.”
“If you already know you’re not good with words, then why do you keep opening your mouth and saying whatever you please?” Mu Yue smiled, then turned cold in an instant. “You’re still not leaving? Do I have to have someone escort you out?”
The woman finally left.
Mu Yue found it rather baffling. With that level of social awareness and emotional intelligence, how had she managed to work in the entertainment industry? And she was an agent, at that?
Whoever became her client was certainly blessed.
As she ate, Mu Yue opened the information sent by the system and was left speechless.
This really was a character from the White Moonlight novel—and not just anyone. She was Wen Xue’s agent, Wen Linlin, her cousin.
She had an ordinary educational background, no connections, and no experience, yet she worked for a major entertainment company as the agent of a second-tier female celebrity like Wen Xue.
Even after leaving, Wen Linlin kept glancing back at Mu Yue. She was both annoyed and jealous. Wasn’t Mu Yue merely rich? What was so impressive about that? No matter how wealthy she was, could she really be richer than Mr. Wei?
And with the way she was dressed, so flashy and provocative, perhaps she was trying to seduce Mr. Wei too!
Seeing Wen Linlin’s ugly expression, several colleagues who knew her began snickering. They mocked her for being both ignorant and lacking in judgment.
“She didn’t even figure out the seating arrangements before rushing over to start a conversation. She should have taken a good look at whether anything about that woman was ordinary.”
“That’s just how she is. Wasn’t Wen Xue’s embarrassment last time, when she wore a knockoff, also thanks to her wonderful agent?”
“Maybe she thought that being pretty meant she was some internet celebrity. She probably figured that once she brought up her identity, the other person would turn around and flatter her. What a joke.”
"Honestly, I can't wrap my head around why Wen Xue would let someone like that be her agent. Everyone else is terrified of their artist causing trouble for them, but she's the complete opposite—she goes out of her way to stir up messes for her own artist every single day."
"Ugh! Looks like she's managed to offend another rich young miss. Wen Xue's in for another unprovoked disaster, that's for sure."
And that was exactly the case. In the original novel, Wen Xue ended up offending no end of people because of her agent's string of baffling, nonsensical moves. The female lead was always furious yet helpless about it. Wen Linlin had been forced onto Wen Xue by the Wen family the second they saw she'd become a big star. They'd threatened to post online and call Wen Xue ungrateful and heartless if she didn't let Wen Linlin stay by her side.
The female lead had put up with her family's leeching meekly back then, and how had that all turned out in the end? Wen Xue had only fed the Wen family's greed. They stopped being satisfied with the small sums of money she sent home, and started eyeing shares in the Wei family's company, even the male lead's entire fortune.
Later on, that Wen Linlin even got bold enough to drug the male lead, hoping to get pregnant by him. After all, they were only cousins, not real sisters—if she had the kid all to herself, she wouldn't have to split the money with anyone. The more benefits she saw the female lead get from the male lead, the more obsessed she grew.
Eventually, she pushed the male lead too far. He flew into a rage, wiped out the entire Wen family in the blink of an eye, and still seething with anger, took the female lead by force twice before things settled down.
The female lead was left heartbroken, her family gone, with no one left to rely on but the male lead—who only ever saw her as a stand-in for someone else.
Mu Yue had just finished reading through the whole plot, and right at that moment, the novel's female lead finally showed up.
The second Wen Xue arrived, the group of women who'd been waiting for her all turned to stare. Wen Xue was led to her seat, and her dear cousin was already sitting there. The moment Wen Xue sat down, Wen Linlin immediately started pouring her tea and handing her water.
Wen Xue gave her a harmless smile and took the cup. "Thank you, cousin."
Everyone who'd seen what just happened earlier couldn't help rolling their eyes, or even snickering out loud. Some laughed at how dumb Wen Xue was, others at how unlucky she was—she had no idea her agent had just gotten her into trouble again, and here she was thanking her.
And to top it all off, as her agent, Wen Linlin hadn't even waited to accompany Wen Xue inside. She'd wandered into the venue all by herself first. It was beyond ridiculous.
Mu Yue finished her meal just as the auction officially started. The scene she'd been waiting for was about to unfold.
The item she'd set her sights on wasn't an antique, nor was it saved for the final auction block. It came up pretty quickly, and since almost no one bid on it, Mu Yue won it easily.
After winning the bid, there was a process to go onstage for a group photo. Mu Yue took the photo, and instead of heading back to her own seat once she stepped off the stage, she walked straight over to Wen Xue's table.
Wen Linlin's expression immediately tensed up, and the group of women who'd been planning to humiliate Wen Xue all stared over, clearly ready to enjoy the show.
Wen Xue looked over at Mu Yue gently, darting a subtle glance at Wen Linlin, then said to Mu Yue, "Hello there, are you..."
Mu Yue sat down right beside Wen Xue and grinned. "My name is Mu Yue. I'm here to cause you trouble."
Wen Xue looked a little taken aback, clearly not expecting Mu Yue to be so blunt. Wen Linlin was still forcing a smile, but it looked incredibly strained. Sure enough, Mu Yue went on, "Your agent here came up to me a little while ago and started lecturing me. It got on my last nerve. The rest of my own family doesn't even dare lecture me, so who does she think she is? What do you think I should do about this?"
Right after she finished speaking, Mu Yue used a "Voice of the Heart" card she'd just drawn that very day.
After setting Wen Xue as the target, Mu Yue instantly heard Wen Xue's inner voice.
[Dammit! I swear to god, can't she go one single day without stirring up crap? For god's sake, stop messing with everyone else and go after Wei Xuan! You want to be the president's wife so bad? Then go hit on him! That useless piece of trash man too—how has he still not finished dealing with the Wen family after all this time? Loser. When am I finally gonna be free?]
It only took two seconds, and Mu Yue was left completely speechless.
Wen Xue spoke up, full of apparent apology, looking utterly lost. "I'm so sorry, Miss Mu. If my cousin has upset you in any way, I apologize to you on her behalf. If there's anything I can do to make this right and make you feel better, I'll do my absolute best to make it happen."
Mu Yue blinked, staring at Wen Xue intently. Wait a minute, who the hell said this woman was a bad actress?
A mischievous idea popped into Mu Yue's head, and she let out a low, amused huff. She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. "Is that so? Add my contact. I'll send you the time and place later. I hope you'll be there as promised."
The soft, helpless look in Wen Xue's eyes faded a little, replaced by a flicker of coldness. She lifted her gaze to look at Mu Yue, only to freeze when she met Mu Yue's bright, pretty eyes—no malice in them at all, only playful teasing.
She's messing with me?!
Wen Linlin was already nudging Wen Xue with her elbow, urging her to hurry up and resolve this mess for her.
The two of them kept looking at each other, and Wen Xue's expression shifted in less than a second. Right in front of Mu Yue, she nodded timidly, biting her lip nervously, looking like she knew full well this rich young miss's revenge was going to be awful, but that she had no choice—because her cousin had caused the trouble first, just like she always did.
Mu Yue was stunned for the second time. She suddenly understood why the female lead would go on to win a major acting award later in the original story.
Having gotten the response she wanted from Wen Xue, Mu Yue went back to her own seat to watch the drama the other women had planned for Wen Xue. Today's scene was supposed to involve ruining Wen Xue's dress and drugging her—seriously, how many times does this stupid drug subplot have to show up? Why is every other plot point in these novels about slipping someone a mickey?
Mu Yue zoned out for a second, wondering where on earth all these people were getting their hands on those kinds of drugs. If she turned them all in to the authorities, none of these ridiculous plot points would ever be able to happen, right?
And just as expected, whenever the female lead or the male lead ended up drinking something spiked, the story never had them call a doctor—they always ended up getting paired off with the other lead instead.
Sure enough, the overbearing male lead Wei Xuan showed up.
Wen Xue had stepped out to leave, and was just about to be led away by a random strange man when Wei Xuan wrapped his arms around her. The second he touched her, he realized she'd been drugged—her body temperature was way too high, and her face was completely off. His face darkened. He couldn't even put his finger on why he was so mad. Maybe it was because his "property" was being eyed by someone else, or maybe it was something else, but his first move was to warn Wen Xue, "I told you long ago, stay put and behave. If you never came out to this event in the first place, none of this would have happened. If there's a next time..."
Wen Xue was squirming uncomfortably in his arms, mentally calling him every curse word under the sun. What a load of crap! Why the hell wouldn't he just call a doctor?
How could the male lead ever think of calling a doctor? All he saw was the face of the person in his arms, flushed bright red, her features looking especially alluring. Hardly stopping to think, he was just about to lean in and devour the female lead.
The second Wen Xue opened her eyes and caught sight of Wei Xuan's shameless look, she knew exactly what this guy had on his mind. Dammit! But her hands had no strength at all, and when she tried to push him away, he just took it as her teasing him.
Oh well, it's not like this hasn't happened before, she thought, resigning herself to her fate.
Just as Wen Xue was giving up, a clear, crisp voice rang out, "Sir, shouldn't you be calling a doctor first, or even the police?"
"Typical, men never notice what's right in front of them that needs taking care of."
Before Wei Xuan could even respond, Mu Yue shook her phone and said, "I've already called an ambulance for you two, and filed a police report too."
Wen Xue's eyes flew wide open. Through her hazy vision, that figure stood perfectly clear, and she managed to force out two words with great difficulty, "Thank you."
[Waaaah, this sister totally gets me! She's literally an angel descended from heaven! I'm instantly obsessed with her!]
