The persona of Sanyuan had sparked an enormous frenzy. Watching the endless pleas for updates under her Weibo posts, Yuan Meng really couldn't take it anymore.
Just then, her grand-nephew's call came in again. She answered with a deadpan expression.
"Auntie, I'm here to urge you for an update. Actually, I'm also one of your readers. When will you update?"
"By the way, we're relatives after all. Can you give me a little spoiler about the ending of your story?"
Listening to her grand-nephew's gloating voice, Yuan Meng let out a cold laugh. Yuan Xingcheng instantly felt a chill run down his spine and wanted to hang up the phone.
"If you dare to hang up, you're done for," Yuan Meng preempted his thought.
Yuan Xingcheng quickly retracted his thumb that was about to hang up. Although he knew his aunt couldn't see him, he still put on a docile and obedient smile.
"Auntie, what are you saying? How could I ever hang up on you?" he flattered.
All he hoped for was that his aunt would show mercy and spare him.
"Oh, really?" Yuan Meng drawled, her tone rather menacing.
Yuan Xingcheng swallowed nervously and didn't dare to say a word.
"I remember a few years ago, you secretly took your mom's lotion and filled it with tap water, right?"
"By the way, there was also the time when you put that kind of medicine in the milk your mom and dad were going to drink. My dear nephew, who covered up for you back then?"
"And a year ago, you ran away from home after arguing with your mom, but then secretly stayed in your room for three days before giving in. Should I tell your dad about this?"
Yuan Meng's tone was like she was coaxing a child as she listed all the things Yuan Xingcheng had done in the past.
The two had always had a good relationship since childhood. As his aunt, she had bailed her grand-nephew out countless times.
Yuan Xingcheng was now sweating profusely from fear. Any one of these three things would be a disaster if brought up. His parents would surely beat him to death.
It was obvious that his aunt had channeled all her anger towards him.
"Auntie, I was wrong," he said, on the verge of tears, only hoping for his aunt's mercy.
Yuan Meng let out a disdainful snort from her nose.
"By the way, Auntie, why did you marry Ling Qianchen?" Yuan Xingcheng suddenly asked this question.
He wanted to divert his aunt's attention with this. He was sure that his aunt hated Ling Qianchen to the core.
This was what they called diverting the trouble to others.
"What? What did you say?" Yuan Meng asked.
Since his aunt didn't seem to hear clearly, Yuan Xingcheng quickly raised his voice, "I'm asking why you married Ling Qianchen!"
"Grand-nephew, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Is your network not good there?"
"Hello?"
Yuan Meng got up and simply hung up the phone. Yuan Xingcheng stood there with a black line across his face, fiddling with his phone.
It shouldn't be. His phone was brand new, and the signal here was excellent. He had been watching videos smoothly just now.
He scratched his head, utterly confused.
Yuan Meng lost the mood to watch variety shows. After returning to her room, she called Luo Yishan. There came a series of helpless complaints from the other end.
"Ugh, don't even mention it. These days, Ling Qianchen has been trying to contact you 24/7. I've been pretending so much that I'm almost on the verge of a mental breakdown."
"Just when I went out earlier, I almost thought I was Ai Yue."
Luo Yishan wasn't exaggerating at all. She was really just a step away from a mental breakdown.
"I'll make it up to you in the future," Yuan Meng said with a smile.
"Isn't the bet going to end in four days? Anyway, Ling Qianchen doesn't really care about you. Why don't you move back to the Blue Note?" Luo Yishan suggested on the phone.
Yuan Meng raised an eyebrow. She hadn't thought about this before. Since Ling Qianchen rarely went home, she could go back and stay without being discovered.
She could have a few days of fun. It was rare for her to have a break, and the more she thought about it, the more tempted she became.
Just then, there came a knock on the door, "Yuan Meng, are you in?"
It was Yan Ke'er's voice. Yuan Meng immediately whispered, "I'll go check first."
After hanging up the phone, she opened the door. Yan Ke'er was holding a stack of contracts in her hand. She said helplessly, "Ling Qianchen asked me to come and supervise your writing."
Yuan Meng pouted upon hearing this. Ling Qianchen was even more of a skinflint than Zhou Bapi. He even sent Yan Ke'er to keep an eye on her.
"Come in," she said helplessly.
Yuan Meng didn't bother to pretend to be a docile little rabbit anymore. Anyway, many of her disguises had been exposed, and the bet was almost over. It didn't really matter whether she pretended or not.
Yan Ke'er was rather carefree and didn't notice anything amiss.
She sat down on the sofa, put the contracts on the table, and jerked her chin, "These are all variety shows related to solving crimes. They want to invite you to participate."
Yuan Meng reached out and opened one of them. The content of the variety show was indeed good, but the bet was about to end, and she didn't have the mood to continue being a star.
She was just about to decline when Yan Ke'er said angrily, "Ling Qianchen has signed all of them for you!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Meng felt a rush of anger in her chest and almost fainted.
"All, all of them?" she asked, her hand trembling as she pointed at the stack of contracts.
The stack was quite thick, at least seven or eight contracts.
"Yes, but the good news is that the pay for these variety shows is very high. Your persona of Sanyuan is very popular in variety shows, and the popularity is also very high," Yan Ke'er said.
Yuan Meng really didn't know what to say now. Did she need money?
Humph, she had more than she could spend.
Seeing the shocked expression on Yuan Meng's face, Yan Ke'er showed her understanding.
She pouted, "I'm serious. Ling Qianchen is really too much. He doesn't treat you like a human at all."
"There are so many contracts. Even if you're his artist now, he can't exploit you like this, can he?"
Yuan Meng was so angry that she wanted to nod vigorously. That guy was really shameless.
But she still had to maintain the image of a submissive victim, so she just lowered her head pitifully, "Don't say that about him. He just wants me to earn more money for myself."
"Pfft. If he really cared about you, why didn't he just give you the money? A man who likes a woman should spend money on her," Yan Ke'er said indignantly.
"In my opinion, he just wants to squeeze out all your popularity. You should just get a divorce. I really can't stand seeing you look so pitiful."
Yan Ke'er said the word "divorce" for the umpteenth time. Yuan Meng slowly opened her eyelids and pretended to be a bit tempted as she looked at her, "What's the... liquidated damages?"
Seeing her like this, a smile appeared on Yan Ke'er's chubby face. Finally, Yuan Meng was convinced!
She patted her chest boldly, "What's the big deal about the liquidated damages? Don't worry. If you don't have enough money, I can give it to you."
Yuan Meng immediately shook her head, "No, we'll talk about it later."
Seeing that she really had the intention of getting a divorce, the smile on Yan Ke'er's face grew even wider. Ling Qianchen was simply not worthy of Yuan Meng.
The reason why Yuan Meng refused was that she didn't want to leave a single cent for Skinflint Ling.
Her identity was fake. She would just run away after four days, and Ling Qianchen wouldn't be able to find her. Let him pay the liquidated damages himself!