Marrying the Ugly Woman of a Rich and Powerful Family - Chapter 12

The spare phone delivered by the assistant was on the coffee table.

The assistant had been with Cang Yan for a while and understood her temper well. Ever since the Ugly Contest began, she knew Cang Yan would be angry these past two days, so she prepared a pile of phones. Worried that they might not be enough for Cang Yan to smash and that she would have to call her late at night to deliver more, she brought eight at once, all still in their complete packaging.

Cang Yan fiercely forked a strawberry into her mouth. The strawberry cheesecake, usually her favorite, now tasted like chewing wax. She even felt a little nauseous.

Looking up and seeing Shen Qingyuan’s worried expression, she said disdainfully, “Do I look that idle? Like someone who would care about those trivial matters?”

It was just an Ugly Contest, right?

Those media outlets knew they would offend her, yet they put on this show every year, claiming it was chosen by netizens and had nothing to do with the organizers.

Cang Yan felt sick to her stomach every time she thought about it.

Shen Qingyuan wanted to say that it wasn’t a trivial matter. The voting process, the results, and the netizens’ comments were like sharp swords. No one could truly ignore negative comments entirely.

In her previous life as a university lecturer, she would get nervous during end-of-semester course evaluations, afraid that students would give her low scores.

Cang Yan was being openly criticized and judged.

The destructive power of these two types of comments was incomparable.

Shen Qingyuan said with rare gentleness, “Whether you care or not, whether you are affected or not, everything that happened is the fault of the media’s deliberate manipulation.”

Cang Yan stared at her blankly, probably not expecting Shen Qingyuan to speak up for her.

Cang Yan was indeed affected, but she couldn’t speak out to refute it because it was an almost undeniable fact—she was indeed ugly. No one would consider her feelings; everyone watched it like a show, following the crowd to mock her.

She was rich and could use money to solve most problems, even hiring trolls, but it was meaningless. What had been blackened could not be washed white; it would only make her look more like a ridiculous clown.

So, every year, she would first simmer in anger, then use her wealth to make her detractors envious. The effect was obvious: those who hated the rich were indeed envious and resentful, but they also cursed her even more fiercely.

It was as if the wealth she possessed was stolen from those people, as if they would become rich if she became poor, or as if they would become second-generation rich if she were no longer one.

She was indeed not a second-generation rich, and she wasn’t sure how many generations the family’s wealth spanned.

Cang Yan’s gaze drifted to the phone. She didn’t want to pay attention, but her brain wouldn’t allow her to ignore it.

Shen Qingyuan didn’t want to see her clearly hurt but pretending otherwise. She put all the boxed phones into a cabinet.

Cang Yan frowned, clearly annoyed at her meddling.

Shen Qingyuan spread her hands and said, “Let’s not smash phones today. It hurts you, it hurts the phone, and it makes my heart ache for the money. I’ll take you out to play.”

Cang Yan instantly flared up, convinced Shen Qingyuan was deliberately mocking her. She growled, “Get lost!”

Shen Qingyuan acted surprised and said, “Oh, why is your emotional intelligence so low?”

Cang Yan was furious. She picked up a cushion and threw it. Perhaps her strength was low, as the cushion flew lightly. Shen Qingyuan extended her long arm, caught the cushion steadily, and sighed, “Isn’t your sadness exactly what they want? If you are happy and cheerful, even if they vote to select a whole group, it has nothing to do with you.”

Cang Yan remained silent, showing no reaction.

Shen Qingyuan continued with a goading tactic, showing a very surprised expression, saying, “Surely your ability to regulate emotions isn’t worse than me, a college student who fails countless courses? When I’m slandered, it just goes in one ear and out the other.”

“…” Cang Yan’s body trembled slightly. If looks could kill, she would have already hanged Shen Qingyuan.

Shen Qingyuan seemed utterly unaware. She squatted on the floor, her eyes wet, and said, “I don’t have class tomorrow, so I don’t have to wake up early. I beg you to take me out to play. I’m just a college student with no money and no power. Please.”

Cang Yan suddenly felt a chill and a throbbing at her temples. After enduring it for a long time, she finally spat out a single word: “Go.”

Shen Qingyuan had achieved her goal and happily walked back inside.

If she told Cang Yan at this moment that she wasn’t ugly, it would be useless because the data was clearly laid bare. People in this world simply found Cang Yan ugly. Any explanation would be superfluous and would only make her look hypocritical. It was better to skip the topic of beauty and ugliness entirely.

Cang Yan took a deep breath, adjusting her emotions. She didn’t know why she had agreed to Shen Qingyuan, probably because she didn’t want to hear her use that tone and say those chilling words again.

Cang Yan went to change clothes.

“Wear more layers,” Shen Qingyuan kindly reminded her.

Cang Yan heard her but didn’t reply. She wouldn’t truly be inferior to Shen Qingyuan, the college student. When she came out, she was dressed very casually: a short woolen coat, loose three-quarter-length trousers in lotus root color, black high heels, and a white mask, leaving only a pair of slightly upturned eyes visible.

Shen Qingyuan glanced at her high heels, then silently at her own white sneakers, and said, “I’ll wear a mask too.”

Cang Yan ignored her.

In the car.

Cang Yan felt a bit of anticipation but showed no expression, asking, “Where are you taking me?”

“How should I know what’s fun here? Do you have any recommendations?” Shen Qingyuan went to school every day and certainly knew less than Cang Yan, the local.

Cang Yan never went out to play. Frowning slightly, she said, “I don’t know.”

When she went out with Lin You, they only went to the beauty parlor, a private club, or out to eat. That was only because Lin You was her best friend. In short, she only went to highly private places. She wasn’t used to exposing herself to public scrutiny.

“Then let’s just find a place randomly,” Shen Qingyuan took out her phone to search.

Cang Yan saw that she hadn’t decided where to go and warned, “You better find a place that satisfies me. My time is very precious.”

Shen Qingyuan thought, Is your precious time for smashing phones? She said, “Don’t worry, I guarantee your satisfaction. But I don’t have a penny on me.”

Cang Yan stared at her, her expression suggesting, Do you need to spend money when you’re with me?

She said in an exasperated manner, “I have money. Spend whatever you want.”

“That’s best. The places rich people go to are definitely different from where poor people like me go. Are you brave?” Shen Qingyuan asked seriously.

Although she didn’t have much money in her previous life, she loved traveling. Mainly because if one person was full, the whole family wasn’t hungry. Thinking back now, she was glad she knew how to enjoy life promptly.

Although she always wanted to save up to buy a house, she still allocated a certain amount of funds to relax. Otherwise, all that hard saving would still end in death.

The thought that she had died made Shen Qingyuan a little sad, because no one in that world would remember her.

Her emotions came and went quickly.

There was no abnormality on her face; she was still all smiles.

“Not small,” Cang Yan said truthfully. She wasn’t overly brave, but she wasn’t timid either.

Shen Qingyuan happily said, “Then let’s go to a haunted house.”

“???” Cang Yan’s face subtly changed, and her eyes flickered. Just as Shen Qingyuan was about to say that going to a haunted house wasn’t for everyone, Cang Yan said with a wooden face, “Okay.”

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Shen Qingyuan said, “If you haven’t been before, let’s forget it.”

If she accidentally scared Cang Yan into an illness, she wouldn’t be able to afford the compensation even if she sold herself.

“If I say go, we go. Stop whining. Am I really worse than you, a college student?” Cang Yan said coldly.

There were many places she hadn’t been to. She had been sick since childhood. Aside from frequent hospital visits, she mostly stayed at home. Her parents allowing her to move out and go to the company was already their limit, and her body’s limit.

She had never been to a haunted house and wanted to experience it.

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

Did the college student eat your rice?

The two arrived at the haunted house.

Shen Qingyuan specifically chose a less scary escape room-themed haunted house, mainly focused on solving puzzles in a terrifying atmosphere, without the need to jump and run from “ghosts.”

Before entering, Cang Yan seemed very calm.

“Tell me if you get scared,” Shen Qingyuan said thoughtfully, then started looking for clues based on the provided hints.

She had an idea of where ghosts and corpses would appear. After all, a haunted house was one of the places she frequented the most in her previous life.

“You solve your puzzle; don’t worry about me.” Although Cang Yan said this, in the scary, hazy atmosphere, she suddenly felt a chill, her hair stood on end, and her legs were slightly trembling.

She regretted wearing high heels just to compete with Shen Qingyuan.

Cang Yan suddenly felt a coldness on her back. She froze in place, sharply turned around, but there was nothing behind her.

She unconsciously moved closer to Shen Qingyuan.

Shen Qingyuan was taller and stronger than her, looking very reliable and providing a sense of security. Cang Yan hadn’t expected to rely on Shen Qingyuan one day. Coming to the haunted house was definitely the wrong decision; she would have been better off smashing phones at home.

While Cang Yan was pondering, a bloody, blurry ghost face suddenly popped out in front of her. A pair of eyes, about to fall out, hung from the eyelids, bleeding and staring at her.

Cang Yan: “…”

She didn’t scream in fear, but she was completely stunned. Her calves began to tremble uncontrollably.

Cang Yan felt her qi and bl00d had rushed backward. Her already pale face lost even more color. She suddenly grabbed Shen Qingyuan’s arm, her voice shaking as she cried out, “Shen Qingyuan.”

Shen Qingyuan was also startled by the sudden ghost face. When she was grabbed, she initially thought it was a haunted house tactic.

When she saw Cang Yan’s face ashen and a scene of bl00d spraying about to happen on the wall, she acted almost without thinking. She subconsciously reached out and pulled Cang Yan into her embrace, then froze.

Cang Yan was very thin. It felt like she had hardly any flesh anywhere except her chest. Was this really 42 kilograms?

She felt like Cang Yan weighed even less than 42 kilograms.

All sorts of random thoughts drifted through Shen Qingyuan’s mind. The faint fragrance on Cang Yan’s body continuously wafted into her nose.

She softly comforted her, “Don’t be afraid. Those are all fake. They are models made by the staff, just like those online comments are fake. Just treat them all as deliberately manufactured public opinion. Doesn’t that make you feel much better?”

Cang Yan buried her head in Shen Qingyuan’s chest, her heart pounding. The thought that Shen Qingyuan was still thinking about the Ugly Contest at this critical moment suddenly made her feel less afraid. She retorted sarcastically, “Your way of comforting people is truly unique.”

“You flatter me,” Shen Qingyuan said with a smile.

For the rest of the way, Cang Yan tightly held Shen Qingyuan’s hand. She surprisingly felt safer than holding her father’s hand, which was strange.

Upon leaving the escape room, they were scared by a few final, major “ghosts.” Although she was psychologically prepared, Cang Yan still wished she could jump and cling to Shen Qingyuan’s waist.

Outside the haunted house, Cang Yan, realizing she was still being held around the waist by Shen Qingyuan, said awkwardly, “Let go of me.”

Shen Qingyuan obediently released Cang Yan and walked a couple of steps away, noticing that Cang Yan hadn’t followed but was standing still. She walked back, worriedly asking, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Cang Yan found it hard to admit: “My legs are weak…”

Her feet hurt from the high heels, and Shen Qingyuan had supported her the whole way. Now, she felt like she couldn’t walk on her own.

Shen Qingyuan supported her as they walked out, saying seriously, “It seems quite effective. You’ve mostly forgotten about the Ugly Contest.”

Cang Yan was startled. If Shen Qingyuan hadn’t reminded her, she would have almost forgotten. When she saw the terrifying ghost earlier, her mind went blank; she couldn’t remember anything else.

She hooked her mouth sarcastically, still having lingering fears about the haunted house. She summarized gloomily, “You will definitely never find a partner in the future, unless they are blind.”

Going to a haunted house so casually, who could endure that?

Shen Qingyuan: “…”