In The Harem novel, I Turned Against Long Aotian [Quick Wear] - Chapter 1

The air at Old Man Tang’s seventieth birthday banquet was thick with the clinking of glasses, the hum of conversation, and the rich scent of wine. Tucked away in a corner, Qiu Yuebai watched the effusive socialites and gentlemen without much interest, her gaze falling on a stunning woman standing opposite her.

The guests at the party were all accustomed to seeing beautiful women. By all rights, no one should have been able to make them even blink, but the woman on the balcony above was different.

She appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a harmless, oval-shaped face that was elegant, delicate, and alluring. As she leaned lazily against the railing, looking down at the people below, her soft features took on a sharp, almost dangerous edge.

She looked like a thorny rose, yet her skin was as white as snow, her waist slender enough to wrap a hand around. Her glossy, dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall, obscuring her small, enchanting face. In particular, her waist, where her dress hugged her body as she leaned on the railing, was the kind of figure men fantasized about. Just a distant glance was enough to set pulses racing, making it hard to look away.

Seeing her back to the hall, motionless, the men’s glances grew bolder and more passionate.

At the same time, a sense of regret—akin to missing out on a fifty-million-dollar lottery ticket, stirred within them.

How could someone so young and enchanting have been snatched up by that scoundrel Tang Ming?

Oblivious to the commotion and longing her beauty was causing, the woman fixed her gaze on the uninhibited woman below, their eyes locking.

Qiu Yuebai couldn’t even find the words to describe how stunning that face was. It had a classic elegance, with features so finely sculpted they could rival any top-tier celebrity. After a long moment of stunned silence, she could only come up with the most basic, unfiltered thought: Damn, she’s so beautiful!

However, the look the other woman was giving her was anything but friendly.

Qiu Yuebai instinctively took a step back. “System, you son of a b****, get out here!”

Sensing Qiu Yuebai’s bossy, belligerent aura, the system quickly appeared. “What is it, host?”

Qiu Yuebai’s heart ached as she stared at the slap mark on the woman’s face. “How could you lay a hand on such a beautiful person?!”

But her pained expression looked like pure mockery to Ming Rao.

Ignoring the burning sting on her face, Ming Rao braced herself against the wall and slowly stood up. She looked down at the woman with the red-rimmed eyes, a sarcastic twist on her pale lips.

“Have you made enough of a scene?”

As the words left her mouth, the air around them seemed to freeze over, turning frigid.

Ming Rao calmly straightened her clothes and slowly cornered Qiu Yuebai. Her tall, elegant figure cast a seductive, dark shadow over the other woman. Qiu Yuebai shrank back, her heart thudding uncontrollably. “System, do you think she has a thing for me?”

“Is she going to try and have her way with me right here in front of everyone?”

The system mercilessly shattered her fantasy. “Forget about it. That’s not going to happen.”

“Just because you have no morals doesn’t mean she’s the same way.”

Qiu Yuebai: “…”

“Ji Zhengzheng, how long are you going to keep this up?”

Qiu Yuebai: “?” Who is Ji Zhengzheng?

“Six months ago, you drugged my drink, trying to sell me off to Tang Ming’s godfather. Last month, you hired people to corner me and spread rumors about me being in a love triangle. What do you want to do today?”

Qiu Yuebai was trying to wrap her head around this melodramatic plot when she heard Ming Rao’s litany of grievances. Her vision went dark. “?”

What?!

She was the one who did all those insane things?

But wait—Ji Zhengzheng? Tang Ming? Didn’t those names sound a lot like the main character and the doomed ex-wife in that novel, The Richest Young Master in the City?

The Richest Young Master in the City was a modern-day harem story. The main character, Tang Ming, was the only son of media mogul Tang Jing. The Tang family had a three-generation history of having only one son, so Tang Ming was constantly urged to have as many children as possible to carry on the family name.

The original host, Ji Zhengzheng, was the one the Tang family had chosen to marry. Ji Zhengzheng’s father was a renowned film director, and her mother was the cherished daughter of a business tycoon. The Tang and Ji families were old friends, and Ji Zhengzheng and Tang Ming had grown up together. From an early age, Ji Zhengzheng’s goal in life was to marry Tang Ming. Though she loved him and he felt nothing for her, Tang Ming—who spent his days carousing—still married the well-born, clever Ji Zhengzheng at his family’s insistence.

On her wedding day, Ji Zhengzheng was overjoyed, believing her dream had finally come true—that she was marrying her long-time crush. But reality cruelly slapped her across the face again and again.

The day the ceremony ended, Tang Ming drove off alone, leaving Ji Zhengzheng to spend their wedding night alone. That very same night, the media broke the news: Tang Ming had been seen laughing, drinking, and embracing three different women as he went in and out of a hotel.

In less than a day, Ji Zhengzheng had become the biggest joke in high society.

But it was only the beginning. In the days that followed, Tang Ming was seen with countless different women at hotels, so often that the media eventually stopped reporting on it. It was no longer news; if Tang Ming had suddenly settled down and stayed home, that would have been the real story.

Ji Zhengzheng grew despondent, quickly losing ten pounds. But the Tang family was powerful, and though she was the dignified Mrs. Tang, she couldn’t just waste away at home feeling sorry for herself.

Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Tang, was a force of nature. Every day, after a long day of helping manage the family business, Ji Zhengzheng would come home, exhausted, only to stand before her mother-in-law and listen to her severe lectures. “Our family has been lucky enough to have our precious Mingming. As his future wife, you must be broad-minded and show the grace of a first wife. It is your duty to carry on the Tang family bloodline. No matter how much Mingming flirts, those women outside are just for fun. You are the only daughter-in-law we recognize.”

“If you can get pregnant and have a son for us soon, I’ll help you rein in Tang Ming and even make him go to the civil affairs bureau to formalize your marriage certificate.”

Ji Zhengzheng felt a deep bitterness. How could she even have a son to carry on the Tang family name when Tang Ming hadn’t even touched her since the beginning?

By mitosis, perhaps?

Ji Zhengzheng refused to believe that her prince charming, who had once been so gentle with her, could be so cold and heartless after they married. She thought it must be her own fault, that she hadn’t done enough. So when Tang Ming got into trouble from his philandering, Ji Zhengzheng was the one who smoothed things over. When Tang Ming slept with a married woman and was caught in the act by her husband, it was Ji Zhengzheng who worked hard to keep the scandal out of the public eye.

And when Tang Ming accidentally got another woman pregnant and she tried to extort him, it was Ji Zhengzheng who went to negotiate with her.

She even had to attend meetings, dinners, and business negotiations in Tang Ming’s place when he was too busy with his other women, all to expand the Tang family business.

Sometimes, when Tang Ming was too worn out to keep track of all his lovers, Ji Zhengzheng would pick out gifts for them and give them out in his name.

Later, seeing how reliable and efficient she was, Tang Ming simply started handing off the entire task of choosing gifts for his lovers on holidays to Ji Zhengzheng.

Sometimes, Ji Zhengzheng even thought she was a great person, able to handle her husband’s career and his lovers so well. She figured that if she were a man, there probably wouldn’t be a need for Tang Ming at all.

Her love for Tang Ming ran deep, so no matter how much she suffered, she was willing to endure it. Ji Zhengzheng truly believed they would always be together—she would handle the work, and Tang Ming would handle the fun. But then, one day, Tang Ming brought a woman named Ming Rao home. In front of Ji Zhengzheng and his parents, he announced he was canceling their engagement and wanted to marry Ming Rao.

Although her parents-in-law didn’t agree immediately, they were incredibly friendly toward Ming Rao.

Ji Zhengzheng felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her. She couldn’t believe it. She had worked so hard for the Tang family, pouring her heart and soul into their business and giving them her entire youth, only to be betrayed like this. Unwilling to accept it, she decided to teach this homewrecker, Ming Rao, a lesson!

Ji Zhengzheng was smart and had managed the Tang family’s business for so long that hiring a few thugs to take care of Ming Rao would have been easy. But in the end, she couldn’t go through with it.

She couldn’t bring herself to hurt anyone, not even the woman who was trying to steal her husband.

She looked at Ming Rao’s beautiful, cold face, her heart in ashes. As she let Ming Rao go, she lit the dynamite in the abandoned factory right in front of her, ending her life in a flash, leaving no trace.

Qiu Yuebai’s face crumpled as she read. “Just tell me,” she said, “do you want me to be the main character’s sister-in-law this time, or his stepmother?”

The system was silent for a moment, almost screaming in frustration. After a pause to calm down, it decided not to argue with her. “After the original character died, the Tang family held a formal press conference to announce that she had no connection to them. Three months later, they quickly married the main character to his second wife. They also gave strict orders that no one was to ever mention the original character’s name again, even removing her from the family tree.”

“She died with her eyes open. She hated Tang Ming’s promiscuity and hated the Tang family’s heartlessness and betrayal. So her only wish is to enter the Tang family and become their legitimate daughter-in-law, one who is properly recorded on the family tree.”

Qiu Yuebai thought about the task for a moment, then pointed at the system in disbelief. “You’re so twisted! You want me to become the main character’s grandmother!”

The system: “…” Might as well just kill me now.

After Ji Zhengzheng’s death, Tang Ming didn’t marry Ming Rao. Instead, he married Bai Ling, a star who happened to be Ming Rao’s rival. Qiu Yuebai’s hands rubbed together excitedly. “I’ve always had to ruin the main character’s family, but I’ve never gotten to steal his woman before.”

The system couldn’t help but shed a tear. Well, then, I’ll thank the main character for you.

Ming Rao found Ji Zhengzheng’s insincere act utterly ridiculous. She had told her over and over that there was nothing between her and Tang Ming, but Ji Zhengzheng never believed her, always insisting that she had stolen her man.

She felt that the unluckiest thing that had ever happened to her was meeting both Tang Ming and Ji Zhengzheng. One was a persistent pest who wouldn’t leave her alone, and the other completely ignored her explanations and insisted on treating her like a homewrecker.

With their similar self-centered personalities, they were actually a perfect match for each other.

“Ji Zhengzheng,” Ming Rao said, “from now on, I hope you’ll just stop.”

Just stop? How can I?

The original character hurt Ming Rao so deeply before, and as a good, kind-hearted citizen of the 21st century, I must make it up to her and help her find happiness.

Qiu Yuebai instinctively blurted out, “No, I won’t agree.”

Ming Rao immediately scrunched up her beautiful brows. When is she going to stop? Does she have to push me to my absolute limit before she’ll give up?

Qiu Yuebai ignored the look of disgust on Ming Rao’s face and looked her dead in the eye, brazenly twisting the truth. “Ming Rao, you got close to Tang Ming for his money, right? But everything Tang Ming has, I have, too. And everything Tang Ming can give you, I can give you as well.”

A bad feeling rose up in the system’s core.

Qiu Yuebai reached out to gently touch Ming Rao’s face, but Ming Rao slapped her hand away. Qiu Yuebai intentionally let down her guard, allowing Ming Rao to shove her against the wall, dislodging her carefully styled hair. Ming Rao frowned, instinctively wanting to steady her, but then stopped herself.

The woman seemed to be fine.

But the collision caused her lazy curls to fall, framing her long, pale neck. The deep V-neckline of her dress perfectly complemented her slender waist. Even Ming Rao, who was used to seeing beauties in the entertainment industry, was momentarily entranced.

Ji Zhengzheng’s beauty was legendary in the industry. Whether she was attending events as the Tang family’s daughter-in-law, looking aloof and dignified, or in her rare moments of private playfulness, or even on the red carpet in formal attire, her womanly charm never failed to make other actresses green with envy.

Ming Rao had once been stunned by Ji Zhengzheng’s beauty, but it seemed utterly insignificant compared to her irrational and chaotic personality.

Ming Rao’s coldness was exactly what Qiu Yuebai expected. She calmly pulled up the neckline of her dress, which had almost fallen down, and smiled playfully, not at all offended. “Ming Rao, ditch Tang Ming and come with me instead.”