Mistakenly Married a Substitute Wife, Falling in Love with the Movie Queen - Chapter 49

“She will,” Sang Baili said with a smile, her heart softening. Shen Xiaojing was so kind that even the heavens couldn’t bear to see her die young, granting her a second chance at life.

In this lifetime, she would surely live a long and peaceful life, free from harm.

Unable to resist, Sang Baili reached out and playfully tugged at Shen Shuangjing’s mischievous little braid. Throughout their journey, she had been watching the braid bounce on Shen Shuangjing’s shoulder with every movement, longing to do this.

Shen Shuangjing looked up, her lashes fluttering twice. Seen from the corner of her eye, her thick, dark lashes seemed even more tender.

She feigned annoyance but didn’t pull away. “What are you doing?”

As she spoke, Sang Baili’s pale forearm hovered before her eyes, almost touching her trembling lashes. The light was blocked, darkening her vision and sharpening her other senses. The fragrance of tuberose filled the air, swirling around her nose and seeping into her veins.

Shen Shuangjing twitched her nose like a puppy.

So fragrant.

The scent was intoxicating, like fine wine, making her want to inhale it endlessly.

Perhaps in a past life, she had been a kitten, and Sang Baili had been catnip. Her addiction to her scent felt innate, driven by instinct.

Suddenly worried, she wondered if burying her face in Sang Baili’s hair like this would exhaust all its fragrance.

“Your braid is crooked,” Sang Baili said, her fingertips gliding down the plait in a clumsy excuse.

Shen Shuangjing, however, believed her immediately. “Please, Teacher Sang Tony, I really need your help.”

She pressed the hair tie, which had somehow come loose, into Sang Baili’s hand, looking utterly trusting.

Sang Baili’s heart pounded as her fingers threaded through the soft strands. Her deep blue fox-like eyes focused intently as she divided the raven hair into three sections, weaving them together with meticulous care, as if handling a priceless work of art.

They were alone in the hall, standing at the castle’s center, reminding Sang Baili of the night they had danced together.

Even the music playing in the hall was the same soothing, beautiful style.

Shen Shuangjing was tall and graceful. When they danced, she would lower her gaze slightly, her slender fingers resting firmly on Sang Baili’s waist, guiding her through the waltz. Their movements were both intimate and restrained, maintaining a polite social distance yet drawing suddenly closer during each turn. Sang Baili could always catch a faint, clean fragrance that lingered at the tip of her nose, a constant presence amidst the room’s champagne-infused air.

“Actually, I haven’t experienced enough yet,” Shen Shuangjing said suddenly, her voice tinged with shyness, her dark eyes sparkling like a sky full of stars.

Sang Baili froze, realizing they were thinking the same thing.

A secret joy bloomed in her heart. Sang Baili’s red lips curved into a smile. “Me neither.”

Shen Shuangjing’s voice brightened with excitement. “Let’s experience it again!”

She took Sang Baili’s hand and, without waiting for a reply, pulled her onto the miniature train once more.

Sang Baili: “……” I was overthinking things.

Explaining it now would sound foolish.

It’s like I can’t stop thinking about that dance.

After clearing the air, Shen Shuangjing threw herself into the fun, snapping countless photos and even visiting the area where magical elves conjured snowfall.

Snowflakes fluttered down, landing on her delicate, curtain-like eyelashes.

Shen Shuangjing pressed the cartoon rainbow bean button on the wall. With two soft “beep-beep” sounds, a lemon-yellow rainbow bean candy appeared on the small dish below the button.

“Please enjoy,” a childlike voice chimed from the speaker.

It was one of the free candies offered throughout the castle.

Shen Shuangjing deftly unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth. Her glass-like almond eyes curved into crescent moons. “Mmm, delicious.”

She pressed the button again, and another brightly wrapped candy hopped onto the dish.

“Try one too, Sister!”

She held the candy in the center of her palms like a precious treasure, the wrapper refracting rainbow light under the castle’s lamps.

It was much like the vibrant colors that seemed to dance from her sparkling eyes.

Sang Baili followed suit, tearing open the wrapper and tasting the candy. “Quite sweet.”

Shen Shuangjing clutched her cheek, her eyes widening in disbelief. “?”

Unconvinced, she pressed the button again. Another identical candy appeared on the dish.

She unwrapped it, sniffed the aroma, and cautiously put it in her mouth.

Her eyebrows shot up instantly.

Two lemon candies were now battling for dominance in her mouth.

Ahhh, stop fighting!

Dazed, her soul felt like it was being squeezed out by the sourness.

Each candy tasted as if it contained the concentrated juice of a hundred lemons.

Tears welled in Shen Shuangjing’s bright, almond-shaped eyes.

Through her tear-blurred vision, a pristine palm suddenly appeared, its lines clear and perfect. “If you can’t swallow it, spit it into my hand.”

Shen Shuangjing spent 0.1 seconds thinking her saliva was dirty, 0.2 seconds failing to suppress the sourness, and 0.3 seconds later, two yellowish lemon candies popped out from under her tongue.

Sang Baili wrapped the candies in a tissue and tossed them into the trash, then wiped her hand with a wet wipe.

Shen Shuangjing froze, wondering why she hadn’t just been given a tissue directly.

Maybe Sang Baili was too flustered to think clearly, she reasoned.

I almost became the first human in history to faint from sourness.

The candy formed a small bulge in Sang Baili’s cheek. She hadn’t spat it out, and a faint smile curved her composed face. “So sour.”

Tearfully indignant, Shen Shuangjing huffed, “You lied!”

Sang Baili raised a teasing eyebrow. “You said it was delicious first.”

Shen Shuangjing’s face flushed crimson, her tongue twisting like a rusted screw. “I—you… Where was my mistake?”

“There was no mistake.”

As President, Sang Baili had seen every trick in the book: wine-splashing, feigned stumbles, deliberately dropped scarves—even a rainy day encounter where someone stood pitifully without an umbrella, gazing at her with pleading eyes.

Seemingly accidental, but meticulously planned.

But Sang Baili was a President, not a fool. When the other party suggested sharing an umbrella, Sang Baili kindly pointed out that the shelter they stood under was a convenience store, and she’d just seen several umbrellas inside. Undeterred, the person claimed to have forgotten their wallet and asked to add Sang Baili on WeChat. Sang Baili agreed, but specified that interest would be calculated at bank rates, leaving the other party speechless.

Against such people, Sang Baili waged a relentless battle of wits, showing no mercy. Yet when facing Shen Xiaojing, their intellectual sparring became a source of endless amusement.

“Stop crying,” Sang Baili said, offering a strawberry-flavored candy as compensation.

I’m not crying!

Shen Shuangjing glared at the culprit, her eyes filled with reproach.

And why are you lying?

The glass candy jar was transparent, revealing that there were no strawberry-flavored candies inside.

Only the world’s sourest lemon candies.

This was the most infuriating interactive element of the Princess’s Grand Tour. Shen Shuangjing decided to write a letter of complaint before leaving. In such a dreamy place, a castle brimming with warmth and childlike wonder, the fact that the candy was an extra-sour, mouth-puckering version would become the stuff of nightmares for all visitors.

She strongly recommended replacing the current candy supplier and partnering with Skittles.

Seeing her disbelief, Sang Baili performed a sleight of hand. With a swift clench and release of her palm, a strawberry-flavored candy materialized in her hand.

Shen Shuangjing’s eyes lit up instantly, like a kitten mesmerized by a cat toy. Her gaze locked onto the candy, utterly transfixed. “Where did that come from?”

Sang Baili smiled, her eyes twinkling with an alluring charm. “Magic,” she replied.

Shen Shuangjing looked at her with admiration. “You’re the real magician in this castle.”

“The fairytale protagonists in this castle perform magic for everyone, but this candy is magic made just for you,” Sang Baili said, her words unintentionally provocative.

Shen Shuangjing tore open the candy’s wrapper, her lips parting slightly, but Sang Baili’s hand closed around her wrist.

The woman’s warm breath brushed against her earlobe, more stirring than any deliberate flirtation.

“This time, savor it slowly. And don’t accuse me of lying again.”