Wish to Get Rich But Wear a Scumbag A - Chapter 17

A minute later, the brilliant and mighty Female Lead had apprehended the suspect and brought her to justice.

Qi Xingwan leaned against the table, panting. “This is your room! Why did you run?”

Yan He lowered her head, looking as meek as a quail.

Damn it! She’d thought she’d wandered into the wrong room!

In that single minute, she’d fled with the intensity of someone escaping the Temple Run.

Damn it! This game’s boss is way too hard to shake off.

“…Yan He, speak.”

Yan He paused. “Preparing for the Olympics?”

Qi Xingwan: “……”

A sudden wave of unease washed over her. Could she really pull off a variety show in this state?

If it were the old Yan He, Qi Xingwan wouldn’t have worried at all. In fact, she would have considered it a mercy not to provoke Yan He into revealing her true nature on camera.

But now, to be honest, she was genuinely concerned that Yan He’s current mental state might lead to something even more terrifying.

“You said you’d listen to me from now on. Does that still stand?”

Yan He flicked an imaginary sleeve, dropped to one knee, and performed a perfect dachen bow, chanting, “At Your Majesty’s command!”

Qi Xingwan hesitated, then asked, “Tell me the truth. Do you want to film a historical drama?”

Yan He: “Bullshit! Even a dog wouldn’t do a job where you have to work non-stop just for a mouthful of grass.”

Qi Xingwan’s Favorability -1

So what if my favorability drops?

Is that supposed to scare me?

Yan He raised her head proudly. “If you have matters to report, speak. If not, adjourn the court.”

Qi Xingwan: “……”

Qi Xingwan: “The guests for the variety show you wanted to join have been finalized. They’ll be announcing it in the next few days.”

Crap! How could I forget about that?! Yan He took a deep breath. “Can I skip it?”

Oh my god, I have to be on live TV?!

What’s the difference between this and publicly shitting myself?!

“I’ll cover the breach of contract fee.”

“Just have fun, make some friends. It doesn’t matter if you don’t win any awards. Think of it as a vacation.”

Qi Xingwan: “……It’s a dating show.”

Yan He: “Then date everyone! We’re going all the way there, we can’t let it go to waste!”

“But you can’t date multiple people at once. They won’t broadcast a polyamorous relationship.”

See? She’s even thoughtfully considering the rules against polyamory.

What is she getting at?

Qi Xingwan grew increasingly confused. “You… you really don’t want to go?”

Yan He declared firmly, “Not even a dog would go!”

Qi Xingwan’s Favorability -1

Why is she cursing again? Does she really hate dogs that much…?

Qi Xingwan frowned, ignoring Yan He as she walked aside to text her manager.

Yan He was withdrawing, and since this was a big deal, Qi Xingwan hoped to use the opportunity to withdraw as well.

It wasn’t that she was being a diva after winning Best Actress and looked down on variety shows.

It was just… strange. The company seemed excessively enthusiastic about this particular show.

Even if her contract was expiring soon and they wanted to squeeze out one last wave of profit, they shouldn’t be acting like this show was the only option.

In her experience, no one would dare set a trap for Yan He, which meant the scheme must be targeting her.

But what did they want?

Sister Hong: What do you mean she’s not filming? Does she think signing a contract is child’s play?!

Sister Hong: Xingwan, did you two have a fight?

Sister Hong: Don’t be foolish. Although it hasn’t been officially announced, the guests have already been informed privately. Several even agreed to participate because of you. This isn’t something to take lightly—you’ll offend a lot of people!

Sister Hong: Alphas are all the same. Just sweet-talk her tonight, let her cool off, and we’ll proceed with the normal publicity.

While Qi Xingwan was busy reassuring her manager, Yan He squatted by the door, playing on her phone.

What?

Come inside and play?

Impossible!

Without a mission, I’m not spending another second in the same room as that favorability meter!

Mission: Share a bed with Qi Xingwan.

Yan He: “……”

Yan He sniffled and slowly pushed the door open, entering the room.

Yan He:  Xiao Qi, thank your colleague for me. It’s actually quite good at giving me an out…

007:  Can’t you just focus on raising her favorability? You failed such simple missions like the heartfelt breakfast and candlelight dinner! What a waste of perfect opportunities!

Yan He:  I’d forgotten about that! Why doesn’t the candlelight dinner count as completed? Let me ask you this: Did Qi Xingwan eat? Were the candles lit? Didn’t she eat the noodles I cooked? Answer me!

007 had never encountered such shamelessness:  You didn’t eat.

Yan He scoffed:  Who said a candlelight dinner has to be eaten by two people? A corporate slave working six days a week from 8 AM to 10 PM deserves to light candles and enjoy a meal at home on Sunday! What kind of department is this? I’m reporting them!

007 remained silent for a long moment before finally relenting:  You’re right. I’ll file an appeal for you!

The appeal results came back quickly, without the usual fifteen-business-day wait, much to the satisfaction of Yan He, the eloquent and enthusiastic citizen.

Mission: Candlelit Dinner Completed

Mission: Accompany Qi Xingwan on the variety show “Lovers, Hello!” (Mandatory Mission; Failure will result in a direct path to a prison ending)

Ah, the eloquent Yan He has been retaliated against by the malevolent System.

Yan He:  Aren’t you going to do anything about this?

007:  I’m begging you to follow the plot properly! How can you increase Qi Xingwan’s Favorability if you’re constantly trying to avoid her? This is a romance variety show! Based on my observations, the frequency and severity of her Favorability deductions have significantly decreased recently. Strike while the iron is hot!

Yan He chuckled.  Just wait, she’s about to deduct a big one soon.

With that, she walked over to Qi Xingwan and crouched down.

Qi Xingwan stopped typing, her expression puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Yan He:  Woof.

Qi Xingwan:  …You changed your mind, didn’t you?

Yan He:  Woof woof.

Qi Xingwan’s temple twitched. She pressed the voice recording button and sent a message to her manager:  Sister Hong, no need to contact the production team anymore. She wants to film again.

A sixty-second voice message arrived, automatically playing a string of colorful curses.

In the second voice message, the manager was still ranting, but she made sure to defend her own position at the end:  You two can fight in bed and make up by the bedside, but what about me?!

Qi Xingwan pressed the voice recording button, ready to offer comfort, when Yan He blurted out, “Tough luck.”

Qi Xingwan turned to Yan He.

Yan He covered her mouth, glancing around innocently.

Qi Xingwan canceled the message.

Yan He reached over and pressed the voice recording button. “Tough luck.”

She released the button, and the message sent successfully.

Qi Xingwan stared at her. “……”

Yan He blinked. “She just insulted you.”

“…She insulted you.” Qi Xingwan reopened the recording of the “national treasure” insult, turned the volume up to maximum, and played it for Yan He.

Feeling a bit awkward, Yan He hadn’t received the usual notification of decreased favorability and couldn’t gauge the system’s mood. “You’re not mad, are you?”

Qi Xingwan replied, “She insulted you. I should be happy.”

You really don’t give me any face at all, huh…

“Sorry,” Yan He mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers. “The variety show—”

“Changing your mind?” Qi Xingwan scanned her up and down with a mocking smile. “That’s typical. You do this all the time.”

Apologizing is a first, though. Talk about seeing something new after living so long.

007 shrieked:  She didn’t lose any favorability!

“Will your publicity be handled by the Yan Family or my team?”

Yan He waved her hands frantically. “No need to bother anyone. I’m just going for fun.”

“Then you must have a Weibo account, right? I’ll send you the operations manager’s WeChat contact. You can coordinate with her.”