Chapter Seventy: Stirring Up Trouble

It wasn't until the uncle returned home and his wife chased after him, demanding to know where all the money in his pockets had come from, that the truth was revealed.

His wife pressed him further, questioning why he’d been coming home late every night and now suddenly had so much money on him—what exactly was going on?

The uncle, moved to tears by Song Wannings’s gesture, finally broke down and recounted the entire story to his wife, sobbing like a child despite being a grown man.

Unexpectedly, his wife chased him around the house again, this time berating him for going to work for Song Wanning without bringing her along!

It turned out she was also a fan of Song Wanning’s. She’d been too busy with work to watch the livestreams and hadn’t realized her husband was secretly meeting her idol behind her back.

On the way home, Song Wanning was humming a tune to herself, visibly cheerful.

Wen Jingxing raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s making you so happy?”

“Because I just did a good deed!” Song Wanning replied excitedly, holding up one finger.

“Oh? When did this happen? I must have missed it.”

“Just now.”

“Just now?”

“Yes, I slipped a few thousand yuan to the unc—”

Before she could finish, Wen Jingxing reached out and covered her mouth with his hand. “Shh, that’s our little secret.”

“Hmm? Oh…” Song Wanning, slightly tipsy, gazed at Wen Jingxing’s face. “But why?”

“No reason.”

Wen Jingxing didn’t need her to finish her sentence to know what she’d done, and was surprised she’d managed it so quietly.

Earlier that morning, Li Weiwei had told them that any money Song Wanning earned during the mission could be kept, but once the mission ended, she’d have to return it all to the production team.

If Song Wanning spent the money on herself, that was fine—but Li Weiwei would never agree to her giving it to someone outside the show.

But the uncle’s family was poor, and yet he’d paused his own business without hesitation to help Song Wanning, just to meet his idol.

So Song Wanning felt that she should help however she could.

The journey home was dull, so Song Wanning closed her eyes for a nap, only to fall sound asleep.

When Cheng Mu, driving up front, made a sharp turn, she tumbled straight onto Wen Jingxing.

Wen Jingxing noticed she was underdressed again and frowned, then took out a spare jacket from the car and draped it over her.

This woman truly didn’t know how to take care of herself. The weather was starting to turn chilly, but she still refused to layer up, letting her hands and feet remain cold each day.

On the other side, Jian An’an—who had been shadowed by Jin Jianyi for an entire day and night—finally found a good excuse to slip away from his watchful eye.

She told Jin Jianyi that she had plans to take a walk with Shen Yue after dinner, and that he should stay in the villa.

Jin Jianyi had already heard about the plan with Shen Yue during the day, so he didn’t question it and let her go.

By this time, the guests had all returned to the villa and the cameramen were no longer following anyone, so as long as Jian An’an avoided everyone’s sight, she wouldn’t have to worry about being filmed.

Carefully, she slipped out and headed down the path she’d scouted out beforehand.

To familiarize herself with the area, every time she returned to the villa, she’d drag Jin Jianyi around in circles under the pretense of taking a stroll.

Naive Jin Jianyi thought she simply wanted to walk with him, never realizing she was just using him as cover.

After much effort, Jian An’an finally arrived at Shen Yue’s villa and knocked on the door—only for Jiang Mingzhao to answer, which caught her off guard.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Mingzhao sounded displeased, as if she didn’t realize how inappropriate it was to disturb someone so late.

“Oh, I’m here to see Shen Yue.”

Seeing Jiang Mingzhao made Jian An’an’s heart skip a beat. What now? An unexpected variable—one extra person meant a greater risk of being exposed.

But tonight was the appointed time to meet Zhou Xiancheng, and Jian An’an was determined not to miss it; who knew when the next opportunity would come? Ever since he’d changed positions, meeting him had become increasingly difficult.

Jiang Mingzhao said, “Looking for her? She’s showering. If you’re not in a rush, you can wait; otherwise, you should head back.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind waiting.”

Though she was anxious, she didn’t let it show.

Shen Yue really was troublesome. It was just a walk, yet she needed to shower first? And Jian An’an had waited a long while after dinner before coming. Still, Shen Yue wasn’t done.

Jian An’an waited and waited but Shen Yue didn’t come down, so she went back to Jiang Mingzhao and asked him to pass on a message—just say she suddenly remembered something and would come by tomorrow instead.

Jiang Mingzhao frowned, “If you had something to do, why arrange to meet today?”

“Sorry for the trouble, Mingzhao,” Jian An’an replied, furrowing her brow and trying to appear pitiful, as she used to.

But with her swollen, bruised face, she hadn’t even finished her expression before Jiang Mingzhao hurriedly stopped her. “Enough, enough, I’ll pass on the message.”

Jiang Mingzhao, who had originally wanted to avoid talking to Shen Yue, quickly agreed just to avoid seeing Jian An’an’s ghostly expression.

Jian An’an was delighted. “Mingzhao, you’re the best!”

But in the end, Jiang Mingzhao failed to stop her from making that ghastly face, and, terrified, he slammed the door shut, leaving Jian An’an abruptly outside.

Feeling a little guilty, he called through the door, “Since you have something to do, you should go back. I won’t keep you.”

It was clear to anyone that Jiang Mingzhao was genuinely afraid of Jian An’an.

But Jian An’an couldn’t be bothered to care. She was already running late, and had wasted even more time at Shen Yue’s place—she needed to hurry to the mountain cave to meet Zhou Xiancheng.

Otherwise, if he had to wait too long, he’d start nitpicking and try to extort more money from her.

Sure enough, when she arrived, Zhou Xiancheng was already waiting, visibly impatient. He said right away, “More money, more money. If you’re late again next time, I won’t wait.”

Jian An’an forced herself to be patient. She still needed him for now; she could discard him once she’d used him up.

She didn’t yet realize how naive her thoughts really were.

Zhou Xiancheng hadn’t signed any agreement with her, but he wasn’t worried she would go back on her word.

He had made two preparations. Not only was his phone secretly recording, but he also had another backup device hidden on him.

Jian An’an frowned. She had no intention of paying him back, so she casually replied, “We’ll talk about it later.”

She didn’t give a definite answer—at least she was leaving herself an escape route.

“This time, I can’t get your phone anymore. So why do you want to see me?” Zhou Xiancheng was puzzled.

Was this woman up to something again?

If it hadn’t been for the business with the hot spring and the paparazzi, he’d never have realized just how devious Jian An’an was beneath her innocent facade. But that was fine.

Someone like her was easiest to control once he had leverage.

Jian An’an snapped, “Stop asking so many questions. Lend me your phone.”