Oops! My Inner Thoughts Are Ruining The Plot
Chapter 65 -
Wenzhe’s presence instantly sucked all the remaining warmth from the room. He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his eyes never leaving Su Yueqing’s flustered face.
Just a few minutes ago, he had been walking through the outer courtyard. His mother’s anxious words from earlier were still echoing in his head, making him restless. He had intended to come straight to his wife’s quarters to see what new trouble she was brewing. Her personal maids had spotted him approaching and scrambled to announce his arrival, but Wenzhe had raised a cold hand, instantly cutting them off.
He didn’t want a grand entrance; he wanted to catch her off guard.
He had marched silently down the corridor, but just as he reached the heavy wooden doors, the muffled sound of voices made him pause.
Standing right outside, Wenzhe had overheard the entire conversation.
At first, when the pale maid confessed to stealing the jade and framing Li Mei, Wenzhe’s blood had boiled. A surge of absolute anger had rushed through him.
His hands had balled into tight fists, and he was fully prepared to kick the doors open and drag the scheming thief straight to the magistrate. How dare a low-ranking servant plot against her.
But right as his hand touched the door handle, the maid’s ragged, weeping voice had cut through his rage, throwing a bucket of ice water over his anger.
"Li Mei has been torturing me inside the servant quarters for months! My little sister... beaten and sold off into the slave market because of her!"
Wenzhe had frozen on the threshold, his hand paralyzed against the wood. The words had repeated in his brain like a striking gong. For the second time that day, he was hearing things about Li Mei that he never knew she was capable of.
The sweet, fragile, and smart maid he thought he knew was suddenly being described as a ruthless tyrant running a dark ring inside his own family estate.
Breaking his trance, he had pushed the doors open right as Su Yueqing was having her internal meltdown.
"A kind person, huh?" Wenzhe repeated, his voice dangerously smooth as he walked closer to the daybed, completely ignoring the shivering thief on the floor.
Su Yueqing’s outward expression quickly hardened into an annoyed glare, but her inner mind was a chaotic mess of screaming sirens.
[ABORT MISSION! SYSTEM, HE IS LOOKING AT ME!] Su Yueqing’s inner voice panicked, the thoughts practically vibrating through the air.
[Why is the male lead looking at me like he wants to dissect me?! Don’t look at me, look at the plot! Look at your evil maid! Wait... did he hear everything? Did he hear that his precious white lotus is actually a human trafficker?! Oh great, now he’s going to suffer an existential crisis, and somehow it’s going to be my fault! My villain points are bleeding out, Nine!]
Wenzhe’s lips twitched slightly at her loud thoughts. He stopped right at the edge of her daybed, towering over her.
Wenzhe kept his eyes locked on Su Yueqing’s face, his expression perfectly controlled. He deliberately stepped over the shivering, crying girl on the rug and looked around the room as if he had just walked into a minor domestic dispute.
"Why is this maid here?" Wenzhe asked, his tone flat and casual. He completely hid the storm brewing in his chest, pretending like he hadn’t heard a single sentence from outside the door.
Hearing his calm, questioning words, Su Yueqing’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and she let out a tiny, imperceptible sigh of relief.
[Oh, thank goodness!] her inner voice cheered, completely bursting with joy.
[He didn’t hear anything! Wow, for a powerful male lead, his hearing is surprisingly garbage. Excellent. The universe is on my side!]
She adjusted her silk robes, putting her arrogant, spoiled mask right back on. "She’s just a clumsy, useless girl who broke one of my favorite porcelain dishes, Husband. I was just giving her a proper scolding before throwing her out of my sight. Isn’t that right, girl?"
The pale maid quickly nodded against the floor, too terrified to say anything else.
But while Su Yueqing’s face was full of haughty disdain, her inner mind was cackling like a true mastermind, completely laying out her ridiculous grand plan.
[Phew! It is absolutely vital that Wenzhe stays completely blind to what his precious white lotus is actually doing!] Su Yueqing’s thoughts echoed loudly, full of smug satisfaction.
[He absolutely cannot find out who Li Mei really is. If he knew she was a villain running a slave ring, he would get disillusioned, dump her, and look for someone else. No, no, no! He has to keep believing Li Mei is a pure, innocent angel so he can fiercely protect her against me! That way, he will grow to absolutely hate me for ’bullying’ his favorite girl. And according to the original plot line, he has to hate me, become completely obsessed with ruining me, and then eventually die a tragic death! Hahaha! Yes! The script must be followed!]
Wenzhe stood perfectly still by the daybed, his face a mask of stone, but his jaw clenched so hard his teeth nearly cracked.
’He has to hate me... become obsessed with her... and eventually die?’
He stared down at his wife, entirely speechless. This crazy woman was actively trying to hide the truth about a dangerous maid, completely ruining her own reputation, all because she was running a bizarre mental script where his final destination was an early grave.
Su Yueqing snapped her fingers sharply, looking down at the shivering girl on the floor with an impatient glare. "Well? What are you still doing here? Pack your things and get out of my courtyard before I change my mind and have you beaten!"
The pale maid didn’t need to be told twice. She scrambled to her feet, bowed frantically to both of them, and ran out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her, shutting the heavy wooden doors firmly behind her.
With the servant gone, the room became incredibly quiet. Su Yueqing turned her attention back to her husband. She crossed her arms, tilting her head up to face him with a haughty, annoyed expression.
"Now then," she said, her voice dripping with sharp arrogance. "What exactly are you doing here, Wenzhe? What do you want? Don’t tell me you came all the way to my quarters just to check if I broke any more of your precious estate rules."
Wenzhe didn’t flinch at her cold tone. Instead, a slow, unreadable expression crossed his face. He took another step closer, looming right over her daybed, and looked down at her with a steady, intense gaze.
"You are my wife," Wenzhe said, his smooth voice remarkably calm. "Do I really need a specific reason to come see you?"
Su Yueqing’s outward expression instantly twisted into a look of pure disgust.
"You are my wife," Wenzhe said, his smooth voice remarkably calm. "Do I really need a specific reason to come see you?"
Su Yueqing’s outward expression instantly twisted into a look of pure disgust. She pulled back into her cushions, her posture stiffening with sharp arrogance.
Wenzhe leaned down slightly, his voice dropping an octave as a small, challenging smirk played on his lips. "In fact, I came to tell you to prepare yourself. We are going horse riding this evening."
"Horse riding? In the evening? Absolutely not," Su Yueqing snapped, her nose wrinkling in immediate rejection. She crossed her arms tighter, tilting her chin up to look at him with pure defiance. "I have no interest in getting covered in dust and sweating like a peasant. Go find someone else to play with your horses, General. I am staying right here. You think you can just command me around? Hmph. I am a daughter of the Su family, not one of your soldiers. I don’t care if the horses are ready. I said no."
But the absolute second she finished speaking those arrogant words, her inner mind completely split from her outward glare, going from defensive to a mix of frantic panic and sudden, bright excitement.
[HORSE RIDING?!] Su Yueqing’s inner voice shrieked in pure terror.
[Is he insane?! The male lead is supposed to hate the toxic wife’s guts! Why on earth is he inviting me on a romantic evening date?! Wait... wait a minute. Is this a trap? Is he taking me out to the deserted cliffs to quietly assassinate me because I locked up his precious maid?! Oh my god, he’s going to murder me and feed me to the wolves! System, save me! I’m too young to become fertilizer!]
[Wait... but did he say horse riding?!] her thoughts suddenly perked up, completely shifting gears into pure excitement.
[Oh my god, the Xi family horses! The book description said the Duke’s stables have those premium, top-tier Ferghana blood-sweating stallions! They are supposed to be absolute beauties, faster than the wind, with coats that literally shine like polished satin! I’ve always wanted to see one up close! Ahhh, I bet they look so majestic!]
Wenzhe had to forcefully squeeze his hands into fists behind his back to keep from laughing out loud.
’Assassinate her? Feed her to the wolves? And yet, she was practically bouncing up and down inside her own head over the stallions.’
He blinked, entirely amused by the loud enthusiasm echoing from her mind while her face looked like she wanted to strangle him.
But just as quickly as she got excited, her inner voice took a sharp, dramatic dive right back into villainous panic.
[No, wait! Focus, Yueqing! Focus!] she mentally scolded herself.
[You cannot go! If you willingly go on a scenic horse riding date with him, you’ll look like a doting, compliant wife! Where are the villain points in that?! A true villainess would rather rot in her room than spend quality time with the husband she’s supposed to be torturing! I have to refuse! Even if those horses are the coolest things ever... ugh, why does the plot have to be so cruel to me?!]
Wenzhe’s lips twitched, a genuine spark of amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched her physical mask strain under the weight of her hidden excitement. Ignoring her mental drama, he straightened up, his eyes locking onto hers with unyielding authority.
"You can complain all you want, Yueqing," Wenzhe said smoothly, his voice carrying the firm weight of a commander’s order as he turned toward the door. "But change into your riding robes. We leave in an hour. You have no choice."