Chapter 21: Day 21 of Transmigrating into an Object Part 1

A new day, another grueling filming schedule. Jiang Shiyang sat in the makeup room, letting the makeup artist work on her face, sighing for the nth time since waking up.

She hated it! She hated that she’d been so shocked at the time, that she’d completely forgotten to exchange for Human Form Duration, missing the perfect window to confront her. Now, even after waking up, she had no idea how to question Shen Wenyi about that kiss.

You need to catch a cheater in the act. How could she have just frozen up like that? How could she have been so stupid?!

Shen Wenyi hadn’t just stopped at one kiss either. Even though she’d later rolled away with the blanket and couldn’t see Shen Wenyi’s face, Shen Wenyi had stayed down for ages before getting up. And just because she couldn’t see didn’t mean she was deaf! Those smacking, smooching sounds… meow, it was too embarrassing. She’d heard it all anyway!

She never expected this. She really, truly never expected it!

She’d thought a shameless person like herself would be the only one capable of such audacity. How could someone as restrained as the untouchable goddess Shen Wenyi also be so… indiscriminate? Did Shen Wenyi think that because she was unconscious, she wouldn’t have to take responsibility, so she was just stealing a few kisses to satisfy a craving?

Well, it just goes to show, you really can’t repress yourself too much. Push it to the limit, and there are only two outcomes: either you become a silent deviant, or you become a silent pervert. Had Shen Wenyi finally snapped after twenty-some years of pent-up thirst?

Originally, she could have confronted Shen Wenyi about it. After all, she was the one who was kissed. At any time, she had the right to defend her own interests.

But before she could even ask, the moment Shen Wenyi saw her awake, her eyes instantly reddened. Without a word, she summoned a whole army of specialists. This included, but wasn’t limited to, a Mosquito Leg Specialist and other people who were supposedly top-tier in the industry… specialists?

Anyway, this “top” must have been pretty big, hundreds of square meters, to fit so many experts.

Whether they were actually top-tier or not was debatable, but they all looked very expensive, that much was certain.

Seeing Shen Wenyi working so hard, bending over backwards and hemorrhaging money like some charity fairy, even if her motive wasn’t specifically for her, Jiang Shiyang was the actual beneficiary. She really couldn’t bring herself to make a fuss.

Besides, what was a few kisses? When she was doing missions before, she’d practically swindled who knows how many kisses from Shen Wenyi without her knowledge. She’d even secretly watched her bathe, up close, in HD, no mosaic, from all 360 degrees in full saturation…

Tsk.

Let’s just call it even. She wasn’t that petty.

In the end, she was unconscious for 6 days and 23 hours. A truckload of money was spent, and nothing was found. She was finally saved by a bizarre stroke of luck when a lipstick-smeared Shen Wenyi kissed her.

Shen Wenyi did ask why she’d been unconscious. Jiang Shiyang almost told the truth right then, but after thinking it over, she realized it was simply unspeakable.

What was she supposed to say?

That she was just sleeping?

People had worried themselves sick and traveled thousands of miles to treat her, only to find out she was just sleeping?

Those words are easy to say but terrible to hear!

Even someone as thick-skinned as her couldn’t say something like that.

Besides, even if she did say it, Shen Wenyi wouldn’t believe it. Who sleeps for seven days straight? And can’t be woken up no matter what you do?

But if she didn’t say she was asleep, what else could she say? Any explanation would risk exposing the mission. The System hadn’t said she couldn’t tell anyone, but it also hadn’t said she could. What if there were negative consequences?

And, putting herself in Shen Wenyi’s shoes: if she discovered that any object around her could suddenly turn into a person, she’d probably be too scared to even drink water. She wouldn’t fear anything except using the bathroom! Who could know if the toilet beneath her or the toilet paper by her hand was human or ghost?

Although she liked the idea of grossing Shen Wenyi out, she was afraid that if she grossed her out too much, Shen Wenyi would snap and go full evil mode, making future missions even more impossibly difficult.

Her coma started suddenly, and she’d returned just as abruptly. Director Chen had already rearranged the schedule, so there were no scenes for her, only two temporarily inserted here and there.

She wasn’t as insanely busy as she’d predicted. After getting her makeup done, she sat on a small stool watching others act.

When she arrived yesterday afternoon, Director Chen had scolded her thoroughly in front of everyone. But anyone with ears could tell that while Director Chen was yelling at her, he was actually concerned, telling her to take better care of her health, to speak up if she felt unwell, and not to push herself too hard.

Shen Wenyi had also received a scolding. Director Chen threw the bill at Shen Wenyi, ranting furiously, but that bill was peanuts. Director Chen hadn’t halted production these past few days, just pushed other actors’ scenes forward. The bill was only for a bit of utilities; Director Chen gave it to Shen Wenyi out of spite.

She thought… Director Chen was right! Shen Wenyi was completely lawless, taking leave without even showing her face, practically treating Director Chen like he wasn’t the boss. She deserved to be chewed out!

But why, in the end, did Shen Wenyi kiss her?! Huh?!

It was driving her insane!

“Sigh.”

She sighed for the nth + 10086th time.

Little Xie was hugging a water bottle, happily drinking and watching the filming. Hearing the sigh, Little Xie turned to look at her.

“What’s wrong, Teacher?”

Propping her chin on her hand, she glanced listlessly at Little Xie. Would telling you even help? I’d be grateful if you just didn’t sell me out.

Seeing her silence, Little Xie instantly tensed up. “Teacher, are you feeling unwell again?!”

What do you mean “again”? Where did “again” come from? Even when I was unconscious, I never said I was unwell, okay?

Seeing Little Xie about to stand up in alarm, with people already starting to look their way, she quickly reached out and grabbed Little Xie.

“I’m fine, don’t make a fuss.”

Little Xie finally sighed with relief and sat back down. “Then what’s wrong, Teacher?”

Since she woke from the coma, Little Xie had abruptly stopped addressing her with the formal “you” (you).

But whatever, this way felt more comfortable anyway.

“Teacher?”

Looking at the “thirst for knowledge” in Little Xie’s eyes, she suddenly had a bout of generosity. Maybe she should… talk to Little Xie about it, just a little?

She cleared her throat, put on a serious face, and said, “So here’s the thing, I have a friend…”

Little Xie asked, “Who? Sister Li?”

Sister Li was the agent.

She said, “No.”

Little Xie asked, “Brother Zhao?”

Brother Zhao was the driver.

She said, “No.”

Little Xie asked, “Could it be Chengzi?”

Chengzi was the assistant.

She said, “No!”

Little Xie asked, “Who is it then? I should know all the Teacher’s friends, right?”

She was speechless. “Are you my mother or something?! Even my mother doesn’t know everyone!”

But then again, she really didn’t seem to have many friends she could name.

With a cold face, she said, “Forget it, I’m not talking about it.”

Little Xie quickly grabbed her arm. “No, go on, tell me, tell me! I promise I won’t guess randomly anymore. It’s your friend, your friend.”

She glanced over to where they were still doing retakes on the other side; it would be a while before her turn. She finally spoke.

“So, I have this friend.”

Little Xie nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh, a friend.”

She chose her words carefully. “This friend of mine… let me just say right now, I’m not playing that lame ‘asking for a friend’ joke. I really do have a friend.”

Little Xie nodded like a pecking chicken. “I know, I know, I believe you!”

Only then did Jiang Shiyang continue. “My friend’s surname is Zhang. He’s my middle school classmate. We lost touch for years and only recently reconnected, so you wouldn’t know him. We were really close in middle school.”

“Ooh~~” Little Xie nodded repeatedly. “So detailed, I really believe he’s your friend, Teacher. So what happened to him?”

She said, “He also had a nemesis back in middle school, kind of like me and Shen Wenyi, though not as intense as us. And then recently, he told me this nemesis of his started acting really weird, and he wanted me to help him figure out why.”

Little Xie’s eyes were sparkling, hugging the water bottle with full attention fixed on her. Little Xie asked eagerly, “And then? Tell me, Teacher, I’ll help you analyze it.”

Good, Little Xie, I raised you well.

She said, “It’s actually nothing much. A nemesis relationship, just like me and Shen Wenyi. Of course, they don’t clash as badly as we do; their relationship is a bit more civil.”

“But no matter how civil, he’s still a nemesis. Recently, this nemesis snuck a kiss on him while he was sleeping. He just can’t wrap his head around it, can’t figure out why his nemesis would kiss him.”

“Little Xie, you analyze that. Why would his nemesis kiss him? …Little Xie? LITTLE XIE???”

Little Xie was still staring at her with those sparkling eyes, but the smile on her face seemed frozen, not even blinking.

“L-Little Xie???”

Little Xie shuddered. The one hand cupping the chin slowly became two hands, and then, instead of cupping, they covered the face. Little Xie suddenly buried her face in her knees, stomping her feet several times in excited little motions before looking up. Her face was flushed from being covered, her eyes even brighter.

“Teacher Shen kissed you?!”

Jiang Shiyang: “!!!!!!!!!!”

If you’re trying to scare me to death so you can get a new job, just say so.

Little Xie’s suppressed voice was brimming with uncontrollable excitement, like a hyperactive chipmunk. She had no doubt that if the situation were different, this chipmunk would absolutely be screaming her head off.

Jiang Shiyang said expressionlessly, “My friend’s surname is Zhang. Her nemesis’s surname is Wang. Thank you.”

Little Xie clutched her chest, desperately suppressing her excitement. “Yes, yes, I was out of line, Teacher Jiang. I’m sorry, don’t be mad.”

You sure were out of line. And you almost made me lose it alongside you!

She rolled her eyes at Little Xie, utterly speechless and unwilling to say another word.

Little Xie quickly tried to make amends with an analysis. “I think, let alone nemeses, even very close friends wouldn’t just randomly kiss. Unless it’s a game of Truth or Dare, of course.”

Suddenly feeling enlightened, she said, “So you’re saying Little Wang kissing Little Zhang was probably because of a dare?”

Little Xie said, “It’s unlikely, right? Teacher Shen is so busy with work… I mean, Little Wang must be very busy with work, where would they find time for such a silly game of dare? And dares are usually done in front of friends as witnesses. Was Teacher Shen… I mean, was Little Wang witnessed by friends when she kissed her?”

She glared at Little Xie, extremely dissatisfied with Little Xie’s pea-brain memory. She couldn’t even maintain the pretense properly.

She said, “I was just throwing it out there. I also don’t think Little Wang did it for a dare.”

Little Xie said, “So, I think Shen… Little Wang definitely likes Little Zhang.”

Little Wang likes Little Zhang?

Shen Wenyi likes… her?

The door to a new world… slowly opened.

No! This wasn’t a new world, this was a whole new universe! A new dimension! A new plane of existence!!

Unable to accept this sudden shock, Jiang Shiyang smiled while holding her forehead to mask the bottomless unease in her heart.

“Are you kidding? They’re nemeses. How could they just suddenly like each other? All those years of fighting for nothing? Don’t talk nonsense, haha… ha.”

Little Xie said, “Isn’t that exactly how ‘quarrelsome lovers’ trope works? It’s a very popular CP trope among the masses.”

Put that way, it did kind of make sense, huh?