Chapter 5: Day 5 of Transmigrating into an Object

Jiang Shiyang lay limp and drained in Shen Wenyi’s palm. With a click, the light went off, followed by the soft patter of footsteps as Shen Wenyi walked to the bed and sat down.

Above her, the closed fingers parted slightly, letting light seep through the cracks. She stared up at Shen Wenyi’s magnified face. Those eyes were bright as stars, and her lashes were so long that if you tied them together, you could probably swing from them.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t in any condition to swing from anything right now. She was utterly exhausted, her soul resonating with the Monkey King who could never escape Rulai Buddha’s palm.

Shen Wenyi was a siren, a spirit that sucked people’s life force dry!

She wasn’t just physically drained anymore; she felt like her very soul had been wrung out like a dried husk, ready to sail away on the wind at any moment!

Her heart was so tired. Rubbing to generate heat was the absolute worst.

Her body was lifted into the air again, then suddenly filled as Shen Wenyi slipped her onto her left index finger.

That sentence somehow felt flawed.

Before, being worn on Shen Wenyi’s hand hadn’t felt like anything special. But now, after being washed and wiped, then put on again, she felt a profound discomfort, her entire soul stretched taut.

Her body was twisted slightly as Shen Wenyi adjusted the ring face’s position. Before she could even focus on Shen Wenyi’s face, those moist red lips, freshly washed moments ago, pressed a kiss against her.

A light peck, soft as a tender shoot stretching out in early spring, like the first breeze of summer, like a sunflower smiling at Father Sun, like…

She couldn’t think of any more comparisons. She stared blankly at Shen Wenyi, who had pulled away just as quickly. The silver band of the ring reflected Shen Wenyi’s lips, as red as a freshly washed cherry. She could almost hallucinate the sweet freshness of the cherry and the springy bounce of gelatin.

Wait, hold on. She’d been kissed! Shen Wenyi had kissed her!!!

[Host: The mission?! My mission should be complete!!]

The system’s mechanical voice poured over her like a bucket of ice water.

[System: Ten seconds, thank you.]

A sudden trip from hell to heaven, then a crash from heaven back to hell, digging a crater on impact.

Heart. So. Tired.

[Host: Can it be accumulated?]

[System: No.]

Jiang Shiyang: ………..

So why on earth did Shen Wenyi suddenly kiss her? Hadn’t she refused the challenge?

She watched as Shen Wenyi took out her phone, switched to selfie mode, and instantly felt a spark of hope reignite.

Sure enough, Shen Wenyi was still the same competitive Shen Wenyi. Her mouth said no, but her body was very honest. Hah.

Shen Wenyi adjusted her pose with the phone and kissed her again.

She had no time to ponder whether the sensation on her face was cherry or gelatin. Nervously holding her breath, she began a silent countdown.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…

Click.

Shen Wenyi pulled her lips away.

That was it? Only five seconds? Are you incapable, Shen Wenyi?!

Shen Wenyi scrolled through the burst shots she had taken and seemed not entirely satisfied. She sighed in relief. Good that she’s not satisfied. Hurry up and kiss me again.

Shen Wenyi adjusted her posture again, raised the phone once more, and her lips came in for another kiss.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

0!!!

It’s complete! It’s complete! It’s really complete this time!

The moment she reached zero in her head, Shen Wenyi pulled her lips away and began reviewing the burst shots again.

She had no time to worry about photo quality. Suppressing her excitement, she poked at the system again.

[Host: How about it? It worked this time, right?]

[System: Not quite, Host. It’s still short by 0.5 seconds!]

??????

[Host: What the hell is this 0.5 seconds? Are you bullying me for being a humanities student?]

[System: No, Host. The system timer was 0.5 seconds away from counting down to zero, meaning it was still stuck at the final 1-second mark!]

[Host: But I clearly counted to zero!]

[System: The system’s time is the definitive standard, Host!]

[Host: Why do you keep using exclamation marks with me? Are we fighting?!]

[System: To match the Host’s emotional state!]

She trembled with rage.

[System: Should I add a large-screen automatic countdown for the Host? This is a permission I can grant!]

[Host: You, immediately, G, E, T– O, U, T!]

“I forgot to put on lipstick.”

Shen Wenyi’s low murmur suddenly came from above. Jiang Shiyang had no mood to continue her spat with the system. Hope reignited as she looked at Shen Wenyi expectantly.

She hadn’t even been this eager when she attended the Lily Award ceremony for the first time!

She was already prepared to count down, her gaze so focused that the ring’s surface reflected a brilliant starry light. She was just waiting for those red lips, her salvation from this sea of misery, to kiss her!

“It’s already so late. Forget it, I’ll just add a filter.”

What happens when you don’t pinch the opening tight while inflating a balloon? Just like her right now, whoosh, and she was completely deflated.

She watched Shen Wenyi choose a filter that added a healthy glow, compensating for the lack of lipstick and the dim lighting. She saved the photo and opened Weibo.

She knew it. Shen Wenyi was about to declare war on her.

To be honest, in a battle of likes, she might not necessarily be able to beat Shen Wenyi. After all, Shen Wenyi had just won her second Best Actress award and had been lavishly praised on Weibo by Director Chen. The promotional stills for Weiyang Palace had also drummed up a massive wave of goodwill online. As a last-minute replacement, she was already at a disadvantage. What’s more, being in the same film crew as Shen Wenyi—she could already imagine how badly she’d be vilified once the official announcement was made.

#Shock! Jiang Shiyang Elbows Out Original Supporting Actress to Land Role in Weiyang Palace for Resources!#

#Shen Wenyi Fans Burn Incense Overnight to Help Shen Wenyi Beat Down Villains#

#Jiang Shiyang Fans Frantically Charting to Support Their Idol#

#Jiang Shiyang and Shen Wenyi Fans Report Each Other to Ban Super Topics#

#Jiang Shiyang’s Real Reason for Joining Weiyang Palace Revealed: To Battle Shen Wenyi#

Whenever any gossip broke, she was always the one getting smeared. Shen Wenyi was the princess, and with the Shengjing Group backing her, the media wouldn’t dare throw wild accusations her way.

Whatever, she was used to it anyway… What was Shen Wenyi doing?

She watched in confusion as Shen Wenyi tapped on the photo of herself kissing the ring, downloaded and saved it, then exited Weibo.

????????????

The battle post for Weibo hadn’t even been made yet, and she was already backing out?

Shen Wenyi opened her photo album and looked at the picture she had just downloaded. She pinched two fingers together and spread them apart, zooming in on her face, then finally stopped at her own lips kissing the ring.

Shen Wenyi pinched her thumb and forefinger together and tried to zoom in on her lips several times, confirming she had reached maximum magnification. Only then did she center it on the screen and look down at it.

What are you looking at? Why are you staring so intently? Don’t tell me she zooms in on every single one of her Weibo photos like a total creep?!

She was shocked by Shen Wenyi’s abnormal behavior when she saw the corner of Shen Wenyi’s lips curl up in a soft laugh.

“The lipstick was applied so sloppily, not even blended properly. It’s worse than my filter.”

She: ………..

She had a “your mother” thought she wanted to share, but she was a public figure and couldn’t use foul language.

Still zoomed in, Shen Wenyi looked over the entire photo once more before reaching out to turn off the bedside lamp, pressing her phone screen dark, and lying down.

She felt a pang of dread. Tomorrow, Little Xie was destined to have a groundhog-level scream, the horrified kind.

Shen Wenyi’s breathing quickly steadied into the rhythm of sleep. Tucked under the covers, her nostrils were filled with a faint fragrance of shower gel. What brand was this? It smelled quite nice.

Was this really the time to care about shower gel? Shouldn’t she be worrying about what happens if she can’t complete the mission?

But worrying was useless. Even if she were so anxious she underwent mitosis, an unsolvable problem remained unsolvable. Jiang Shiyang had never liked tormenting herself over the impossible.

So, forget the mission for now. She should worry about a more realistic problem.

Would Shen Wenyi unconsciously release toxic gases under the blanket in her sleep?!

This was insane.

The mission didn’t drive Jiang Shiyang crazy, but this emission problem kept her from sleeping soundly all night.

Thankfully, Shen Wenyi spent the entire night peacefully acting as her little fairy, never straying into behavior that would ruin the persona.

The next morning, she was jostled awake by Shen Wenyi. It was faintly light outside the window. Shen Wenyi reached out to turn off the alarm, and she used the chance to glance at it. Only 5:50 AM. She hadn’t slept until past three in the morning, so even at best, she’d only gotten two and a half hours of sleep. Why did a rich, beautiful socialite like Shen Wenyi push herself so hard anyway?

She loved acting, and besides, there wasn’t a faster way to make money than being a celebrity.

So why did Shen Wenyi torture herself like this?

For passion? But back in senior year of high school, when she had applied to the film academy, Shen Wenyi had mocked her, saying the entertainment industry was a giant dye vat and that sooner or later, she’d be “taken under” and dyed a colorful black.

If this dye vat was deep enough to drown people, why did Shen Wenyi jump in?

Shen Wenyi yawned and sat up—a stark contrast to her own 360-degree no-dead-angle bedhead struggle. Shen Wenyi only set one alarm and got up the moment it rang.

She remembered her own ten alarms, set two minutes apart. God knows what a mess they were causing right now, buzzing away.

Shen Wenyi stretched and got out of bed, rubbing her shoulder as she walked into the bathroom.

She was jostled dizzy by Shen Wenyi’s movements as Shen Wenyi picked up her toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste onto it, yawning as she did so. Tears welled up at the slightly reddened corners of her eyes from the yawns, and the toothbrush, paste and all, finally reached those pearly white teeth.

Shen Wenyi was genuinely tired. Just while brushing her teeth, she yawned over a dozen times. It wasn’t until after she finished washing her face that the yawning finally stopped, and her spirits seemed to improve considerably.

She gloated. Serves you right for competing with me, you sleep-deprived bastard!

Shen Wenyi finished washing up, came out, and changed her clothes. She was dragged along as Shen Wenyi slipped through the fabric, her ears filled with the rustling sounds.

Finally struggling free and seeing the light of day, Shen Wenyi looked down and saw her. Her thumb gently stroked the ring face—in other words, her face.

The early morning sunlight slanted through the newly opened curtains, casting a glow before them. Tiny dust motes danced in the air. Shen Wenyi, her long lashes half-lowered, gazed at her with such tenderness that it gave her goosebumps.

Shen Wenyi slowly raised her hand, her pale, slender fingers curled loosely and naturally. Her unadorned lips, a rich, moist red, gently kissed the ring.

W-What is happening?!

She widened her eyes slightly. The kiss had come so suddenly, she even forgot to count down.

Ding!

[Congratulations! Mission (1) Complete! Reward: Human Form Duration Exchange Coupon ×480, Points Exchange Coupon ×10.]