Woke up and Heard I Was Married

Chapter 8: System, You’re Such a Crow-mouth*

*TL/N: in Chinese, crow-mouth (乌鸦嘴) is used to describe a person who’s said something foreboding/talked about negative things happening in the future, and what they say often ends up coming true. Closer interpretations in English are along the lines of “jinxing” or being a “croaker”.

A statement was issued really quickly, posted by a legal representative. Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou didn’t comment on the rumours the entire time, as the managers of both parties didn’t want the actors getting too involved.

Otherwise, it would really blow things out of proportion. 

It was certainly a one in a million statement, including a digital letter from the world renowned jewelry designer, David. The designer clarified that the rings in question were from a niche collection but weren’t wedding bands, it was one his designs for personal adornment from a few years ago. 

And then the statement started to explain Shao Si’s exposed…underwear.

——Lies, you think we can’t tell a tattoo and underwear apart?

——That has to be a tattoo! 

——I think it’s his underwear! You people are blind! 

This scandal instantly turned into a dispute between team tattoo and team underwear.

It became even more controversial than the debate over a certain dress being “black and blue” or “white and gold”.

Shao Si’s photo with his underwear showing was captured by a fan, taken while he was leaning over to pick something up during some event. The resolution wasn’t that great and the focus was blurred. 

It wasn’t just a part of Shao Si’s black underwear that was seen, but also a part of his slender waist. 

…His waist was quite thin. 

For the first time, Chen Yang laughed at the stuff he saw while scrolling through the feed. Up until just now he had still been upset over the unfounded rumours flying around, but now he was chuckling. Realizing this wasn’t the moment to be laughing, he caught himself and switched into coughing. He straightened his face, saying to Gu Yanzhou: “We’ve already issued the statement, the news won’t die down right away, but after a while it’ll be fine.”

Gu Yanzhou had his eyes closed for the makeup artist to apply some finishing powder, not saying anything in reply. 

Chen Yang paused in thought, then said: “This Shao Si guy, he’s pretty interesting. I remember you quite liked him back then, when he first debuted you even praised him…”

Gu Yanzhou’s eye twitched. 

“How come you’re not fond of him anymore?” Chen Yang rarely ever saw Gu Yanzhou having a bad opinion about someone. 

Gu Yanzhou opened his eyes. Usually he bore a faint smile on his face, looking gentle and humble. 

But because he was currently getting his makeup done, he was expressionless. So in that instant, Gu Film emperor who was known for his “gentle” image actually looked rather aloof, his eyes filled with intimidating hostility.

Gu Yanzhou gave Chen Yang a glance, before composedly changing the topic: “Yang Ge*, help me bring my script over.”

*TL/N: *Ge= brother

Chen Yang got up to get the script and gave it a rest for a while, but still couldn’t resist, continuing the topic: “Let me think, what did you say back then…that kid is quite talented, is pretty good looking… if I remember correctly, didn’t you compliment his body?”

When Shao Si first debuted, he had acted in a swimming drama as a child with heart disease, whose dream was to become a national swim team athlete. 

There were many scenes of him just wearing swim briefs.

……

Gu Yanzhou stopped flipping through the script, signalling to the makeup artist that he didn’t need to apply any more powder. 

After the makeup artist packed up and left, he leaned back in the chair, wringing his hands, saying nonchalantly: “you remembered wrong.”

Chen Yang was growing quite amused by Gu Yanzhou’s attitude toward Shao Si, deliberately insisting: “I’m sure I remembered correctly.”

Gu Yanzhou unclasped his hands, and took a look at the time: “It’s almost nine, don’t you need to get back to the office?”

Chen Yang thought to himself, could he have changed the topic any more abruptly?

Anyhow, no matter how they tried to clear things up, the rumours about Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou continued to ferment and circulate. It was like dumping a bucket of crap on a person – even if the bucket was removed, the smell would stick. 

The people didn’t care about the truth, they were only willing to believe what they wanted to believe. 

It was impossible to shut the mouths of hundreds of thousands of netizens, or stop people from taking their own stance on rumours.

—

A day’s time went by in a flash. 

As the skies darkened, the air grew stuffy. The night was awaiting a massive storm.

As the city finally started to quiet down, another explosive incident was silently brewing.

“…I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough,” it was a woman’s hoarse voice. She initially was mumbling in a low voice, but then suddenly raised her voice, her cries pinched like a knife scraping across metal, the abruptness causing people to shrink back in shock,“——You guys forced me!”

All the strength was poured from her chest into speaking, like venom seeping out of her mouth. Every single sound made was squeezed out of her throat, as she continually repeated: “It’s you guys who forced me!”

In response to whatever the person on the other end said, The woman’s expression turned calm, but that only lasted one second. A second later, her eyes curved into crescents, and a wide grin spread across her face.

Soft laughter echoed in the room. 

But the woman’s facial expression was nothing like her laughs, her red lipstick-stained mouth looked as if it had cracked open all the way to her ears, her smile eerie.

Her back was currently facing the balcony, and the glass door that led to the balcony from the second floor living room was wide open, the curtains blowing in the wind. As the gossamer curtains swayed, one could catch glimpses of the dark night outside. 

The woman was dressed in full costume, an aqua qipao*, which hugged and accentuated her curves.

*TL/N: Qipao, also called cheongsam, is a form-fitting dress popularized in Shanghai around the 1920s. The traditional qipaos that are seen today feature mandarin collars, knotted buttons, and side slits.

She spoke between laughs: “Yes, I can’t fight against you. I’ve spent my entire life being controlled by you guys, living like a lowly insect. But all of you will be punished…you’ll be punished.”

After speaking, she stopped listening to the other person’s responses, her hand holding the cellphone dropping slowly. The phone screen was still lit up, displaying the call time that continued to count up. 

The person on the other end of the line continued talking, their voice rather loud. Despite the sound being from a different space, some words still cut through the air, and reached people’s ears. 

‘Slut’.

‘Bitch’

‘Fuck’

“…how noisy.” The women seemed to say softly, then hung up. 

She leaned over to pick up a white pill bottle from the table, poured herself a glass of red wine, then brought both things with her to the balcony. 

It was already extremely late, and the house was located in a remote location. The woman sat on top of the balcony railing, feet dangling in the air.

She looked into the distance for a long time, yet didn’t see much light.

So cold.

She thought. 

The woman unscrewed the pill bottle, the vintage agate ring on her finger faintly glimmering in the night. Although she was wearing luxurious clothes with exquisite embroidery, she only had this one accessory on. 

Perhaps she also noticed the ring, and so was stunned for a moment, as if remembering something.

So she put down the pill bottle, and dialed another number. 

The contact name displayed on her phone: Gu Da Ge*

*TL/N: Da ge = big brother.

[I have a bad premonition.]

6:30am the next morning, the system woke Shao Si up: […Really, I feel like something’s wrong.]

[What are you doing…so early in the morning.]

Shao Si rolled over, thinking about the materials the private investigator sent him, which he spent the entire day studying yesterday. The package they sent contained a bunch of photos, Yang Yinyin’s schedule.

There was also a secretly recorded video included, showing an unwell Yang Yinyin being supported by her manager and assistant as she walked into their company’s building. 

He wondered how unwell a normal person had to be to get convulsions like they were doing drugs. 

　　… It was a possible that she was doing drugs.

　　 Last year, he and the system had teamed up to round up several druggies.

　　But catching each drug addict only granted one year. He and the broken system evenly split the reward, each getting half a year.

　　 This time the System had stated clearly when sending out the task list that when the mission was completed, they could obtain a life span of ten years.

Ten years, even after splitting with the system he could still get five years. 

So this mission for sure couldn’t be this simple. 

At this time the system suddenly fell silent. After a long while, as Shao Si was about to fall asleep, it started to yell: [There’s really something wrong, Yang Yinyin’s fate changed, something might’ve have happened.]

[…Don’t jinx it.]

After Shao Si finished talking, he thought back to all the times the system’s premonitions became true, and his brain started hurting. He resignedly opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

Although the system was broken, but among its limited skills, one of its stronger suits was its ability to jinx things. 

It was always on the mark. 

Shao Si turned on the light and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. As soon as the phone connected to wifi, a push notification about the hottest Weibo topic came in with a ‘ding’.

 —— Shocking! A certain Y actress died late at night! Suspected suicide, the exact cause of death is still under investigation by the police.

　　[A actress with a surname starting with Y,] Shao Si scratched his hair. [Yang Yinyin…? System, you’re so crow-mouthed. ]

　　 System: [I don’t want to be a crow mouth either. ]

[If the target of the mission dies, does it count as failing?]

In past missions, Shao Si had never run into a situation like this. He pretty much would finish up a mission and then the police showed up to arrest the targets.

However, to his surprise, the system said to him […No, it doesn’t count as failing.]

[Then how was she considered the target of the mission then?] Shao Si lied back down, zoning out as he stared at the word ‘Death’ in the article. 

[She’s died, but the string of clues and leads from her hasn’t broken yet.]

The system gave an ambiguous explanation: [As long as there are dark secrets and corruption still present, the mission won’t be terminated.]

The news came so suddenly, Shao Si initially would much rather believe that it was fake news at first, like his and Gu Yanzhou’s marriage rumours. 

But this was real.

Especially because Li Guangzong called him, gingerly starting a heart-to-heart with him. 

“Daddy, don’t feel too pressured, your life will always be the most important. I know the company’s scheduled quite a lot of jobs for you lately, and sometimes I have a bad attitude…from now on I’ll treat you more gently, and be more tolerant of your horrible temper. We need to stay clear-headed, no matter what happens, we shouldn’t choose suicide…”

Only now, did Shao Si’s heart truly sink.

The media naturally wouldn’t immediately report on this kind of news, especially when the cause of death wasn’t confirmed yet. But whether or not someone had passed away, those in the industry were always first to know. 

Shao Si’s heart froze: “Yang Yinyin really passed away?”

“You know already?” Li Guangzong was surprised at first, then started to sigh, “Dead, dead through and through. Downed a whole bottle of sleeping pills, then jumped off the second floor balcony.” 

“Just think about it, what could be so unsolvable, that you have to commit suicide. Once you lose your life, you lose everything…Yang Yinyin didn’t even leave behind a suicide note…”

Li Guangzong paused mid-sentence: “But one thing was quite odd, in her last moments, Yang Yinyin was dressed in her qipao costume from Flames of Past Memories, that republican era drama that was super popular last year.”

—

Author’s note:

Dumb author: Yinyin, come get your last on-set serving of Tang Yuan. 

Yinyin: Waah Q_Q 

TL Lumi:

don’t know why I cried reading this chapter… What reasons are needed for us to stay and what reasons will make us let go?

anyway, things getting spicy.