Marry the NPC with Money, Wife Comes Knocking - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Xia Moyi took a few seconds to steady her emotions, let out a long breath, and placed her hands on her lap, picking at her fingernails.

From the corner of her eye, Hua Suihe saw the man behind Xia Moyi. He was currently standing up and leaning over toward her.

Hua Suihe’s brow furrowed slightly, and she spoke up instinctively, “What are you doing?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for those around them to hear. The sudden sound made the man turn back to look at Hua Suihe.

His gaze first met Ye Susheng’s eyes. He covered his mouth, lowered his head, and sat back down in his seat.

He had only wanted to open his mouth to measure how to swallow this woman in one bite; he hadn’t even opened it yet.

She wasn’t following the rules in the waiting room-no chatting or talking allowed. He couldn’t eat Hua Suihe, but could he not even eat this little human?

He was very indignant, but he didn’t dare talk back in front of Ye Susheng.

Ye Susheng withdrew her gaze, her mood sour. Even with her sitting in between them, Hua Hua still managed to notice that woman named Xia.

At that thought, Ye Susheng shot Xia Moyi a fierce glare.

Xia Moyi looked back at the now-well-behaved man, confused, having no idea what had just happened.

This was Xia Moyi’s first time entering a Thriller dungeon. Unlike other players, she had entered voluntarily, so she wasn’t bound to the Horror System. She had no game prompts, no livestream perspective of her own, and hadn’t taken any quests from Ye Susheng beforehand.

Although she had occasionally watched related livestreams, being physically present didn’t give her the same high level of danger awareness as other players.

[Scared me to death. Hua Hua almost saw that inhumanly large mouth.]

[In Hua Hua’s eyes, it was just some creep trying to sniff Xia Xia’s hair.]

[I want Hua and Xia to lay everything out on the table, but the setting isn’t right.]

[Ye Susheng was blocking Hua Hua’s view just now, so she didn’t see the autopsy being performed on the big screen. That corpse on the bed was freshly killed.]

[I’m a bit worried about the script Hua Hua got. I’m worried there might be an overly dedicated Anomaly among her teammates.]

Not every script was this terrifying, but Ye Susheng was worried Hua Suihe might catch a glimpse of something bloody on the big screen. She decided to keep distracting her by pulling her into conversation.

“I brought the Gossip Collection. Do you want to take a look, Hua Hua?”

Since they were the only ones talking, Hua Suihe felt a bit self-conscious, like being the only one chatting with a deskmate in a quiet classroom. She couldn’t bring herself to speak up.

Hua Suihe shook her head and kept her voice very low. “Better not. We have to perform the mini-script soon.”

If she happened to see gossip about her teammates, it would be even harder for an amateur actress like her to stay in character.

“Don’t be nervous, Hua Hua. It’s fine even if you don’t perform well.” Ye Susheng suddenly thought of something and let out an “Oh!” “I’ll go get the script for you first so you can read it in advance~”

Hua Suihe was quick and grabbed her hand; a second later, and Ye Susheng would have teleported away. “Is our cheating going to be that obvious? Don’t go.”

“What does it matter?” Ye Susheng didn’t understand. She was Hua Hua’s benefactor; wasn’t helping Hua Hua cheat only natural?

Hua Hua’s sense of morality was too strong. In a Thriller dungeon, being able to take a shortcut without effort was the dream of countless players. If they had this chance, they certainly wouldn’t pass it up.

“Don’t worry, Hua Hua. They won’t have any objections.” Ye Susheng still wanted to get the script for her, and while she was at it, check if it was normal. If there was anything bloody or violent, she’d swap it out for Hua Suihe beforehand.

After telling Hua Hua to wait a moment, she vanished.

With the seat between them now empty, Hua Suihe saw Xia Moyi looking at her again.

Hua Suihe sighed inwardly. Her mind was a mess today. Within a single day, she had learned Xia Moyi’s true identity, worried that Ye Susheng liked Xia Moyi, and feared that Xia Moyi liked her. It had left her feeling completely out of sorts.

Hua Suihe was a rather slow person. It had only been a few short hours since she learned Xia Moyi’s identity; accepting something always required a process.

She had also seen what the fans were saying in the bullet comments, which made her realize in hindsight that Xia Moyi’s behavior and emotions stemmed from a dependency on the Creator. This kind of dependency wasn’t love.

It was just that she was now inside the game world, a common person like everyone else. She was no longer looking at 3D models through a screen, no longer the pay-to-win player of all things.

She could only offer verbal guidance now; she couldn’t spend a single cent.
Hua Suihe continued to space out, her thoughts drifting far off course.

The black mist dissipated, and Ye Susheng had returned to her seat.

She put the script-revised through ten different versions-into Hua Suihe’s hands.

“Hua Hua, I brought it over for you. Just check the plot. Don’t worry if you can’t memorize the lines-there’s a huge, huge teleprompter in the room.”

This was the script she’d spent ages hunting down: not gory, and not a romance either. She was only barely satisfied with it.

Hua Suihe wrestled with herself for a moment, then chose the sneaky middle ground-she’d read it, but quietly.

It was a five-minute script split among five roles, so the story was short.

It was the classic real-heiress-versus-fake-heiress setup: the real and the fake heiress plus three brothers. The fake heiress was a “green tea” type-sweet on the surface, scheming underneath-while the real heiress was reserved, newly returned from the countryside. The three brothers protected the fake heiress and squeezed out their own biological sister.

A tired, cliché girls-fighting-girls plot. But whatever-it was only the segment where the real heiress comes home.

She finished in minutes. The lines weren’t hard either. Either girl could play either heiress.

Hua Suihe pinched the script, thought for a beat, then handed it to Ye Susheng. “Ye Zi, help me pass this to Xia Moyi. She’s my teammate.”

The smile at the corner of Ye Susheng’s mouth froze. She lowered her eyes to the script Hua Suihe was offering, and for a moment she didn’t reach out to take it.

Hua Suihe rubbed her head and coaxed her gently. “Be good. The first stage eliminates by team. Your teammate’s performance matters too.”

Only then did Ye Susheng take it, clearly reluctant, and deliver it to Xia Moyi. Without saying a word, she set it on Xia Moyi’s lap-then turned back with a little huff, angling her face toward Hua Suihe for a kiss as a reward.

Xia Moyi picked up the script and stole a couple more glances at the two of them. Sister Ah-He had asked for it to be given to her-so Sister Ah-He did have her in mind.

Time passed quickly. Soon, the second batch filed into the performance room.

After escorting Hua Suihe to Room 2, Ye Susheng walked over to the glass wall facing the audience seating and sat down outside it, in the same row as the cameras.

Hua Suihe, Xia Moyi, Yu Yan, Mu Tou, and Fan Jian-five people total. Three men and two women, which meant the two heiress roles naturally went to the girls.

Xia Moyi proactively asked Hua Suihe, “Can I play the fake heiress?”

Hua Hua nodded. “Sure.”

The three guys exchanged looks and automatically claimed the three-brothers parts. With only five minutes to prep, the ones who hadn’t read the script yet bent over it and studied hard.

Five minutes passed in a blink. A ding-dong sounded, reminding them they could start.

Yu Yan carried over a glass of warm milk and offered it to the girl seated in the chair. “Upset? Don’t worry, little sister. You’re still the sister we spoil the most.”

Mu Tou came over and sat beside her as well, comforting her. “Yeah. She’s just some bumpkin from the countryside. How could she compare to our Xia Xia?”

Xia Xia cupped the glass with both hands, looking downcast. “Don’t say that. She’s your real sister.”

“I brought her back.” Fan Jian tossed the keys aside casually, his attitude lazy and indifferent. “The housekeeper already cleaned your room. But you’d better understand this-Xia Xia is our sister too. Don’t go using that little bit of blood relation to bully her.”

Hua Suihe quietly sized them up. The other two brothers were plainly unimpressed by her arrival; their attitude couldn’t have been clearer.

As for the girl sitting between them, she stared at Hua Suihe openly, without even trying to hide it.

Hua Suihe gave a slight nod, neither servile nor confrontational. “Hello.”

“Sister.” Xia Xia set down the milk and walked over, eyes sparkling. “Welcome home, Sister. From now on, we’re family.”

Her tone was sincere, like she meant it.

Hua Suihe took the chance to sneak a glance at the teleprompter.

That line wasn’t in the original script.

She changed it.

Hua Suihe still followed her own lines. “Thank you for paying my dad’s medical bills. I didn’t come back to replace anyone.”

Yu Yan’s expression darkened. “Now that you’re back, don’t go calling unrelated people ‘Dad’ outside. We’ll get him treated. From now on, you shouldn’t associate with those people. They’re not worth it.”

“Bro, stop it.” Xia Moyi snapped, then took Hua Suihe’s hand, acting extremely close. “It’s good that my sister’s back. From now on I won’t be alone-I’ll have someone to shop with, eat with, and buy clothes with.”

Hua Suihe was sure of it now.

Xia Moyi had rewritten the catty, backhanded female-rivalry lines into a harmonious best-sisters-get-along version.