Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 52: Shameless

Every time she saw this, Wen Xiuxiu’s heart ached as if pricked by needles.

’But that love should have been hers.’

The resentment in Wen Xiuxiu’s heart grew stronger and stronger.

She didn’t understand why Fei Jin was so cold and distant toward her.

Wen Xiuxiu brushed the dirt from her clothes, then rushed forward without a second thought. She threw her arms around Fei Jin and desperately began to undo his clothes.

Normally, Fei Jin could have tossed her aside with a single hand.

But under the effects of the drug, Fei Jin was completely drained of strength. A fever raged through his body, and his mind was hazy.

’I have to succeed today, no matter what,’ Wen Xiuxiu resolved.

For a moment, Fei Jin was unable to push her away.

Seeing this, Wen Xiuxiu grew even bolder.

Her fingers trembled as she unfastened Fei Jin’s shirt.

"Brother Fei, just for one night!"

Catching a glimpse of the muscles beneath Fei Jin’s disheveled collar, Wen Xiuxiu gulped.

’So this is how good Song Qingya had it?’ she thought.

’Now it’s my turn!’

Suddenly, a loud CRASH shattered the silence.

The door began to shake violently.

Splinters of wood showered onto the floor.

The sudden noise made Wen Xiuxiu’s heart leap in alarm.

She whipped her head around.

Just in time to see the door get kicked open from the outside.

Song Qingya stood in the doorway, her face a mask of fury.

Behind her stood a bewildered hotel employee and a stunned young soldier.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Song Qingya charged in.

She grabbed Wen Xiuxiu, yanked her off Fei Jin, and threw her aside.

Before Wen Xiuxiu could even regain her footing, she was met with a vicious slap across the face.

"Shameless!"

Song Qingya roared.

Her strength was astonishing.

The slap sent Wen Xiuxiu sprawling to the floor, and she struggled to get back up.

A red handprint bloomed on her pretty face.

Xiao Yang was completely dumbfounded, his eyes wide in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.

’Oh my god, what is happening?’

’Did she really come to catch him cheating?’

Xiao Yang’s heart was hammering in his chest.

’This is the kind of thing you only see in TV dramas!’

He had just seen his Commander with another woman with his own two eyes.

And they had been in a very intimate position.

A million possibilities flashed through Xiao Yang’s mind in an instant.

’Did the Commander really cheat on his wife?’

’If that’s true, what’s going to happen now?’

’Will she divorce the Commander?’

’And whose side should I be on?’

The Commander had been good to him, personally mentoring him when he first joined the troops.

He could be strict, but it was always for Xiao Yang’s own good.

But the Commander’s wife had always been very kind to him, too.

Whenever he was on leave, she always made sure he ate well, treating him like family.

What made his turmoil worse was the thought that she was the wronged party here, and it was the Commander who was at fault in the first place.

In the span of just a few minutes, Xiao Yang went through a fierce internal struggle.

Finally, he clenched his fists.

Xiao Yang took a deep breath, not daring to even glance at Fei Jin.

He felt as if he had made a momentous decision, one that would shape his future.

He had made up his mind: he would not support the Commander in this.

’You’ve been good to me, Commander,’ he thought.

’But on this, I have to side with your wife. I won’t help you cover this up.’

A storm of emotions churned within Xiao Yang. His lips parted, and just as he managed to call out, "Commander—," he heard an urgent-looking Song Qingya shout his name.

"Xiao Yang, what are you standing there for? Help me get him to the car!"

"Oh! Right, of course!"

Xiao Yang immediately rushed forward to help, though his heart was still pounding with apprehension.

He quickly realized something was wrong.

"You’re burning up! And your face is so flushed. What’s going on?"

Xiao Yang’s face was etched with concern.

"He’s been drugged."

Song Qingya’s voice trembled slightly.

It seemed the situation had frightened her as well.

"What? By who?"

Xiao Yang had never encountered anything like this before; he looked completely lost.

He wracked his brain, trying to figure out what was happening, but he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Song Qingya turned her head slightly and glanced at Wen Xiuxiu on the floor, her eyes filled with cold indifference.

She spoke slowly.

"You’ll have to ask the young woman on the floor."

Wen Xiuxiu had been about to secretly enact her plan when the door was suddenly smashed open.

The abrupt turn of events made her freeze on the spot.

Faced with the accusation, Wen Xiuxiu was both furious and frantic. "You’re talking nonsense!" she shrieked. "I would never do something like that! I was just helping Brother Fei to his room, that’s all! Nothing happened between us. Besides, I’m an innocent young woman! Why would I ever gamble with my own reputation?"

"Others might not, but I wouldn’t put it past you."

Song Qingya watched her quietly.

The girl before her was still desperately looking to the crowd for support.

’It’s highly likely that she’s the modern-day version of my enemy, Wen Wei.’

In the original novel, while Song Qingya had never liked the character of Wen Xiuxiu, she knew that at her core, the original Wen Xiuxiu was a good person. The girl described in the book would never do something as vile as drugging someone.

’Therefore, the only explanation is that the original Wen Xiuxiu has been replaced by someone else.’

By now, a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside the room.

They were all guests or staff at the hotel, but no one dared to step forward.

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Yes, maybe it’s just a misunderstanding." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I remember when she arrived, she said she would be leaving soon and wouldn’t be staying in the same room."

"That’s right. Per hotel policy, if she’d told us she wasn’t staying, we’d have knocked on the door to ask her to leave at check-out time."

"Miss, please calm down. No matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t resort to violence."

Seeing that so many people believed her, Wen Xiuxiu’s sobs grew even more frantic.

She crawled on her knees to Song Qingya, putting on a show of utter weakness.

"I’m so sorry, Sister-in-law Qingya."

Wen Xiuxiu’s voice was laced with a tremor.

"If you don’t like me, you can hit me. I don’t mind... But please, don’t misunderstand Brother Fei over this. He really didn’t force me to do anything."

As she said those last two words, Wen Xiuxiu deliberately paused, letting out a choked sob.

At these words, the surrounding crowd fell silent.

Complex emotions flickered in their eyes.

An image began to form in the minds of everyone present:

A kind, gentle girl being wrongly accused.

Their gazes toward Wen Xiuxiu gradually softened, now tinged with pity.

The front desk clerk who had checked Fei Jin in could no longer suppress her indignation. She stepped forward to explain.

"Ma’am, please, listen to me for a moment," she said, addressing Song Qingya. "It’s very possible this is all just a misunderstanding. I heard this young lady say with my own ears that she wasn’t planning on staying the night. Think about it. If she really intended to seduce your husband, why would she tell us in advance that she wasn’t staying? That would just be setting herself up to be kicked out by us in the middle of the night. It just doesn’t make any sense."

’The original novel’s heroine really does come with her own plot armor.’