Chapter 4: The Task is Difficult

435 11 1
                                    

"The System can be upgraded, right? How is it done?"

【 Master has to complete missions to level up. The Accumulation Mission requires Master to make dear Ms. Lisa smile -genuinely- ten times. Each time will come with a one-point reward. Ten points are needed to unlock the Upgrade Mission. The Upgrade Mission requires Master to brew Ms. Lisa a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee that you brewed yourself, okay, Master? 】

"....." That explained why the System was called the Virtuous Wife System. Jennie suddenly felt enlightened.

She had to make Lisa smile genuinely ten times? The task seemed a bit difficult. Admittedly, aside from when she was acting, she had never seen a smile on her face before. However, Jennie was interested in taking the challenge.

As the matter of fact, she felt that compared to upgrading the System, making Lisa smile was far more motivating and meaningful. She really did want to see how that woman looked when she was smiling!

.....

Meanwhile, Lisa was talking on the phone, giving instructions to someone.

"Let me know everything you can dig up about what's happened to and around her recently." Her voice was grim, and her expression was one of concern, with a hint of determination in it.

She didn't want to do an investigation on Jennie, but she was even more unwilling to be kept in the dark if something bad had happened to her.

If she were the Lisa from three years ago, then she would've been powerless to do anything, but the current her was more capable. To her, the events during breakfast and Jennie's change were too weird to ignore.

Neither her decision to not divorce nor the "thank you" she gave were things that she would do under normal circumstances.

After three years of marriage, Jennie's indifference and stubbornness had left a deep and almost scarring impression on Lisa. Her eyes only contained herself. Regardless of the occasion, she had never heard a "thank you" come out of her mouth before.

Words of praise were scarce, and the instances of her changing her mind were almost nonexistent.

And yet, just a few hours ago, it all occurred. Lisa couldn't not overthink it.

Just what had happened?

Lisa sat on the sofa outside of Jennie's bedroom and began to think. Last night, she'd also sat in the same spot and contemplated for the entire night. She'd thought about the time she first met her.

The indescribable feeling she would get when Jennie made her heart race.

Her decision to enter the entertainment circle for her.

Their contract.

Their marriage.

And lastly, Jennie's indifference and disdain towards her...

Maybe it was due to the contractual nature of their marriage, but Jennie had always believed that she'd agreed to it because it was a transaction that promised her a desirable future.

Therefore, the way Jennie treated her was three times colder than how she usually treated others. When she agreed to her proposal, she'd expected the result to be like this, but in front of her, she was unable to say a single word of rejection. Back then, she had even felt a bit muddle-headed.

However, she never once regretted her decision. She only blamed herself for being awkward and incompetent. Three years had passed, but she was still unable to make Jennie feel even the slightest of affection towards her.

Lisa felt somewhat depressed as she sat there, and she released a heavy sigh.

And thus, when Jennie walked out of her bedroom, the first thing she saw was Lisa's dejected appearance. She raised her eyebrows, and a sliver of a smile entered her eyes. The sight of her like this was so unusual that it amused her.

Lisa took in her outfit and asked, "Are you going out?"

It was eight in the morning. Their original plan was to go out and get the legal divorce procedures done, but now that they weren't going, they both had free time on their hands. Did she change her mind again?

Her heart dropped, and her face hardened, but she reluctantly strove to remain expressionless. She would respect Jennie's decision, no matter what it was.

"I'm going to the company," she explained, which was something she rarely did.

After a round of deliberation, Jennie, who had always been proficient in everything she did, was unable to sit still knowing that all of those little traitors and the people who'd kicked her when she was down were still bustling around. The look in her eyes became ice-cold.

Lisa had been looking at her the entire time and naturally noticed the coldness in her eyes. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and she sobered up.

"Did something happen?"

Jennie shot her a glance but didn't answer. She didn't know how to answer. It wasn't like she could tell her that she knew who would betray her in the future and was going to go deal with them.

A bit of unease crept into Lisa's heart. She felt that she had been rude to ask. After all, why would Jennie tell her about her matters at work?

Forcing down the bitterness in her heart, she apologized as calmly as possible, "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Worry had caused her to step out of line. Jennie was probably fed up with her already.

As Jennie looked at Lisa, who was clearly trying to endure her feelings of dejection, she became the one scrunching her eyebrows instead.

"There's no need to apologize." If one were to call Lisa ineloquent, then Jennie wouldn't be considered any different. The words that were meant to be interpreted as comfort came out stiff and without the slightest of emotions.

However, Jennie herself was not aware of this problem. She lifted the corners of her lips in an attempt to smile at her, but what Lisa saw was the complete opposite. No matter how she looked, all she saw was a cold smile, and it made her heart tighten with a touch of pain.

What a cold smile. It seemed that she was even more disgusted with her now.

At that, the corners of her lips also curved into a smile, but it was one of mockery towards her own incompetence and clumsiness. She didn't even know how to make the woman she loved like her back.

The situation was still so despairing, even after all the time and thought she'd spent on pursuing her.

Meanwhile, when Jennie saw the forced smile on her face, the furrow between her brows deepened.

If you don't want to laugh, then don't laugh. Such a forced smile... did she think she was blind?

"Don't smile."

Her scrunched up eyebrows and her cold tone of voice gave her a very imposing vibe. The mood instantly became so stiff that even she noticed it.

Jennie reflected on herself for a moment before speaking in what she assumed was a reassuring voice, "Don't smile. It doesn't look good."

Don't smile if you don't want to. Honestly, a forced smile was not good-looking at all. What she wanted to see was her real, genuine smile.

"....." Having been told twice to not smile, Lisa found herself quite speechless. Retracting the pitiful arches from her lips, she looked at her with an embarrassed gaze and was somewhat at a loss.

Could it be that even her smile was disliked? Then from now on, should she stop smiling? She really didn't want to evoke her ire.

...

[Little Theater]

Film Empress: Dear, you used to be so cold to me, you know?

Beloved Wife: Just bear with it, for now. The tenderness is still running wild on the path of learning.

Rebirth of the Film Empress' Beloved Wife [JenLisa Adaptation]Where stories live. Discover now