I stared at the marriage certificate in front of me, as excited as if I’d struck gold. Not because I loved my new husband, but because if we stayed married for a year, he’d give me a million dollars! As soon as we left the registry office, I received a $200,000 deposit – more than I could earn in a year writing novels. Ryan walked quickly ahead of me, clearly wishing he could grow two extra legs to leave me far behind. I jogged to catch up and get in the car. As soon as the door closed, he started lecturing me: “Wear a mask in public from now on. Don’t let the paparazzi photograph you.” “Your clothes are too plain. Learn how to dress properly.” “Wear makeup every day. You look awful without it.” I clenched my fists, reminding myself not to jeopardize my million dollars. Ha! Some people market him as the “Ice King” actor, but he’s really just a jerk who can’t keep his mouth shut. “Anything else I need to improve? I’m all ears,” I said sarcastically. “Keep up that humble attitude.” … The car pulled into an underground garage. Ryan suddenly put on sunglasses and a mask, even pulling up his hoodie. Poor guy, having to bundle up like that in July. I was about to get out when he grabbed my arm, forcibly disguising me as well. “There’s a paparazzo behind that pillar. I don’t want to make headlines.” He walked ahead to draw attention, suddenly acting every bit the aloof celebrity with his hands in his pockets, strolling casually. I watched him get in the elevator. Sure enough, a figure crouching low scurried in that direction. Celebrities really do have a sixth sense for cameras! I waited until the coast was clear before opening the car door. But I was caught red-handed – a camera was suddenly shoved in my face, snapping away. Thinking quickly, I shoved the photographer aside and smashed the camera on the ground. Back home, I immediately told Ryan what happened. He actually asked if the camera was expensive. I snapped back, “Is that the point? You kept stressing how I need to be prepared when going out and not let my full face be seen. Now you’re worried about a camera?” The more I thought about it, the more suspicious I became. “Unless… you set this up?!” A chill ran down my spine. This guy was too crafty. Ryan gave me an approving look. “Your method wasn’t very smart, but you accidentally passed the test.” He went to the computer desk and opened a set of photos, gesturing for me to come look. Sure enough, there were the close-up shots from earlier. I tried to delete them, but he took the laptop away. Marrying him was like being a secret agent. I felt I more than earned this money – he could even pay me more.
Speaking of marriage, our arrangement was more dramatic than an online novel. At first I thought it would be the classic “arrogant celebrity falls for ordinary girl” plot. He took me to an upscale restaurant, even booking a private room. Then he slapped down a contract. “Sign this. The payment is one million dollars.” I was overjoyed. This kind of windfall finally happened to me! I asked why he chose me. He took off his sunglasses, revealing those soulful eyes that could melt any woman’s heart. But his words were far from romantic: “Because you’re my anti-fan. That way you won’t fall in love with me.” “I don’t want any messy emotional entanglements when we divorce.” His arrogant attitude quickly killed any fantasies I had. It was true – I was his infamous anti-fan, even trending on social media once for criticizing him. He’d have to be crazy to actually fall for me. At 10 PM, when I’d normally be watching soap operas, I was instead cramming information from a stack of documents, feeling overwhelmed. They were about my “assignment” – Ryan’s love interests. I wondered why he didn’t just pick a wife from the entertainment industry. There were plenty of beautiful, well-connected women to choose from. But what the young master wanted to do was none of my business. I was just here to do a job and get paid. He needed a wife who could keep up appearances in public. I needed a large sum of money urgently. We both got what we wanted and reached an agreement happily. I had just opened the refrigerator when suddenly a hand slammed it shut, pressing firmly. The billion-dollar box office star was being stingy at home. Not only did he not eat properly himself, he wouldn’t let others eat either. I tried to reason with him: “The contract didn’t say I can’t eat after 10 PM, did it?” “You need to maintain your figure. Eating like this, you’ll gain at least 4 pounds in a month.” “Do you want me to explain to people why I suddenly have a different wife in 6 months?” After a week of interaction, my impression of Ryan as a man of few words who kept people at arm’s length was completely shattered. In private, this man was insufferable. His cold, lofty image was all an act. He was afraid I’d sneak food in my room, so he dragged me to rehearse our script. One minute he’d pick me up and spin me around, the next he’d put me down and shake me. My brain felt scrambled. By the 10,086th time I cursed him in my mind, he finally put me down. Then he started quizzing me seriously. “Let me test you. Who is Olivia?” “The daughter of your mom’s classmate. She likes to call you ‘big brother’ on set to stir up rumors.” “She’ll be on set tomorrow. Be prepared.” … Before bed, I habitually scrolled through my phone and was shocked to find I was trending again – at #1 no less! The last time I trended was for criticizing Ryan. I had a bad feeling about this…
I clicked on the trending topic and saw it was full of people criticizing me. “She’s so calculating, riding coattails again.” “Wasn’t she his anti-fan before? Did Ryan get brainwashed or something?” “Acting so much, is she trying to use Ryan to break into showbiz?” “That face must have cost a pretty penny!” The internet moves so fast. Ryan and I just got our marriage certificate today and it’s already been exposed, with my face clearly visible. But we specifically chose a time when there would be few people around. How did we get photographed? I scrolled down and saw Ryan’s pinned Weibo post: “Let me introduce you all to my wife @FlowerFairy” Below was a photo of our marriage certificate with my ID photo clearly visible, no blurring. Damn it, backstabbed by my own teammate again. Ryan really can’t stand to see me have it too easy. I ran to pound on his bedroom door. After a few minutes he leisurely opened it, the picture of calm compared to my agitation. He even looked a bit smug. “Of course I had to announce my marriage. Otherwise wouldn’t I be deceiving my fans?” “I’m helping you. Didn’t you see you gained 100,000 followers?” I understood the logic, but did he realize how powerful his fanbase was? I’d be torn to shreds. I had been worried about how to face off against Olivia while keeping the marriage secret. Now I didn’t need to worry – I was already dead and buried. I tossed and turned all night. At breakfast I kept yawning, exhausted. This million dollars was really hard-earned. In contrast, Ryan looked refreshed and in a great mood. He even peeled an egg for me. I had to admit, there was a reason he had so many fangirls. Putting aside his acting skills, he was handsome with a great body. When he kept his mouth shut, he was quite pleasing to look at. As soon as we arrived at the filming location, I saw a group of fans waiting outside holding Ryan’s banners. I had to say, these fans had incredible mental fortitude. Just yesterday there was a huge uproar, but today they still came to support him. Maybe they only hated me, and were even more enamored with Ryan for being a “responsible man.” We reached Ryan’s rest area on set. I had just sat down when I saw someone walking towards me in the distance. An assistant carrying bags followed behind her. She had the aura of the main wife confronting the mistress. The female lead had finally arrived.
Olivia plopped down in the seat next to me and immediately launched into a tirade before I could say anything. “Ryan is just playing with you. He’ll come back to me eventually.” “He hasn’t introduced you to his parents yet, has he? His mom has always seen me as her daughter-in-law.” “If you want money, I can give it to you. Just leave him.” What an unoriginal opening. She really was a pampered young miss. I latched onto her last sentence, looking at her expectantly. “How much can you give me?” She was clearly taken aback, probably expecting me to nobly refuse and say love conquers all or some nonsense. The next moment she disdainfully tossed out a card. “There’s 500,000 on this.” I laughed. So even rich people could be stingy. I glanced to the side and saw Ryan, who should have been filming, standing not far away. He must have come to check on things during a break. I put on my brightest smile, went over to link arms with him, and called out loudly on purpose: “Honey, did you come looking for me after being apart for just a little while?” Ryan stared at me blankly, probably not expecting to have to act too. I directly dragged him in front of Olivia. “I’m so sorry, Miss Olivia. Our Ryan is quite clingy.” I looked up into his eyes. “Can you give me 500,000?” He handed me his phone. “Transfer however much you want yourself.” Olivia’s face turned pale after watching this scene. I handed her back the card on the table, patted her shoulder, and whispered in her ear: “Did you see? He’ll give me however much money I want.” “You want to be the other woman for love, but Ryan’s not interested in you.” Olivia stormed off, bumping into me resentfully as she left. First battle, victory! It wasn’t in vain that I’d watched so many idol dramas. Rich girls really do like to humiliate people with money. If she’d offered more, I might have accepted. After this incident, rumors spread that I had made Olivia cry. I successfully gained the label of “Ryan’s wife.”
After the marriage announcement, Ryan received many variety show invitations for married couples. He refused them all. I had ulterior motives – I wanted to use variety shows to improve my image, since in the public’s mind I was still his anti-fan. When we divorced in the future, wouldn’t I be cyberbullied by his fans? After he rejected the 8th olive branch, I carefully considered how to phrase it in a way he’d accept. “Actually, I think we could accept. You’ve never been on variety shows before – your first appearance would gain a lot of fans.” “People always see you in dramas. They must be curious what you’re like in private.” “Creating a loving husband image would increase your value even more.” After my coaxing, he signed a contract with a travel show. The show was called “A Different Journey” and featured 5 celebrity couples traveling together, with 24-hour footage of the guests’ lives. While promoting tourism, it also revealed how celebrity couples interacted. When the lineup was announced, it caused a stir online. I took this show very seriously – it was my chance for redemption. I watched many similar variety shows in advance to ensure I wouldn’t mess up. Ryan seemed much more relaxed. Although it was his variety show debut, he didn’t seem to care at all. After wrapping up his last drama, he spent every day at home eating and drinking as usual. On the day of filming, the show’s car came to pick us up at home. Apparently they wanted to start capturing footage from the moment we left. I got in the car and took a deep breath with my eyes closed. When I opened them, I found a plastic bag in front of me. I looked at Ryan’s outstretched hand in confusion. “Don’t you get carsick easily? Take this.” This guy had done his research. But I was too embarrassed to say it was just nerves, so I silently tucked the bag in my pocket.
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