Chapter 36

There was an indescribable menace in Jiang Zhaolie's tone. Xu Chun's shoulders shrank before she could stop them—the instinct of prey—and she narrowed her eyes, pretending calm. "What do you mean?"

She folded her arms with practiced ease and stared at Jiang Zhaolie. "Don't tell me you actually want to reconcile with me?" She leaned in, tilted her round head, and added with a hint of mockery, "Don't tell me that after breaking off our engagement, seeing me get close to someone else left you unable to accept it?"

Xu Chun mercilessly punctured the half-formed notions in Jiang Zhaolie's head. "Jiang Zhaolie, from beginning to end, you never loved me. You never had any feelings for me at all. Every strange emotion you feel toward me now comes purely from jealousy and unwillingness."

Determined to shove Jiang Zhaolie and Yu Sui'an together, she continued, "The person who makes you break your rules time and again is Yu Sui'an. The person who haunts your dreams and keeps you awake at night is Yu Sui'an. The person you put above every other choice is still Yu Sui'an."

Jiang Zhaolie's face went pale.

The other woman's unhurried tone carried no excess emotion; she simply summarized with composure, "The person you truly like is Yu Sui'an, and only Yu Sui'an." Xu Chun raised an eyebrow at Jiang Zhaolie. "If you apologize to Yu Sui'an now while there's still time, you might still have a chance to win her back."

Adopting the tone of an elder, Xu Chun advised her earnestly, "If you delay any longer, I really can't say what will happen."

The woman half a head shorter than her said a great deal, but though Jiang Zhaolie was genuinely listening, the words went in one ear and out the other, leaving no memory or impression.

Instead, she found herself studying the other woman. Today Xu Chun wore a simple white shirt and jeans, her long black hair pulled high into a ponytail, dashing and spirited, yet somehow adorably naive. She looked far more captivating than usual.

They were very close—close enough that Jiang Zhaolie could almost make out the fine hairs on her cheeks. Female celebrities paid great attention to skin care, and Xu Chun was no exception. Perhaps it was natural beauty, perhaps good maintenance; her skin was fair and flawless, without a visible pore, her whole face soft and luminous, her complexion like snow.

Jiang Zhaolie was startled to realize how beautiful Xu Chun was today—so beautiful it made her heart race and her breathing grow difficult.

The person before her said nothing for a long while, and Xu Chun's patience wore thin. "Anything else? If not, I'm leaving." Her expression turned wary and guarded.

When Jiang Zhaolie came back to herself, that expression struck her hard in the chest. Her throat felt tight, and it took her a long moment to find her voice, hoarse. "You misunderstood." She spoke quietly. "I have no other intentions toward you."

"The reason I pulled you over this time was only because I don't want you discussing our matters on the show." The words were the exact opposite of what she felt. "The more you talk about it, the more it hurts you."

"People won't sympathize with you just because you're the victim. They'll only look down on you and laugh—at how pitiful you are, how aggrieved, how far you'll fall and how wretched you'll become. Only then will the subtle imbalance in their hearts give way once more to the arrogance in their bones."

Xu Chun didn't know what emotions Jiang Zhaolie was hiding beneath that calm exterior, but she had to admit—Jiang Zhaolie's rhetoric was flawless. Unfortunately for her, it was useless against Xu Chun. "I'm not bringing it up because I'm indignant." Xu Chun smiled faintly. "I want everyone to blame you."

Jiang Zhaolie fell silent at once. Xu Chun's smile was radiant, light spilling from her brows and the corners of her eyes. "If you have no interest in me, then do fewer things that cause misunderstandings."

She took two steps back and advised her sincerely once more, "In a relationship, you have to know when to soften and show vulnerability. Since you genuinely like Yu Sui'an, don't let something small make you miss out on each other."

"After all, if you can't find a partner in the future, Mom will worry."

"..."

Xu Chun had already disappeared from view, yet Jiang Zhaolie's brow stayed tightly knit, slow to unfurl.

Why did Xu Chun think she and Yu Sui'an were a matching pair? Jiang Zhaolie's gaze darkened. Why did she push her toward Yu Sui'an again and again? Was it because only if Jiang Zhaolie was with Yu Sui'an would Xu Chun be able to shake off her entanglement and be with Qin Yao openly and justifiably?

Jiang Zhaolie lowered her head and stood rooted in place, tall and elegant, motionless for a long time.

Xu Chun's emotions had been steady these past days, her state of mind calm. She had never taken the broken engagement to heart; even when Jiang Zhaolie publicly humiliated her, she had never felt flustered, wretched, or ashamed. But after talking with Jiang Zhaolie just now, the calm surface of her mind had been disturbed, and she couldn't stop a surge of irritation and malice from rising inside her.

An inexplicable irritation gripped her—not merely because of the conversation just now, but as if a once-solid dam had burst through a tiny crack, shattering the last line of defense around her heart.

Jiang Zhaolie's few words—spoken as if she were being kind, as if she were looking out for Xu Chun—were the final straw that crushed her. They made her realize, deep down, that in this world she would truly have to face someone who treated the female lead like a jewel and herself like grass, someone whose bones reeked of arrogant hypocrisy.

All this time, Xu Chun had never truly immersed herself in this world—not even when Jiang Zhaolie publicly humiliated her, not even when Xu Wei treated her like an enemy. From the start, she had never taken these people seriously. Deep down, no matter how outrageous they acted, they were nothing more than talking paper characters in a book.

So she ate and drank as usual, played when she felt like it, fought back against these people as though teasing pets, and watched their reactions for amusement, treating it all as a game.

But now all her self-deception had been mercilessly shattered by Jiang Zhaolie. Jiang Zhaolie's behavior made her realize she couldn't fully separate herself from this world. She was a living, breathing person in this world, and she would naturally be affected by its people, feeling the full range of human emotions that every human was meant to have.

Like resentment. Like anger.

Now she had to face this world head-on, and face her own dire situation.

If she couldn't change the original ending, her fate in this world wouldn't be much better. She would still go bankrupt, still end up on the streets, watching the original body's family fall apart and crumble, watching the original body's loved ones die one by one, dying young.

Xu Chun ran a hand through her hair in frustration, the irritation on her face barely concealed.

When Xu Chun returned, her whole demeanor had changed. Bai Xianxian didn't know what Jiang Zhaolie had said to her, but common sense told her it was best not to mention Jiang Zhaolie in front of Xu Chun right now.

The two ate in silence. Xu Chun was the first to stand with her tray. "I'm done. I'm going downstairs to buy a drink."

Bai Xianxian nodded, silently watching her back until it disappeared completely from view.

Xu Chun was frazzled. She tugged at her mask carelessly, and once she stepped into the elevator, she folded her arms, a dark cloud hanging over her. She was desperate to find somewhere quiet to calm down before those bad emotions sank their hooks in deeper.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, more certain than ever that Jiang Zhaolie was a scourge.

This scourge might be love-brained, but she was genuinely calculating. She knew how to break through a target's psychological defenses quickly and effectively. Xu Chun leaned her head against the wall. Perhaps Jiang Zhaolie had managed to bring Qin Yao down and throw her into prison because she really did have tricks up her sleeve.

Xu Chun couldn't help but laugh softly. The CEO might be terrible at romance, but she was plenty good at her actual job.

The more she thought, the more irritated she became. The gloomy fire in her chest was nearly impossible to suppress.

Ding—the elevator bell rang, and the car came to a smooth stop on the first floor. Xu Chun straightened, ready to step out, when a tall, slender figure walked slowly in.

The moment their eyes met, Xu Chun blurted out, "Jiejie?"

Qin Yao's gaze fell on Xu Chun. Even with the mask on, Qin Yao could still glimpse the emotions Xu Chun was desperately trying to suppress in her eyes and brow. She was probably too upset. Her brow was tightly furrowed, her eyes wide and aggrieved, slightly red, with the faintest shimmer of moisture. She was forcing herself to look calm, not wanting anyone to see her like this.

Even when she saw Qin Yao, she was blinking hard, trying to hide those emotions quickly.

Qin Yao came to a stop and looked at the dazed Xu Chun. "Come with me to my office."

Xu Chun murmured an acknowledgment. By the time Qin Yao pressed the floor button and the elevator had risen halfway, Xu Chun finally realized—wasn't she supposed to be escaping this place and sneaking out for some air? How had she ended up back here?

She quickly looked at Qin Yao. The other woman's brow was relaxed, and from every angle she looked cool and unapproachable. With one hand in her pocket, she seemed indifferent to Xu Chun's presence. The words that had risen to Xu Chun's lips were silently swallowed. Forget it—anywhere was the same anyway.

The elevator arrived quickly. Qin Yao's long legs, clad in suit pants, stepped out first. Xu Chun hesitated a moment, then steeled herself, threw caution to the wind, and followed.

She had assumed Qin Yao had something important to tell her, but after saying "Sit" when Xu Chun entered, Qin Yao had sat quietly at her desk working, as though Xu Chun didn't exist in her space at all.

Xu Chun sat stiffly for a few minutes. After confirming Qin Yao truly had no intention of paying her any attention, she slowly let the tension drain from her body and began seriously looking around Qin Yao's office.

It was huge—absurdly huge—and beautifully decorated, every inch radiating understated wealth. Qin Yao's office didn't feel like an office; it was more like a finely furnished residence. Living room, rest area, small kitchen, washroom—everything one could want, a picture of ultimate indulgence.

Xu Chun gradually relaxed, looking around with interest until she'd seen enough. Only then did she turn her attention to Qin Yao, who sat straight as a pine.

This woman was simply stunning. Deep, beautiful eyes; a high, elegant bridge of the nose; a clearly defined philtrum; rounded, lovely lips. When she occasionally lowered her eyes or shifted her gaze, a bewitching charm played at the corners of her eyes and brows, quietly luring in anyone who coveted her.

Without realizing it, Xu Chun propped her cheek on her hand and stared at Qin Yao endlessly.

The hands working at the desk were fair and slender, the fingers long and graceful. Even the simple motion of typing on a keyboard was elegant and pleasing to watch.

She's so beautiful, Xu Chun thought, her mind beginning to wander on its own.

Qin Yao had fair skin and a beautiful face, an icy, jade-like purity, and features without a single flaw. She was young and accomplished, successful in her career, worth hundreds of billions before she was even forty, a height most people couldn't reach in a lifetime. Could someone so outstanding, like a lofty deity, really descend from the altar?

She mused idly: Qin Yao had been single for so many years; surely she'd never seriously considered starting a family. If she had, she'd probably have a harem by now.

Xu Chun clicked her tongue. True enough. If she were Qin Yao—rich, beautiful, and successful—why would she bother tasting love's bitterness, wasting precious time on such meaningless trivialities?

She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, sending He Qingli a message: 【Recommend me some angst novels. The more angst the better, ideally the kind that makes you cry your eyes out.】

He Qingli replied instantly: 【? Why are you suddenly so bent on self-destruction?】

Xu Chun: 【Nothing much.】 Her fingers paused, then she typed: 【Just want to see other female leads who suffer as miserably as I do.】

He Qingli sent a long string of ellipses: 【You suffer? I clearly saw Qin Yao lead you into her office. Shouldn't you be seizing the moment to seal the deal with her? Why are you texting me?】

Xu Chun wanted to retort, but her message bounced back with a notice that the other party had rejected it.

Hong Shixian's puzzled look.jpg

What a devoted fan she was—willing to endure heartbreak and block her idol, all to create an opportunity for her idol to find love.

Xu Chun stared at her phone resentfully, silently marking this down against her.

"Feeling better?" a voice said beside her ear. Xu Chun looked up, glanced around blankly, and finally focused on Qin Yao. After a beat, she answered, "Much better."

Qin Yao didn't ask what Jiang Zhaolie had said to Xu Chun. She set her work aside, rose, and pulled open a built-in wall shelf. "What would you like to drink? Or eat?"

Xu Chun looked toward where Qin Yao stood and found the shelf fully stocked with all kinds of snacks. She had just eaten and wasn't hungry, but perhaps because of her mood, she craved something sweet. After a brief silence, she ventured, "Do you have candy?"

Qin Yao studied her for a moment, then took out several small bags of soft and hard candies in different flavors. She also pulled a dessert from the fridge and brewed her a cup of coffee herself. "If you're feeling down again, you can come to me directly."

Xu Chun tore open a wrapper and popped a hard candy into her mouth, looking up at her in confusion.

"I've got plenty of snacks here." A hint of a smile touched Qin Yao's face, and the words sounded like an explanation. "Before the show started, your grandfather entrusted you to my care."

No wonder. Xu Chun understood now. "Thank you."

Qin Yao's candy really was delicious. Refueled, Xu Chun was full of vim and vigor again. She secretly clenched her fist and vowed to work hard, earn good money, get rich, and successfully change this damned ending of hers!

After leaving Qin Yao's office, Xu Chun returned to her workstation as though she'd been injected with adrenaline. Bai Xianxian shot her a questioning look.

But within minutes of working, Xu Chun looked as though a demon had sucked all the life out of her, her face ashen. Work was so fucking exhausting. She didn't want to work anymore—just let it all be destroyed.

Yu Sui'an had been keeping close tabs on Xu Chun's every move. After finishing a day of commercial shooting, she immediately opened the show's livestream, watching Xu Chun on screen while scrolling the internet to catch up on everything that had happened that day, especially anything related to Xu Chun. She didn't miss a single piece of news.

When she saw that Jiang Banxia had given Xu Chun flowers in public, her smiling face instantly darkened.

She had long known Jiang Banxia harbored improper intentions toward Xu Chun, but she hadn't expected the other woman to be so brazen, turning her pursuit of Xu Chun into a public spectacle. Now some CP fans had gotten so invested that they'd quickly created a supertopic for the two, and it had already gained quite a following. Envy burned in Yu Sui'an's eyes; her hands clenched involuntarily. Jiejie should belong to her alone.

The only person who could be paired with Jiejie was her.

Unwilling to be outdone, she immediately paid trolls to publish articles about her and Xu Chun's CP, firmly demanding they trample the so-called "Ban-Chun CP" to suppress Jiang Banxia and assert her own sovereignty.

The trolls worked hard. Posts about the "An-Chun CP" quickly flooded the internet, attempting to compete with the "Ban-Chun CP."

Sharp-eyed onlookers noticed the commotion and began placing bets. A bunch of them, eager for drama, chimed in: 【Actually, I still prefer the Zhao-Sui CP.】

【This is complete chaos. Why don't they all just live together? I wouldn't mind.】

【You've lost your mind! Think about it—is that even possible? But speaking of which, is there a writer out there? How about we take a stroll over to Haitang and meet there?】

The internet was in an uproar over CP pairings. Other pairings and their fans were fine, but Xu Chun's fans and Yu Sui'an's fans refused to give an inch, each side wanting to keep their idol away from a certain someone. The two sides argued fiercely, making for quite a spectacle.

Revived by her visit to Qin Yao's office, Xu Chun worked with remarkable efficiency. When she finally got off work and returned home, she uncharacteristically set her phone aside without fiddling with it. But after lying around for ages, she still couldn't sleep.

It was already three in the morning. Xu Chun shot upright, her hair a mess. "?" This wasn't right. She had never been one to suffer from insomnia.

Simply absurd.

No matter what, she couldn't fall asleep. She sat up, poured a glass of hot water, then grabbed a book to flip through. But before she could even open the book resting on her knees, Yu Sui'an's call came through.

After hesitating for a long while, Xu Chun answered without speaking.

Yu Sui'an sounded a little nervous, her tone cautious. "Jiejie, I saw you weren't asleep and had gotten up, so..." She swallowed. "We haven't seen each other in quite a while. I miss you."

"Miss me?" Xu Chun thought privately—miss me for what? The person you should be missing right now is Jiang Zhaolie. She lowered her eyes and unhurriedly flipped the book back to her previous page, phone still at her ear. "How are things between you and Jiang Zhaolie?"

Hurry up and make peace, you two female leads, so you stop focusing all your attention on me.

Yu Sui'an was taken aback, not knowing why Xu Chun would ask that, but it didn't stop her from quickly distancing herself from Jiang Zhaolie. "I haven't been in contact with her for a long time." Her voice lowered. "She blocked me. I suppose she's lost interest in me by now."

"Just like how she treated Jiejie before." Yu Sui'an did her utmost to cast herself as the victim.

Xu Chun propped her chin on her hand in bewilderment and analyzed casually, "I think there might be some misunderstanding between you two. Find a time to sit down over coffee and talk it out." She spoke without emotion. "After all, she was willing to stand against the whole world for you and break off our engagement."

"I'm sorry." Yu Sui'an immediately cut Xu Chun off. "It's my fault for getting too close to her, making her misunderstand my intentions and hurting Jiejie."

"Actually, from beginning to end, you're the only one in my heart, Jiejie."

Yu Sui'an said it so sincerely that Xu Chun almost laughed out loud. Did she think she was a three-year-old? She pressed down the corner of her upturned lips. "Was there something you needed, calling me this late?"

She had no desire to entangle herself with Yu Sui'an. Ever since Yu Sui'an had left her world, it had been wonderfully quiet.

Yu Sui'an caught the dismissal in her voice. Her clear eyes dimmed, and her tone turned a little hurt. "Nothing particularly important. I just wanted to hear Jiejie's voice, and also..." She paused. "Jiejie, you and Miss Jiang..."

She still hadn't gotten over Jiang Banxia giving Xu Chun flowers during the day.

Xu Chun looked away, her fine lashes trembling slightly. Just as she was about to speak, her phone buzzed again. She pulled it away from her ear to look. It was Jiang Zhaolie calling. Xu Chun took the opportunity to say, "Jiang Zhaolie is calling me. I'll call you back when I'm done here."

Yu Sui'an instinctively opened her mouth to stop her, but Xu Chun was faster and hung up in the blink of an eye. Yu Sui'an held her phone in silence. When Xu Chun said "done here"... most likely there would be no afterward.

Xu Chun was speechless that both female leads were calling to harass her in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. She answered, her tone instantly less than pleasant. "You'd better have something important."

"She's lying." Jiang Zhaolie's low voice came through.

Xu Chun's ears perked up. "?"

"It's not that I lost interest in her and abandoned her after toying with her. It's that she was two-timing and unfaithful!" Jiang Zhaolie's tone was utterly serious, almost like she was tattling. "Back then she not only wanted me, she also wanted to win you back and rekindle things with you. When I found out, she kicked me aside without a second thought—she toyed with me and abandoned me!"

Xu Chun's head filled with question marks. "???"

No—you two have a problem, so why don't you talk it out privately between yourselves? Instead, you each come running to me to complain and pour out your grievances. Am I your relationship counselor now?

TL Note:

CP = shorthand for a romantic pairing; fans use it for shipping two people.

supertopic (超话) = a Weibo community topic page where fans gather around a person or pairing.

Haitang (海棠) = a Chinese fiction site known for explicit content; meeting there jokingly means looking for spicy fanfic.

injected with adrenaline (打鸡血) = literally injected with chicken blood; means suddenly fired up and hyperactive.