Chapter 18

Tang Yiling held her phone and stared blankly at the two messages.

Thinking back to what had happened that afternoon, she still felt wronged.

Even during dinner just now, she had been turning it over in her mind.

For a moment, she had even wanted to break things off with Li Lan.

If she didn’t know her, why message her at all?

Tang Yiling was lost in thought when her phone vibrated again.

She thought it was Li Lan, so she hurriedly opened it.

The message was from He Wenwei.

"Mianmian, Li Lan’s verification result is out. She’s a non-awakened character."

Tang Yiling stared at the message for a long time.

When she replied, even her hand was trembling a little, and she stubbornly asked again, "What does non-awakened character mean?"

He Wenwei’s answer was simple: "NPC."

Tang Yiling tipped her head back and closed her eyes against the chair.

It felt as if a tangled ball of thread was pressing down on her chest, tight and stifling for no reason at all.

Tang Yiling realized that over the past few days, she had already started treating Li Lan like a real person.

But Li Lan was the heroine of the script, a character who existed to serve the plot. If she didn’t awaken, what self-awareness could she possibly have?

Facing Tang GeYun, Tang Yiling had never put any feelings into it at all; she had treated the other woman like a robot without emotion or thought.

So shouldn’t Li Lan be the same?

Tang Yiling suddenly found the reason for Li Lan’s behavior that afternoon.

No matter who it was here, no matter what happened, none of it was part of Li Lan’s storyline.

Li Lan’s script was already fixed; she wouldn’t change for anyone.

Tang Yiling sighed.

She opened her chat window with Li Lan.

Their online conversations could be counted on one hand.

It seemed that only when they met in person did she feel that Li Lan truly existed.

Tang Yiling didn’t even know what she was thinking.

She stood up, grabbed her backpack, and called toward the bathroom, "Xueqing, my student’s back. I’m going to tutor her!"

Qian Xueqing answered from inside.

By the time she responded, Tang Yiling had already rushed out of the dorm.

She didn’t walk fast; rather, she seemed to be holding herself back.

Only after she reached the bottom of the building did Tang Yiling start asking herself why she had come out.

First, because of the agreement.

She and Li Lan had made the agreement first; she should be professional and honor it.

Second, as an employee of the Character Management Bureau, she should unconditionally cooperate with the heroine’s requests.

Otherwise, if Li Lan were stimulated and awakened, what then?

And finally...

There was no finally. Tang Yiling had already used those two lofty, righteous-sounding reasons to fully convince herself.

She quickened her pace and, in less than half an hour, was standing at the front door.

Tang Yiling opened the door.

Only one lamp was lit in the living room; Li Lan was sitting on the sofa reading.

She was reading so intently that the loose hair hanging down covered half her face.

Even when she heard the sound, she didn’t look up.

Li Lan said softly, "You’re back?"

As if nothing had happened, she added, "Go take a shower first. I’ll finish this page."

Shower?

Go home and shower right away?

Too many things had happened today, and for a moment Tang Yiling had even forgotten their weekend arrangement.

It seemed Li Lan wanted to relax again and ease some pressure.

That made sense; when you’re the heroine, how could there not be pressure?

Besides school and work, there was still so much plot to follow.

Tang Yiling wanted to say something, but in the end, she still didn’t.

She hugged her pajamas and slipped into the bathroom.

While showering, she also prepared herself mentally.

Well, it would just be getting kissed once anyway; she’d already been kissed twice.

After Tang Yiling finished showering, she went straight to Li Lan’s room.

Just as she was about to knock, a low chuckle came from the dining room. "What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?"

Eat?

Tang Yiling turned around and, sure enough, saw a full table of dishes, no worse than the ones she had made last week.

"You made all this?"

Li Lan didn’t answer directly. Instead, she teased her, "After all, the assistant I hired doesn’t reply to messages and doesn’t come home either."

She handed over the chopsticks. "I just reheated the dishes."

"I have every reason to suspect someone is taking revenge on me for coming home late last weekend."

Tang Yiling looked at Li Lan and pressed her lips together.

As expected of an NPC; she only remembered last week’s conflict.

If she really wanted revenge, it should be because of what happened that afternoon.

Probably because she had just reheated the food, the kitchen window was cracked open a little.

The evening breeze slipped in and stirred the gauze curtain nearby.

The dining room lights weren’t on; with only the kitchen and living room lighting to rely on, the whole place somehow felt warm and faintly intimate.

Tang Yiling didn’t pick up her chopsticks; she looked across at Li Lan.

Li Lan poured herself half a glass of red wine.

As her fluffy hair slipped loose, she lifted a hand and swept it all to one side.

She brought the glass to her lips and took a shallow sip.

Her upper lip looked even fuller and more translucent, as if stained red by the wine.

It was strange. No matter how many times Tang Yiling reminded herself that Li Lan was just a plot character, when she actually faced her, she still couldn’t be rational or calm.

Li Lan set down the glass and looked up. "Why aren’t you eating?"

"Does the food not suit your taste?"

Tang Yiling shook her head.

Then she asked Li Lan, "Were you waiting for me to come back all this time?"

"Yeah."

Li Lan pushed the plate of spicy diced chicken a little closer. "Didn’t you say last week that family should come home together for dinner before eating?"

Those words froze Tang Yiling in place.

After a few seconds, she lowered her head in a hurry.

Was Li Lan doing this a violation of her character and a departure from the plot?

Would she slowly awaken because of it, and then be erased?

Tang Yiling couldn’t find the answer.

Suddenly, she felt this was unfair to the character; it was also cruel.

"Actually, it’s pretty good for you to just be yourself."

Tang Yiling didn’t dare look at Li Lan; her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke. "You don’t have to believe my theory, and you don’t have to care what other people say either."

Li Lan didn’t answer.

She reached out, hooked a finger under Tang Yiling’s chin, and slowly lifted it.

Her hand was a little cool.

Coupled with the sudden movement, it startled Tang Yiling so badly that she jolted.

She had no choice but to look at Li Lan.

With a smile in her eyes, Li Lan used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken and bring it to Tang Yiling’s lips.

"You’re speaking so softly I couldn’t hear a word."

"You must be too hungry to have any strength left. Eat first."

Tang Yiling unconsciously opened her mouth and took the chicken from Li Lan’s chopsticks between her lips.

She had meant to refuse, but the moment the food touched her taste buds, she happily decided to accept it instead.

The outside was crisp, the inside tender and juicy; the spice was strong.

The other dishes on the table looked and tasted just as good.

Tang Yiling hadn’t eaten much at night to begin with, so it was truly hard to turn down a spread like this.

At this point, she might as well eat first.

Every dish was excellent, completely at the level of a professional chef.

Especially the spicy diced chicken; Tang Yiling ate the most of that.

Li Lan watched her and used the same pair of chopsticks to pick up food and eat it herself.

Her smile faded a little. "Looks like you really like this dish?"

"It’s very good..."

Tang Yiling paused, her hand freezing in midair as she reached for another piece of chicken.

Damn.

She suddenly remembered that this character couldn’t eat spicy food.

There was a later plot point where Tang GeYun deliberately forced her to eat spicy shrimp.

She had almost been hospitalized from an allergic reaction.

Tang Yiling turned her wrist and reached for the home-style tofu beside it.

"I thought this was the one you most wanted me to eat."

"Actually, I’m not very good with spicy food."

Tang Yiling looked longingly at the spicy diced chicken, as though saying goodbye to it. "I rarely eat spicy dishes."

Li Lan gave a quiet "Mm."

"Then eat something else."

Tang Yiling no longer ate the spicy dishes, but fortunately the others were delicious too.

This time she really did eat her fill, leaning back in the dining chair with the heavy-carb sluggishness of someone who’d overdone it.

"Sister, where did you buy these dishes?"

"Can I go apprentice under the chef?"

Tang Yiling really did want to learn; she had always liked cooking.

It was just that she’d been too busy at work in her previous world to improve much.

"That should be possible."

Li Lan nodded. "But learning a craft costs tuition, and I don’t plan to pay that bill. You’ll have to invest in yourself."

Tang Yiling almost slapped the label of "stingy" onto her face right then and there.

But she swallowed the words just in time; she couldn’t offend the one paying her.

And Li Lan still had the nerve to say she kept her accounts clear; wasn’t Li Lan the one being exact about everything?

Tang Yiling really did want to learn; at the very least, she could make that spicy diced chicken and secretly eat it herself.

Li Lan also set down her chopsticks, resting her chin lightly in her left hand.

"Then how much tuition are you planning to pay?"

"Two thousand?" Tang Yiling thought about it, then rejected the number.

With skill like this, it had to be a big restaurant. "Three thousand. I can sign a guarantee and only make it for myself; I definitely won’t sell it."

Li Lan shook her head.

"A star-rated restaurant?" Tang Yiling was starting to have trouble.

She even counted the money in the bag He Wenwei had sent her. "Five thousand. I can’t go any higher; if it’s more than that, I’m not learning."

The corners of Li Lan’s eyes lifted slightly, showing a hint of sly amusement, like a beautiful fox.

She extended her hand. "Pay up."

Tang Yiling definitely didn’t have that much money right now. "In two months."

Li Lan said she understood. "Then pay one thousand as a deposit first."

Tang Yiling was about to take out her phone when she finally sensed that something was off.

She clutched her pocket as though guarding against a robbery. "Wait, that’s not right. Aren’t you going to ask who the cook is?"

Li Lan’s brows and eyes were full of a smile; the whole person seemed to brighten.

"Because I’m the cook!"

"Huh?"

Li Lan seemed very satisfied with Tang Yiling’s shocked reaction. "Then you can wash the dishes today."

After saying that, Li Lan got up and returned to her room.

She left Tang Yiling alone in the dining room, utterly incredulous.

Li Lan could actually cook? And this well?

Tang Yiling had thought of plenty of possibilities, but she hadn’t expected it to be made by Li Lan herself.

By rights, with Li Lan’s mother’s cooking skills, she shouldn’t have been able to teach Li Lan this level of craftsmanship.

After starting university, there was even less chance she would have learned it; otherwise she wouldn’t have needed a "private assistant."

Tang Yiling cleaned up the dishes while still thinking about it.

She even wondered whether there might be two Li Lans in this world.

One was the heroine from the novel; the other was a real person who understood life and loved her work.

Otherwise, why did Li Lan give her two completely different feelings?

She truly couldn’t connect the Li Lan from just now with the one from the afternoon.

After the kitchen was tidied up, Tang Yiling still prepared some fruit.

History really did repeat itself; Li Lan was again in her room with the door half-closed.

Tang Yiling carried the fruit plate to the middle of the living room, then suddenly stopped.

After hesitating for a moment, she set the fruit plate on the coffee table and turned back to her own room.

The pajamas she was wearing today were long-sleeved and long-legged, with a thin layer of fleece.

If they got wet, they’d probably feel even more uncomfortable.

Tang Yiling rummaged through her wardrobe and took out a nightdress.

After changing, she set out again, walking firmly toward Li Lan’s room.