Chapter 7

Morning sunlight streamed through the window, brightening the living room.

Tang Yiling’s brows knit faintly. She rolled over, adjusted her position, and went back to sleep.

It wasn’t until she heard the door opening that her eyes flew open.

She was still at Li Lan’s place, having slept on the sofa all night.

Tang Yiling propped herself up groggily and sat up.

She’d once dozed off on the sofa in her rented room because of work. When she’d woken that morning, she’d been sore all over, her back aching and her limbs numb; she’d felt even more exhausted than if she’d pulled an all-nighter.

But this time, aside from a slight headache, she felt fine.

As expected of the female lead’s home, even the sofa was unusual.

Li Lan must have just come back from outdoor exercise.

She glanced at the sofa. “Awake?”

Tang Yiling gave a soft “Mm.” She felt a little guilty.

She’d fallen asleep so early when her sugar mama still needed her like that—would her pay get docked?

Li Lan didn’t show much expression, so naturally, nothing could be read from her face.

“Then go make breakfast. I’m going on a business trip later.”

A business trip?

She really was busy.

Over the past few days, Tang Yiling had hardly seen Li Lan rest at all.

An ambitious female lead really didn’t have time for romance.

Li Lan went back to her room; she probably went to shower.

Tang Yiling got up and headed to the bathroom outside to wash up.

At first, she’d planned to just splash some water on her face and call it good.

But when she reached the sink, she found that Li Lan had already prepared everything for her, even skincare products.

Tang Yiling looked at the scattered little items.

Li Lan was so busy, and yet she’d still carefully prepared all of this for her.

She even started to reflect on whether she’d been treating Li Lan too much like a tool in the female lead’s service.

So much so that these past few days, she’d been deliberately avoiding investing any feelings in her at all.

And yet, when she actually interacted with her, Li Lan didn’t completely match the character.

Beyond the parts of the plot that had never been written, she existed so vividly, so alive.

Still, that burst of emotion and self-reflection lasted only half a minute.

Tang Yiling’s eyes slowly lit up. Could she take these back to school and use them?

That would save her another expense!

There weren’t many ingredients in the fridge.

After all, the newly hired assistant hadn’t had time to restock anything yet.

Tang Yiling was actually pretty good at cooking.

Back when she was working, in order to save money and stay healthy, she’d even brought her own lunch for a while.

She dipped bread in egg and fried it until both sides turned golden.

Then she fried two eggs and some ham; with the only lettuce on hand, it was just enough to make sandwiches.

When Li Lan came out of her room, she saw that Tang Yiling had already set the table.

She was taking milk out of the microwave and carefully pouring it into a cup.

“I didn’t expect the Tang couple to have taught you how to cook.”

Tang Yiling’s hand jerked. She turned and met Li Lan’s probing gaze.

“No, I just like cooking.”

She wiped away the milk she’d spilled outside the cup. “My parents didn’t want me to do it before. They said we already had a maid at home.”

Li Lan nodded and said nothing else.

Tang Yiling quietly let out a breath of relief and picked up her breakfast.

“Sis, I’m heading out first. Take your time eating.”

Li Lan looked a little surprised. “In such a rush?”

While she was speaking, Tang Yiling was already at the door, putting on her shoes.

“Yes. I need to deliver some documents to Zhenzhen, then hurry back to school for class.”

Actually, she wasn’t in that much of a rush. Yan Zhenzhen had said she could come pick them up.

But she was afraid of saying or doing something wrong again, so it was better to leave quickly.

Tang Yiling had three classes today and got out at 3:30 in the afternoon.

She sent Li Lan a message to ask for leave, then prepared to go back to the Tang house.

When she arrived home, only He Wenwei and Tang Fan were there.

Tang GeYun had a full schedule and would be back later.

Because she’d already discussed the timing with the Tang couple in advance, the moment she stepped inside she saw a table full of food.

There were fruits and snacks of every kind, and four or five kinds of drinks alone.

He Wenwei affectionately took Tang Yiling by the hand.

“Mianmian, you must be starving. Hurry and eat.”

She was a little hungry.

But definitely not the kind of hungry that came from not eating for days!

Tang Yiling set her backpack aside, only for Tang Fan to take it away.

Tang Fan somehow pulled out a snack basket and dumped bread, ham, chocolate, and more into the backpack all at once.

There was so much that the bag could barely hold it.

Tang Fan even stood up, as if he planned to use his body weight to press it down.

Tang Yiling, holding a piece of watermelon, was completely stunned by the sight.

Before Tang Fan could go any further, she hurriedly stopped him. “No need, no need!”

This was her only backpack right now.

If it got ruined, that would just be another expense.

“I’m doing part-time work now; I have money.”

Tang Yiling snatched back the backpack, which was already buckling under the weight. This was enough to last her for quite a while. “Is it really okay for you to do this? Does the Administration Bureau allow it?”

He Wenwei curved her lips into a sly smile. “Well, when we live normally, we still have to swipe our cards to buy things, don’t we?”

Tang Fan added, “We just happened to eat a little more lately. It didn’t cost much more.”

That made sense. The Tang couple really were seasoned veterans from the transmigration bureau.

Tang Yiling felt reassured and relaxed more as she started enjoying her afternoon tea.

The Tang couple sat on either side of her.

Unlike before, when things had been lively, the two of them suddenly fell silent and just stared at Tang Yiling.

A few minutes passed, and Tang Yiling was getting flustered under their gaze.

She set down her fruit and sat up properly on the sofa. “Dad, Mom, what’s wrong?”

She felt guilty.

But logically speaking, her parents couldn’t possibly know about the agreement she’d made with Li Lan.

He Wenwei spoke softly. “Mianmian, were you happy living there?”

Tang Fan added, “We mean, in your original world.”

Tang Yiling froze.

Why were they suddenly asking about that?

Was she happy?

Maybe she was.

Her maternal aunt’s family had treated her very well, as if she were their own daughter.

But even so, she couldn’t help feeling like a child living under someone else’s roof.

She’d gotten used to doing everything perfectly, even trying her best to be cheerful, sunny, and likable.

It seemed only by being that way could she deserve everyone’s kindness.

Only then would she be a little less likely to be pitied and discriminated against.

What was the point of bringing all this up now?

Tang Yiling’s voice softened. “I’ve always been doing pretty well.”

“We went back to the Administration Bureau yesterday and asked about your situation.”

He Wenwei held her hand. “Mianmian, you didn’t die because you were angered to death by reading a novel.”

Tang Yiling let out an “Ah.” “Then what was the cause?”

He Wenwei choked up. “Work stress; too much exhaustion; staying up late.”

So that was it.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t that surprising.

That period of Tang Yiling’s life had been hectic, and she’d already shown signs of anxiety.

Her choice to read novels had also been because her insomnia was severe.

The room fell briefly silent.

Tang Yiling was the first to break it. “It’s fine. Isn’t it pretty good now? We reunited sooner rather than later.”

He Wenwei and Tang Fan were momentarily at a loss for words.

Reunion was indeed wonderful, but they also hoped Tang Yiling would live a long and healthy life.

“So, about this job I’m doing now,”

Tang Yiling paused. “Are there any things I should be careful about?”

“Oh, right!” He Wenwei finally remembered the important part.

“Mianmian, you’re in an assessment period now. They’ll evaluate how well you complete the plot and give you a score.”

“If there aren’t any problems, you’ll enter a probation period after a month.”

“During probation, as long as you don’t interfere with the normal plot, that’ll be fine.”

That sounded like the Bureau’s onboarding system was actually pretty thorough.

Tang Yiling was about to ask a few more questions when the villa door suddenly opened.

Tang GeYun’s voice came from outside.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back!”

The three people on the sofa looked at one another.

In an instant, Tang Yiling sprang up from the sofa, while He Wenwei pulled open the coffee table drawer and swept everything on the tabletop into it.

If she remembered correctly, Tang Yiling’s next plot point should be a few days later.

She’d return home to visit her adoptive parents, then be humiliated by Tang GeYun.

But at this time, Tang GeYun should have been in class.

Why was she home early?

The Tang couple held back their smiles, sat up straight on the sofa, and quickly got into character.

Tang Yiling glanced at them and followed their lead.

Tang GeYun walked in and saw Tang Yiling standing off to the side.

Her voice shot up several notches. “Why are you back?”

“Sorry.”

Tang Yiling lowered her head, looking guilty. “I just wanted to come back and see Dad and Mom.”

“These are my parents; you don’t need to see them.”

Tang GeYun realized she was being a little too harsh and secretly glanced at the Tang couple. Seeing that they had no reaction, she continued, “Didn’t you already have somewhere to live?”

“Somewhere to live?”

Tang Yiling’s guilt deepened. Tang GeYun couldn’t possibly know about her deal with Li Lan, could she?

But her reaction only seemed to confirm Tang GeYun’s suspicion.

Tang GeYun glared at Tang Yiling and forcibly turned her toward the Tang couple. “She’s going to live at Senior Brother Gu Feng’s house!”

“For a girl to live in a man’s home—does that sound proper?”

“People outside will only say that our Tang family failed to raise our daughter properly.”

Tang Yiling looked at Tang Fan and He Wenwei.

For the sake of the plot, the two of them couldn’t defend her; they could only follow Tang GeYun’s lead. “We’re so disappointed in you!”

Tang Yiling mumbled meekly, really looking like a child who had done something wrong. “I didn’t go. I refused.”

That was the truth; yesterday she really had rejected Chang Yuruo’s suggestion.

Clearly, Tang GeYun didn’t believe her.

Tang Yiling had no choice but to heft up her heavy backpack. “I’m going back to school.”

The other three didn’t try to stop her.

She slowly walked out of the Tang house, leaving behind a deeply lonely figure.

Tang Yiling felt that she’d played her part in today’s plot quite well.

It was just that the backpack was so heavy it made her shoulder ache.

As she was thinking, the front door suddenly opened.

Tang GeYun rushed out from inside and grabbed the keychain hanging from her backpack, then flung it hard into the yard.

She lowered her voice. “I’m warning you, without my permission, you’re not allowed to come back to the Tang house in the future.”

“You’ve already monopolized my parents for twenty years; isn’t that enough?”

Tang Yiling looked at her in surprise.

So the point was to keep her away from the Tang couple, not from the male lead, Gu Feng?

“I understand.”

She nodded and kept walking, her submissive look making her seem even lonelier and more pitiful.

In truth, Tang Yiling wanted nothing more than to run off immediately.

Because the key Tang GeYun had just thrown out had been given to her by Li Lan!

She’d lost the key to the house so quickly.

With Li Lan’s temperament, would she be barred from entering the house?

That was her only support right now.

She was still counting on Li Lan’s salary to live!

Tang Yiling carefully stepped into the grass outside the Tang house and searched through it in detail.

Finally, ten minutes later, she found the key.

Unfortunately, the little ceramic rabbit on the keychain had shattered, lying in pieces on the ground.

Tang Yiling crouched there and let out a long sigh.

She tried to piece the rabbit back together as best she could, then took out her phone and snapped a photo.

She could only order the same one online and hope Li Lan wouldn’t notice.

She was so focused on searching that she didn’t notice someone standing by the roadside, watching her.

Tang GeYun suddenly said, “Is a little charm really worth this? Don’t tell me Gu Feng gave it to you?”

Tang Yiling jumped in fright; her hand slipped and the rabbit fell to the ground again.

She said “No,” picked up the broken pieces once more, and tossed them into the trash can by the grass.

She didn’t remember there being any follow-up plot here, and she wanted to leave quickly.

Tang GeYun moved first and blocked her path. “If it wasn’t from Gu Feng, why do you look like that?”

“Could it be that a broken charm hurts more than getting kicked out of the Tang family?”

“Then who exactly gave it to you?”

Tang Yiling raised her head and met Tang GeYun’s eyes head-on.

This seemed to be the first time she’d faced her nominal sister so directly.

Tang GeYun’s eyes looked very much like hers; so did her mouth.

The biggest difference between them was that Tang GeYun’s features were sharper, while Tang Yiling’s were softer.

That didn’t seem wrong either.

In a certain sense, they were both Tang Fan and He Wenwei’s biological daughters.

Tang Yiling didn’t want to get dragged into this any further. She said coldly, “Isn’t it enough that it wasn’t Gu Feng?”

“Why do you care whether it was a friend who gave it to me or someone else?”

Tang GeYun was slightly stunned when she heard that.

She asked, “Why are you saying that?”

An alarm bell went off in Tang Yiling’s head.

Tang GeYun was an NPC anyway; and since the plot point had already been completed, it should be fine if she just left.

Tang GeYun clearly still wanted to ask more, but she didn’t know what to ask.

She stood there, and by the time she reacted, Tang Yiling had already walked far away.

On the subway ride back to school, Tang Yiling ordered a replacement rabbit charm.

When she checked her messages, she casually opened the chat window with Li Lan.

Their conversation had stopped on the day the living expenses were transferred.

After that, the two of them hadn’t said a single word to each other online.

Tang Yiling lowered her phone. She and Li Lan were never really the kind of relationship that could chat casually.

At most, they were probably employer and employee who had seen each other at their most embarrassing.

The Tang house wasn’t close to the school.

By the time Tang Yiling got back, it was already completely dark, and dinner time was almost over.

She ate a quick bite in the cafeteria.

Then, between going to the library and returning to the dorm, she chose the latter.

No one was in the dorm.

Tang Yiling had barely sat down and opened her textbook when Qian Xueqing and Chang Yuruo came back.

Chang Yuruo’s eyes were a little red, as if she’d just cried.

She grabbed her shower things and went straight into the bathroom. “It’s fine. I just want to be alone for a while.”

Tang Yiling took all of that in.

She looked at Qian Xueqing and asked softly, “Did you and An Qi have an argument?”

Even she didn’t know why An Qi was the first person she thought of.

It was as if Chang Yuruo only ever cared about An Qi.

“No. An Qi had a club dinner today.”

Qian Xueqing leaned against Tang Yiling’s desk. “We ran into Senior Brother Gu Feng in front of the library.”

Tang Yiling’s gossip instincts instantly flared.

“Shouldn’t you be happy to run into Gu Feng?”

Qian Xueqing shook her head. “Gu Feng was with Senior Sister Li Lan.”

“It looked like they were representing the school in some kind of interview.”

Tang Yiling frowned slightly.

Wasn’t Li Lan on a business trip today? Why had she come back so soon?

Seeing that Tang Yiling didn’t respond, Qian Xueqing went on, “Gu Feng clearly saw A-Ruo, but he didn’t react at all.”

“But when they went down the stairs, he did help Senior Sister Li Lan carefully, and the two of them even smiled at each other.”

Tang Yiling’s brows drew tighter.

She blurted out, “Childhood sweethearts can’t compare to someone who came out of nowhere.”

The dorm room fell silent at once.

Qian Xueqing looked at Tang Yiling and belatedly realized something.

She reached out to take Tang Yiling’s hand and asked cautiously, “Yiling, are you jealous?”