The Runaway Bride in a Substitute Marriage 04

What was so great about a centuries-old ginkgo tree? It was only good for looking at, not eating. Sure enough, the apricot tree that bore sweet fruit was the real deal.

Just thinking about those golden, juice-laden apricots made Chen Yao, who was already feeling thirsty, salivate.

She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then instructed System 04 to keep a lookout.

"You're not thinking of..."

Before System 04 could finish, Chen Yao had already lifted her skirts, stepped daintily onto the bench, and grabbed the carved pillar beside her with one hand while stretching the other hand toward the apricot branch hanging from the corridor's eaves above.

System 04 nearly let out a sharp mechanical shriek, but it held back, worried that a sudden scream would startle its host and make her fall.

"Host, get down now. What if you fall?"

Chen Yao was focused solely on reaching the apricot branch. If she could just grab the branch, she could pull it down and snatch the apricots along with it.

So she only gave a perfunctory reply, "Don't worry, I won't fall. I'm holding onto the pillar."

"This is totally unbefitting of an ancient noble lady. Your persona points will be deducted."

"Hmm? I think it fits the persona just fine. A spoiled, willful, impulsive young lady—that's exactly what this is."

Chen Yao squinted. She was just barely short of the branch, so she loosened her grip on the carved pillar slightly, leaning her body even further forward.

System 04 could do nothing but watch nervously, keeping an eye on its reckless host child.

This supporting female lead's persona in this little world was clearly just Chen Yao playing herself, and she might even be outdoing the original.

Finally, her fingertips grazed the green leaves. Gritting her teeth, she stretched her hand a little more and finally grabbed the apricot branch.

She pulled the branch back while drawing her body into the corridor. But just as both of them were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a "crack" sounded, and the branch she was holding snapped.

Luckily, she was quick to react. She immediately snatched at a few leaves near her fingers and then caught the broken branch before it could fall away.

She let out a breath and spoke to System 04 in a smug, playful tone, "How thrilling! Good thing I'm so quick!"

System 04 was utterly exasperated. "Yeah, yeah, you're amazing."

So Chen Yao, still in high spirits, picked the few golden apricots hanging from the branch she'd pulled.

Everything was going smoothly—she even asked System 04 to take a photo of her heroic pose for keepsake.

Until...

"Ah! Miss, what are you doing?!"

Chuntao's panicked scream came from a distance, accompanied by the sharp sound of porcelain crashing to the ground, as if tearing through the air.

Chen Yao, utterly absorbed in the moment, was startled. She instinctively turned toward the sound, but her overlong skirt got caught on a jagged edge of the railing.

Then, with a faint "rip," the girl, who was already leaning out, was yanked over the railing and fell.

Chen Yao: "!!!" This is the end.

She barely had time to think, "System, save me!" before she felt the weightlessness and began to free-fall.

System 04's mood shifted from silence to exhaustion to helplessness, but once inside a small world, it was just a chat voice pack—not even a physical form. How could it save her?

Fortunately, its heart soon settled back down.

The corridor wasn't too high—just about three stories. Chen Yao figured she probably wouldn't die on the spot; at worst, she'd break an arm or a leg...

The wind whistled harshly in her ears. At this height, she'd hit the ground soon.

Chen Yao squeezed her eyes shut, her mind racing. Never had time felt so slow. She'd even braced herself for the sudden pain.

But the anticipated pain never came. Instead, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, and then her body fell straight into a firm, cool embrace.

Chen Yao's eyes flew open. Her pretty face still held a trace of lingering shock, and she found herself staring directly into a pair of gentle, clear eyes.

"Miss Jiang, are you all right?"

Xie Qingyan looked at the girl in his arms, who seemed dazed, staring at him. He furrowed his brow slightly but still spoke politely.

The scent of pinewood mixed with a faint hint of ink lingered in her breath, and Chen Yao's scattered senses gradually gathered back.

She quickly came to her senses. She looked at the male lead who had just saved her life, then looked down at the apricots she'd worked so hard to pick.

They were already squashed and mushy on the ground—only one had survived, but it had clearly rolled several times and was now covered in dirty dust.

Chen Yao was deeply frustrated.

But she still had to play her role with the male lead, so she took a small, deep breath.

Then she put on a stern face and said in a spoiled, willful tone, "How dare you! Let go of me this instant!"

Xie Qingyan, seeing her struggle in his arms, set her down with a somber expression.

Having never been this intimately close to a stranger man since childhood—even though he'd saved her out of good intentions—Chen Yao felt utterly humiliated and angry.

A faint blush spread across her fair cheeks, making her delicate features even more stunning.

Xie Qingyan looked down at her, his heart skipping a beat. He concealed his emotions well and was about to speak.

But the girl, once on solid ground, raised her hand and slapped him.

Of course, the next second, her swinging hand was caught by him.

Having been all bark and no bite, the girl immediately turned flustered and shouted, "You lecher! Let go! Don't touch me!"

So his betrothed had a really fiery temper.

As the eldest son of the prestigious Xie family, Xie Qingyan had always had an easy life. When had he ever encountered someone so ungrateful and spiteful as this?

His lips pressed into a thin line, and his handsome face turned expressionless. "Is this the upbringing of the Pingyuan Hou's household—so unreasonable and utterly impossible to reason with?"

"How dare you! Since you know who I am, kneel down and apologize to me immediately!"

Chen Yao lifted her chin, huffing and puffing as she struggled against the grip on her wrist, while continuing to spout arrogant nonsense.