After Being Possessed by the Transmigrated Heroine - Chapter 8

Cheng Yu’s voice was gentle and his expression nonchalant, his gaze only sweeping past for a brief second. Yet Zhuang Han was instantly drenched in a cold sweat. She never expected a male lead to say such a thing.

Zhuang Han had traveled through two worlds already. In one, the female lead’s parents were both present and healthy, yet even those closest to her hadn’t noticed their daughter had been replaced. Cheng Yu was the busiest of the four male leads; sometimes, even when the female lead was by his side, he didn’t have time to be intimate with her.

Zhuang Han’s face turned slightly pale. When she saw that the person beside Cheng Yu was dressed like a Taoist priest, she was momentarily terrified.

Not just Zhuang Han even Bai Niao was stunned. He Yueting and Duan Xiran were so familiar with her, yet they hadn’t noticed anything abnormal. Cheng Yu hadn’t seen her in ages; how could he have sensed it?

Bai Niao was in a daze. Before she could figure out what was happening, Zhuang Han had already adjusted her mindset. She deliberately mimicked Bai Niao’s pampered manner, saying with a hint of a huff, “I’m still the same as ever. It’s just that Brother Cheng Yu hasn’t seen me in so long that he doesn’t even remember what I look like.”

Zhuang Han was a professional, after all. Her acting was superb; though she had never met Bai Niao, she performed the role to a tee. She even knew that Bai Niao’s biggest hobby was shirking responsibility—no matter what happened, she would always push the blame onto others first.

Bai Niao’s eyes nearly widened. This imposter is such a good actress.

But Cheng Yu’s expression didn’t change. He gave a light chuckle: “Is that so?” He turned up the corners of his mouth, his fingers nonchalantly playing with the piece of jade in his hand.

Cheng Yu had a very good temperament, occasionally even better than Gao Zhan’s. Yet, staying inside the body, Bai Niao felt a strange sense of trepidation when he looked over. She instinctively wanted to shrink back.

Few people knew that among them, the one with the most imposing aura wasn’t He Yueting, but the seemingly gentle and easy-going Cheng Yu. Once, when Bai Niao was at the military zone, she had accidentally seen Cheng Yu lose his temper. She was so scared she didn’t sleep well for days; for the next two days, she stammered whenever she spoke to him, walking like a little quail with its wings tucked in.

Fortunately, He Yueting arrived in time. He wore a suit, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, his hair slightly disheveled in a rare display of casualness. He Yueting glanced at the jade in Cheng Yu’s hand and asked matter-of-factly, “A new acquisition?”

Hardly anyone knew that Cheng Yu liked jade. His status was sensitive and distinguished, and his hobbies were unknown to most; even those sending birthday gifts had to guess. Only those very close to him knew what he liked.

He Yueting’s voice was flat, but it instantly broke the slightly stiff atmosphere.

“Yes,” Cheng Yu said with a smile. “I was wondering what to carve it into, but now that I think about it, it’s not bad just leaving it like this.”

Jade must be carved to become a vessel.

Cheng Yu’s personality was somewhat idle and his actions were completely unpredictable. Bai Niao didn’t know if he was the most popular male lead, but she did truly enjoy staying by his side. His rules weren’t strict, and he always took her out to play.

Although Bai Niao wasn’t very willing at first, she had to admit that the places Cheng Yu took her were always very interesting. Vast, frozen snow-capped mountains and stretches of sunset flower fields were, after all, much more vivid than decadent banquets.

Listening to Cheng Yu and He Yueting chat, Bai Niao’s mood was unusually calm. She hadn’t seen him since they parted in the spring. She really missed the few pots of flowers she had planted at his house.

But Bai Niao soon remembered what Gao Zhan had promised her: he was going to take her to Santa Monica Beach. He had a beachfront villa there, and she had wanted to go for a long time. If they both invited her out to play at the same time, whom should she say yes to first?

As she thought, Bai Niao’s mind wandered. She was easily distracted, especially since no one could see her or talk to her. The two men walked ahead, conversing, while she followed behind, lost in thought.

It wasn’t until Zhuang Han’s voice rang out that Bai Niao snapped back to reality. Zhuang Han’s voice was a bit bitter: “This truly is a ‘Hell Mode’ conquest mission.”

Bai Niao didn’t quite understand why Zhuang Han would feel that way. Of course they were hard to conquer couldn’t she see? She had been raised by them for so many years, yet their Love Points for her were all zero.

Cheng Yu and He Yueting had a very good relationship—at least on the surface, they could be called “close friends.” Every time Cheng Yu visited, He Yueting would host a welcome for him; when Cheng Yu asked for her, He Yueting would pack her off without a second thought. So, Bai Niao had always assumed they were best friends.

Furthermore, Cheng Yu’s sister had once been Duan Xiran’s fiancée. Bai Niao took it for granted that they were all in the same camp.

It was only much later that she understood that the bond between Cheng Yu and Gao Zhan was the one that was truly inseparable. As for Cheng Yu and He Yueting, it was merely blatant mutual utilization.

Bai Niao had once been stupid enough to try and use Gao Zhan to kick Cheng Yu away. She was punished until she cried, yet she still hadn’t figured out their factional relationships. Her brain was never quite sufficient. She used to have the maids make her “brain-boosting” food, but later she stopped. She was smart enough; it was just that these men were too dark-hearted and played too dirty.

Bai Niao had grown used to being a beautiful mascot. When they talked business, she would sit nearby eating and playing games. When they finished, she was usually done playing too. Her eyesight was excellent, but they always controlled her screen time, so she loved to play as much as she wanted while they were busy. She’d hold her game console and farm, filling her entire garden with flowers, then pick fruit to make juice and jam to feed her virtual pets.

Unfortunately, neither the system nor Zhuang Han knew she liked this. Zhuang Han didn’t ask He Yueting for the console, so he obviously wasn’t going to give it to her.

Bai Niao was a bit bored. She didn’t know how Zhuang Han could stand it—sitting so upright, eyes lowered, waiting submissively while the two men talked business. Wouldn’t she get tired? Neither of them could understand what the men were talking about anyway. Bai Niao’s mind wandered more and more, missing her virtual garden. Her flowers and fruit had been ripe for a long time, and no one was picking them—what a waste.

Zhuang Han kept her eyes down, and Bai Niao was lost in thought, so neither noticed that Cheng Yu and He Yueting’s gazes never left them.

Cheng Yu’s voice was very light: “Did something happen while I was away?” His fingertips rested on the cream-like jade, playing with it nonchalantly. His long lashes were lowered, and his pupils were slightly dark.

He Yueting held a cigarette, the coldness between his brows deepening. “Something should have happened,” he said in a low voice. “We’ll have to see what the specific situation is.”

Their topics jumped around one moment the military zone, the next the council, then suddenly family matters. They were some distance away, so Bai Niao couldn’t hear clearly. She wanted some cake; she’d been eating too light lately. If she kept following Zhuang Han and eating greens every day, she would surely die of “blandness.”

It wasn’t until near noon that the two finished their discussion. They drank during lunch, leaving even less room for Zhuang Han to interject. Bai Niao didn’t understand why she didn’t just leave. What was the point of staying? Their conversation was boring. It would be better to go back and sleep more. She hadn’t slept well these past few days.

But the Taoist priest had come along, which made Bai Niao somewhat happy. She never believed in supernatural things and disliked boastful charlatans, but seeing the priest now made her feel a strange sense of security, like a patient seeing a doctor.

The priest said he was with Cheng Yu. Bai Niao knew this; the people around Cheng Yu were never simple. Everywhere he went, someone followed, and the number of talented or eccentric individuals on his side was surprisingly high. Once, when Bai Niao was sick and stayed in the hospital for a long time without getting better, it was an old doctor from Cheng Yu’s side who cured her with a folk remedy.

Hearing this explanation, Zhuang Han suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. She wore a refined smile and said softly, “So that’s how it is. Please excuse my lack of respect.”

Zhuang Han’s demeanor relaxed significantly. She had been in a “cultivation” world before and knew a lot about Taoist metaphysics. In just a few words, she struck up a conversation with the priest.

The system clapped in shock. Host is so amazing, you know so much!

Zhuang Han was very good at making people happy through words, especially in a field she knew well. Her every question was perfectly timed, expressing doubt or realization at the right moments, keeping a smile on the priest’s face as he patiently answered her.

Bai Niao’s eyes also widened. She felt that if the conquest targets weren’t these four “perverts,” Zhuang Han could finish the mission in minutes with her ability. Bai Niao didn’t understand any of it; she was stunned. She had played conquest games before, and if the dialogue had been even half as good as Zhuang Han’s, she definitely would have beaten them.

Bai Niao didn’t like Zhuang Han, but as the saying goes, one should follow the good examples of others. Zhuang Han was so good at “conquest”; if she could successfully learn a few things, she could do more once she regained her body. The greatest regret of Bai Niao’s life was that she understood nothing about emotions. She lowered her gaze, her long lashes falling.

It wasn’t until Cheng Yu and He Yueting finished that Bai Niao’s wandering mind snapped back. Seeing the two approach, she quickly looked away. She sat obediently, feeling strangely guilty.

With a smile on his lips and a casual look, Cheng Yu said, “Since I’m back for a rare visit, how about Niao Niao comes over to my place for a bit?”

He was truly a bit drunk; even that white military uniform couldn’t hide his dissipated tone. No one knew what the two had discussed. He Yueting said nothing more than a soft “Alright.”

Bai Niao watched them, but for some reason, she had a bad premonition. But how could she decide such things? At most, she could cry and scream “Don’t” when they said they “wanted a baby.”

Bai Niao didn’t need to pack when she went anywhere, as all her things were stocked at every location, and there were people to serve her. she was used to this life, and she mostly stayed in the capital, so even traveling from the eastern suburbs to the western suburbs wasn’t a great distance.

Bai Niao huddled lazily in the car and discovered a miraculous thing: she could actually exert a weak control over her body, especially when Zhuang Han wasn’t concentrating much. She couldn’t get the game console for herself, but at least she could make herself sit more comfortably. She half-closed her eyes, wanting to fall asleep.

But before long, the car stopped at the Cheng family estate. Cheng Yu had left early on some business, having his entourage drive Bai Niao back.

This driver seemed to be new. He didn’t take her to Cheng Yu’s private residence but instead to the main Cheng family manor. Bai Niao pursed her lips, sitting in the car, not wanting to get out at all.

Her first interactions with the Cheng family weren’t because of Cheng Yu, but because of his sister—the young lady who had once been Duan Xiran’s fiancée. They had parted on bad terms. Bai Niao was arrogant and never understood the concept of “leaving a way out”; if the Cheng family offended her, she wouldn’t bow to them no matter how powerful they were. She never thought about what she would do if they met again.

The Cheng family surely knew about her and Cheng Yu, but Cheng Yu kept her well-hidden, and they hadn’t come face-to-face in years. But Bai Niao couldn’t control what others thought or did.

Cheng Yu had said early on that he was coming back today—originally in the morning, then pushed to noon, and finally to the afternoon. The Cheng family had been waiting for some time. Miss Cheng, her face full of smiles, bent down to step off the stairs while hanging up her phone: “I’ll stop talking now, my brother is back.”

The car door slowly opened.

Bai Niao closed her eyes, her palms soaked in sweat. She didn’t want to deal with Miss Cheng at all and just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. But before the “apocalypse” could arrive, the first thing to sound was Zhuang Han’s voice.

She seemed perplexed, even uncomprehending, as she asked, “System, do the people in this world all have communication devices?”