After Failing To Win Over the Yandere Best Actress, I Got Marked - Chapter 15

Her good mood had been completely ruined by that damn system. Su Jin no longer felt like staying in the garden.

She got up and returned to her room. Just as she was wondering what to do next, her phone rang. Seeing the name “Lin Xiaoyu” on the screen, Su Jin froze. This was the first time since she had transmigrated into the book that she had received a call from the original owner’s best friend.

“Hello?” Su Jin pressed the answer button, her voice filled with cautious hesitation.

“Xiao Jin…” A soft voice came from the other end, tinged with obvious uncertainty. “Are you… doing okay lately?”

Su Jin’s heart was suddenly struck by this greeting. She recalled the information provided by the system: Lin Xiaoyu was the original owner’s childhood friend from the orphanage. After the original owner entered the entertainment industry and became successful, they had drifted apart. Yet, in the end, when the original owner met a tragic death, the only person who remembered to bring flowers to her grave was this friend.

Losing such a sincere friend would be a true tragedy.

“Xiaoyu!” Su Jin’s voice involuntarily jumped an octave. “I’m doing great! How about you?”

There was a noticeable pause on the other end; even the sound of breathing became faint. Su Jin could almost imagine the girl’s eyes widening in surprise.

“I… I’m doing fine,” Lin Xiaoyu’s voice sounded even more uncertain. “Um… are you free? I wanted to talk to you.”

“Of course I’m free!” Su Jin answered without thinking. “I happen to have nothing to do today. Where should we meet?”

Another awkward silence followed. Su Jin could feel the other girl weighing her words, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

“The… the old place?” Lin Xiaoyu asked tentatively.

“Sure, I’ll be right there!” Su Jin hung up and prepared to head out.

A Reunion of Old Friends

Half an hour later, Su Jin stood in front of a café called “Warm Sunshine.” The storefront was small, with ivy crawling over red brick walls and a copper wind bell that chimed crisply in the breeze. As she pushed the door open, a girl with a ponytail in the corner immediately stood up.

Lin Xiaoyu was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and jeans. Her clean, unadorned face looked somewhat nervous.

“Xiao Jin…” she stood there awkwardly, as if unsure whether to step forward.

Su Jin’s heart twinged. she walked over quickly and gave her a firm hug without hesitation. Lin Xiaoyu’s body stiffened for a moment before she began to tremble slightly.

“What… what’s wrong?” Lin Xiaoyu asked, her voice full of disbelief.

“Nothing, I’m just happy to see you.” Su Jin pulled her down to sit. Up close, she noticed the faint dark circles under the girl’s eyes. “Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

Lin Xiaoyu subconsciously touched her face and gave a forced smile. “Work has been a bit busy…”

Su Jin waved over a server and familiarly ordered two Caramel Macchiatos and a Tiramisu items the system mentioned they used to order all the time. When the dessert arrived, Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes brightened for a moment before dimming again. She poked at the cake with a small spoon, several times looking as if she wanted to speak.

“Just say it,” Su Jin said gently. “What is there that we can’t talk about?”

Lin Xiaoyu took a deep breath. “I… I saw the news. You and Empress Ye… is it real?”

Su Jin nodded, her finger tracing the rim of her coffee cup. “Yes, we are together.”

“But…” Lin Xiaoyu’s brows furrowed tightly, her voice dropping low. “I heard the water in the entertainment industry is very deep. I’m afraid you’ll…”

“Afraid I’ll be cheated? Or that I’ll do anything for fame and fortune?” Su Jin finished the thought for her. “Xiaoyu, I know you care about me. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s voice trembled. “Xiao Jin… in the past, when I said these things, you would tell me to mind my own business…”

Su Jin felt a pang of guilt. She squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry, I was immature before. Do you remember when we were kids at the orphanage? We used to squeeze onto that tiny bed together, and you said we’d always be family…”

At the mention of the past, Lin Xiaoyu’s tears finally fell. “I thought you forgot… after you became famous, you never wanted to talk about those days…”

“How could I forget?” Su Jin whispered, handing her a tissue. “How about… we find a time to go back and visit? How is the Director Mother?”

Lin Xiaoyu wiped her tears and smiled through her tears. “Okay! Director Mother mentions you all the time. Last month when Xiao Jie had surgery, she said, ‘If only Xiao Jin were here, she was always the best at cheering people up’…”

The Sunshine Children’s Home

They talked for a long time. Su Jin learned that Lin Xiaoyu was now a kindergarten teacher a simple but fulfilling life. However, when the topic turned to the current state of the orphanage, Lin Xiaoyu’s expression darkened.

“There are seventeen children now. The oldest is fifteen, and the youngest is only three,” she said, stirring her cold coffee. “The kids are well-behaved, but we’re short on staff and funding. Director Mother is struggling to keep it going…”

Su Jin’s heart softened. She called out to the system in her mind: “System, how much money can I exchange right now?”

The system replied lazily, “The host can currently exchange 21 million.”

“I want to donate half of it to the orphanage.”

“What?!” The system nearly crashed. “Are you crazy? You worked so hard to complete missions for that money, and you’re just giving it away?”

Su Jin rolled her eyes internally. “It’s my money, I’ll spend it how I want!”

The system grumbled, “…Fine.”

An hour later, they stood before the iron gates of the “Sunshine Children’s Home.” The three-story building was older than Su Jin imagined, with peeling paint and colorful drawings of suns and flowers done by the children.

“Director Mother!” Lin Xiaoyu called out into the yard.

A grey-haired woman stepped out. When she recognized Su Jin, the item in her hand dropped to the ground with a thud.

“Xiao Jin? Is it really you?” The Director’s voice shook.

“Director Mother!” Su Jin ran over and was pulled into a warm, weathered embrace.

After the children performed a small song and dance for them, Su Jin pulled a bank card from her bag and handed it to the Director. “Director Mother, there’s some money here. Use it to buy the children new clothes and school supplies.”

The Director’s hands shook violently. “This… this is too much…”

“It’s not,” Su Jin insisted. “It’s what I should do.”

A Growing Misunderstanding

By the time they left, the sun had set. Su Jin suggested a celebratory dinner at a high-end rooftop restaurant. During the meal, Lin Xiaoyu noticed something.

“It feels like someone over there is taking pictures of us…” she whispered.

Su Jin glanced toward the corner and saw a sneaky figure. Having grown used to paparazzi, she smiled it off. “Don’t mind them, let’s just eat.”

When Lin Xiaoyu dropped Su Jin back at Ye Qinglan’s villa, it was nearly 10 PM. They parted with a warm hug, promising to meet again soon. Only after the car disappeared did Su Jin check her phone. Her heart dropped: 12 missed calls, all from Ye Qinglan.

“Oh no…” Su Jin realized she had left her phone on silent.

The Storm at the Film Set

On the other side of the city, Ye Qinglan stared at her phone. The atmosphere in her dressing room was suffocating.

“Teacher Ye, filming starts in five minutes,” a staff member called.

She put her phone away, but her reflection in the mirror was clouded with an unshakeable gloom. As she walked through the set, she caught snippets of gossip: “Su Jin,” “Cheating,” “Trending search…”

Her phone vibrated. It was her manager, Zhao Man. “Qinglan, have you seen the hot search? Do you need PR to step in?”

“Wait,” Ye Qinglan said curtly. She hung up and opened Weibo.

The top headline stung her eyes: #Su Jin Secretly Meets Mysterious Woman. The photos showed Su Jin and a girl with a ponytail chatting happily, followed by a shot of them hugging intimately.

“Oh my,” a voice rang out. It was Fang Qi, leaning against a prop box with a smirk. “Some people announce a relationship only to get cheated on immediately~”

The set went silent. Ye Qinglan stopped, turned slowly, and gave a standard, icy smile. “Miss Fang, you seem very interested in other people’s private lives. Perhaps you should worry about your own scenes; you’ve had dozens of NGs today. We don’t have all day to watch you ‘practice’ your acting.”

A few muffled laughs broke out. Fang Qi’s face turned livid.

Ye Qinglan walked to her position, her back as stiff as a drawn bow. The scene required her to portray intense grief over a lost loved one. When the camera zoomed in, the darkness in her eyes was so raw that the director forgot to call “Cut.”

When she finally retreated to the break area, she saw three missed calls from Su Jin. She ducked into the stairwell and called back. It was picked up on the first ring.

“Qinglan! I’m so sorry, my phone was on silent, I just saw…”

“Where are you?” Ye Qinglan interrupted, leaning against the cold wall. She wanted to interrogate her, yet she was terrified of scaring her away. The possessiveness was clawing at her chest.

“I just finished dinner with a friend, I’m heading back now,” Su Jin said, still unaware of the viral photos.

“Teacher Ye! We’re filming!” a voice shouted from the door.

Ye Qinglan closed her eyes tight, forcing her voice to remain steady. “…It’s nothing. We’ll talk when I get home.”