After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 81

As the saying goes, the first time is awkward, the second is familiar. The first time Song Xingzi snuck into Mèng Bǎimò’s study, she was incredibly nervous, fumbling and nearly stepping on a trip wire, almost activating the barrier. Now, her Nth time secretly entering Mèng Bǎimò’s precious laboratory was like walking into an empty room, both skilled and bold.

Emerging from the hole, Song Xingzi patted the dirt off her body, used a Dust Cleansing spell to clean her paws, and then scurried towards the wall-mounted bookshelf.

The walnut-colored bookshelf was packed full of books. Song Xingzi expertly squatted down at the third shelf from the bottom right corner, a section Mèng Bǎimò specifically used for leisure reading.

Indeed, brand-new books were stacked neatly together. The top one had a scribbled title, which didn’t look like an authentic book published by a literary house. Song Xingzi curled her lip. No wonder Brother Mèng Bǎimò was scolded by Sister Nine. So that’s why.

The entire stack showed no signs of being read. A single storybook next to it had curled edges on its cover, looking like it had been read a few times. To be safe, Song Xingzi decided to read this one first.

“The Overbearing CEO’s Indulgence: Priceless Film Empress Spoiled to Heaven? Doesn’t look too bad. So Brother Mèng Bǎimò and Sister Nine secretly like this kind of theme! I would have never guessed!”

Song Xingzi lay down on the wooden table and, with practiced ease, lit Mèng Bǎimò’s oil lamp. It was made with oil from luminous sea fish, providing a gentle and comfortable light, which Song Xingzi loved.

Flipping through the cover, Song Xingzi, a veteran reader, read incredibly fast, commenting as she went: “No way?! Truly a bootleg! Do they sleep together in the very first chapter? That’s… too stimulating! I love it.”

“Hmm? This plot development is wrong? Why is the male lead like this?”

“Darn it! I’m so mad! Female lead, can’t you be a little tougher! Are you the reincarnation of a doormat? Even little lilies are stronger than you!”

“Eh? Jì Rúyuè? This name sounds so familiar. I think I’ve seen it somewhere? Oh, right, that incredibly beautiful female celebrity! Is this her fanfiction? Is she the real protagonist? She appears so late in the story.”

Identifying the woman she briefly glimpsed, Song Xingzi became interested. She continued reading while cursing, eager to find out Jì Rúyuè’s final ending.

“Aah! Jì Rúyuè is so handsome!! Why does she love a piece of trash?!!!”

“Wuwuwu! Darn it, trash! Stay away from my Jì Jì!”

“Holy crap! What kind of idiotic author is this? How could someone as excellent as Jì Jì go bankrupt because of a piece of trash?”

“Waa waa waa! I knew Jì Jì wouldn’t give up easily! Go for it! Make a comeback! Tear apart the scumbag male lead! Reach the pinnacle of life!”

“…Aah—Author, you’re not human! You have no heart! Wuwuwu, how did Jì Jì die? How could she just die like that? Isn’t this Jì Rúyuè’s fanfiction? Why is she dead, aahhhh!!!”

Having finished the whole book, Song Xingzi’s heart felt dead. She collapsed motionlessly onto the storybook, physically and mentally exhausted. Having already decided that “The Overbearing CEO’s Indulgence: Priceless Film Empress Spoiled to Heaven” was Jì Rúyuè’s fanfiction, the little child had many questions: For instance, why would Jì Rúyuè fall in love with the male lead? Also, if it’s a celebrity fanfiction, why isn’t Jì Rúyuè the protagonist? Most, most importantly, Jì Rúyuè just died like that?

“[I can’t even say an expletive involving] a plant, I’m too stunned…”

“Yīng yīng yīng, this kind of story! No wonder only the street vendors selling package deals would sell it! Darn it, this is basically feeding poison to a demon!” Song Xingzi let out a long breath, abused into becoming Jì Rúyuè’s sole fan: “How you look at it, such a beautiful and capable older sister is suited to be on her own, right? Our Jì Jì is beautiful solo. Trash authors stay away!”

Song Xingzi, the sole fan, was deeply poisoned: “It’s a shame I’m back in the Demon Realm, otherwise I could still follow her in the Human Realm. Jì Jì seems great! She must be the best kid in the Human Realm!”

Jì Rúyuè’s new sole fan, Song Xingzi, flipped over, kicked the storybook aside, and lay on the sandalwood table, taking a deep breath, revisiting her personal trauma regarding Jì Rúyuè with a look of despair.

Song Xingzi’s nose was close to the sandalwood table. With one breath, she could smell the woody scent of sandalwood. Because the sandalwood had been made into a desk a long time ago, the scent wasn’t overpowering. Instead, it was like the base note of a woody cedarwood perfume, like being immersed in a pine forest on a cold morning, with cool grass-and-wood breeze gently circulating.

The book mentioned that Jì Jì seemed to like cedarwood-scented shower gel very much. Then she must smell of a cedar forest, as if snow-covered cedar branches in winter had been shaken, sending down a cloud of crushed snow—cold and clear.

Song Xingzi suddenly recalled the photo on the massive billboard, which indeed carried startling beauty and terrifying aloofness. She could imagine the ice and snow melting on that world-weary face, the warmth of the rose neutralizing the chill of the cedarwood—what a beautiful picture!

So, the cedarwood scent I thought of when I rubbed against Fox Sister today came from her? Has my (one-sided) bond with her, a human celebrity I’ve only (one-sidedly) met once, already become this deep?

This must be a destiny granted by heaven!

Song Xingzi, the sole fan, escalated into a ‘wife fan’ with her imagination: “I want to smell the cedarwood scent on her.”

Song Xingzi was naive and didn’t see anything wrong with her words. Furthermore, just thinking about Jì Rúyuè, this human celebrity she had never met, made her empty heart feel like it had a home, no longer faintly aching or feeling a sense of loss.

Thus, Song Xingzi’s fondness for Jì Rúyuè skyrocketed, unknowingly taking on the flavor of a sasaeng fan.

“I can mix the scent myself! I specialize in wood-element magic, hehe! I can mix Jì Jì’s scent! I’ll make the whole little wooden house smell of cedarwood! Long-distance fandom, boundless happiness!”

With that, Song Xingzi was very excited. With a wave of her little paw, a cedar branch floated in front of her, a faint pine scent wafting from the branch. Song Xingzi was very satisfied: “I’m truly amazing!”

The belatedly realizing Song Xingzi wailed while holding the pine branch: “Wait a minute! How do I mix the scent? How do I turn the pine branch into cedarwood perfume? I don’t know how! Is the first step of my self-healing process going to be ruined right here?”

“Little Pine Nut?” Mèng Bǎimò pushed the door open, lamp in hand. Seeing the little creature who should have been recuperating in the wooden house on Qīngqiū’s Magpie Mountain sprawled on his desk, Mèng Bǎimò, being good-natured, not only didn’t get angry but gently asked her: “Why are you here with Brother Mèng Bǎimò? Yōu Yōu was just about to look for you.”

“Brother Mèng, Mèng Bǎimò,” Song Xingzi, holding the pine branch, turned stiffly, kicking her hind legs back in an attempt to destroy the evidence of her crime. “Why, why did you suddenly come over?”

Mèng Bǎimò waved his hand. “The Overbearing CEO’s Indulgence: Priceless Film Empress Spoiled to Heaven,” which should have fallen off the table, flew into his hand. Mèng Bǎimò frowned, clearly seeing the title. He asked: “You finished reading this book?”

Song Xingzi: “Yes, yes, but I didn’t rummage through anything else! Truly! I swear!”

Song Xingzi raised the pine branch with both hands, swearing to the heavens. Wait, something feels wrong? Never mind, quickly explaining clearly is the important thing.

“I just heard that Brother Mèng Bǎimò bought a big package of storybooks, so I wanted to sneak in and read. I didn’t touch anything else! Truly! Besides the storybook, I didn’t even look at anything else!”

“It’s fine, they’re all unimportant things,” Mèng Bǎimò already knew Song Xingzi often snuck into his study. However, there was nothing too critical in the study, and Song Xingzi was raised single-handedly by him and Tǔ Jiǔ Yōu, so there was nothing he couldn’t tell her. He just let Song Xingzi be.

Mèng Bǎimò was more curious about how Song Xingzi snuck in, but now, the illusion and the little squirrel’s memory were more pressing. His gentle and handsome face showed some concern and worry as he asked: “Do you feel uncomfortable? Or have you remembered anything?”

Song Xingzi nodded first, then shook her head, confusing Mèng Bǎimò. He asked: “Little Pine Nut, are you feeling bad, or not feeling bad?”

Song Xingzi put down the pine branch. Holding her arms up for so long was really tiring. She explained: “I was almost driven to death by anger! The author is an idiot! Why do such wonderful sisters have to fall in love with scumbags? And she even wrote that Jì Jì died!! Aahhhh!!! I can’t accept it! It’s infuriating for a demon!”

Mèng Bǎimò: …It looks like there are no clues. Given this reaction, it’s probably not the scumbag male lead. That’s good, hm.

Mèng Bǎimò noticed the pine branch Song Xingzi was holding and asked: “Little Pine Nut, why are you holding a cedar branch when you came to Brother Mèng Bǎimò’s place to read?”

Could this be the secret weapon for how Little Pine Nut manages to sneak in every time without being caught?

“Oh, oh, this?” Song Xingzi sighed, her small ears drooping, the golden bell jingling. “After I finished the storybook, I fell in love with Jì Jì’s cedarwood scent, and I wanted to mix a bottle myself. So I conjured a cedar branch, but I didn’t expect…”

At this point, Song Xingzi stalled again, wiggling awkwardly. Mèng Bǎimò understood and finished her sentence: “You realized you don’t know how to make perfume? Or mix scents?”

Song Xingzi nodded frantically: “Yes, yes! Brother Mèng Bǎimò truly knows me!”

Mèng Bǎimò frowned: “You prefer the supporting female character, Jì Rúyuè, in the book?”

Not the male lead, but the supporting female character? Then Yōu Yōu should be able to forgive me. I need to discuss this with Yōu Yōu sometime. Keeping Little Pine Nut in the dark forever won’t work either.

“Yes, yes!” The newly-minted ‘wife fan’ Song Xingzi was very excited. “I feel like I have a super strong connection with her. Just thinking about her makes me happy! I really love the cedarwood scent described in the book, Brother Mèng Bǎimò.”

Mèng Bǎimò shook his head helplessly, picking up the little squirrel and placing her outside the door: “You go back and cultivate properly first. Leave the cedarwood here. I’ll make it, and have Yōu Yōu send it to you.”

Song Xingzi made an unhesitating request: “Heh heh heh, thank you, Brother Mèng Bǎimò! Make several bottles! At first smell, it should be like a snow-covered pine forest. Only when you get closer do you realize that the tenderness of the rose neutralizes the chill of the cedarwood, like the initial thawing of ice and snow. But the rose scent shouldn’t be strong, just subtle. It must be a distant scent, woody and cold from beginning to end!”

Mèng Bǎimò: “…Pine Nut, are you asking me to make perfume or write a short essay?”

Song Xingzi: “Aiya, aiya! Go for it, Brother Mèng Bǎimò! Just make it smell like Jì Jì! Goodbye, Brother Mèng Bǎimò!”

Mèng Bǎimò held the lamp, listening to the crisp sound of the bell fading away. Only then did he turn around, hearing the Grass Demon and the Firefly whispering in the corner:

“Song Xingzi is lovesick!”

“She wants to smell a human’s scent!”

“And it’s a woman!”

“Song Xingzi calls her Jì Jì. I bet one leaf that Jì Jì is her little wife!”

“I’ll bet one leaf that Jì Jì is the villain who tricked her out of her heart and core!”

Little Tail shook his tuft, looking certain: “I’ll add one leaf and bet that Song Xingzi is the second White Snake. So foolish! She still longs for a human even after her inner core was dug out!”

The demons looked at the two pitiful leaves on the Foxtail Grass Spirit and said in unison: “…Little Tail, you win!”

Mèng Bǎimò: “…Little Tail, don’t talk nonsense. Pine Nut will bite you.”