Give Her a Chance to Flirt! - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As the crack of the door widened, the scene inside the room unfolded before Lin Jiu’s eyes.

Her gaze first fell upon Yu Yihan, who was walking toward her. Yu Yihan seemed to be just about to leave; her expression was calm and her steps composed, as if she hadn’t been affected much by the incident.

In the moment Lin Jiu’s footsteps faltered, Yu Yihan reached her. Lin Jiu pushed the door wider to give Yu Yihan space to leave, but Yu Yihan paused at that exact moment. She extended her slender fingers to rub her temples, her white-gold bracelet sliding halfway down her wrist with a light sway.

“I drank quite a bit tonight. It feels much better coming out to catch some air.”

Yu Yihan’s lips curved slightly, her words slow and steady:

“Compared to wine, I still prefer tea—when will Miss Lin accompany me for another cup of Longjing?”

Having said this, without waiting for a reply, she gripped the long door handle that was still in Lin Jiu’s hand. Their hands were very close; Yu Yihan’s fair hand looked exceptionally clear and bright against the deep brown handle, but they didn’t touch at all.

Lin Jiu turned her head slightly to avoid Yu Yihan. Yu Yihan really must be tipsy; her gaze seemed to have grown hot with the influx of alcohol. But as Lin Jiu lowered her head, she saw that, inadvertently, Yu Yihan’s forearm brushed against her own wrist.

It was like soft, warm silk sliding across her pulse, triggering a shiver that climbed through her veins and spread across her entire body. Lin Jiu’s footing immediately stumbled, her legs crossing as her high heel clicked sharply against the floor.

Yu Yihan reached out to steady her, but Lin Jiu instinctively dodged, more agile than a gamer dodging an ultimate ability.

“……”

What does it mean to have a guilty conscience? This was a guilty conscience so loud it felt like a parade of ghosts! Clearly, it was Yu Yihan who had initiated the proximity, yet Lin Jiu felt that if she were touched, she would be the one taking advantage of Yu Yihan. It was embarrassingly absurd. 😀

She composed herself:

“Go back to the main hall. I’m going to check on Grandma and the others. We’ll schedule the tea for later.”

Yu Yihan’s gaze lingered on Lin Jiu for a moment. She didn’t say anything more, simply nodding:

“Then I’m going.”

Just as she started to walk away, she seemed to remember something and turned back to add one last sentence, her tone somewhat solemn:

“I will find you for tea.”

“Also, you look beautiful tonight, Lin Jiu.”

With that, Yu Yihan walked away. The hem of her cloak brushed against Lin Jiu’s calf, and this time, she truly left.

Lin Jiu was pinned to the spot by those last two sentences, unsure how to react for a moment. In the end, only one thought remained in her head:

Why is it that when Zhao Chun praises her beauty, it only triggers her desire to bicker and talk trash, but when Yu Yihan says it, her heart skips two beats uncontrollably?

The sound of Yu Yihan’s heels faded into the distance, and Lin Jiu redirected her attention to the Lin family’s mess. She walked quickly past the semi-open foyer, and the full view of the reception room appeared before her.

Lin Jiu first looked at the Old Lady. The Old Lady’s expression seemed relatively normal; she looked like she simply wanted to give the Eldest Uncle a violent thrashing, rather than being so angry she’d have a stroke.

Having checked on the elder’s health, Lin Jiu looked at the others. The Eldest Uncle looked ashamed, clenching his hands and lowering his head, seemingly unable to face anyone. The Eldest Aunt looked devastated, as if she had suffered a major life blow. Little cousin Lin Wu… looked completely dazed. With all the parents remaining silent, she had lost her anchor, her gaze darting back and forth.

Finally, following Lin Wu’s gaze, Lin Jiu saw the young woman lying on the sofa. She was even younger than Lin Jiu had imagined, with a face that was pure and lovely; she looked about the same age as Lin Wu.

Lin Jiu assessed her objectively: this woman’s beauty was about the same as Lin Jiu’s before she became a “Green Tea Spirit.” Now, well, she could only rank second in the Lin family.

At that moment, the system chimed in.

[The female lead and female supporting character have successfully met. Now beginning the transmission of the second main storyline data.]

Lin Jiu accepted the information in her mind with practiced ease. This time, the data was much more detailed than what she had seen before. This time, her world was described as a manga.

The manga was titled Romantic Encounters in the Tea World, and the female lead was Lin Momo. Lin Momo was a member of the Jinjiang Orphanage—an orphanage that, much like the one on the “Starting Point” site next door, specialized in producing protagonists.

As expected, Lin Momo had a unique background: she was the illegitimate daughter of Lin Yuan—Lin Jiu’s Eldest Uncle—born from an affair with his first love after marriage. She was adopted by an ordinary family and grew up working part-time to fund her studies. After graduation, she worked as a museum guide at the Yuxia Tea Manor. During a banquet where the main hall was short-staffed, Lin Momo came to help and encountered her biological father, Lin Yuan.

Having finally discovered who her father was, Lin Momo returned to the Lin family to claim her heritage. Simultaneously, on the night she met her father, she fainted into the arms of her true love, Yu Yihan, beginning a fateful encounter.

The rest of the plot followed the typical trajectory of a “cool” and “sweet” female lead story. Lin Jiu’s role in this was the “vicious female supporting character,” responsible for being jealous of Lin Momo’s beauty, highlighting Lin Momo’s kindness, and trying to steal Lin Momo’s woman. In the end, she would be loathed by Yu Yihan and the Lin family, leading to a drunken car crash that ended her life.

After reading, Lin Jiu was utterly confused:

“Fine if I’m not the lead, but in this supporting role, I didn’t slash the lead’s face, I didn’t push her down the stairs, and I didn’t drug Yu Yihan. How am I a ‘vicious green tea’ supporting character?”

“If you agree to let me drug Yu Yihan, I might consider accepting the title.”

The system hissed.

“You are more vicious than the supporting character.”

Lin Jiu looked regretful:

“Are you sure I can’t drug her?”

“Don’t even think about it. Also, don’t take the change of the main storyline lightly.”

“The reason your storyline changed is that you refused to follow the original ‘career-oriented cool female lead’ path. Since you like romance and affairs of the heart so much, I had to give you a different script.”

“I don’t ‘like romance’; I was just lusting after her face and body before,” Lin Jiu corrected, then added, “Though, I actually do want to date ‘Sister’ a little bit now.”

The system acted as if it hadn’t heard.

“It doesn’t matter what you want. Right now, play your part as the vicious supporting character obediently.”

“You’ve already been warned once for severely deviating from the plot. After three ineffective warnings, punishment measures will be triggered.”

Lin Jiu arched an eyebrow:

“And if I still refuse?”

Before the system could answer her question, the woman on the sofa fluttered her eyelids and slowly woke up. At the moment Lin Momo opened her eyes, Lin Jiu saw a white ring around her neck. It looked as if a white glow-stick had been wrapped around her as a necklace, with a soft-focus filter applied—it looked high-end and mystical.

“The female lead Lin Momo comes with her own ‘Protagonist Halo.’ She will conquer everyone, including Yu Yihan.”

Lin Jiu didn’t want to believe it. But this system thing was very mysterious and not to be underestimated.

The Old Lady, who valued family laws and traditions deeply, actually agreed to let Lin Momo acknowledge her ancestors and return to the clan after Lin Momo and the Eldest Uncle wept in each other’s arms. Lin Jiu thought the Eldest Aunt, upon learning the truth, would at least make a scene, but instead, after locking herself in her room for a day, the Aunt came out and accepted Lin Momo.

Furthermore, to protect Lin Momo’s reputation, the entire family synchronized their story, telling the public that Lin Momo was a younger sister born to Lin Wu while the Aunt was recuperating abroad years ago, and was only brought back now due to poor health.

Lin Jiu stood on the second floor, her arm resting on the rosewood railing, watching the interaction between the Eldest Uncle, Aunt, and Lin Momo below. Lin Momo was a bit restrained at first, but soon began telling them about watching cartoons in the orphanage as a child, which sparked a wave of guilt in the Uncle, who claimed he should have found her sooner. The Eldest Aunt also looked moved, as if the person in front of her were her biological daughter Lin Wu, rather than a girl she’d only known for three or four days.

“Her Protagonist Halo will have an even greater effect on Yu Yihan.”

The system continued its persuasion.

“You have a high degree of freedom in this storyline. I won’t force you to do tasks; you can just play it as you like. Anyway, the annoying way you usually talk is enough to infuriate people.”

“As long as you don’t destroy their relationship, it’s fine. Once Lin Momo and Yu Yihan have their Happy Ending (HE), you won’t have to be a ‘tool’ anymore. I’ve given you the maximum freedom; think carefully, the punishments are cruel.”

Lin Jiu rested her chin on her hand and watched for a while longer, just in time to see Lin Wu and Lin Momo enter with bags of new clothes. The Eldest Aunt only gave Lin Wu a brief greeting before staying to help Lin Momo try on the bags. Seeing Lin Wu’s silent back as she walked out of the living room, Lin Jiu said slowly:

“You’re saying that as long as I don’t destroy their relationship, I have basically no other restrictions?”

Facing Lin Jiu, the system thought carefully, confirmed everything was correct, and then replied.

“Yes. You don’t even have to do anything at all.”

Lin Jiu let out a breath, put her hands in her pockets, and walked away, no longer watching. Her voice drifted back:

“If she doesn’t love me, she doesn’t love me. The next one will be even better (cuter).”

“Really?”

“It’s a profitable deal; I’m not stupid.”

She was just a little attracted to Yu Yihan, that’s all, Lin Jiu thought. It was lucky the system said it early; a little later, if she had already reached a state of “until the mountains crumble and the world ends” with Yu Yihan, she would have fought to break the female lead’s glow-stick rather than listen to the system’s advice.

Lin Jiu was decisive in matters of emotion. After sleeping for over a dozen hours in bed, she woke up nearly forgetting who Yu Yihan was. Before the drowsiness had fully dissipated, Lin Jiu leaned against the headboard, clutching the warm quilt, and stared at the message on her phone inviting her for tea. She stared for a good minute or two, her eyes still dazed.

Even the system couldn’t take it anymore.

“This is Yu Yihan! Hurry up and agree.”

Lin Jiu said somewhat guiltily: “I know it’s Yu Yihan.” She just wasn’t fully awake yet. “But, why are you egging me on to see Yu Yihan? You’re acting suspicious.”

The system remained poised and calm.

“How can a supporting character be a supporting character if she doesn’t show up? Just go; you won’t be able to cause any waves anyway.”

Lin Jiu said hesitantly:

“I don’t really want to go.”

“How can you not go? Go with a peaceful mind; nothing will go wrong. If there’s a problem, I’ll take the blame.”

The system was confident and composed, even offering a guarantee. Lin Jiu reluctantly agreed.

The day of the appointment arrived quickly. Before Lin Jiu left the house, she actually ran into Lin Wu in her own living room. Seeing her, Lin Wu managed a weak smile:

“Cousin, I’ve come to stay at your house for a few days.”

Lin Wu didn’t say much, but Lin Jiu’s intuition told her it must have something to do with Lin Momo.

As the appointment time drew near, Lin Jiu didn’t ask further. She slung her black-and-gold underarm bag over her shoulder and headed to the meeting. Almost at the same time, Lin Momo left her home, wearing a brand-new white designer dress from the latest season.