My Idol Turns Out To Be My Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 1

In the golden autumn of October, a seasonal chill settled in with the rain. The misty, neon lit world felt as though it were washing away the city’s last lingering warmth.

Lin Sanyuan sat by the window listening to the rain. She had just finished polishing the final character side story for her manga, The Grandmaster, and let out a long stretch.

The weather today was perfectly atmospheric. The lingering twilight of a rainy evening matched the temperament of “Xingqing,” an important female supporting character from her book.

Sanyuan felt a surge of inspiration.

Looking at the new character under her pen, she felt a sense of deep satisfaction.

Damp, desolate, with the haunting beauty of an abandoned temple.

She also loved today’s heavy black and white ink style. Although Xingqing didn’t appear often in The Grandmaster, many readers of the Girls’ Love genre seemed to have a soft spot for this “gloomy female ghost” aesthetic.

Even though The Grandmaster had concluded years ago, she had created this extra side story for Xingqing at the request of her fans.

After saving the draft, she swiped the screen to check the time.

It was 5:30 PM. Time for the blind date KPI task her mother had forced upon her.

Just as she was about to turn off the drawing tablet, her finger accidentally brushed the screen.

On the character page, she poked the enlarged face of Xingqing. The ink drawn, melancholic eyes seemed to narrow slightly, as if the character were displeased.

Outside, a sudden gale rose, bringing a mist of rain against her face.

Sanyuan felt a chill down to her bones and broke into a cold sweat. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and looked back at the screen, but it was just an ordinary character illustration.

Yet, for a split second, she felt as if the person in the drawing had come to life.

Was this a mental hallucination from pulling all nighters to finish the art?

Was she going to draw herself into a split personality?

She didn’t dare look at the electronics any longer.

Closing her tablet, Sanyuan tidied herself up, grabbed her phone and keys, and headed out.

After the sound of the door closing, the old fashioned room fell into silence, save for the rhythmic patter of rain outside.

Zzzt… Zzzt…

The desk lamp flickered. In the gloomy weather, the evening sky had turned completely dark.

The tablet on the desk suddenly lit up in the darkness.

The character in the image slowly opened her eyes to look at the world.

In the empty old house, a faint, ethereal laugh echoed.

Lin Sanyuan sat in a hot pot restaurant, counting the minutes.

The man sitting across from her seemed to think it was still early. “Miss Lin doesn’t talk much? Is there nothing you want to know about me?”

Guo Chaoyang had learned a bit about her personality and family background through an intermediary.

The girl had no romantic history, which was a plus.

In conversation, she answered every question, and her salary barely met his expectations.

She wasn’t exactly his ideal type, she had some baby fat on her face but was quite thin otherwise, giving her a youthful look that didn’t quite match her age. She seemed like the standard, “cost effective” type of girl that met the male criteria for marriage.

Sanyuan wasn’t good at dealing with the opposite sex; she was a veteran shut in with social anxiety.

A waiter in the restaurant came over to refill the broth, asking if they were finished with their meal.

Chaoyang glanced at the bill. “Speaking of which, Miss Lin, you chose this restaurant, didn’t you?”

Sanyuan blinked. “Yes.”

He put down his phone and smiled at her. “It’s a good spot. I’ll pick the place for our next meal, shall I?”

Sanyuan caught his meaning instantly and turned to the waiter. “How much is the total, please?”

The waitress looked at the man in the suit, then quickly looked away out of professional ethics.

“Your total is 380 yuan. The drinks are on the house. Will that be WeChat or Alipay?”

“Alipay,” Sanyuan said.

Chaoyang wiped his mouth with a napkin, looking relaxed. His tone carried the generosity and steadiness of an older man. “I have a car, I can drop you home first.”

Sanyuan touched her cold phone screen and brought out her “big move.” “Actually, my family situation is quite complicated.”

Chaoyang was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t Auntie Zhao tell you? I have a younger brother.”

Alarm bells rang in Chaoyang’s head.

Sanyuan’s tone was calm but tinged with weariness. “My parents are getting old. The money I earn from work in the future will likely go toward supporting my brother. Of course, it would be great if you could provide a bit more for the bride price. My brother is about to start university, so we need to prepare a house for him in advance.”

Chaoyang’s poise completely crumbled. Sweat broke out on his nose, and his relaxed posture stiffened.

He stood up awkwardly. “It’s getting late. Let me drive you back now.”

The rain outside gradually intensified. Raindrops hit the glass with a light clatter, and the fine mesh of rain trapped the nighttime city.

Stepping out, the damp, cold rain hit them in the face. Even the air was sticky and humid, and the cold wind blew away the last bit of warmth from the hot pot restaurant.

Sanyuan instinctively wrapped her coat tighter.

The rain fell harder.

Chaoyang soon drove out from the underground garage, and Sanyuan opened the back door.

“You can sit in the front, actually.”

“No thanks, thank you.” She got motion sickness.

Whether it was the topic of the “younger brother,” the two of them quickly fell into a cold silence.

At nine o’clock in Huacheng, it was still rush hour, and the car moved slowly.

The car seemed to be a new purchase, as there was a strong scent of leather from the seats.

With the rain outside, it wasn’t convenient to open the window for fresh air.

Her eyelids drooped listlessly as she rested her cheek in her hand, watching the brilliant neon lights outside the window. The mall lights flickered in the rain, weaving a cold world within the nighttime glow.

“Motion sick?” Through the rearview mirror, Chaoyang saw the girl in the back seat looking pale.

“Yes, a little bit.”

He smiled like a gentleman. “New cars usually have a bit of a smell. I’ll drive slower.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Chaoyang, afraid Sanyuan would throw up in his beloved car, rolled down the back window. “Get some fresh air, it might help.”

The usually polite Sanyuan didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on the entrance of a bar not far from the lane.

The car was completely stuck now. The light ahead was red, and there was a long line of traffic.

Even the sound of the windshield wipers seemed to grow irritable.

Chaoyang couldn’t help but study Sanyuan through the rearview mirror again. Seeing her staring out the window, he followed her gaze.

The bar flashed with multi colored neon lights, and the heavy metal glass door was left slightly ajar.

“Young people play pretty hard these days,” Chaoyang said with a smirk. On the steps of the bar entrance, a girl in a black strap dress was slumped over, drunk. Her hair was messy, and her face wasn’t visible.

In such cold weather, she wasn’t wearing much. Beneath her black skirt was a pair of glowing white legs, thin and straight, making one wonder if she was wearing some kind of “nude” leggings.

Chaoyang twitched the corner of his mouth, his expression a bit playful. “In today’s society, there aren’t many girls left like you, Miss Lin. Young kids nowadays are all about excitement and novelty. Look at that girl, drunk like that, she’s likely going to be ‘picked up’ by someone.”

Realizing he might have said too much, Chaoyang cleared his throat. “Why am I telling you this? You’ve probably never been to a bar, Miss Lin, right? It’s a mess in there. It’s better not to know.”

The man’s words were disparaging and dismissive, yet carried a hint of testing Sanyuan.

After all, some girls only look well behaved but are wild when they let loose.

Sanyuan had little desire to analyze the complex, hidden psychology of the man.

She didn’t necessarily agree with his theories, nor did she want to be part of the story.

However, she couldn’t help but look a few more times.

A few more girls came out of the bar, appearing to be friends of the girl slumped outside. One girl with a high ponytail went up and tapped her face, trying to wake her up.

That smile certainly wasn’t a kind one.

It carried a sense of wanton ridicule.

It made one feel uncomfortable.

The girl then pulled a lipstick from her bag, pinched the drunk girl’s chin, and drew an exaggerated clown mouth outside her lips.

It was pure malice, so bold that every strand of her high, long black ponytail seemed to radiate rebellion.

The girls behind her covered their mouths and laughed. One of them pulled the sleeve of the girl with the lipstick, gesturing for them to go back inside.

The girl with the ponytail sneered, casually stuffed the lipstick into the drunk girl’s skirt pocket, and walked away with the others.

The rain grew heavier and the wind more frantic. In a short time, the girl in the black dress on the steps was halfway soaked.

Sanyuan looked at the sky. With lightning and thunder, it really wasn’t good weather for meddling.

Not to mention, she was socially anxious.

She usually hated being the center of attention.

Meddling on a rainy day would likely result in a cold or fever. She had to work tomorrow, and her editor was hounding her for drafts.

Plus, people might not even be grateful if you help.

On her first day out in the professional world, she had encountered some nasty workplace rules.

Although she managed to avoid them, her boss had a terrible reputation. She had heard how the sales staff in the company slowly fell from grace for the sake of performance bonuses.

Later, the company hired an intern who seemed innocent and naive. Sanyuan couldn’t bear to see the intern experience the world’s ugliness so soon and kindly warned her about the boss’s behavior.

She told her that the fat, bald, old pervert loved hitting on girls like her and that she should be careful.

Sanyuan would never forget the look that girl gave her.

It wasn’t until later that she found out who the intern was.

Oh… she was the boss’s daughter, a rich second generation kid coming to experience life.

The truth came out.

Later, she suffered a lot of “small shoes” from the boss.

With such unlucky cases everywhere, Sanyuan had long since learned her lesson.

Her constitution was not suited for meddling, otherwise, the result was social death.

She silently pressed the button on the car door, rolling the window back up, intending to play on her phone to distract herself.

But it seemed Guo Chaoyang’s mouth was cursed.

The arrogant roar of a motorcycle cut through the night.

In such cold, rainy weather, a “yellow hair” punk came out to ride the streets despite the storm, and he quickly noticed the “prime catch” at the bar entrance.

Her face was still unknown, but in terms of her figure, even a girl like Sanyuan with no sense of aesthetics knew she was stunning.

With a soft click, the phone screen went dark.

“Please pull over for a moment,” Sanyuan said.

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