The Heroine Pays Me to Fall in Love (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 45

As her shift was about to end, rain began to pour outside.

The rain was heavy, drumming against the branches with a steady whoosh, stirring an inexplicable unease in the heart.

Jiang Zhinan glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even six yet, but the sky had already darkened completely. Dense clouds gathered overhead, and a flash of lightning streaked across the horizon.

She couldn’t help wondering what Su Jin might be doing right now.

“Why don’t you send her a message?” the system asked.

“It’s fine,” Jiang Zhinan replied, shaking her head as her fingers continued to tap at the keyboard. “I’m almost done with my work. I’ll just go find her afterward.”

“Alright then,” the system said, nodding. Not wanting to distract her, it fell silent.

Time moved swiftly. Half an hour later, Jiang Zhinan finally typed the last word.

She drew in a deep breath, leaned back, and stretched, a faint smile softening the exhaustion on her face.

“Everyone else has gone home already,” the system reminded her. “You should hurry too. This rain doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon.”

“Got it.” Jiang Zhinan nodded, shutting down her computer. She reached for her coat from the rack and prepared to head downstairs.

But just before leaving, she paused by the window and looked out.

At first, she only meant to check how bad the rain was—yet to her surprise, she caught sight of Su Jin standing downstairs.

The rain was still coming down hard. Puddles had formed everywhere, and pedestrians hurried along, cars rushing past as everyone scrambled to get home.

Only Su Jin stood calmly in the downpour, umbrella steady in hand, holding two steaming cups of something warm.

Jiang Zhinan didn’t know how long she’d been waiting there—but the sight made her chest tighten with an ache.

Without another thought, she turned and hurried downstairs, opening a small red umbrella as she ran toward Su Jin.

“Done with work?” Su Jin’s lips curved into a smile the moment she saw her. “Are you cold?”

“I’m not.” Jiang Zhinan shook her head, folded up her umbrella, and stepped under Su Jin’s instead. Raising her hand, she cupped Su Jin’s chilled face and rubbed it gently. “You’re the one who’s freezing.”

“It’s raining so hard—why didn’t you come inside to wait?”

“It’s fine.” Su Jin shook her head and took out one of the cups she was holding, offering it to her. “I just got here not long ago. Thought I’d wait for you out here.”

“Next time, at least let me know when you come,” Jiang Zhinan sighed softly.

“Alright.” Su Jin smiled and reached out to pat her head, fingertips still cold from the rain.

Because the weather was chilly and the rain relentless, the two decided not to go far. They ducked into a nearby hot pot restaurant instead.

The owner, a young guy who clearly kept up with the internet, recognized Su Jin right away—she was the online celebrity who had recently gone viral. Excited, he rushed over to take a picture with her and even had a waiter send over a big plate of beef and two bottles of soda on the house.

“Very impressive,” Jiang Zhinan teased, flashing her a thumbs-up.

Su Jin chuckled but didn’t have time to reply before a man from the next table came over. “Hey, does the restaurant have some kind of promotion going on? How come you got free drinks and I didn’t?”

“I know the owner,” Su Jin explained casually.

“No wonder.” The man nodded, then called back to his wife, “See? I told you! There’s no such thing as free gifts for nothing. They must be—wait a second, if they’re relatives, why’d they spend so long taking pictures like it’s their first meeting?”

“Distant relatives,” Su Jin added smoothly.

“Oh, right, right.” The man nodded thoughtfully and left without pressing further.

Jiang Zhinan grinned, eyes fixed on Su Jin. “You’ve got to keep working at it. Next time, people should realize the reason on their own.”

“Then I’ll have to level up from internet celebrity to something bigger,” Su Jin said, picking up a slice of orange from the fruit platter and feeding it to Jiang Zhinan. “At least a superstar.”

“You already are,” Jiang Zhinan replied with a sweet smile, biting down on the orange. Her face glowed softly in the steam rising from the hot pot. “My girlfriend’s every bit worthy of the word superstar.”

Her voice was honey-sweet.

Su Jin looked at her, and after a pause, couldn’t help smiling too.

She used to think she was unlucky—her parents had divorced, her mother never came back, and her father had long since built another family of his own.

No matter where she was, she’d always felt like she didn’t quite belong anywhere.

So, Su Jin had left home early on, working part-time while finishing college, and eventually chose to perform at a bar to make a living.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t do other things—she just couldn’t bring herself to care. When you have no one to rely on, you stop wanting to struggle. It’s enough just to keep living, even without a goal.

Back then, aside from singing, Su Jin’s favorite thing was stargazing. She’d once read something in a book that stuck with her—it said the nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, and the carbon we consume all came from the stars that exploded long ago in the Big Bang. We are, each of us, made of stardust.

If people were like stars, Su Jin thought, then she must be the smallest, faintest one—its light stolen away by brighter stars, left to flicker quietly in some lonely corner of the sky.

But, even so, she was still a star, wasn’t she? She still shone, still sparkled—and someday, someone might love her for that light.

That someone, now, was Jiang Zhinan. She was the one who kept trying—again and again—to give Su Jin her light back.

The pot was boiling, and the sweet, tangy scent of tomato broth filled the air.

Jiang Zhinan picked up a slice of beef and dropped it into the bubbling pot. Her face was full of anticipation, lips moving as she quietly counted under her breath.

Fifteen seconds later, she lifted the beef out and held it up to Su Jin.

“Ah” she said softly, smiling with tender warmth.

Su Jin leaned forward and took the bite, then gave her a thumbs-up.

“Is it good?” Jiang Zhinan asked.

“Delicious,” Su Jin nodded, eyes curved with a smile. “Of course it is—my girlfriend made it.”

She had to work hard. She wanted to grow, to become strong enough to stand beside this person—to become each other’s light.

Their hotpot meal lasted quite a while; the men at the next table had already gone through two rounds before the two of them finally finished the last bite.

They hadn’t planned to drink, but as the mood warmed up, somehow they ended up having a few glasses anyway.

Su Jin was fine—she was used to it, and this amount wasn’t even a tenth of her usual capacity.

But Jiang Zhinan was different. Maybe it was because Zhou Ying had damaged her body before she transmigrated, leaving lingering aftereffects. She hadn’t drunk much, yet her cheeks were flushed red, and she was now slumped over the table, completely drunk.

“You okay?” Su Jin poked her cheek lightly, testing the waters. “Want to sit a while longer or head home?”

“Mm.” The poke made Jiang Zhinan squirm, and she sluggishly lifted her head, eyes glazed and hazy with confusion. “What?”

“Rest here for a bit or go home?” Su Jin repeated slowly.

“Hmm.” This time Jiang Zhinan understood. She sat up straight, her small feet swinging under the table as she frowned in thought for a long while, then finally muttered, “Don’t wanna stay here. I want to go home.”

“Alright.” Su Jin nodded and stood up, stepping in front of her to gently adjust her hat. “Then let’s go home.”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhinan nodded obediently and rubbed her face against Su Jin’s waist.

Su Jin chuckled softly, said nothing more, and helped her up by the hand.

The rain had stopped outside. The air was fresh, filled with the faint scent of grass, washing away the lingering aroma of hotpot.

Su Jin guided Jiang Zhinan carefully down the stairs, and as they reached the curb, just as she was about to hail a cab, the person in her arms suddenly started whining again, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Su Jin asked quickly. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No.” Jiang Zhinan pouted and shook her head. Her nose was pink from the cold, and her voice came out sticky and pitiful. “I don’t wanna go home. Don’t wanna.”

“Then where does my Yingying want to go?” Su Jin couldn’t help but laugh, wrapping her arms tighter around the tipsy girl.

“Wanna go get a tattoo.” Jiang Zhinan mumbled into her chest.

“Where?” Su Jin blinked, not quite catching it, and was just about to ask again when Jiang Zhinan started mumbling to herself.

“We said it yesterday, you promised, I got all ready.”

The more she spoke, the sadder she sounded—on the verge of tears.

Su Jin was startled. She quickly lifted her face, only to see big teardrops already streaming down her cheeks—so many tears, spilling fast and heavy, soaking into Su Jin’s clothes and palms.

Seeing her cry like that made Su Jin’s heart ache unbearably. She hurried to soothe her, coaxing softly to figure out where exactly she wanted to go.

“To get my little star tattoo.” After much coaxing, Jiang Zhinan finally revealed the key detail.

Even drunk, she still remembered.

Su Jin sighed, but then a gentle, beautiful smile curved her lips.

Too cute. She was just too, too cute.

“Not today,” Su Jin said, shaking her head softly as she coaxed her. “You’re drunk, Yingying. You need to rest. We’ll go tomorrow, alright?”

“No.” Jiang Zhinan immediately shook her head, clinging tightly to Su Jin’s arm, her tone full of childish pleading. “I’m not drunk. You said today, so it has to be today.”

“And you think you can even stand?” Su Jin raised a brow. “You can barely stay on your feet.”

“Who says that?” Jiang Zhinan protested, quickly letting go of her arm and standing up straight to prove her point. “See? I can!”

She was trying so hard—so hard that Su Jin almost couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

“Then let’s go get it,” Su Jin said, eventually giving in to her.

Anyway, they’d both been drinking, so there was no way they could actually get tattooed tonight—but she could at least take her there for a look around.

Among Su Jin’s friends, one owned a tattoo shop. When it had first opened, that friend had invited her over countless times, but Su Jin had never been interested in tattoos and always turned her down.

So, when she suddenly brought it up now, the friend was genuinely surprised and even asked whether something bad had happened to her.

“You’re the one who’s had something bad happen,” Su Jin shot back on WeChat, tightening her arm around Jiang Zhinan as they climbed the stairs.

By the time she pushed open the shop door and stepped inside, her friend was still furiously typing away, no doubt composing a long-winded motivational message about how she should take things easy and stay positive.

“Don’t bother sending it,” Su Jin said with a faint smile. “If you have something to say, tell me in person.”

“I’m just curious.” The friend turned her head as she spoke, only to see the girl in Su Jin’s arms. The realization hit her instantly.

So that’s what this was—not heartbreak, but the sweet glow of romance.

The world was fairly open-minded about same-sex relationships, and since her friend was also gay, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. Instead, she leaned in, grinning, and started asking in a whisper when and how the two of them had gotten together.

From the looks of her—professional clothes, polished demeanor—the girl was clearly doing quite well for herself.

“Let’s talk about that later,” Su Jin said, guiding Jiang Zhinan over to the couch and sitting her down.

Then she pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly. A few seconds later, her friend’s phone chimed.

“Didn’t you just say to talk in person?” the friend said, puzzled. She glanced down at the screen and read Su Jin’s message:

—Talk to her for me. She’s been drinking and can’t get tattooed tonight. Convince her to come back in a few days instead.

“Got it,” the friend replied softly, giving Su Jin a quick wink before walking over to Jiang Zhinan with a friendly smile.

“Hi, I’m Hu Meng,” she said warmly. “And you are?”

“Zhou Ying,” Jiang Zhinan replied, politely shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

She looked a little sleepy now, her voice softer than before. Long lashes fluttered lightly, a rosy flush tinted her cheeks—she looked obedient, adorable.

“Where on earth did you find this treasure?” Hu Meng mouthed silently to Su Jin, eyes wide in disbelief.

“I didn’t find her,” Su Jin replied. “She found me.”

“Oh.” Hu Meng nodded with an exaggerated look of envy.

Still, business was business. You couldn’t tattoo someone who’d been drinking—it could irritate the skin and slow healing.

Hu Meng explained the details professionally, speaking gently as she persuaded Jiang Zhinan to come back the following week instead.

“Alright then.” Jiang Zhinan finally nodded after listening intently to the whole explanation.

“Good.” Hu Meng smiled at her, then turned to the one who was sober.

“So, what are you thinking of getting? Do you want me to design something, or do you already have an idea?”

“I have a general concept,” Su Jin said, unbuttoning two buttons on her shirt to reveal a few faint, almost-faded flowers on her chest. “I want to redo these. Can you see clearly?”

“Yeah.” Hu Meng leaned in to examine the design carefully before saying, “I’ll take a few photos and draft a redesign for you later to confirm.”

“Alright,” Su Jin agreed.

“What about your girlfriend?” Hu Meng asked.

“She wants a star,” Su Jin said, brushing her fingers lightly over Jiang Zhinan’s cheek. “If you’re tired, just lean back for a bit. I’ll send you the drawing once I finish it, and you can help with the final design.”

“Sure thing.” Hu Meng nodded, smiling as she muttered about how beautiful love was, before stepping behind the screen to prepare the tattoo bed and camera.

“Are you getting tattooed now?” Jiang Zhinan asked sleepily from the couch. The moment she heard that, she sat up and tugged on Su Jin’s sleeve in alarm.

“No,” Su Jin said gently. “Just taking a few pictures.”

“Oh.” Jiang Zhinan nodded, though she probably hadn’t quite registered it. She sat up straighter, wrapped her arms around Su Jin, and murmured softly, “It’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

“If it hurts, call me. I’ll be right here.”

At that point, there was no use explaining anymore.

Su Jin looked down at her, and after a moment, bent forward to kiss her lightly on the forehead. “Mm.”