The Heroine Pays Me to Fall in Love (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 54

Su Jin’s performance that day created an unexpected wave of attention. In just a week, her follower count shot up by over a hundred thousand, and videos of her were everywhere online.

A girl who was earnest about her music, stunningly beautiful, polite, and low-key—she was finally appearing before the public eye.

“She’s a hidden gem,” the young girls online said.

Give her your love and trust, and she’ll repay you with something even more beautiful.

Jiang Zhinan sat in her office chair scrolling through Weibo during a stolen moment of downtime, a smile tugging at her lips with every swipe.

Without even realizing it, so many people had begun to like Su Jin.

So many people had discovered her talent—admiring her looks, praising her voice, calling her a treasure.

Jiang Zhinan couldn’t be happier.

Work was heavy today, so after scrolling for a bit, she reluctantly set her phone aside and prepared to get back to typing.

Just then, the new assistant entered with a stack of documents for approval. By sheer coincidence, she glanced at Jiang Zhinan’s phone before the screen dimmed and caught sight of Su Jin’s photo set as the lock screen.

“President Zhou!” she exclaimed in surprise. “You like Su Jin too?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Zhinan nodded, then shifted her gaze to the girl’s face. “You as well?”

“Mhm! I’m a huge fan!” The young woman nodded vigorously, her fair face lit up with a big smile. “I’ve liked her since two years ago!”

Jiang Zhinan blinked. She hadn’t expected the girl to be an old fan.

A long-hibernating love rival, in fact.

“President Zhou, have you been watching the competition she’s in?” the assistant asked, usually soft-spoken and distant, but now full of energy the moment Su Jin’s name came up. “She’s amazing!”

“Yes, I’ve been watching,” Jiang Zhinan replied.

I even watched it in person, she thought proudly.

“Then you must’ve heard her new song!” the assistant went on, practically vibrating with excitement like a small bird chirping on a branch. “It’s so good! I’ve never heard anything that beautiful!”

“And I heard she wrote it for someone really important,” she sighed. “Probably her boyfriend or girlfriend.”

“I wonder what they’re like. Are they good to her? Are they outstanding too?” She added dreamily, “I hope they’re a total angel. Only an angel deserves an angel!”

Jiang Zhinan felt her heart tighten with every word.

“So, who do you think is worthy of Su Jin?” she asked carefully, testing the waters.

The girl tilted her head and listed a couple of currently trending celebrities.

Jiang Zhinan: “…”

I can’t compete with any of those.

“And what about me?” she asked after a moment of hesitation. “Do you think I could be worthy of Su Jin?”

This stunned the assistant for a good while.

“President Zhou, you must be joking,” she laughed, then quickly gathered the approved documents and hurried out of the office.

Jiang Zhinan: “…”

What was that supposed to mean?

“She probably thinks you’re not impressive enough,” the system coughed awkwardly. “Don’t take it too hard.”

“Oh.” Jiang Zhinan nodded, forcing a strained smile.

She said she didn’t mind, but clearly, she very much did.

It seemed she still had a long way to go—she needed to work harder to be someone who could stand proudly at Su Jin’s side.

With that thought firm in her mind, she immediately called Chen Bin in.

“What now?” the system asked internally.

“I need to do more good deeds,” Jiang Zhinan said. “If people ever find out I’m Su Jin’s girlfriend, they’ll just say I’m some tacky rich woman.”

“But if I do more charity, that’s different. At least they’ll soften their words a little. They might even call me a kind tacky rich woman.”

“Fair point,” the system admitted, half-laughing.

“Boss?” Chen Bin rushed in. “What happened? Is there an urgent task?”

“Yes, an important one.” Jiang Zhinan nodded. “Start with our city. See where help is needed, and make some donations in the company’s name.”

“Boss, what suddenly inspired this?” he asked blankly. “Did you find religion?”

“No,” she waved. “I just want to do some good.”

“Alright.” Chen Bin nodded, still confused. “I’ll prepare a list for you later.”

“Great,” she said with satisfaction.

That previous event had only been the preliminary round. After that came the semifinals, advanced stages, and all sorts of messy competition formats.

The day of the semifinals, Jiang Zhinan was invited to a commendation ceremony and couldn’t decline, so she had to tell Su Jin she’d be late but would rush over as soon as the meeting ended.

“It’s okay.” Su Jin smiled, leaned in, and kissed her cheek. “Go do your work.”

“And I won’t be alone anyway.” She tapped the little flower tattooed on her chest. “I’ll have this with me.”

“Alright then.” Jiang Zhinan pointed at her own matching tattoo, smiling softly. “I’ve got mine too.”

After exchanging a final look, the two got into separate cars and left for their respective duties.

Over the past few days, Jiang Zhinan had donated quite a bit of money. Schools and community centers all wanted to award her commendation banners and hold ceremonies in her honor, making her even busier than before.

But she didn’t mind. Busy, yes—but fulfilled. Jiang Zhinan felt she was one step closer to becoming someone truly outstanding.

The commendation ceremony dragged on for more than an hour. After giving her speech onstage and being invited down to rest, her phone suddenly rang.

It was an unfamiliar number. Thinking it might be a business partner, she picked it up.

She did not expect the call to be from the show’s production team.

“Ms. Zhou Ying?” the caller asked, sounding anxious. “If you’re not tied up at the moment, could you come over? Something happened during Su Jin’s performance—an accident!”

“An accident?” Jiang Zhinan froze at once. “What happened to her? Is she hurt? How bad is it?”

“There was a conflict onstage,” the person explained. “Su Jin took a hit to the head. She’s already been taken to the hospital to be bandaged. I’ll send you the exact address—please come as soon as you can.”

“Alright, I understand.” Jiang Zhinan hung up with a frown, quickly excused herself to the officials, and prepared to leave.

Seeing she clearly had something urgent to attend to, the leaders didn’t try to keep her. They simply told her to be careful on the road.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhinan thanked them one by one, hurried out to the street, flagged down a taxi, and rushed toward the hospital.

On the way, she was terrified. Her mind kept conjuring images she couldn’t stop—Su Jin’s face covered in blood, her head wrapped tightly in bandages, stitches running across her scalp.

She had no idea what had happened. How had Su Jin gotten hurt?

The production team had paid to place Su Jin in a VIP ward. It was on the fourth floor, quieter than the others, but now a crowd was gathered at the door, making the hallway anything but peaceful.

As soon as Jiang Zhinan stepped out of the elevator, someone spotted her and quickly urged everyone to make way, clearing a path for her to enter.

“Thank you, thank you.” Jiang Zhinan was so worried she could barely speak. She rushed into the ward and immediately looked toward the bed.

Only then did her heart finally ease a little.

It wasn’t as horrifying as she’d imagined. Su Jin did have bandages around her head, but the area wasn’t large—more like she was wearing a white headscarf than being fully wrapped.

She also seemed in decent condition. She was sitting up, eating an apple the staff had peeled for her. When she saw Jiang Zhinan, she even lifted the corners of her lips in a reassuring smile.

“What happened?” Jiang Zhinan sat beside her, voice thick with worry.

“It’s nothing,” Su Jin said. “I just got hit by an audience member.”

She said it so casually, as if nothing had happened at all.

“That’s not how it was.” The girl peeling apples beside them sighed and began explaining the situation to Jiang Zhinan.

“Remember how Su Jin competed against that little internet celebrity before?” she asked.

“I remember.” Jiang Zhinan nodded, grabbed an orange from the fruit basket, and began peeling it for Su Jin. “Go on.”

“It was her fan who threw it. A pretty extreme one,” the girl said helplessly. “Probably upset that Su Jin beat her idol, so she came to the venue today to take revenge.”

“We all pass security before entering. Dangerous items can’t get in, but you can bring your phone,” she continued. “That person threw her phone. She tossed it from the second floor, and it hit Su Jin right on the head.”

“The second floor?” Jiang Zhinan felt her heart twist. She’d been to the venue before—she knew exactly how high the second level was. She could imagine how much it must have hurt.

“Yep.” The girl sighed again. “Security took her away afterward, and we rushed to get Su Jin first aid.”

“You must’ve suffered.” Jiang Zhinan sniffed, pained and furious all at once. “Did it hurt a lot?”

“It’s alright.” Su Jin smiled, not wanting Jiang Zhinan to worry. “It’s over now.”

“Take a few days to rest,” Jiang Zhinan said softly. “Forget about the competition for now. We can wait until you’re better—there’ll be plenty of opportunities. What matters is your—”

“I passed.” Before she could finish, Su Jin interrupted her.

“What?” Jiang Zhinan blinked.

“Su Jin was incredible!” the young staff member chimed in proudly. “Even with the injury, she finished the performance. All the mentors gave unanimous approval. Her results were outstanding!”

She spoke as if she herself had just won a trophy. “Su Jin is amazing. I think I’m becoming her fan.”

“I see.” Jiang Zhinan murmured, nodding slightly. She turned her gaze back to Su Jin. After a moment, she exhaled softly and leaned against Su Jin’s shoulder, her body suddenly drained of strength.

“Yes, she’s amazing,” she whispered.

“So, so hardworking. She takes everything so seriously, so seriously it hurts to watch.”

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the young staffer excused herself, shooed the crowd outside away, and closed the door to give them privacy.

Once they were alone, Jiang Zhinan no longer held back. She wrapped her arms tightly around Su Jin, buried her face in her chest, and didn’t say a word for a long time.

After a while, Su Jin felt a damp patch spreading across her shirt.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Su Jin sighed, gently patting her back and soothing her with a soft voice. “Good things come after setbacks.”

“I’ve had more than enough of the bad ones,” she said lightly, tenderly. “That must mean my luck is about to turn. I’ll keep getting better. I’ll give my girlfriend a better life.”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhinan nodded into her chest, her voice muffled. “But you still have to take care of yourself. Rest well. Take care of your mood, too. And if anything upsets you, you have to tell me.”

“Don’t make me worry.”

“I know.” Su Jin promised gently, one by one. Then she scooped Jiang Zhinan into her arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I will.”