The Heroine Pays Me to Fall in Love (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 56

Now that Su Jin was a public figure, she had to bundle up tightly whenever she went out.

Fortunately, it was winter. A hat, scarf, and mask were enough to cover most of her face—only her eyes were exposed.

“Su Jin.” Jiang Zhinan leaned forward with a teasing smile, staring into her eyes. “Is that Su Jin under there?”

“Yes.”

Su Jin nodded immediately, her voice muffled under the mask.

“You’re wrapped up so much—did you catch a cold?” Jiang Zhinan asked again.

“Mm-hmm.” Su Jin played along, even adding a dramatic little cough or two.

Seeing her act like that, Jiang Zhinan’s eyes curved with laughter.

Watching her laugh, Su Jin couldn’t help letting the corners of her own lips rise too.

“You should dress warmer as well.” Su Jin reached back, grabbed another scarf, and wrapped it around Jiang Zhinan’s neck before taking her hand and leading her out the door.

It was still early, and the air outside was cold and misty. The two of them walked through the fog for a while before deciding to stop somewhere for breakfast.

A wonton shop sat just ahead, looking pretty good—the place was nearly full.

“This one?” Su Jin turned to Jiang Zhinan, blinking.

“Sure.” Jiang Zhinan nodded and followed her inside.

Most of the customers at this hour were students, chatting about homework, parents, or their idols in small clusters.

While Su Jin was ordering at the counter, she even heard her own name mentioned.

“Su Jin!” one of the kids suddenly shouted.

Su Jin froze, startled—had she been recognized even with all this covering?

But then the kid added brightly, face full of youthful excitement,

“She’s my favorite star right now!”

“Mine too!”

A few others chimed in one after another, the scene turning chaotic in an instant.

Su Jin finally exhaled, paid for the food, and returned to the table with the number plate in hand.

Jiang Zhinan was watching her from the chair, a soft smile on her face.

“My girlfriend is really popular now,” she said lightly, her tone unmistakably tinged with jealousy. “So many people like you.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Su Jin curved her lips, pushed up the brim of her hat a little, revealing the deep eyes hidden beneath.

“Because I only like you.”

“And I only like you.”

Jiang Zhinan laughed.

By the time they finished eating, the streets were already getting busy.

The cinema wasn’t far, but considering the risk of being recognized, Jiang Zhinan still raised her hand and flagged down a cab.

The car drove forward, weaving through crowds, speeding along the noisy street, and arrived within five minutes.

Right before they got out, the driver sighed in genuine concern.

“Young people should really exercise more. For such a short distance, you shouldn’t take a car—it’s not good for your health.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Jiang Zhinan agreed politely, handing him the fare.

The driver counted the money and continued,

“Take that girl next to you for example. All bundled up like that—she must have a cold. I’m telling you, it’s definitely lack of exercise.”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhinan nodded, then couldn’t hold back a laugh. She leaned close to Su Jin’s ear and whispered,

“Did you hear that? The driver says you don’t exercise enough.”

“Heard him loud and clear,” Su Jin replied as she took Jiang Zhinan’s hand and stepped out of the car. A moment later, she mimicked Jiang Zhinan’s teasing tone, leaning close to whisper,

“So, should President Jiang accompany me for some exercise tonight?”

“Sure.”

Jiang Zhinan replied without thinking, still humming a tune as she typed their booking code into the ticket machine.

It wasn’t until a good few seconds later that the meaning hit her.

Her ears turned bright red.

“Behave yourself, Miss Superstar,” she muttered, placing the printed tickets into Su Jin’s palm.

Su Jin smiled, said nothing more, and pulled her into the theater.

They had picked a popular movie, but since it had already been out for a while, the screening room wasn’t that crowded.

They felt their way through the dim aisle and settled into two seats near the back row.

Movie theaters—dark, quiet, and naturally suggestive—always made people want to do something a little extra.

That was precisely why they had chosen these seats.

When they booked them online earlier, the back few rows were almost empty.

But somehow.

Now the entire area was packed.

Jiang Zhinan and Su Jin stared blankly at the crowd surrounding them.

“Popcorn?” Su Jin offered at the perfect moment, pushing the bucket toward her.

“Yeah.”

Jiang Zhinan sighed helplessly and grabbed a handful.

The movie was excellent—hooking them from the beginning and never letting go.

Jiang Zhinan watched intently the entire time, completely absorbed. By the end, she was so invested that she shed a few tears.

Only when the credits rolled did she finally tear her gaze away from the screen.

“Should we go?” she asked, wiping her eyes. A few glistening drops still clung to her lashes, shining under the faint light cast from the screen.

“Let’s wait a bit,” Su Jin said.

“Waiting for the post-credit scene?”

Jiang Zhinan scooted aside to give space to the few people squeezing past them as she pulled out her phone to check.

“It doesn’t say there’s one.”

“And everyone around us is already leav—”

Before she could finish, Su Jin suddenly leaned in and kissed her.

Startled, Jiang Zhinan froze, eyes widening, cheeks flushing a vivid red as her whole body stiffened.

“We were waiting for them to leave,”

Su Jin said softly once the kiss ended.

Actually, she didn’t feel embarrassed at all—but President Zhou had a thin skin, so during the entire movie she simply kept her hands to herself.

Still, they’d finally managed to come out together. She had to leave behind at least one beautiful memory.

Even though the movie itself had already ended, the end credits were still rolling, and the two of them remained seated in the theater. If you rounded it up, it still counted as kissing during the movie.

Just the thought made her happy.

“We can go now.” Su Jin smiled and was about to take Jiang Zhinan’s hand to help her up.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhinan answered softly and stood as well—but before either of them could take a step, she suddenly leaned in and brushed a quick kiss at the corner of Su Jin’s lips.

It was as light and fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the surface of water—soft, sweet.

“Making up for the last one,” she added with an embarrassed little smile. “So, you’ll have a good memory too.”

It was still early, so Jiang Zhinan and Su Jin went from place to place, trying nearly everything they’d never experienced together. It wasn’t until late at night that they finally headed home.

After washing up and getting ready for bed, Jiang Zhinan suddenly received a call from Chen Bin, saying something urgent had come up and she needed to return to the company the next day.

He sounded anxious, and by the tone of it, the issue seemed serious—likely not something that could be resolved quickly.

Su Jin had finally managed to take two days off. Jiang Zhinan had originally wanted to stay home and keep her company, but given the situation, that clearly wasn’t possible anymore.

“I’m sorry.” Hanging up, Jiang Zhinan looked at Su Jin with guilt in her eyes. “I might not be able to stay with you tomorrow. I have to go to the company and deal with something.”

“But I promise,” she went on, letting out a soft sigh, “as soon as it’s settled, I’ll come straight back to you.”

“It’s fine.” Su Jin shook her head, reaching out to gently stroke Jiang Zhinan’s hair. After a moment, she pulled her into a tighter hug, smiling as she said, “Today was already wonderful.”

“And besides, we’ll have plenty of time in the future. There will always be more chances.”

Her words were so sincere that Jiang Zhinan went quiet for a long moment before finally whispering, “Okay.”

“Mm.” Su Jin smiled, pressed a light kiss to her forehead, and murmured, “Get some rest.”

“Got it.” Jiang Zhinan responded meekly—but she couldn’t resist picking up her phone and checking the trending topics, wanting to see what was new.

Ever since Su Jin became popular, she had developed the habit of browsing them whenever she had a spare moment.

Reading fans’ rainbow fawning posts, checking the fan forum, even using various small accounts to boost Su Jin’s rankings.

Today’s number-one trend was a major headline, followed by the “boiling” tag, with lots of attention. She tapped in casually and saw a famous paparazzo teasing an explosive reveal scheduled for the next day.

The comments were full—equal parts furious insults and gleeful anticipation—everyone waiting for that big piece of gossip.

Jiang Zhinan sighed, already worrying for whoever the subject might be.

The remaining trending topics weren’t interesting. After scrolling for a while, she lost interest, put away her phone, and went to sleep.

The night passed quickly, and soon it was the next day.

The moment Jiang Zhinan stepped out of the car and into the company building, she could feel that something was wrong.

She was puzzled, and before she could ask, Chen Bin hurried over, holding his phone with a panicked expression.

“Boss, did you see Weibo? You’re on the trending list!”

“Me?” Jiang Zhinan froze. She quickly took his phone and looked—two of the top three trending topics were about her and Su Jin, both marked with the “boiling” tag.

—Top star Su Jin spotted late at night with mysterious woman.

—Mysterious woman suspected to be President Zhou Ying.

The moment she saw the headlines, a buzzing filled Jiang Zhinan’s mind.

She opened both trends, and sure enough, there were photos of her and Su Jin walking close together in the night, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.

Though the images were blurry, you could still make out two silhouettes—and someone had even added comparison pictures with arrows labeling which one was Su Jin and which was her.

The comments were vicious—almost entirely insults.

Even though Jiang Zhinan’s company was doing extremely well, not much personal information about her existed online. The reporter had intentionally blurred her identity, only calling her “an executive from a certain company.” That was enough for uninformed—and unwilling-to-be-informed—keyboard warriors to start making up stories, saying she must’ve relied on Su Jin’s connections to start her business, and that she was only with Su Jin for money.

Others went after Su Jin, claiming it wasn’t clear who was relying on whom, and maybe she was the one kept like some pampered canary.

Filthy enough to make anyone furious.

“Boss,” Chen Bin said, looking at her, “Should we do something? I can pay to have it taken—”

He didn’t even finish before someone in the office gasped again, announcing that another trend had shot up—this one tagged as “explosive.”

“What’s the title?” Jiang Zhinan asked, almost afraid to see it.

“Su Jin responds,” the employee said. “She reposted the original post and made a statement.”

“It’s fine, I’ll look myself!” Jiang Zhinan’s heart lurched. She quickly refreshed the page and opened the new trending item.

Su Jin’s tone was incredibly firm. She had written only two lines, but every word carried weight.

—We’ve been together for many years. There is nothing improper. Zhou Ying is my girlfriend and fiancée.

—The lawyers have been contacted. We will pursue all rumor-mongers without exception.