The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 25

Xiao San could only force an awkward smile as she placed the hot water in front of Lin Nuanyan.

Lin Nuanyan, Shen Lin’s white moonlight, the one in the original plot who was assaulted by thugs hired by villains and then faked her death.

Never mind how absurd the plot was, just considering the fact that if Lin Nuanyan was harmed and killed, there should at least be a body to prove she was dead. Yet no one seemed to care whose body it was, whoever it was, they were just unlucky.

“What have you been up to lately, San’er? As soon as I got back, I heard that Driver Lin resigned?”

Xiao San lowered her head, avoiding Lin Nuanyan’s gaze. “Oh, just running a small business. What about you, Nuanyan? Dressed so nicely are you going on a date?”

“Oh, this?” Lin Nuanyan immediately covered her mouth and laughed, her laughter delicate and suggestive. “It’s Brother Lin. He insisted on giving me a surprise.”

“Oh, a surprise. How enviable,” Xiao San said without much expression.

Lin Nuanyan: “Right? I told him, there’s no need for surprises. As long as he stays by my side, that’s enough.”

Xiao San: “Wow, so envious.”

Lin Nuanyan: “No need to envy me. After all, there’s only one Brother Lin. Being with him isn’t an easy feat.”

Xiao San: “Oh, really?”

Lin Nuanyan: “You have no idea how many women are trying to climb their way up around Brother Lin. But it’s fine, I’m the only one he loves. Back when we went abroad together and he suddenly returned to the country, I thought he didn’t want me anymore. Luckily, he came back. I just knew it.”

Xiao San shifted her posture. “Oh, I see.”

Lin Nuanyan covered her face, her happiness practically oozing from her pores. She kept fiddling with the ring on her middle finger. “San’er, let me tell you, no matter what a man does outside, as long as he comes home, it’s fine. That’s what I think now. Someone like Brother Lin is bound to have many admirers. So I have to be generous, have the composure of the main wife. As long as Brother Lin comes home to me, it’s enough.”

Xiao San glanced sideways at Lin Nuanyan but quickly averted her gaze.

She was afraid that if she stared too long, Lin Nuanyan would notice the disbelief in her eyes.

Was this Lin Nuanyan out of character?

She remembered when she first met Lin Nuanyan she was a spoiled girl full of petty schemes. Now, Lin Nuanyan was actually saying such self-sacrificing words.

What exactly had happened over the years?

Thinking of the past, Xiao San couldn’t help but recall the person who had left so abruptly without a single word.

She was afraid that Zheng Qi would really end up like in the original story framed and imprisoned for five years before gaining freedom.

Xiao San had sent Zheng Qi many messages, but not a single one had been replied to.

Lin Nuanyan and Shen Lin had been abroad for so long maybe they knew something about Zheng Qi.

She opened her mouth to speak.

Lin Nuanyan: “San’er, Brother Lin and I are getting engaged next month. Will you come?”

Xiao San froze, only then looking directly at Lin Nuanyan.

“You and Shen Lin are getting engaged?”

Lin Nuanyan took a delicate sip of warm water, the pride in her eyes impossible to conceal. “Yes. After all, Brother Lin has always loved me, so of course he’s going to marry me… Otherwise… Who else would it be? You?”

Lin Nuanyan coughed, nearly blurting out the rest of her words.

Xiao San let out a scoff and slumped back into her chair, a cold laugh escaping her lips.

Did Lin Nuanyan think everyone was a garbage dump? “Even a garbage dump only takes recyclable trash.”

Xiao San no longer wanted to continue the conversation with Lin Nuanyan.

Not turning and walking away out of politeness was definitely the worst decision she had ever made.

Lin Nuanyan’s face tightened, her smug expression instantly crumbling. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing much. A high-society lady like you really isn’t suited to have any connection with someone from the bottom rung like me. So, stop polluting my eyes.” Xiao San stood up, ignoring Lin Nuanyan’s words, and strode straight out of the KFC.

Furious, Lin Nuanyan grabbed her bag and slammed it hard on the table. She ranted to herself for a while, drawing the attention of everyone in the KFC. Only then did she sneer at the onlookers and snap, “What are you staring at? Never seen a beauty before?”

“Ew!” someone let out a disgusted sound.

Just as Lin Nuanyan was about to explode again, Xiao San reappeared behind her.

Lin Nuanyan: “What, here to apologize? Let me tell you, I’m not the type to forgive so easily.”

“Are you insane? I came back for my burger. Because of you, I didn’t even get to eat it.”

With that, Xiao San snatched the burger from the table and hurried away.

After not seeing her for years, Lin Nuanyan had turned into a complete lunatic.

She had no desire to provoke a madwoman.

Back home, Xiao San resumed her job search.

As a liberal arts graduate, she found the job market in recent years particularly tough. She had been teaching herself computer science on the side, but most tech jobs required a relevant degree. She’d interviewed at a few places, none of which were satisfactory. For now, she had no choice but to keep job hunting while continuing her self-study.

Even in a fictional world, why did the job market have to mirror reality so closely? Couldn’t it all be made up, so no one had to worry about employment?

If no one had job-related stress, wouldn’t that make it easier for the male and female leads to focus on their romance?

As an ordinary NPC plagued by job-hunting woes, if it were possible, she wished someone would just hand her a job.

“Ring, ring…”

Her phone suddenly buzzed. Xiao San immediately snatched it up. “Hello?”

On the other end was her senior, who now worked in event planning.

[We’ve taken on quite a few events lately and are a bit short-staffed. I heard your job fell through again. Interested in some part-time work with me?]

“Weizhong, you’re the best!” Xiao San couldn’t help but cheer. This was like rain after a long drought, she’d just lost her job, and now a new opportunity had come knocking.

[I’m telling you, you shouldn’t always settle for temporary gigs. You should find a stable job and stick with it.]

Xiao San sighed. “Weizhong, it’s not like I want to keep taking temporary work. It’s just that long-term jobs are so unreliable. You have no idea how brain-dead my balding boss was this time.”

[Hahaha, I heard, I heard.]

“Hey, Weizhong, you’re definitely laughing at me right now, aren’t you?”

[I wouldn’t dare! I just happened to hear about it and immediately thought of offering you a job.]

“Who told you? Was it that girl, Lü Yu?”

Ge Weizhong’s laughter was practically overflowing from the phone. Lü Yu must have been up to her tricks again. Xiao San huffed angrily, “When I see Lü Yu, I’m definitely going to give that girl a good beating for always talking behind my back.”

[You figured it out yourself it has nothing to do with me.] Ge Weizhong first cleared his own involvement, then added, [Let’s catch up when we meet. I’ve got some things to take care of now, so I’ll get going.]

Xiao San nodded emphatically and hung up the phone with Senior Ge Weizhong.

Ge Weizhong was Xiao San’s senior at school, someone she and Lü Yu had met after quitting the guitar club. After they dropped out mid-semester, their usual participation points fell short. It was Senior Ge Weizhong who helped them join the Go club to make up for the lost credits.

Senior Ge Weizhong was a very gentle person. He always offered Xiao San help at just the right moments without expecting anything in return. To Xiao San, he was like an older brother.

After ending the call with Ge Weizhong, Xiao San sent a text to Lü Yu.

[I feel so bad having to ask Senior Weizhong for help again. Why did you go and tell him?]

There was no reply for a long while. After some time, Lü Yu finally responded with something completely unrelated.

Lü Yu: [There’s a gathering at our school next weekend. Are you coming?]

Xiao San: [What’s the occasion? We haven’t even graduated yet.]

Lü Yu: [That’s exactly why we’re having a gathering now. Once we graduate, who knows when we’ll get another chance to meet up? So, are you coming or not?]

Xiao San: [Did you have a hand in organizing this again?]

Lü Yu: [Just answer are you coming or not?]

Xiao San sent back a single word: “Going.”

It had to be Lü Yu’s doing, no one loved a lively gathering more than she did. Even if she hadn’t initiated it, she’d definitely been involved in planning it.

Xiao San shook her head helplessly. Graduation was approaching, and every chance to see her schoolmates was precious. Of course, she wouldn’t refuse.

I wonder how A Qi is doing abroad. Has she made new friends? She should be graduating soon too will her school hold a gathering?

Xiao San sighed.

Was it because she’d seen Lin Nuanyan that she kept thinking of Zheng Qi?

The next day, Xiao San dressed in comfortable clothes and headed to the venue.

This was an outdoor event on the lawn. The tricky part about outdoor setups was that everything had to be arranged on-site, and Yangyun Trading had given them a tight deadline, the event was scheduled for noon, and they only had the morning to set everything up.

But Xiao San had done this kind of last-minute work countless times. All she had to do was follow instructions and handle her assigned tasks.

After arranging the chairs and placing bottled water on each table, everything was ready, and all that was left was to wait for the event to start.

Once it began, she only needed to stand at the sides of the venue, watch the ceremony unfold, and then clean up when it was over.

For Xiao San, this job wasn’t difficult, it was just a matter of mindlessly following directions.

“Hey, you, the new one! Who told you to arrange the chairs like this? In two rows, spread out!” Suddenly, a man in his thirties walked over and pointed directly at Xiao San.

There were several other staff members around Xiao San, but he acted as if he didn’t see them, pointing directly at Xiao San.

Xiao San glanced around in confusion, and the others quickly scattered.

She sighed and had no choice but to step forward. “Sir, may I ask who you are…”

The man pointed at his name tag. “I’m the general manager of Yangyun Trading. How can you not know me? How do you even work here? Doesn’t your company provide training on this?”

Xiao San looked closely at the tag. It read “General Manager,” followed by the name Ye Ding.

Oh, General Manager Ye Ding.

“General Manager Ye,” Xiao San said with a smile. “Is there anything I can assist you with?”

Work, work, work.

Even though I’m in a novel world, I’m not the protagonist, so I must endure, endure, endure.

After all, this is Senior’s team. If I make a scene, it won’t reflect well on him, so I won’t get angry, I won’t get angry.

Xiao San’s smile grew even more earnest.

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