The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 5

“Having a disagreement? No, not at all, how could that be? We’re doing just fine.” After all, he was the young master of her household, and even her family’s house now practically belonged to Shen Lin. How could she dare to have a disagreement with him? She couldn’t fawn over him enough.

“Is that so…” Lin Nuanyan lowered her eyes, stirring her coffee with a spoon, her expression noticeably cooling.

But honestly.

Lin Nuanyan was truly beautiful, like a fair-skinned Barbie doll. Even with such a cold expression, it didn’t come off as unpleasant but rather refreshingly charming.

Xiao San, resting her chin in her hands as she gazed at Lin Nuanyan, couldn’t help but be captivated by her beauty.

“When did you go abroad, Nuanyan? You didn’t even tell us when you came back; we could have picked you up,” Zheng Qi said, wrapping an arm around Xiao San’s shoulder, speaking warmly to Lin Nuanyan.

Xiao San nodded along, inwardly marveling at how Zheng Qi and Lin Nuanyan really were good friends.

Lin Nuanyan replied indifferently, “Oh, I thought you’d be busy, so I didn’t tell you.”

Zheng Qi: “Have you seen Shen Lin? He’s missed you a lot since you left.”

Huh?

Xiao San glanced surreptitiously at Zheng Qi, puzzled.

Why did she suddenly bring up the male lead? Could it be…

Ah, of course! As the destined female lead, she’s so kind-hearted. She must love him so selflessly that she’s trying to set him up with his ex-girlfriend!

Xiao San’s gaze toward Zheng Qi grew even more sympathetic.

“Yeah, yeah, Shen Lin really misses you,” she chimed in, nodding emphatically.

Sorry, Zheng Qi. It’s better to endure short-term pain than long-term suffering. Once you step aside and let the male lead reunite with his ex, he won’t turn into an abusive man, and you won’t have to suffer so much.

Lin Nuanyan looked at Xiao San, her expression seeming somewhat surprised. As soon as Xiao San met her gaze, Lin Nuanyan immediately lowered her head, as if trying to hide the confusion in her eyes.

From her tone, Xiao San could clearly sense Lin Nuanyan’s shyness. Maybe she had just imagined it earlier.

“Oh, I called him, but he didn’t answer. I thought, he was still angry about me going abroad.”

At that moment, Xiao San felt like she could read Shen Lin’s mind. “How could that be? You’re his favorite. He’s just waiting for you to reach out to him. He would never be angry with you.”

“Xiao San!” Lin Nuanyan grew even shyer, her voice rising noticeably. “You, you! how could you?”

Xiao San chuckled teasingly. “Don’t be shy. We’re good sisters; we’ll always support you!”

She held Zheng Qi with one hand and made a fist with the other. “Go for it!”

“Will you really bless me?”

Xiao San was puzzled by Lin Nuanyan’s use of the word “bless” and the deliberate emphasis she placed on it, but she didn’t dwell on it. “Of course!”

“You!” Lin Nuanyan looked at Xiao San hesitantly, as if searching for any hint of insincerity or hesitation on her face.

But there was none. Not a trace.

Xiao San was sincere.

Zheng Qi smiled at Xiao San, her expression both probing and somewhat mocking. “Nuanyan, you’re overthinking it. How could San’er lie to you? She always says exactly what she means.”

Xiao San quickly nodded in agreement. “Exactly, exactly! Don’t worry!”

“If that’s the case, then it’s truly wonderful.” Lin Nuanyan tucked her hair behind her ear, her expression growing even more enigmatic.

Xiao San felt as though there was something odd about this meal, but overall, she was quite happy. Even Lin Nuanyan, who usually seemed like an icy beauty, had become much more talkative.

After seeing Lin Nuanyan off, Xiao San began to worry again. “A Qi, do you think Nuanyan going to find him means they’re going to define their relationship?”

“Don’t you want them to be together?” Zheng Qi retorted.

“It’s not that,” Xiao San quickly explained, afraid that Zheng Qi might misunderstand and dislike her. “I just think, we’re in our third year of high school now, and the college entrance exam is coming up. If they really start dating, won’t it affect their results?”

“Ah, why would it affect them?”

“It wouldn’t?” Xiao San tilted her head, looking at Zheng Qi in confusion. Wasn’t it obvious? No school allowed early romance.

Zheng Qi burst out laughing, reached out, and ruffled Xiao San’s hair. “You’re so simple-minded.”

“Huh?”

Xiao San watched, puzzled, as Zheng Qi quickened her pace and waved at her from a short distance ahead. “What do you mean?”

Xiao San hurried to catch up. Why did it seem like Zheng Qi didn’t care at all whether Shen Lin and Lin Nuanyan got together?

It wasn’t until after the college entrance exam that she finally understood: the world of novels or rather, the world of the wealthy was truly separated by an invisible wall from ordinary people like her.

And here she had been worried about whether dating would affect Shen Lin’s studies.

Before the college entrance exam even ended, Shen Lin was already preparing to study abroad.

As soon as Shen Lin left, Lin Nuanyan followed. It was unclear whether the two had actually started dating.

Strangely, Zheng Qi didn’t chase after Shen Lin.

Perhaps to maintain the novel’s cause and effect, even though Zheng Qi loved Shen Lin deeply, she still let him and Lin Nuanyan go abroad. After all, the real beginning of the novel was still four years away.

After the college entrance exam ended.

Xiao San was admitted to an ordinary university, while Zheng Qi went to a prestigious one. Fortunately, their universities were in the same city, so on weekends or holidays, Xiao San still had the chance to hang out happily with Zheng Qi.

“Hey, I’ve noticed you’re becoming more and more attached to me. You even follow me to my part-time job, what a sweet burden,” Xiao San joked. She and Zheng Qi were wearing identical work uniforms, sitting by the small door at the back of the kitchen.

This area was frequently used for transporting vegetables and disposing of kitchen waste, so the smell wasn’t particularly pleasant. But it was the only place where they could rest during work breaks.

Xiao San had found this part-time job first.

Later, when Zheng Qi found out she was working here, she joined as well.

At some point, Zheng Qi had started clinging to her more and more. By the time Xiao San realized it, she noticed that Zheng Qi seemed to be by her side almost all the time.

Was it because the male lead had left, so Zheng Qi was using her as an emotional crutch?

Well, at least it was better than her being infatuated with the male lead.

“Do you dislike me now?” Zheng Qi lowered her head, exposing her delicate neck. Her neck was as pale as her face, and it was only then that the usually carefree Xiao San noticed Zheng Qi’s complexion had been looking rather unwell lately.

“I was just joking, don’t be upset. You know me, I often speak without thinking,” Xiao San explained.

Zheng Qi shook her head, her face growing even paler, looking as fragile as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Did something happen to you?” Xiao San wasn’t sure if she should ask.

“It’s just some personal matters. I’m sorry, am I making things difficult for you?”

Even at a time like this, Zheng Qi was still thinking about whether she was causing trouble for Xiao San.

Xiao San felt that Zheng Qi was simply too kind-hearted, which was why her life would later become so difficult.

She truly wished Zheng Qi could be a little more selfish in the future.

“It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. Even though I’m poor and can’t really help you with much, I can easily provide you with food and a place to stay. If you’re facing any difficulties, you can even stay at my house. My parents and younger brother are all very easy to get along with.”

Zheng Qi looked deeply at Xiao San, a strange light flickering in her eyes. “It’s so good to have you.”

“Hehe, it’s good to have you too.” Xiao San held Zheng Qi’s hand. “Don’t worry, we’re good sisters. I’ll definitely take good care of you.”

After all, before her rebirth, she had already graduated from university. As an older sister, she really had an obligation to take good care of her younger friend.

When Xiao San learned of Lin Nuanyan’s existence, she knew she could truly break free from the plot. She no longer had to worry about becoming Lin Nuanyan’s replacement in the storyline, what a relief.

If nothing happened to Lin Nuanyan, she could form a happy marriage with the male lead. The male lead wouldn’t become psychologically twisted from losing his ex-girlfriend, and the ex-girlfriend wouldn’t go through those experiences and turn dark.

The future truly looked bright.

Then, once she saved up enough money, she could buy another house, and her family could completely leave the male lead’s world behind.

“Ah, it’s a pity I haven’t saved enough money yet,” Xiao San sighed as she looked at her small savings. Convincing her parents to leave the Shen family was going to be a huge task. “I wonder if my parents would believe me if I said the Shen family is blocking our family’s financial luck.”

Xiao San rolled her eyes at herself.

Of course they wouldn’t believe her.

The Shen family paid such high wages.

They even provided a 200-square-meter apartment to live in. Her high school tuition was waived because of the Shen family’s influence, and she smoothly got into university thanks to them too. Where else could you find employee benefits like that?

“Life is so hard!!!”

“San’er, what’s wrong with you?” Lü Yu poked her head out, looking puzzled at Xiao San.

Xiao San let out a sigh. “I want an ordinary life.”

“Did you get your brain squashed by a door?” Lü Yu mercilessly shot down Xiao San’s wish.

Xiao San said mysteriously, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand or not, tomorrow is club recruitment day. You have to come, okay? If I find out you sneaked off to work instead of joining a club again, I won’t cover for you during roll call next time.”

“Please don’t!” Xiao San quickly pleaded. “Aren’t I your favorite woman anymore?”

“No,” Lü Yu said coldly. “The woman I love is one who attends club activities on time, not someone who sneaks off to work every time.”

“Let me explain!”

“I won’t listen, I won’t listen.”

Lü Yu turned back into her blanket, closing her eyes as if she had closed her ears too.

Xiao San knew she had really upset Lü Yu this time. After all, she still needed Lü Yu to clock in for her in the future, so she tearfully asked her supervisor for leave. “Sister Yu, I’ve already gotten the day off. I’ll definitely go to the club with you tomorrow.”

Lü Yu opened her eyes, crawled out, and happily said to Xiao San, “It’s settled then you can’t stand me up.”

“Lü Yu, if you end up dating someone, you have to treat me to a meal. I absolutely won’t go Dutch with you.”

Lü Yu giggled and replied, “Don’t worry, you’re my favorite girl. Once I’m in a relationship, I’ll definitely thank you properly.”

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