Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The closer the next public performance got, the worse Ji Yu’s sleep quality became.

It was already difficult for her to fall asleep, but previously, after exhausting her energy through dancing or other means, she could at least get a few hours of peaceful, deep sleep to temporarily recover her strength.

Mainly because she was still young, and regularly used dancing as exercise, her energy seemed inexhaustible. However, the unexpected incident during the pool filming made her seem to have suffered a huge loss of vitality overnight. In the following days, as soon as Ji Yu’s head hit the pillow, she would be pulled into those bizarre and grotesque dreams.

This required her to spend a long time clearing her head after waking up; otherwise, she would feel lost, unable to react to anything people around her said.

“Teacher Ji~”

Ling Lan noticed her getting up and called out in a drawn-out tone from the opposite bed. She originally wanted to ask about her plans for the morning and invite Ji Yu for breakfast. However, after calling out, there was a long silence. Ling Lan had no choice but to roll over, hug her quilt, and look to the other side.

Then, she saw Ji Yu sitting blankly by the bed, like a sleepwalker, without any other movement.

Ling Lan instinctively called her name twice more.

Only then did Ji Yu react as if waking from a dream, turning to look at her and slowly responding, “Hmm?”

Seeing her strange behavior, Ling Lan propped herself up and sat on the bed, smiling as she asked across the aisle, “What’s wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare? I called you for a long time just now, and you didn’t respond.”

Ji Yu’s answer was still half a beat late: “…Ah, yes, what did you want to say?”

Ling Lan didn’t ask what dream she had but brought the topic back to her original question: “I was asking if you wanted to have breakfast with me… By the way, Lian Que also chose Vocal this time, right? How is her practice coming along?”

Ji Yu finally struggled out of the residual, wet, heavy, and suffocating dream-like mire, suppressing the strange thoughts in her heart. She managed to recover her usual composure and walked towards the bathroom. As she turned on the hotel’s warm lights, she replied casually:

“Haven’t you always been on good terms with her? Why didn’t she tell you?”

Ling Lan was languidly folding her quilt outside, bending over to smooth the uneven corners. Hearing the voice from the bathroom, she replied in a drawn-out tone, “She seems to be dealing with something lately, a bit preoccupied. I asked her before, but she didn’t want to say. Plus, she always tends to take care of people around her. I always feel like rushing over would not only fail to share her worries but would also inadvertently cause her trouble…”

Ji Yu held her water cup, spat out some water, and pondered Ling Lan’s words, momentarily forgetting about her dream from last night.

The System spoke up at this moment: “I think I know what’s going on.”

Ji Yu: “Hmm?”

She still remembered Jiang Lianque’s care when she first joined the program, so if there was a chance and it wasn’t too much trouble, she wanted to offer some help within her capabilities.

The System spoke: “When you first joined the program, didn’t I want to introduce you to the important supporting characters here? But you were preoccupied with getting back then and didn’t want to get involved with too many people, so I didn’t go into detail.”

Ji Yu understood what it meant. After acknowledging this, she asked it to give her supplementary information about these friends now.

She didn’t intend to pry into Jiang Lianque’s situation; it was just that she had accepted too much care from the other person, and now she wanted to repay a little within her ability. Reminded by the System, she also recalled the events from that time:

“I remember you said she quit mid-program. Did that happen during this period?”

The System agreed, “About that.”

Ji Yu frowned slightly. Then, she heard the System slowly elaborate:

“Actually, Jiang Lianque’s family situation is quite special. She grew up with her grandmother. Her father died in an accident working on a construction site early on, and her mother took the subsidy and left, abandoning her in a small county town. Her grandmother raised her single-handedly.”

“She was sensible from a young age. When she was in school, she would help wealthy classmates with their homework to earn pocket money, and she would also help out at neighbors’ shops. Her grandmother took a job as a street cleaner and also took on low-cost handicraft work. The grandmother and granddaughter relied on each other.”

“Later, in high school, she skipped a grade in her first year. In her second year, she was directly admitted to a top 2 university in the country based on her national Olympiad in mathematics competition results, and she received a full scholarship during college… However, her grandmother was hospitalized during her third year of university. It seemed to be a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, leading to hemiplegia. The money she earned as a teaching assistant and designing projects couldn’t cover the medical expenses. That’s why she saw the ‘Chasing Dreams 100’ program during her senior year and came for the hefty appearance fee.”

“The program pays episode by episode, Yu Yu. Do you understand now?” The System concisely summarized Jiang Lianque’s twenty years of life.

Ji Yu, unknowingly, squeezed the entire toothpaste tube onto her toothbrush head. She was so absorbed in listening that she forgot to brush her teeth.

It turned out that behind Jiang Lianque’s consistently caring nature, and the enviable academic achievements and accomplishments that almost the entire program crew admired, lay such a story.

Ji Yu could deeply understand the feeling of growing up without the companionship of relatives, which made her even more surprised that Jiang Lianque developed such a personality…

Hardship began to wear her down from childhood. No one could imagine how many tribulations a childhood without parents would face, yet Jiang Lianque grew up resiliently in such an environment. She was not defeated by the pain; instead, she was like an incandescent light, illuminating everyone in the area she went to.

This filled her with a sense of admiration.

“Then… why did she quit mid-program?”

Ji Yu took a long time to process Jiang Lianque’s story before asking this question. But as the question left her lips, she already had a bad premonition and answer in her heart.

Sure enough.

The System whispered: “Because her grandmother was able to be discharged during this time, but she couldn’t personally take care of her due to the program, so she hired a caregiver. However… one day the caregiver wasn’t nearby, and her grandmother fell out of bed, and no one knew. By the time someone returned, she was gone. Overwhelmed by grief and losing the motivation to earn money, she simply left.”

Ji Yu fell into a long silence.

No matter how many times it happened, she found that she could never treat the topic of death with an easy heart.

For a moment, she strangely felt a connection to Jiang Lianque’s subsequent psychological changes. Although she lost many things when she was little, at least her grandmother had always accompanied her growth. She wasn’t afraid of poverty or being ridiculed by others. As long as her grandmother could stay with her a little longer, she didn’t mind treating this imperfect world gently.

Yet, Heaven refused to give her even that much leniency.

How cruel.

Ji Yu slowly put the toothbrush into her mouth, feeling a hint of hatred for her own empathy—

Because she was the same.

Sixteen years of blank, inexplicable life, waking up in an unfamiliar hospital environment. When all the relatives shirked responsibility and refused to get involved with her, only Si Tian cared about her. Ji Yu always felt she wasn’t a greedy person; as long as she could stand on stage with Si Tian, or just spend time with her for a long, long time, she wouldn’t mind anything else.

Yet, this person whom she cared about so much, the one she treated with all her kindness, was crushed to death by the world’s malice.

How ridiculous.

Ji Yu spat out the foam in her mouth, letting the sea salt flavor linger.

When she walked out of the bathroom, Ji Yu managed to compose herself. She asked the System about Jiang Lianque again: “Lately, I’ve seen her getting close to Chu Nanxing. Could it be… that the caregiver in her family is also related to Chu Nanxing?”

She knew she shouldn’t be so conspiratorial.

But unfortunately, Chu Nanxing’s constant presence at scenes of misfortune left a deep impression on her.

The System hesitated: “It wasn’t mentioned in the original work, but… when you’ve been around Jiang Lianque recently, I have indeed noticed that the number of ‘accident factors’ around her has increased. Before, I just thought it was a normal sign as the plot approached.”

Ji Yu had a selfish motive. She found herself fantastically trying to prevent this tragedy from happening.

Even if she didn’t know how to do it.

Just because she didn’t want to see more unfortunate stories unfold around her.

The System suddenly said: “Yu Yu, you still have a few cards related to Luck Buffs that you drew earlier.”

Ji Yu: “Hmm? What do you mean?”

The System: “If it really is Chu Nanxing’s arrangement, these Luck Buff cards can reduce the occurrence of accidents around Jiang Lianque—of course, it would be best to personally apply them to her grandmother, but since that’s not possible now, let’s go with the next best thing.”

“If it’s not Chu Nanxing’s arrangement, these also act as a kind of safety charm. At least the probability of accidents happening around her will be significantly reduced, which is a good indirect influence.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Yu naturally breathed a sigh of relief in her heart: “That’s great. I thought I couldn’t help at all…”

After all, she hadn’t accumulated much suitable network here yet.

The only person she could ask for help was Kong Rufan, but with the performance approaching, the program crew would absolutely not allow them to have their phones or contact the outside world, to ensure they were in the best state.

Thanks to the System.

Ji Yu sincerely exclaimed: “I’m lucky to have you, System. If you’re ever bored and want to be the protagonist of this world yourself, I’ll definitely cast the first vote for you.”

The System replied with a slight sense of exasperation: “…That’s not necessary.”

Ji Yu’s mood visibly improved. She then went with Ling Lan to the cafeteria for breakfast and spent a long time practicing in the dance studio.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that the System seized an opportunity to speak to her: “Yu Yu.”

“Hmm?”

“Your brain activity has been very intense when you sleep lately. Is it too much pressure, or is something else on your mind?” It deliberately chose a time when Ji Yu was in a good mood to ask.

Ji Yu was currently back on the balcony, enjoying the cool autumn breeze in the empty afternoon, squinting at the slightly overcast sky and the lush green forest in the distance. One patch, perhaps maple leaves, showed a noticeable trend toward turning red.

She pursed her lips, seemingly formulating how to begin speaking.

After a long pause, the System heard her respond: “Nothing much, just some rather strange dreams.”

System: “Ah…”

It thought Ji Yu didn’t want to talk about it, so it didn’t press further.

Ji Yu heard the meaning behind its hesitant, particularly thoughtful response and quickly smiled. She raised her arms for a big stretch, did some minor muscle work, and continued:

“It’s not something I can’t talk about, actually—”

“It’s just too confusing. I don’t know where to start… I dreamt of some things related to my childhood. In the dream, I felt very familiar with them, but that childhood wasn’t mine, because in it, someone kept calling me Chu Jian Yu.”

“I thought perhaps I felt too insecure because I fell into the water earlier, and instinctively fantasized about some safe, comfortable environment in my dreams… But my subconsciousness is really quite imaginative.”

She let out a light laugh, inadvertently mocking herself:

“How could I possibly be Chu Jian Yu?”

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