Chapter 16

It was getting a little late.

The lights in the room were off. Jiang Bailu paused in the middle of turning a page, lifted her head from the book, and looked out the window, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Usually at this time, Zhai You would already be knocking on the door and calling her out. Why hadn’t she come today?

Jiang Bailu lowered her head, only then realizing in a daze that she had actually gotten used to Zhai You appearing.

She couldn’t help rubbing the bridge of her nose.

She had been reading for too long and felt a little drained.

Although she had stopped taking medicine, she still had little energy. She put the book down and, for the first time in three days, took the initiative to leave the room.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by an extravagantly luxurious mansion, with an extremely high vaulted ceiling and gold-toned chandeliers hanging overhead, gleaming with light.

The bright lights outside made Jiang Bailu instinctively lower her eyelashes, her breathing becoming a little hurried.

Her face turned pale. After walking a few steps, she gripped the railing tightly.

Jiang Bailu wasn’t accustomed to places like this. She had grown up living with her mother, and almost everything they ate, wore, and used was of the cheapest kind. Yet she had never complained about her life.

She cherished the time she spent with her mother. Her mother was very gentle, and the hardships of life had never crushed her.

Her mother had taught Jiang Bailu the same way: no matter what happened, she should always face it positively—

Standing on the dark red carpet, Jiang Bailu thought that this carpet alone was probably worth several months of her food expenses.

She still couldn’t understand Zhai You.

Why had Zhai You chosen her for a contractual marriage when she clearly had so many other options?

There was Qiao Yan, and Shen Yunyi too.

Jiang Bailu told herself not to think too much. In the end, she was the one benefiting from this arrangement, and judging from things so far… Zhai You was extraordinarily tolerant of her.

But that was also what Jiang Bailu found strangest.

Zhai You was anxious for her to recover.

She would coax her into eating and help nourish her depleted body back to health.

Was it really just so she could recover sooner and act for Zhai You?

Jiang Bailu looked around but didn’t see Zhai You. Not far away, the butler, dressed in a formal tailcoat, walked directly toward her. His hair was entirely silver and his face lined with wrinkles, but his stern expression carried an intense sense of pressure.

Only in front of Zhai You would the butler reveal a kindly side, looking like an ordinary benevolent old man.

Jiang Bailu immediately became guarded. Only when the butler reached her did she ask, “Why haven’t I seen Zhai You today?”

The butler looked at her coldly. “Young Miss’s whereabouts do not need to be reported to you.”

Jiang Bailu pursed her lips. That was true.

She was only a little curious because she hadn’t seen Zhai You.

Since the butler had walked directly toward her, he naturally wasn’t going to leave after saying just that.

Taking advantage of Zhai You’s absence and Jiang Bailu having come out of the room on her own, he curled his lips slightly, his expression looking somewhat harsh. “I don’t know what Young Miss promised you, but you should know your limits.”

“…Is that something you want to say, or Madam?” Jiang Bailu was silent for a moment before looking at the butler. “Or Zhai You?”

“My own opinion.” The butler lowered his head slightly.

“Young Miss is somewhat naive. No matter how terrible outsiders may think stolen contentshe is, she will always be our Young Miss.”

Displeasure seeped through the butler’s words. “So you’d better stop making Young Miss worry about you. Your illness should be better by now. When Madam returns, she’ll meet with you personally.”

Jiang Bailu had known things wouldn’t be that easy.

She had already managed to avoid this for three days. She couldn’t keep hiding forever.

Sensing how much everyone in the Zhai family adored Zhai You, Jiang Bailu smiled lightly. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and her graceful figure resembled a lily of the valley, carrying a unique fragrance.

“I only listen to your Young Miss.” Jiang Bailu smiled with an expression full of attachment.

The butler stiffened.

Jiang Bailu understood perfectly well that the agreement she had signed was with Zhai You, so naturally, she had no need to listen to the Zhai family.

Zhai You had told her that all she needed to do was pretend to like her. She would handle the rest herself.

So Jiang Bailu simply did as Zhai You had instructed.

Since Zhai You wasn’t here, she might as well return to her room and stay there until Mother Zhai came back.

Jiang Bailu turned to go back inside when read the original at bailiantales.comshe suddenly heard the butler say behind her, “Young Miss probably went to see someone named Qiao Yan.”

Qiao Yan? Jiang Bailu’s hand rested on the doorknob, but she didn’t move.

The butler continued, “I found Qiao Yan’s card in Young Miss’s coat pocket. Young Miss doesn’t normally keep someone’s contact information deliberately. It’s obvious she likes her quite a bit too.”

Jiang Bailu opened the door, then turned back and smiled at the butler. “If she likes her, I support her.”

*

A little earlier.

Zhai You was still at the resort talking with Principal Xu.

“Well? As long as you agree, I can donate a teaching building.” Zhai You mentally counted the balance in her bank account. Even though she had already confirmed she had enough, she still couldn’t help checking again, afraid of the embarrassing possibility that she might suddenly discover she didn’t have enough money.

Of course, she absolutely couldn’t show any hesitation while saying this. Her tone was extremely generous.

It was just a teaching building.

She’d donate one!

Principal Xu was stunned by just how ridiculously rich she was.

She really wondered whether Father Zhai and Mother Zhai ever regretted having a daughter like this.

But that was none of Principal Xu’s concern. After hearing those words, her mind immediately started working. She whispered a few words to the person beside her and confirmed one fact.

Fine. They could film there.

It was an entire building, after all.

“But you cannot interfere with the students’ studies.” Principal Xu remained firm on this point. She wasn’t going to destroy the reputation No. 1 High School had built over so many years for something like this.

“Of course.” Zhai You relaxed.

Now that Principal Xu had relented, this matter was basically settled.

Next, she only had to negotiate with Director Guo. She refused to believe Director Guo wouldn’t give in too.

The two stared at each other for a moment longer.

Principal Xu: “Miss Zhai, would you like to take a walk with me?” So I can make sure you’re not trying to fool me.

Zhai You: “It would be my honor.” I’m not giving you a chance to regret this.

After settling the matter with Principal Xu, Zhai You took a taxi back.

The two-hour drive was the perfect opportunity to call Sister Ji.

“Young Miss, you casually say you’ll donate an entire building. Do you even know how much that costs?” Sister Ji clicked her tongue repeatedly.

An entire building! How long would she have to work to earn that kind of money?

If she had known Zhai You was this generous, she might as well have put in some effort herself and gotten Director Guo to agree. Sister Ji felt like she had suffered a loss, and even her tone turned sour.

“I’ve been with you for so long. Am I even worth one-tenth of Jiang Bailu?”

“Of course,” Zhai You answered immediately. “You’re not.”

“……”

Zhai You admitted that at first, she had fallen for Jiang Bailu because of her looks.

The moment she met Jiang Bailu’s eyes, she felt as though this person was destined to make her heart race.

After spending more time with her, Zhai You became even more convinced of that feeling.

She couldn’t let her slip away. Missing her would ruin her entire life. This absolutely had to be the best wife heaven had arranged for her.

As for Sister Ji—

Sorry. Zhai You had no memories of her, had only met her once, and every interaction afterward had been over the phone.

It sounded cruel, but the truth was—

Sister Ji, you’re just a tool person.

Sister Ji resisted the urge to quit on the spot. “Are you seriously planning to act alongside Jiang Bailu?”

“Of course.” Zhai You looked out the car window.

The scenery in this world was roughly the same as in her original one. Once night fell, the city lit up with brilliant lights.

Every now and then, they passed massive screens displaying photos of the most popular celebrities.

Zhai You didn’t recognize any of them, but she thought none of them were as pretty as her.

Nor were they as pretty as Jiang Bailu.

Sooner or later, she would have Jiang Bailu occupying all those screens, becoming the brightest star of them all.

“Have you considered letting Jiang Bailu play the second female lead?” Sister Ji asked.

“That would be too unfair to her.” Zhai You shifted the phone to her other ear.

“…Let me confirm something with you.” Sister Ji suspected this girl’s brain wasn’t functioning properly. “Do you even know what Deliberate Love is about?”

“Isn’t it just two girls falling in love?” Zhai You froze slightly.

She didn’t actually know, but weren’t all yuri dramas basically like that?

At most, the female Omega would have someone she liked. Her secret crush would be hazy and beautiful, and through all kinds of accidental coincidences, she would gradually come into contact with the female Alpha she liked.

What else could they possibly do with it?

Zhai You, who barely read novels, was confused.

The original novel was one of the few she had ever read, and that story was also about Jiang Bailu being entangled by Zhai You because of her dream and her mother’s medical bills. But only a dozen or so chapters in, the righteous love interest appeared.

The story shifted from a miserable life experience into a sweet romance.

So Zhai You had instinctively assumed the main perspective would always belong to the bottom—or rather, the female Omega.

Until Sister Ji’s next words shattered that assumption.

“Deliberate Love is about the female lead secretly loving her friend, only for that friend to fall in love with someone else, followed by a forced-love plot.”

“Oh, and the female lead is an Alpha. The friend is an Omega.”

Which meant the role Zhai You had originally wanted to play—

was the Omega friend.

And the role she had given to Jiang Bailu—

was the Alpha female lead.

Absolutely incredible.

Zhai You fell silent for a long time before slowly asking, “Maybe there’s still room to discuss things with Director Guo?”

Sister Ji was shocked. ​Read on BaiLianTales​“You still haven’t given up? You want to do a forced-love storyline with Jiang Bailu?”

Sister Ji hadn’t meant anything by that.

She was simply curious and had casually asked.

But when those words reached Zhai You’s ears, they took on an entirely different meaning. She rubbed her chin and thought: rather than forcing herself on Bailu in the drama, wouldn’t it be better to experience what it felt like to have Bailu force herself on her instead?

As for Alpha or Omega, it was only acting anyway. None of it was real.

What mattered was the feelings.

Even if those feelings were only acted.

Jiang Bailu would like her : D