Chapter 39

[Barbecue Stall Boss Liu]: The end of friendship is the beginning of love.

[Ultimate Beauty Huan]: Bah!

[Barbecue Stall Boss Liu]: Looks like our friendship won’t end after all [Laughing so hard I’m hitting the floor.jpg]

[Barbecue Stall Boss Liu]: Goodbye [Sneaking away.jpg]

After finishing her teasing, Chi Huan happily opened Lu You’s chat box to see what her ex-girlfriend wanted.

[Lu]: I will be quite busy for the foreseeable future, and my replies may be slow. Please excuse me.

It looks like a mass text message.

No, it is a mass text message.

Chi Huan’s raised eyebrows drooped. She poked the screen to reply.

[Barbecue Stall Boss Liu]: Okay.

It’s normal for Lu You to be busy as her career is taking off.

The female lead is always busy and can’t devote much energy to a little cannon fodder. The little cannon fodder must be sensible.

She couldn’t help with anything, so she shouldn’t cause trouble now. She should just wait obediently for the female lead’s favor.

At least she was included in the mass message, right? That’s already quite good!

Chi Huan successfully convinced herself and cheered up again.

Holding the script in her hands, she knew that Lu You would overcome any obstacles. She wasn’t worried about Lu You.

…She should be more worried about herself than Lu You.

Her finger unconsciously slid across the screen, scrolling up the chat history.

The System, which had been silent all afternoon, waiting for Chi Huan to realize that her mission time was already ticking down and that she needed to prepare for punishment, stretched its neck.

—Chi Huan’s CEO quotes were on the other phone. This phone only had the records of her being soundly insulted by Lu You.

But that was enough.

It looked forward to the look of shock on Chi Huan’s face when she finally remembered.

The chat history from the afternoon came into view. Chi Huan tapped the screen, braking the scrolling.

It stopped at the message Lu You sent: “Are you there?”

The System desperately wanted to press her hand to scroll up further, making Chi Huan relive the joy of being savagely attacked.

But Chi Huan didn’t move. Her gaze lingered on this page for a long time; her eyeballs didn’t even shift.

The System couldn’t resist speaking.

【What are you looking at?】

Suddenly startled, Chi Huan rubbed her nose, saying thickly: “I’m thinking about the message she sent me this afternoon.”

The System had been waiting for this: 【What did you realize?】

Chi Huan slid the screen up and down. The System’s eyes followed the screen up and down, almost becoming cross-eyed.

Scroll up a little more! She keeps stopping right at the edge!

It’s infuriating!

Chi Huan said: “She said she was busy, so I’m wondering why she took the time to spectate my game this afternoon.”

The System hadn’t expected her to still be dwelling on this. It sneered: 【Maybe she was craving a late-night snack and checking if you had another discount?】

Chi Huan sat up: “Really?”

【…】 The System said, 【Of course, I was joking.】

“I mean about the spectating. I closed the game too fast to check. Do you have a recording function?”

【No need for a recording. She was spectating.】

“Oh, that’s so embarrassing. Zhao Lei played so poorly.”

【How can you be sure she was spectating you?】

Chi Huan tilted her head: “Who else would she spectate? I haven’t heard of her being friends with anyone else who plays Honor of Kings.”

【Don’t forget who her female lead is.】

The words were like a basin of cold water poured over her head, instantly soaking Chi Huan through.

“They don’t know each other…”

【I just infiltrated and checked. She has Mu Yi’s WeChat friend account.】

Chi Huan felt her knuckles stiffen. She squeezed her index finger hard: “What?”

【Host, I remember you told me you read many novels. Then you should know that as the protagonists in a book, no matter how their personalities, experiences, or hobbies change, they will ultimately end up together. This is a unique law of fiction. Protagonists are always attracted to each other. It’s normal for other supporting characters to be attracted to the protagonist, but only the protagonist ends up with the protagonist.】

The System felt it had never spoken so much sense in all its existence.

【I can sense that you are developing inappropriate feelings for Lu You. Whether it’s pity for her suffering or empathy because you were also abandoned, this affection is destined to be hopeless.】

It had retrieved Chi Huan’s file from her original world and knew her past.

It couldn’t help but sigh.

Some girls, having been rained on themselves, involuntarily want to shelter others.

But for some people, their life has already been scripted.

She is destined to experience a storm that others cannot intervene in, and she cannot be protected or possessed by others.

【If you don’t believe me, you can try. I already told you the fate of the last person who tried to defy fate.】

Chi Huan certainly remembered. It was the original Chi Huan, and her fate was…

Death.

“Chi Huan’s” bedroom was decorated entirely to her own liking. Chi Huan hadn’t changed anything since she arrived.

The bedroom, which was about the size of half a student dormitory, had walls painted in warm orange-red. This color is rarely used in bedrooms because it can cause visual fatigue after looking at it for a long time.

But “Chi Huan” loved it.

Most of the decorations in the room were also beautifully warm-toned.

But the original owner of this bedroom had quietly vanished from the world.

No one noticed, except for a white moonlight who no longer belonged to her.

Because she was disobedient.

Because she was restless.

Because she coveted things that didn’t belong to her.

The discomfort that had been deliberately ignored all afternoon washed over her again.

Chi Huan hugged the pink fluffy rabbit on the bed, resting her chin between the rabbit’s two ears. Her despondency almost solidified into three curled lines rising from the top of her head.

【Do you still remember your original wish?】

Chi Huan remembered.

—After the mission is complete, take a sum of money and live a carefree life like an immortal.

When did Lu You’s name get added to that wish?

Was it when she looked up, revealing her pain and pretending to be strong after being abandoned?

Or was it when she fiercely argued with the woman and threw the card in her face?

“I don’t care about them abandoning me! At least I don’t have to get up every night to change my little brother’s diaper!”

“I don’t like them at all!”

“Tell them to get lost! I don’t want any compensation!”

The stubborn, almost foolish little girl from her memory grew up. Their reddened eyes gradually overlapped. They questioned the person who abandoned them.

—“Why didn’t you want me? Was I not good enough?”

—“Why did you lie to me? Was it just because I was easy to fool?”

Chi Huan bit the rabbit’s ear, saying vaguely: “It’s my fault.”

The System sighed in relief.

“It’s my fault for not having the right slacker mentality.”

System: ?

She took a deep breath, leaned forward, grabbed a tissue, and roughly wiped her face: “I’m not doing the mission.”

System: ????

Chi Huan spoke as if she had made a major decision: “If I interact with her again, I won’t be able to control myself.”

【It’s not to the point where you would abandon the mission…】

Chi Huan hugged her head in anguish, curling up on the bed like a red shrimp.

“Wuwuwu, I’m romance-brained! If I fall in love with her, I won’t be able to stop myself from picking up a knife and going to fight Mu Yi.”

“When I see Mu Yi with someone else, I already feel like they’re stealing her. I really can’t handle seeing someone else with her!”

“If this keeps up, I’m beyond saving!”

System: …

The System was convinced.

The mission won’t kill anyone anyway. Slacking off… might as well just slack off.

With this slacker mentality, Chi Huan holed up at home for two days.

On the other side, Rong Qing, after hearing about Zhao Lei, had secretly launched an investigation. Unfortunately, the Chi family dealt in legitimate business, and investigating certain grey areas was complicated.

Fortunately, the matter also involved Wu Chen.

In terms of strength, the Wu family couldn’t compare to the Chi family, but their business leaned toward illicit activities, and they had certain channels, making the investigation slightly easier.

Not much easier. Since drug involvement is not a small matter, the Wu family was already overwhelmed trying to protect their sole Alpha heir, making them careless.

Rong Qing wanted to leverage the Wu family’s influence, but revealing her knowledge outright would be foolish. She simply feigned ignorance, launched a preemptive strike, and, before the Wu family realized the matter concerned them, secretly moved to destroy two of the Wu family’s less-than-clean production chains.

The Chi family’s action against the Wu family was essentially a dimensional crush.

Especially since most of the Wu family’s industry had been moved abroad, leaving only an empty shell domestically.

Rong Qing’s move directly hit their domestic foundation. Although the businesses hadn’t been completely destroyed due to the short time frame, the losses were substantial.

Rong Qing then extended an olive branch.

The moment the Wu family ran into trouble, she called them to express her high regard for the collaboration project with Yu Bai Group, wishing them well and hoping the two families could continue to support each other.

The Wu family knew she had ulterior motives. But in the business world, offering support when things are good is easy. Asking for help in a crisis is wishful thinking. Read on BaiLianTalesEven biological fathers and sons turn on each other. Anyone offering help now would be a modern-day Saint Mary. Expecting them to ask for nothing in return would be too naive.

As long as Rong Qing’s demands weren’t excessive, the Wu family was prepared to grudgingly comply.

Rong Qing was strong-willed, a classic tit-for-tat personality. Since the trouble started because of Wu Chen, she felt no guilt in dealing with the Wu family.

As for whether the Wu family would suspect her because she acted too quickly, or what would happen if they found Wu Chen and the secret was exposed?

Rong Qing sneered. By that time, the Wu family might not even exist anymore.

Since she hadn’t fully uncovered the behind-the-scenes machinations, Rong Qing didn’t comment on Chi Huan’s recluse behavior, worried that Zhao Lei and his backers might retaliate desperately.

She even gave Chi Huan money after dinner, telling her that if she was truly bored, she should raise two pretty little Omegas at home to pass the time.

Chi Huan was dumbfounded: “I’m not leaving the house. How can I raise them?”

“Online dating, Otome games, cloud-raising Omegas, whatever you like,” Rong Qing said, surprised. “Do you live in the mountains?”

“?”

Rong Qing: “Why are you so unsophisticated?”

I’m unsophisticated?

Chi Huan almost rolled up her sleeves to show her the “shaking hands” dance (a common street dance).

Rong Qing chuckled and slowly walked upstairs with her shawl.

When she came downstairs the next day, the living room was empty. Only a note on the marble tabletop, trembling faintly in the air conditioning, remained.

It was like a sign hung up by a hostess in an ancient brothel, seeking customers.

It bore two lines of scrawled handwriting:

Mommy, by the time you read this, I will have turned into a little free bird and flown away.

I listened to you. I’m going to raise little Omegas for fun. I’ll be back in a month.

—Your Trendy Girl, Chi Huan.