How to Conquer the Tsundere Second Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 6

It takes 21 days to form a habit. Chu Fan devised a plan: over the next 21 days, she would make He Yujuan accustomed to receiving things from her. She didn’t have to accept them all at once, but at least after 21 days, she would leave a deep impression on He Yujuan’s mind.

She had worried that Ye Minyi’s presence might affect her plan, but luckily, Ye Minyi needed to travel out of the province for two weeks to check on land sites. The novel originally stated he would take her along, but because she feigned illness, pleading that her health hadn’t fully recovered, Ye Minyi found another colleague to travel with instead.

Two weeks! Her plan couldn’t be ruined!

As soon as Ye Minyi left, Chu Fan prepared to execute her grand scheme. She checked online to see what delicious food she should buy for He Yujuan today. Fried chicken tenders and milk tea it was. With that thought, Chu Fan placed the order.

She was smart now; she directly put the He Group’s address. Otherwise, when the delivery arrived at the Yiye Group and she took it, her colleagues would look at her with strange eyes.

Although no one would know she was trying to win over He Yujuan, she still didn’t want to be stared at and whispered about.

Deliveries to office buildings weren’t usually brought upstairs; they were left on the racks on the first floor. Not only did Chu Fan use the He Group’s address, but she also used He Yujuan’s phone number and the name “Sister Yujuan.” She didn’t know if He Yujuan would actually pick it up or just throw it away, but every time she saw the delivery status update on the app, she would receive a WeChat message from He Yujuan.

He Yujuan: [Image] Did you buy this? Are you seriously sick?

He Yujuan: Did you leave that name to disgust me? Who’s your sister?

He Yujuan: You’re not trying to make me gain weight and ruin my figure, are you?

So adorable! So adorable that Chu Fan wanted to cup that beautiful face and stop that mouth from incessantly scolding her. Sometimes, when their eyes met across the window in the managers’ offices, He Yujuan would immediately roll her eyes and turn away, acting perfectly tsundere.

This was her current source of happiness. However, things weren’t entirely smooth. Her relationship with He Yujuan hadn’t progressed much further, and what was more annoying, Ye Minyi messaged her every night, sometimes calling her directly. She didn’t know how to respond.

Every time Ye Minyi asked if she had eaten or rested well, she wanted to ignore him, but felt it was rude, so she replied vaguely, which resulted in Ye Minyi sending her a mini-essay reporting everything he had done that day.

Yes, the Ye Minyi she had written was a clingy young master, a ‘puppy-dog’ type, though he would undergo some changes later on.

It looks like I need to have a serious talk with Ye Minyi when he returns from his business trip, Chu Fan thought. Right now, she felt like a jerk, simultaneously trying to woo He Yujuan and stringing Ye Minyi along, even though she had never expressed any romantic interest in him.

The original plot was that Ye Minyi kept pursuing her, she was eventually moved, and they ended up together. But now, it was clear that no amount of pursuit would move her. So, it was better to clarify things, make a big change to the plot, and allow Ye Minyi to find true love for a happy ending where everyone found their match.

Because she ordered food for He Yujuan every day, the frequency of their chats increased. Although He Yujuan mostly just called her “sick” or complained about her, generally being cross, on Wednesday afternoon of the second week, she suddenly noticed He Yujuan posted on her Moments.

It was a nine-picture collage, featuring all the takeaways Chu Fan had bought for her over the past few days. The first picture even showed the blueberry tart that He Yujuan had thrown in the trash! Did she actually retrieve it later? Truly a tsundere!

Her caption was also very tsundere: Are you sick, sending me these things every day.

Chu Fan burst out laughing, but she didn’t like the post. She saw many comments from her peers below: “Miss He is so lucky [thumbs up],” “A beautiful lady like Miss He must have many admirers like this [rose],” “Everything looks delicious [smile].”

They were mostly company executives in their forties and fifties sucking up, and He Yujuan hadn’t replied to any of them. Chu Fan was enjoying the moment when she saw the latest comment—it was from Ye Minyi.

Ye Minyi had liked the post and commented: Is a younger guy pursuing you? He’s quite thoughtful. You should give him a try.

This is hilarious! Where did he get the idea that it was a younger guy? Chu Fan looked back at He Yujuan’s photos and saw that one of them clearly showed the delivery slip with the name “Sister Yujuan” on it. And what was with “You should give him a try”? Chu Fan was dying of laughter. She could just imagine He Yujuan’s expression when she saw Ye Minyi’s comment—she must be thinking it’s ridiculous, eyes wide with disbelief.

That was exactly the case. He Yujuan had just posted to her Moments and was happily eating the donut and coffee Chu Fan had bought her today when she received the notification and saw the shocking comment.

Younger guy? Give him a try? He Yujuan pursed her lips. The one sending all this is the “little green tea” you like, she thought, but she didn’t want to say it. She replied to Ye Minyi: No thanks.

This was the first time Chu Fan had seen He Yujuan reply to Ye Minyi so coldly, and she laughed even harder. She was particularly happy today. He Yujuan had posted a Moment full of pictures of her deliveries. Even though she hadn’t mentioned Chu Fan and had led to a misunderstanding, wasn’t this a step forward?

Ah… I really want to see He Yujuan in person again. Should I ask her to dinner? Regardless of whether He Yujuan agreed, she sent a WeChat message: “Let’s have dinner together tonight! My treat.”

The answer was, naturally, “Sick? No,” but Chu Fan said nothing more. She would just go over there after work anyway. She glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of her computer. Only a little over an hour until quitting time. She had mostly finished her work, so now she just had to wait until six o’clock to rush to the He Group and intercept He Yujuan.

“Secretary Chu, could you help out in the archives room? Xiao Xu called in sick today, and they’re short-staffed.”

She hadn’t expected that half an hour before quitting time, the department supervisor would suddenly ask her to help in the archives room. It must be intentional. Everyone in the company disliked her. But she absolutely had to leave on time today, or she feared He Yujuan would get away. Still, she had no choice. Here, she was just a small secretary, and she couldn’t afford to make enemies, so she agreed and walked to the archives room.

Time to bring out my skills again. Chu Fan was very competent at work. She could quickly complete tasks if she focused, a skill honed in her previous life. She had planned not to work so hard now, but today was a special case. She couldn’t afford to work overtime and couldn’t give He Yujuan a chance to escape.

So, she began to rapidly organize the files. Fortunately, the work wasn’t complicated—just sorting and placing documents into file cabinets. Although there were a lot of documents, and everyone in the archives room had been mobilized…

But so what? It wouldn’t stump Chu Fan. The archives staff watched Chu Fan’s movements in awe throughout the entire process, and their low opinion of the secretary, who had a bad reputation in the company, began to change. This is not the incompetent “green tea” who relies on Manager Ye! She’s incredibly efficient! And at first glance, her filing was nearly error-free.

The entire archives team, who had expected to work overtime filing documents today, were able to leave on time thanks to Chu Fan’s efficiency. Everyone was much politer to her, smiling as they thanked her before packing their bags and leaving with light steps.

Chu Fan quickly packed up and hurried toward the He Group. Although He Yujuan had specifically messaged her at six o’clock saying she had already arrived home, Chu Fan didn’t believe her. If she had really gone home early, He Yujuan wouldn’t have bothered to message her. The only possibility was that the woman was still working late and didn’t want Chu Fan to come over!

Trying to fool me? She was 26 years old; she knew all about this kind of thing, and she was a woman, capable of understanding the minds of her own sex perfectly. He Yujuan wouldn’t fool her.

Humming a little tune, she walked into the He Group. The security guard was already familiar with her face and nodded. Chu Fan smiled and nodded back, then sat on the public sofa to wait for He Yujuan. At quitting time, the He Group lobby was packed with groups of male and female colleagues chatting and heading home, not much different from the Yiye Group.

Chu Fan couldn’t understand the gossip at the He Group. Just as she was about to pull out her phone for a game, Chu Fan suddenly heard a familiar name.

“Did you guys see He Yujuan’s Moments today? She’s such a poser, showing off but then talking like that. It’s truly annoying.”

“I was just about to say. I see her showing off every day. Such a green tea. She’s so afraid people won’t know she has someone pursuing her.”

“I really hate her. She acts like she looks down on everyone. Didn’t she used to chase the manager next door at Yiye? I heard that manager likes his secretary. I really want to thank that secretary, good job!”

Chu Fan frowned. She suddenly realized that He Yujuan’s situation at the He Group was actually similar to hers. And He Yujuan’s personality naturally made her enemies. Almost no one at the He Group liked her; they were all polite to her face but criticized her behind her back.

“It’s strange. They’re siblings, but why isn’t He Yujuan as good as her brother? No wonder the chairman and his wife only let her work in a low-level position. She has no talent.”

“Exactly. But I guess the supervisor saw her Moment today, so he probably wanted to make things difficult and have her stay to work overtime. It’s none of our business. The more she does today, the easier it is for us tomorrow!”

The group of female employees laughed and quickly vanished out the company door, their voices fading away.

He Yujuan was having it worse than she was. She hadn’t detailed this in the novel, but hearing those people’s words firsthand, she felt sorry for He Yujuan.

More importantly, she remembered many of the character settings. In the novel, He Yujuan’s wealthy family actually favored the son over the daughter. Although they gave He Yujuan spending money and let her live in luxury from a young age, three-quarters of their attention was focused on her older brother.

Throughout her upbringing, He Yujuan’s temper became increasingly proud, and she made many enemies. Her parents didn’t intervene much, and after she graduated, they placed her in a low-level corporate job.

In the eyes of others, He Yujuan was a princess, envied and resented. But Chu Fan knew that He Yujuan was truly lonely inside. She had pinned her feelings on her childhood friend, Ye Minyi, only to receive no genuine reciprocation.

“You—why are you here?”

After an unknown period, Chu Fan heard He Yujuan’s voice. She checked the time—it was nearly two hours after quitting time.