The Supporting Female Character Was Pampered by the Aloof Heroine - Chapter 4

Tang Yiling felt that ever since arriving in this world, her thoughts had revolved entirely around basic survival.

Eating and sleeping. That was it.

She did not know whether it was a post-meal crash or whether she was simply exhausted, but she climbed into bed unusually early.

Her roommates returned one after another during the night.

Half-asleep, Tang Yiling vaguely heard one of them say, “Wasn’t she some pampered heiress? Why is she suddenly living in the dorm?”

Another roommate stopped her before she could continue.

To avoid disturbing Tang Yiling, they deliberately moved quietly and even turned on only the small lamps above their desks.

Early the next morning, Tang Yiling was awakened by her alarm.

She pulled open her bed curtain and saw the girl in the bunk opposite hers sitting at her desk studying.

Qian Xueqing was wearing a sky-blue nightgown. Hearing the sound, she turned around.

“Are you going out today?”

Tang Yiling nodded.

It was almost time for her meeting with Li Lan.

The dormitory housed four people.

Tang Yiling searched the room but did not see the other two.

“Oh,” Qian Xueqing explained. “Yurou and Anqi made plans to watch the sunrise.”

“I think they left a little after four. They’ll probably be out until this afternoon.”

Yurou?

Chang Yurou?

Tang Yiling’s mouth fell slightly open.

She was roommates with the other heroine?!

Wasn’t this fictional world a little too small?

Qian Xueqing looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

Tang Yiling shook her head. “Why didn’t you go?”

“Me?”

Qian Xueqing smiled, revealing two shallow dimples.

“I can’t wake up that early.”

That was what she said, but Tang Yiling suspected she might simply have felt that a friendship among three people was a little too crowded.

Tang Yiling found her toiletries and promised, “Then let’s go watch the sunset together sometime!”

This time, it was Qian Xueqing’s turn to freeze.

A few seconds later, she softly said, “Okay.”

With her toothbrush still in her mouth, Tang Yiling poked her head out of the bathroom.

“Sorry, your name is…”

The faintly touched expression on Qian Xueqing’s face vanished instantly.

She deliberately glared at Tang Yiling and stated her name.

“We’ve already been classmates and roommates for more than a semester!”

“I know, Qingqing.”

Tang Yiling gave her an ingratiating smile.

“I was only joking!”

There were barely any clothes in Tang Yiling’s section of the dormitory, so she casually grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it on.

Then she met Qian Xueqing’s gaze again.

Feeling slightly guilty, she said, “Don’t be mad. Of course I know your name.”

Qian Xueqing shook her head.

“I’m not angry. I just think you seem different from before.”

“You used to keep people at a distance. Now you seem more… warm and lively.”

Tang Yiling froze, then restrained her smile.

“Maybe going through such a major upheaval made me want to make an effort to live my life properly.”

She had almost forgotten that she still needed to play the role of “Tang Yiling”!

Fortunately, Qian Xueqing did not question her further. She probably thought Tang Yiling’s explanation was perfectly reasonable.

After all, people often changed after experiencing setbacks and hardship.

Tang Yiling finished getting ready.

Just as she was about to leave, Qian Xueqing said, “Um, if you ever need help, you can come to me.”

How touching!

Tang Yiling abruptly stopped running toward the door and turned back into the dormitory.

“Qingqing, could you send me a copy of our class schedule?”

Qian Xueqing had not expected the request for help to come so quickly.

She shook her head and pulled a sheet of paper from the bookshelf.

“Take this one. I’ll print another copy.”

Tang Yiling nearly threw her arms around Qian Xueqing.

Even more touching!

She casually grabbed a small bread roll from Qian Xueqing’s snack basket and ran outside again.

“Thank you, Qingqing!”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

Qian Xueqing’s voice came from behind her.

“I have jerky too. Don’t you want any?”

As Tang Yiling ran downstairs, she sighed inwardly.

Her roommate was wonderful.

Aside from finding her parents again, this was probably the second good thing that had happened to her since arriving here.

As expected, she was late.

The moment she left the dormitory building, she saw Li Lan waiting beneath a tree.

Today, Li Lan wore a linen suit that emphasized her height.

She did not look much like a student. She looked more like a female CEO.

Tang Yiling ran over, still holding half of the bread roll she had not finished.

“I-I’m here.”

Li Lan lowered her phone and looked Tang Yiling up and down before her gaze settled on the bread.

“That’s all you’re having for breakfast?”

Tang Yiling took another bite.

“My roommate donated it to me.”

Li Lan started walking without waiting for her.

“Didn’t I send you money yesterday?”

“I was too hungry last night. I had a bowl of malatang, but I still didn’t feel full, so I bought fried chicken too.”

Tang Yiling paused.

“Then I bought a milk tea.”

Now that she thought about it, she really had eaten quite a lot.

She still had a few yuan left, but she had woken up late and had no time to go to the cafeteria.

Li Lan did not say anything else.

She stopped and gestured toward the roadside.

“Get in.”

Get in?

Li Lan actually had a car.

Tang Yiling let out a deep sigh and stuffed the final bite of bread into her mouth.

The wealth gap between fictional characters really was far too extreme!

Li Lan drove steadily while Tang Yiling sat in the passenger seat and watched the scenery outside.

She needed to familiarize herself with the city as quickly as possible.

After all, she would be living here for a while.

The car stopped in front of an office building.

Tang Yiling tilted her head back to look at it.

“Sister, your company is this big?”

Li Lan glanced at her, looking almost equally incredulous.

“I rented one floor for the office.”

“Oh.”

Tang Yiling had thought Li Lan’s company was already on the verge of going public.

What kind of business prodigy would that have made her?

The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor.

As the two of them entered, many employees lifted their heads to look over.

Li Lan gave them a slight nod and led Tang Yiling all the way into her office.

She handed her a thick stack of documents.

“These are case studies from the company’s projects. Look through them first.”

“I still have some work to deal with.”

Tang Yiling nodded.

She watched Li Lan leave the office and stop at a workstation not far away.

Two employees were seated there.

One appeared to be in her thirties, while the other looked as though she had only recently graduated.

Li Lan bent slightly and looked at one of their computer screens.

Her slender, pale fingers tapped and pointed at different places on the screen. Loose strands of hair beside her ear slipped down against her cheek as she moved.

Tang Yiling could not hear what they were saying, but she could tell that Li Lan was speaking quickly.

The younger employee occasionally wrote something in a notebook. They were probably discussing professional matters.

Tang Yiling realized that the novel’s descriptions of its characters had been extremely one-sided.

While reading, she had found it difficult to form a clear image of Li Lan in her mind.

But the Li Lan standing before her now was vivid and real.

So what exactly did Li Lan’s company do?

Tang Yiling withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to read.

The table of contents listed each project’s starting date and address.

When she opened a random page, she saw comparison photographs from before and after renovation, along with records of every stage of the work.

It was an interior design and renovation company.

The materials had a fair amount of weight to them, which showed that the company had already completed many successful projects.

Tang Yiling furrowed her brows.

She seemed to remember that Li Lan had not majored in anything related to this field.

Why had she chosen this industry?

Li Lan remained at the company for two hours, and Tang Yiling spent the same two hours reading.

At first, Tang Yiling had felt a little drowsy, but she gradually became absorbed in the material.

Through design, structural renovation, furnishings, and decoration, an ordinary room could be transformed step by step into exactly what a client wanted.

There was something deeply comforting and fulfilling about that process.

Whenever Tang Yiling reached the photograph of the finished project with the client, she inexplicably felt a sense of yearning.

The office door opened, and Li Lan walked inside.

She stood at the entrance and watched Tang Yiling for several seconds before beckoning to her.

“Let’s go. We’re heading home.”

Tang Yiling raised her head from the project booklet.

She looked confused.

“Home where?”

“I’m finished here for now.”

Li Lan repeated herself.

“I’m taking you home.”

Home?

Tang Yiling looked at Li Lan.

The Tang residence was not her home.

The dormitory was not her home either.

Could Li Lan’s home become her “home” in this world?

Li Lan’s brows moved almost imperceptibly.

She asked, “Do you regret it?”

Tang Yiling did not understand.

“Regret what?”

Li Lan folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, silently looking at her.

Tang Yiling finally realized what she meant.

She sprang up from the sofa.

“Let’s go. Let’s go home and talk.”

How could she possibly regret it?

She was terrified that Li Lan might regret it instead.

Tang Yiling linked her arm through Li Lan’s and pulled her across the office toward the exit.

Internally, she grumbled that fictional characters truly did not understand subtle emotions.

Couldn’t Li Lan say the words “go home” a few more times and let her feel touched for a little longer?

The car soon entered a residential complex.

Compared with the neighborhood where the Tang family lived, this place seemed much more affordable and down-to-earth.

Li Lan opened the door and gestured for Tang Yiling to put on the new slippers prepared beside it.

Tang Yiling walked inside while examining the apartment’s layout.

There were two bedrooms, a study, and a spacious, bright living room.

The minimalist white interior was exactly the sort of style Li Lan would like.

Tang Yiling turned around and noticed the balcony nearby.

Li Lan did not keep flowers or plants there. Only a few items of clothing were hanging out to dry.

Tang Yiling recognized one of them.

It was the outfit Li Lan had worn on the day they first met.

The memory that had already begun to fade surged back into her mind.

Li Lan went to the dining area and poured herself a glass of water.

She removed her linen jacket and draped it over one arm, revealing the fitted, wide-strapped tank top underneath.

She clearly worked out regularly.

The muscle definition along her body was visible, yet it did not look exaggerated in the slightest.

Tang Yiling’s gaze was drawn toward her.

Li Lan happened to turn around and caught her staring.

Their eyes met across the room.

Tang Yiling coughed softly and hurriedly looked away.

They were alone together.

Although broad daylight still filled the apartment, Tang Yiling could not help remembering what had happened that night.

Li Lan seemed to be thinking about it too.

She suddenly began walking toward the sofa.

As Li Lan came closer, Tang Yiling’s cheeks gradually grew warm.

Three steps.

Two steps.

One.

Tang Yiling could clearly feel her own heartbeat and instinctively backed away.

She had forgotten that the sofa was directly behind her.

She fell backward onto the soft cushions just as Li Lan leaned over her, closing in with an overwhelming presence.