The evening sun dipped low, painting the sky in warm orange hues.
The day’s rehearsal wrapped up quickly. The beautiful young girls streamed out of the Art Troupe building in small groups, laughing and chatting.
Zhao Nige and Yu Qian walked out last.
After today’s “display of skill,” the dancers who had initially felt threatened by Zhao Nige’s arrival let their guard down. Their attitudes shifted to friendly, and as they passed her, they even took the initiative to greet her.
Zhao Lanxin had also heard what happened in the group dance studio. A wave of satisfaction washed over her. Just as she’d suspected: so what if Zhao Nige had grown up in the middle of nowhere with an exceptional figure?
She still couldn’t compare to her.
Zhao Lanxin spun around, deliberately slowing her pace to wait for Zhao Nige. When the other girl caught up, she asked with a mask of concern, “Nige, how are you adjusting to the rehearsals?”
Zhao Nige took in her sister’s hypocritical expression and shook her head. “I’m not adjusting well.”
Not well at all. She had always been a solo dancer; the stage had always been hers alone. Now, dancing with a dozen or two other people, she really couldn’t get used to it.
Zhao Lanxin’s triumph deepened. In front of the other female dancers, she said, “This is my fault for not thinking it through. You never had formal dance training in the countryside—I should have taught you more.”
The other dancers immediately began to whisper, their curiosity about Zhao Nige piqued.
“With your skill level…” Zhao Nige glanced her up and down. “You’re sure you can teach me?”
Two girls nearby stifled their laughter. Zhao Lanxin’s expression froze, but she forced a smile. “I’m just trying to help you keep up with everyone else.”
“You should worry about yourself first.” Zhao Nige smiled and strode past her.
Zhao Lanxin’s face darkened as she watched her sister walk away.
Just then, the Art Troupe Office Director hurried over. “Zhao Lanxin, your mother called. She said your father is in the hospital. You and your sister need to go there immediately.”
“Dad’s in the hospital?”
Zhao Lanxin rushed down the steps.
But it was the evening rush hour, and taxis were hard to find.
Zhao Nige waited by the roadside with her, yet she seemed completely unbothered. Zhao Lanxin glared at her, her brow furrowed. “Dad’s in the hospital, and you’re not even worried?”
Zhao Nige raised an eyebrow. Why should she be? She wasn’t a doctor.
Before she could speak, a car pulled up in front of them. Gao Xiang rolled down the window. “Zhao Nige, get in. I’ll drive you both to the hospital.”
***
At the hospital, they learned it was just a minor rear-end collision.
Zhao Guanghui hadn’t been seriously injured. He’d hit his head during the sudden braking and only needed to wait for a concussion check before he could go home.
Tao Rong and Zhao Lanxin hovered by his bed, fussing over him and offering words of comfort.
Zhao Nige pulled up a chair and sat nearby. She took an apple from the fruit basket and began to peel it with deliberate slowness. Once finished, she sliced off a small piece and popped it into her mouth, chewing with a satisfying crunch.
Zhao Guanghui stared at his newly rediscovered biological daughter. The more he looked at her, the more she seemed like a complete stranger.
Though she bore a passing resemblance to his wife’s younger self, the coldness in her eyes whenever she looked at them made his eyelid twitch.
After the two daughters left, Zhao Guanghui called his wife over. “We’re taking this opportunity to do a paternity test,” he declared.
Tao Rong hesitated. “Isn’t that a bad idea? What if the results are normal? If our daughter finds out, it’ll only create a deeper rift between us.”
“We’re doing it even if she finds out,” Zhao Guanghui insisted. “We can’t make the same mistake we did twenty years ago.”
When Zhao Nige returned to the room, Tao Rong approached her with hesitation.
She first surreptitiously plucked a strand of Zhao Nige’s hair. Then, while removing Zhao Guanghui’s IV needle, she pretended to accidentally prick Zhao Nige. With the samples secured, she slipped out of the room.
Zhao Guanghui found a convenient excuse to stay in the hospital for an extra day. Tao Rong remained to care for him, while Zhao Nige and Zhao Lanxin went home.
***
The moment they returned home, Zhao Nige turned to go upstairs and rest.
But Zhao Lanxin blocked her path.
“Zhao Nige, Mom and Dad are still your biological parents,” she spat. “If you have a grudge, take it out on me. Stop putting on a show in front of them.”
Are you crazy, sister? Zhao Nige wondered. Is she so addicted to her drama that she can’t stop?
Zhao Nige stood on the stairs, watching her with amusement. “There’s only two of us here. Your performance is wasted without an audience. If you’re so desperate to act, you should go back to the hospital, not come to me.”
A hint of defiance flashed in Zhao Lanxin’s eyes. “I know you hate me for taking everything that should have been yours. But what choice did I have? Even if I’m not Mom and Dad’s biological child, the twenty years of love and effort they’ve invested in me is something you can never compete with.”
“Oh,” Zhao Nige said, pushing past her. “Get out of the way. You’re keeping me from my beauty sleep.”
Zhao Lanxin stood frozen, speechless.
Zhao Lanxin’s face contorted with rage.
It was like throwing a vicious punch only to have it sink into cotton. She loathed Zhao Nige’s infuriatingly nonchalant attitude, the way she seemed to care about nothing.
Their parents’ love was the one thing she cherished most. Why didn’t Zhao Nige care? Did she really think it would be that easy to take everything back from her?
Ha. Just you wait.
I won’t let her get her way.
Our parents, the Art Troupe, and Lu Shaoyu—I won’t give up a single one of them.
Zhao Nige returned to her room, showered, and climbed into bed for her beauty sleep. Even the most stunning woman couldn’t withstand the toll of late nights. To keep her looks and prepare for her mission to win over the male lead, her beauty sleep was non-negotiable.
While she slept, Zhao Lanxin was busy in the kitchen. She packed a pot of chicken soup and headed to the hospital. How could she let such a perfect opportunity to show her filial devotion go to waste?.
….
Zhao Nige wasn’t ignoring Zhao Lanxin’s schemes because she liked being a doormat. It was because the moment the system bound to her, her life began a ninety-day countdown.
She had to capture the male lead’s heart within those three months to survive. Only then would she have the luxury of dealing with Zhao Lanxin.
The next day, after finishing rehearsals at the Art Troupe, Zhao Nige changed her clothes and stepped outside. She found that Zhao Lanxin had already left for the hospital without waiting for her.
As Zhao Nige hailed a taxi by the roadside, Gao Xiang approached again, offering to drive her.
She ignored him, climbed into the cab, and drove off.
When she arrived at the hospital, she discovered the man had actually followed her—the nerve. He was holding two gift boxes of health supplements, grinning sheepishly. “I bought these for Uncle Zhao.”
Zhao Nige rolled her eyes.
She strode forward, Gao Xiang keeping pace right behind her.
She stepped into the elevator; Gao Xiang scrambled in after her.
As they exited, Zhao Nige turned to tell him to get lost. But her words died in her throat. At the end of the hospital corridor, she saw a familiar figure.
He wore camouflage fatigues and tactical boots, black wristbands strapped to his arms. His tall, imposing frame stood out in the sterile, antiseptic-smelling hallway. The cold overhead lights cast a sharp glow on his deep, stoic features.
Zhao Nige froze in her tracks.
Gao Xiang, trailing just behind her, was completely clueless. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
A dozen different greetings flashed through Zhao Nige’s mind. She ran through every detail: the perfect tone, the exact curve of her smile, the right posture, even how to toss her hair to look her most alluring.
Then she rejected them all.
This time, she was switching tactics.
After a split-second pause, Zhao Nige turned back to Gao Xiang and gave him a beaming smile. “So much stuff! What did you buy?”
Flattered, Gao Xiang grinned ear to ear. “It’s… it’s nothing much. Just some Brainin and calcium supplements.”
Down the hall, Lu Yanling finished speaking with his friend and turned around. His gaze fell on Zhao Nige as she approached. His jaw tightened imperceptibly.
The woman strode toward him, her hips swaying gently. She didn’t even glance his way, instead chatting and laughing with the man fawning over her.
Lu Yanling’s gaze lingered only for a moment. He withdrew his stare without a trace of emotion, nodded slightly to his friend, and walked away.
The hospital corridor was narrow, barely two meters wide, with a few benches placed along the walls. A handful of patients in hospital gowns sat there resting.
Lu Yanling strode past them, his expression impassive. In his camouflage fatigues, his tall, imposing frame and cold aura commanded a quiet, reverent attention from the seated patients.
Yet Zhao Nige acted as if she hadn’t noticed him at all. She kept talking to Gao Xiang, raising a hand to cover her lips as she laughed. “Is that so? You really went all out.”
Gao Xiang was completely smitten. Her smile seemed to make her glow, her eyes sparkling like stars. His face flushed crimson, and he stammered, “It’s… it’s the least I could do.”
Ignoring the man walking toward them, Zhao Nige turned to her unwitting pawn with a smile. “I’m sorry to have you spend so much.”
Gao Xiang’s face beamed with excitement, his attention entirely fixed on her. “It’s no trouble at all, not in the slightest.”
Zhao Nige’s lips curved. In her mind, she counted down the final three seconds. Three… two… one…
Lu Yanling approached, about to pass her.
As they drew level, only a foot of space separated them. The breeze from the man’s brisk stride stirred the long hair by her face, releasing a faint, delicate scent.
But Lu Yanling’s expression remained impassive.
And Zhao Nige pretended not to see him.
Only after he had passed did she lower her gaze, stealing a glance from the corner of her eye.
She caught a glimpse of his sharp, masculine jawline. The harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital ceiling illuminated his imposing figure, casting a cold, clinical light on the insignia on his camouflage uniform.
Zhao Nige withdrew her gaze, a triumphant smile touching her lips.
***
Lu Yanling reached the elevator, gritted his teeth, and let out a cold snort.
He pressed the button, his expression growing colder as the floor numbers slowly ticked down.
The elevator chimed and the doors slid open at the fourth floor. Inside stood Lu Shaoyu and a graceful middle-aged woman. The two of them flinched at the sight of Lu Yanling, who looked like a grim reaper waiting at the threshold.
“Yan… Yanling?”
Lu Yanling’s expression softened slightly as he looked at the woman. “Sister-in-law.”
But his tone turned harsh as he swept his gaze to a stiffened Lu Shaoyu. “You’re about to be discharged from the company. How can you be wandering around here?”
“I just came to visit Grandpa Guan,” Lu Shaoyu retorted, his courage bolstered by his mother’s presence. “Is that so wrong?”
“Report back to the unit by six,” Lu Yanling commanded, his voice low and stern. He strode into the elevator.
As soon as Lu Yanling left, Zhao Nige told Gao Xiang he could go.
Gao Xiang froze. “But… this…”
“Put the stuff down and leave,” Zhao Nige said, giving him no room to argue. She turned and walked away.
She was desperate to see if her plan had worked. Shaking off her trailing shadow, she hurried to the end of the hallway.
Standing by a window in the deserted corridor, she tapped open the System Panel.
One glance at the screen, and she nearly pinched her own philtrum in shock.
You’ve got to be kidding me!
She fought the urge to curse out loud, barely managing to keep her temper in check.
Just then, hesitant footsteps sounded behind her.
Still fuming, Zhao Nige assumed it was Gao Xiang again. She spun around and snapped, “I told you to get lost! Do you not understand human speech?”
Lu Shaoyu, who had been trying to approach the beautiful woman from behind, stood frozen. He’d just been berated for no reason.
Realizing she’d snapped at the wrong person, Zhao Nige felt no guilt. She glared at the rich playboy, who looked like trouble personified.
“Get lost,” she snapped. “Don’t bother me.”
When Zhao Nige turned, Lu Shaoyu caught a full glimpse of her strikingly beautiful, furious face. For a moment, he was too stunned to remember what he was about to say.
He froze for only a second before the beauty told him to get lost.
Lu Shaoyu cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Zhao Nige stopped him. “Got a cigarette?”
“…!” Lu Shaoyu’s eyes lit up. “Yeah.”
He immediately whipped out a pack, offered her one, and pulled out a lighter to help her light it.
Zhao Nige held the cigarette between her index and middle fingers, her eyelids drooping as she took a slow drag. Then, she blew the smoke directly into Lu Shaoyu’s face.
“Alright, you can get lost now.”
The light smoke from her crimson lips drifted across his face. Through the hazy cloud, Lu Shaoyu gazed at her stunningly gorgeous, cold features.
Oh, Mom, I’m in love! Your future daughter-in-law isn’t like those other sluts—she can even blow smoke rings!