“Why is she here?”
Wen Jingming’s fingers curled on the table. “Is she trying to do something to you? I’ll take you home.”
His sister had been hospitalized multiple times because of Wen Zhiyu—there was no way he’d let that happen again.
“No, she seems to be at an interview.”
Qiao Nianxi stared at the piano area, her fingers absently stroking the big orange cat in her arms.
That spot had changed occupants several times that morning.
The cat’s blue eyes reflected Wen Zhiyu’s image as it wriggled its plump body.
Qiao Nianxi murmured softly to calm it, keeping it from moving around.
Wen Jingming suddenly understood. Wen Zhiyu had been cast out of the family. To survive, she truly needed to support herself.
Wen Zhiyu was completely unaware of all this.
After finishing the piano piece, her forehead was slightly damp with sweat. She sat on the chair, looking at the interviewer with eager eyes.
“Not bad. When can you start working?”
“I passed the interview?”
Wen Zhiyu’s long lashes fluttered, her big eyes filled with disbelief. Her luck had turned.
“Yes, Miss Wen. Congratulations.”
The two discussed the onboarding details, and when asked when she could start:
“Right now.”
From signing the contract to starting work, the entire process went smoothly.
Sitting in the break room behind the restaurant, Wen Zhiyu felt dazed. She reached out and pinched her thigh, a mist of tears forming over her beautiful eyes.
“It hurts. It’s real.”
This counted as the first job of her life.
Wen Zhiyu clenched her small fist, silently vowing to work hard, strive for a promotion and raise, reach the peak of life, pay off Li Moyuan’s debt, and successfully break up with him.
She was new, just added to the menu, and no one had chosen her yet.
Her fingers tapped into the screen, sharing the good news with Li Moyuan.
A string of images of cats jumping around wildly followed.
Li Moyuan’s slender, well-defined fingers held his phone, feeling her joy.
LMY: [Congratulations. What do you want?]
Little Fairy: [Promise me that no matter what happens, you won’t be angry with me, and you definitely won’t send me to a mental hospital.]
Li Moyuan was silent for a long while before sending a message.
LMY: [Why would I send you to a mental hospital?]
Little Fairy: [Because I lied to you.]
She sent it impulsively, too fast to retract.
Damn phone, it was lagging again.
LMY: [Lied to me about what?]
Wen Zhiyu shot up from her chair. She wanted to run away.
The person behind the screen didn’t keep pressing, patiently waiting for her answer.
Running wasn’t an option.
Wen Zhiyu anxiously bit her finger. Think, think fast.
She didn’t want to go to a mental hospital.
Ah, found it.
Little Fairy: [I lied to you. The truth is, I don’t miss you at all—I miss you super, super much.]
No response from the other side. Maybe he’d been drowned by the cheesy pick-up line.
Little Fairy: [Bro, are you there?]
A screenshot came through.
LMY: [I’m booking a flight. Coming back to the capital to see you.]
Wen Zhiyu let out a groundhog scream. This was worse. They couldn’t meet. They absolutely could not meet.
Little Fairy: [Bro, don’t.]
LMY: [Don’t miss me?]
Little Fairy: [I’m not ready. Let’s just let things happen naturally, okay?]
LMY: [How much do you miss me?]
Little Fairy: [The moon represents my heart.]
Wen Zhiyu didn’t dare stop, her fingers nearly cramping, and before she knew it, she’d added a line from a song.
LMY: […]
Finally, she’d talked Li Moyuan out of coming back directly. Wen Zhiyu let out a long breath.
LMY: [We’ll have to meet in person eventually. We can’t stay online forever.]
Wen Zhiyu nodded in agreement.
What she was doing was walking a tightrope high above the ground—one wrong step and she’d fall.
There was no other choice. Stall for as long as she could.
Someone ordered a piano piece. Wen Zhiyu hurriedly said goodbye to Li Moyuan.
She straightened her outfit in front of the mirror and walked out.
“Zhizhi, what are you doing here?”
Wen Zhiyu’s gaze swept over the people at the table. She remembered—these were the original owner’s fair-weather friends.
The original owner had plenty of allowance and was favored in the Wen family.
These people often coaxed her into going out with them, constantly flattering her.
The original owner foolishly footed the bill, becoming their walking wallet.
The poisoning of Qiao Nianxi definitely involved some instigation from these fair-weather friends.
After the incident, the original owner was kicked out of the family, and her so-called besties never contacted her again.
“What would you like to hear?”
Wen Zhiyu sighed inwardly at how naive the original owner had been, silently drawing a line between herself and them.
“Zhizhi, we’re friends! Come sit down, let’s take photos and check in together.”
Zhao Hui reached out to grab Wen Zhiyu’s hand, but Wen Zhiyu dodged it.
“Have you forgotten? Zhizhi was kicked out of the Wen family and can never go back. She’s no longer the eldest Miss Wen.”
Fan Ning didn’t hesitate to expose the truth.
After saying it, as if she’d just noticed Wen Zhiyu, she belatedly covered her mouth.
“Zhizhi, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad. It’s all Qiao Nianxi’s fault—she’s the one who took everything from you.”
Zhao Hui pointed at Qiao Nianxi’s seat: “See, she’s right there.”
Wen Zhiyu was surprised and followed the direction of her finger, indeed spotting Qiao Nianxi.
Qiao Nianxi also saw her, paused her gaze, and gave her a slight nod.
Wen Zhiyu’s right eyelid twitched.
Wherever the female lead goes, there is harm. As the biggest vicious supporting female character, she seemed unable to escape it.
She forcibly suppressed the panic in her heart and looked away.
“If you’re not ordering songs, I’ll head back.”
“Don’t leave yet.” The group exchanged glances. “Order, why wouldn’t we? ‘True and False Heiress.'”
Wen Zhiyu: …
The song came from a melodramatic TV drama, telling the story of a true heiress and a false one.
“Is there a problem?”
“No.”
The one who ordered the song was the boss.
Wen Zhiyu sat beside the piano, found the sheet music, and let her fingers fall.
Wen Jingming’s face gradually turned livid. He had heard this piece before.
Sure enough, Wen Zhiyu still refused to let things go, insisting on opposing Nianxi.
He rose and walked to the piano, pressing a finger down on the keys, a harsh sound assaulting everyone’s eardrums.
“Enough!”
Wen Zhiyu couldn’t continue playing and had to stop. She looked up at him with her glistening eyes. “Brother, what’s wrong?”
Her sweet face carried a hint of naive charm, making one want to place all the beauty in the world before her.
Wen Jingming had seen through her tricks and was disappointed that she wouldn’t amount to anything.
“Don’t call me brother. I don’t have a sister like you. My sister is Nianxi. You’re the one my family cast out.”
The matter of Wen Zhiyu leaving the Wen family had been kept relatively private and wasn’t widely publicized.
Some had quietly inquired about it but received no confirmed reply. Today, they learned the truth from Wen Jingming’s mouth.
Wen Zhiyu’s tears welled up in her eyes, her nose twitching, her voice choked with sobs.
“I know. I won’t shamelessly try to return to the Wen family anymore. Playing the piano is my job.”
“Is your job to mock Nianxi?”
Qiao Nianxi walked over, and after Wen Jingming explained, she finally understood.
She couldn’t tell whether Wen Zhiyu had done it on purpose.
“They’re the ones who ordered the song.” Wen Zhiyu reached up to wipe away her tears. She wasn’t about to take the blame.
“Zhizhi, you’re the one who told us to order it.”