“Ji Rou, where did you go? I didn’t see you all day, and you didn’t reply to any of my messages!”
Wu Xiaomei had been waiting the entire day. Seeing Ji Rou finally return, she couldn’t hold back anymore—her irritation showed openly as she questioned her without any concern for offending her.
Ji Rou paused. She had seen the messages… she just didn’t feel like replying. Putting on a pitiful expression, she said softly,
“Xiaomei, I didn’t mean to ignore you. My phone ran out of battery, so I didn’t see your messages. You’re my good friend—you wouldn’t be mad at me, right?”
Her deliberately sweet, almost manipulative tone nearly made Wu Xiaomei explode with anger.
Just then, Wu Xiaomei caught sight of the form in Ji Rou’s hand. The words “Talent Selection Registration Form” were clearly printed on it. Her expression tightened instantly. Forgetting her anger, she rushed forward to snatch it.
Ji Rou reacted quickly, stepping aside and dodging the grab. Her expression darkened.
“Xiaomei, I may not have answered your messages, but that doesn’t mean you need to hit me, does it?”
Wu Xiaomei missed her chance and grew anxious. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t trying to hit you—I just wanted to see what you’re holding. Let me take a look!”
She lunged again, but Ji Rou easily avoided her every attempt.
Out of breath and unable to grab it, Wu Xiaomei straightened up and switched tactics, coaxing instead. “Ji Rou, just let me see it, okay?”
Ji Rou wasn’t about to hand it over.
She knew Wu Xiaomei’s jealous nature well—there was no way she’d allow her to join the competition.
From what she remembered, Wu Xiaomei had also entered this selection in the original storyline, though she didn’t win anything. Now that Ji Rou had signed up too, she must be worried that her chances would shrink even further. That was why she tried to grab the form earlier.
“Ji Rou… are you entering the selection competition?”
Ji Rou blinked innocently. “Yeah.”
Wu Xiaomei felt a surge of panic. She couldn’t let Ji Rou participate.
“Ji Rou, you know how exhausting these competitions are. Didn’t you say you wanted to get close to rich guys? I already set you up with Young Master Zhou. You’re so pretty—you don’t need this stupid competition to meet wealthy men.”
She assumed Ji Rou joined purely to attract rich men, which only made her persuasion more forceful.
“But I need money,” Ji Rou said simply.
“What?!”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Wu Xiaomei exclaimed, stunned. She couldn’t believe Ji Rou was doing this for money.
“Didn’t you see? The top winners get tens of thousands in prize money,” Ji Rou said innocently, looking at her like she was the foolish one.
Wu Xiaomei choked on her words. Who would join for that little money?
Well—Ji Rou would. She really needed it.
“Ji Rou, Young Master Zhou is rich. If you just play your cards right, he’ll practically throw money at you.”
“Oh? Like the necklace you’re wearing?”
“What are you talking about? Th-this is something I bought myself!” Wu Xiaomei stammered, clutching her necklace and avoiding Ji Rou’s gaze.
“But Xiaomei, that necklace looks really expensive. There’s no way you could afford it.”
Ji Rou exposed her background in one sentence.
Wu Xiaomei’s face darkened. She hated people pointing out her poverty—especially Ji Rou.
“It’s fake,” she said coldly.
Ji Rou let out a faint mocking smile. “Then where did you buy it? I’d like to get one just like yours.”
Wu Xiaomei nearly snapped. She wanted to sneer at Ji Rou for dreaming too big—how could someone like her afford a necklace worth tens of thousands? But she didn’t dare say it, or her lie would fall apart.
“Um… the shop owner said it was one of a kind. But the store is pretty good—you can go check it out.”
She casually named a shady shop that had once scammed her. Since Ji Rou wanted one, she might as well let her experience being cheated too.
Watching Wu Xiaomei’s almost crazed smile, Ji Rou inwardly sneered. So she’s plotting against me again.
Of course, Ji Rou had no real intention of buying the necklace.
“Wait… weren’t we talking about the competition? How did we end up discussing your necklace?”
Wu Xiaomei snapped back to the topic. She still hadn’t forgotten her goal—to convince Ji Rou to quit.
“Ji Rou, you’re not seriously going to enter, are you? What if you don’t place? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?” she said earnestly, as if she truly cared.
“But I need money,” Ji Rou repeated.
Wu Xiaomei was speechless again.
Ji Rou glanced at her frustrated expression and suppressed a smile. On the surface, however, she looked hesitant.
“If I had money, I probably wouldn’t bother with this competition. Who wants to go through all that trouble anyway?”
Wu Xiaomei’s eyes lit up.
So as long as Ji Rou had money, she would give up the competition? That would greatly increase her own chances of winning first place!
Ji Rou, on the other hand, almost pitied her.
Even without her, Wu Xiaomei would never take first place—after all, there was still the heroine, blessed with overwhelming luck.