By the time they were about to leave, Ning Mei still hadn’t mentioned Chen Yihan and was preparing to have the family driver take the wheel. However, Chen Yihan, now dressed in a black leather jacket, descended the stairs at a leisurely pace.
“I’ll drive.”
“Are you sure? You won’t go crazy while driving again, will you?” Ning Mei eyed him suspiciously. “Why do I always feel like you…”
Chen Yihan ignored her, took the keys directly from the driver, opened the car door, and before getting in, glanced back at Yu Zhi, who was still standing in place.
As someone hitching a ride, Yu Zhi couldn’t very well say anything. She simply smiled, exchanged pleasantries with the couple, and got into the car.
It wasn’t much different from the plotline, of course, except that she no longer had to listen to that obsessive “I Have No Status.”
Neither of them spoke much, except when Chen Yihan took a detour—not toward the school—causing Yu Zhi to sit up straight and look out the window. She watched as the car slowly pulled into a gas station.
“What?” Chen Yihan’s voice sounded beside her. “Afraid I’ll kidnap you?”
“I wasn’t thinking that,” Yu Zhi denied.
The car had already stopped at a pump. Chen Yihan rolled down the window, turned off the engine, and a staff member approached.
The two waited in silence as the staff member filled the tank. Chen Yihan rummaged through the storage compartment but couldn’t find his fuel card. He wasn’t sure where he’d lost it, but he didn’t dwell on it and simply took out his phone.
“Scan the code.”
“Sure, sir. Please scan here. The total is 581.94 yuan.”
Chen Yihan scanned the code to pay, but the balance was insufficient. He tried another card, but it was also insufficient. He tried yet another, but the result was the same.
His expression shifted from calm to surprised, and eventually, it began to crack.
Yu Zhi saw it too. She blinked. What was going on? Was the young master broke?
The System’s voice then timidly echoed in her mind.
“Host, that money… it was all transferred to you.”
Yu Zhi’s amused expression froze. What? When did that happen? Don’t blame her. But she quickly remembered something and hurriedly opened her phone to check her balance.
A deposit of 88,967.36 yuan had come in—carried over from the plotline. Wow, down to the last cent. It looked like he’d transferred his entire savings to her.
Because he liked to have fun, Aunt Ning was strict with Chen Yihan, fearing he’d go astray. As a student, Chen Yihan indeed didn’t have much money. If he wanted to buy expensive items, he had to go through Aunt Ning’s accounts.
Wait, none of that was the point. What shocked Yu Zhi was—
“If I bring money out from the plotline, does the real-world counterpart’s money decrease too?”
She had naively assumed until now that the money came from the male leads in the plotline.
The System’s explanation sounded noticeably lacking in confidence. “This is to prevent economic issues like inflation caused by currency exchange between different worlds.”
“Would having one more rich person really cause inflation? How would that even happen?”
Furious, how could she ever feel at ease about this again?
But now didn’t seem like the time to argue. Seeing Chen Yihan’s embarrassed expression, Yu Zhi reluctantly spoke up. “I’ll scan it.”
“Sure,” the staff member replied, maintaining a flawless smile regardless of what they might have been thinking. They repeated, “The total is 581.94 yuan.”
Yu Zhi leaned slightly toward Chen Yihan and raised her phone to scan the code.
The boy sandwiched between them, flustered, unconsciously swiped his phone aimlessly. His earlier “cool guy” demeanor finally cracked.
“A few days ago, there was a party. I probably used the money when settling the bill and didn’t notice.”
At the same time, the System explained in Yu Zhi’s mind: “The System will rationalize the whereabouts of the money. They won’t notice anything.”
That’s what it said, but Yu Zhi still felt something was off. She asked again, “What about Lu Yanxi’s one million? Is it the same?”
Mentioning this, the System sounded refreshed: “Hah, his accounts are much easier to handle than Chen Yihan’s. A little tweak here and there, and the money evaporates. Chen Yihan only has this little bit, and he wants to transfer it all to you. Altering subconscious thoughts isn’t easy.”
Yu Zhi’s money had already been transferred. When she looked up, she caught Chen Yihan glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. As soon as their eyes met, he immediately looked away.
Somehow… it felt like a timid husband checking his wife’s mood.
It really seemed like she was the one supporting him. The staff member, glancing at their appearances, probably thought the same!
“It’s fine, I understand.” For once, Yu Zhi’s conscience made an appearance.
“I’ll pay you back next time.” Chen Yihan put on his cool face again.
The guilty party: “Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to pay me back.”
The rest of the ride was silent. After entering the school, Chen Yihan drove straight to Yu Zhi’s dormitory building. Yu Zhi got out, and he followed.
The things Ning Mei bought for Yu Zhi were in the trunk. He helped take them out.
Besides clothes, there were also some skincare products. Aunt Ning had always been good to her. Thinking this, Yu Zhi felt even more uneasy.
Forget it, she wouldn’t take Chen Yihan’s money anymore. After all, this wasn’t a mandatory part of the plotline. Previously, it was all Yu Zhi adding her own drama.
“Thanks.”
Yu Zhi thanked him and was about to leave when Chen Yihan called her back.
“Yu Zhi.”
The boy still had his hand resting on the trunk. His gaze swept over the new clothes Yu Zhi was wearing, lingered briefly on her lips, then shifted away.
Although Chen Yihan’s face still wore an indifferent expression, his words had somehow strayed from what he truly meant.
“I’ll pay you back for today’s money.”
Yu Zhi didn’t want to say more. Although there weren’t as many people around now, Chen Yihan and his car were still quite eye-catching. So, she just said “Oh” and turned to leave.
After a few steps, she spotted a familiar figure.
Zhong Shiyu.
For a moment, she thought she had returned to the plotline—the final scene she remembered seemed to feature Zhong Shiyu standing there too.
The boy met her gaze, nodded expressionlessly, and walked past her.
A coincidence?
It must be a coincidence, right?
The two behind her had clearly noticed each other as well. As Yu Zhi slowed her pace, she overheard them greeting each other.
“Zhong Shiyu, what are you doing here?”
“Dropping something off.”
“Heading back to the dorm?”
“Yeah.”
“Want a ride?”
“I have my bike.”
The conversation ended there. Yu Zhi sneakily glanced back and saw Zhong Shiyu indeed wheeling out his bicycle parked nearby.
It must just be a coincidence, right?
Yu Zhi had always avoided getting too close to Zhong Shiyu precisely because she knew he was a top student with an exceptional analytical mind that ordinary people lacked.
Sometimes when their eyes met, she inexplicably felt as if she were being seen through.
Zhong Shiyu had already gotten on his bike by now, while Chen Yihan hadn’t yet mounted his. He caught Yu Zhi looking back, and his gaze unconsciously softened considerably.
“Hurry up and go inside,” he said, his tone even overlapping somewhat with that in the plotline.
Yu Zhi felt goosebumps all over. How creepy! She didn’t even bother observing anything further and quickly turned to enter the dormitory building.
Chen Yihan and Zhong Shiyu arrived at the dorm almost one after the other.
Fu Bin had just finished a round of his game and greeted them enthusiastically.
“Brother Han, back from dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh?” Fu Bin was a bit curious. “Does your mom really like Yu Zhi? I feel like she already treats her as her future daughter-in-law. If you ever get a girlfriend in the future, she’d be so jealous.”
Zhong Shiyu glanced at Chen Yihan. The guy’s expression was dark, lost in thought, and he muttered, “Future daughter-in-law, my foot.” Then, as if catching himself, he added, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Chen Yihan didn’t make a big deal out of his money running out.
Gatherings and parties with his small group were basically always on his tab, so it was normal for the money to disappear without him noticing. Of course, he didn’t know that the System had hypnotically rationalized where the money went.
After calling his mom, enduring a good scolding, and finally getting his allowance replenished, Chen Yihan opened his chat history with Yu Zhi.
He started to transfer the money but stopped halfway.
For some reason, the thought flashed through his mind: “If I just transfer the money like this, the conversation might end right here.”
He held his phone, motionless for a long time.
Unexpectedly, he remembered that dream again. The more he thought about it, the more tangled his thoughts became. His finger accidentally tapped Yu Zhi’s profile picture, immediately showing the “poked” notification.
Damn it!
The guy, who had been leaning back in his chair, abruptly sat up straight.
Why did I poke her? Who knows what she’ll think now! But after waiting for a long time, there was no response from the other side.
His already irritable mood seemed to grow even more agitated.
Yu Zhi really didn’t have time to deal with that poke.
It was a tradition in their dorm: one person buys clothes, and all four try them on. Besides, Yu Zhi had brought back several outfits, so everyone was now enthusiastically taking turns trying them on.
Liang Ruyan happened to be trying on the purple dress Yu Zhi had worn in the plotline. Their figures were similar, but Liang Ruyan was a bit fairer, so it looked even better on her.
She stood by the mirror, looking left and right, clearly extremely pleased.
“Yu Zhi, could I borrow this to wear tomorrow? I have a date.”
She probably knew the request was a bit too much to ask, so she pleaded in a coquettish tone.
Yu Zhi didn’t mind. She also knew that Liang Ruyan and her boyfriend were in a long-distance relationship, so meeting up wasn’t easy.
“Sure, go ahead and wear it.”
“Really? But you haven’t even worn it yet.”
Actually, she already had. Yu Zhi smiled. “It’s fine.”
Liang Ruyan happily hugged her, almost wanting to kiss her twice. “You’re really the best, babe! I’ll treat you to a meal later. Don’t worry, I know this dress is expensive. After I wear it, I’ll send it to the dry cleaners to get it cleaned.”
Yu Zhi didn’t refuse and simply agreed.
The next morning, she realized something was off—her throat was dry and itchy, her nose was a bit stuffy, and she felt groggy all through class.
Yu Zhi had always been in good health, usually brushing off minor illnesses, so this time she didn’t pay it much mind either. As soon as class ended, she went back to the dorm to sleep.
In the meantime, she received a message from Chen Yihan.
He asked if she had time to grab a meal together and return the money he owed her from yesterday.
Suppressing her discomfort, Yu Zhi replied, “I’m not feeling well. No need for the meal, and you don’t have to return the money either. After all, I rode in the car too, so I’ll cover the gas.”
A short while later, she first received a transfer from Chen Yihan.
“Take the money, we’re even. Next time, just say no if you want to refuse—no need to make excuses.”
Clearly, he thought Yu Zhi’s claim of not feeling well was just an excuse to brush him off.
Although Yu Zhi had indeed often done this in the past, this time it was real. The tiny bit of guilt she had started to feel vanished instantly. She turned off her phone and ignored him. What a jerk!
Liang Ruyan returned late that night. As soon as she entered, she rushed straight to Yu Zhi’s bed, gripping the railing at the edge and calling out to her.
“Yu Zhi, Yu Zhi, I have something hilarious to tell you.”
“Huh?” Yu Zhi propped herself up. She was feeling a bit better by now. “What is it?”
Liang Ruyan didn’t notice anything unusual about her at first, assuming she had just woken up, and continued excitedly, “You know how my boyfriend came over today? I was showing him around campus, and guess what happened?”
“What happened?”
“I ran into Chen Yihan and Zhong Shiyu. Both of them mistook me for you.”
“Huh?”
Yu Zhi’s foggy brain seemed unable to process this.
Even if she and Liang Ruyan had somewhat similar builds, surely it wasn’t that close, was it?
“You have no idea how it looked,” Liang Ruyan said, still amused just thinking about it. “I felt like I’d been caught cheating or something.”