Yunding Vacation Resort was located twenty kilometers outside A City. In order to arrive early, Su Youtian had no choice but to get dragged out of bed by Shen Haolin first thing in the morning.
Still half asleep and carrying several bags, she stumbled downstairs only to see Shen Haolin leaning against the car door.
Today he was dressed casually, as though he had carefully styled himself on purpose. There was even a faint trace of cologne lingering around him.
Wanting to leave a good impression on Su Youtian, he deliberately struck a charming pose. But after taking one look at her, the smile on his face nearly cracked.
“Sheng Xia… are you really that cold?”
As he spoke, he even looked up at the blazing sun overhead, huge as a bowl.
Su Youtian had wrapped a plain-colored scarf around her head. Her palm-sized face was tightly covered by a mask, leaving only a pair of bright eyes darting around through the gaps.
And that was not all. She wore a pure white dress with a cape-style cloak over it, wrapping herself up so completely that not a single breeze could get through. She looked exactly like an arctic fox drying its fur beneath the sun.
It was cute, but was she really not hot?
Su Youtian waved her hand.
“This is sun protection.”
【Stop struggling. No matter how much you cover yourself, Yuan Wei will still recognize you.】
Su Youtian: Surrendering is impossible. Impossible in this lifetime!
Shen Haolin laughed helplessly.
“Alright, I really don’t understand girls.”
Su Youtian wrapped her clothes tighter around herself. After putting her things into the trunk, she had just been about to get into the car when a delicate voice called out behind her:
“Sheng Xia!”
Su Youtian turned around and saw Yin Shan approaching her with a smile, dressed in a white dress that fluttered lightly in the breeze.
Walking up beside her, Yin Shan brushed her black hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly.
“Sheng Xia, where are you going?”
Su Youtian’s gaze swept over Yin Shan’s narrow waist and her bare legs, and she inwardly clicked her tongue twice.
“Ah, going out to have fun.”
Yin Shan blinked her big eyes and shook Su Youtian’s arm.
“If you’re going out to play, why didn’t you invite me?”
Su Youtian tucked in her chin and slowly turned a pair of dead fish eyes toward Shen Haolin.
Standing upright, Shen Haolin’s gaze swept over Yin Shan before he smiled.
“And this is…?”
Su Youtian replied, “A friend, Yin Shan.”
Shen Haolin’s eyes practically scanned Yin Shan’s face like laser beams. Embarrassed, Yin Shan tilted her head slightly away.
“A friend of Sheng Xia’s is a friend of mine. If you don’t mind, you can come with us. Yunding Resort isn’t far away anyway. It’ll be livelier with one more person.”
Yin Shan naturally knew of Yunding Resort. Her eyes immediately brightened, but she did not rush to agree. Instead, she smiled and said:
“How could I impose like that? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient with me tagging along?”
As she spoke, her large eyes glanced subtly toward Su Youtian.
Shen Haolin also seemed to realize his invitation might have been too abrupt. What if Sheng Xia got angry? Carefully, he looked toward Su Youtian.
Su Youtian said nothing. She merely exposed her makeup-free face, pale and plain-looking without cosmetics.
Shen Haolin immediately made the decision.
“What’s inconvenient about it? It’ll be good for you and Sheng Xia to keep each other company.”
Su Youtian: “……”
【Host, please share your thoughts.】
“Heh. Men.”
Along the way, Shen Haolin constantly told pointless jokes to amuse them. Yin Shan laughed with a silver-bell-like voice, while Su Youtian stretched her neck and gave a few dry chuckles before expressionlessly turning her head away.
When they arrived at the resort, Su Youtian was instantly stunned by the scenery before her.
Nearby was a jade-green lake. Four or five pleasure boats floated leisurely across the surface like resting waterbirds spreading their bright feathers. On the island at the center of the lake, a white building reflected across the water in a shimmering line. Further away, dense trees encircled the island like a giant hand clasping it tightly within its grip.
A cool breeze drifted across the lake. Su Youtian quickly pulled down her mask and took a huge gulp of fresh air.
Even the system could not bear to watch anymore.
【The plot cannot be avoided. The more you struggle like this, the more the one suffering will still be you.】
Su Youtian touched her burning-hot face.
“If you really feel sorry for me, then stop with the empty sympathy. I’ll just lie flat and let Yuan Wei abuse me without fighting back.”
【That’s not up to me.】
Not the system?
Then who was it?
Su Youtian realized something, but no matter how much she pressed further, the system fell silent again.
Shen Haolin led the two girls onto a pleasure boat. The moment Su Youtian looked up, she saw a rich young man standing there. He wore sunglasses, his hair neatly combed back, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. His calves looked even slimmer than a girl’s.
“Haolin, what took you so long? The guys have been waiting forever!”
Shen Haolin smiled.
“I brought some friends along, so we got delayed a little.”
The man lowered his head slightly and peered over the top of his sunglasses at Su Youtian and Yin Shan.
“Well damn, man. Didn’t know you had it in you. Bringing two girls at once?”
Knowing he had misunderstood, Shen Haolin glanced awkwardly at Su Youtian.
“They’re both just friends.”
Then he introduced everyone.
“This is Fang Cheng, my childhood friend. These two are Sheng Xia and Yin Shan.”
Yin Shan pursed her lips and nodded lightly. Su Youtian let out a slow grunt in response.
Without even raising his head properly, Fang Cheng casually nodded before clicking his tongue twice at Shen Haolin, clearly unwilling to let him off the hook.
“Just friends? Like hell I’d believe that from you.”
Shen Haolin smiled helplessly while Fang Cheng waved him off.
“Alright, alright. Let’s hurry inside.”
Swallowing his explanation back down, Shen Haolin looked apologetically at Su Youtian.
But Su Youtian was not even looking at him. She had curled herself up like a quail, leaving only her eyes exposed as they darted around like searchlights. It was as though she feared a hawk might suddenly swoop down and carry her away.
She was genuinely terrified that Yuan Wei would suddenly appear out of nowhere, followed by the system assigning her another bizarre mission.
A trace of disappointment crossed Shen Haolin’s face. His brows furrowed slightly before he suddenly heard a soft voice beside him.
“Don’t mind it. We came here to have fun. Being happy is what matters most.”
Turning around, Shen Haolin saw Yin Shan smiling sweetly at him with pursed lips.
Yin Shan looked youthful. Under the sunlight, her skin appeared dazzlingly fair, like a little white rabbit twitching its nose at him.
The crease between Shen Haolin’s brows eased somewhat. He nodded and gradually stopped paying attention to Su Youtian altogether.
【Host, if Shen Haolin falls for Yin Shan and the plot can no longer progress, I will punish you.】
Su Youtian froze. Turning her head, she saw Shen Haolin and Yin Shan gazing flirtatiously at each other as though no one else existed around them.
The pleasure boat slowly began moving. The distant green mountains gradually drew nearer, and faint birdsong could be heard drifting through the air.
Su Youtian thought to herself that this little girl truly was impressive. In just one morning, she had already managed to shake the cannon fodder male’s devotion toward the female supporting character. No wonder she became the final boss in the end.
She remembered that later in the story, Yin Shan rose to become a Best Actress winner and stood evenly matched against the female lead, Ni Qiuyu. Many readers had been shocked by the twist. Who would have thought that such an insignificant little cannon fodder character would eventually become the biggest boss of all?
In the original plot, Shen Haolin had indeed once been tempted by Yin Shan around this time. But Sheng Xia had relied on her overwhelming beauty to completely overshadow Yin Shan.
As a person, Sheng Xia had neither intelligence nor personality to speak of, but heaven had blessed her with exceptional beauty. In that regard, even the female lead could not compare to her. As long as she smiled charmingly, Shen Haolin would obediently crawl right back to her side.
Su Youtian touched her face, which was already red from the heat like a cooked shrimp, and sank into despair.
Even if the male lead did not abuse her to death, she would eventually self-destruct all on her own…
Standing at the front of the boat, Fang Cheng pointed toward Yin Shan.
“So that girl you’ve been chasing for over half a year is her, huh? Not bad taste.”
Shen Haolin glanced toward Yin Shan and smiled.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
But in the end, he never denied it.
The system said:
【Doesn’t this lake water look especially green today?】
Su Youtian reflexively touched the top of her head.
“But I didn’t wash my hair…”
The lakeside was quiet. Occasionally, one or two waterbirds would poke their heads out and stare fixedly toward the shore.
Suddenly, Yuan Wei jerked his head up out of the water. Droplets scattered beneath the sunlight like strings of pearls, splashing across the lake’s surface.
Running a hand through his wet hair, he slicked it back to reveal refined and handsome features. His eyes, freshly washed by the water, appeared especially bright, like polished jade hidden at the bottom of the lake.
Behind him, a small mutt darted out of its little nest, barking noisily at him.
The tension in Yuan Wei’s face softened, and even the slightly raised lip bead at the center of his upper lip relaxed with his smile.
The little dog was named Tuotuo. When Elder Wang first brought it home, it had been tiny and fluffy, just a little lump curled in his palm, which was how it got its name.
Since the lakeside was lonely and no one else was around to keep it company, it had simply stayed there.
While Elder Wang was away, someone had been entrusted to care for it, but judging from the way its fur had become matted into knots, the little thing clearly had not been doing very well these past few days.
Yuan Wei pulled out his lunchbox from his bag. The moment he opened the lid, even the simple potatoes and cabbage inside made the little dog drool and bark excitedly.
Squatting beside it, Yuan Wei picked out most of the vegetables from his lunchbox and placed them into the dog bowl.
Tuotuo lifted its neck and barked twice at him before wagging its little tail furiously and diving face-first into the bowl.
Yuan Wei rested a hand on the dog’s fluffy back. Thinking of something, his expression gradually softened with warmth.
In the distance, a supervisor with a beer belly approached while carrying a briefcase under one arm and a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
“Hey, you there! Yeah, you, come here for a second!”
Yuan Wei turned his head and saw the supervisor frowning at him.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. Hurry up and get over here!”
Startled by the shout, Tuotuo widened its dog eyes and looked over nervously.
Yuan Wei rubbed its head once before slowly standing up.
The supervisor half-lifted his eyelids and looked him up and down before snorting.
“You’re not working. What’re you doing over here?”
Yuan Wei walked over at an unhurried pace.
“To feed the dog.”
He was tall and lean. The moment he approached, he stood more than half a head taller than the supervisor, creating an inexplicable sense of pressure.
The supervisor swallowed, feeling oddly weak for a moment. He stretched his neck and puffed out his stomach.
“That dog needs you to feed it? Don’t think I can let you slack off just because I am not around!”
Yuan Wei said, “Oh.”
Oh?
The supervisor choked on his words. He had managed people for so many years and had encountered all kinds of personalities, but he had never met someone this completely unmoved by threats. If he had not been busy with something else, he would have taught him a proper lesson.
“I know you are standing in for Wang Zhimin. Let me tell you, if you do not work properly, he could lose this job!”
Yuan Wei finally raised his eyelids a little.
“Got it.”
The supervisor clenched his teeth and said bitterly, “Fine. Come with me. There are more guests here today, and things are hectic up front. You come help out.”
Yuan Wei turned around, picked up his bag, and followed behind him.
The supervisor did not have him change clothes. Instead, he brought him to the reception area on the island, where a young man in a suit was waiting. As soon as he saw them, he quickly came over.
“Brother Li.”
He smiled ingratiatingly.
Supervisor Li stood with his belly out and said seriously, “The boss’s guests are about to arrive. You two help carry the luggage inside. Be careful and do not damage anything.”
After Supervisor Li left, the young man pointed at the pleasure boat slowly approaching in the distance and said in a low voice, “See that? The people on that boat are friends of the new boss. I heard he brought his girlfriend this time. He has been chasing her for more than half a year. The young masters inside are all waiting to watch.”
After speaking, he looked at Yuan Wei.
Yuan Wei stood straight-backed, his gaze fixed on a patch of rippling water. A bird skimmed the surface, stirring up layer after layer of ripples.
The corner of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly.
Seeing that he had barely reacted, the young man could not help but curl his lips.
“You are really no fun.”
In the distance, the pleasure boat slowly grew larger in their view. The young man held his breath and squinted at it before saying resentfully, “Wow, that girl looks pretty good. These rich second-generation heirs really have it easy. Just a wave of the hand and girls come flocking over.”
Yuan Wei kept staring at the gently rippling lake and said nothing.
The young man rose slightly onto his toes and looked at the people on the boat, frowning.
“The girl in front looks good enough, but why is the one behind wrapped up like a mummy?”
Yuan Wei lifted his eyes slightly and looked toward the boat. One by one, the people on board began disembarking. There was one person wrapped up especially tightly, looking around furtively like a thief. Her bright eyes stood out sharply.
Yuan Wei suddenly lowered his head. His shimmering eyes looked like a lake shrouded in fog, becoming dim and unreadable.