[System]: Host, the current mission has failed.
A cold electronic voice rang in her ear. Si Yao subconsciously looked toward the car parked not far away, only to see the person inside roll down the window, then suddenly roll it back up.
The car quickly performed a U-turn and drove off, the movement crisp and decisive without a hint of hesitation.
“What’s going on…” Si Yao was bewildered. She had followed the system’s instructions perfectly, getting hit and injured on the path Ding Hongyuan was guaranteed to take so that the male lead could appear just in time for a “hero saves the beauty” moment. That was supposed to kick off a series of plans.
But now, she had failed before even starting; the mission failure notification popped up before they even met.
“Miss, are you alright?” The perpetrator quickly parked the bicycle and rushed over to help her up, a look of terror on his face as if he feared being extorted for high medical fees.
“I’m fine.” Si Yao stood up and calmly patted down her clothes. Fortunately, she hadn’t fallen into a puddle, or she would be soaked through.
Still, her current state wasn’t much better. Si Yao furrowed her brows in distaste.
She looked up at the man who hit her and said emotionlessly, “It was my fault for not paying attention while walking. It has nothing to do with you.”
She saw the man visibly relax. He asked a few more insincere follow-up questions, and after receiving the same answer, he scrambled onto his bike and fled.
The rain showed signs of stopping. To make the “hero saves the beauty” plan work, Si Yao hadn’t brought an umbrella. Now, looking at her own umbrella leaning against a wall dozens of meters away, she felt a sense of exhaustion.
She had precisely calculated the distance from the bicycle and how to implement a “bitter meat trap” (self-injury ruse) while ensuring her own safety, but exceptions always happen.
Just like tonight, her mission failed, and she encountered someone else.
Si Yao clutched her arm; it felt weak and stung at the slightest touch. She likely scraped it when she hit the ground, and her leg seemed bruised as well. Additionally, the temperature on a rainy night is always lower; the damp clothes clinging to her skin made her feel freezing.
She wanted to rest for a moment before slowly moving to retrieve her umbrella. Since she was already wet, a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.
Suddenly, the cold raindrops hitting her body vanished. Si Yao looked up to see a transparent umbrella canopy above her. For a split second, she thought the male lead had returned.
However, when she turned her head, she saw a strange face. It was a beautiful, bright face with slightly upturned phoenix eyes gazing intently at her. But that beautiful face held no expression, and the words spoken were even colder.
Yet, in this rainy night, they were the words her heart most wanted to hear.
The woman said: “Follow me home.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, both of them froze. Cang Xuehe blinked, not expecting herself to say something so forceful.
She had been hesitating whether to help, but when the system popped up telling her not to meddle in other people’s business, she learned the identity of this disheveled woman.
In the original book, this was Xiao Youyi—the “other woman” in Ding Hongyuan’s affair. She had no real depth; she was chosen by Ding Hongyuan for her beautiful face and excellent figure. She had surrendered under his intense pursuit. Later, upon discovering she was the mistress, she went through a period of inner turmoil but ultimately chose to forgive him because she was already pregnant.
It was all the scumbag’s fault!
At this point, Xiao Youyi wasn’t a mistress yet. Looking at the plot development, the two would likely hook up soon. However, now that the engagement between the two families had been canceled, even if they stayed together, it wouldn’t be anything scandalous.
After taking a closer look at the woman’s face, Cang Xuehe felt even more strongly that pairing such a beauty with a piece of trash like that man was a total waste of a masterpiece! In a moment of impulsiveness, she had walked over.
She grabbed the woman’s wrist, intending to lead her away, but the woman looked wary, her body tense as if in a state of high alert, unwilling to follow.
Cang Xuehe watched her as she seemed to think about something, then suddenly relaxed her posture and dropped her guard.
Cang Xuehe moved slightly and hailed a taxi, leading the person into the back seat.
The taxi drove smoothly along the road. On the other side of the street, a car was speeding so fast it nearly made its passengers vomit.
“Bro, why are you driving so fast? Is a ghost chasing you?” one of them said, patting the back of the seat. “Slow down! I’m gonna puke!”
“Holy crap! It’s that crazy woman Cang Xuehe! I have to stay far away from her!” Just catching a glimpse of that face from a distance triggered Ding Hongyuan’s fear, which was now etched into his DNA. He had thought he would finally be free after the engagement was broken, but his father—who had lost many partner companies and seen others acquired—blamed everything on him. This made the mere mention of the name “Cang Xuehe” make his scalp tingle with dread.
He never wanted to see her again in this lifetime!
On one side was a brightly lit car interior; on the other was the dim, narrow, and shadowy cabin of the taxi.
Cang Xuehe sat with her back straight, staring fixedly at the back of the front passenger seat.
The car was silent. Perhaps because it was too quiet, the driver turned on the radio. The voice of the radio host softened the atmosphere slightly.
After getting into the car, Cang Xuehe felt a bit of regret and embarrassment. This “mistress” was beautiful, certainly, but bringing a person home out of the blue—two women alone together…
Furthermore, a woman who would so easily follow a stranger home didn’t seem like a “proper” woman, especially with her “mistress” track record in the original book.
The more she thought about it, the more awkward it felt.
Amidst her thoughts, she suddenly felt her palm go empty. Only then did she realize she was still clutching Xiao Youyi’s hand. As a lifelong single “dog,” she felt a delayed wave of bashfulness.
“Um, how about I just send you back to your place?” After hesitating, Cang Xuehe decided to give up on the plan of taking her home.
Unexpectedly, a sharp, low chuckle came from the shadows of the car, carrying a trace of imperceptible disdain. “Didn’t Miss Cang say she wanted me to go home with her? Are you afraid?”
These words dispelled Cang Xuehe’s doubts. She immediately retorted, “Who’s afraid?! We’re going, then. As for you, you’d better behave!”
Si Yao was very satisfied with Cang Xuehe’s reaction. A few minutes ago, she had suddenly seen progress bars appear above Cang Xuehe’s head—something that only appears for key characters. Both bars were currently gray at 0% progress.
She guessed the person in front of her was likely the legendary female lead. Her recent taunt confirmed the identity; by acknowledging the title “Miss Cang,” the woman proved she was exactly the person Si Yao needed to max out the “disgust” (hatred) value for.
There was no progress on Ding Hongyuan’s side for now. Since she had encountered the female lead, Si Yao decided to follow Cang Xuehe home and wait for an opportunity.
“Disgust” points were much easier to farm than “affection” points. Only a woman knows exactly which buttons to press to annoy another woman. If she could max out Cang Xuehe’s disgust value, she wouldn’t have to deal with a member of the opposite sex she had zero interest in.
Thinking that she could return to the real world soon, Si Yao couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.
…
Cang Xuehe had moved out of her family home long ago and lived alone. She had a guest bedroom that was cleaned weekly, so bringing a stranger back wasn’t a huge issue.
Only—
Cang Xuehe glanced at the person next to her through the elevator mirror. Despite the woman’s clothes being soaked and looking out of place in the clean elevator, she stood perfectly straight without a hint of embarrassment.
She couldn’t see clearly on the road earlier, but now the elevator was brightly lit—clear enough to capture her every frown and smile. She wasn’t old, likely in her early twenties.
As if sensing her gaze, the other woman suddenly turned toward her, her lips curling into a slightly mocking smile.
Xiao Youyi felt like two completely different people depending on whether she was smiling. When she wasn’t smiling, she looked cold; but when she did, it was like the melting of a frozen river in spring, possessing an unconscious allure. This sudden smile caused Cang Xuehe’s heart to skip a beat, her mind momentarily going blank.
[Cang Xuehe’s Affection Level UP]
Si Yao: “…”
Her smile froze. She had noticed long ago that Cang Xuehe was staring at her with a look similar to the probing gaze men gave her, though it was better in the sense that it lacked any offensive intent.
It was more like the look of a starstruck fan.
Si Yao naturally wasn’t going to pass up this perfect opportunity to farm “disgust” points. Few women enjoy being caught losing their composure by another woman. With the intent to mock, she had turned and smiled at Cang Xuehe.
…She hadn’t expected it to increase her affection level.
Si Yao stared at the progress bar as it turned from gray to red, stopping at 1%. Her eyelid twitched, and she faced forward again, acting as if nothing had happened.
As her heartbeat stabilized, Cang Xuehe felt more and more that something was wrong. She couldn’t let Xiao Youyi suppress her momentum—in this world, she was the great Miss Cang, standing above thousands!
She steadied herself and asked, “What is your name?”
Although Cang Xuehe already knew exactly who she was, they were technically meeting for the first time. she had to keep up appearances. If anyone found out she was a transmigrator, they’d likely think she was insane.
Moreover, if the Cang parents discovered their daughter had been replaced, they would never let her off. She had to keep the secret of her transmigration under wraps.
“Xiao Youyi.”
Cang Xuehe nodded. “Oh. I am Cang Xuehe.”
“I know you,” Xiao Youyi said. “The matter between you and Ding Hongyuan is known throughout the city.”
At the mention of that name, Cang Xuehe immediately snapped to full attention. It wasn’t strange to hear the name from others, but the person in front of her was Ding Hongyuan’s future mistress!
Could it be… they had already met?
Cang Xuehe’s expression turned peculiar.
Ding—
The elevator reached the floor, breaking the eerie silence.
On the way to the apartment, Cang Xuehe made a decision: she was going to save this ignorant young girl from losing herself to that scumbag! Even though her own engagement with Ding Hongyuan was canceled, the man was no good; even if he stayed with Xiao Youyi, he would likely cheat again.
“How old are you?” Cang Xuehe asked casually while opening the door.
“…”
Mentioning her age seemed to make Xiao Youyi reluctant to answer. After a moment of silence, she said, “21.”
“Aha, so you’re younger than me.” Cang Xuehe, being three years older, couldn’t help but lift her chin, putting on the air of an older sister. “You should call me ‘Sister’ (Jiejie).”
She then clearly heard two “He-he” sounds from Xiao Youyi’s nose—pure disdain.
Miss Cang was not happy.
She looked at Xiao Youyi, who remained calm with a maturity that didn’t match her age, and felt she couldn’t let a younger girl overpower her so easily.
She sat on the sofa, stretched out her long legs, crossed them, and turned on her full “boss” aura. “I can’t take you in for nothing.”
She expected Xiao Youyi to say something soft or pleading. Instead, after a brief silence, the woman took an action that caught her completely off guard.
“Oh?” Xiao Youyi responded indifferently. She casually brushed her hair back, her expression calm as she asked, “Meaning you want to sleep with me?”
As she spoke, her other hand began unbuttoning her shirt.