“Something urgent came up in City B. I’m leaving first.”
The room was empty. Wen Zhao stood at the door, dazed for a few seconds. She scanned the room once before finally finding this sticky note on the headboard.
Clutching the note, Wen Zhao was puzzled as to why Zheng Miaoning hadn’t just sent her a message.
[Did something big happen?]
[If there’s any trouble, contact me. Even if I can’t help, it’s good to have someone listen.]
Wen Zhao was confused, but Wen Zhao didn’t ask.
She sat on the edge of the cold bed. It took a long time for her dry, vacant eyes to move again.
Perhaps this was for the best; Wen Zhao no longer had to make a choice.
“Your timing is impeccable, isn’t it? Truly worthy of being the female lead.” Under the streetlight, Wen Qian’s eyes flickered with mockery.
Zheng Miaoning’s figure emerged from the corner, her expression blank. “I told you, I don’t need you interfering anymore. Stay away from her.”
In the dead of night, even her thin, ordinary clothes couldn’t hide Zheng Miaoning’s overbearing arrogance.
Wen Qian looked her up and down with an unfriendly gaze.
Finally, Wen Qian gave a light snort. “What’s the point of telling me? She trusts me. Go tell her yourself—tell her you knew who I was all along, that I’m unreliable. Go on. If you could have patched up the lies you’ve told, you would have gone already.”
Zheng Miaoning’s slender eyebrows knitted tightly.
“Don’t bother trying to provoke me; I’ve never considered you an opponent anyway,” Zheng Miaoning sneered, her expression provocative and utterly dismissive.
A chauffeur-driven van was waiting at the roadside. Zheng Miaoning had stayed until now only to give Wen Qian one warning: “Don’t think I don’t know why she left me or why she agreed to help Qin Zhuyu. If there is a next time, I will tell her everything personally and see whether she believes me or you.”
She didn’t even give Wen Qian a chance to respond.
As the van sped away, the smile on Wen Qian’s lips gradually froze. She glared resentfully at the license plate, then looked up. The light on the third floor was still on.
“So what? She’s still leaving with me tomorrow.”
Wen Zhao checked out a night early and packed her luggage overnight. Early the next morning, she sent her reply to “Wen Qian.”
The response came quickly: [I’m here.]
Wen Zhao was surprised.
She couldn’t understand why, since they had already recognized each other, the System still insisted on contacting her using Wen Qian’s identity. Surely it would be more convenient to just float over.
Besides…
“You’re coming with me too?” Wen Zhao dragged her small suitcase, looking at Wen Qian in front of her with confusion.
Wen Qian said, “Is there a problem?”
“But,” Wen Zhao stood up straight, her expression very serious, “if you leave like this, what happens to the real Wen Qian’s internship?”
…So that was what she was worried about.
Wen Qian couldn’t help but chuckle, then said good-naturedly, “You forgot who I am again. I—her internship certificate, her spring recruitment resume, I’ve prepared all of that. I only occupied her body after reaching an agreement with her.”
Can you even negotiate things like that?
Wen Zhao still had doubts, but seeing that System-Wen Qian had no intention of answering, she tactfully changed the subject. “So, where are you planning to take me?”
Yesterday, Wen Qian said she would take her to find the reason behind Zheng Miaoning’s abnormal situation.
“City B.”
Wen Zhao: “…?”
If it had said so just one day earlier, Wen Zhao felt she could have caught Zheng Miaoning’s private jet back.
“But,” Wen Zhao tried to be diplomatic, “didn’t you want me to avoid Xiao Ning?”
The System gave her a sideways glance and countered, “But, don’t you really want to be with her?”
“Oh, so you’re still angry.”
Having figured out what the System was thinking, Wen Zhao actually relaxed and dared to smile. It was her fault for breaking her word and failing to keep her promise; it was only natural for the System to be angry.
The System didn’t have many opportunities to spend long periods of time with Wen Zhao, so it didn’t understand what she was so happy about.
Almost all the main plot points of the book occurred in City B; it would be difficult for the System to help Wen Zhao avoid them. It wasn’t like Songping County—a small, nameless place. Even if the whole county were destroyed by a natural disaster, no person of importance would care.
Before leaving, Wen Qian looked back once.
At this time of year, tickets were easy to buy. The two of them took a bumpy bus ride all the way to the city and bought two tickets at the high-speed rail station.
Eight hours in a seated carriage.
Wen Zhao’s face turned pale the moment she got the tickets. She didn’t understand why the System insisted on taking the high-speed train instead of flying.
But since the tickets were already bought, Wen Zhao didn’t plan to say anything. It was only eight hours; she could endure it. Wen Zhao’s greatest skill was endurance. She was the type of person who could simultaneously raise a Beagle and a Cow Cat—a supreme master of patience.
Wen Zhao’s seat was F, and the System’s was D.
Seat D wasn’t as quiet as F. Seeing the System frown several times because of passing passengers, Wen Zhao gently nudged her and offered to swap seats. The System indeed detested crowded settings and didn’t force herself to endure it. Whenever there were too many people, she couldn’t help but think of those “disobedient children” chirping at her for gear and permissions.
A girl in seat B of the same row stood in the aisle, hesitating to enter. Wen Zhao looked over curiously. It turned out the passenger in the aisle seat was already asleep.
The girl looked to be about college-aged. Standing in the aisle, her hands fidgeted nervously at her sides.
Wen Zhao was about to speak up directly, but fearing it might be awkward for the girl if she woke the other passenger, she first caught the girl’s wandering eyes and asked in a low voice, “Do you need me to help wake him up for you?”
“Um, yes.” The girl flinched nervously at first, then relaxed because Wen Zhao’s gaze was so calm and gentle, nodding hesitantly.
Having received the signal for help, Wen Zhao immediately reached out and shook the arm of the passenger in seat C. “Hello, could you please let this young lady get to her seat?”
The middle-aged man was very easy to talk to. Speaking with a friendly, rustic accent from a neighboring province, he apologized to the girl and hurriedly stood up to let her in.
Wen Zhao sat back in her seat in a good mood.
As the high-speed train passed through a tunnel, Wen Zhao’s ears felt uncomfortable. she quickly put on her headphones, leaning back against the seat to rest her eyes. She soon discovered that no matter what time it was, she felt much better the moment she closed her eyes.
She fell asleep.
With Zheng Miaoning leaving without a word, such abnormal behavior made it impossible for Wen Zhao not to worry; she hadn’t slept well at all the night before.
The two had entered the station after lunch. When Wen Zhao woke up, she happened to catch the sunset. Instinctively, she held up her phone to take a photo.
The phone camera couldn’t capture even a ten-thousandth of the sunset’s beauty. Just as she excitedly thought about sending it to a certain someone, she took one look at the full-sized photo and immediately lost interest, exiting the app.
The girl across the aisle was staring at her with burning eyes. Wen Zhao turned her head.
During the time she was asleep, that girl had swapped seats with the man in seat C.
Since their eyes met, Wen Zhao couldn’t very well ignore her, so she gave her a small smile. This smile immediately opened the girl’s floodgates of conversation.
Zheng Pingchun asked straightforwardly, “Sister, can I add your contact info?”
Wen Zhao glanced back at Wen Qian, nodded, and showed her QR code. The other party quickly sent a friend request.
Zheng Pingchun.
What a coincidence.
Wen Zhao froze for a moment. After deliberating for a while, she still sent her real name over. Since the other party had shared theirs, it would seem insincere if she didn’t.
[Zheng Pingchun: Sister, thank you for helping me out earlier.]
[It was nothing, just a small favor.]
Afterward, the phone buzzed a few more times. Wen Zhao decisively hit the mute button and closed her eyes to pretend to sleep.
Wen Zhao was very afraid of meeting new people, especially those who were overly enthusiastic in conversation. The original Wen Qian was one, and Zheng Pingchun was another.
Furthermore, the System beside her kept its head down, playing with its phone as if it had no idea what was happening on Wen Zhao’s side. From this, Wen Zhao picked up a hint of something unusual.
She might have misunderstood the System. Perhaps the System wasn’t actually an admirer.
Wen Zhao only dared to say this to herself in her heart.
It was around 10:00 PM when they arrived in City B. Wen Zhao stayed close to the System the whole way. Zheng Pingchun didn’t initiate any more conversation, much to Wen Zhao’s relief.
“Do you want to stay at my place?” Wen Zhao asked the System as they stood outside the station.
Wen Zhao had bought herself a small two-bedroom apartment. The second bedroom had always been empty. If the System didn’t want to stay in a dormitory, she was willing to take her in for a while.
The System almost agreed. Then, thinking of that mad dog Zheng Miaoning, she painfully refused. If Zheng Miaoning found out she was living with Wen Zhao, she could bet her life that within an hour, Zheng Miaoning wouldn’t be able to help herself and would come charging over, ruining all plans.
“No need, but I have something to remind you.”
Because she was so serious, Wen Zhao turned solemn as well. “Alright, go ahead.”
“No matter what news appears on the trending searches or in the newspapers tomorrow, don’t be surprised. More importantly, do not contact Zheng Miaoning—not for the time being.”
The System said this with a dark expression. Although she and Zheng Miaoning didn’t get along, Zheng Miaoning had indeed helped her a great deal. Her goal in bringing Wen Zhao back this time was to help Zheng Miaoning get through a difficult hurdle.
Wen Zhao thought of that stranger’s surname. Since the System had said so, she could only nod.
In truth, the plot points Wen Zhao had written herself were already over. When she first started writing, she never thought about how to end it, nor did she understand things like core tropes or character designs. Her passion had been exhausted after writing a flurry of scenes about Zheng Miaoning’s arrogant and unrestrained student days.
After Wen Zhao transmigrated in, the few remaining pieces of the established plot had veered so far off course they were unrecognizable. Over the past few years, Wen Zhao had almost forgotten about the issue of the “plot.” Every day, she was busy coaxing Qin Zhuyu or thinking about Zheng Miaoning; she hadn’t realized the world-line plot had almost stagnated.
Or rather, when one is living in it, the countless small things that make up life are called “living,” not a “plot.”
Back at her own home, Wen Zhao lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She wondered if Zheng Miaoning was sleeping well. She wondered what exactly Zheng Miaoning would face tomorrow.
Worried and anxious, Wen Zhao couldn’t fall asleep at all. She only managed to drift off when the first light of dawn appeared.
When she opened her eyes, it was almost noon. Wen Zhao sat up abruptly, and her unhealthy body immediately protested the sudden movement. After a bout of dizziness, her first thought wasn’t about how to soothe her hunger or her mood. She pulled out her phone and immediately clicked on the trending search list of a certain app.
Unusually, today’s top spot wasn’t an entertainment scandal.
#Zheng Family Second Miss
The tag was followed by a large, red “EXPLOSIVE” icon.
Second Miss?
Wen Zhao was so angry her brain felt foggy. She had never created such a setting; how could there be a “Second Miss”?
Zheng Pingchun.
For no reason at all, Wen Zhao thought of that name again. And the girl with that name, whose facial features bore a slight resemblance to Zheng Lihui and Xu Hexuan.
Inside the Zheng Manor.
“So, this is the gift you have for me?” Zheng Miaoning sat on the sofa, fiddling with a teacup. She didn’t look at Zheng Pingchun, nor did she address her parents with respectful titles.
Xu Hexuan pushed Zheng Pingchun forward a few steps, her face full of smiles. “Pingchun, hurry and call her ‘Sister’.”
“Didn’t you always hope for a sibling since you were little? Now that you’ve actually met your sister, why aren’t you happy, Ningning?” Zheng Lihui set down his teacup. Seeing the awkwardness of his wife and youngest daughter, he immediately applied verbal pressure.
Zheng Miaoning had experienced scenes like this countless times. She could now accurately predict exactly what each person was about to say.
Yet, she was still furious.
Zheng Miaoning shifted her gaze from the teacup and looked directly at Zheng Lihui, slowly breaking into a smile. “So, Father, you think I should be happy, is that it?”
From start to finish, she hadn’t given Zheng Pingchun a single glance. Whether Zheng Pingchun was at fault, Zheng Miaoning didn’t know, but Zheng Lihui and Xu Hexuan were certainly in the wrong.
“Ningning…” Xu Hexuan called her name in a low voice.
Only then did Zheng Miaoning spare the mother and daughter a glance. Seeing Zheng Pingchun’s face, Zheng Miaoning suddenly laughed, following their lead with a sentence: “Welcome, Second Miss Zheng.”
Upon seeing her, Zheng Miaoning finally realized just how much “favoritism” Wen Zhao had shown her.