Zhao Zhenzhen, looking utterly unimpressed, found the Snake game genuinely entertaining.
She accidentally played until midnight. Fortunately, she suddenly remembered the $5,000 bill and quickly went to sleep.
The next morning, she was again woken by the sound of Kate’s footsteps passing by outside her door, along with the faint sounds of washing up.
Zhao Zhenzhen sat up, hugging her blanket, and let out a sigh.
Back when she used to binge-watch American TV dramas, she only thought the little American houses looked so nice—especially a plot point she’d once seen that had truly opened her eyes.
In America, you could order a house just like ordering a dollhouse!
Buyers would pick their preferred floor plan in advance, and then the company would assemble it, load the entire house onto a massive truck, and deliver it straight to the destination.
Plop it down on an empty plot of land, and a beautiful little house makes its grand debut!
How fun and fast was that?
It wasn’t until she actually moved into one that she realized these houses had a mountain of problems.
Unfortunately, these building-block-style houses, because of their low cost and quick construction, were extremely common in America’s rapidly developing economy.
A dozen or more could go up overnight.
Not only did the wood and drywall construction provide zero soundproofing, but the insulation was also terrible.
The original owner had been born in Hong Kong and lived there her whole life. When her scumbag father kicked her out to study in New York, she didn’t even have a single thick winter coat.
Even though she’d worked and helped out in the family restaurant since she was young, she was still just a sixteen-year-old kid. How could she have thought of all that?
On top of that, her stepmother was sweet on the surface but bitter underneath—she’d shipped the girl off to New York and then completely washed her hands of her, never bothering to warn her in advance.
If it hadn’t been for Mrs. Dalins and Kate giving the original owner some clothes they couldn’t wear themselves, it was anyone’s guess whether the girl would have survived the winter.
Zhao Zhenzhen hugged her blanket and let her thoughts drift for a while.
Only when she could no longer hear the sounds of washing did she throw off the covers, get out of bed, and head out to wash up.
If she ever got the chance, she would definitely vent that anger on the original owner’s behalf.
Zhao Zhenzhen stared at the mirror while brushing her teeth, thinking to herself.
Kate drove her again as usual.
But today’s breakfast was much more substantial than yesterday’s.
A sandwich filled with bacon, fried eggs, and fresh vegetables. Before she left, Mrs. Dalins even handed Zhao Zhenzhen a bottle of cola.
It reminded Zhao Zhenzhen of the time she’d just gotten her first paycheck.
On the way, she took the opportunity to check Kate’s virtual panel.
She confirmed the panel had leveled up again.
The relationship map had expanded.
Yesterday, Kate’s relationship map only had her grandparents, parents, and herself.
Now, her uncle White had been added.
On her father’s side, relatives had also been added—Kate’s uncle and aunt.
But they probably weren’t very close, because their connecting lines were faint dotted lines, while White’s was a bold solid line.
There were even sections for close friends and romantic partners.
Zhao Zhenzhen glanced at the boyfriend slot on Kate’s panel. Her eyes lingered for two extra seconds on the name, which had the suffix (first love) specifically marked next to it.
She was a bit surprised: Was the power of a first love really that strong?
…She didn’t get it.
Zhenzhen was puzzled, destined to be alone forever.
Besides that, two new sections had appeared: [Health] and [Today’s Fortune].
Kate’s health showed a deep green. Zhao Zhenzhen tried tapping it, and a small notification popped up: [Healthy, but be sure to consume enough calories. Your satiety is currently at 60%. Please beware of malnutrition.]
Zhao Zhenzhen clicked her tongue.
“What’s wrong?” Kate glanced at Zhao Zhenzhen with a smile while driving, raising an eyebrow. “Are you secretly doing a fortune reading on me?”
“See anything? Tell me about it?” Kate asked curiously.
As a working person, she also wanted to pray for a bit of good luck that day.
If her luck was mediocre, Zhao could at least remind her to avoid trouble in advance!
When she came back last night, Zhao was already asleep, but her mother could barely contain her excitement as she told Kate about how Zhao had been telling fortunes at her stall.
Kate got excited just listening to it.
So when she noticed Zhao Zhenzhen seemed to be secretly divining her fortune, she was happy and full of anticipation.
Luckily, her interface had been upgraded and now had a “Today’s Fortune” feature.
“Then I’ll say a few words.” Zhao Zhenzhen squinted her eyes, pretending to do some finger-counting, looking like she was just playing around. “You’ll have a full and busy day today. Though there might be some minor hiccups, they’ll all be other people’s problems that spill over onto you—nothing to do with you. Just keep a level head and be yourself.
But remember to constantly remind yourself to be cautious. Details determine success or failure.
Your lucky color today is pink. If you can carry some candy with you, it might bring you an unexpected surprise.”
“Pink?” Kate immediately looked down to check if she was wearing anything pink that day.
It scared Zhao Zhenzhen into breaking out in a cold sweat. “Watch the road!”
Kate gave an awkward laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve been driving since I was fifteen.”
Zhao Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and went straight for the mystical approach. “Did you forget the fortune-telling just now? Remember to constantly remind yourself to be cautious. Details determine success or failure.”
Kate immediately turned serious. “You’re right.”
Zhao Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment. She hadn’t expected it to work that well.
This probably had the same effect as “he’s bad luck for you.”
After Zhao Zhenzhen got out of the car, Kate followed her out too.
She waved at Zhao Zhenzhen. “Come on, let me buy you a coffee.”
“No thanks. At my age, I’m at the stage where I can fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow—no coffee needed.” Zhao Zhenzhen said. “Buy me something else instead.”
Kate was amused by Zhao Zhenzhen’s remark. Why had she never noticed Zhao was this witty and funny before?
How strange.
“I want this pink cup.” After Kate ordered her drink, she said to the server, then pointed at the display case. “And this donut. I want the pink one.” Kate emphasized. “And those fruit candies too—give me some of the pink-packaged ones.”
“…” Zhao Zhenzhen.
So buying her a drink was a lie—she’d actually come here to stock up on pink things.
When Kate handed her the drink and the two left the shop, Zhao Zhenzhen teased, “You might as well just buy a pink accessory. Pink is your lucky color this week anyway.”
In the end, Kate left carrying a pile of pink items, wearing a thoughtful expression.
When they arrived at the filming set, they quickly threw themselves into the busy shooting schedule.
Before they knew it, the whole morning had passed. It wasn’t until Kate sat down off to the side that she belatedly realized this was the first time she’d sat down to rest all morning.
Sure enough, just as Zhao had said—full and busy.
When the director and the lead creators got into an argument over the filming in the afternoon, she stood off to the side with the other crew members, arms crossed, silently nodding to herself.
—Called it again. It really was other people’s problems spilling over onto her.
“What are you doing?” The cameraman found it odd that Kate was nodding thoughtfully with a deep expression on her face.
“Nothing.” Kate glanced at him, pretending to be nonchalant. “Just had my fortune told briefly today. Turns out everything she said came true.”
This topic was far more interesting than the argument.
Kate was already standing in the middle of the crowd, and when someone overheard, they immediately struck up a conversation with her.
The shared topic quickly brought people closer, and Kate even managed to exchange contact information with several people.
She raised the pink coffee cup in her hand and said with a smile, “The fortune-telling said pink is my lucky color lately, and told me to carry some candy on me—said there might be an unexpected surprise. Isn’t it coming true right now?”
The others laughed and nodded in agreement.
But the photographer who had first struck up a conversation with Kate secretly curled his lip.
Fortune-telling? Coming true? That was ridiculous.
He grumbled inwardly, silently rebutting everything Kate had just said.
Busy and fulfilling? Please—who isn’t busy when the crew is racing against the shooting schedule?
As for being affected by other people’s problems—if he really wanted to take things personally, he could find a dozen examples a day. Every single one would fit, believe it or not.
And pink being her lucky color? …Tsk, women’s money sure is easy to make.
The photographer clicked his tongue in silent disdain.
“Bang!” Something hit the ground, followed by screams and commotion.
“She fainted! Quick, quick! Move aside, don’t crowd around!”
The photographer realized the one who fainted was the screenwriter he was close to, and his face changed as he rushed over.
She was pale, eyes tightly shut. The director was holding her, calling her name while patting her cheeks.
“This is low blood sugar, isn’t it?” Someone recognized the signs.
The director immediately asked, “Who has candy? Who?!”
Well… these were all actors—who would carry candy?
Even the coffee was all iced Americanos.
“I do.” Kate raised her hand, running over while fumbling for the candy. “I have fruit hard candies, will those work?”
The director saw that the photographer was just standing there dumbfounded, staring at Kate without thinking to take the candy. So he grabbed it himself, unwrapped one, and popped it into the screenwriter’s mouth.
Before long, the screenwriter woke up.
She hadn’t just skipped lunch—she hadn’t even eaten breakfast.
“Good thing you brought candy.” The screenwriter smiled at Kate.
“I just brought it along casually.” Kate pressed the remaining candies into the screenwriter’s hand. “Here, take them all. I think you need them more than I do. But don’t skip meals anymore—that was too dangerous just now. Good thing there was a mat next to you.”
The soft mat used for the explosion scene just happened to be placed there and caught her perfectly. Otherwise, surrounded by equipment as she was, she could have hit her head if she’d fallen—that would have been a real problem.
“You’re the lead screenwriter—without you, the whole production would grind to a halt.” Kate flattered her, half in jest, half in earnest.
“It’s not that exaggerated.” The screenwriter laughed. “I was just too busy and didn’t pay attention, so I forgot. It won’t happen again.”
She was still shaken herself.
Right where she’d fainted, there was glass!
Thinking about that, the screenwriter’s fondness for Kate shot up. Seeing that Kate had a decent appearance too, she formed the intention of getting to know her better and proactively asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”
Kate’s eyes lit up. “Kate, Kate Wyne.”
The screenwriter nodded, pulling out her phone. “Let’s exchange contact info.”
Kate was, of course, more than willing!
Zhao’s fortune-telling was spot on. Kate clutched her phone, beaming as she headed off to work.
Pink really was her lucky color!
Before filming began, the photographer went to find the screenwriter, holding his beloved camera in his hand. “You wanted to see me?”
The screenwriter tilted her head slightly, and the photographer knew she had something to say to him. He leaned his ear in.
“Make sure you shoot Kate well later,” the screenwriter said.
“Who?” the photographer asked.
“Kate Wyne.” The screenwriter sounded exasperated. “The one who gave me the candy just now.”
Afraid the photographer still didn’t know who she meant, she added, “The one holding a pink coffee cup right now.”
When she finished and the photographer still didn’t make a sound, the screenwriter found it strange. She turned her head and saw his face twisted into a peculiar expression.
How to put it…
Just like holding in a fart and not daring to let it out.
“What? You have a grudge against her?” the editor thought. If there was a grudge, they’d let it go this time. They could find another opportunity to repay Kate’s favor later.
The photographer snapped back to reality. “No.” He stood up and patted the side of his leg. “Got it.”
“Thanks.”
The photographer made an “OK” gesture and left.
Catching sight of Kate when she was free, the photographer nonchalantly strolled over to her side. Kate had just finished filming and was taking off her white coat, not noticing him.
The photographer had no choice but to clear his throat twice.
“Hey… it’s you.” Kate smiled in greeting. “I’m off work now. What about you?”
The photographer shook his head. “Still have to shoot.”
“Alright.” Kate shrugged and raised a hand in a gesture. “I’m off, then. You keep busy.”
Seeing this, the photographer quickly spoke up. “By the way.”
Kate turned her head to look at him.
The photographer glanced around, feigning casualness. “I heard you mention fortune-telling earlier. Where did you find that fortune-teller?”
After saying this, he quickly glanced at Kate and explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not really interested in that sort of thing. But I have a friend who’s been needing some consultation in that area lately.”
“?” Kate was puzzled.
She hadn’t even asked him.