Yu Jinyao was too normal.
So normal that she seemed completely out of place in this book world.
When Wen Jiayan heard her address Yu Haochuan by his full name, he was momentarily stunned.
Then he let out a cold laugh. “You think Yu Haochuan didn’t pay a price? Back then, he nearly lost his life. It was only because Sister Yinyin cried out for her father that the Wen family spared him.”
“Besides, Sister Yinyin can’t stand the sight of you and your mother, so the only way for you to atone is to stay by my side.”
Yu Jinyao looked at him with disgust. “I have no sins to atone for! Stop making a scene here!”
She still had to be Miss Xia’s sidekick—she didn’t have time to indulge Wen Jiayan’s nonsense.
“I’m making a scene?”
Wen Jiayan laughed in sheer exasperation. “I’m not negotiating with you. I’m informing you.”
His light-colored eyes were no longer gentle under the sunlight—they held nothing but bone-deep coldness.
“You’ll obediently stay by my side to comfort my aunt’s spirit in heaven. Only then will my anger subside, and your days ahead will be easier.”
The young man leaned down, closing the distance between them, his lashes nearly brushing against her face.
Yu Jinyao noticed his tall, straight nose—and a tiny mole on the side of it, near his eye.
He tilted his head slightly, his breath brushing against her ear as he spoke.
Yu Jinyao instinctively leaned back, but the seat was right behind her. There was nowhere to retreat.
“Sister Yaoyao, haven’t you already spent a semester at Xingyao Academy? You should know better than anyone—”
“—who’s really in charge there.”
A hint of despair crept into Yu Jinyao’s eyes.
She wasn’t a specially admitted student, but she was like a useless nobody who’d somehow been promoted to middle management.
She had to endure pressure from those above and gossip from those below.
She couldn’t blend in with the young masters and ladies at the top of the pyramid, nor could she earn the friendship or sympathy of the specially admitted students.
And now she might have to work two jobs.
Being a sidekick for both Miss Xia and Wen Jiayan!
Young Master Wen finally had the kindness to let her out of the car.
The handsome, elegant young man politely waved goodbye to her. The beautiful black rose sped off into the sunset, leaving behind a trail of expensive exhaust fumes.
[Plot Richness +1]
[Character Depth +1]
Hearing the System’s notification, the girl’s expression finally improved a little—at least she didn’t look quite so miserable anymore.
So this hadn’t been in the original plot.
She didn’t know why the original owner hadn’t been entangled by that lunatic Wen Jiayan, but she’d stirred up new waves in the storyline—turning misfortune into a blessing.
The tangled history between the Wen and Yu families had been filled in, and Wen Jiayan had evolved from a one-dimensional “gentle senior” into a madman with two faces.
Yu Jinyao adjusted her glasses and entered the apartment building.
She thought she might know how to do the task now.
…
Chen Xanyu withdrew his gaze and pulled the curtains shut.
He lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then timed his exit from the bedroom and went to the kitchen to wash vegetables.
When Yu Jinyao walked in, she happened to run into the man crossing the living room in an apron.
Their eyes met. Not greeting each other would have been awkward.
The girl gave him a slight nod and was about to hurry back to her room with her head down.
Chen Xanyu wiped his hands on his apron, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he overcame his psychological barrier and spoke up. “You…”
The girl paused mid-step.
“I’m making dinner. Would you like to join me?”
Once the words were out, the rest came more smoothly.
“I didn’t control the portions well today and steamed too much rice. It’d be a waste not to eat it.”
Yu Jinyao wanted to refuse, but just then, her stomach—empty all day—began to protest.
The girl’s ears flushed slightly as she whispered, “Then… thank you.”
Fortunately, the living room was quiet enough.
That voice, like a feather, drifted lightly onto his heart, stirring an itch.
Chen Xanyu was rarely caught off guard.
His large, slightly tanned hand instinctively gripped the apron tighter.
Yu Jinyao felt like they were two socially anxious strangers forcing themselves to make small talk.
“I-I’ll go change and come help you cook in a bit.”
She was just being polite. The male lead with his severe paranoia should have refused her.
But who would’ve thought? Chen Xanyu fell silent instead.
With no other choice, Yu Jinyao went back to her room to drop off her bag and change.
She picked out an oversized, shapeless pink hoodie, tied her hair into a low bun, and shuffled into the kitchen in slippers.
When Chen Xanyu turned and saw her even more disastrous outfit, he briefly doubted his own judgment.
A student who rode in a sports car worth over a hundred million and attended Xingyao Academy… could she really be a bumpkin sharing an apartment with others?
But he had indeed seen her get out of that black rose.
The man studied her face carefully, as if trying to see through her thick bangs and tacky black-rimmed glasses to her true self.
And that’s when he noticed—her skin seemed far too fair and delicate.
The sliver of neck revealed when she lowered her head looked like it was sculpted from snow.
The nose bridge holding up her glasses was straight and refined, the tip small and round.
Her lips were the most beautiful kind… rosy and full, as if ready to accept someone’s kiss at any moment.
Chen Xanyu, always so vigilant, found himself staring at her mouth again, lost in thought.
“Should these potatoes be diced or shredded?”
Yu Jinyao looked up and asked him.
Meeting those bright, clear eyes behind the lenses—black and white, sharply defined—Chen Xanyu snapped back to reality.
“Oh, diced.”
At the same time, he figured it out—
Maybe his roommate was a piece of raw jade, unpolished, with a beauty hidden beneath unremarkable clothing.
But what did her looks have to do with him, anyway?
He just didn’t want to keep playing extras anymore.
Of course, Yu Jinyao noticed his gaze.
But she wasn’t surprised at all, because she knew that Chen Xanyu was only worried she might tamper with the food to harm him.
Even though they were roommates, and even though she seemed like a simple, honest girl, and she was about to eat this meal with him too—seemingly with no motive to harm him at all—
He still couldn’t relax.
Normal, totally normal.
Enduring the man’s gaze, she calmly finished prepping the ingredients, then left all the stir-frying, boiling, and stewing to Chen Xanyu.
Soon, her stomach, empty all day, was filled with delicious, healthy food like parched earth receiving long-awaited rain.
Ordinary ingredients, yet he turned them into flavors so wonderful they made you want to swallow your own tongue.
The man watched her wolf down her food with a smile and thoughtfully handed her a glass of warm water.
“We’ve been roommates for a while but haven’t introduced ourselves yet. Hi, I’m Chen Xanyu.”
Yu Jinyao swallowed the rice in her mouth.
Looking at him, she said shyly, “Hi, I’m Yu Jinyao.”
Actually, Chen Xanyu was very handsome—handsome in a distinctive way.
Completely different from the milky-faced pretty boys popular in the entertainment industry these days.
Probably because he spent years on set as an extra, exposed to wind and sun, his skin was a healthy wheat color, bordering on bronze.
Phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and sharply defined facial contours—like a classical Greek statue carved bit by bit with a ruler.
Most importantly, he didn’t have that innate sense of superiority that Wen Jiayan carried.
He just looked like an ordinary, normal, approachable handsome guy.
That made Yu Jinyao like him all the more.