Xu Yueyao was quite comfortable in the hospital. Since Zhan Rong Xuan left last time, he hadn’t come back. She ate well, slept well, and even had daily beauty and skincare treatments at her bedside. The nanny, Wang Ma, kept her entertained with all sorts of gossip about wealthy families and socialites. Xu Yueyao almost didn’t want to leave the hospital—except for that annoying Chen Shen, who not only often competed with her for food but also occasionally made sarcastic remarks just to irritate her.
Just as Xu Yueyao was leisurely munching on an apple, Chen Shen walked in wearing his white coat for his rounds. After checking her wound, Xu Yueyao asked while chewing her apple, “When can I be discharged?”
“Oh! Still thinking about leaving? I thought you wanted to retire here,” Chen Shen teased.
Xu Yueyao rolled her eyes at him. Noticing this, Chen Shen retorted, “What? Did I say something wrong? Whether you’re here or back home, you’re just freeloading. What’s the difference?”
“It’s different! I still have to go to school,” Xu Yueyao replied, then froze. That’s what she had forgotten—she was still a student! She hadn’t attended classes for days and hadn’t even asked for leave. Oh no, oh no, she thought, panicking as she started searching around.
“What are you looking for?” Chen Shen asked, grabbing her arm to prevent her from straining her wound.
“My phone! Where’s my bag?”
Chen Shen glanced toward the cabinet, signaling Wang Ma. Wang Ma quickly retrieved a canvas bag from the cabinet and handed it to her. “Miss Xu, it’s right here.”
Xu Yueyao opened the bag and rummaged through it, finding her phone. It was out of battery. She looked up at Chen Shen and said, “Do me a favor.”
Chen Shen held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
Xu Yueyao instinctively handed him the phone. As he walked away with it, she called out anxiously, “Hey! Could you just bring me the charger?”
“If you’re borrowing my things, I decide how they’re borrowed.”
Xu Yueyao shook her fist at his retreating back. When Chen Shen turned around, she quickly withdrew her left hook. He gave her a half-smile and said, “Have Wang Ma come get it in half an hour. No extensions.”
Fuming, Xu Yueyao crossed her arms and glared at the clock on the wall. She couldn’t help but knock herself on the head, muttering, “Snap out of it, Xu Yueyao. You’ve transmigrated into a book, and your life could be in danger at any moment. Can’t you have a little sense of urgency?”
Wang Ma, hearing her mumbling, couldn’t resist asking, “Miss Xu, what are you talking about?”
“Wang Ma, it’s all your fault! You made me so much delicious food and kept telling me all that gossip. I completely forgot that I… am a student,” Xu Yueyao said, laughing sheepishly.
“Well, even students need to recover from injuries first, don’t they?” Wang Ma replied nonchalantly.
Seeing that it was about time, Xu Yueyao urged, “Wang Ma, please go get my phone from Dr. Chen.”
“Alright, Miss Xu, I’ll go right away.” Wang Ma hurried out of the room.
A short while later, Wang Ma returned with the phone. Xu Yueyao took it and saw that Zhang Beilu had called her many times. She quickly called her back.
“Hello? Is that Yao Yao? Where are you?” Zhang Beilu’s anxious voice came through the phone.
Xu Yueyao let out a soft sigh. “Lu Lu, I’m in the hospital right now…”
“Yao Yao!”Xu Yueyao looked up to see Zhang Beilu running in, sweating profusely. To be honest, Xu Yueyao was quite moved. Just after hanging up the phone, she checked her phone and realized that Zhang Beilu was the only one who had called her these past few days. It seemed the Xu Yueyao in the book was similar to her—neither had many friends, and their family ties were also weak.
“Lulu.” Xu Yueyao opened her arms, wanting to hug her.
“What happened? How did you get hurt?” Zhang Beilu asked worriedly, looking at her injuries.
“Don’t even ask. It’s a long story. How has the school been treating me these past few days?” Xu Yueyao inquired.
“Don’t worry. When you didn’t come back that day, I asked for sick leave on your behalf. We just need to get a medical certificate from the hospital and give it to the old witch,” Zhang Beilu said casually.
“That’s good,” Xu Yueyao sighed in relief. Not being expelled meant she hadn’t strayed too far from the script.
Feeling more at ease, Xu Yueyao asked, “Has anything happened recently?”
Zhang Beilu’s hesitant expression told Xu Yueyao that something must have occurred.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Zhang Beilu thought for a moment and said, “Well, since you haven’t been around these past few days, some people have been saying you’re being kept.”
Xu Yueyao nodded silently in her heart upon hearing this—it was true.
“They say you’re being kept by a bald, pot-bellied old man.”
Xu Yueyao shook her head inwardly. That wasn’t right. Thinking of Zhan Rong Xuan’s face, this was just absurd.
“Yaoyao, if you ask me, it’s definitely that little bitch An Zhiyi spreading rumors,” Zhang Beilu whispered.
Xu Yueyao gasped upon hearing this. No, my friend, watch your words! An Zhiyi is the female lead!
“Lulu, don’t say that. An Zhiyi isn’t like that. Actually, she’s quite nice. Let’s try to get along with her from now on,” Xu Yueyao advised. Offending the female lead leads to a tragic ending, my friend.
“Yaoyao, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you hate her the most? You always said she was a green tea bitch, a little white lotus.”
“I said that? And often?” Xu Yueyao asked in disbelief.
Zhang Beilu nodded. “Yeah, you said you hated her the most.”
Xu Yueyao was speechless. “Did I ever say why I hated her?”
Zhang Beilu shook her head decisively. “You said you two were born to clash, destined to be at odds. The moment you saw her, you couldn’t help but want to curse her and tear off her hypocritical mask.”
Xu Yueyao felt her heart sink upon hearing this. Great, just great. This left her with absolutely no way out.
Zhang Beilu didn’t understand what was wrong with Xu Yueyao. Normally, she would have joined in cursing An Zhiyi, but today she hadn’t said a single bad word about her. Glancing at the time unintentionally, Zhang Beilu said, “It’s so late already. I have to go to my part-time job. I’ll come see you tomorrow.” She picked up her bag and prepared to leave.
“Wait,” Xu Yueyao felt that Zhang Beilu was truly a good friend and couldn’t help but advise her. “Why don’t you quit the nightclub? Let’s work at a coffee shop like An Zhiyi or take up tutoring jobs. How about that?”
“Yaoyao, I’ve been making good money at the nightclub lately. I plan to work there for two more months to save up for tuition and rent a better place. Alright, I’m really going to be late. Bye, see you tomorrow!” Without waiting for Xu Yueyao to say anything else, she hurriedly ran out.Xu Yueyao slowly lowered her raised hand, recalling the character’s fate in the book—yet another minor cannon fodder. Xu Yueyao was kept by Zhan Rong Xuan, which served some purpose for the author, but Zhang Beilu was merely a tool-like cannon fodder character used to advance the relationship between the male and female leads. For example, when she bullied the female lead, the male lead would coincidentally witness it and deliver a domineering line: “Dare to touch my woman? You’re asking for death.”
When the male and female leads quarreled, the tool character Zhang Beilu would pop up to fawn over the male lead, making the female lead jealous. The male lead would then say affectionately, “Silly, you’re the only one I love.”
…And so on, throughout the entire story.
Near the end, when the male and female leads separated due to a misunderstanding, how did they break the ice upon reuniting? Of course, by sleeping together. But how did that happen? The tool character Zhang Beilu made another appearance, drugging the male lead in an attempt to climb the social ladder. The male lead then stumbled to the female lead’s place, weakly saying, “Help me, I’ve been drugged.” After that, the male and female leads got intimate, reconciled, and the tool character Zhang Beilu, having served her purpose, was dealt with by the male lead in a fitting manner—drugged and thrown into a group of men. Thus, the tool character Zhang Beilu exited the story.
When Chen Shen arrived, Xu Yueyao was still tugging at her hair, trying to figure out how to break Zhang Beilu’s scheme.
“What are you doing? Constipated?”
Xu Yueyao was stunned upon hearing this. Was this something a person with a cold appearance and indifferent personality would say?