Yun Yongjun did not know what was wrong with her recently, as she felt restless and always had a feeling that something was going to happen. However, rather than fearing the unknown, her sense of anticipation was stronger. After all, she had long found this world, with its rigid and unchanging rules, boring.
She did not know when it started, but she began to find this world somewhat strange. Although the people around her all had their own life trajectories, they seemed like pre-set programs, lacking a lively soul.
Until today, when she and her manager went to the company as usual to discuss contract matters, she discovered an interesting person.
Is it really okay to just lie on the ground like that?
She lowered her gaze, only to find that the other person was still lying right in front of her without lifting her head at all. For some reason, she felt a bit annoyed inside. Had her own charm really weakened to the point that others could not bear to look at her?
Just as she was about to speak, she heard the other person answer the assistant’s question in a rather depressed tone. Clearly, what the other person said sounded very childish and boring, but she found it quite amusing, and even her feelings toward the person began to change.
Looking at the top of the other person’s head, she inexplicably felt that the person was like a cat in need of comfort, looking a bit listless because she hadn’t received her owner’s love, lying lazily on the ground.
Startled by her own imagination, she reined in her thoughts, though a trace of a smile inevitably escaped her eyes. “Are you alright?”
Yet strangely enough, when she asked, the other person lowered her head even further. Even as she felt puzzled, the other person quickly pulled back her hand and buried her entire face in the crook of her arm.
It was rare to encounter someone who didn’t play by the rules, which piqued her interest. However, her assistant used her eyes to remind her once again, and coupled with the fact that the time she had agreed to meet someone was fast approaching and being late was never her style—she ultimately had to abandon the interesting little fan in front of her, regain her usual cold demeanor, and leave with her assistant.
By dusk, after finishing discussions with her former boss, she planned to head back to her villa. But as she came out, she accidentally caught sight of a figure squatting in the flowerbed by the roadside, and the familiar clothing made her pause.
“Stop the car.” The moment the words fell, she quickly opened the car door and stepped out. She didn’t know what she was doing either; it was also the first time she couldn’t control her own emotions.
Watching the other person curl up and keep trembling, while low, soft sobbing reached her ears, her entire heart began to ache, and pity welled up endlessly from the depths of her heart.
By the time she snapped out of it, she had already extended her index finger to poke the top of the other person’s head, and the words in her heart naturally came out.
“A cute child doesn’t cry.”
“If you want to cry, just look up at the sky. That way, your tears won’t be able to fall.”
Looking at the girl who raised her head with tear-filled eyes, she remembered the little girl who had said those exact words to her, and the gentleness in her own eyes was about to overflow.
Seeing this strange woman—who looked good-looking but behaved bizarrely and suddenly touched her head—Mu Xuefei brushed the other person’s hand away, stood up straight, quickly wiped the corners of her eyes, and turned her head away. “I just got something blown into my eyes by the wind! I’m definitely not crying!”
Noticing the obvious tremor in the other person’s voice, Yun Yongjun inexplicably felt that the other person’s stubborn appearance was somewhat eyesore, so she directly took a step forward and grabbed the other person’s wrist.
“Hey, hey, wait a minute,” Mu Xuefei waved her arms vigorously, but failed to shake the other person’s hand off. She couldn’t help muttering in her heart: This person looks so slender and weak, why is her grip strength so strong? Outwardly, however, she quickly spoke up, “Where are you taking me? Do we know each other?”
Wait, looking at how intimate this person was with her, could it be someone the original owner knew? After saying that, Mu Xuefei felt a bit regretful. If this really was an acquaintance and close friend of the original owner, her behavior would seem rather suspicious.
“You don’t know me?” Yun Yongjun turned around in surprise, looking at the young girl who was still muttering to herself. The expression on her face which was always gentle and unchanging in front of the public suddenly showed genuine surprise, making it quite a rare sight.
#There is actually someone who doesn’t know me?#
Yun Yongjun looked at the other person with a serious gaze. Finding only regret and dissatisfaction in the other’s eyes, the smile on her face deepened a bit, and she believed about eighty or ninety percent of what the other person had said.
As for Yun Yongjun’s surprise, Mu Xuefei assumed that she had genuinely bumped into an acquaintance of the original owner. Her usual glib conversational skills instantly kicked in. Raising a hand with a slightly embarrassed expression, she patted the other person’s shoulder and spoke enthusiastically, “I know you! Aren’t you, you know, that person!” With that, she clenched her fist, extended her index finger, and pointed it in the air toward Yun Yongjun with a look of sudden realization.
Yun Yongjun looked at the spot on her shoulder that had just been patted, and then at the person who had suddenly turned so enthusiastic. A look of puzzlement flashed across her eyes… What was going on? Why did she feel like she couldn’t keep up with the rhythm? Her thoughts kept shifting back and forth, but outwardly she didn’t speak, only gazing at the speaker in front of her with a complex expression.
“I still remember you, how could I not? Weren’t you just joking around with me a moment ago?” Mu Xuefei noticed the other’s somewhat eerie expression and tightened up inside: Did the other person find her suspicious?
Rolling her eyes, she ignored her captured left hand, smiled, walked up to Yun Yongjun, and spoke in a familiar tone, “How have you been lately? You’re doing pretty well, right?”
Is she treating me as an old acquaintance?
Yun Yongjun quickly figured out what was going on. After all, when old acquaintances met and she couldn’t remember who they were, she usually brushed it off the exact same way.
Once she figured it out, she found it quite amusing in her heart. Watching the other person still struggling to recall their “wonderful memories,” she considerately spoke up, “I’ve been doing very well recently. Would you like to come over to my house and sit for a while?”
Go live at your house?
Mu Xuefei’s eyes lit up. She was currently penniless, with only a locked phone that had no password and couldn’t make calls, unable to contact Sister Chen, and unable to remember her own address. She had been worrying about this very thing, and now this romance target was actually offering it herself?
She felt as though the bubbles of joy in her heart were about to overflow.
No! I must act reserved! How awkward is it to go to someone’s house for an overnight stay?
“Sure. But I’d feel so bad, it’s been so long since I last visited your place.” Mu Xuefei coughed and agreed without any backbone.
Anything was better than sleeping on the street! As for feeling embarrassed… what was that? She didn’t know.
Looking at the young girl who was pushing her luck, Yun Yongjun couldn’t help wanting to tease her. So, she quickly switched her expression to a look of confusion, lowered her head slightly, and glanced sideways at the girl who was a head shorter than her: “Have you ever been to my house before?”
Mu Xuefei’s previously joyful expression instantly froze. She stared intently into those deep pupils for three whole seconds before she was forced to turn her head away; the other person’s bewildered look left her entire brain in a complete mess.
Should I tell her that I was just talking nonsense earlier? Mu Xuefei blinked, instinctively rubbing her lower lip with her index finger, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.
“Then do you still want to go to my house?” Noticing the other person’s conflicted gaze, Yun Yongjun felt her happiness value start rising again.
[Ding, romance target’s affection level: 20/100. Affection interpretation: An interesting little fan.]
Wait, this is the romance target? Mu Xuefei stared at the person in front of her with a dazed expression, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
No, holy crap—a fan? The romance target?
If the other person viewed her as a little fan… the two of them probably didn’t know each other at all, right?? Holy crap, hadn’t she just made a complete fool of herself by reading the situation wrong? Realizing this, she felt terrible. Looking at the romance target who was still waiting for her reply, she silently interpreted the expectant expression on the other’s face as follows: If she brought her home and kept teasing her, it would definitely be a lot of fun, right?
She finally woke up to the manipulative nature of the romance target in front of her. She hurriedly shook her head, spoke up amidst the other’s puzzled gaze, and blurted out, “I just remembered I have things to do tonight.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it!
A little bit of awkwardness was nothing compared to this! Avoiding sleeping on the street was the important thing! Not to mention dinner! So, what if the other person was manipulative? She wouldn’t lose a layer of skin over it!
Mu Xuefei slapped her own face in regret internally and spoke with embarrassment, “Actually, I am free tonight…”
“Then what a pity.” Yun Yongjun quickly cut her off, a look of regret crossing her face, and released her hand amidst Mu Xuefei’s astonished gaze. “Then let’s get together another time.” With that, she turned and left, her figure cleanly and decisively boarding the sedan not far away.
“—to make time.” Mu Xuefei made a grasping gesture with her hand as she stared at the car’s exhaust fumes, speaking the rest of her words with utter dejection.
She looked at the car that had already vanished from sight, then looked around the empty company garage where not a single person was in sight, and had no choice but to dejectedly kick a stone nearby, her nonstop mumbling continuing unabated.
“None of them are any good! I was just trying to be polite! How can you not ask a few more times? Where’s the love?”
Watching her own player’s somewhat foolish behavior from the side, and seeing the obvious sorrow on the other’s face, the elf didn’t have the heart to pour salt on the wound anymore, so it could only speak up, “At least the romance target’s affection level went up. Isn’t that pretty good?”
What even is affection level? Can you eat it? It can neither keep her fed nor give her a place to sleep and rest!
“Beep, beep, beep—”
Just as Mu Xuefei wanted to retort to the little elf, a “swish” sound suddenly echoed in her ear. When she turned to look, a black Rolls-Royce had stopped just a few paces away from her. The depression in her heart instantly surged out. “Didn’t you see someone standing here? Don’t you know how to watch the road when driving?”
Just as she intended to press forward and continue letting off steam, the car in front of her closed the distance between person and vehicle even further.
“Are you looking for a…” Mu Xuefei stepped forward, rolled up her sleeves, and spoke with a frown.
“Why so hot-tempered? Done crying?”
The car window in front of her suddenly rolled down, revealing the beautiful face she had seen only a short while ago. Mu Xuefei’s previously raised hand froze—holding it up felt wrong, and putting it down felt wrong. After a moment of feeling that her posture was somewhat ungraceful, she quickly lowered her arm, resumed a straight posture, and spoke with an ambiguous expression, “May I ask what else this miss needs?”
“The auntie at home said she cooked extra food for one person, and I didn’t want to waste it. Plus, seeing how pitiful you looked just now, I came over to ask.” Yun Yongjun tilted her head, pressing her right finger against her lips, the corners of her mouth curving slightly. The smile in her eyes refused to fade as she casually watched the changing expressions on the girl outside the car.
She really is quite interesting.
Seeing the other person make a few movements, she knowingly shifted aside a bit and considerately placed a cushion for her.
“I just didn’t want to waste food, that’s all.”
Hearing the other’s somewhat awkward tone, she turned her head just in time to catch the flushed ears revealed as the other person turned away. For some reason, she felt her heart soften into a puddle, and the gentleness in her eyes grew even deeper. “I know.” After a moment of thought, she earnestly added, “You just didn’t want to waste food.”