Cen Si Miao held the cup and sipped it lightly, face unchanging, though she was slightly dazed. This time, her target was somewhat enthusiastic.
Her eyes were squinted, staring into a corner, from another's perspective, it seemed as though she was shock still. Liu Si glanced over at Wu Li Chen, who licked his lips and reached towards the cigarettes before abruptly stopping.
He poured a glass of water and gulped it down, before placing it down at one side.
His eyes curved.
"Does Cen jie think that I'm young, or old?"
She almost choked.
Cen Si Miao bit her tongue lightly before raising her head to meet his gaze. It was deep, focused and calm. The ends of his eyes were raised, giving off a slightly evil feel.
The words unconsciously roll off her lips. "Just right."
The Jin Jiang system opens up a text box while reporting the data.
"Ding—The target's feelings are currently at 0. Please work harder."
"Oh right, the current Life Reversal Task progress bar is at 2%."
"Helping the Male Lead to be a Winner at Life Task is at 1%."
The system played a 'Sighing' bgm. This time the task was quite difficult, even though Cen Si Miao had been there for a whole month, this was her first time meeting the Male Lead.
Not to mention the original Female Lead's husband, who she hadn't even glimpsed at all, apart from her liking his messages on WeChat. If she were to describe the original's life in one word, it would be sad.
Her parents had both died, and she'd had to grit her teeth and rely on her relatives, making time to do odd jobs while she studied for her college examinations [1]. During her second year in university, she'd met Hu Yinli while working as a waitress, and believed she'd met the love of her life, marrying him the moment she graduated.
Hu Yinli had never mistreated her, and had never held back in terms of money or material items, even though the original female lead had been conservative, he had never forced her. The most they'd done was hug and kiss lightly. When the proposal was about to take place, his former classmate Bai Yue Guang had entered the picture.
She had divorced, and without anyone to rely on, she had gone over to him, her eyes rimmed with red.
That day, Hu Yinli had acted rashly, bringing his passport and going over to the Civil Affairs Bureau with her [2]. When he finally came to, the two of them were already lying in bed together underneath the sheets.
When Bai Yue Guang had found out about the female lead's existence, she'd whispered. "I feel bad for her. I've experienced this before, she must be feeling miserable, you have to take good care of her."
When a male entered this kind of nirvanlike state of mind, the way his brain worked was really difficult to predict. He really drove his car back to the female lead's place and proposed to her.
Then he'd thought about ways to get a fake marriage certificate.
In the end the female lead had been someone he'd liked since university. Even though he'd had a few flings during this time, he still felt that the female lead's feelings were the most sincere. It was impossible for him to let go of her now.
The reason why he'd been able to continue with Bai Yue Guang, wasn't just because of her looks, but also because of other underhanded methods. Just after they'd signed the marriage certificate, and the female lead had moved in, Hu Yinli had left for work, and hadn't even slept beside her before.
The original female lead had been suspicious, but felt too ashamed to speak about it. She had lived by herself, before calling him to ask when he would be free to return home. But at that moment, she'd slipped in the bathtub, hit her head and breathed her last breath.
To Wu Li Chen, the arrival of Cen Si Miao was definitely a good thing.
As she left, she bent down a little, and was about to stand up straight before she bit her cheek and saw a pair of brown leather shoes walk towards her. Blinking in confusion, she stood up.
Her forehead lightly brushed his chest, and when she looked up her eyes were filled with slight indignance and a polite indifference. Wu Li Chen stopped and turned his unrelenting gaze towards her.
His outstretched and rested lightly on her shoulder. Feeling the heat of his palm, Cen Si Miao was about to step back, but he let go of her.
He was smirking, and his voice was soft, but his words were somewhat gangster-like.
"Remember to find me soon, the food won't be as good if it's cold."
Cen Si Miao found a smoking area, and leaned against the wall as she fished out a cigarette and lighter from her bag. The cigarette was pinched between her fingers and stuck in her mouths. With a whoosh, the butt was lit.
She breathed in deeply, feeling it go from the tip of her nose all the way to her lungs.
Halfway through the cigarette, she suddenly thought of something and took her phone out. There were more than 10 missed calls. Shaking the ash off, she put the cigarette back into her mouth before entering WeChat.
At the top there was a group chat with her university classmates. Below it was Hu Yinli. The red bubble showed that she'd missed 35 messages. Cen Si Miao opened the chat.
'Why aren't you picking up, the plumber has reached, hurry up and open the door.'
'Did anything happen? Why haven't you picked up yet?'
'Are you at home?'
'The leak is just a small thing, there's no need to worry so much about it. If there's anything wrong with the furniture just replace it.'
'Hurry up and reply, I'm worried.'
Cen Si Miao closed her eyes, and finished smoking her cigarette. The original sweet scent of perfume had been replaced by the scent of smoke, giving her a more wild feel.
She placed her phone back in her bag. It was still early, there was no need to rush.
Cen Si Miao spent the day on the streets, buying new clothes and going for a few manicures. She also ate a lot. Whenever she paid, she would just swipe her card and sign before leaving.
Ah, how satisfying.
The past few worlds had been incredibly difficult, if she wasn't scavenging for food, then she was scrimping and saving, so she'd never had the chance to spend like this.
She finished up her dinner on the sixth floor of the shopping mall, and drank two cups of wine, only flagging a cab home when she felt slightly tipsy.
Carrying bags after bags, and swaying slightly, it was only when she'd reached the entrance of her building before she realised something and nearly fell over.
The card belonged to Hu Yinli.
Considering the amount she'd spent, there was no way he hadn't received a text from the bank.
Damn, her head hurt. [3]
Cen Si Miao slumped and sat down on the staircase. Setting down her bags, she took out her phone and shut her eyes before opening them slightly to look.
Of course.
'Where did you go?'
'Why are you spending so much?'
'What are you unhappy about again?'
There were only three notifications from a few hours ago. Cen Si Miao placed her elbows on her thighs, and held her chin, thinking quietly.
System, what do you say now?
The system spoke up. "You've finally become a hanger-on." [4]
Your uncle. [5]
Cen Si Miao cleared her throat, rubbed her lips and dialled Hu Yinli's number. She sniffled, softened her tone, and looked as though she was about to cry.
"Do you not want me anymore?"
She spoke sorrowfully, instantly causing Hu Yinli to become worried.
What exactly had happened today, for her to cry the moment she called. Originally his heart had been filled with anger, and he'd wanted to say a few choice words, but now he couldn't even bring himself to open his mouth. He cleared his throat lightly. "Where did you go today?"
Cen Si Miao simply continued.
"Do you really not want me anymore?"
"The pipes at home…"
"Do you not want me anymore?"
"…No,…"
"So you don't want me anymore!"
Hanging up, Cen Si Miao heaved a sigh, and put her high heels on to continue home. After running about for the whole day, her legs were really tired. It was only when she reached the entrance that she saw a young man dressed in blue overalls.
He raised his voice. "I just finished calling your husband. It's okay, you're teaching him the right way. He should always be thinking of you."
Cen Si Miao sighed, brows furrowed. "Since he decided to be angry at me today, I'll teach him a lesson. Sorry for bothering you.
The young man waved his hand, relaxed. "This is nothing, when I received your call I was already on the way home."
During summer, it was extremely hot, and at night it was even more humid. She'd really been looking forward to some rain to coo down. But in the end she hadn't seen so much as a drop of rain for several days.
Wu Li Chen, along with a few other male actors received a notice.
An outdoor concert.
On that day, it poured heavily, and there was absolutely no way to stand on stage.
Li You Yan sat in front of the makeup mirror scolding and swearing, and though the makeup artist kept his annoyance in his heart, his expression didn't look too good as he silently smeared the cleansing oil on his face.
Li You Yan turned towards the person beside him. "What kind of sh*tty weather is this, coming down at this kind of sh*tty timing, of all days it had to be today. Do you think it's easy for this one to earn money, huh?" [6]
The man only yawned, eyes filled with tiredness. "What're you yelling about, at least you can count your money relaxed, it's not the same for us."
Li You Yan normally liked to boast about himself, and he had also been bought by Liu Si, so out of all of them, his popularity was naturally the highest. It wasn't rare for hi =m to be talked about behind his back.
Hearing this sentence, his face immediately turned ugly. His whole body twisted, and he glared, gearing up for a fight. Suddenly, he saw that it was Wu Li Chen, and all the fight left his body.
"Even if I'm relaxed, I still can't beat Wu Li Chen."
His words were very loud, and could be heard by the ten or so people in the dressing room. The person who had yawned at Li You Yan before laughed.
"It's easy to get angry in this weather."
Wu Li Chen looked up. His whole person seemed to exude a gloomy aura, and his eyes were filled with irritation. Since his meeting with Cen Si Miao a few days ago, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of her.
He twisted a strand of his hair, thinking back to Cen Si Miao's cold eyes and sexy updo.
Unconsciously, he took out his lighter, but couldn't find any cigarettes. He pressed the lighter continuously, letting it burn before dying out again and again.
"Isn't it true, Li Chen? Your mood seems to have gotten better these few days."
Wu Li Chen let go of his lighter, and threw it onto the table before raising his chin. "Look at the mirror, you've spent so much money on your face that even street food looks better than you."
Li You Yan accidentally smudged his eyeliner, and hadn't wiped it clean yet, so it mixed together with his foundation, making his face look dirty. The anger in his heart flared up, and he slammed the table. "What the sh*t are you talking about?"
As Wu Li Chen stretched out, his phone suddenly rang. Eyeing it, he grabbed it and unlocked the screen.
'Tonight, 8pm, Taihe Hotel 302.'
He stared at the screen for a moment, leaning on the chair, and lowered his head to smile. Looking over at Li You Yan, his eyes seemed to be unfocused.
"I'm actually not relaxed at all."
Her forceful presence alone could make his heart start to itch.
高考 gaokao: China’s college entrance exams. In China, after finishing sixth form (grade 12, senior year), they have to take a national exam and score high enough such that they can enter the university of their choice. Unlike USUK unis, China unis care more about gaokao results than extracurriculars or interviews. Civil Affairs Bureau: The place where people get married. Swear word: I chose damn because it’s child friendly. 做了别人的小白脸: Literally translates as “you’ve become someone else’s small white face”. I couldn't find the exact terms to describe this, but it basically refers to a female who likes to extravagantly spend someone else's money and eat good food using their money. 你大爷: Literally translates as Your Grand-Uncle, but it's a swear word. Guess which one. 老子: Li You Yan refers to himself as Laozi, which is in third person. He's referring to himself as superior, like this superior one, or just This One (caps included). Decided to post this early because I have more backed up. Happy new year, everyone.