Ding Jie was getting his wounds treated at the hospital when he ran into Bai Qingqing, who was there for stomach problems. They already knew each other, but Bai Qingqing didn’t know Ding Jie’s true identity.
The moment Bai Qingqing saw Ding Jie, her heart ached and she started crying. “What happened to you? Did you get into a fight? Did you report it to the police? How could they hit you so hard?”
Ding Jie wanted to smile and reassure her that it was nothing, but pulling at the corner of his mouth hurt, so he could only whisper, “Don’t cry. I’m fine. It looks bad, but they’re just superficial wounds. They’ll heal in a few days. What’s wrong with you? Stomach pain again?”
Bai Qingqing nodded, holding her stomach with a pale face. “The flower shop has been really busy these last couple of days. The boss lady had me work overtime, and I’m not used to eating takeout, so my stomach’s been a bit upset.”
Ding Jie frowned, growing dissatisfied with the flower shop owner. “If you’re not happy there, just quit. I’ll help you find an easier job.”
Bai Qingqing gave a weak smile. “What job is ever easy? Besides, we’re just ordinary people. You should just focus on taking care of yourself.”
Ding Jie hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue, but ultimately didn’t reveal his identity. He was somewhat reluctant to spoil the atmosphere between them, afraid that once Bai Qingqing knew he was rich, her attitude would change. Whether she tried to curry favor with him or distance herself from him, neither was what he wanted. For now, he’d let Bai Qingqing think he was a penniless guy. She was the only pure, untainted place in his world.
The two of them had a meal together. Even though Ding Jie was in pain and discomfort himself, he still carefully and thoughtfully looked after Bai Qingqing. As long as he saw Bai Qingqing smile, he felt as if he himself had been comforted.
To him, Bai Qingqing was very much like a projection of his own inner fragility. The moment they parted ways, he sent someone to buy that flower shop, strictly ordering that there must be stomach-friendly work meals, no overtime allowed, and light work duties.
He wanted to protect her, to let her avoid experiencing those storms, as if by doing so he was protecting that fragile part of himself.
He didn’t know what came over him, but on a sudden whim, he video-called Xu Ziyan.
The moment Xu Ziyan answered, she was so startled she jerked back. After seeing who it was, she exclaimed in surprise, “Did someone beat you up?”
Ding Jie touched his face, letting out a pained “hiss,” and replied, “Ding Yao did it.”
Xu Ziyan said with relief, “It’s a good thing I’m a girl. Even when Fu Qiming was at his angriest, he never hit me. Well, you take your medicine properly and rest up. Don’t always be busy with work.”
The words sounded concerned, but to Ding Jie, they felt perfunctory, not as sincerely caring as Bai Qingqing had been. Bai Qingqing had cried for so long, but what about Xu Ziyan? Not a flicker of emotional fluctuation. She could even bring up how Fu Qiming never hit her. She hadn’t even asked him if it hurt, let alone helped curse out Ding Yao.
Indeed, only Bai Qingqing was different.
【Congratulations, Host! Plot completed: Disappoint Ding Jie. Ding Jie discovers he has fallen in love with Bai Qingqing. Reward: 1 Skill Point.】
Xu Ziyan looked at Ding Jie on the screen and sneered inwardly: 【This dog is still comparing us over here? Does he think he’s at the market picking cabbages?】
But this did remind her. She’d go and play out her plot with Bai Qingqing right now!
A King of Involution’s philosophy: the points you can definitely get, you grab first. Then you tackle the hard problems.
Xu Ziyan took her driver and bodyguards and headed for the flower shop where Bai Qingqing worked. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes met Bai Qingqing’s behind the counter.
Seeing Bai Qingqing’s visibly flickering gaze, Xu Ziyan raised an eyebrow. 【Oh? She actually recognizes me! Isn’t she supposed to be the pure, innocent little white flower who never knew about my relationship with Ding Jie? Looks like your plot isn’t all that accurate either.】
System 001’s brain was about to short-circuit. It finally concluded, 【The plot is just the storyline written in the book. The world should automatically rationalize the plot, deriving many details to make it logical. Perhaps earlier, when Yang Anni posted those photos of you guys shopping and it blew up on Hot Search, she spotted Ding Jie.】
Those photos were mainly of her and Yang Anni, but Ding Jie and Ding Yao had been there at the time. A bit of their profiles or reflections in the window might have been captured. With the fuss being so big back then, it wasn’t strange for Bai Qingqing to have seen it. A little casual online gossip–digging would tell her they were all rich second–generation kids.
Xu Ziyan took off her sunglasses. Without looking at Bai Qingqing again, she found the boss and got straight to the point. “I want to buy this shop. Name your price. We’ll handle the paperwork now.”
The boss was confused. “My shop isn’t for sale. I…”
Xu Ziyan handed over a check. “Is this enough? You can open a better one somewhere else.”
The boss took one look at the price, which was actually double the market rate, immediately took the check and broke into a happy smile. “Enough, plenty. Let me grab a few things, and we’ll do the paperwork right away.”
Bai Qingqing grew anxious. “Boss, how can you? This shop is your life’s work, your passion…”
The boss said while packing her things, “I’m just an ordinary person. I opened a business to make money. It just so happens I’ve been too tired lately, even got a herniated disc. I need a good rest.”
Xu Ziyan walked up to Bai Qingqing. Bai Qingqing instantly grew tense. “You… what do you want?” One of her hands was in her pocket, having already dialed Ding Jie’s number.
Xu Ziyan didn’t stop her little action. Instead, she patiently waited until the call connected, then stared at Bai Qingqing’s face and said, “Don’t move! There’s a bug!”
Whap!
Xu Ziyan clapped her hands loudly beside Bai Qingqing’s face. The sound was loud, but in reality, she’d slapped her own hands together, only her fingertips grazing Bai Qingqing’s cheek. But Bai Qingqing, thinking Xu Ziyan was about to hit her, was so scared she squeezed her eyes shut, turned her face away, and let out a yelp.
【Congratulations, Host! Plot completed: Slap Bai Qingqing!】
Xu Ziyan smiled. “The bug got scared away.”
Ding Jie, hearing the startled cry and then Xu Ziyan’s voice, instantly felt his blood boil. He was sure Xu Ziyan must have discovered his special feelings for Bai Qingqing and had gone to cause trouble for her.
The phone wasn’t on speaker, so they couldn’t hear what Ding Jie was saying. Xu Ziyan leaned on the counter and continued, “This shop is mine now. I’m going to renovate, so it’s temporarily closed. Therefore, you’re fired. I’ll give you some extra severance pay according to market standards. You can leave now.”
Bai Qingqing felt humiliated. In her heart, she knew Xu Ziyan and Ding Jie had an unusual relationship and was convinced Xu Ziyan had come just to humiliate her. But Xu Ziyan had done everything by the book, following all the rules. She had no way to fight back. She couldn’t very well jump out and accuse Xu Ziyan of bullying her, could she?
Bai Qingqing took off her work apron, placed it on the counter, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
【Congratulations, Host! Plot completed: Make Bai Qingqing lose her job!】
Xu Ziyan curled the corner of her mouth. She then read the lines from the original plot aloud for comparison. “Some people knowingly be the other woman, clinging to rich guys the moment they see one. How shameless. Relying on a pure-looking face, pretending to be innocent, putting on an act of being kind-hearted, as if they’ve lived over twenty years drinking nothing but dew, never having touched real society.
And yet there are people who fall for this act, unable to see through the bitch’s disguise. If their family elders found out, they’d probably be too ashamed to hold their heads up, right?
Bai Qingqing couldn’t take it anymore. She turned to face Xu Ziyan, but not before first hanging up the phone. Grievance and anger filled her voice. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! If you’re deliberately targeting me, I can only say you’ve got the wrong person!”
Xu Ziyan turned back in feigned surprise, holding up her phone to show Bai Qingqing the script. “I’m reading lines from a play. Did you think I was talking about you? Can you actually find your own seat like that?”
The boss looked over curiously. Bai Qingqing, utterly humiliated and angry, ran out of the flower shop crying.
Xu Ziyan exchanged looks with the others and shrugged helplessly. If she had nothing to hide, why would she react like that? Absurd!
But this way, she felt absolutely no psychological burden about using Bai Qingqing to complete the plot.
【Congratulations, Host! Plot completed: Make Bai Qingqing feel deeply humiliated!】
Xu Ziyan said happily: 【Add all three skill points to Luck. I feel like my luck has already improved. Otherwise, how could things go so smoothly?】
Ding Jie’s people were a step too late and failed to buy the flower shop. With so much having happened, Ding Jie gave them a severe scolding. He rushed to the flower shop and saw Xu Ziyan arranging flowers inside. He walked up to her and demanded, “What’s the meaning of this? Are you spying on me? Otherwise, how did you find this place?”
Xu Ziyan sneered. “What, you’ve done something wrong? Afraid I’ll find out? I was actually really worried when I heard you were injured. Who knew you already had a confidante fussing over you. Ding Jie, you’re cheating on me behind my back. How can you face me?”
Ding Jie hated being questioned like this most of all. He coldly emphasized, “You and I have never been in a relationship. Bai Qingqing is not ‘the other woman.’ Besides, I’m single and not involved with anyone. Don’t use your own mindset to randomly define our relationship.”
Xu Ziyan dropped her expression and stared at him, lowering her voice. “Ding Jie, do you take me for a fool? After all this time being ambiguous with me, now you think a simple ‘we’re not a couple’ will clear everything up? You’re playing me? Have you forgotten how much I’ve done for you?”
Ding Jie was already furious about Bai Qingqing being wronged, and the anger from being beaten earlier hadn’t been vented either. It all erupted together. “I never forced you to do anything. You offered to help me. Now you want to settle accounts with me? If every woman in the world likes me, am I supposed to marry them all?”
Xu Ziyan nodded twice. “Fine. Very good. I’ll remember your words. Don’t come looking for me in the future, and don’t even think about asking for my help again.”
She pushed past Ding Jie to leave, but he grabbed her arm. Ding Jie asked in a low voice, “Where’s Bai Qingqing? What did you do to her? Regardless of anything else, hitting her was wrong of you!”
Xu Ziyan let out a laugh. “Hit her?”
She pointed at the boss. “Show him the surveillance footage. Let’s clear the water out of his brain.”
The surveillance video was simple and easy to understand. It clearly showed Xu Ziyan had been friendly the whole time, cheerful, and had done absolutely nothing to hurt Bai Qingqing. On the contrary, Bai Qingqing had seemed a bit odd from the start, as if very defensive, and had secretly made a phone call.
The boss even helped explain. “Bai Qingqing misunderstood this young lady. She was just reading lines from her phone from a script. Bai Qingqing suddenly cracked and said she wasn’t the other woman. If the shoe doesn’t fit, why wear it? Must be a guilty conscience. This young lady didn’t even look at her. To be honest, I think Bai Qingqing is quite calculating. She worked for me, I know. When someone was watching, she’d go feed the stray cats. When no one was around, she wouldn’t even glance at them when passing by.”
Ding Jie’s frown gradually deepened. Coming back to his senses, he realized Xu Ziyan had already left. Calming down, he thought about how this was precisely the time he needed Xu Ziyan to infiltrate the Fu Corporation from the inside. He’d really lost his cool just now and messed things up.
It was also because he’d just been beaten by Ding Yao today, and then Bai Qingqing was supposedly hit by Xu Ziyan, making him feel sympathetic and sending his anger through the roof. But it turned out Xu Ziyan hadn’t bullied Bai Qingqing at all—at least, not to the extent seen on the surveillance footage. It didn’t count as bullying.
Then why had Bai Qingqing called him? He’d originally thought it was an accidental dial. Looking at it now, could it be that Bai Qingqing had known his identity all along?