Chapter 29 Part 3

Her arguments came one after another, and Zhu Lexing felt like she’d walked into a trap. She cut it off:

—If you want to be station sister, go be one yourself.

Still, Qiao Qiao had a point. The photos were already taken—not posting them would be a waste.

As Zhu Lexing rubbed her chin in thought, Qiao Qiao kept the train running: Anyway, you can’t stay away from Yan Mian. This is perfect—just follow her schedule.

Zhu Lexing nearly choked. She typed back: Got nothing better to do. Help me edit some Yan Mian photos.

—?

—How can a fan support site run with just one person?

Qiao Qiao: “…”

Qiao Qiao couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d brought this on herself by egging these two on in the first place. What rotten luck.

Zhu Lexing was biting on her straw, wondering why Qiao Qiao hadn’t replied yet, when the café door swung open from outside.

Shi Ruofeng stood in the doorway, dressed in a trench coat. She seemed to have overheard something and murmured to her side, “Got it.”

She turned her head, and her gaze met that of Zhu Lexing, who was seated at the counter enjoying a slice of cake.

Zhu Lexing glanced out the window at Li Nian heading toward the film crew. “…Fate brings those a thousand miles apart together.”

Shi Ruofeng nodded. “Zhu Lexing.”

She hadn’t picked up on Zhu Lexing’s words, but at least she’d said hello.

Zhu Lexing hadn’t forgotten Shi Ruofeng’s “poor little thing whose family fell on hard times” persona. She directly ordered the same set meal for her from the waiter.

Shi Ruofeng, however, said, “No need. Just an iced Americano will do.”

The waiter glanced at Zhu Lexing. Only after the girl nodded did the server smile and go to prepare it.

They had just taken their seats when Shi Ruofeng let out a small yawn. Dark circles were clearly visible under her eyes—she clearly hadn’t been sleeping well lately.

Noticing Zhu Lexing’s gaze lingering on her face, she took the initiative to explain. “I’ve just been a bit busy lately. Nothing serious.”

Zhu Lexing nodded.

She and Shi Ruofeng rarely kept in touch, but that very unfamiliarity made conversation easier. “So, what about Shi Song? He’s not going to let it slide that easily, is he?”

Shi Ruofeng replied, “His agent reached out to me. They want to pay me off. The condition is that I post a clarification online, explaining that everything he did in the cafeteria was just a misunderstanding.”

With so many witnesses, no normal person would buy that excuse.

But the world was full of idiots, and posts like that were meant to keep them in line.

Zhu Lexing made no comment. “How much?”

If it wasn’t too steep, she could front Shi Ruofeng double the amount—let her turn around and slap them back.

This had nothing to do with Yan Mian. Zhu Lexing simply despised Shi Song and his agent’s tactics.

Twisting black into white—or at least into gray if they couldn’t manage the former.

How disgusting was that?

Shi Ruofeng named a figure. It wasn’t a huge sum—clearly at Shi Song’s direction—but it was enough to cover all her expenses through school.

Zhu Lexing offered her sincere advice. “I’ll pay you double. Exchange it all for coins and drop them from upstairs to smash Shi Song dead.”

Shi Ruofeng burst out laughing.

A moment later, she grew serious. “I saw the hot search. But I can’t offer you any material reward right now, so… what do you want me to do?”

Shi Ruofeng’s blunt honesty caught Zhu Lexing off guard. She did have an agenda, but—

She glanced out the window without a word. Shi Ruofeng followed her gaze.

“Oh,” Shi Ruofeng said. “I get it.”

Zhu Lexing: “…”

What exactly did you get?!

Shi Ruofeng spoke again, zeroing in on Zhu Lexing’s exact thoughts. “Yan Mian, right? You want me to look out for her more. You two get along well. I’ll keep an eye on things from now on. Don’t worry.”

Zhu Lexing: “…………”

You actually got it.

The waiter arrived with the iced Americano. Shi Ruofeng flashed her order on her phone. She’d placed it earlier and had only come to pick it up now.

Before leaving, she asked earnestly, “Want me to pass along a message?”

Zhu Lexing started to shake her head when Qiao Qiao’s call came through. “The photos are edited! Go register an account for me right now!”

Shi Ruofeng, standing right beside her, had heard every word: ?

Zhu Lexing: “…………”

You have got to be kidding. You actually edited them!

In the film crew.

Dusk painted the sky in dim yellow hues. After wrapping the latest scene, Yan Mian flipped open her script and carefully annotated the details. This was the last take of the day. Once it was done, she could head home. All in all, the time spent filming wasn’t much different from her class schedule.

Li Nian had rushed over straight from class, but she hadn’t expected Yan Mian to be buried in a book—whether at school or on set.

The only difference was that here, the book was a script.

Watching her focus so intently, Li Nian asked softly, “You tired? Hot? What about Shi Ruofeng—”

“I’m fine,” Yan Mian reassured her. “Way easier than homework.”

Li Nian: “…You sound just like Shi Ruofeng. She said the exact same thing—that acting’s simpler than homework. Too bad no one wants her in a movie.”

The last time Li Nian had tried a stage play, one scene left her so mortified she nearly ripped off her costume right there. Under all those staring eyes, she’d felt nothing but shame. Studying was hard. Acting was hard. Yan Mian only found it easy because she was a genius!

Yan Mian glanced at her and couldn’t help but smile warmly. “You’re plenty smart yourself.”

Li Nian shot back at once, “Don’t smile at me like that! It’s improper!”

Maybe it was all the whispering around them.

Yan Mian wanted to fit in with the environment, so she tried keeping pace with everyone else. She thought of how inseparable the two of them always seemed. “Does it bother you? You and Shi Ruofeng…”

“We’re just ordinary friends!” Li Nian practically hissed the words, like a cat with its tail stepped on. “Why are you asking too? Xu He hounded me about it nonstop a few days ago.”

Li Nian: “…Anyway, there’s nothing going on!”

Yan Mian gazed at her flushed cheeks and stubborn denial, feeling a pang of inexplicable envy. Friends or not, Li Nian had someone new in her life—new ideas, new connections.

What about her?

By the time Shi Ruofeng arrived, Yan Mian had tucked away her script. She overheard the Omega explaining to Li Nian, “Ran into an acquaintance. That’s what held me up.”

“…An acquaintance?” Li Nian eyed her skeptically. Ever since Shi Song, she’d decided none of Shi Ruofeng’s old friends were worth a damn. She stayed on high alert.

Shi Ruofeng nodded but didn’t elaborate. Instead, she turned to Yan Mian. “I also spotted… one of your fans.”

Yan Mian blinked. “My fan?”

Shi Ruofeng pulled up the Star Net interface without fanfare. There was an account called 【Yan Mian Temporary Support Station】. No bio yet, but it had dropped its first post just minutes ago.

A handful of stills from set. Yan Mian immediately recalled the person who’d snapped photos of her earlier.

…A fan?

Her fan?

She stared at the screen in silence for several seconds before saying gravely, “I understand.”

Seeing her friend with a supporter put Li Nian in high spirits too. “Did you thank them for Mianmian?”

Shi Ruofeng thought of Zhu Lexing’s face and smirked. “She might prefer you thank them in person.”

That night, the group chat gained a new member.

The moment Zhu Lexing saw Shi Ruofeng post a [hi] emoji, she was already tapping furiously at her screen.

-@Mind Your Own Business If I remember right, Qiao Qiao just told you to toss out some casual words of encouragement! Why did you expose the Fan Support Site? Why, why, why?

-Why? Because someone asked! @Even Dogs Won’t Eat Chocolate

-You think dodging the question will save you?

【Even Dogs Won’t Eat Chocolate】: How does it feel to get called out by the person herself?

【Ride Crane to School】: How long do you think Yan Mian will stay pissed if she finds out?

【Across the Rippling Waters】: It’s pretty funny and all, but let’s not laugh too hard. Give Lexing some face, yeah?

【Mind Your Own Business】: LOL, Zhu Lexing’s already chewing her bedsheet to bits. She won’t sleep a wink tonight, so if you gotta laugh, keep it down.

Zhu Lexing straight-up renamed the group chat to 【Accepting World Destruction】.

She switched back to the Star Net interface and stared at the mutual follow status on Yan Mian’s homepage. She refreshed the page over and over, her thumb hovering over the block button before pulling away every time.

She couldn’t block the person whose fan site this was supposed to be.

Half an hour earlier, Yan Mian had followed the account and reposted her update from that afternoon.

A few days had passed, and while the buzz around her had died down a little, it was still going strong. The comments section was buzzing—everyone shocked by Yan Mian’s looks. Plenty of people reposted it on their own, and quite a few followed the Fan Support Site while they were at it.

Staring at her homepage, now boasting two thousand followers, Zhu Lexing muttered, “…”

《Rebirth: I Became a Station Sister in a Scum Alpha Novel》

Zhu Lexing had to admit, she was being a real jerk.

Even though the damage was done, she couldn’t resist posting something in her Moments anyway.

【You Stomp and You’re Numb Too】: Every loser has at least one, two, three, four… okay, ten thousand friends ready to drag them down.

Three minutes later, it had racked up more than twenty likes.

【Qiao Qiao: Early-stage paranoia delusion vibes】

【Song Yingying: Does that make me one too?】

Xu He just sent over a GIF of someone banging on a wooden fish.

Most of the other comments assumed she’d been stabbed in the back by a friend and offered her virtual hugs.

Zhu Lexing: “…”

Among all the colorful anime profile pics, one avatar stood out like a sore thumb. She tapped it open—the contact was saved as Zhu Xing.

Zhu Lexing: “…………”

What the hell? Why did the original host even have her homeroom teacher on her friends list? Don’t any of you people know what boundaries are?!

As she stewed over it, Qiao Qiao sent her a screenshot.

It was from Yan Mian’s Moments.

【That Woman: [sun]】

A little sun emoji to warm Zhu Lexing for the next 180 days.

A few seconds later, though, something clicked. Wait—why is your note for Yan Mian “That Woman”?

-You said you didn’t even want to mention her name, right? Round it off, and she’s basically unspeakable! But what if she spots a note that just says “Unspeakable”? So I went with “That Woman” instead. No one can tell who it is, and it sounds kinda classy.

The explanation was a rambling mess, but the logic was airtight.

Zhu Lexing decided Qiao Qiao was ready to check out of the hospital.

She pondered for a few seconds, then it hit her.

-Why don’t I have Yan Mian on my friends list???

【The other person is typing…】 appeared for several seconds.

-Because you’re an idiot.

Zhu Lexing dismissed it as pure slander and ignored Qiao Qiao.

Once the initial shock wore off, getting followed didn’t seem so… unacceptable after all.

Her alt account had fully transformed into the Yan Mian Fan Support Site by now. She scrolled through the comments, ruthlessly deleting the nasty ones. She was just about to slide into the trolls’ DMs for a piece of her mind when she noticed two unread messages waiting in her own inbox—from 【Yan Mian】.

Zhu Lexing blinked, convinced she was seeing things. But the messages were right there. After ages of hesitation, she finally tapped them open.

【Yan Mian V】: Thanks for sticking up for me in the comments a while back, and for coming to visit on set today. I hope I won’t let you down while you’re still a fan.

【Yan Mian V】: [heart]