Chapter 30 Part 3

“Don’t come alone.”

Zhu Lexing got Yan Mian’s tough act, but she didn’t want a repeat of this.

Her worry for Yan Mian had grown beyond the original motive by now. It wasn’t just about buttering up the Female Protagonist to stay alive.

She saw Yan Mian as a friend.

Yan Mian’s steps came to a sudden halt.

She turned her face toward Zhu Lexing. “Is this my problem?”

Her expression didn’t shift, her voice steady as ever. But that single sentence pinned Zhu Lexing to the spot.

Was it Yan Mian’s problem?

Of course not.

None of what Yan Mian was enduring stemmed from her own actions. It came from the people who’d actually done wrong.

That included Zhu Lexing herself.

But she couldn’t say any of that outright.

Zhu Lexing stood there for a few seconds before turning back toward Xinghong.

The moment the words left her mouth, Yan Mian regretted her impulsiveness.

She knew perfectly well this had nothing to do with Zhu Lexing. Snapping at her like that was no better than venting her frustrations the way others had at her.

Yet she couldn’t settle her churning emotions.

Only when she saw Zhu Lexing starting to leave did she blurt out in shock, “You—”

“I’m going to find Gu Ling,” Zhu Lexing said without missing a beat. “She’ll apologize to you face-to-face. We’re settling this today.”

Yan Mian never would have guessed that for an answer.

Rage squeezed out every other feeling, leaving her breathless. Still, she managed a level tone. “And if it doesn’t work? Like last time, right in front of Lin Song, Zhu Lexing.”

“It’s not like before anymore,” Zhu Lexing shot back. “You have to try trusting me. Trusting other people.”

Yan Mian said nothing, simply watching her in silence.

Zhu Lexing suddenly realized that the person in this world least worthy of Yan Mian’s trust…

Was Zhu Lexing herself.

Zhu Lexing could only say, “Even if you don’t trust me, you have to trust the Zhu Family. Trust the Liu Family.”

Yan Mian asked, “Really? They have the power, but why would they protect me?”

Zhu Lexing countered, “Why not?”

“It’s not you who did anything wrong. It’s the people who messed up and said the wrong things.”

Even as Zhu Lexing kept her expression as coldly aloof as ever…

Yan Mian could still sense the faint specks of anxiety and helplessness in her eyes.

Yan Mian tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Really?”

Seeing her attitude soften just a little, Zhu Lexing quickly said, “Of course, I—”

“Zhu Lexing.” Yan Mian cut her off. “You’re nothing like you used to be.”

Zhu Lexing: “…”

That one sentence wiped out every line Zhu Lexing had prepared. She fell silent for several seconds before finally saying, “People change.”

“Really?” Yan Mian nodded, though she clearly didn’t buy it. She kept walking forward. Zhu Lexing stared after her, hesitating, but ultimately followed.

Yan Mian said, “Aren’t you supposed to go make her apologize to me?”

Zhu Lexing replied, “I need to make sure you’re safe first before I handle that.”

Yan Mian’s expression didn’t change at all.

The sunset bathed the city in warm light. This was a bustling commercial street, alive with traffic and throngs of people.

Zhu Lexing glanced up and spotted a flower shop. After a moment of silence, she said, “Wait here for me.”

Yan Mian turned her head away, as if she couldn’t care less what Zhu Lexing did.

With Yan Mian not watching her, Zhu Lexing felt a wave of relief.

She hurried inside, quickly haggled with the shop assistant, and bought a bouquet of sunflowers. By the time she stepped back outside, Yan Mian was talking to someone.

Zhu Lexing tensed up at first, but as she got closer, she saw it was just two girls who’d come together. They were grinning at Yan Mian. “I’m a big fan of yours, Mianmian! Keep going strong!”

The chill on Yan Mian’s face melted away completely.

Faced with their beaming smiles, Yan Mian looked a little flustered. “Thank you… Do you want an autograph?”

They hadn’t brought any paper or pens and were dithering over it when they looked up and spotted Zhu Lexing.

The Yan Mian-Zhu Lexing ship had been stirring up a bit of online drama, and the girls clearly recognized her. Their eyes locked onto the bouquet in Zhu Lexing’s arms, then flicked to Yan Mian with knowing smirks. “You two out together?”

Zhu Lexing realized they’d gotten the wrong idea.

But in front of strangers, she found it easier to let her guard down. She handed the bouquet to Yan Mian.

Yan Mian stared at her in surprise.

“Happy wrap,” Zhu Lexing said.

The girls’ faces lit up with excitement, like they’d just been handed front-row seats to a show.

Yan Mian gazed down at the sunflowers in her hands, their bright petals in full bloom. After a few seconds of silence, she plucked two stems from the bunch.

Zhu Lexing watched every move without a word of protest. The two fans ended up snapping a group photo and wandered off, buzzing with delight.

Only then did Yan Mian speak. “Thanks.”

Zhu Lexing shrugged. “No big deal.”

Flowers were meant to be enjoyed, after all. She’d bought them hoping they’d bring Yan Mian some joy.

And using them to spread that joy to others? That fit Zhu Lexing’s intentions perfectly.

They strolled to the end of the street, where Zhu Lexing called the driver to pick up Yan Mian.

Just before climbing into the car, Yan Mian pulled another sunflower from the bouquet—the plump one right in the center, surrounded by the others, its leaves broad and vibrant. She held it out to Zhu Lexing.

Zhu Lexing stared at it for several seconds before accepting it.

“See you tonight,” she said with a slight nod.

Zhu Lexing watched the car drive away, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.

On her way to the film crew where Liu Su was working, Zhu Lexing stared at the sunflower, her mood still inexplicably downcast. Part of it was Yan Mian’s earlier words. Part of it was fury at the vicious comments flooding the internet.

In the end, she even started hating herself. If she weren’t so useless, things never would have spiraled this far.

Maybe her negativity had hit a peak, because the System—which hadn’t spoken to her in ages—finally piped up with some comfort: 【Based on the data, you’ve already done more than enough. In just three months since transmigrating, you’ve bumped Yan Mian’s favorability from -999 to -500. That’s better than 95% of all other Hosts.】

Zhu Lexing almost snorted. One more line like 【Why not come conquer her yourself?】 and it could be the System’s pitch for recruiting new Hosts.

But…

-500?

When the hell had it jumped 499 points? And she hadn’t even noticed!

The System explained: 【-500! An impressive turnaround. You’ve been performing so well lately that, to avoid interrupting your studies, the System disabled notifications.】

Zhu Lexing never imagined it was smart enough to mute itself like that. No wonder she hadn’t heard a peep out of it recently.

She’d half-convinced herself it had gone quiet because she was slacking off too hard and it had decided to cut her loose.

Since it was actually talking for once, Zhu Lexing sighed and asked: 【Where exactly did I do well?】

【You’ve been kind to everyone around you and worked hard to improve your grades. Hardworking, dependable, kindhearted! Those are all your strengths.】

Zhu Lexing mulled it over, confirmed there was no sarcasm, and pressed: 【But I haven’t fixed a single other problem.】

The System replied: 【If you had to handle everything yourself, you’d have burned out and died by now. Your job was never to save the world. It was to save the female protagonist.】

Zhu Lexing: 【That’s what I mean—saving the female protagonist. And I can’t do a damn thing.】

The System said: 【You’ve already influenced her in every way that matters. When she was talking to Gu Ling, Yan Mian hesitated.】

Zhu Lexing: 【…Hesitated about what?】

【About whether to fight back,】 the System said. 【Even though Yan Mian knows she can’t afford to act out… she wanted to anyway.】

That answer left Zhu Lexing speechless for a long time.

Counterattack—a word that Zhu Lexing might never have linked to Yan Mian if the system hadn’t mentioned it first.

Until today, Yan Mian still appeared before Zhu Lexing as that beautiful, gentle pushover.

When had she started undergoing these changes?

Zhu Lexing suddenly realized just how little she truly knew about Yan Mian.

~~~

After meeting with Liu Su and leaving the film crew, the hot searches on Star Net had already shifted from trivial daily gossip to #Influencer Exposes Xinghong Entertainment Executive in Sexual Harassment Scandal#.

The evidence they used wasn’t Zhu Lexing’s recording.

In the car, Zhu Lexing received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced herself as Gu Ling, insisting it was all a big misunderstanding and begging for a chance to talk things over properly with Yan Mian.

Her tone was exceptionally frantic, a clear sign she was under heavy pressure—nothing like the calm, composed front she’d put on in front of Yan Mian.

When she realized Zhu Lexing wasn’t buying it, she switched to playing the victim: “I… I’ve been doxxed and cyberbullied by hordes of strangers online, but I swear I never did any of those things. Miss Zhu, there has to be some mistake here—”

Zhu Lexing cut her off. “And what does that have to do with me?”

Gu Ling fell silent for a beat.

Mimicking her tone with heavy sarcasm, Zhu Lexing replied, “If you have time to beg me, you should be pleading with those celebrities to go easy on you. After all, opportunities don’t fall into your lap—you have to grab them yourself.”

She hung up, then casually powered off her screen. A wave of mental fog washed over her.

This hazy feeling had dragged on for more than a day or two now. Zhu Lexing chalked it up to exhaustion, let out a yawn, and feigned sleep.

Halfway to their destination, a downpour hit Silver City.

Her phone buzzed nonstop. In the group chat, everyone had spotted the hot search thirty minutes earlier and flooded the conversation with messages checking on Zhu Lexing.

Zhu Lexing replied with a single period.

Someone dropped a location pin, asking if she was coming.

Zhu Lexing turned it down.

The messages kept pouring in. With half-lidded eyes, she watched the screen scroll by in a blur. When she snapped back to full awareness, the group chat had advanced to Truth or Dare.

Zhu Lexing spotted Xu He @-ing her, urging her to jump in.

After a quick round of rock-paper-scissors over chat, Zhu Lexing drew the short straw: send “I love you” to the first person in her recent messages list.

All her recent chats were with people from the group.

She figured, why feel embarrassed? Let the others squirm. What was so wrong with tossing “I love you” at a friend?

Without a second thought, Zhu Lexing copy-pasted the message to the first contact in line. Her head lolled forward, and she dozed off again, only rousing herself as they neared home to check for replies.

Unread notifications dotted the chat list.

But right at the top sat just one conversation.

With trembling fingers, Zhu Lexing tapped it open.

[19:37]

【Yan Mian】: [Image]

-Thanks. The flowers are beautiful.

[19:40]

-I love you

[19:45]

~~~

[19:50]

-?