As soon as this realization struck, Ling Yu couldn’t help but feel dazed.
Her eyes went blank for just a moment before her little lover, Yu Guan, who was always watching her closely, immediately noticed. She quickly gathered herself, gave her lover a comforting smile, and then squeezed his hand.
Meanwhile, her best friend Gu Xin was regarding her with a half-mocking, half-smiling look, making her feel like she’d been seen through completely.
Right now, Ling Yu’s mind was in turmoil, but no matter how messed up she felt, she couldn’t afford to ruin things with everyone on the spot… The main reason was that thing in Mi Xiaoxiao’s hands, something that looked like it had stepped straight out of a sci-fi film and into reality. It made her realize, in just an instant, that she had to face reality. She’d been lucky enough to experience rebirth this once, and she wasn’t even at rock bottom yet. How could she just give up like that?
She took a quiet breath, squeezed Yu Guan’s hand again.
Yu Guan could see clearly that she and Gu Xin were only “plastic” friends, and he could more or less guess that she held no goodwill toward Gu Sheng—or Gu Sheng’s father and sister. But that was all.
She was set on taking revenge on Gu Sheng, so for now, she was settling for dealing with Gu Sheng’s family members instead. Only her official boyfriend knew about this plan.
Thus, after that brief slip, she had to explain herself somehow. “I just got spooked, that’s all,” she said.
Yu Guan replied, “Me too,” shooting several cautious looks over at Gu Xin, whose whole aura had shifted.
Ling Jing received a covert glance from the original host’s “male god,” Yu Guan, and gave a knowing smile.
She transmitted a message to Qin Jingzhou, saying, “If Yu Guan was just hopelessly besotted, madly in love with Ling Yu, I’d actually think better of him.” At this, she glanced at Mr. Zhang, who seemed to be brewing something at the center of his brow. “But maybe that’s not the whole story. It’s just… Boss, the visual impact you’ve caused is really something else.”
At Ling Jing’s level, one glance was enough to tell if someone had experienced rebirth or was a transmigrator.
“There was nothing in the script about Mr. Zhang being able to experience rebirth,” Qin Jingzhou feigned innocence, though with obvious pride. “Really, you can’t blame me for all of it. He was only able to see some different glimpses because of the triple stimuli from Gu Sheng, Ling Yu, and me. And those were only fragments from after Ling Yu’s rebirth.”
Ling Jing studied Mr. Zhang’s expression and couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t it all written on his face?”
Mr. Zhang’s expression kept twisting, and when he glanced at Mi Xiaoxiao, who was holding the pusher, his eyes were indescribably complicated.
Qin Jingzhou instructed his daughter, Mi Xiaoxiao, “That’s enough. Can’t just let him suffocate in our home and end up brain-damaged.”
Mi Xiaoxiao grinned, returning the pusher to her father. “Here, Daddy, you take it. If I slip up, things might get messy.”
Qin Jingzhou took the pusher, tapped lightly a few times against the panel pressing down on Mr. Zhang. The tempered glass panel was suctioned back and snapped neatly into its place—it just needed the long screws put back in to be fully secured.
For a moment, a jumble of chaotic images flashed through Mr. Zhang’s mind. He only managed to parse a small fragment involving Mi Xiaoxiao, but even that was enough for him to realize in a flash why Mi Jingzhou was treating him like this. Yes, his first reaction was certainty that he and Mi Jingzhou were “two of a kind”!
Mr. Zhang was arrogant, but he wasn’t actually stupid. After experiencing just how powerful the black-tech pusher was, he no longer thought of intimidating Mi Jingzhou and forcing him to submit or bring his patent over…
Let’s not forget that the two of them already had a direct grudge.
Honestly, if he were Mi Jingzhou, he’d have half a mind to just get rid of himself. Still, it wasn’t entirely irreconcilable—there was even room for a win-win.
He focused his gaze, for the first time noticing the slightly uneasy Ling Yu.
As the panel flew away and the pressure on his body suddenly vanished, he landed heavily with a dull thud—more humiliating than painful.
At the same time, Mr. Zhang’s two bodyguards seemed to wake from a dream and sat up one after the other. They thought about going to help their boss, but the moment they looked up, they met Ling Jing’s icy stare; the both of them shrank their necks and couldn’t help but doubt their very existence.
Gu Sheng, meanwhile, stepped forward and helped Mr. Zhang up. “You haven’t had your data taken yet.”
The Gu family had old money, sure, but they were nothing compared to the Zhangs, who’d stood unshaken as red-topped tycoons.
This time, without any officials stepping in, the old man of the Zhang family had been stymied. He really was as commanding as ever—solid strength in its purest form. Gu Sheng felt quite satisfied… and a little regretful. If only his maternal grandfather and mother hadn’t fallen out so badly with his father back in the day.
With Gu Sheng’s earnest support, the one-legged Mr. Zhang slowly got to his feet.
At this point, the two bodyguards fully snapped out of it: one hurriedly handed over a cane, while the other wrenched the electric wheelchair off the wall for their boss.
Qin Jingzhou spoke up, “Gu Sheng, take them to the hall and get their data measured.”
That was them being kicked out of even qualifying for the small sitting room.
The corner of Mr. Zhang’s mouth lifted—not only had he been given a slap in the face today, he’d also stumbled into an unexpected opportunity. Plus, he’d kept his emotions stable without any medication… All in all, a good haul.
Now, he actually couldn’t help looking forward to the black-tech prosthetic that still only existed in theory.
Gu Sheng, his assistant, and Mr. Zhang with his two bodyguards left the small sitting room, instantly making the space feel much roomier.
Ling Jing leaned half against Qin Jingzhou’s arm, lazily asking, “So, why did you want to see me?”
Having seen with her own eyes the fall of Mr. Zhang—the mysterious, all-powerful man from her past life—Ling Yu sensibly adjusted her attitude and strategy. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Ling Jing hooked her good hand around Qin Jingzhou’s arm. “My boyfriend, Mi Jingzhou. You definitely know him.” She put on a mock-sarcastic air. “We fell in love at first sight, just like you and Yu Guan.”
And what am I supposed to say to that?
Ling Yu had brought Yu Guan over intending to show up her plastic bestie, but… Even though she realized now that with Mi Jingzhou as support, her friend was on a whole different level, she still stubbornly refused to back down!
Just then, Yu Guan suddenly spoke, “Are you jealous?”
Ling Yu had to force down the urge to roll her eyes. She almost wanted to say: If you don’t know what to say, just keep quiet! Even Mr. Zhang had bit his tongue and hadn’t dared provoke Mi Jingzhou—so why was Yu Guan doing it on her behalf, charging ahead like this?
But seeing her best friend Gu Xin’s furrowed eyebrows and faintly troubled face, Ling Yu couldn’t help a flicker of satisfaction. Her little lover might be young and hotheaded, but honestly… that kind of stubbornness did have its virtues.
Ling Jing wasn’t interested in headstrong kids, no matter how good-looking they were.
But the original host’s lingering attachment made her seek answers, and so she slipped into character, fixing her gaze on Yu Guan. “Back then, when you and I could talk about anything, was that truly genuine?”
Yu Guan glanced at Ling Yu, paused for a moment, then answered, “At that time, I was sincere. But I wasn’t just on the same wavelength with you.” As he spoke, he looked at Ling Yu again, squeezing her hand tightly. “It wasn’t until I met Xiao Yu that I understood what love at first sight means. I think you must have experienced that feeling, too… and not just once.”
As soon as he finished, Ling Yu ducked her head—not wanting her ugly expression to show in front of outsiders, especially her plastic best friend.
She almost couldn’t help cursing: Damn it, I brought you over to provoke Gu Xin, to use you to string her along and make her do things for me! Was I telling you to cut ties? Couldn’t you at least consider Gu Xin’s boyfriend’s power before you said that? Even Mr. Zhang got hung on the wall for running his mouth!
Sitting a bit farther away at the tea table, Mi Xiaoxiao was shocked. She exchanged glances with her childhood friend Gu Zhiwei, both having the same thought—So this is the infamous airheaded beauty?
Ling Jing fell silent for a full three minutes.
She’d originally wanted to coax a few more heartfelt words from Yu Guan, to confirm that he really had shifted his feelings, so she could convince the lingering obsession within the original host: If you can’t move the heart of someone who doesn’t love you, why not let go?
She never expected Yu Guan to declare upfront that the original host was just a backup, and Ling Yu was his true love. And, “If you hadn’t pushed me, I wouldn’t have let you see reality and made things awkward for you in front of your boyfriend. So, I’m helpless and blameless too”...
But Ling Jing was struck with a sudden intuition that something felt off.
Qin Jingzhou patted Ling Jing’s hand and laughed. “Kid’s quite the actor. But no matter how much effort you put in, the person you care about won’t necessarily appreciate it. She was just complaining about you.”
That truly surprised Ling Jing. She immediately asked through a message, “What?”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “I can see a person’s nature by the shape of their soul. Yu Guan’s actually pretty decent, apart from being blind—he’s just half a notch below Gu Zhiwei.”
Ling Jing blurted, “What high praise!” Then she laughed. “So he really is a lovesick fool. I can actually treat him a bit more kindly. But helping Yu Guan find happiness… why does that wish feel harder and harder?”
Qin Jingzhou said confidently, “No need to rush. Yu Guan’s affection is not what Ling Yu wants.”
Ling Jing nodded. “True.”
On the other side, Ling Yu, after being reminded, also realized her little lover’s true intentions.
This was that legendary kind of man who’d raise me, not thinking about his own interests. Hard not to be moved by someone like that, but honestly, she really wanted to say, My only wish for you is that you keep things ambiguous with Gu Xin, and be a genuine womanizer...
With that, she sized up Mi Jingzhou and figured that his admiration earlier was probably sincere, making her inwardly curse some more. A few of your sentences have won over even your so-called rivals—what kind of move is that? And now my whole plan is shot!
At this moment, she even started missing Gu Sheng. At least, back in her previous life, she could always read between the lines with Gu Sheng.
Yu Guan had seen through everything, but didn’t seem to care. His beloved, Ling Yu, on the other hand, wore a complicated expression, as if complaints were right on the tip of her tongue. All he could do was force a bitter smile and fall silent.
For a while, the sitting room was quiet.
“My dad says you’re a good actor. I’ll definitely support your films!” Mi Xiaoxiao suddenly piped up, thoroughly enjoying the plot twist.
Gu Zhiwei nodded. “Your agency is famous for being bloodsuckers. If you ever want to jump ship, get in touch with me. My family’s got some clout in the entertainment industry.”
Gu Sheng walked back in. Crossing his arms, he looked Yu Guan up and down, interest piqued. “If you need help with resources, PR, or a legal team, I can help with that too.”
If getting a compliment from a supposed rival was surprising but still within reason, then… having the so-called entire rival family lining up to offer connections and resources—Yu Guan was just lost for words.
Ling Yu, meanwhile, was doubting her own existence. What am I even doing here? Even if she did get reborn by accident into a parallel world, surely fate didn’t have to mess with her this hard.
When she got home and waited for her boyfriend to come back from work, she still hadn’t recovered.
But when Ling Yu and Yu Guan left the Mi home, they were tailed by entertainment reporters—a famous residential complex, with at least three well-known stars in the neighborhood.
It was only after being comforted by her boyfriend, after she’d finally regained a bit of self-confidence, that he went off to cook while she curled up on the sofa with her phone. She then discovered that every app—whether messaging or social media—had that blaring red bubble in the top corner: 999+.
Turned out she and Yu Guan had been photographed.
For background, Yu Guan came from a middle-class family, owned property, had savings.
But in the money-burning world of entertainment, everything he’d ever saved up… It was the kind you could throw into the sea and not even see a ripple. Better than nothing, but just barely.
Yu Guan had clawed his way up by himself. His agent, acting as a well-meaning mentor, once advised him to make a splash while he was young, maybe find a rich sugar daddy or mommy for the future, but Yu Guan fired her on the spot.
From then on, both the agent and the agency “remembered” this uncooperative client.
In Ling Yu’s opinion, Yu Guan was exactly the sort to suffer because of his character.
Right then, her boyfriend, still wearing an apron, came over from the kitchen. He set down a soup pot on the coffee table and leaned in. “What are you looking at so intently?”
Ling Yu pointed at the trending search with her and Yu Guan’s photo. “We got photographed.”
Her boyfriend was blunt. “That went viral fast. Must be his company pulling the strings.” He asked, “Want me to help him?”
Ling Yu shook her head. “No need, just let things play out.” Then, she directly blocked all of Yu Guan’s contacts.
Realizing he couldn’t reach Ling Yu, Yu Guan, in desperation, clarified things himself on social media, declaring that the other party was not his girlfriend.
At that, Yu Guan’s agency figured the time was right, got in touch with their backers, and released some high-res photos—basically a whole set of Yu Guan leaving the Mi residence and getting in his car.
Next came the water army’s turn, segment by segment prompting or reminding gossip-hungry netizens: “That house Yu Guan’s leaving from looks so familiar! Isn’t it the place from that viral black tech video?”
Soon enough, Qin Jingzhou found his own messaging and social media apps flashing “999+” unread, just like Ling Yu.
Ling Jing shook her head. “Is that it? That’s all Mr. Zhang’s revenge amounts to? Honestly a bit disappointing.”