Ning Xiaoyu: I have no such worldly desire.

There was no way she would strive for anything. Not in this lifetime. It was just too troublesome.

If they could mind their own business and not cross paths, then why stir up trouble?

The salted fish queen would never understand Ning Yuwei’s vain and conceited heart.

Someone she had always looked down on had, one day, suddenly taken a sharp turn and overtaken her. Ning Yuwei’s mindset instantly crumbled.

If she could stay out of drama, then she wouldn’t be Ning Yuwei.

The love system, seeing that the salted fish queen had no intention of rising up, had no choice but to speak up and remind her, 〖Girl, I once showed you a glimpse of the future. You already know you’re just a cannon fodder character in a novel, and the movie king is cannon fodder too. Since there are cannon fodder roles, there must be protagonists, right?〗

Ning Xiaoyu recalled it carefully.

That had indeed happened.

But the future had already changed, so she didn’t take it to heart.

Life had already started to gradually improve.

The salted fish queen asked lazily, “Isn’t Ning Yuwei the female protagonist?”

Based on the usual tropes in novels, she— as the older sister— was meant to be a foil to the younger one, someone who got constantly slapped in the face. If it wasn’t Ning Yuwei, then who else could it be?

〖Love system: ……〗

〖Ning Yuwei, at most, is just an important supporting female character.〗

As for who the female protagonist was, the answer was already obvious.

Ning Yuwei’s best friend made a grand entrance. As the only daughter of CEO Liu of a media company, Liu Shuyi had grown up pampered and privileged. She lacked neither money nor attention, nor people to flatter her.

Because of her flashy arrival, the male guests also underwent a reshuffle.

Two male guests who had little presence in the show were directly replaced by a pair of twin brothers from a prestigious family.

The older brother, Pei Yi, was cold and handsome, while the younger brother, Pei Xin, was sunny and cheerful.

【Wuuwuuwuu, the older brother looks so devoted.】

【Insider scoop: The older brother has been chasing Shuyi for six years.】

【What about the younger one? Does he like her too?】

【Yes! The younger brother has been chasing her for three years.】

【A pair of twin simp dogs— what kind of sweet novel female protagonist is this? Doge.jpg】

The love system’s face twisted with rage. 〖Girl! I will not allow you to lose to Liu Shuyi! Even though the ‘spoiled dramatic princess’ persona is super popular right now, in my heart, you are the one and only true female protagonist!〗

Ning Xiaoyu: Then…… thanks?

As she spoke with the system, Ning Xiaoyu spent 10 love points in the system’s store to exchange for a Misfortune Rebound Talisman.

After spending them, she had 4 love points left.

Just like the love system had said, after the system upgrade, the love points earned from completing a mission had increased.

Previously, she had spent one yuan on Pinduoduo to buy a scented sachet pouch.

Now, that pouch could come in handy.

Ning Xiaoyu placed the Misfortune Rebound Talisman into the pouch and handed it to Lu Jingdu. She kept it brief, “A return gift.”

Lu Jingdu clearly hadn’t expected to receive a return gift and looked slightly surprised.

The love system was thrilled. 〖I ship it! The movie king’s face says one part surprise, two parts joy, three parts happiness, and four parts ecstasy!〗

Ning Xiaoyu ignored the love system and simply reminded him, “Make sure to always carry it with you.”

“Alright.”

After giving the gift, Ning Xiaoyu no longer intended to concern herself with Lu Jingdu’s matters. With that talisman, no matter what he encountered, he would always find a way out of danger.

But Shen Yueyue, witnessing this scene, leaned in with a gossip-loving expression. “The movie king gave you a small crown worth six figures— almost seven— and you gave him a piece of paper and a sachet that looks like it cost just a few yuan?”

“That little crown…… is six figures?”

Shen Yueyue had asked Ning Xiaoyu to take a photo of Lu Jingdu’s gift before, so she knew what he had given and its general price.

“Yup. Don’t be fooled by its size— it’s a custom piece, priced between 850,000 and 950,000 yuan.”

In Shen Yueyue’s view, this price range was probably well considered. Too expensive, and Ning Xiaoyu might not accept it; too cheap, and that wouldn’t make sense either.

Given the ‘bro’ relationship they had now, a gift in that price range was just right.

Shen Yueyue didn’t mean any harm. She just worried that Ning Xiaoyu might not know the value and would return a gift without thinking.

But clearly, the salted fish queen wasn’t someone whose logic you could predict.

Ning Xiaoyu gave a calm “Oh” and answered lightly, “Then what I gave him is worth more.”

Shen Yueyue: “???”

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t explain much.

The Misfortune Rebound Talisman she gave could help Lu Jingdu survive a major catastrophe. If he lived, he could go on to earn countless more 950,000 yuan paychecks. But if he died, not only would he earn nothing, he wouldn’t be able to take a single penny with him.

That was why Ning Xiaoyu said her gift was worth more. And it was indeed true.

────ρя


Even though three guests had been replaced in one go, the variety show still continued.

But with the change in cast, the vibe of the show subtly shifted.

Liu Shuyi sat on the sofa with a bored expression. “So, is there any activity planned for today?”

Beside her, Ning Yuwei smiled and said, “Shuyi’s schedule is packed every day.”

Ning Yuwei then casually listed a few examples.

For instance, early one morning, Liu Shuyi went out to sea with Pei Yi. The two spent the whole morning on the water, enjoying the sea breeze and watching the sunrise. After lunch, Pei Yi had to go to work.

Once Pei Yi left for work, Liu Shuyi was then accompanied by the younger brother, Pei Xin.

Pei Xin would take her shopping, horseback riding, or to get beauty treatments.

In the evening, Liu Shuyi would go on a date with the older boy next door.

They would watch operas together, go clubbing, or catch a movie.

In short, no matter the time of day or what she wanted to do, someone was always there to accompany her. To put it in more elegant terms: the dramatic princess was heading out with a designer bag from A, escorted by B, while heading to a dinner party hosted by C.

This time, for certain reasons, only the Pei brothers— Pei Yi and Pei Xin— participated in the variety show.

【This is the kind of treatment a princess gets? So jealous, seriously!】

【Ah, uh…… this…… this seems even more badass than the salted fish queen? I’m in love, instantly!】

【Xiao Yu, um…… please allow me to climb the wall^[1]to stan someone else for a bit.】

The love system was so furious that smoke nearly came out of its circuitry. It had originally only wanted to ship its CP, but after being bound to Ning Xiaoyu for so long, it had grown somewhat attached to her.

Seeing Ning Xiaoyu’s fans talking about climbing the wall— Ning Xiaoyu herself hadn’t even reacted yet, but the system, just a bystander, was already fuming.

And so, a love mission promptly followed.

〖Girl, who wouldn’t want to be a little dramatic princess?

If Liu Shuyi can do it, so can you! No— you can do it even better!

You can be more dramatic, more pampered, and cuter than her!

At this moment, you can:

A. Look at the movie king with an expression full of accusation, silently asking why he doesn’t have the awareness of the twin brothers.

B. Give the movie king the ‘look’ and let him grasp the essence of being an obedient simp.

C. Ask the movie king, “What do you think?”〗

Ning Xiaoyu was a little taken aback when she saw the options.

“Why are there multiple choices again?”

The love system mumbled and refused to speak.

In truth, even before it upgraded, it could issue missions without options.

The mission format depended entirely on its mood.

This time, the upgrade was partly to refresh the love mission formats, but mainly, it was to launch the system mall.

In the original storyline, Ning Yuwei was an important supporting character. She led a smooth life, enjoyed love and career success, and lived in comfort with her mother for their entire lives.

But now, the fate of both Ning Yuwei and Zhang Xue has changed. Forget about love and career, they were probably about to be kicked out of the Shen family.

And their shift in fate would in turn affect the female protagonist, because Ning Yuwei was close to her. They had been best friends for years.

Eventually, Ning Xiaoyu and the female protagonist were bound to cross paths.

In fact, the female protagonist was the very bridge between Zhang Xue and Shen Ke.

If it weren’t for Liu Shuyi’s matchmaking, Zhang Xue would never have connected with someone from the Shen family’s social circle.

After all, Zhang Xue had become a full-time housewife after marriage and had no job. She relied entirely on Ning Zhen’s income.

Her social circle was limited, filled only with ordinary people.

Being able to marry into a wealthy family was entirely thanks to Ning Yuwei’s best friend, Liu Shuyi.

So by nature, Ning Xiaoyu and Liu Shuyi were destined to be rivals.

But the love system couldn’t be bothered with all that. In its mind, nothing was more important than sweet moments.

Besides, it had already given Ning Xiaoyu cheats.

No matter what happened, she wouldn’t be a cannon fodder character again.

Faced with the options, Ning Xiaoyu chose the simplest-looking one.

Option b.

‘Give the movie king the ‘look’ and let him grasp the essence of being an obedient simp.’

So, Ning Xiaoyu turned her face slightly and quietly looked at the movie king, giving him a subtle glance before quickly looking away.

The love system couldn’t help but give her a pointer, 〖Girl, your eyes need to be full of grievance— three parts lingering affection, three parts sorrow, four parts charm. Your eyes need to speak. That’s the only way the movie king will get your message.〗

Ning Xiaoyu replied with a casual “Oh”, and said, “Did you forget I’m just an eighteenth-line actress?”

〖Love System: ……〗

〖Love System: Did you forget that, with your current follower count, you’re already on the third line?〗

Ning Xiaoyu gave another casual “Oh”, and said, “Did you forget I’ve never played a lead role? How much acting can you expect from a background extra?”

〖Love System: That……. actually makes sense. Damn it! Why hasn’t any director offered you a lead role yet?!〗

At that moment, the director assigned that day’s friendship task— a one-day tour of the capital.

The director smiled and said, “Since Yuwei just described Shuyi’s typical day, let’s switch it up. Today, each guest can plan their own itinerary.”

Liu Shuyi asked, “Can I invite other friends to join us?”

After all, there were only two people with her on the show.

That wasn’t nearly enough.

Every day in a little princess’s life had to be lively.

The director thought it over and replied, “Sure.”

Anyone who could hang out with Liu Shuyi likely wasn’t an average person.

The more high-profile her other friends were, the better for the show. All in all, Liu Shuyi’s friends wouldn’t have a negative impact on 《Hi, My Friend》.

Once the task was announced, the guests sprang into action.

Ning Yuwei and Liu Shuyi naturally teamed up. Including the male guests, they had a group of six.

The remaining six also grouped up.

And so, the twelve guests split into two teams and began their one-day tour of the capital.

While the others went back to change clothes, Ning Xiaoyu had nothing to do. She simply took out a bag of melon seeds and started snacking as she waited.

By the time she finished her seeds, the movie king appeared in the living room wearing a long black coat, looking nothing like his usual self.

The usual slicked-back hair he did for formal events now fell loosely in a tousled Korean hairstyle.

His usually cold and handsome face now wore a perfectly charming smile.

His aloof aura had transformed into gentle warmth.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Xiao Yu.”

Ning Xiaoyu: “???”

Meanwhile, the love system was shrieking loud enough to shatter the sky.

〖Ahhhhhh, the movie king got your signal! He actually got it!〗

Everyone present had understood what Ning Yuwei meant earlier.

So Liu Shuyi was a little princess, always surrounded by simps?

No problem.

Let her be the queen of flirtation, with simps orbiting around her.

But as for Ning Xiaoyu, she only needed one person by her side.

Whether it was the gentle male lead from a Korean drama, the overbearing CEO, the cool and refined school heartthrob, or the aloof movie king playing himself— he alone could handle all those roles.

The love system inwardly screamed at full volume, That’s what it meant, right? Right?! It had to be!