CHAPTER 11: Persona Collapse Rate: 11%

◎ Deal! ◎

Business at Siyuan Supermarket kept booming. Qin Yangyang started visiting regularly to check customer feedback and design new decor styles.

Plus, the supermarket faced south, getting excellent sunlight.

One morning, Qin Yangyang brought out a chair and sat at the entrance, basking in the sun while petting a cat.

Her daily schedule had become very consistent.

Get up early, eat breakfast while irritating Ji Jingxiu for pocket money.

Once he left, she’d head to the supermarket to gather inspiration and work on new designs. By sunset, she’d be home in time for dinner—and another round of annoying the CEO.

Her days were full and wonderful.

This happy lifestyle gave her a healthy glow. She looked even more radiant and beautiful than before.

Right now, as she sat lazily by the supermarket entrance in the morning light, the sun glowing on her skin, she looked so stunning it made people stop and stare.

Yang Zhan happened to arrive just in time to see this scene.

After a year in the entertainment industry, he’d seen more than his fair share of beautiful faces—but someone as bright and vibrant as Qin Yangyang? This was a first.

As his manager often said: if she debuted, even with no acting chops and tone-deaf singing, she could easily sweep through the industry on looks alone.

But Yang Zhan knew she wasn’t just a pretty face.

Everything Siyuan Supermarket had become—the transformation, the rise—it was all her doing.

Every design she made had its own unique charm.

He walked over.

“Miss Qin.”

Qin Yangyang’s eyes flew open. Against the sunlight, she saw Yang Zhan wearing a baseball cap, standing in front of her with a light smile.

He had mentioned in their Weibo messages that he’d drop by if he had time, but she’d assumed it was just being polite.

She hadn’t expected him to actually come.

Qin Yangyang now found herself in a bit of a bind.

Because at the time, she’d blurted out that if he ever came, it’d be on the house.

It had been over half a month since she arrived in this world, and her bank card had only seen deposits, never a single withdrawal.

Qin Yangyang quickly stood up.

“Why are you here?”

Yang Zhan smiled and said, “I live nearby. Didn’t have work today, so I came out to buy groceries and cook. Am I welcome?”

“Of course you are.”

Qin Yangyang picked up Zhaocai and led him inside.

It was still a little early, so there weren’t many customers in the supermarket.

Since he had helped out so much last time, Qin Yangyang personally gave him a tour. She watched as Yang Zhan skillfully picked out vegetables, putting together a balanced meal with four dishes and a soup.

When weighing the potatoes, she couldn’t help but think of a certain domineering CEO whose hands had never touched a drop of spring water, and the potato flower growing in the antique porcelain vase at home.

Her mood grew anxious.

She felt like she was bound to be exposed sooner or later.

Once again, she made up her mind to throw that thing away the moment she got home.

While Yang Zhan was picking vegetables, he noticed her staring intently at the potatoes on the shelf and asked curiously, “You like these?”

“No, I just suddenly thought of something.”

Qin Yangyang quickly came back to her senses. Seeing that he’d only picked out groceries, she grabbed a few bags of snacks from the shelf, took out her bank card, and got ready to keep her promise and pay for everything.

But Yang Zhan stopped her.

“No need. I’ll pay for it myself.”

“Actually, I should be thanking you. Ever since that show we filmed, I got a lot more camera time because I won the challenge. My follower count spiked, and I even landed a new role. Honestly, I came today just to thank you.”

As he spoke, a few more customers walked in. He pulled his cap lower and turned his head slightly, giving Qin Yangyang a small smile.

Back then, even though Yang Zhan had been eliminated, he still managed to debut and break into the big screen. The guy definitely had some real skills—especially when he tilted his head like that, with sunlight falling just right on his side profile, outlining his sharp jawline. Lethal.

Qin Yangyang, who was a total penny-pincher and valued money above all else, felt a little guilty seeing how sincere he was. She quickly had one of her staff issue him a premium VIP card—he’d get 10% off every time he shopped.

She even stuffed two handfuls of candy into his bag and personally walked him to the door.

Yang Zhan said, “I meant every word I said. Next time you have a new design and need some publicity, you can come to me. I’ll help.”

Qin Yangyang had already seen firsthand how effective celebrity product placements were last time, so she didn’t let the opportunity go to waste and exchanged numbers with him.

“In the future, if you want to buy anything, just let me know. If it’s inconvenient for you to go out, I’ll have someone deliver it to your door.”

Yang Zhan smiled. Seeing more and more people on the street, he quickly put on a mask and left.

Qin Yangyang looked at the number in her hand, feeling pretty pleased.

If she could build a good relationship with Yang Zhan, a megastar with millions of followers promoting her stuff, what was there to worry about?

As she was thinking this and getting ready to head back to the supermarket, she caught a glimpse—out of the corner of her eye—of a sneaky figure slipping past a corner. It looked vaguely familiar.

But when she turned her head, there was no one there.

Qin Yangyang didn’t take the minor incident to heart. But that night, just as she was racking her brain trying to figure out how to get rid of that potato flower, her phone buzzed with a message.

[If you don’t want Ji Jingxiu to divorce you, come to Birch Tree Restaurant at 9AM tomorrow.]

Upon seeing the message, Qin Yangyang wasn’t nervous at all. In fact, she was a little excited.

She’d been living a smooth, carefree life for the past half month and had almost forgotten about her substitute bride identity.

The threat had finally arrived!

But the message came from an unknown number.

No name, no signature—nothing to hint at who sent it.

Qin Yangyang ran through her mental Rolodex and ended up writing down a full list of enemies on an A4 sheet of paper.

Then realized one page wasn’t enough—and, scowling, had to pull out a second.

By the time she was done, her hand was sore.

Aside from all the people she’d offended due to her original arrogant personality, just marrying Ji Jingxiu alone had earned her the hatred of a whole truckload of hopeful young ladies—every one of them gnashing their teeth at her. The grudge levels were off the charts across the board.

CEOs really were a magnet for drama.

She wracked her brain but still couldn’t figure out who it was, so she had no choice but to give up—for now.

Lately, Qin Yangyang had been busy with the Siyen Supermarket project, churning out several different design sets. Her brain was fried, and she was exhausted.

She glanced one last time at the message before collapsing into bed.

The next day, when Qin Yangyang opened her eyes—it was already 11AM.

For some reason, the butler hadn’t come to wake her.

She went downstairs for breakfast, then checked her phone, only to find an unread text that had come in half an hour ago.

Unknown Number: [I told you to be at Birch Tree Restaurant by 9AM. Where are you?]

Qin Yangyang:

[At home.]

[Overslept.]

Unknown Number: [???]

Even through the phone, Qin Yangyang could feel the shock and fury radiating from the other side.

Thinking about how this person had been sitting in the restaurant waiting for her for two whole hours, she actually felt a little sorry for them.

Out of all the people to blackmail, why pick her?

At that moment, another message arrived:

[Be at Birch Tree Restaurant at 6PM. If I don’t see you then, I’ll send what I have to Ji Jingxiu!]

Qin Yangyang replied calmly:
[What stuff?]

Unknown Number: [Good stuff!]

Qin Yangyang: [How good? I don’t believe you.]

Unknown Number: […]

No response after that. Qin Yangyang suspected they were so angry they might be smashing their phones.

She didn’t really care whether they actually had dirt on her, but her curiosity was piqued—

Which of the people on those two A4 pages was this?

After finishing her meal, Qin Yangyang picked up her limited-edition designer bag and walked into the Birch Restaurant right on time.

As soon as she entered, she saw a familiar face sitting inside.

Yu Yuezhi sat with her arms crossed, her chin raised high like a white swan. Her expression was dark as she stared at Qin Yangyang, clearly struggling to contain the anger bubbling inside her.

Qin Yangyang arrived fashionably late and took a seat across from her.

“You wanted to see me?”

“You’re really not in a hurry at all, are you?”

“I saw everything that day—right at the entrance of Siyuan Supermarket. I saw you, with my own eyes, clinging and flirting with some man in broad daylight!”

Qin Yangyang suddenly understood.

So she wasn’t seeing things yesterday—Yu Yuezhi really had been hiding in the corner, spying on her.

Qin Yangyang had assumed Yu Yuezhi called her out today to do something serious. Turns out it was just about a few photos. Absolutely no threat at all.

Feeling a little bored, she stood up, ready to leave. But Yu Yuezhi suddenly spoke:

“Thirty million. Leave Ji Jingxiu.”

Qin Yangyang immediately stopped mid-step, then sat back down with a serious expression.

“Say that again.”

——

Ji Jingxiu had just closed a business deal today.

After signing the contract, the partner company, in high spirits, invited him out for a meal.

He’d been so busy these past few days that he barely had time to breathe. Now that things had finally calmed down a little, he figured since there would be more collaborations in the future, he might as well agree. So, he headed to a nearby restaurant—the White Oak.

Originally, he just planned to grab a quick bite and head home. But the moment he walked in, he spotted his newlywed wife deep in conversation with someone.

His footsteps halted, just in time to catch Qin Yangyang’s reply.

She frowned slightly, her delicate brows tinged with a trace of solemnity, as if truly angered by Yu Yuezhi’s words.

Among those with him were both company staff and representatives from the partner firm. They had all heard about Ji Jingxiu’s marriage and even looked into it.

Now, taking a closer look, they immediately recognized the woman across the room as Ji Jingxiu’s new wife and quickly took the opportunity to flatter him.

“President Ji and his wife are deeply in love. Who is she to stand in their way?”

“Exactly! With how much the lady loves President Ji, not even a hundred million could buy her away!”

“Love is priceless!”

Ji Jingxiu kept his gaze fixed on the woman across the room.

After spending a few days with Qin Yangyang, he realized he couldn’t quite figure her out.

Before marriage, he thought she was hopelessly in love with him and would be easy to control.

But after the wedding, her behavior completely contradicted the intel—she pissed him off every day and never once brought up sharing a room. She treated everything he did with a kind of distant indifference.

If she hadn’t sent him flowers the other day, Ji Jingxiu might’ve really thought she’d fallen out of love.

Now, hearing the compliments from his employees, his expression remained cool, but his mood visibly improved. He said deliberately, “Sure, she’s into me, but I don’t have any feelings for her. Still, no matter how high the offer, she wouldn’t agree.”

Ji Jingxiu sounded completely confident.

The people around him quickly chimed in with agreement.

Meanwhile, Yu Yuezhi, sitting across from Qin Yangyang, also frowned.

She could sense the seriousness in Qin Yangyang’s tone and had already braced herself for rejection.

“I’ll give you thirty million. I want you to leave Ji Jingxiu and divorce him.”

Smack!

Qin Yangyang slapped the table and stood up.

“Deal!”

Yu Yuezhi: Huh?

Everyone else: ?!

Ji Jingxiu: …

My silence speaks volumes.