Previous
Fiction Page
Next
Font Size:
At Yu Lan’s pace, it was no surprise that she missed JOZY’s stage play.
At that time, there had been a brief downpour. Xu Jiajia stood outside the theater, soaked like a drowned rat. When she saw Yu Lan, her face almost failed to hide her anger.
Two tickets, four thousand yuan, all down the drain!
She originally wanted to go in alone, but that would surely affect her image in Yu Lan’s eyes.
So Xu Jiajia could only painfully give up.
For a moment, she even suspected Yu Lan had done it on purpose.
But seeing the woman with her nose in the air again, she felt Yu Lan probably didn’t have the brains for that.
She also saw Gu Sui’an behind Yu Lan.
Xu Jiajia had never met Gu Sui’an, but it wasn’t hard to guess the boy’s identity. Her expression changed as she pulled Yu Lan to her side: “Lanlan, why did you bring him?”
Gu Sui’an watched the two women whispering to each other with a cold gaze.
He was obviously the topic of discussion. There was no need to guess what they were talking about. Moreover, the two didn’t even bother to lower their voices. Gu Sui’an lost interest and looked away.
And because of that, he happened to notice the large paper bags in his hands.
These were just the ones Yu Lan had asked him to carry. There were still over a dozen more in the car. Without a doubt, all were the result of this morning’s shopping.
Just like in his previous life, after Yu Lan married into the Gu family, she lived in extreme luxury and extravagance. Although his father was rarely home, he had given her the black card. Once, Gu Sui’an overheard the butler reporting the spending to his father—it was thirty million yuan in just one month.
Thirty million yuan. Maybe it was nothing to the Gu family, but Gu Sui’an still labeled the woman as money-loving, using it to fuel his dislike of her.
But this time, things seemed a little different.
Gu Sui’an lowered his eyes. The dark blue hoodie slightly poked out from the edge of the bag.
…
On the other side, Xu Jiajia said incredulously, “Weren’t you the one who hated this stepson the most? Why did you bring him?”
“Oh, my hand hurts. I brought him along to carry bags.”
Yu Lan was completely unconcerned and showed no awareness that she was late. She only wanted to show off her new clothes.
The woman spun around once. The black dress flared like flower petals: “How is it? Pretty? There was a traffic jam on the way, and I got bored waiting, so I went to the mall and bought a few pieces.”
Xu Jiajia: “…” She was exploding with rage.
She had waited in the rain for Yu Lan and even gave up her chance to see the play. Four thousand yuan wasted for nothing. And now she was being told that Yu Lan had just gone shopping?
Darkness grew in her heart, blinding her with madness.
Xu Jiajia looked a little heartbroken: “Lanlan, I didn’t expect this… do you have some misunderstanding about me?”
Yu Lan was puzzled: “What misunderstanding? I don’t have any misunderstanding.”
Xu Jiajia looked sorrowful: “But I just feel like… ever since you got married, you’ve been growing more and more distant from us.”
Yu Lan nearly lost a tooth from the saccharine fakeness of those “plastic sisterhood” words. No wonder the original owner was so controlled by her friends. Flaunting was one reason, but another was probably because not spending money meant you had “changed.” Even the old people on the bus couldn’t guilt-trip as well as she could.
But Yu Lan was Yu Lan. She would only use magic to defeat magic.
Seeing Xu Jiajia soaked to the skin, Yu Lan showed a perfectly timed worried expression: “You might catch a cold like this. Why don’t you go home first?”
Xu Jiajia did feel unwell, but she had worked so hard to get Yu Lan to come out. She couldn’t leave empty-handed: “It’s fine. I’ll dry off in a while. The most important thing today is spending time with you.”
What a touching friendship.
Yu Lan almost cried: “Alright then. I’m hungry. I want to eat.”
Xu Jiajia immediately said, “I know a five-star restaurant with a sky garden view. Super romantic, though a bit pricey—about ten thousand yuan per person.”
Money was no issue. Yu Lan lifted her chin and told Xu Jiajia to lead the way. The three of them went to the sky restaurant together.
When they arrived, Yu Lan realized the sky garden was just for show.
Once the food was served, Yu Lan picked up her knife and fork to try it. Lately, she had grown picky about food because of the Gu family’s chef. She actually found the taste mediocre.
She looked up and saw Xu Jiajia across from her gobbling the food down. Sauce splattered on her lips, and she wiped it with her finger, then stuffed it into her mouth.
“….” Yu Lan instantly lost her appetite.
But Yu Lan did not want to waste food. Spending money lavishly and cherishing food were not contradictory, so she pushed the plate toward Gu Sui’an. “You eat it.”
Gu Sui’an paused and looked up at her.
The system once again started issuing frantic OOC warnings in his mind.
Yu Lan also knew her behavior differed from the original owner. She wrinkled her nose in distaste and added, “You’re too skinny, all bony. You just poked my arm and it hurt.”
Gu Sui’an pressed his lips together.
He still remembered how, in his previous life, this woman threw his food on the floor, disgusted that he ate too much.
Could a person really undergo such a drastic change?
Or was she doing it on purpose, secretly brewing some grand scheme?
Yu Lan did not notice Gu Sui’an’s abnormal reaction and continued speaking, “Eat more, or else when the old man… my husband comes back, he’ll think I’ve been mistreating you.”
Those two words nearly made her bite her tongue.
Who would have thought that, in just a few days, she would become a married woman.
Across from her, Xu Jiajia watched the interaction between the two and felt that something was off.
She could not help but speak up, “Lanlan, don’t force him to eat. If he really can’t, just give it to me.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, both people looked at her. Only then did Xu Jiajia realize she had said something wrong. “Ah, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Yu Lan said, ‘angrily’. “I kindly gave him an extra steak, and you say I’m forcing him?”
“Sorry, I misheard,” Xu Jiajia hurriedly said, “Lanlan, you know I’m not that kind of person. I just, I just… I was so hungry I got dizzy!”
Yu Lan looked doubtful. “Hungry?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Xu Jiajia supported her forehead with her hand, “I didn’t eat breakfast, my blood sugar’s low.”
“Then you should eat more.” With that, Yu Lan called the waiter and considerately ordered two more portions.
Although she did not get the handbag she wanted, the lunch at the sky restaurant still made Xu Jiajia very happy.
Even though three servings already exceeded her normal appetite.
By the end, Xu Jiajia was mechanically stuffing food into her mouth.
Whenever she wanted to stop, Yu Lan would look at her with disapproval. “One meal costs four thousand two hundred yuan. You can’t waste it.”
Xu Jiajia had no choice but to keep shoveling food in.
After a while, Yu Lan glanced at the watch on her wrist and suddenly said with concern, “Oh no, it’s already this late.”
Xu Jiajia lifted her head with difficulty. “What’s wrong?”
“I had an appointment to look at jewelry at Madam Lin’s house yesterday. I nearly forgot.”
In the past, Yu Lan would not even appreciate jewelry, buying only the gaudiest gold chains for accessories—tacky and ugly. But now, looking at the haute couture dress she was wearing, Xu Jiajia felt deeply bitter. Why wasn’t all this hers? “Will you make it in time?”
“If I head back now, I can still make it. But…” Yu Lan picked up her phone and frowned, “Forget it, I’ll just turn her down. You take your time eating, no rush.”
Seeing this, Xu Jiajia’s eyes flickered.
No matter how delicious something is, forcing it down becomes torture. She really could not eat anymore, so she tactfully said, “It’s fine, you go ahead. I’ll be okay by myself.”
“Really? Should I still stay and keep you company?”
“No need, no need.”
Yu Lan sighed, “Alright then.”
She looked very reluctant, and even Gu Sui’an thought the woman was simply unwilling to leave. It was not until she walked straight out with him that Gu Sui’an realized something was off.
“Hello guests, your total today is 40,180.”
Yu Lan did not stop walking. “My friend is paying. Go find her.”
Gu Sui’an: “……”
Not to mention how shocked Xu Jiajia was when she was stopped by the waiter to pay after her full meal, on the other side, Yu Lan returned home and immediately blocked her contact.
The so-called jewelry viewing appointment at Madam Lin’s house was, of course, fabricated. The original owner’s family was nouveau riche and had no standing in high society. Even though the people living in this villa community were all wealthy and powerful, the original owner felt inferior. Even when someone extended an olive branch, she always rejected them.
After a few attempts, everyone understood.
Yu Lan, however, did not care much.
Even if those people invited her, it was only because of her title as Madam Gu. They might even want something from her. Whether she agreed or refused, she would offend someone either way.
This way, things were more relaxed.
That evening, Yu Lan received thirty thousand yuan from Gu Sui’an through the butler.
“Hm?” Why so much?
The butler explained, “Young Master accidentally broke Madam’s perfume bottle and felt guilty. Thirty thousand is the price of that perfume.”
Yu Lan raised her eyebrows but did not say whether she believed it or not. When she returned to her room, she called out to the system to ask:
[Now, does this count as completing the task?]
[Please transfer three hundred yuan to account number 7943*******0531. Once the transfer is completed, the task will be considered a success. Please note that there are thirty-five minutes left until the task deadline.]
Yu Lan picked up her phone to operate it, but instead of transferring three hundred, she transferred sixty thousand yuan.
That included the twenty thousand from Xu Jiajia, thirty thousand from Gu Sui’an, and the remainder was made up with her own black card to round it out.
Soon, a transfer confirmation message came back. In her mind, the system sounded gongs: [Task complete. You’ve earned one chance to draw a prize. Would you like to draw now?]
Yu Lan lazily replied, “Draw.”
In the quiet night, a certain window on the second floor of the Gu family villa suddenly burst with intense light. Like a white meteor streaking across the sky, it lit up the world. Because it happened so fast, few people noticed.
Inside the bedroom, Yu Lan was hit hard. Her eyes turned red, and tears flowed uncontrollably due to a physiological reaction. She complained, “Next time, can’t you give a little warning?”
The system replied awkwardly: [Sorry.]
After the flash of light, a screen appeared before her, resembling a semi-transparent particle projection from a sci-fi movie.
The content of the projection was also quite special. A vast and boundless sea of stars resembled a gaping abyss, swallowing many planets within. On the outer edge were countless tiny points of light, shapeless yet densely packed like grains of sand, paving the entire galaxy.
This was a miniature universe.
Yu Lan could not hide the surprise in her heart.
She had originally thought the system was a scam, but now it seemed that to be able to achieve this level, it was already beyond the capabilities of modern technology.
She found the lottery button in the upper left corner and pressed it with anticipation.
The sea of stars was sucked into a vortex and began spinning rapidly, faster and faster, until it became an afterimage.
When everything returned to chaos, finally, a tiny sparkling grain of sand was thrown out from the spinning galaxy.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for drawing an F-grade prize: Liquid Luminous Water from the magical dimension.]
F-grade?
Yu Lan had a vague bad feeling. “What is this for?”
[Liquid Luminous Water. The raw material is the tail of a firefly. Applying it to the body allows one to glow like a firefly.]
The system offered a suggestion. [Host can apply it at night and become the brightest cub in the dark!]
Yu Lan: “…………………………”
She took back what she had said earlier.
This system was an absolute scam!
Previous
Fiction Page
Next
Ayalee[Translator]
Hi there! Aya here 🌸 If you're enjoying my translations, feel free to treat me to a Ko-fi—it would absolutely make my day! ☕💖 Thank you for your support!