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【Is Zhou Qingyu causing trouble again?】
【She interfered in Ye Luoyi and Young Master Pei’s relationship before, which was already disgusting. And now she’s openly slapping Ye Luoyi on set?】X
【Poor Ye Luoyi!】
【Yi Yi is just too sweet, which is why Zhou Qingyu bullies her. If it weren’t for the paparazzi exposing this, fans wouldn’t even know!】
【Every time I see that Zhou b**, I have to roast her. Her acting sucks so bad, yet she keeps causing trouble for others. So annoying!】**
【Can Zhou b** just get out of the entertainment industry already? I can’t stand her!】**
The internet was filled with negative comments about Zhou Qingyu. Out of the top fifty trending topics on Weibo, ten were about her scandals.
Yan Xi quietly scrolled through Weibo, reading the harsh criticism of her best friend.
Zhou Qingyu had been in the entertainment industry for two years. Thanks to her strikingly bold and glamorous looks, she had managed to maintain a modest second-tier status—not wildly popular, but not obscure either. Online opinions about her were mixed, which was normal for someone in showbiz.
But with the recent exposé of “Zhou Qingyu Slaps Ye Luoyi on Set,” all her past controversies were being dredged up: rumors of her being a homewrecker in Ye Luoyi and Pei Yubai’s relationship, criticism from book fans unhappy with her portrayal of certain roles, and reports of her acting like a diva on set.
Yan Xi knew this was just the beginning.
That night, Yan Xi had a dream.
In the dream, the world she lived in was part of a novel, and her best friend, Zhou Qingyu, was the arrogant and malicious villainess. Zhou Qingyu was madly infatuated with the novel’s male lead, Pei Yubai.
Pei Yubai, an illegitimate child of the Pei family, exploited Zhou Qingyu to seize control of the family’s shares while carrying on a romance with the novel’s heroine, Ye Luoyi. Zhou Qingyu, consumed by jealousy, repeatedly schemed against Ye Luoyi, only to be humiliated time and time again. She became nothing more than a foil to highlight Ye Luoyi’s virtues.
Eventually, Zhou Qingyu’s half-brother died of overwork, causing the Zhou family’s company stock to plummet, making it easy for Pei Yubai to acquire it. Zhou Qingyu lost everything and was exiled to a remote island to dig up sweet potatoes.
This story had nothing to do with Yan Xi. In the novel, she was merely an insignificant side character—an unnamed extra who happened to be the villainess’s best friend.
Yan Xi initially thought it was just a dream.
But today’s gossip about “Zhou Qingyu Slaps Ye Luoyi on Set” was identical to the events in her dream.
Wasn’t there any way to change this?
【The male and female leads are the chosen ones of this world, the darlings of the novel’s narrative. As for the villainess’s tragic ending? It’s inevitable~】
Hearing the mechanical voice, Yan Xi froze for two seconds, thinking she might be hallucinating.
【Host, I’m telling the truth~】
【Everything you saw in your dream is real~】
As a top-tier internet surfer of the 21st century, Yan Xi quickly realized what this voice was. Moments later, a glowing orb of light appeared in her mind, complete with emoji expressions on its surface.
Yan Xi pressed on, “Are you a system? Have you come to help me change all this?”
Yan Xi had read plenty of novels where characters awakened and were bound to various systems—like strategy systems or revenge systems. These systems would help their hosts rewrite the storyline and achieve bright, beautiful futures. Yan Xi was very familiar with these tropes.
The glowing orb bounced around in her mind. 【Half right! I am indeed a system~】
【But I’m the Side Character System. I can only chat with you—I have no actual functions~】
Yan Xi: ?
“Then what good are you to me?”
【…】
【I can chat with you.】
【I can surf the web and gossip with you.】
【I can play music for you like an mp3 player.】
Yan Xi: “Thanks, I guess!”
【No need to thank me~^^~】
Yan Xi quietly pushed the system aside.
The Side Character System—it was clearly useless.
The system said it couldn’t alter the storyline, and the villainess’s tragic end couldn’t be changed. But Yan Xi didn’t believe it. Since she had already seen her best friend’s fate, she wouldn’t just sit back and let it unfold.
In Yan Xi’s view, the reason Zhou Qingyu went from being a wealthy young lady to digging sweet potatoes on an island was because of Pei Yubai. As long as she stayed away from him, even if she wasn’t a rich girl, she wouldn’t end up digging sweet potatoes.
Stay away from men, and live a peaceful life.
“Xixi, the summer break is coming. How about we grab a meal together before the holidays?”
Her roommates’ voices brought Yan Xi back to reality.
The computer screen in front of her displayed the gossip about Zhou Qingyu slapping Ye Luoyi, while her roommates were checking their final exam results. With their first year of graduate school over, they were excitedly discussing where to go for dinner.
“I’m fine with anything. You all decide!”
Her easygoing roommates, hearing Yan Xi’s response, opened an app to pick a restaurant.
Yan Xi pulled out her phone and scrolled to Zhou Qingyu’s contact number.
System: [Host, you don’t actually plan to tell Zhou Qingyu about the novel’s plot, do you?]
Yan Xi retorted, “Why not?”
System: [Of course not! Any information related to the plot of the novel will be censored!]
Yan Xi frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, “I can’t tell her the plot, but what if I help Qingyu avoid the predetermined events?”
The system chuckled mischievously: [You can try, but I can’t guarantee success!]
Yan Xi gently stroked her phone, replaying the events from her dream in her mind.
The novel’s plot had already passed the halfway mark. The next key event was Zhou Qingyu appearing on the variety show “Let’s Travel Together.” The show invited four celebrity guests, each of whom could bring a companion along for the trip. There were no restrictions on travel expenses or modes of travel.
The novel’s heroine, Ye Luoyi, was also participating. She and her partner planned an economical and practical travel itinerary, offering new travel ideas to netizens. Ye Luoyi became a viral sensation due to her “graceful” and “down-to-earth” persona.
On the other hand, Zhou Qingyu chose a “budget travel” route, but constant conflicts arose with her partner. In the end, due to her arrogance and bullying behavior, she was ridiculed and criticized by the entire internet.
To change Zhou Qingyu’s future, the first step was to stop her from participating in the variety show!
Yan Xi walked to the balcony of her dorm and dialed Zhou Qingyu’s number.
The phone was quickly picked up—
“Baby? I’m filming an ad right now~ What’s up?”
On the other end of the line, Zhou Qingyu’s voice came through, along with the sounds of staff and crew members organizing the set. It was clear she was on the filming site.
Yan Xi asked, “Qingyu, are you going abroad to record a variety show tomorrow?”
Zhou Qingyu, distracted while touching up her makeup, answered, “Yes, Brother Yubai is going too. I’ll finish filming the ad and then meet him. We’re going to the airport together tomorrow~”
Yan Xi was stunned. She remembered that in the novel, Zhou Qingyu and Ye Luoyi were supposed to be the ones on the variety show together, but now it seemed like it was Pei Yubai instead?
System explanation: [Zhou Qingyu invested in the variety show specifically to travel with Pei Yubai, but Pei Yubai gave his spot to Ye Luoyi. After that, Ye Luoyi shone on the show, while Zhou Qingyu got trashed online!]
*[I advise you not to tell Zhou Qingyu that Pei Yubai won’t be joining, because Ye Luoyi hasn’t signed with the show yet. Telling Zhou Qingyu won’t help!]