Page 23

The wilderness survival arc will likely take place once the relationship between the two develops into a "love-hate" dynamic. I will mark it in the chapters when the time comes. For those of you who are looking forward to this part, please be patient! [Kisses][Kisses]

Chapter 15: I really want to fight this rich person...

The person across from her lifted her eyes to look at her.

She had a pair of gray-brown eyes, and when she looked at her without any concealment, Chu Keke felt her body tense up inexplicably, as if she had been locked onto by a dangerous lion on the savanna.

It wasn't until the person opposite tilted her head in confusion that Chu Keke managed to pull herself back to reality with great difficulty.

She replied in a flustered tone: "Yes, I am..."

Then, she subconsciously introduced herself again: "I, I am twenty-one years old this year, and I'm a rising senior at the University of City A. I'll start my internship in the second half of the year. I have plenty of free time and I guarantee I can be on call whenever you need me..."

While the person in front of her was introducing herself, Xiang Changge was sizing her up.

The large, round, black-rimmed glasses could not hide her bright, round, almond-shaped eyes.

Her hair was tied back in a docile ponytail. Perhaps because she was nervous, even though they were in an air-conditioned room, a few strands of hair stuck to her skin, dampened by sweat.

She had a slightly chubby, baby-faced look that was very cute.

Her features didn't seem particularly special when looked at individually, but when combined, they had a magical quality that made people feel very comfortable.

What was most striking was the vibrant, upward-surging vitality she possessed, like a sunflower under the brilliant sun.

Her eyes were bright, and the corners of her mouth were always curled upward... how did that saying go? She just looked full of energy.

No wonder she was known in the book as the "stubborn, resilient, and fiery little white flower heroine."

Sensing Xiang Changge's thoughts, the Plot Rewrite System let out a cold snort in her mind: "This system admits that the heroine does have unique traits, but our supporting female character isn't bad either. These are all just settings, hmph!"

Why is there such a huge difference in the reputation and treatment of the supporting character versus the heroine? Whether it's good or bad, isn't it all just a matter of the author's word?

Xiang Changge didn't speak.

Just by listening to the system's words, she knew what kind of "stan" it was; it was clearly a "supporting character fan."

However, its words also reminded Xiang Changge.

-Settings.

That's right, everything in the book was nothing more than the author's settings.

That "melancholy is her talent" stuff was just a setting for the plot. Stripped of the settings, who could say that Yu Qing was originally a person who was perpetually sentimental and depressed?

Collecting her thoughts, she looked at the visibly nervous person in front of her. Xiang Changge nodded slightly, giving her a shallow response.

The job posting she put out was for three enthusiastic, sincere, and energetic girls to accompany the young lady of the house to play.

They didn't need to come every day, and the schedule was irregular, depending mainly on the young lady's mood. However, once they arrived, the hourly wage was five hundred yuan, plus transportation reimbursement and meals provided.

With such benefits, Chu Keke was already the eleventh girl Xiang Changge had interviewed that afternoon.

Because it involved Yu Qing, Xiang Changge was cautious and exceptionally careful, which was why she hadn't finalized the candidates yet.

In all fairness, whether it was her resume or Chu Keke's personality and appearance, she fit the job requirements perfectly.

What made Xiang Changge hesitate was her identity.

Chu Keke, the heroine of the original book.

As far as she knew, she had already known the male lead for nearly a year, and the two had already had quite a few entanglements. Recently, it felt like all the rain in City A was falling for them.

Xiang Changge asked the system in her heart: "Is it appropriate to have the heroine accompany the supporting female character?"

The system also fell silent for a moment.

A few seconds later, the system replied: "That depends on what you intend to do, host."

"According to our detection, the heroine currently doesn't know that the person she will be working for is the supporting female character, nor does she know the relationship between the supporting character and the male lead... Oh, and she also doesn't know that the male lead has an arranged marriage."

But if Chu Keke really stayed at the Yu Family, even if she didn't know now, she would definitely find out later. She might even meet the male lead here and find out in advance that he actually had a fiancée.

One had to know, this was a major, highly dramatic climax in the original text.

Xiang Changge lowered her eyes and cast her gaze back to the resume in her hand.

On the top right corner of the thin paper, Chu Keke was smiling at the camera.

Heroines, supporting characters, male leads—Xiang Changge couldn't be bothered with any of that; she just wanted to complete her mission.

In the book, after learning about the affairs between the male and female leads, Yu Qing chose to break off the engagement with the male lead immediately. This showed that she didn't have those kinds of feelings for him. The long, torturous romance between the male and female leads was just something they brought upon themselves.

But the fact that they had kept it from Yu Qing for so long was truly as disgusting as swallowing a fly.

A cold glint flashed through her eyes. Xiang Changge looked up again and gave the girl in front of her a polite smile: "Alright, let's exchange contact information."

This was her way of indicating that she had passed the interview.

Chu Keke was stunned for a moment, and then a surge of immense joy erupted in her heart. She smiled with her eyes curved like crescent moons, thanking Xiang Changge repeatedly for giving her this opportunity.

When she was sent down the mountain by the fully occupied sightseeing car, Chu Keke couldn't help but look back.

The rain had stopped at some point, and the dark clouds hanging over City A showed signs of dispersing. The sky was bright, and the tallow trees, washed clean by the rain, looked even greener.

They were getting further and further away from the black pine in front of the mountain villa, but that place, which stood silently and signaled the extraordinary status of its owner, lost none of its imposing aura as she looked back at it.

Although this job was a bit unstable, the butler had said that even if they weren't called in for a part-time shift for a whole month, they would still be given a base salary of two thousand yuan.

In other words, if the interview was successful, she wouldn't have to do anything, yet she would still receive two thousand yuan every month until she was fired.

However, the prerequisite was that she had to be on call whenever the other party needed her.

It sounded a bit sketchy, but the butler had said that the person they were serving was a young girl who was in poor health and unable to leave the house, which was why they were looking for someone to come over and keep her company.

The job content was basically to entertain the girl, or perhaps tell her some gossip they knew, and so on. In short, the goal was to please her as much as possible, help her pass the time, and ideally, make her feel the joy of living.

Subconsciously, Chu Keke imagined a frail, sickly little girl, which made her think of her own younger sister.

Chu Keke felt there couldn't be a better job than this. She could wait for the other party's notification while doing other small part-time jobs. This way, she would have time to take care of her sister at home and wouldn't have to keep asking for leave whenever she needed to take her to the hospital.

"What a beautiful place. Is this whole mountain theirs?"

"Probably. I really hope I get hired; this place is even prettier than a tourist attraction."

Hearing the idle chatter of others nearby, Chu Keke nodded in agreement to herself.

It was indeed beautiful. It was hard to imagine that someone's home could be this large, just like a princess's castle in a fairy tale.

At six in the evening, the interviews concluded, and Xiang Changge walked out of the side building.

Summer days are long, and by now, the rain had stopped and the clouds had dispersed. The sky was bright, filled with sunset clouds that were slowly deepening from a pale gold as time passed.

Staring at the long-absent sunset for a good while, Xiang Changge tilted her head back slightly and closed her eyes, as if carefully savoring the taste of the sunset.

"A truly rare sight."

Her words carried a double meaning.

In the apocalypse, such a sky was indeed rare, and even here, she hadn't seen the sun for several days.

Thinking of the "Thunder God and Mother Lightning," Xiang Changge muttered to herself, "It seems the male and female leads are in a good mood right now."

The system provided confirmation: "Yes, the female lead was hired by you and is in a great mood. The male lead, who is currently away on a business trip, is preparing to return to City A after securing a major deal, and he is also in a relaxed mood."

Xiang Changge: "..."

They really are the "Thunder God and Mother Lightning."

However—

"Why were those two at odds and in a bad mood before?"

The system: "The male lead went on a business trip with two secretaries. One of the female secretaries had designs on him and intentionally used his phone to reply to the female lead's messages while he was away..."

"Wait, don't tell me she replied with, 'He's in the shower'?"

Xiang Changge dug a tiny fragment out of the corner of her memory. She remembered there being a plot point like that when she read the story before.

The system made a finger-snapping sound in Xiang Changge's mind: "Bingo! The host answered the question in just one second during the quiz activity. You are rewarded with a compliment—you are truly amazing!"

Xiang Changge: "..."

Did anyone ask for that?

Fine, the next part of the plot will probably involve the male lead not understanding why the female lead is angry and ignoring him, then catching her being "lovey-dovey" with another man when he goes to find her, followed by the male lead getting jealous and angry, then forcefully kissing the female lead in front of the other man to assert his dominance.