Bai Ling woke from the dream with great reluctance.
It had felt so incredibly real.
So real that she was convinced this was how things should have unfolded.
In fact, she’d noticed for a long time that there seemed to be something unusual about her.
For example, men really did seem to fall for her with astonishing ease, and every one of them appeared deeply devoted to her.
Su Tingxuan had fallen hopelessly in love with her after seeing her just once.
The CEO she met at a banquet had begun pursuing her relentlessly after only two encounters.
Even Cheng Huan and Ye Tian, the two guest celebrities who had appeared on the same variety show as her, had both invited her on dates after filming wrapped.
Then there was the way her career had started.
The moment she debuted, Brother Wang had taken a liking to her. Countless people at the company envied her openly or behind her back, yet every crisis somehow resolved itself. Someone was always there to smooth things over for her.
Everything had originally been developing exactly as the dream described.
But now…
Su Tingxuan hadn’t initiated a conversation with her in a very long time. Their last chat message was one she’d sent asking how he’d been lately. He’d never replied.
Liang Zhong, the CEO she’d met at the banquet, had also stopped paying her much attention.
The other men who had once eagerly courted her all seemed to have found new targets.
Where had everything gone wrong?
Had it started with that Hot Spring Card?
No.
Not at all.
She was simply… a complete and utter fool.
Though she’d always refused to admit it, the truth was that over the years, men had given her far too many conveniences and advantages.
Even the envy and hostility she attracted had secretly pleased her.
Because she knew that whenever she displayed kindness, grace, and generosity, some man would inevitably step forward to defend her, praising her for knowing when to advance or retreat and for handling situations with maturity.
She had become too addicted to the happiness that came from being the center of men’s attention.
As a result, all her focus had always been on them.
She’d been dealt a winning hand… and she’d played it into complete ruin.
Unable to stop herself, Bai Ling opened the first episode of <Extreme Challenge>.
Back then, Shen Wanwan had been arrogant and domineering, constantly bullying Shao Yuye without reason.
The barrage of insults that had once filled the screen was gone.
In its place was an endless stream of laughter and memes.
[At this point, Brother Ye still has no idea he’ll one day spoil this woman rotten!]
Staring at Shen Wanwan’s proud, aloof face on the screen, Bai Ling dug her fingernails deep into her palms.
Jealousy and rage surged through her mind all at once.
She was so consumed by hatred she felt like she was going insane.
Yet another voice inside her asked, with perfect clarity—So what?
No matter how jealous.
No matter how resentful.
No matter how unwilling she was to accept it.
Shen Wanwan was no longer someone Bai Ling could afford to provoke.
Shen Wanwan was…
Someone even the men Bai Ling had always regarded as her greatest trump cards couldn’t afford to offend.
There were five days left until Lunar New Year’s Eve.
Shen Wanwan politely declined numerous gatherings and brand invitations, choosing instead to stay home and happily laze around.
But her Brother rarely got time off.
So over the past two days, he’d been enthusiastically inviting friends over to the house.
He had an absurd number of friends.
Wave after wave of people arrived, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Shao Yuye organized games for everyone, and the house stayed lively from morning till night without a moment’s peace.
His social circle really was ridiculously large.
Lin Kexin, who had been on the same team as them during the variety show, was among the invited guests.
The moment she arrived, she gave Shen Wanwan an enormous hug.
“Wanwan, you really kept this hidden well!” Lin Kexin complained in her usual outgoing manner.
Just as Shen Wanwan was about to respond with a cool rebuttal, Lin Kexin continued without pausing.
“You should’ve told me you were Brother Ye’s little sister! I spent forever guessing—seriously, I racked my brain and still never would’ve figured it out!”
Shen Wanwan wasn’t used to being hugged so intimately.
Without making a fuss, she gently removed Lin Kexin’s arms and restored a comfortable conversational distance between them.
Looking at her, Lin Kexin suddenly remarked, “Wanwan… you’ve changed quite a bit.”
Shen Wanwan blinked.
“Have I?”
“You have!”
Lin Kexin nodded solemnly.
“You smile more now.
“You’re not as cold anymore.
“I guess being with Brother Ye really does make you happy!”
Shen Wanwan froze for a moment.
Later, she met many more of her Brother’s friends.
Yu Cheng, whom she’d previously only chatted with while gaming, along with the younger idols under him…
There were so many names and faces that she couldn’t remember most of them.
But that didn’t stop her from noticing they all shared one common trait—
They were sincere.
Warm.
And occasionally adorably silly.
It was completely different from the parties she’d attended among wealthy social circles before.
And to her surprise, surrounded by everyone’s genuine warmth, she found herself no longer resisting the idea of making friends as much as she once had.
Although her old habits wouldn’t disappear overnight, this time she didn’t reject Lin Kexin’s invitation to attend Fashion Week together after the New Year.
At noon on the third day, after lunch, Shao Yuye was loading the dishes into the dishwasher when Shen Wanwan finally received another call from Qi Luozhou.
Over the past few days, the lively crowd had occupied most of her attention, and her replies to his messages had been especially perfunctory.
She often missed his phone calls as well, only getting back to him before bed each night, complaining about how these overly enthusiastic, boundary-less people actually dared to stick paper notes on her forehead.
Qi Luozhou could tell that although there was a hint of complaint in her voice…
She didn’t actually dislike it.
It was an adorably tsundere kind of grumbling.
Calculating that the others hadn’t arrived yet, he chose this moment to call her.
When Shen Wanwan answered, she teased him, “Miss me?”
Her tone carried a trace of intimacy… one she hadn’t even realized had become so natural.
Shao Yuye had been humming a little tune while bustling around the kitchen, like a hardworking, cheerful little bee.
The moment he heard those words, his whole body jerked. He nearly dropped the bowl in his hands.
—Huh?
…What had he just heard?
Separated by only a wall, he couldn’t see his sister’s expression. But judging from the literal meaning of what she’d said, she was most likely talking to that ‘876’.
Quietly setting the bowl down on the counter, Shao Yuye tiptoed toward the wall, pressed his ear against it as hard as he could, and shamelessly began eavesdropping.
On the other end of the call, Qi Luozhou chuckled softly, “Mhm.
“When will you have time to meet me?”
These days, even getting the chance to see her required waiting in line.
There was only one Shen Wanwan, and lately she’d been occupied by spending time with her Brother. Over the past few days, the number of messages and phone calls she’d exchanged with him could be counted on one hand.
The corners of Shen Wanwan’s lips lifted into a bright smile.
She gave the same answer as before.
“Depends on my mood.”
“That’s it?”
There seemed to be a trace of disappointment in his voice.
Shen Wanwan countered, “What else were you expecting?”
He was still smiling on the other end.
Her moods were the hardest thing to predict, and they changed quickly.
“What a pity. Looks like I’ve been eliminated again today.”
Even as he said it, his voice remained light and amused. He wasn’t deliberately acting pitiful, he was simply stating a fact.
For some reason, Shen Wanwan’s heart softened. She stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“…!”
On the other side of the wall, Shao Yuye’s expression instantly turned grave.
—“Let’s go?”
—Go where?!
—Just who the hell is 876? How did he bewitch my sister into actually going out?!
Just yesterday she’d been complaining to him that it was too cold to go outside. Otherwise, he would have dragged her around every single street-food stall, just so she wouldn’t keep thinking things like ‘He’s so unique’ about that guy.
Apparently, though, the past two days of effort had achieved absolutely nothing.
Standing silently in the kitchen, Shao Yuye pounded the wall in frustration.
On the phone, Qi Luozhou laughed gently.
“What made you change your mind?”
Shen Wanwan answered smoothly, “I can’t exactly let you be disappointed.”
She’d completely forgotten to prepare a New Year’s gift for him.
So, with great reluctance—or so she told herself—she decided to give him her time today instead.
One of Qi Luozhou’s greatest qualities was that he never complained that she didn’t prioritize him enough.
After hearing her affirmative answer, he said without the slightest resentment, “I’ll come pick you up.”
It wasn’t inconvenient for him to drive over.
But for some reason, she didn’t want to wait even a moment longer.
“No need. I’ll head over myself.”
He simply replied, “Okay.”
After hanging up, Shen Wanwan called out to her Brother.
Shao Yuye jumped in fright. He hurriedly sprang back to the counter, grabbed the bowl he’d abandoned earlier, and pretended to calmly load it into the dishwasher. His heart pounded wildly, while his thoughts twisted themselves into knots.
—My sister actually comforted 876!
That line—“I can’t exactly let you be disappointed.”—had been so unbelievably gentle and affectionate!
When Shen Wanwan reached the doorway, she paused.
“You’re still not done?”
Her Brother had been in the kitchen for quite a while already.
Still pushing the dishwasher rack in and out, Shao Yuye improvised, “I put things in the wrong place just now, so I had to rearrange everything. Tch, dishwashers are more troublesome than I thought.”
Shen Wanwan didn’t dwell on it. She said openly, “I’m not hanging out with you this afternoon. I have something to do.”
“What kind of something?”
Shao Yuye did his best to suppress the jealousy in his voice.
“Will you be back for dinner?”
“I will.”
Without slowing her steps, Shen Wanwan headed toward her room.
She hadn’t put on her makeup yet.
After putting away the dishes and washing his hands, Shao Yuye followed her to her room and casually continued, “Going out to meet someone?”
Shen Wanwan had already finished applying her foundation and was carefully drawing her eyeliner in front of the mirror. Without looking away from her reflection, she gave a perfunctory hum.
“Mhm.”
Shao Yuye asked again,
“A guy or a girl?”
“A guy.”
“…”