Just then, the phone in her pocket vibrated lightly.
Yan Yu stopped pushing the wheelchair, took a deep breath, and steadied her emotions before pulling out her phone.
When she saw the name on the screen, her gaze instantly turned cold.
It was Jiang Muyun.
She opened the message.
It was the same familiar style—words coated in sweetness, but filled with prickly little schemes.
“Yan Yu~ Are you busy? Qinghan said this afternoon she’d go with me to pick a dress for the birthday party. It’s so hard to choose. You have good taste—help me see which one suits better? [Image][Image][Image]”
“By the way, you’ll come to my birthday party, right? [Cute][Expectation]”
“We’re pretty much friends, aren’t we? You and Qinghan used to be so close, so I think my birthday party can’t be without you~”
The photos showed several exquisite little dresses in different styles.
The text deliberately mentioned “Qinghan came with me,” seemingly casual, but actually full of intentional showing off and provocation.
The emoji at the end perfectly highlighted the malice disguised as innocence.
Yan Yu stared at the phone screen, a cold smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Jiang Muyun had always been like this.
She loved to use Su Qinghan as a weapon to hurt her, the ex-girlfriend, just to satisfy her own petty desire to win.
‘If it were the Yan Yu from the previous cycle seeing this, she would probably be heartbroken beyond recovery by now.’
Unfortunately, she was no longer the Yan Yu of the past.
There was no ripple in her heart; she only found Jiang Muyun pitiable, even ridiculous.
Thinking she had gotten some treasure, she kept showing off someone Yan Yu didn’t care about at all, like a clown.
Yan Yu looked down on Jiang Muyun, but to stay in character, she still took a screenshot of this chat record.
It might come in handy later.
She carefully weighed her tone, imitating the original host’s forced coldness and distance, and replied.
“I don’t know.”
Her finger paused over the send button for a moment, then she added another sentence to make her rejection clearer.
“Your birthday party is your own business. I’m busy. I don’t want to go.”
The reply came almost immediately.
Jiang Muyun: “Aiya~”
Jiang Muyun: “Could it be… you’re not coming because you mind me? [Confused]”
Jiang Muyun: “Qinghan and I are just good friends now. Even though she’s devoted to me, I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
Jiang Muyun: “Yan Yu, are you perhaps… still bothered by the past and haven’t let go? [Sad][Sad]”
Several messages in a row—on the surface caring and inquiring, but actually pressing step by step.
Every sentence deliberately steered toward Yan Yu’s lingering feelings for Su Qinghan and her jealousy.
This clumsy reverse psychology precisely hit all the original host’s pain points, making it particularly lethal.
Jiang Muyun was certain Yan Yu would fall for it, so she sent these messages.
Yan Yu looked at the words popping up on the screen, the chill in her eyes deepening.
She knew exactly what the other party expected—expected her to lose control, to retort, to reveal more cracks of not letting go and still caring.
And this was precisely the performance opportunity she wanted.
Her fingertips swiftly tapped on the screen, deliberately letting the words reveal the shame and annoyance of being hit at the heart, as well as that bitter obsession with Su Qinghan that she couldn’t let go of.
“Don’t be so full of yourself.”
“…I’ll go.”
“Send me the time and place.”
The messages were sent.
She could almost imagine Jiang Muyun’s smug expression of a successful scheme through the screen—smugness mixed with a bit of fake pity.
The other party would definitely embellish the fact that she agreed to attend, along with this stiff reply, and tell Su Qinghan:
“See, Yan Yu still can’t forget you. A few provocations and she took the bait.”
Good.
Yan Yu put away her phone and resumed pushing the wheelchair forward.
The lingering heat on her face had long dissipated, and her chaotic emotions gradually settled down along the established plot.
The slight loss of control brought by Bai Yan’er was completely suppressed deep in her heart.
Jiang Muyun’s deliberate provocation was skillfully used as a bargaining chip to advance the plot.
[Ding!]
[Key Plot Node: “Respond to Provocation, Accept Birthday Invitation” completed.]
[Overall Plot Restoration Score: 90 points. Host accurately captured and reproduced the complex psychology of lingering affection but forced pride, effectively advancing the established plot tension.]
[Current Main Quest Total Acting Progress: 14%]
[Reward Issued: “Cloud Garments” High-End Custom Studio Lifetime VIP Card (Physical) and One Exclusive Styling Treatment.]
[Note: This treatment includes a full body styling design led by Cloud Garments’ chief designer, covering gown, accessories, makeup, and hair, and grants top VIP privileges at the studio. Card has been materialized. Please collect it.]
As the chime faded, Yan Yu felt a slight weight in the inner pocket of her coat.
She reached in, her fingertips touching a hard card of special texture.
She pulled it out—a very simply designed black card with a dark gold “Cloud Garments” emblem hot-stamped on the edge.
It felt warm and smooth, with a faint, cool fragrance.
“Cloud Garments”… she had heard of it.
It was a high-end couture studio that even families like the Su and Jiang needed to book months in advance and might not get an appointment—known for extreme privacy, high prices, and picky clientele.
Yan Yu ran her fingertip over the smooth edge of the card, her gaze obscure.
‘This reward… interesting. It doesn’t directly improve her skills or attributes, nor does it simply give a large sum of money. Instead, it’s like a key, clearly pointing to the upcoming “Jiang Muyun’s Birthday Banquet” scene.’
She looked at the matte black card glowing under the sunset, and a thought gradually became clear in her mind.
That’s right.
The previous pale, fragile, pitiful image might have initially earned her a bit of pity from Su Qinghan as an superior, and sparked Jiang Muyun’s sense of superiority as the “winner.”
But times change.
Once Su Qinghan and Jiang Muyun lose interest in that old look and stop feeling emotional, the Acting Value she could reap as this substitute would likely take a big hit.
She needed to change.
She needed a carefully designed contrast—to make Su Qinghan feel that even though Yan Yu had stepped out of the mud and seemingly had a new, glamorous life, deep in her heart, she still kept a dark corner for her.
Of course, Yan Yu would also use this to firmly curb Jiang Muyun’s unchecked arrogance.
Yan Yu raised her head and looked at the brilliant lights gradually lighting up in the distant city.
What awaited her next was Jiang Muyun’s birthday party—an occasion where Su Qinghan would definitely be present.
That was the stage where she needed to bring out all her acting skills and seriously perform.