Chapter 40
“Go to sleep. If you’re still scared, I can chat with you.”
Qin Ai suggested, “Tell me about what happened on set. I’m curious.”
Zuo Bian’s eyes curved into a smile. “That’ll take a long time. So many interesting things happened, we might not finish talking even if we stay up all night.”
“Then take your time.”
“Okay.”
Zuo Bian enjoyed sharing interesting stories, especially since Qin Ai had expressed interest.
However, Zuo Bian’s intention to talk all night was thwarted by her biological clock. At a certain point, her voice gradually softened until she drifted off to sleep.
Qin Ai propped herself up, gazing at Zuo Bian’s sleeping face in the faint light coming through the window.
“Good night.” Even though Zuo Bian was already asleep.
Qin Ai didn’t lie back down immediately. She leaned down and gently kissed Zuo Bian’s lips.
Zuo Bian, lost in her dreams, seemed to be having a pleasant one, a small smile gracing her lips.
555 sighed, exasperated by its host who could fall asleep in seconds. It had hoped for a chance to redeem itself after the last time, but once again, Zuo Bian had talked herself to sleep.
Not wanting to hibernate yet, 555 tried to chat with Little Frog, but there was no response. It suddenly realized that Little Frog hadn’t said a word since they arrived at Qin Ai’s house. Panicking, 555 scanned the bedroom and finally detected Little Frog’s presence inside Zuo Bian’s bag.
Little Frog was nestled inside the bag, fast asleep.
555 sighed dramatically. 【Like owner, like pet. Why are they both sleeping so soundly? Don’t they have any sense of urgency or crisis?】
Unfortunately, Zuo Bian and Little Frog, both sound asleep, couldn’t hear 555’s complaints. 555 could only lament, 【I’ve sacrificed so much for this family. No, I need to contact the higher-ups for a rival. This can’t go on.】
While Zuo Bian slept, 555 contacted the higher-ups and spent 10 points to order a rival package.
Mall notification: Attention System 555, the rival package you ordered [Difficulty: 100] will be delivered in ten days. Please be ready to receive it.
【Hmph, once the rival appears, let’s see if they still feel complacent.】555 smirked, imitating the CEO from a cheesy romance novel.
It wasn’t worried about the difficulty level of 100. Qin Ai and Zuo Bian were destined to be together, even a difficulty level of 100000000 wouldn’t be a problem.
What 555 didn’t know was that the maximum difficulty level for the rival package was indeed 100000000. A difficulty level of 100 was just an appetizer.
After all, you couldn’t expect too much from something that only cost 10 points. It was just a basic model. You get what you pay for.
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A ray of sunlight fell on Zuo Bian’s eyelids, then it was suddenly blocked by something. Her furrowed brow relaxed.
“45, 46, 47, 48, 49… 61, 62, 63, 64…”
Zuo Bian heard Little Frog’s voice. She slowly opened her eyes, the memories of yesterday returning.
Qin Ai, seeing that Zuo Bian had woken up, opened the curtains again. She stood with her back to the window, her face obscured by the backlight. “You’re awake. Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Zuo Bian greeted Qin Ai with a sleepy smile.
The rain had stopped during the night. Summer showers were always fleeting. The sky outside was clear and blue, dotted with a few white clouds. There was no trace of the heavy clouds from yesterday.
“Breakfast is ready. You can go downstairs after washing up. Do you want me to drive you home?”
Zuo Bian threw off the covers, revealing her long, slender legs. She stretched her toes and placed her feet on the ground. Her legs were well-proportioned, her skin smooth and fair, almost dazzlingly white in the sunlight streaming through the window.
She yawned, got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom, completely oblivious to the change in Qin Ai’s gaze.
“You’re so busy with work, you don’t have to drive me home. I can call my driver to pick me up.” Zuo Bian said as she entered the bathroom.
Qin Ai asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?”
Zuo Bian, who was already brushing her teeth, mumbled, “I wan to, but I wan you to finifh work quiwky and tawk me to the amufement park.” (I want to, but I want you to finish work quickly and take me to the amusement park.)
Qin Ai understood. “I’ll try to finish everything as soon as possible.”
“Mm-hmm.” Zuo Bian nodded, her toothbrush still in her mouth.
After washing up, Zuo Bian went downstairs with Qin Ai for breakfast. The spread was quite impressive, and Zuo Bian loved it.
“Qin Ai, why are you eating so little? Is it not good? I think it tastes pretty good.” Zuo Bian took a bite of a thin, crispy cracker.
The cracker was fragrant and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. The aroma filled her nostrils.
Qin Ai poured herself another bowl of porridge. “Then I’ll have another bowl.”
Actually, Qin Ai often forgot to eat breakfast when she was busy. Even when she remembered, she only ate a little, just enough to settle her stomach.
Wanting Qin Ai to eat more, Zuo Bian deliberately ate slowly. She kept glancing at Qin Ai and reminded her whenever she stopped eating.
“I’m full, burp.” Zuo Bian was actually stuffed, but she had forced herself to eat more just to make sure Qin Ai ate enough.
Qin Ai could see through Zuo Bian’s intentions. She chuckled helplessly. “Are you full?”
Zuo Bian shook her head resolutely. “No, I should go home. Qin Ai, can I come to your office this afternoon? I’ll just sit quietly and read or play games. I’ll be very quiet.”
“Of course, it’s okay if you make some noise.” Qin Ai said with a smile.
Zuo Bian instinctively reached for her bag. “Qin Ai, have you seen my bag? I want to call someone to pick me up.”
“Your bag is here.” Qin Ai picked up the heavy bag from a nearby chair. She had brought it down with her when they came downstairs, but Zuo Bian hadn’t noticed.
“Ah, it’s here. Thank you, Qin Ai.” Zuo Bian took the bag. Just as she was about to take out her phone, she heard Qin Ai say, “No need to call, your brother arrived at 5 a.m. to pick you up. He’s still waiting outside.”
“Huh?” Zuo Bian blinked. “My brother is here? What time is it?”
Qin Ai glanced at her watch. “It’s 7:45 a.m.”
Zuo Bian quickly slung her bag over her shoulder and said, “Qin Ai, I have to go now. See you this afternoon, bye.”
“See you this afternoon.”
Zuo Bian hurried towards the door, feeling guilty that her brother had been waiting for her for over two hours.
As for why Zuo Yuan had been waiting outside and hadn’t come in, it wasn’t because Qin Ai wouldn’t let him in, but because he insisted on waiting outside.
Qin Ai had invited him in, but he refused, as if even the slightest softening towards her would mean accepting that she had taken his sister away.
Zuo Yuan, whose butt was numb from sitting in the car for so long, thought he would have to continue waiting. But then, he caught a glimpse of Zuo Bian.
“Xiao Bian!” He immediately got out of the car.
Zuo Bian stopped in front of him, her brows furrowed. “Sorry, Brother, you’ve been waiting for a long time, haven’t you? You could have called me, then I would have known you were waiting outside.”
Zuo Yuan said, “Brother didn’t want to disturb your sleep. Let’s not stand here talking, get in the car.”
“Mm.” Zuo Bian bent down and got into the back seat. Zuo Yuan followed her.
Actually, there was another reason why Zuo Yuan didn’t call. He was afraid that if he called Zuo Bian, Qin Ai would answer the phone. That would drive him crazy. Knowing Qin Ai’s personality, she would probably deliver the classic three lines if he called:
She’s not here, she’s taking a shower, I’m in her bed.
Just thinking about it made Zuo Yuan’s scalp tingle. He would rather not know and continue to live in blissful ignorance.
However, what Zuo Yuan didn’t know was that the person who had actually uttered those classic lines twice was his sister, Zuo Bian. Of course, he wouldn’t believe that his sister could be so “Green Tea.”
“Xiao Bian, let Brother see your arm.”
Zuo Bian rolled up her sleeve and asked, “What’s wrong, Brother?”
Seeing Zuo Bian’s flawless arm, Zuo Yuan secretly sighed in relief. He came up with an excuse. “Brother was worried that you might have been bitten by mosquitoes at Qin Ai’s house.”
Zuo Bian, with her sharp eyes, noticed a small red mark near the gold chain on Zuo Yuan’s neck. “Brother, are there mosquitoes at home? You were bitten.”
Zuo Yuan awkwardly covered his neck and chuckled. “Yeah, the mosquitoes are really ferocious lately. You should be careful too, Xiao Bian.”
Seeing more mosquito bites as Zuo Yuan moved, Zuo Bian nodded earnestly. “Mm-hmm, I understand, Brother, I’ll be careful.”
Zuo Yuan secretly rejoiced that his sister was too innocent and didn’t know that those weren’t mosquito bites, but love bites.
But at the same time, he felt a deep sense of melancholy. His sister was completely smitten with Qin Ai, a woman, and his girlfriend was obsessed with a celebrity, having even woken up at midnight to check in and vote for her on Weibo, kicking him out of bed in the process.
Apparently, his girlfriend was a fan of a rookie actress who had only filmed one drama that hadn’t even aired yet. Her fan group was called something like “Love in the Left Atrium,” sounding incredibly chuunibyou and melodramatic.
Zuo Yuan felt like he was missing something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
Today was the day the trailer for “Ascending to Immortality,” starring Zuo Bian, was officially released. Zuo Yuan’s girlfriend, Tao Zi, immediately reposted it after watching it, excitedly sharing it on Weibo, WeChat fan groups, and QQ fan groups.
She even used eight alternate accounts to like and repost the trailer, trying to boost the popularity of Zuo Bian’s first drama.
That’s right, the celebrity Zuo Yuan’s girlfriend was a fan of was Zuo Bian, his own sister.
However, Zuo Yuan was completely oblivious to this fact, still resenting the woman who had stolen his girlfriend’s attention and love.
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