Chapter 16
The streetlights shone brightly, and Zuo Bian carefully walked along the curb. She suddenly turned around and asked Qin Ai, “Qin Ai, can I chat with you whenever I want?”
Under the light, Qin Ai’s usually indifferent face seemed to soften a bit. “Yes.”
“That’s great, I’ll chat with you often.” Zuo Bian’s beautiful eyes curved into crescents.
Qin Ai said, “I’ll take you back.”
“Mm-hmm, I feel a bit reluctant to part with you. I don’t know when we’ll meet again.” Zuo Bian kicked a small pebble with her toe.
The pebble rolled and tumbled, plopping into the river with a splash. At the same time, Qin Ai said, “If we want to meet, there will always be opportunities.”
She wouldn’t even give a chance to those she didn’t want to meet, let alone a word.
Zuo Bian was sent back to the hotel by Qin Ai, who then left.
As soon as Qin Ai left, 555 started yelling excitedly in Zuo Bian’s mind.
【Oh my god! I never expected such a big progress just from having dinner together!】
“What happened? How much did the progress bar move?”
【Host! The progress is now 9.9%, we’re only 90.1% away from success! I thought we would continue to inch forward slowly like before, but who knew we would get such a surprise today!】
“I don’t feel like I did anything special.” Zuo Bian said as she sat cross-legged on the sofa.
【Come on, Host, quickly send the female lead a message to solidify your relationship.】
“Okay, I’ll send it right away.” Zuo Bian took out her phone.
After all this time, Zuo Bian was already proficient at using her phone. No one would have guessed that she was an ancient person who didn’t even know what a phone was not long ago.
Zuo Bian sent Qin Ai several cute emojis, asking if she had gotten home.
There was no immediate reply, and 555 started sighing again.
【Sigh, I thought this was a major breakthrough, but it seems like it was just my wishful thinking. I suddenly feel lost about the future.】
Zuo Bian quickly comforted 555. “555, don’t be discouraged, Qin Ai might just haven’t seen the message yet.”
【Why do I feel like you’re comforting me? By the way, this Qin Ai is definitely the big boss in nightmare mode. When normal people reach almost 10% progress, even if they’re not super close, they should at least have some good feelings for each other, right? Could it be that the difference lies in this 0.1%?】
“555, I’m a little curious about how this progress is calculated. It doesn’t seem like it’s just good feelings.”
【Oh, about that, we have a special algorithm for calculating the progress. There are three basic dimensions: favorability, intimacy, and completion of fixed plot points.
We also make some adjustments based on the personality of each target. For example, Qin Ai is a very guarded person, so favorability has the lowest weight, and intimacy has the highest.
Don’t underestimate the current progress of 9.9%, her favorability is already quite high.】
Zuo Bian nodded as she listened, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of her phone screen.
“Qin Ai replied.”
【What did she say?】
Zuo Bian stared at her phone and read Qin Ai’s reply aloud. “She said she was driving just now and just got home.”
【So she really didn’t see it, I’m relieved.】
“I told you, so 555, don’t be discouraged so quickly. Actually, Qin Ai is quite nice. She treated me to dinner the first time we met, stood up for me on set, and even picked food and peeled shrimp for me during dinner.”
【Why do I feel like this conquest is reversed? But that’s not the point, the point is, Host, you’re very successful. Keep it up, increase intimacy as soon as possible, and our progress bar will shoot up like a rocket!】
“Okay!”
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The next day, filming resumed. Xu Ruisheng, the actor playing the male lead, looked listless and didn’t intentionally or unintentionally get close to Zuo Bian like he usually did. He even avoided contact with her.
Zuo Bian found it strange. She asked 555 in her mind, ‘555, why did Xu Ruisheng suddenly change? He’s like a different person.’
【Ah, about that. Last night, after you fell asleep, I played with your phone, so I happened to see it. Remember when Xu Ruisheng almost had an accident while doing the wire stunt, and you saved him?】
‘Yes, I remember.’
【The photo of you princess-carrying him was leaked.】
‘So what?’
【He thinks it’s embarrassing. A grown man being carried by a woman, and princess-carried at that. He’s probably frantically contacting people to delete the posts. Host, if you’re interested, you can also check out the posts before they’re deleted.】
‘Let me see.’
Guided by 555, Zuo Bian found the posts and saw the photo.
In the photo, Zuo Bian was holding Xu Ruisheng in her arms, her back still straight. There seemed to be a breeze, and her long, waterfall-like hair and moon-white skirt billowed like a flower. A spotlight shone down, illuminating half of her beautiful, jade-like face.
She looked calm and composed, her posture elegant. Coupled with her unique classical temperament, she truly looked like a celestial being descending from a world of immortals. The celestial being happened to descend to the mortal realm, saw someone in danger, and casually saved them.
The focus of the entire photo was on Zuo Bian, with Xu Ruisheng reduced to an insignificant background.
The comments section was lively, with most people fawning over Zuo Bian’s beauty, exclaiming, “I can!”
3rd Floor: Ahhh! She’s so beautiful!
4th Floor: Hahaha, I’m exactly the same as the person above. I bet this young lady will definitely become popular!
5th Floor: I’m so looking forward to “Ascending to Immortality”. I’ll definitely watch it with my roommate when it airs.
…
125th Floor: Wait, haven’t you noticed who the person being held by the young lady is?
126th Floor: Looking closely, it’s actually Xu Ruisheng, the male lead! Oh my god, hahahaha, the image of Xu Ruisheng as a noble male god in my heart has completely collapsed.
127th Floor: Me too, I feel like Xu Ruisheng is so uke in front of the young lady! But a little bit of contrast makes him seem more real.
128th Floor: Xu Ruisheng was quite popular before, but his persona was too perfect, it felt fake, so I stopped being his fan. My current idol is Zuo Bian, beautiful, strong, and genuine!
129th Floor: But I heard that this Zuo Bian is a mistress, she stole Chang Wensi’s brother’s girlfriend. She’s definitely not a good person.
130th Floor: Don’t you think that makes it even more exciting?
131st Floor: If we want excitement, we should go all the way. Should we ask if they’re wearing Pinru’s clothes? (A reference to a popular drama where the mistress wears the wife’s clothes)
132nd Floor: She’s not even famous yet, and a bunch of people are acting like crazy fans, protecting her. It’s disgusting. The entertainment industry is really a place where anyone can enter, as long as you have a pretty face, you can ignore the disgusting nature of being a mistress.
As soon as this comment appeared, a heated argument broke out. All sorts of insults were thrown around, but there were still many people defending Zuo Bian.
【Sigh, I forgot that the focus of this post changed later on. Host, you better stop reading.】
Zuo Bian was happy to see people liking her, and she didn’t take the insults to heart because she knew they were fake.
“Hey.”
Zuo Bian suddenly heard someone calling her. She subconsciously turned around and saw Chang Wensi with a sullen face.
“Qin Ai will be attending our Chang family’s banquet next week. I hope you won’t come. You can tell me what you want as compensation.”
“Huh?”
Zuo Bian didn’t know about the banquet before, but now she did thanks to Chang Wensi.
【A banquet next week? Host, wait a minute, let me check the plot.】
“I’m sorry, I can’t listen to you. If Qin Ai is going, then I’ll definitely go.” Zuo Bian said with a serious expression.
Chang Wensi crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. “Why are you so clueless? Do you have a degree? Can you make as much money as my brother? Do you think you’re worthy of Qin Ai?”
Zuo Bian asked in confusion, “Do you need to be worthy to be friends with someone?”
Chang Wensi snorted. “Of course. What other merits do you have besides being rich, beautiful, and having a good figure?”
“Thank you for the compliment, you’re beautiful too.” Zuo Bian said with a smile. She was in a good mood because she had just heard 555’s words.
【There’s indeed a banquet next week, and Qin Ai will be attending. Although I can’t predict the specific details, Host, I can assure you that something exciting will definitely happen. Seize the opportunity, Host, maybe the progress bar will jump significantly.
We almost missed this plot point, it’s a good thing Xiao Chang reminded us. Xiao Chang is such a good person!】
Good person Chang Wensi stared at Zuo Bian blankly. After a while, she came back to her senses, yelled “Are you stupid?”, and stormed off, almost tripping over a small stool on the ground.
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