Chapter 78
The next day, Ma Songxue gradually faded from the public eye. She had thought it wouldn’t happen so quickly, but reality was much crueler than she had imagined.
For a celebrity like her who relied on popularity, losing it was a fatal blow. Ma Songxue had saved up quite a bit of money over the years. She wanted to buy a trending topic to put herself back in the spotlight, but the money she spent disappeared like a stone sinking into the sea, without a trace.
Her popularity was steadily declining, while Zuo Bian’s was soaring.
“Ascending to Immortality” was already a hot topic, and with Zuo Bian’s engagement and the revelation of her identity, her popularity skyrocketed. Almost everyone on the internet was talking about her.
She was beautiful, wealthy, talented, and had a stunning fiancée who outshone most actresses in the entertainment industry. Zuo Bian had become the epitome of a winner in life, envied by countless people.
Today, Zuo Bian, the winner in life, woke up early. She would officially start her acting training tomorrow and also needed to find time to learn about psychology.
After today, she would be busy.
So, Zuo Bian decided to have a proper date with Qin Ai. She sat down at the table, ready to write down her date plan.
Reaching for a notebook, she noticed a small, locked diary covered in cartoon stickers. The number “555” was written on the hard cover in crayon.
Zuo Bian didn’t need to ask to know that it was 555’s diary. 555 always locked its diary after writing in it, as if it contained some shameful secrets.
Zuo Bian was curious, but she wouldn’t peek at 555’s diary behind its back.
So she just glanced at the cute little diary and then picked up another notebook, flipping it open and starting to write down her date plan.
They had already been to the amusement park, the racetrack, the movies, and played badminton. All those activities were off the table for now.
Zuo Bian crossed them off her list and took out her phone, searching online for ideas.
Someone suggested going to a cafe, saying it was a nice and stylish environment. However, Zuo Bian shook her head.
Going to a cafe was too peaceful. It was just chatting in a different location. Why not go to Qin Ai’s house instead?
Someone had also suggested going shopping, but they had just gone shopping recently.
“I heard there’s a new mirror maze on Luhua Street, ribbit! You can take Qin Ai there, ribbit!” Little Frog hopped over excitedly.
It had been watching too much TV lately and was feeling bored. When it detected the opening of a new mirror maze nearby, it immediately rushed to Zuo Bian, trying to tempt her.
Zuo Bian’s eyes lit up. She picked up Little Frog and gave it a happy kiss. “Thank you, Little Frog, I’ll book tickets right now.”
555, inhabiting a crab plushie, watched enviously, wishing it could be the one being kissed by Zuo Bian.
“Take me with you, ribbit!” Little Frog wiggled its butt excitedly.
Zuo Bian smiled. “Okay, I’ll take you with me.”
“Xiao Bianbian is the best, ribbit!”
“I also want to have a body and go out, sigh.” 555 sighed sadly.
Zuo Bian often took Little Frog with her when she went out. It had a body and was small, easy to carry around.
555 was different. When it went out with Zuo Bian, it could only exist as a data stream, without a physical form. It could only watch and offer commentary, it couldn’t experience anything directly.
Seeing 555’s disappointment, Zuo Bian said, “555, I have an idea, a way for you to go out with us.”
“Really?” 555 perked up.
“Mm-hmm.” Zuo Bian nodded.
Her idea was simple: disguise 555 as a human child.
She chose a plushie that was about the size of a five or six-year-old child, dressed it in clothes, and put a hat, scarf, and sunglasses on it. At first glance, it looked like an adorable child, just dressed a bit warmly.
555 twirled in front of the mirror, then tugged at Zuo Bian’s clothes with its tiny hands.
“But my hands look so simple.” 555’s hands were only divided into two parts: a round thumb and the other four fingers fused together. They didn’t look like human hands at all.
Zuo Bian said, “It’s okay, just pretend you’re wearing gloves.”
555 thought, that’s the only option. It really wanted to have a real body and experience the world directly. A virtual body might have a wide field of vision, but it lacked a sense of reality. It couldn’t smell, feel temperature, or touch anything. It was like a speck of dust floating in nothingness.
Perhaps this was one of the drawbacks of being a virtual entity compared to a real human.
Zuo Bian also dressed up carefully. After all, it was a date with the person she loved, and she wanted to look her best.
“Alright, let’s go.” She beckoned 555 and Little Frog.
Little Frog hopped into Zuo Bian’s bag and nestled among the drinks. 555 waddled over, its steps unsteady, the sunglasses slightly obstructing its vision.
Zuo Bian held 555’s soft, plush hand and smiled.
The bodyguards and driver were surprised to see a child suddenly appear beside Zuo Bian.
“This is my friend’s child,” Zuo Bian said casually.
As for which friend? Well, she had just made one up.
Despite being so boisterous in Zuo Bian’s mind, 555 was actually quite shy around strangers.
“Hello, uncles and aunties,” 555 said in a sweet, childish voice.
Shi Miaozhu, the female bodyguard, couldn’t help but smile. She also had children, and she felt a natural affinity for young children. She opened the car door for them.
Zuo Bian carried 555 into the car first, then got in herself.
555 was ecstatic, looking around and touching everything as if it had never seen anything like it before. It was even more curious and clueless than Zuo Bian had been when she first arrived in this world.
It wasn’t 555’s fault. Its previous activities had been confined to Zuo Bian’s room. It had never been outside before.
555’s face was practically glued to the car window. Zuo Bian was happy to see it so excited.
Before leaving, Zuo Bian had texted Qin Ai, who said there was no need to pick her up. They could just meet on the street.
Zuo Bian thought it was fine, so she agreed.
While in the car, she received a QQ message from Qin Tian, which explained Qin Ai’s sudden change of plans.
Qin Tian: Wuwuwu, Sister is so mean, going out to have fun without me. I want to go with you guys too. I’m going to grow moss if I stay at home any longer. Older Sister Zuo Bian, when are you coming over to my house? I miss you.
Zuo Bian typed a reply: I might not be able to play with you for a while. I’m starting to prepare for my next project tomorrow, and I have a lot to learn.
Qin Tian: Okay. But I didn’t know you still had to study even though you’re so old. I thought grown-ups didn’t need to study anymore. I don’t want to grow up, I wish I could stay a child forever.
Zuo Bian: Actually, studying isn’t that painful, and we need to learn at every stage of life. As the saying goes, “Live and learn.” Don’t you want to be as capable as your sister, Xiao Tian?
Qin Tian, who had been planning to play some more games, suddenly stopped. He thought about his sister’s hard work.
Qin Tian: You’re right, Older Sister Zuo Bian. I think I should study. I’m going to help Sister manage the company in the future. Anyway, I’m putting my phone away now. Bye, Older Sister Zuo Bian.
Zuo Bian: Bye, Xiao Tian.
Qin Tian’s maturity made Zuo Bian smile. It was nice that Qin Ai had such a thoughtful brother. She also hoped that Qin Ai wouldn’t have to work so hard in the future. It would be best if Qin Tian could help her when he grew up.
Zuo Bian had witnessed firsthand the behavior of Qin Ai’s so-called distant relatives. She had also heard about some uncles and other relatives she had never met.
During Qin Ai’s most difficult time, they had been relentless, not trying to help her manage the company, but wanting to seize all of Qin Group’s assets, taking advantage of her when she was just a recent graduate.
If it weren’t for Qin Ai’s strong will and capabilities, Qin Group would have been destroyed, disappearing from public view. How could they have achieved their current success?
Thinking about Qin Ai always brought a smile to Zuo Bian’s face.
She put away her phone and glanced at 555, noticing that its eyes were fixed on something, its little mouth moving as if it was muttering something.
Zuo Bian leaned closer and listened carefully. 555 was “listing dishes.”
“Ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, sesame balls, stinky tofu, grilled sausages, yogurt…” If 555 could drool, it would probably be a meter long by now.
Little Frog popped its head out of Zuo Bian’s bag. “Those are all things they’re selling in the stores we just passed, ribbit.”
Zuo Bian patted 555’s head and asked, “Want to eat them?”
555 turned its head, looking at Zuo Bian with pleading eyes. It nodded, then shook its head.
“I want to eat them, but I can’t.” 555’s tiny hands fidgeted. The plushie it was inhabiting had simple features, but its expression was clear thanks to 555’s emotions.
Looking at 555’s plush hands, Zuo Bian understood. “It’s okay, you can watch me eat.”
555: …
555 didn’t want to speak. Host, if you don’t know how to comfort someone, just shut up!
Feeling dejected, 555 took Little Frog out of Zuo Bian’s bag and started squeezing it. Little Frog croaked in protest, truly suffering.
“555, what can I do to help you earn more points? Once you have enough points, you can pay off your loan and buy anything you want, right?”
555 stopped squeezing Little Frog’s face. “It’s simple. As long as you and Qin Ai are happy, my mission completion rate will be higher, and I’ll get more points.”
“Okay, I’ll try to be even happier.” Zuo Bian took 555’s hand and shook it.
Seeing Zuo Bian’s smile, 555 felt that the points it had spent were worth it. After all, Zuo Bian was its host.
Soon, they arrived at the meeting point. Zuo Bian got out of the car, holding 555’s hand, and waved at Qin Ai.
Qin Ai, standing by the car door, looked at the small figure Zuo Bian was holding. She had avoided one third wheel, and now another one had appeared?
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