Forced Out the Door
Leaving the game, Su Yan returned to the phone space.
She rubbed her sore butt and sighed, “I’ve invested way too much in this game!”
Xiaoya had been waiting nearby and asked curiously, “Master, what did you do in the game this time? I just saw the production team transferred 170,000 yuan. Why did it increase again?”
Since Su Yan’s fan count had entered the top 50%, the winnings for a single victory had risen from 100,000 to 150,000 yuan.
The remaining 20,000 yuan was a bonus from the production team for Su Yan’s last-minute save during the show.
Su Yan laughed happily, “Just think of it as… my part-time job salary.”
After the previous lesson, Xiaoya had learned to truly listen, watch, and feel.
She nodded and summarized Su Yan’s data: “From the moment you left the game until now, your followers have increased by a total of 465.”
Out of 500 people, 465 followed her because of this round’s performance.
Su Yan was very satisfied.
All her scheming in the game and being a human cannonball twice hadn’t been in vain.
“Oh, by the way, Master!”
Xiaoya suddenly said, “The app will update tomorrow, and it’ll last for a week. After the update, there should be some new features! But here, we only have a rough idea.”
Su Yan paused.
The week-long update would end right when the show aired. “Will it affect the program’s broadcast or anything like that?”
Xiaoya shook her head, “No, Master, don’t worry. The inside info I got said they’ll do more collaborations and optimize the app. The production team is pretty reliable. Just look forward to it!”
“That’s good. I’ll come back after a week,” Su Yan said, then exited the app.
Back in her own big bed, Su Yan lay down exhausted, covered herself, and planned to enjoy a good sleep.
But just as she was drifting off, the door suddenly knocked.
Su Yan sighed deeply and opened the door.
Standing outside was Zhao Qian, looking innocent, but when she noticed the sleepiness on Su Yan’s face, a flicker of delight crossed her eyes.
Su Yan was too tired to care.
Rubbing her eyes, she asked, “What’s up? I’m about to rest.”
Zhao Qian immediately put on an expression mixing surprise with apology and loudly said, “Ah! Sister, did you just wake up? Sorry, sorry! I thought it was already ten o’clock, so you must be up, that’s why I came to find you. Didn’t expect…”
What a sneaky little speech!
Su Yan was amused and her tiredness lessened by a bit.
“I’m at home, I can sleep as late as I want. Hurry up, what do you want?”
Zhao Qian bit her lip.
“Sister, I want to go down to the supermarket to buy something. But I haven’t really been there much before. Would you go with me?”
Su Yan immediately caught the flaw.
“You haven’t really been before? Then why do you want to go now? Haven’t you been living with us for a semester? You should be pretty familiar by now.”
Zhao Qian clearly panicked, not expecting Su Yan to be so tired yet so sharp.
She cleared her throat and explained, “Well… I just want to buy some sanitary pads. I thought buying them alone would be awkward, but if I go with you, it won’t be so embarrassing.”
Su Yan flatly refused, “Then ask Mom to go with you. I want to sleep.”
She wasn’t fooled; Zhao Qian was definitely up to no good trying so hard to get her out.
Seeing Su Yan’s firm decision, Zhao Qian pursed her lips, “Alright then, you sleep well, I’ll come get you for lunch!”
Su Yan was too lazy to respond, closed the door, and fell into another nap.
She slept straight through to midday, just as Zhao Qian called her.
During lunch, Su Yan’s mother suddenly said, “Xiaoyan, Qianqian has been studying hard lately. Since the holiday finally came, why don’t you go downstairs and hang out with her? You’ve been cooped up at home these past few days; I think you’re about to grow mushrooms.”
Su Yan glanced at Zhao Qian, who was very good at turning a deaf ear, immediately dragging her mother into this mess.
After thinking it over, she nodded, “Alright then, how about tomorrow? I’ll go with her to hang out. I’m not feeling well today and don’t want to go downstairs.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to refuse, but some things can’t be avoided.
She couldn’t spend the whole holiday locked up at home.
Even if she agreed, her mother surely wouldn’t.
Since that was the case, better to go out early and see what tricks this girl was up to.
But Su Yan purposely delayed it by a day to disrupt any plans Zhao Qian might have.
Zhao Qian hadn’t had time to rejoice at Su Yan’s consent when she heard it was tomorrow and immediately began to object, “That’s not good…”
After thinking it over, she swallowed the words back, “Forget it, tomorrow it is.”
Since the other person said she was unwell, she couldn’t force her out.
Even Su Yan’s supportive mother wouldn’t agree to that.
Besides, she couldn’t make her intentions too obvious or she’d end up exposed.
Spending a bit more money wasn’t a big deal.
That night, Su Yan returned to her room and was playing on her phone when suddenly a WeChat message popped up.
She opened it and was shocked—it was from Chu Yi!
This was a first!
Back when it was convenient for classes, she had added him on WeChat.
But since then, it had been dead with no notifications.
Over time, Su Yan even forgot she had added him.
Chu Yi’s profile picture was pure black, somewhat matching his personality.
Su Yan felt it had a dark humor to it.
He only sent a short message: “Don’t forget to exercise.”
Hiss! Su Yan gasped.
She really had forgotten.
Since coming home, she had fallen into a slump and hadn’t trained once.
Back at school, she never missed a single day.
Chu Yi reaching out reminded her of something.
She replied, “Got it. I’ll keep exercising. By the way, Chu Ge, with my current strength, could I take on two or three big guys on my own?”
Su Yan had to think the worst.
Who knew what kind of surprise Zhao Qian had planned for her?
If she really hired people to attack her, she needed to have some backup.
Chu Yi looked conflicted.
Su Yan watched him go from “typing” to blank, then “typing” again.
After three cycles, a message finally arrived: “Do you still remember how to use upper body strength to climb to the hospital?”
Su Yan: Absolutely not necessary.
Before she could say more, he sent another message casually, “What’s wrong? Are you going to fight someone?”
To avoid being mistaken for a delinquent, Su Yan explained seriously, “No, it’s just that I might have some trouble. Someone is trying to set me up. I’m just being cautious.”
Seconds later, he replied, “With your current strength, you can’t beat anyone if it comes to a fight. But what I taught you is enough to escape if surrounded by a few people. Also, if possible, I suggest you report it to the police.”
Rarely did he write so much.
A warm feeling flickered in Su Yan’s eyes.
“Reporting to the police is impossible without evidence. I’ll just be more careful tomorrow.”
“Don’t go to places without surveillance. Otherwise, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Su Yan nodded, suddenly realizing he couldn’t see her, so she replied, “Okay, I’ll let you know when I get back safe tomorrow.”
After sending an ellipsis, he asked, “When will that person try to set you up tomorrow?”
Su Yan thought for a moment, “Probably around two or three in the afternoon. That’s when we’re going downstairs to hang out. I don’t know what she’s planning.”
“Female?”
Chu Yi grasped the key detail.
Su Yan replied, “A cousin living in my house who seems pretty hostile toward me.” Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, she added, “Women’s intuition—you probably don’t get it.”
He replied with a period and then… nothing.
***
The next afternoon, Su Yan went downstairs as promised with Zhao Qian.
Zhao Qian acted casual and chatted, “Sister, do you have a boyfriend at school? I don’t think Auntie ever mentioned anything.”
Su Yan shook her head, “No, not yet.”
“Ah, Sister, you’re already a sophomore and still no boyfriend? Don’t tell me you haven’t even had your first love yet?”
Zhao Qian said innocently but with a hint of delight that Su Yan didn’t miss.
Su Yan glanced at her, not the least bit angry.
“Do you think that’s something to be ashamed of?”
Zhao Qian opened her mouth but said nothing.
She couldn’t really say it was shameful, even though that was how she felt.
Instead, she explained, “Ah, Sister, you’re overthinking it. I just think that university is for dating. I didn’t expect you still haven’t.”
One “sister” and “little sister” after another.
Does she think they’re in a palace drama?
Su Yan coldly said, “Oh? Sounds like you’re really eager to find a boyfriend. Then you better find one quickly in college.”
Zhao Qian looked like she wanted to argue but swallowed the words and smiled, “So, Sister, you’re already 20. Do you want to date?”
Su Yan looked at her suspiciously and said lightly, “Not interested. Maybe later.”
Not wanting to linger on the topic, she decisively changed the subject.
“There’s nothing much to do downstairs, just an elderly activity center. Shall we go there for a walk?”
Zhao Qian wanted to continue the previous topic but quickly grabbed her arm and suggested, “How about we go check out the supermarket? Maybe there’ll be some fruit we like today?”
Looks like the surprise she prepared was at the supermarket.
Su Yan looked at her thoughtfully and replied casually, “I’m used to online shopping. I don’t want to go to the supermarket.”
“But…”
Zhao Qian looked a little anxious, “The supermarket often has events. Maybe we can join in on the fun.”
Su Yan deftly countered, “To be honest, I checked yesterday if there were any events nearby. No new store openings, no movie promos. Nothing there these days. You don’t have to go looking for fun.”
Of course, she hadn’t actually checked.
But Su Yan was confident Zhao Qian wouldn’t verify it.
Sure enough, Zhao Qian frowned deeply, struggling for a while before reluctantly agreeing, “Alright then, we’ll go to the elderly activity center.”